I hear the same excuse every time I talk to change resistant learning professionals: "There's a bad cultural fit for new learning approaches here" (to which I say, if you're not willing to challenge a stale culture, you're in the wrong profession), "we don't have time" (but you have time to waste people's time with useless PowerPoint presentations?), "we don't have the budget" (who said next gen learning costs more?), "our IT infrastructure can't handle it" (that's what your IT department said ten years ago about email too), "we have to crawl before we walk" (no you don't, you can leapfrog to next gen learning from any position), "we don't need to waste people's time with frivolous Tweets about what Demi Moore had for breakfast" (Twitter is also used in Iran to protest one of the most oppressive regimes in history, I guess that's frivolous too?), virtual worlds is just a game (yes, most new technologies start as games before turning into tools).

One of the most prevailing and misguided excuses for inertia: "We have mature employees who wouldn't embrace new learning approaches." Why have I NEVER heard someone from a company that actually uses social networking and virtual worlds express this concern? The reality is that older workers are usually the most enthusiastic users of social media, virtual worlds and podcasting. Join our weekly Train for Success meetings in Second Life and the average age is probably around 50. Here are my top-three theories why mature workers embrace next gen learning:

1. Mature workers have a greater network of colleagues to draw insights from. Social networks are designed for those of us who need to stay in touch with our college friends and professionals colleges from years past. The fastest growing demographic of Facebook is women over 55.

2. Older people enjoy being a young avatar in Second Life with a full set of hair and the body of a 19-year old.

3. Older people have spent decades in asbestos homes gulping Aspartame sodas, and it's beginning to take its toll. They can't concentrate on boring lectures, they need learning that is fun and engaging!

Kidding aside, the notion that older workers will not use social media, games and mobile learning flies in the face of every client we've worked with, it's just an excuse for status quo.