WHY is it that of two men who are
working at the same desk or bench
the one acquires valuable experience
rapidly and the other slowly?
Why is it that of two houses each employing
a thousand men the one sees its employees
securing experiences that enhance their earning
capacity rapidly, but the other house is
compelled periodically to secure new blood by
importing men from rival firms?
Modern psychology teaches that experience
is not merely the best teacher but the only
possible teacher. All that any instructor can
do is to select and to provide the conditions
necessary for appropriate experiences and to
stimulate the learner to make the most of
them. The ignorant is changed into the learned
by means of the utilization of profitable
experiences. By the same method the novice is
changed into the expert; the amateur into the
professional; the inefficient into the efficient;
and the errand boy into the manager.
One of the most important questions any
man can ask is this: What experience am I
actually getting from day to day and what experience
might my situation offer?
One of the most important questions the
employer of men can ask is this: How much
more efficient will my men be to-morrow because
of the experience of to-day? How
might their experience be changed or utilized
so that their efficiency might be increased
more rapidly?
In planning to secure permanent increase in
efficiency, whether for one's self or for one's
employees, we simplify our problem by considering
it under the two following subdivisions:—
What Experiences are Most Valuable?
How may these Most Valuable Experiences
be Secured and Utilized?
Preparatory to the answering of these two
questions it will simplify matters to consider
the general conditions which affect the value
of experience.
