It’s all about the reps

October 3, 2013

By Ray Barry, Chief Shreducation and Member Relations Officer

In sports, life and business, there is a pretty simple rule: the more we do something or the more time we spend learning something the better we get at it. Repetition is the key to retaining knowledge or to improving a skill. Something a baseball coach told me a long time ago that still sticks with me today is, “Ray, there is a simple rule, no one gets good at anything, without repetition. Now hit the bench.” It’s definitely true in baseball, golf, or any other sport but it is especially important in business and sales.

How are you doing your reps to get better at what you do or retain knowledge to make your business more profitable? According to an article in the Harvard Business Review, only 10 percent of the population has what’s called “the learning mindset.” These are the people that seek out and enjoy learning. Coincidentally, they are also the top 10 percent in their industries. The other 90 percent of the population will not look to improve their skills unless it is part of their job requirements. This is probably the reason there is mandatory continuing education for accountants, doctors, lawyers, etc. Could you imagine going to a doctor or lawyer that hasn’t learned anything new in the last 20 years? Yikes!

Our industry is one where there isn’t mandatory training. It’s a choice that you, the information destruction professional, must make to sharpen your skills and tools to enhance your resources to become the most productive you and your company can be. As my baseball coach said years ago, “You can’t get good at anything just by doing it once; it’s all about the reps!”

You can’t lose weight after one workout session. You can’t hit a curveball by taking one swing a week. You can’t hit three pointers in basketball by shooting hoops once a year. You can’t shoot an 80 on the golf course by playing once.

It’s hard to grow your business significantly without training yourself and your team. The real key to sustained growth and a master skill level is to train your staff members not only once but over and over so they retain more knowledge. Success will follow.

See you at Shred School or our new Continuing Shreducation Webinar Series! And, guess what? It’s not mandatory!