SALES TRAINING

3 Practices To Begin To Learn How To Learn

— BY DAVE KAHLE —

WHAT MAY BE the single most important predictor of an organization’s long-term business development and survival is that organization’s ability to learn. In a world that is changing more rapidly today than at any previous time in human history, the consistent practice of learning is the only sustainable long-term strategy.

Products will come and go with increasing short life spans, advantageous relationships will ebb and flow, as will every other competitive advance. But, the ability to change and grow will stimulate an organization to the constant renewal and refocus that our changing environment demands.

That’s one of the key issues in Peter Senge’s book, The Fifth Discipline. In it, he identifies the benefits and practices of a “learning organization.” Unfortunately, the recommendations in Senge’s book are often outside of the reach of most small businesses.

Definition

By learning, I mean the ability to take in new information, formulate it into new ideas, and then put those ideas into existence. Learning, for adults on the job, always manifests as changed behavior. The individual, the team or group, and the organization as a whole has to do something differently for learning to have taken place.

For an individual, learning means the consistently applied process of exposing yourself to new ideas, then changing your behavior as a result. It’s not a one-time event, but rather a discipline that is maintained and applied forever. For example, when a salesperson develops a better question to ask in collecting information about a proposal, the issue isn’t the question, it’s the ability to continually develop better questions.

For an organization, learning means the institutionalization of practices that result in innovative products, processes and practices. It’s not the new product that’s important; it’s the ability to continually create new products.

This ability to continually change behavior, both organizationally as well as individually, is the single biggest indicator of long-term success.

The problem

Most individuals don’t value learning, and most organizations have never given it serious thought. In my work with salespeople for example, I’ve often noted that given a random selection of 20 salespeople only one in that group will have spent $25 of his/her own money on his own improvement in the last 12 months. The 5% who do invest in themselves are often the superstars, who have become that by relentless learning.

Self-Assessment

Here are five simple questions to determine the degree to which your organization values and promotes learning.

1. To what degree is learning mentioned in the company’s foundational documents (its mission values, vision statements, self-description on the webpage, etc.)?

2. To what degree does the organization reward or penalize new ideas, attempts to do things better, or risks taken, regardless of the outcomes?

3. To what degree does everyone understand that continually personal and organizational improvement is expected and rewarded within the organization?

4. How much money (expressed as a percentage of payroll) does the organization invest annually in learning experiences for its employees?

5. To what degree are individuals who refuse to learn tolerated within the organization?

Some practical ideas

The process of transforming an organization into one which learns, consistently and relentlessly, deserves more thought than this article allows. However, here are three low-budget, immediately implemental practices that will kick-start the process and bring a rich return on investment.

1. Promote the idea.

Announce over and over in every situation, that the organization and every individual in it, need to learn. Let that message become a mantra. Whenever possible, give examples, tell success stories, and recognize specific learning behaviors. You should be promoting that message so consistently and passionately that employees begin to tire of hearing it.

2. Invest in learning experiences.

A learning experience is an event in which folks are confronted with new information, ideas and insights, and encouraged to change their behavior as a result. For example:

(a) You can hold a monthly meeting dedicated to discussing a book which all of you have read and isolating two or three ideas of implementation out of it.

(b) Do the same thing with a jointly watched video or podcast.

(c) Reimburse key employees for attending seminars and require them to share good ideas from them.

(d) Hand a book to a key employee, ask him/her to read it, and then talk with him about it.

3. Model learning behavior. You can’t just talk about it and encourage others to do it. You must model what you want them to do. That means that you must read the books, watch the videos, listen to the podcasts, read the blog posts, go to the seminars, and then change your behavior in positive ways as a result. And, you must tell people what you are doing and why you are doing it.

You being a model of what an active professional learner does will go a long way to encourage and support similar behavior from the troops.

Dave Kahle is a leading sales authority who’s written 12 books, including his latest: The Good Book on Business. Reach him at davekahle.com.

WESTLAKE ADDING IN MISSOURI, KANSAS

Westlake Ace Hardware is opening a new store in Liberty, Mo., this summer; will soft-open a branch in south Lee’s Summit, Mo., by early 2024; and signed an agreement to open a new location in western Olathe, Ks., tentatively planned for December 2023.

The new 16,500-sq. ft. store in Olathe will feature 15,000 sq. ft. of retail space. Remodeling will be completed by fall 2023.

In addition to offering services such as key cutting and automotive key fob replacement, screen repair, and a propane tank exchange, the new store will sell lawn and garden supplies, fasteners, tools, plumbing, and electrical supplies.

The location will also feature several specialty departments and store-within-a-store concepts, including Paint Studio, Backyard BBQ, and Outdoor Power Equipment departments.

NATION’S BEST ADDS 2 MORE IN TEXAS

Nation’s Best, Dallas, Tx., has added B & S Hardware & Lumber in Gilmer and Pittsburg, Tx., to its expanding family of businesses.

Founded in 1950, B & S Hardware & Lumber includes the third and fourth generations of Spearman family leadership. Brothers Steve and Tim Spearman have grown the business alongside Steve’s sons, Chad and Chet, and Tim’s wife Pam. With the completion of ownership transition to Nation’s Best, Steve will retire, but the rest of the family will remain in operational roles in the two home centers.

“B & S Hardware & Lumber checks all the boxes in what we’re looking for in a partnership,” said Matt Lambert, regional VP of Nation’s Best’s South-Central Region. “They have a solid, long-term foundation of visionary family leadership. They’re sizable, well-stocked stores with a strong product mix of hardware, lumber and building materials tailored to their markets’ needs. They’re destination stores that are regularly refreshing the business to stay relevant for their many customers.”

“As we considered the future of our family business, Nation’s Best really was the right fit for us,” said the Spearmans. “Their partnership approach allows us to sell the stores with the family staying heavily involved, while also retaining the real estate, leasing it back to them over the long term. This gives us continued skin in the game while leveraging the strength of their operational best practices to grow the business. It’s a win-win.”

The two B & S Hardware & Lumber locations join 47 other Nation’s Best locations, including 17 in Texas. As part of Nation’s Best’s strategy, B & S Hardware & Lumber will maintain operations under their existing name with its key leadership team overseeing company operations alongside Nation’s Best, which will provide the strategic and financial support necessary to drive optimal growth and profitability.

OX EXPANDS SHEATING/INSULATION PLANTS

OX Engineered Products is significantly expanding its manufacturing plants in Constantine, Mi., and Charleston, Il., to meet increasing demand for its integrated structural sheathing and continuous insulation products in both residential and commercial construction.

“Increased customer demand necessitated the initiation of a capital improvement plan to bolster our manufacturing capacity,” said Todd Gluski, director of marketing. “Construction quickly and strongly rebounded after an initial pandemic-induced dip, and we are still feeling the effects of amplified demand for our products. New production lines help us manage that.”

OX added new manufacturing lines in Constantine for its ThermoPLY product, a 3-in-1 structural sheathing that includes an air barrier and a water-resistive barrier. The additional lines triple OX’s ThermoPLY production in Michigan. The organization has also invested in two automated robotic lines in Charleston, doubling the facility’s manufacturing output.

New Lumberyard Opens In Wisconsin

Lake Country Lumber, Minong, Wi., celebrated its grand opening June 12–17 with a week of events, giveaways and savings opportunities for home improvement shoppers.

“We’re really pleased with the customer response,” said store manager James Niedzielski. “Since taking over, the Minong community has been incredibly supportive, and it was great being able to return the favor with a fun, family-friendly event.”

Lake Country operates from the former quarters of Walker Lumber Do it Best.

The weeklong celebration kicked off with a vendor event: From Monday to Friday, representatives from Milwaukee and other brands were on hand to perform demonstrations and provide product education. On Saturday, the first 100 shoppers received a free gift, and everyone enjoyed a cookout and refreshments. Throughout the week, shoppers enjoyed daily drawings for buckets of various products.

The new store, a Do it Best affiliate, includes approximately 12,000 sq. ft. of products by Channellock, DeWalt and Milwaukee, as well as a large selection of grills and smokers. The Color Bar custom paint center provides customers with custom color matching and design inspiration. In all, the store offers more than 30,000 different products, with thousands more available in their warehouse.