We never stop learning. From the taste of new foods to seeing new places that we have never seen before, our brains are wired to separate new stimulus from old. That is the essence of learning. Education is the act of learning that comes in many forms, most of which we don't even recognize as being education. Most commonly education is viewed in the traditional sense, which utilizes the classroom setting to structure lessons that are designed to develop a thought process to help us understand concepts and solve problems. The act of structuring information in a way that results in a higher level of knowledge that can be used in a specific way is considered formal education. Formal education is a part of traditional education, but traditional education is not the only place formal education can occur. In business, learning takes place every day and is a key component to long term success. We hear terms like "you have to know your customer", and "you need to understand the marketplace". These are examples of things that are learned by every successful business owner over the course of time.
In one of the most basic learned equations, two plus two equals four, the traditional and formal education process is to assign a value to numbers and add them together. If not for traditional education, would a child not eventually figure out this equation? If the child is sent to pick apples for herself and her brother, she would figure out that one apple per person becomes two apples. If asked to also bring apples back for mom and dad, the child would naturally determine that two more people will require the addition of two more apples. She has just solved two plus two equals four in a practical way without the benefit of the classroom. The classroom was not necessarily needed in that situation, but the formal part of the education process was the request to pick apples for two people, then add two more apples for two more people. Had the child not been presented with this situation or this request, the realization that two plus two equals four may have been delayed to a later point in her life.
I use this childishly simplistic example for a reason. Every problem that needs to be solved and every question that needs to be answered in a business setting begins with a simple math equation. Every business exists to produce a positive benefit for its owner. Every activity that occurs within the business, by definition, needs to be controlled to result in that benefit or enhance it. The science of the business is the most straightforward and definable part. The art of the business is what you do with the mathematic and financial certainties of the business to leverage them for their greatest benefit.
In a restaurant setting, not knowing your plate costs in a very specific way can result in decisions that may take the business in a negative direction. If your plate cost (the actual direct cost of each and every dish that you serve) is greater than what you are charging the dining customer, then eventually you will sell yourself out of business. If you have a gut instinct, but no real math to back it up, you may make the decision to raise your price to a level that is much higher than necessary. In that scenario, you run the risk of losing your customers because your food is too expensive. If you assume that your price is just fine, you may advertise and run specials on that dish, which costs you more, which means that the business loses even more money due to your "solution" to the problem. The art comes into play when the restaurant owner comes up with different portion sizes, plate configurations or pricing models to solve the problem. Those solutions present themselves only after a clear understanding of the financial metrics of the problem are known.
Traditional business education presents theoretic examples of situations that occur in business, leaving the learner to adapt those examples to real word situations once they graduate and leave the classroom. Often times, the teachers in that model only know theoretical problems and solutions because they have never operated in an actual business setting where they have had to make those solutions work. All education is more meaningful when it relates to actual problems in actual situations. The Legacy Alpha program creates a formal education setting within each business by defining and structuring the important and necessary business information in a simplistic, but very specific way. This puts the business owner and key employees in the best position possible to learn what needs to happen to make the business successful. There is no business problem that is too complex or outside of the control limits of the Legacy Alpha program. The program has been successful when used with owners who have a Master's in Business Administration (MBA) degree just as it has been successful with owners who have an eighth grade traditional education. Each business that we work with becomes the classroom, we provide you with the tools to get an MBA in YOUR business.
