The importance of having a culture of learning
This is my third and final post in a mini series, “What do woodworking and running a business have in common?”. The previous two posts pick up the themes of having the right tools for the job and learning from failure. This post looks at having a culture of learning, both at work and at play.
One of the nice things about my newly found hobby is that the internet has a wealth of tutorial videos, which gives the opportunity to even the most basic learner such as me to master the art of all things woodwork. And if you come across a particularly sticky problem, there are a plethora of Facebook groups where you can crowdsource tips or tricks or get guidance on where you’ve gone wrong. This presence of vast quantities of information and a network of people on hand willing to support are very powerful.
In our business, we try and instil a learning culture which follows a similar format. There is plenty of material out there for people to learn about pretty much anything. One of my colleagues frequently shares with me new things that she’s read which have helped further her thinking as a leader in the business. This provokes me to a) keep up, but also b) test my own thinking and correct it where it’s wrong. It’s like having a sparring partner for all things leadership.
One of the knock on effects of this is that I believe it encourages a spirit of humility among the leaders of the business. If we were all perfect, there wouldn’t be any need to learn; we’d have it all sorted, after all. But the reality is that we’re all imperfect, and we’re operating in a highly competitive market. So, as well as working harder than the competition, we need to have a faster, more focused approach to learning than the competition.
I hope that over the course of 2021 I’ll progress from tables, to other more sophisticated items of furniture that I dare not consider today. It’s safe to say that I won’t give up the day job just yet, but for this year I’d settle for something that is deemed worthy of a position in the living room.