Business Round Table
Continuing education?
by Cheryl Baumgartner Medical Billing/Coding/Insurance
Cheryl Baumgartner 
Medical...
I own a business, I don't need continuing education.
Nothing could be farther from the truth. All of us who own a business should be making
sure that we are actively seeking out continuing education. I find it so sad and hilarious in a way when
I speak to a business owner and they are not interested in learning. Just because you were up to date 6 months ago
does not mean you are up to date today.
You don't know what you don't know
One of my favorite examples of this is the government. Every government has some form of legislative
body. Their job is to draft and enact
laws. This is why any legislative code
is a 'living' document. It constantly
changes. What was not an issue yesterday
could very well be an issue today. Lets
use an example that most in the US can grasp OSHA.
OSHA stands for Occupational Safety and Health Act. Before 1970 this law did not exist. It was passed to promote safe working
conditions. Whenever a law like this is
passed consultants try to get the word to the business owner that the law is there
and that there are consequences.
Some business owners make it a point to keep up with current
events that may impact their business.
Other business owners when they hear that something is new take steps to
learn about it and whether or not it will impact their business. These business owners are proactive. They take the steps to be as current as
possible.
Then there are the reactive ones. Most are reactive simply because they refuse
to learn. These are the ones who sit
back and wait to see if the laws will be enforced. Their mentality is I won't do anything if I
don't have to. Then there is the
business owner who will do nothing. They
normally are very quick to tell you how long they have been running their
business and nothing has happened yet.
They believe in business as usual, nothing is going to stir them to
action unless they are forced to action.
Now to bring this back to OSHA. You have proactive business owners who either
went out of their way to learn of this new development or hearing someone mention it they were
willing to learn and take steps to prepare for the enforcement of OSHA to take
effect. Those business owners had little
to no problem with enforcement actions because they were proactive. They had taken the time to learn about
changes in their industry.
Then there were the reactive business owners. Group one saw enforcement taking place and
ending up scrambling to catch up and get things in place at a much higher cost
than the proactive business owners. Then
there was the last group. This was the
group of business as usual die-hards.
They ended up paying a much higher price because they would not do
anything until the inspectors showed up and started handing out
violations. Some of those businesses
ended up closing their doors due to fines and the cost of trying to upgrade all
of their safety measures at once.
For those who believed in education, they knew what needed
to be done long before the inspectors showed up. They had a period of time to get their
upgrades in place and spread the cost out over time. When the inspectors showed up, those owners
had things in place. Maybe there were
minor issues but the expensive ones were done.
And one more thought, they gained new clients. When XYZ company closed it?s doors due to
OSHA violations those customers had to go somewhere.
So continuing education is a must. It keeps you up to date on your
industry. It gives you a warning about
changes to come. It can save you money. When you take advantage
of that knowledge, you may be able to keep your doors open while the
competition bites the dust.
Oct 2nd 2010 15:23
Medical...I own a business, I don't need continuing education.
Nothing could be farther from the truth. All of us who own a business should be making
sure that we are actively seeking out continuing education. I find it so sad and hilarious in a way when
I speak to a business owner and they are not interested in learning. Just because you were up to date 6 months ago
does not mean you are up to date today.
You don't know what you don't know
One of my favorite examples of this is the government. Every government has some form of legislative
body. Their job is to draft and enact
laws. This is why any legislative code
is a 'living' document. It constantly
changes. What was not an issue yesterday
could very well be an issue today. Lets
use an example that most in the US can grasp OSHA.
OSHA stands for Occupational Safety and Health Act. Before 1970 this law did not exist. It was passed to promote safe working
conditions. Whenever a law like this is
passed consultants try to get the word to the business owner that the law is there
and that there are consequences.
Some business owners make it a point to keep up with current
events that may impact their business.
Other business owners when they hear that something is new take steps to
learn about it and whether or not it will impact their business. These business owners are proactive. They take the steps to be as current as
possible.
Then there are the reactive ones. Most are reactive simply because they refuse
to learn. These are the ones who sit
back and wait to see if the laws will be enforced. Their mentality is I won't do anything if I
don't have to. Then there is the
business owner who will do nothing. They
normally are very quick to tell you how long they have been running their
business and nothing has happened yet.
They believe in business as usual, nothing is going to stir them to
action unless they are forced to action.
Now to bring this back to OSHA. You have proactive business owners who either
went out of their way to learn of this new development or hearing someone mention it they were
willing to learn and take steps to prepare for the enforcement of OSHA to take
effect. Those business owners had little
to no problem with enforcement actions because they were proactive. They had taken the time to learn about
changes in their industry.
Then there were the reactive business owners. Group one saw enforcement taking place and
ending up scrambling to catch up and get things in place at a much higher cost
than the proactive business owners. Then
there was the last group. This was the
group of business as usual die-hards.
They ended up paying a much higher price because they would not do
anything until the inspectors showed up and started handing out
violations. Some of those businesses
ended up closing their doors due to fines and the cost of trying to upgrade all
of their safety measures at once.
For those who believed in education, they knew what needed
to be done long before the inspectors showed up. They had a period of time to get their
upgrades in place and spread the cost out over time. When the inspectors showed up, those owners
had things in place. Maybe there were
minor issues but the expensive ones were done.
And one more thought, they gained new clients. When XYZ company closed it?s doors due to
OSHA violations those customers had to go somewhere.
So continuing education is a must. It keeps you up to date on your
industry. It gives you a warning about
changes to come. It can save you money. When you take advantage
of that knowledge, you may be able to keep your doors open while the
competition bites the dust.
Oct 2nd 2010 15:23
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Comments
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Cheryl Baumgartner
Medical Billing/Coding/InsuranceThat is so true. Since I'm Working with FACTA and ID Theft consulting it is amazing to me that for every business owner that 'sees' it, you'll come across 10 times as many blind ones. And you called it right in every aspect of business there is always something new to learn. Oct 2nd 2010 15:38 |
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Dawie Bezuidenhout
Systems Engineer I.T.Cheryl, i love the topics you cover. I have realised this the hard way, running my own business since 2002. A couple of years ago i should have declared bankruptcy according to my Bank. Fortunately i was given excellent advice and i dug myself out of the hole i found myself in. I realised that the business world evolves all the time, and through self developement and following the advice of experts in my field, i changed from being a know it all into a student, and i'm proud of the fact. APSense have been a rich source of educational material for me as well, and even though my main business is offline, i learned a great deal here and still do daily, and i apply it in my business with great success. Learning new skills and techniques have become second nature, and when someone shares their knowledge with me, it surely makes me a better person, personal and professional. My Grandfather used to say "the day when you stop learning, is the day you stop living" thats translated from Afrikaans but it sounds right. Today i grasp the importance of those words. Once again a great post Cheryl. Oct 2nd 2010 16:47 |
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Cheryl Baumgartner
Medical Billing/Coding/InsuranceI think one of the problems with business owners is that they get "King of the World" Syndrome. Because they own a business they think they know it all. That's a falsehood. Kings, presidents etc have a cabinet or advisors to assist them with what they don't know. Take a mechanic. A good mechanic knows cars, but that doesn't mean when he open the doors to his auto repair shop he knows business. If his business is going to survive he's going to have to learn how to run that business successfully. That means learning from someone who does know. Oct 2nd 2010 17:00 |
Good topic Cheryl. Also nice choice for an example, I was in that business so I know some people will wait to lose money or some times tragically when someone is seriously hurt or worse. Whether it's marketing, safety or any other business - there is always something new to learn, the choice is easy way (proactive) or hard way (reactive)
Oct 2nd 2010 15:31