My grandkids went back to school last month, and after having a very active summer, I asked them if they were looking forward to going back to school. They both agreed that they were, and when I asked why, some of the answers surprised me.
I expected to hear that they were looking forward to seeing old friends that they had not stayed in touch with over the summer. They were a bit apprehensive about meeting their new teachers and what the next grade had in store for them. But at the same time they were looking forward to learning something new.
I thought that their insights could be useful for all of us in business as teachable moments.
- Going back to see old friends – When was the last time you called up a long-standing customer you haven’t talked to for some time to see how they are doing and thank them for their business?
- Apprehension on meeting new people – What are your new challenges? Is it calling on some new key potentials or joining a professional group that would help improve your job skills?
- New challenges – What are your goals to learn something new? Get active in a LinkedIn group, take an online course or go to a seminar that will help you do your job better.
I guess the key, to me, is we should never stop learning.
I know with all the things in both our personal, as well as professional lives, it’s sometimes hard, but I think we need to step back occasionally and re-evaluate what we’re doing.
What are you doing to challenge yourself?
