Joe Szynkowski: Treat yourself with a Learning course

Joe Szynkowski: Treat yourself with a Learning course I don’t know about you, but I’ve got some Christmas gift cards burning a hole in my pocket. There’s something great about the power of being able to choose whatever you want — within the financial constraints of the gift card, of course — and not having to answer to anyone about it. I’ve got a wife and three kids. Discretionary spending comes with a cocktail of guilt and defensiveness. I know I don’t “need” another coffee table book on the history of punk rock music, but thanks to my Barnes and Noble gift card, I can now faultlessly prop it next to my record player.For working professionals, a similar self-shaming experience can come with learning and development. Should you really be spending company money on seminars or conferences? Does your company even have a professional development budget devoted to growing its employees?For small-business owners, there may not even be enough revenue left on the bottom line after salaries and overhead costs to consider springing for this type of program.For me, the prospect of professional development has always come with weighing out cost versus benefit. When I was working for myself, I made it a…
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