There’s a type of learning that’s guided by others.
In school, for example, professors structure the concepts and sequence the material to make it digestible. An undergrad at Berkeley might work in a lab under a PhD or professor, learning how to navigate the field. Eventually, they become capable of formulating their own research questions — ones that push the field forward.
In the workplace, some people have managers or mentors who point them to projects they need to excel at. The best performers, however, go a step further: they identify the high-leverage tasks — the ones that move the company forward — and take initiative on them.
Across all of these environments, one theme stands out: you’re learning something new that you haven’t done before. This connects to the idea of a live player — someone (or a tightly coordinated group) who can do things they haven’t done before. They are not just executing; they’re inventing, adapting, evolving.
The super performers know how to learn. They’re not just good at a specific skill — they’re good at getting good at things. That’s meta-learning.
What does meta-learning look like in practice?
Take bowling. You’ve never done it before. At first, you struggle. Then you start looking around: you notice the players with high scores. You watch how they move, how they throw, how they position their feet. You experiment. You iterate. Soon, you start hitting strikes.
If you can afford a coach, great. But if you don’t have one, you’re still figuring it out. That’s meta-learning: finding the fastest path to understanding.
As an individual, your goal should be to improve your meta-learning algorithm — to become a better learner. Not just learn faster, but learn smarter.
What does this mean for teams and hiring?
At best, a company should operate like a live player. You’ve heard the phrase: “hire A players.” But what is an A player, really?
Early on, you won’t always be able to hire people with long track records. So you have to spot the unproven talent — people who might not be experts yet, but who are meta-learners. These are the people who, once exposed to a new area, not only pick it up quickly but surpass even the person who trained them. And eventually, they’ll be the ones teaching you.
They don’t stagnate. They accelerate.
The key trait to look for: the ability to identify what matters most and learn it fast.
Restated:
A live player is a person (or tightly coordinated group of people) who can do things they haven’t done before.
And a meta-learner is someone who figures out how to do those things — again and again, across different domains.