Continuing Education Sharpens Your Competitive Edge
 I recently proposed having mandatory continuing education requirements for our local home builders association. Our state currently does not require it and I was not sure how well my proposal would be received locally.
To test the waters, last year I briefly mentioned making education mandatory to some people and they told me it would be very difficult to pass. Our HBA is fairly large ― 700 members— and, just like many other organizations, there is politics involved in one way or another. So, rather than just throwing continuing education on the membership via the board when I was ready to formally propose the concept to my association, I began by first talking to various committees and members. By introducing it this way, I gradually started getting a great deal of positive response. In fact, I received only four or five negative comments about the proposal. In April, it came before our board of directors for a vote and passed. We will be starting our program in 2006. If your state does not require continuing education, you should probably follow my path and get your local HBA to start a similar program. Now, I know that those of you reading this article, and those of you who read Nation’s Building News regularly, are probably not the ones in need of more education. You go the extra step to stay informed and know first hand the benefits of continuing education. But too many other people and companies do not realize how beneficial education is. Right now, there are many people out there who don’t understand the basics of their finances, marketing, estimating or even sales. That’s why mandatory requirements make sense. They force people to take classes. Once they start taking classes, they’ll begin to see the benefits. Mandatory continuing education also is an excellent way to start raising the bar of professionalism in our industry. Take the lead in your organization, but be careful how you first present it. Start slowly, realize there may be some resistance ― but stress the benefits. Don’t let negativity win. Continuing education will raise our industry’s image and help improve those who work in it. You may believe to the contrary, but I don’t see continuing education as a way of weakening my competitive advantage. No, I see it as a way for other people to rise to our company’s level ― and I have no trouble competing effectively on a level playing field. Imagine competing with people who are not out there low-balling prices, people who actually understand how and what it takes to run a business, and you will understand what I mean. That’s something I can easily imagine, and I hope our continuing education makes it happen. Erik Anderson, CGB, GMB, CAPS, is vice president of Anderson-Moore Builders, Inc. in Winston-Salem, N.C. He also currently serves as vice president of the Home Builders Association of Winston-Salem. For more information, contact Anderson via e-mail. | 
