[pianotech] The value of continuing education

[tnrwim at aol.com]

That's great information. Thanks for sharing, Dave. 

Wim 



 



-----Original Message-----
From: David Renaud <drjazzca at gmail.com>
To: pianotech <pianotech at ptg.org>
Sent: Tue, Jul 24, 2012 11:52 am
Subject: [pianotech] The value of continuing education


    Just googling the value of continuing education yields pretty consistent results from a 
Multitude of witnesses. It is generally true that the most successful companies, the most 
Profitable, growing, dynamic businesses consistently spend a significant percentage of their
Budget on training and development. 
  
The most successful piano technicians I have met for the most part have some common 
Characteristics, one of which is a hunger and willingness to invest in seeking out what is possible and 
develop more. These same people seem to be most happy and rewarded by their trade.


   Here are a couple random clips cut and paste from the testimony of a couple companies. 



   Loud cheers to all those that take up the challenge to seek out, explore, invest, and pass it on. 


                                                         Dave Renaud














Training increases worker productivity. Just a 2-percent increase in productivity has been shown to net a 100 percent return on investment in training (source: "The 2001 Global Training and Certification Study," CompTIA and Prometric).
Motorola calculated that every dollar spent on training yields an approximate 30 percent gain in productivity within a three-year period. Motorola also used training to reduce costs by over $3 billion and increase profits by 47 percent (source: Tim Lane et al., "Learning to Succeed in Business with Information Technology," Motorola).










Firms that invest $1,500 per employee in training compared with those that spend $125 experience an average of 24 percent higher gross profit margins and 218 percent higher revenue per employee (source: Laurie J. Bassi et al., "Profiting From Learning: Do Firms' Investments in Education and Training Pay Off?" American Society for Training and Development, 2000).
The Cheesecake Factory, one of the most successful restaurant chains in the nation, spends about $2,000 per employee for training each year and reaps sales of $1,000 per square foot—more than twice the industry average.
























Sent from my iPad

On 2012-07-24, at 5:16 PM, Duaine Hechler <dahechler at att.net> wrote:




Furthermore, visit my website of the restored player piano pictures and see how many aspects would be taught at conventions.

http://www.hechlerpianoandorgan.com/rest_players.html

Duaine

On 07/24/2012 04:13 PM, Duaine Hechler wrote:

I swear - some of you are as dumb as a door nail - and - how many times do I have to say it - how many classes do I need to take that include player pianos and reed organs.



Voicing the Vertical Piano (Fred Sturm) - don't really need for antique players - the clientele just wants them to PLAY.

Vertical Regulation - Max Results in Minimum Time  (Kawai with Don Mannino) - Possible - but - how many ways can you regulate the same items - and - more importantly, what kind of regulation would benefit the mechanical aspects of an antique player piano ?

Vertical Regulation Plus (Hailun / Keith Bowman and Mike Carraher) - Possible - but - what kind of regulation that would help antique players

Everything Upright (Paul Rea) - Possible - but - I've run into almost every possible problem with antique players



And we had a stellar offering of classes that were not specific to grands or verticals, on topics such as:

Business - Possible - although have been mentored by a 30+ year veteran of the business

Health - Possible - although my doctor takes priority

Tuning - use an ETD exclusively with some aural tuning checks

Refinishing - Not my line of work - farm it out - although I know enough for the basics.

Keytops - Possible - although how many ways can you accomplish the same thing - and - any classes for antique ivory keys ?

ETDs - Possible - although, I know the basics of Cybertuner to produce a very good tuning for my kind of clientele

Restringing - Already know the basics however will probably never be done for antique players

Exam Prep - Don't need - probably will never take the exams - what exams are geared to antique players



If you haven't noticed, there was a reoccurring type of piano listed.



So, PLEASE, everyone STOP telling me how to run my business - and - these almost useless conventions.



Thank you, Duaine



On 07/24/2012 12:11 PM, Mark Purney wrote:


On 7/17/2012 10:45 PM, Duaine Hechler wrote:



1) At least 95% of my profit goes back out in supplies.






Anything you spend on supplies can't be considered "profit" in the first place. But if you're saying 95% of the money you collect from clients is going back into supplies, then something is wrong. Somewhere along the line, you made the same mistake that many technicians make:  You set aside continued education in order to focus on working, with the notion that later on it will somehow be easier to bring education back into the routine.  It's like saying, "I've got to get to my destination, so there's no time to change the oil, stop for gas, or check the tire pressure." And then you find yourself stuck on the side of the road, working on the pianos nobody else in your area wants to touch, and making no profit. Don't blame the PTG. Don't blame the pianos. Don't blame the clients. Don't blame the other technicians in your area. If you aren't where you want to be, there is only one person responsible for that.





Continued education is critically important to the success of the piano technician. The PTG offers lots of great educational opportunities, but the National Convention & Technical Institute is the biggest B12 injection that you can get for your piano service career. It's not just the technical knowledge gained that makes it so worthwhile. The business classes, alone, can be life-changing. Just being able to spend a week socializing with some of the world's best and brightest technicians can positively impact the way you approach your own attitude and business methods. The Convention is also a retreat, where you can step back from the daily grind of running the business long enough to look at the big picture. This enables you to discover what you're doing right, what you're doing wrong, and see yourself and your business in a new light. It's recharging your batteries for another year, to go back to work with an excitement over how you're going to apply everything to achieve a new level of excellence in your work and reach a higher income.





Sometimes you need to spend money to make money. Some never go because they view the hotel, airfare and registration as simply too expensive. I view it as the best possible investment you can make in yourself and your business every year, with the highest returns. The regional conventions are fantastic, too. And it's silly to not attend chapter meetings, because the only cost is a little gasoline and one evening every month.















6) Finally, as I have said my times before, the organization is geared towards Grands - and - clients with lots of money to spend.









That statement is complete Nonsense! In case anyone thinks there is truth to Duaine's negativity and excuses for not continuing his own education, note the following information:





In Seattle we had five or six classes that you could say were specifically grand-oriented, but there is also a large demand for grand-oriented classes. In fact, most PTG members service both grands and uprights, and both are incredibly important to the work we do. This is why we also had four classes just for upright servicing:





Voicing the Vertical Piano (Fred Sturm)


Vertical Regulation - Max Results in Minimum Time  (Kawai with Don Mannino)


Vertical Regulation Plus (Hailun / Keith Bowman and Mike Carraher)


Everything Upright (Paul Rea)





And we had a stellar offering of classes that were not specific to grands or verticals, on topics such as:


Business


Health


Tuning


Refinishing


Keytops


ETDs


Restringing


Exam Prep





And not to forget the dedicated crew of examiners who helped members achieve RPT or get much closer to doing so.


























-- 
Duaine Hechler
Piano, Player Piano, Pump Organ
Tuning, Servicing&  Rebuilding
Reed Organ Society Member
Florissant, MO 63034
(314) 838-5587
dahechler at att.net
www.hechlerpianoandorgan.com
--
Home&  Business user of Linux - 11 years



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