THE HUMAN FACTOR

At CRN, we hear a lot of frustration from applicators that often boils down to the 'blame game'. When problems occur on jobs and money is at stake, often it is difficult to hear the words "applicator error!" ESPECIALLY when an applicator believes they have spent a lot of money to be trained and it all worked so perfectly and easily when they started!

As you can imagine, this puts us all in potentially awkward conversations because everyone who understands the nature of entering a new line of business knows that there is a learning curve and that much of that learning comes from 'experience' - Sometimes good experience. and other times not so good.

We want you to clearly understand that CRN is of the opinion that virtually ALL reputable manufacturer sponsored training programs are good! Most problems are NOT directly linked to training knowledge, but rather lack of experience! Manufacturer sponsored training programs are headed by some of the most professional and experienced trainers available in our industry! The problem lies within the fundamentals and frailty of the HUMAN condition: the learning curve and the ability to incorporate acquired knowledge to a specific task. The repetition of such actions is gingerly referred to as experience!

We recommend that you attend the training program offered by any reputable manufacturer and distributor of concrete resurfacing products. Choose your company carefully and learn from the experts who have the most experience with that product! Any single piece of information you receive from ANY source can make (or most likely SAVE) you thousands of dollars! The cost of training is only an issue until you have experienced the cost of NOT Training! (I bet there are lots of heads nodding.)

Let's revise a few facts:

1. Science tells us that we have to be exposed to the same thing at LEAST 7 times and in 7 different ways to learn it, AND, for information to become habitual and available knowledge, it is suggested to take a minimum of 18 times! Our minds can only imbed a certain amount of the information each time and while we may 'know' something, it may still not be usable information to make us a professional!

2. Many of us can painfully recall that we thought we learned it well the first time out, only to admit that it took us the next 6 jobs and consequential failures to truly comprehend the value of 'training' and the related cost to insufficient knowledge! The learn-by-your-mistakes curve can test your patience and the depth of your pockets much more than formal and organized training sessions.

3. Nobody, I mean NOBODY can enter a class for 2-3 days, or even a week and leave there transformed from a novice to a professional. However, we leave our first training session with absolute confidence and enthusiasm! We're excited, full of new ideas and knowledge to demonstrate. Having particles of information embedded randomly and manuals to refer to, leaves us with the false sense of security that we have all the tools we need - of course most of us look at this information as we would a map KNOWING we're not lost!

4. THE GAME! Ever play the game 'Gossip' as a kid? You remember: it's where someone starts a simple sentence at one end of a line of kids, which is repeated from one kid to the other, until it reaches the end. The last kid then announces the sentence to the group, and it would always be totally different from the originating sentence! It is probably the greatest example of the deficiency in training and in the exchange of information. Sometimes, what you KNOW you heard from that trainer, and subsequently passed on to your crew, can be very DIFFERENT from what will bring you the intended end result! And guess what. NOBODY is trying to do the wrong thing.

Folks, the BUCK stops with YOU! You are responsible for your own business, your own product knowledge and your own industry knowledge! And you are responsible to make certain that your workforce is well trained if you intend to benefit from the incredible opportunity that exists in the concrete repair and resurfacing industry. There are MANY good companies with good products and YOUR intent to succeed in being the best applicator you can be is entirely dependent on YOU!

The Concrete Resurfacing Network (CRN) encourages you to embrace KNOWLEDGE! Acquire the skills and tools to properly understand ALL of the modules needed to run a successful concrete resurfacing business:

 Job estimating
 Customer facts and relations
 Contract verbiage
 Job scheduling
 Proper definition of a given scope of work
 Labor management practices
 Worker incentives
 Site preparation
 Substrate Stabilization™
 Detailed product understanding and methods of application

There are many training programs available from reputable companies, and the choices are limited to your specific needs, likes, and limitations.

CRN offers some of the most powerful training tools available with complete Illustrated Manual training sets, and will soon introduce its complete DVD training library, based on live workshops.

Reinforce your skills, brush up on forgotten details, sharpen your knowledge, and provide consistency of knowledge to your crews. Our DVDs cover all aspects of Concrete Repair and Resurfacing, as well as complete Decorative Resurfacing Techniques and ideas. Please note however, that there is NO substitute for actual hands on or On the Job training!

Arm yourself with the tools of knowledge and two decades of concrete resurfacing application experience! Take advantage of CRN's chosen application 'methods specific' training programs in order to gain the greatest benefit from the experience of some of the most advanced professionals and pioneers in this industry.

Whether you choose to attend one of CRN's hands on training sessions OR a reputable system manufacturer of your choice, take advantage of the experts who possess the knowledge you seek, and the experience you will gain. Be prepared to have an action plan for transferring that knowledge to your people, and SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS! Start with our detailed, illustrated manuals and go from there. If for ANY REASON you are not 100% satisfied with the information, presentation, or level of professionalism, simply return the material for a full refund.

Our mission is to grow the business of Concrete Repair & Resurfacing through innovations in teaching curriculums, network information sharing, and research and development of new products.

We welcome your feedback. Please email us your comments, suggestions, and questions at: techservice@concreteresurfacingnetwork.com

Remember, we're here to help!