On 24 February, The Marketing Society Fellow Helen Tupper and Sarah Ellis hosted an evening with The Marketing Society in New York, to celebrate the launch of their new book, Learn Like a Lobster. The session focused on one simple but powerful idea: in a world of constant change, learning is no longer optional. It is essential.
Helen and Sarah opened the event by exploring why learning at work matters more than ever. As careers become increasingly squiggly, the people who are most able to navigate uncertainty and spot new opportunities are those who keep learning. However, while the need to learn has increased, it has also become harder. Many people struggle with a lack of time, confidence and clarity about how to learn in the flow of work.
To address this, Sarah and Helen introduced the lobster as a role model for learning. Lobsters never stop growing. They grow the most in moments of discomfort and vulnerability, shedding their shell and using it to fuel future growth. This became a metaphor for how we can rethink learning at work by asking ourselves:
• How can we never stop learning?
• How can we learn most in hard moments?
• How can we lead our own learning?
To bring this to life, Helen interviewed New York Advisory Board Member Helena Verellen about her own shell-shedding moments. She shared how asking for help, admitting when you don’t know, and asking other people how you can be helpful has helped her to continually learn and grow in hard and challenging moments in her career.
FROM INSPIRATION TO ACTION
The audience then moved from inspiration to action. Helen and Sarah encouraged everyone to identify practical experiments they could try to make learning part of their daily work. Meetings became the focus, as they are one of the most consistent parts of many people’s working weeks. Ideas included:
• Rotating roles so more people develop new skills
• Reducing time and attendance to increase focus
• Using decision/discussion agendas
• Removing default meetings temporarily to understand what truly adds value
The event closed with an invitation to connect, share and support each other’s learning journeys. This reflected one of the most powerful benefits of being part of The Marketing Society: learning through relationships and community.
Everyone not only took away how they could learn like a lobster; they also took away how they could be lobster learning leaders in their organisations.
