WorldWide Drilling Resource

Ronnie’s Real World Thinking and planning are part of my everyday life, as I’m sure it is yours, whether or not you realize it. Every step you take, and move you make, is because YOU thought about it and were thinking about doing something. Right? And so, there I was thinking. I was wondering just how important is experience? What is its true value? Do you believe experienced people have a profound effect on your busi- ness success? Here are my thoughts - as usual - probably unsolicited, but here they are anyway: If you take a person who has worked in your industry for say 50 years. During those 50 years, that person has gained knowledge that cannot be put into a book form. Knowledge cannot be obtained overnight. You cannot sit next to that person for a short period of time and expect that knowledge to somehow go directly into your brain cells and voilà, you become experienced. Won’t happen! Not a chance! Now consider the effect on your company if you decide to let that person of 50 years with all that experience and knowledge go, and replace him with a younger person. So maybe, just maybe, you feel the younger person will bring new insight and vision to your company and increase its bottom line -- overnight. Won’t happen! Not a chance! What you will have and what I have seen during this past year with so many companies doing just that, is their bottom line faulters. Your prior long-time, good customers, who pay regularly, whose relationship with your now unem- ployed 50-year plus employee, decides they have no loyalty left for you since you obviously didn’t have any loyalty for that lifelong friend of theirs. This was the man they trusted to provide the goods and services they really needed and not just some “salesman” or “no-knowledge serviceman” who just wants to make a sale - needed or not by your longtime customer. This experience, knowledge, and lifelong working relationship between you and your customers doesn’t just happen because the name on the door is the same. It is cultivated over years until it blossoms into something you can be proud of. So, before you consider the “older person” is no longer needed, give it a second thought. They might just be your teacher for the younger, nonexperienced person. Of course this teaching process requires a student who is eager to learn and willing to listen. Good luck with that. If you have already headed down the wrong path - call them, and REHIRE THEM! You will both be glad you did. And that truly is... Ronnie’s Real World! God Bless You - we will see you on the trail... It’s got my head spinning! 23 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® JUNE 2016