Knowledge Is Power

By Janet Livingston (March 2009)

The English philosopher, Sir Francis Bacon, is credited with the words, "knowledge is power."  His wisdom has stood the test of time and could not be truer in these challenging economic times.  At Hendrickson Business Advisors, we firmly believe that those organizations who invest in the education of their people will emerge from this cycle with the strength and power necessary to leap ahead.  With more than $5 billion marked for training in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 signed on February 17th by President Obama, clearly our U.S. lawmakers understand the connection between learning and economic recovery too.

While employee training and development are always important, when business is booming organizations often have difficulty finding time to train their employees.  As the economy begins to slow, time constraints are often lifted and the investment in training typically grows.  The result is employees who are more knowledgeable, efficient and productive which improves the organization's strength and ability to weather the downturn.  At Hendrickson Business Advisors we are keenly aware that we must not only rely on our past experiences but also constantly seek opportunities to improve our own knowledge.  Over the past eight months, we have invested in the growth and development of our team internally via monthly leadership development meetings.  To keep things interesting we have utilized various training tools including workshops, videos, webinars and group book discussions.  Perhaps these may be good options for your business too.  Another cost effective way to offer training for your staff is through our new "Lunch and Learn" series.    Our first session, titled "Money: How to Get It, Keep It and Make It Work for You" will take place on April 7th.  You can click here to sign up.

The economy affects the education cycle as well.  As unemployment rises, enrollment in public and private educational opportunities rises.  Many unemployed workers will evaluate their skills and participate in continuing education courses to improve themselves or perhaps enroll in college to pursue a new degree and/or career path.  We are as passionate about sharing our knowledge and giving back to the community as we are about obtaining it.  Last fall we began teaching continuing education courses at Southeast Missouri State University on financial issues and understanding and working with generational differences in the workplace.  Our commitment continues this spring with three new courses.   Over the next couple of months we will have more than six different opportunities to educate the great people of Southeast Missouri on a variety of topics.  We regularly recommend and provide private training courses on a number of subjects to our clients as well.       

We hope that no matter which method you choose to educate yourself or your group, you will make the investment to empower your team with knowledge.  Please let us know if we can be of assistance.