How Many Years Experience Do You Bring To Your Business?

When I was hiring and managing new home sales people for builders, one of the questions I would ask in interviews was, "How many years of experience have you in the business?" After they answered, my next questions were, "Is that "X" years or one year of experience, repeated "X" times? What books have you read? What training have you taken recently? When was the last  seminar or training you attended? What did you learn? What have you adjusted or changed in your daily practice from that training? What have been the results? Have you measured them?"  Most looked at me like deer caught in headlights, indicating one year of experience repeated however many years they were in the business.

 When reading the book "Talent Is Overrated," by Senior Editor to Fortune Magazine Geoff Colvin, it is one of those paradigm-busting books that will expand your view of the world, if you will allow it to challenge your belief systems. The premise is that most of us explain away the superstars in any endeavor as "gifted or naturally talented," innately knowing we could never replicate their success without that gift. I thought about writing this blog on his conclusions, but chose instead not to rob you of the opportunity to read it and challenge your own thinking because of his. He speaks of what actually makes the difference is deliberate practice. The so-called superstars never stop trying to improve in different aspects of their craft through designed, deliberate, and focused practice.

 He spoke of something that has long been understood in learning anything new; I know I've taught it for years. That is, the idea when you first try to learn something new, You start as Unconsciously Incompetent. Do you remember your first time trying to drive? You had watched others do it for years and it looked easy; you didn't know what you didn't know. When you actually tried, you quickly realized you didn't know how, so you moved to the level of Consciously Incompetent. You were then aware of what you didn't know and were open to learn. You soon became Consciously Competent, where you could do it as long as you thought about what you were doing. However, it wasn't long before you became Unconsciously Competent, where you could drive on autopilot. That is how almost all learning experiences go: Unconsciously Incompetent - Consciously Incompetent - Consciously Competent - Unconsciously Competent. Once we reach that level, we quit growing. After we get through our first year in our business lives, we may learn things occasionally as new experiences happen to us, but we no longer see real sustained growth.  The superstars learn how to remain Consciously Competent in their practice and stay engaged in learning even finer points.

 This book, fits perfectly with the ideas that Malcom Gladwell writes of in his books "The Outliers," and "David and Goliath." They remind me of mental building blocks. I recommend you experience them all to let your own mind wander to the possibilities.  There is a movie called "Vantage Point" that shows us this thought. The movie is about an assassination attempt and the director shows us the event over and over again from several characters' vantage points, showing how differently the perspectives are. Same event, very different perspectives, just like these books, looking at the same core truths from very different views.

 How many years of experience have you? What are you doing to challenge that and take ownership of your continued growth?