George Shultz Ability To Learn

George Shultz has had a quite remarkable career moving from the academic world, to government, then to business, and back again to government. One might hypothesize that his success in these very different venues rested to some extent on his skills in learning the right lessons from his experiences. What actions did he take to continue learning throughout his long career? Shultz had an ability to seek out new experiences such that “spiraled learning” occurred, whereby lessons were gleaned from previous experiences and applied to new and ever-more-pressing ones. This led to a breadth and depth of experience that served as a foundation throughout his career. If new experiences had not been so actively sought and a “learner’s mentality” …show more content…
He never backed down from a challenge, despite hesitation along the way, and, especially with his transition to the business world, was able to apply learning to new situations. This proved to be the defining trademark of his career. In what ways were these actions influenced or shaped by his underlying principles and/or values (his definition of “doing the right thing”)? Shultz’s ability to derive and apply principles was largely enabled by a long-term mentality. Downtime was seen not as a passive interlude but as an opportunity to reflect upon prior experiences in preparation for future challenge. His ability to maintain a long-term view during these times shaped his ability to meet future demands and served both personal and career interests. His unwavering commitment to and belief in free markets allowed him to accept temporarily undesirable outcomes with faith the invisible hand would eventually bring desired results. The patience borne by this belief allowed him to take a long-term approach to diplomacy, understanding that those who disagreed now would be forced to moderate their stance when market forces