100 GREAT BUSINESS IDEAS • 53Nevertheless, the experience curve has valuable lessons for every
company, even those that cannot actually increase production.
Experience can be gained secondhand, through books, videos,
and “mentoring” by individuals who are already experienced.
Alternatively, fi rms can hire workers that are already experienced
veterans of their industry (although it is usually necessary to pay
higher salaries to such workers). Also, businesses that are currently
inexperienced can use innovation to bring out new products, change
market preferences, and render a competitor’s experience obsolete.
In practice
- Encourage employees to view their job as an active learning
experience. - Recognize when it is not appropriate to increase your
production—if your demand is fi xed, then increased output will
lead to wastage. - Avoid high employee turnover by fi nding out why people leave.
- Provide opportunities for workers to gain secondhand experience
(for example, through reading and teaching) as well as fi rsthand
experience in the production process.