Lately I've been reading about one of those "startling new discoveries" that people with common sense have known for years. What experts have ignored, but many of us could see for a long time, is that most of what people learn about their jobs they learn from each other and on their own. In fact only about 20% to 30% of what people learn about their jobs comes from formal training programs, educational institutions, or trade associations. The other 70% to 80% (estimates vary a bit) happens informally on and around the job. This makes sense for a few good reasons.

Learning is mostly a social activity. We learn mostly from other people. We observe others, we ask someone else for a little help, we call a software help desk, we work alongside someone who already knows the job, and we do some trial and error of our own.

I believe that people love to learn but dislike being taught. Because it's enjoyable, we naturally respond to new situations or new problems by trying to learn how to handle them. Learning is all about growth and I believe that growth - personal and professional growth - is one of the core sources of happiness.

The most successful training is when the leader facilitates the learning and does almost no lecturing. Most of the learning happens when individuals and small groups tackle new problems in new ways. In other words, the best training succeeds because it mimics the way people actually learn on the job.

Much of what we learn is intentional. That is, we recognize that we are stumped by a new problem or intrigued by something new, so we set out to learn enough to solve the new problem. We learn enough to discover how to learn more about something intriguing.

Some learning, though, is accidental. Sometimes we learn the most when we are trying to learn something else. For example, we start an Internet search to learn about ceramic brake pads and discover that ceramic materials are being used for hammers that coal miners carry: no metal, no sparks, no fires when the sparks ignite coal dust in the air.

So now the important question: if three-quarters of the learning in business is informal, is it wise to leave it to chance? What could go wrong? What aspects of informal learning can we leverage to the advantage of the business?

Chances are, you have known someone who knows his craft but has a negative attitude about his job. Would you want this person to be the informal training manager in your business? No, of course not. Unfortunately, young workers often gravitate to these people because they "know their stuff" and thus have much more influence than you would like.

On the other hand, think of the positive benefits of encouraging informal learning:

Not all workers will get the same benefit from informal learning because not all are motivated to learn. Some have suffered from formal education that did not help them learn, and some people simply are not as eager to learn as others. These people need to hear that the world has changed - that they can learn - and that it is in their best interests to start doing some learning on their own.

What can you do to encourage your employees to get the most out of their informal learning? Try these ideas:

Make it known that you are aware of how much informal learning goes on and that you welcome it.

Informal learning is nothing new. It has been a part of the workplace for centuries. In your business, you can either let it happen by chance or you can create an environment that encourages high-quality informal learning. I'm reminded of how many millions of dollars large American corporations have spent in recent years to become "learning organizations."

In fact, by encouraging better quality informal learning in your business, you could accomplish the same thing for hardly any financial investment at all.