Is there still value in experience?
Yesterday I had a
conversation with Hayk, my business partner. He said that my
experience was more relevant than his. My experience encompasses
both more life (I am 20 years older) as well as more business
experience.
I did disagree with him.
Why? Because in todays 'state of the world' experience of the past is
no guarantee for the future. I am even inclined to say that what
worked in the past, will not work tomorrow. Look at the changes in
the Fortune 50 list (compared with 10 years ago) and the IPO's of new
companies like Facebook, who didn't exist 10 years ago.
There is another sort of
experience relevant now.
From a life perspective,
how experienced am I in coping with obstacles and changes (where I
live, the language, relationships, finances, health) and thus growing
as a person, as a human being. If I would have stayed in my comfort
zone throughout my life, I will not build up very relevant
experience.
From a business
perspective, relevant experience is how fast I can learn and unlearn,
how quickly can I adapt, to keep up to date on the latest
developments in the market. A synthesizing mind (the ability to
integrate ideas from different disciplines or spheres into a coherent
whole and to communicate that integration to others- Howard Gardner)
is crucial and more relevant than memorizing old experiences.
Clearly it is the type of
experience which counts. If you look at it from this perspective then
there is not so much difference between Hayk and me (as the number of
years would imply).
What is relevant is the
mindset! In Fast Company's article on Generation Flux
(http://bit.ly/x7MoTY) this
mindset embraces instability, tolerates – and even enjoys-
recalibrating careers, business models and assumptions.
So, is your experience
becoming more relevant or is it becoming obsolete?
GROW
YOUR PEOPLE, GROW YOUR BUSINESS!