Daily Mood Quote

 

Daily Mood Quote

Day 86 – July 28, 2011

“Experience is the name everyone gives to his mistakes.”

~Oscar Wilde

Yesterday, while out running errands (paying bills, picking up medications, life stuff...), I came across a young woman who taught me a very valuable lesson, in a short period of time. Once again, I embarrassed myself. I made an assumption based on what I heard, without processing all the facts. I did not hear this from someone else, I don't pay attention to gossip, because gossip is poison. What I heard was the sound of a young woman's voice and what I perceived to be a lovely British accent. I couldn't have been more wrong. I failed to look at the bigger picture and focused on what I heard, instead of what was right in front of me. The young woman was riding in a motorized service cart and she had two small crutches in the service cart basket. It never occurred to me that something more was going on.

When I complimented her on her lovely “British” accent, at first she said, “Thank you” and as we continued to talk, I shared with her that my children enjoy talking in “British” accents. She smiled and informed me that she was not British. I was speechless (I know hard to believe, right?). Anyway, she continued to share with me, her accent comes from a stroke she had and how the stroke affected the muscles in her face, changing the way she speaks. She reminded me that you don't have to be old to have something like this happen to you. She was in her thirties when her stroke occurred. Yet, she was very polite and patient with my ignorance. I apologized for being oblivious and for making an assumption without looking at the bigger picture. She took my hand, shook it, smiled at me and said "No problem." What a classy lady, she took the time to educate and forgive me. We exchanged goodbye pleasantries and I walked away, red faced and a little wiser for having met this extraordinary woman.

In the movie Top Gun, Viper (played by Tom Skerritt) counsels Maverick (Tom Cruise) about Goose's (Anthony Edwards) death, “A good pilot is compelled to evaluate what's happened – And apply what he's learned.” So too in our day-to-day lives, it is very easy to assume things and make mistakes we are embarrassed by. They are "experiences" and are how we learn. Bishop W. C. Magee said, “The man who makes no mistakes does not usually make anything.” It's always been our family mantra to “think before you speak” now that has an addendum; be sure of the facts and look at the bigger picture.

What "facts" will you see before you speak today?

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Daily Mood Quote - June 16, 2011

Daily Mood Quotes

Day 43 – June 16, 2011

Do you know the difference between education and experience? Education is when you read the fine print; experience is what you get when you don't.  

~Pete Seeger

So, I watched the CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley on Tuesday, and the subject was the high unemployment rate among people over the age of 50. One gentleman said, he had an employer tell him, “You have the experience, the education, the knowledge and skills, if only you were 25 years younger.” Therefore the gentleman did not get the job. Can anyone say EEOC law suit? My husband who is over 50, just shook his head and said, “That's it for me.” This has been sticking in my craw ever since.

I wonder if employers understand that saving the nickel in salary can cost them dollars. The difference between youth and experience is a hard lesson that human resources personnel will have to face when inexperience creeps through the door, all shiny and new and kicks them in the backside. There will be more mistakes, less careful planning, more ticked-off customers... the list goes on and on. I'm not saying don't hire young people, but to overlook older, more experienced people can ultimately cost the company, as it pays the price of gaining experience. Those are statistical facts. We as a nation, have a misconception that younger is brighter, bigger is better and for some of us, that may be the case, but eventually there is a high price to pay. Lets face it, even in sports, where youth supposedly is golden, who would you want coming to bat for you in a tight game Derek Jeeter, (Paul Konerko for you White Sox fans), or some rookie that may have batted .350 in AAA ball? Yes, you need to hire youth and develop talent, but experience is what wins championships. Just ask Kurt Warner (then age 37 + ancient by NFL standards) who took a youthful Arizona Cardinals to the Super Bowl in 2009. After a series of rookie mistakes on both offense and defense, they were defeated by a very experienced Pittsburgh Steeler team. But, I digress into sports analogies, I apologize. The point is that experience is an ally, not a foe and many companies are suffering from a brain drain they may not be able to recover from.

In the movie Top Gun, Goose played by Anthony Edwards said to Tom Cruise (Maverick), “The defense department regrets to inform you that your sons are dead because they were stupid.” This is a classic example of the value of experience. So, when we turn away an experienced potential employee, because we think they are too old, we are turning away a valuable resource that could help our companies succeed on the business battlefields.

How will you view “experience” today?

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Thank you for reading