A Great Way to Learn is...
...getting your hands 'dirty'.
In our internal Reading Compound, we read about the Romanovs of Russia. Peter the Great (one of the most powerful Tsars of Russia) took the idea of getting his hands dirty very seriously. He spent time in a village in Holland in 1697, disguised as a common sailor to learn shipbuilding. He wanted to make Russia a naval superpower. Despite a luxurious childhood and never needing to do physical labour, Peter learned carpentry in a village in Holland. Such was his dedication to understanding the trade he wanted to build expertise in.
We wonder how Peter the Great would have made Russia a shipping power if he had to deal with MBAs though. (Disclosure: we have more than our share of MBAs at CTQ)