Rookie Smarts - Why Learning Beats Knowing in the New Game of Work

CHAPTER 7

ROOKIE REVIVAL

                  The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.¹

—ALVIN TOFFLER

Candido Camero was about to take the stage at Dizzy Gillespie’s jazz club at Lincoln Center in New York City. The occasion was a celebration of his ninety-first birthday. One of the great improvisational jazz percussionists of the 1950s, Candido had played with most of the greats, including Dizzy Gillespie. Tonight he would be playing with students from the Manhattan School of Music.

Candido stood offstage, steadied by two loyal friends. As an announcer called his name, Candido shuffled toward the stage, taking small, deliberate (and seemingly ...