Business growth beyond sales and marketing - Accelerate Business Group

Not long ago I overheard two businessmen speaking. One guy repeatedly reminded his colleague of his near 30 years experience.  The conversation became comical as longevity became the basis for being right. One man had 30 years experience, the other 20.  An extra ten years on the job makes you smarter than the other person. Right?

Longevity is an interesting thing. You’d think (and hope) that doing something longer makes you better.  Maybe it does.  Better than you were before, but not necessarily better than others.  That may be the problem with longevity as it relates to experience, longer doesn’t mean better or best.  Longer just means longer.

Years of experience are important, but it needs to be put in context.  It’s conceivable 40 years experience could be less valuable than 10 years or even five.  Hanging around for a long time alone is not a good indication of value, competence, or ability.  You have to put it all in perspective and value its relevance.

Where am I going with this?

You see a lot of businesses proudly declare their longevity -  businesses often proudly proclaim 20 Years Experience.  It sounds good on the surface, but what does it really mean?  Why should I be impressed with years of experience?  Are 20 year old businesses inherently better than comparable businesses open for only 10 years?  Maybe.  Or mybe not. 

Years of experience is likely something we should care about.  Something meant in a different way, but poorly worded. 

Companies who claim longevity most likely want to convey the feeling of success earned and expected as a result of their years of experience - number of satisfied customers, certifications, variety of projects, number of problems solved, number of opportunities created, amount of money made, volume of business, etc.  But merely saying 20 Years Experience doesn’t mean anything.

It would be nice if the oldest person or business were the smartest, most accomplished, highest value, and best reasoned.  It would make electing a President hiring a CEO, and investing in your 401K a lot easier.  But it doesn’t work that way.

You and I need to remain mindful that while our years of experience are valuable, we can’t rest on the fact that we have 20 Years Experience, the world doesn’t owe us anything for it.  Instead, we need to define that value and put a face on what makes our longevity beneficial to our customers. 

What do you think?