In the academic arena, learning for the sake of adding to the fund of knowledge is the norm. In the corporate world, where the bottom line is king, I would hazard to say that any learning that does not directly support performance is pointless.

Don't get me wrong, I am a living, breathing example of the former, which is why my manager constantly refers to me as "a bloody academic". But, unless I can prove to him that this university course, that book, the other conference are going to add value to his cost centre, it's at my own cost and on my own time.