I agree with Marc Meketon that there's little hope of staying abreast of everything. I suggest staying current in two ways. The first is in a focused way concerning your core skills, knowledge, and area of expertise. The second is in gaining a basic understanding of important emerging topics.
Given one's requisite time commitments to work, family, volunteering, exercising, etc., it can be quite difficult to find the time to stay current. The most efficient way is through work. Completing a project almost always requires one to learn new subject matter or skills. I have a saying that if you learn it, you know it, but if you use it, you own it. Reading to learn is useful. Having to learn about something or how to do something to complete a project results in more effective learning.
I am currently working with a developer who volunteers for tasks she does not know how to do but wants to learn. Like INFORMS members I know, she is a quick study, and her approach has allowed her to be a more and more valuable asset to our team over time.
When something needs to be done, assigning an expert is the obvious course of action. In my experience, organizations have some degree of openness to assigning non-expert employees or even consultants and making subject matter experts of various sorts available for tutoring. These organizations do not have infinite patience, so when provided with such an opportunity, it is important to come up to speed quickly and to demonstrate progress. The bottom line is that working can provide many avenues for keeping current and expanding one's knowledge and skill set.
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Erick Wikum
President
Wikalytics, LLC
Maineville, OH
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