I learned in first grade that one plus one equals two. But, that's not the
right equation when counting work experience. We often think we're building
experience to help us get ahead. In reality, we're passing time. Ten years
working like a cloned Bill Murray in Groundhog Day is not ten years worth of
experience. Doing the same thing again and again yields an experience
formula more like: ten times one equals one.

I used to equate years of work with years of experience. No more. I learned
by making plenty of hiring and promotion mistakes in twenty years of
management the two are not equal. Neither are years of work and performance.
Doing something for five, ten or twenty years doesn't make you automatically
five, ten or twenty years better than when you started. I've been cooking
for thirty years but I remain a mediocre cook.

Two or three years involved with a business start-up or a new project might
provide more growth and knowledge than ten years in a stable venue. And it
might not. Gaining experience is more about you and your approach than
anything else.

Recurring work events can be predictable, boring, and unchallenging ways of
passing years at work if what you're doing is updating last year's memo,
tweaking last year's budget, or fine-tuning last years goals without
applying innovation, analysis or critical thinking. Retiring on the job is
as prolific as spam and will get you as blocked as those unwanted emails.

I've found the difference between people who are winning at working and
people who aren't, is the difference between passing another year at work
and gaining another year of work experience. Those who build their
experience build their futures. And, you can build experience without
changing jobs.

Building experience is about the depth, diversity, challenges and learning
you gain by offering the best of who you are at work. It's about seizing and
creating opportunities. And it's about continual self-improvement and
constant self-feedback.

You know you're gaining experience when you problem solve your own mistakes;
learn to use knowledge building blocks to handle more complex issues; make
contributions more valuable than the year before; acquire new skills by
venturing outside a comfort zone; embrace new ideas or technologies; or
recognize you don't know as much as you thought you did as you begin to see
a bigger picture.

People who try new things, push the envelope, pitch ideas, offer innovative
problem solving, take accountability, and never stop learning and making a
difference, are people gaining experience and building their work future.

(c) 2004 Nan S. Russell.  All rights reserved.

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Nan Russell has spent over twenty years in management, most recently with
QVC as a Vice President. She has held leadership positions in Human Resource
Development, Communication, Marketing and line Management. Nan has a B.A.
from Stanford University and M.A. from the University of Michigan. Currently
working on her first book, Winning at Working: 10 Lessons Shared, Nan is a
writer, columnist, small business owner, and on-line instructor. Visit
www.nanrussell.com or contact Nan at info@nanrussell.com.