Learn From Your Peers

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Improving Technical Productivity

PRODUCT ENGINEERING - R&D - I T - SCIENTIFIC

Learn From Your Peers

Gary C. Hinkle - President, Auxilium, Inc.

We recently took a trip to Europe. It was not really a vacation, it was more of an "adventure." My wife and I traveled with our two teenagers and my sister-in-law, and it was much like National Lampoon’s European Vacation – but that’s another story. We traveled by car and toured many miles of roads, especially in Italy.

This was my first trip to Italy, and before we traveled I didn’t think I’d really enjoy that country, other than a few famous sites. It turns out that I liked Italy more than any other part of our journey. The food, the scenery, and the history were all fantastic, but most valuable is what I learned from the Italian people, and from the workings of their society.

Apparently, it’s impossible to find bad coffee in Italy. Here in the Northwest we are known for our coffee, but it’s still easy to find BAD coffee. Grab one from a convenience store and chances are it will not resemble what the corner coffee shop is serving. But pull off the road into an Italian “Autogrill” (convenience store chain) and for one Euro you’ll get an espresso drink that rivals the best coffee in the U.S., and you’ll get it fast! Same at other “low-end” stores. U.S. business people can learn from the Italians about how to make really good coffee fast and cheap.

Another thing I discovered is that Italian roads and drivers are superior to U.S. roads and drivers. Their Autostrada freeway system is impressive. The roads are VERY smooth, so driving at about 130 mph (legal in some places) feels like 70 mph on a “smooth” road here. In a week of driving the Autostrada around the northern three-fourths of Italy, we saw just one accident on the freeway.

In the crowded Italian cities driving was at first intimidating, but we soon learned that Italians drive with great skill. They drive heads-up, hands on the wheel. No cell phones, no eating, no fiddling with the radio. When in their cars, they just drive. In a week of city driving, again, we witnessed just one accident. Amazing considering the amount of traffic. The U.S. government can learn from the Italians about building roads, and U.S. drivers should learn driving skills from Italian instructors.

There were several other impressive qualities about the Italian people that will stick with me perhaps for life. Upon returning from Europe and reflecting on what I learned, including those National Lampoon moments, one of the most valuable lessons is to learn from peers.

A recent survey indicated that learning from peers is how nearly 50% of on-the-job training is obtained. Learning from peers is not a new concept for me, but this method of learning isn’t always in the forefront of my mind. Many of us typically look to elders, teachers, gurus, leaders, and others who have known expertise in a certain area when we seek to increase our knowledge - but valuable lessons can be learned from anyone.

My younger brother, Bill, is a good example. When we talk, I try to avoid talking about business because there are so many other interesting and important things to discuss. But usually we discuss work at least a little bit. Bill’s background is in a field totally unrelated to what I do, but virtually every time we talk Bill has a great suggestion related to my business. I should probably not avoid discussing business when talking with my brother.

When I coach clients about building rapport, I hear lots of excuses about why it’s so difficult. My suggestions include reserving time specifically for getting to know people, scheduling 1-on-1 meetings, and going to lunch – and I encourage people to discuss things other than “work.”

There are many benefits gained from doing this, but learning about things not directly related to work often leads to knowledge that can be applied to work. For example, in a casual conversation two peers discovered that they shared an interest in guitar playing. Over time they shared knowledge that helped each other become better players. They introduced each other to people within the company who shared their interest in music, so their business network grew through the common denominator of music.

Eventually one of the two guitar players became very bored with his job, but he was fortunate to learn about an excellent opportunity within the company through the network of musicians. It was not an advertised job, so he wouldn’t have known about it without the network that started by talking about guitar playing. The associate who pointed out this opportunity also provided valuable advice about how to be successful in the new role.

I could go on for hours citing examples about people learning from unexpected sources, but I’m sure you get the picture. If you’re not already doing so, make time to build rapport with peers and learn from them. You never know where a conversation will lead, and the “adventure” is much of what makes conversation interesting.

Peer Mentoring: A Practical Approach to Knowledge Transfer

1-day Workshop