Your Career as an Idea → Value System
Learn how to apply the Idea → Value system to your career. A practical way to think about learning, behaviour change, and employability at work.
How to think about learning, development, and employability more intentionally.
We often talk about learning as something we consume — courses, books, videos, certifications.
But learning only becomes valuable when it changes behaviour.
In this short video, I apply the Idea → Value system — normally used in organisations — to personal learning and career development. It’s a simple way to think more intentionally about what you learn, why you invest in it, and how it turns into real value over time.
The core idea
Everything starts with an idea.
In organisations, that idea might be a product, a change, or a strategic initiative.
In your career, it’s an idea about what you want to learn, develop, or become better at.
If that idea is interesting and meaningful to you, it attracts attention and energy.
If it isn’t, learning becomes a grind.
From there, the same principles apply:
- We invest scarce resources — time, energy, attention (and sometimes money)
- We assemble an activity set — courses, books, podcasts, mentors, practice
- We move into learning and creative action — trying things, practising, reflecting
- We ship by changing behaviour
- And ultimately, we generate value
For individuals, that value often shows up as:
- Greater employability
- More opportunities
- Increased ability to add value inside an organisation
Learning isn’t about information.
It’s about behaviour change — and behaviour change is how value is created.
Watch the video
Why this way of thinking helps
This model helps you:
- Be more selective about what you learn
- Avoid investing energy in things that don’t genuinely interest you
- Treat learning as an intentional journey, not passive consumption
- Connect development directly to outcomes that matter at work
Learning journeys can last a day, a week, or years — but at every stage, you are investing scarce resources (time, energy and attention). This framework helps you do that more consciously.
A final thought
Not all learning needs to be instrumental.
Learning for curiosity and enjoyment alone has intrinsic value — and that matters.
But when learning is connected to your career, it helps to understand how ideas turn into value — and what your role is in that process.
