To Know and Not to Do....

In my recent efforts to research and write this blog, I came upon a name from my distant past...Mr. Skip Ross.You may find me quoting him along with many other authors and speakers of the last 40 years! I fear that some of theirr messages have, over the years become my own. Thus, if I fail to give credit all the time, it may be because I don't recall where I learned the concept. For example, The quote above was used often by Skip Ross over the years, but I also heard a similar quote from Stephen Covey, Buddah, other Asian philoshers, and more. Skip will readily admit that it is not his uniquely.

How many times have you heard someone talk a good game, but when it came time to perform, the disconnect between their talk and walk became evident? Have you ever taken a college-level class to learn a specific skill? Allow me to share with you a few specific examples. I am certain the list could be endless.As a much younger man I was training to be a police officer. Many of my courses were being taught by experienced law enforcement personnel, or retired specialist. One was a retired document examiner with the FBI. Some "General Ed" classes were taught by folks just out of school themselves, with NO real-world experience....just the "book learnin'" part! One such example was a required "health"class where the teacher proclaimed that having a baby was like squeazing a tube of toothpaste! A mother of five children happened to be a student in that lecture! It didn't bode well for that poor young man!

Later, on another adventure into my education, I was studying digital imaging with an instructor who had retired from that industry. Other related coursework was taught "in theory", since the instructor had no real-world experience.

Would you appreciate it if your surgeon had been trained by doctors who had never operated? The answer is painfully obvious! People can see the disconnect when someone is not able to DO what they claim to know, often to an embarrassing end!