Experience is the best teacher

Experience is the best teacher

Experience is the best teacher. Every one of us has experienced this (pun intended!) and we all know it's true.

And yet too often, when it comes to database training, we think we can place staff in front of a trainer, have the trainer show the class how to do something, and expect the staff to go off and do it.

The best teacher is experience, which means the staff has to experience the process they're being trained on. They need to have their hands on the computer keyboard and they need to be working right along with the trainer.

The same is true after go-live of a new system. The only way staff really learns to use the system is to use the system. And after working with the system, having regular meetings with internal users to discuss how the system is or isn't working and what changes should be made to improve effectiveness.

The best way to learn is to experience what you're learning.

Wes's Wednesday Wisdom Archives

Don’t forget, your staff have day jobs…

February 18, 2026

Don’t forget, your staff have day jobs… The vast majority of my work is finite […]

Beware the automated “How did we do?” trap!

February 11, 2026

Beware the automated “How did we do?” trap! One of the downsides of technology is […]

Hindsight is 20/20

February 4, 2026

Hindsight is 20/20 I’m currently working with a client that is moving from their legacy […]

Cheaper now; costlier later.

January 28, 2026

Cheaper now; costlier later. Most of my clients are very cost-conscious, understandably. After all, who […]

The unified shopping cart: Dreams vs. reality

January 21, 2026

The unified shopping cart: Dreams vs. reality One of the more common requests I hear […]

Don’t forget to celebrate!

January 14, 2026

Don’t forget to celebrate! Truth be told, I’m not a big celebrator. (Maybe it’s because […]

Three thoughts on duplicate records

January 7, 2026

Three thoughts on duplicate records Duplicate records are a reality in any database of any size, […]

Please don’t do this…

December 17, 2025

Please don’t do this… I’ve noticed a trend among online retailers that I want to […]

AI is perpetually patient

December 10, 2025

AI is perpetually patient My friend and colleague Noel Shatananda of fusionSpan was providing me some […]

User adoption is (almost) all that matters…

December 3, 2025

User adoption is (almost) all that matters… I was speaking with an association recently about their […]

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top