Q. Why is education so critical to success in business?
If you’re not educating in the new ways of business, you and your business can become stale and stagnant, and then who is going to want to work with you? If you’re not abreast of the changes in the industry and you’re not willing to move the company to the next level, you are setting yourself up for trouble. For instance, once upon a time, we did estimating by hand, now it’s done electronically. If you’re still out there doing estimating by hand, how many projects are you going to be able to accomplish when competing against the guy who is doing everything electronically? You are going to fall so far behind, it would be ridiculous. That’s why keeping up with education is so important.
Q. Does a work force ultimately have to get younger to keep up with cutting-edge skills?
The work force doesn’t have to necessarily get younger. What happens with the younger work force is they’re bringing certain skill sets to the table that are going to help your company as you try to move forward and sustain yourself. But the older worker doesn’t get kicked to the curb in the process. You can offer the older worker opportunities to go and get trained in the new technologies, as well. And if they’re willing to embrace that change, there is a spot for them.
Another thing you can do is take the older worker and put them in a position where they mentor the younger worker. That is a mutually beneficial relationship, because the younger worker might have the technical expertise, but hands-on, he might be lacking. So you put the two people together, and by doing that, [you] create a powerful force within a company.
How to reach: Coleman Spohn Corp., (216) 431-8070 or www.colemanspohn.com