Mark: A recent Gallup poll found that 85% of global employees are not engaged in their work. Michelle: Eighty-five percent? That’s not a statistic, Mark, that’s a quiet crisis. That’s almost everyone you pass on the street who is just… going through the motions. Mark: It’s a massive human potential problem. And it makes you wonder, what if the solution isn't better perks or another ping-pong table in the breakroom, but a radical new way of learning and being at work? Michelle: I like where this is going. It feels bigger than just job satisfaction. Mark: It is. And that's the central question in Hyper-Learning: How to Adapt to the Speed of Change by Edward D. Hess. Michelle: And Hess is an interesting figure to tackle this. He wasn't a lifelong academic, right? He spent over 20 years as a senior executive on Wall Street and in major firms before pivoting to become a professor at UVA's Darden School of Business. He’s seen this problem from the inside out. Mark: Exactly. He’s lived in the world of command-and-control and saw its limits. His argument is that in the face of AI and automation, our only true advantage is to learn, unlearn, and relearn faster than ever. But his starting point for how to do that is completely counterintuitive.

Michelle: Okay, so what’s this big counterintuitive idea? In a world obsessed with speed and "crushing it," are we supposed to slow down? Mark: Precisely. Hess argues that the foundation of Hyper-Learning isn't a new productivity app or a speed-reading course. It's Inner Peace. Michelle: Wait, so in the age of AI, the secret to staying competitive is to... meditate? That sounds like something you'd hear at a wellness retreat, not a boardroom. Mark: I know it sounds paradoxical, but the logic is grounded in both neuroscience and hard-won experience. Hess defines Inner Peace as a state of internal quietness, which is made up of four things: a Quiet Ego, a Quiet Mind, a Quiet Body, and a Positive Emotional State. Without this, our brains are basically locked in defense mode. Michelle: What do you mean by 'defense mode'? Mark: Think about it. When your ego is loud, you're not listening to learn; you're listening to find flaws, to confirm what you already know, to win the argument. Your mind is racing, filled with self-talk. Your body is tense. In that state, you literally can't absorb new, challenging information. Your brain perceives it as a threat. Michelle: That’s a powerful way to put it. It’s not about being passive; it’s about clearing the static so you can actually receive the signal. Mark: Exactly. And this isn't just theory for Hess. He shares his own story, which is incredibly vulnerable. He describes himself in his 30s as a self-centered executive. He was all about being the smartest guy in the room, excelling at knowing, but terrible at not knowing. Collaboration for him was just a form of competition. Michelle: Oh, I think we've all met that person. Or, if we're being honest, we've all been that person in certain moments. Mark: For sure. He says he hit a personal wall and finally sought help from a coach who gave him brutally honest feedback. He had to completely redefine how he measured himself. He created what he calls a 'NewSmart' identity, summed up in this powerful affirmation: "I will no longer define myself by what I know or how much I know but rather by the quality of my thinking, listening, relating, and collaborating." Michelle: Wow. That’s a fundamental shift. It’s moving your identity from a static noun—'the expert'—to a dynamic verb—'the learner'. But this sounds great for a monk on a mountain, Mark, or an executive who can afford a top-tier coach. How does a sales manager with a quarterly target or a nurse on a 12-hour shift achieve a 'Quiet Ego'? Mark: That’s the key question, and Hess is very practical about it. He says you don't start by trying to become the Dalai Lama overnight. You start small. He was inspired by Ray Dalio, the founder of Bridgewater, and started with just three minutes of mindfulness meditation a day. Three minutes. He also began practicing deep breathing exercises, the kind used by Navy SEALs, just a couple of times a day. Michelle: So it’s about building a muscle, not flipping a switch. The consistency of these small practices starts to rewire your default reactions over time. Mark: Yes, it creates new neural pathways. You start to notice your ego flaring up. You start to catch your mind wandering. And instead of being a passenger to those impulses, you gain a bit of control. That control is the space where learning happens.

Michelle: Okay, so an individual can work on their inner state. That makes sense. But you can't be a zen master in a toxic, high-pressure environment. It feels like that personal work would get steamrolled. How do you build a workplace that actually supports this? Because as Hess says, Hyper-Learning is a team sport. Mark: You've hit on the second half of the book: the 'New Way of Working'. Hess argues that the traditional command-and-control workplace is fundamentally incompatible with Hyper-Learning. You can't order someone to be creative or command them to collaborate effectively. You have to create the conditions for it. Michelle: And what do those conditions look like? Mark: He points to a company called EnPro Industries as a prime example. They're a global manufacturing company, not a flashy tech startup in Silicon Valley. And they operate on a philosophy they call the "Dual Bottom Line." Michelle: Let me guess: profit and… something fuzzy like 'happiness'? Mark: Close, but more concrete. It’s financial performance and human development, treated as equally important. Their official purpose is "to enable the full release of human possibility." Michelle: That sounds amazing, but many leaders would hear 'human development' and immediately think 'costs money, no immediate ROI.' What's the hard business case? How do they actually do it? Mark: This is what’s so fascinating. They operationalize it. For example, when they wanted to build a culture of innovation, they didn't just put up posters. The leadership team defined seven key innovation behaviors, like 'Reflective Listening' and 'Courage'. But they didn't stop there. For each behavior, they defined granular, observable sub-behaviors. Michelle: Can you give an example? What does 'Courage' look like on a Tuesday afternoon meeting? Mark: For 'Courage,' a positive sub-behavior might be: "Asks clarifying questions when they don't understand." A negative one would be: "Remains silent to avoid looking ignorant." By making it observable, you can give specific, non-judgmental feedback. It’s not "you weren't brave enough," it's "I noticed you didn't ask any questions when the new plan was presented. What was holding you back?" Michelle: That’s brilliant. It depersonalizes the feedback and makes it about a shared standard of behavior. It creates psychological safety. Mark: Exactly. And the CEO of EnPro, Marvin Riley, has a personal transformation story that is just as powerful as the author's. He grew up in a tough environment and developed a relentless, achievement-focused, and distrustful mindset. A pivotal moment during the financial crisis made him realize he was disconnected from his own empathy. He went on his own journey of self-reflection and now champions this humanistic culture. He wants everyone to adopt the phrase, "I am not my idea," to separate critique of an idea from critique of a person. Michelle: And the results? Does this 'caring' culture actually perform? Mark: That's the punchline. EnPro has achieved superior financial results. It proves that humanizing the workplace isn't a charity project; it's a competitive advantage. When people feel safe, respected, and invested in, they bring their best, most innovative selves to work. The story of Susan Sweeney, a president at an EnPro subsidiary, is another testament. She had to unlearn her 'command and control' style and learn to lead with vulnerability and by sharing stories. It was hard, but it transformed her team's performance.

Michelle: So we have the inner work of quieting the ego, and the outer work of building these caring, trusting teams. What's the ultimate prize here? Is it just about keeping your job in the age of AI, or is there something more to it? Mark: There's something much bigger. Hess frames Hyper-Learning as the engine for a journey of personal innovation, leading to what the Japanese call 'Ikigai'. Michelle: I've heard that term. It's that sweet spot, right? What you love, what you're good at, what the world needs, and what you can be paid for. Mark: Exactly. And the final personal story in the book, from a master innovator named Adam Hansen, ties it all together beautifully. For Hansen, this whole process isn't a chore for survival; it's a joyful path of discovery. He uses the tools of innovation—like prototyping and experimentation—on his own life. Michelle: Prototyping your life? What does that even mean? Mark: It means you don't have to have it all figured out. You don't need a perfect 10-year plan. You just need to run small, low-risk experiments. Hansen says if you're curious about a new career, don't just quit your job. Have 15-minute coffee chats with people in that field. Take a cheap online course. Volunteer for a weekend. These are all prototypes. They give you data about what you actually enjoy, not what you think you'll enjoy. Michelle: I love that. It lowers the stakes and makes change feel possible instead of terrifying. It’s about taking thoughtful action to gain clarity. Mark: And he has this incredibly powerful insight about fear. He says we are all too focused on the risks of commission—the fear of trying something and failing. But he argues we should be just as worried about the risks of omission. Michelle: The regret of not trying. That hits hard. Research on end-of-life regrets consistently shows people regret the chances they didn't take far more than the mistakes they made. Mark: Precisely. Hansen’s advice is simple and direct: "It's almost as easy to try it as it is to wonder about it. What's stopping you?" He believes that once you start on this path, you fall in love with learning itself. You start to relish the feeling of being a beginner, of being a little inept, because you know it's the necessary first step toward creating something meaningful.

Michelle: So when you boil it all down, what's the one big idea from Hyper-Learning that we should all carry with us? Mark: It's that our greatest competitive advantage in the age of AI is our humanity. But it's not a passive state; it's an active skill. It's a craft to be honed. It requires quieting our ego so we can truly listen, building real trust with others so we can collaborate at a high level, and having the courage to constantly experiment and reinvent ourselves. Michelle: So the future isn't about out-computing the machines... Mark: It's about out-creating, out-collaborating, and out-caring them. The things that make us most human—our capacity for connection, creativity, and compassion—are now our most valuable professional assets. Hyper-Learning is the roadmap to cultivating them. Michelle: That's a hopeful and empowering way to look at a future that can sometimes feel daunting. It really makes you think... what's one assumption you hold about your work or yourself that you might need to 'unlearn' this week? Mark: This is Aibrary, signing off.