The Learning Curve

Spray Foam Advisor is a training and education resource after all, so let’s talk about the four phases of the learning curve.

Before we get into that, I want to share a story with you.

I learned how to drive when I was a teenager, probably a lot like you.

My dad and mom took turns taking me into empty parking lots to show me the basics and when they got fed up with me, I signed up for a driver’s education class that lasted a couple of weeks.

I didn’t have a car or a license, so I walked to the driver’s education class; what choice did I have?

After a month of practice and completing the class, I passed the driving test and finally got my license.

Huzzah!!! I was licensed to drive but I didn’t have a car.

Luckily, my mom let me use her car from time to time, a blue 1990 Lincoln Town Car, so I did occasionally get to drive around with my friends, it looked a lot like this:

We always called it “The Boat”, it was almost 20 feet long, but it rode smooth.

I had my license, I could legally drive, but controlling this behemoth was not an easy task.

One time I veered too far to the right, the front right tire jumped the curb, I barely felt it at all, remember this car rode smooth. So I’m riding on the curb, trying to get control of this monstrous vehicle and I plow into a bus stop post, completely uprooting it. Fortunately, no one was hurt, not even a mark on the car, that’s the kind of beast this thing was. 

Another time, during the winter, I was making a quick run to the store and the roads had frozen over. In Texas, we do not get a lot of snow, instead we get thin layers of ice on the road, which can create driving havoc, and I got firsthand experience of this when I was sixteen.

I pulled out of the neighborhood, turning left, and I must have given it too much gas, the back wheels lost traction and I kept spinning. I spun all the way around, I was facing the wrong direction, with oncoming traffic headed straight at me and my short life flashing before my eyes… YIKES!

Luckily the two cars headed at me changed lanes and went around me, then I was able to get off of the road and catch my breath.

The point of these stories is even though I was trained and licensed, I was still learning.

And while learning how to drive, I went through four distinct phases of learning.

• Unconscious Incompetence
• Conscious Incompetence
• Conscious Competence
• Unconscious Competence

Unconscious incompetence is when you don’t know what you don’t know. I was in this phase before I cared about driving, before driving was on my radar. Driving had to become important to me before I would go to the next phase of learning.

I transitioned to conscious incompetence when driving started to matter to me and I wanted to learn. I knew that I didn’t know how to drive, I had to gain the knowledge and build my skill, so I worked with others that had done it before.

I transitioned to conscious competence after I got trained and licensed. I had learned the knowledge and developed the skills, but it required intense focus. I had to be present in the moment, pay attention to what I was doing and be very intent about each action that I took.

Finally, I transitioned to unconscious competence after lots of practice. Today, I drive without thinking about it, it is second nature and I haven’t had an accident in more than 10 years… knock on wood.

When you, your employees or your customers learn something new, you also go through these same four phases as you climb the learning curve. To get to the top of your game, and stay at the top, you and your team need a process for continuous learning and getting better.

Stay tuned as we continue to discuss the interesting world of spray foam insulation.

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