Old School Works in the New School

I’m finally reading The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason; yes, I know I’m the last one on the planet to read it. I’m only about 40 pages in and I can already tell it’s chalked full of wisdom. Have we heard them in the last 10 to 15 years? Yes. However, the way age old wisdom explains and instructs just clicks. Isn’t that the case though with most of the Old School Wisdom in the office?

There is a small group of “old school” staff who don’t want change, refuse to help with anything and don’t share their knowledge. However, there is a bigger portion of the “old school” staff who are all about change. Not that they are more adaptable than most, but they like being an intricate part of the past to assist in moving the company towards the future. They are able to explain what things were tried in the past, sometimes the new ideas have actually been tried before, and this time they are able to say what part of the new ideas didn’t work before and why; the why is important in any after incident report. Sadly, in years past no one felt the need to document the failures in a way to assist anyone down the road. This makes the “old school” staff even more vital to the full picture of how the company got to where it is.

It’s funny how those stories they tell waiting for the meeting to start or at the holiday party, if listened to, can be the key to moving forward with new processes and procedures. So the next time the “old school” staff is speaking don’t roll your eyes, instead quiet your boredom and listen intently they may be sharing the key to YOUR bright new idea. Can you say Promotion?