Chairman of UUKU, Jyrki Ritvala sharing his knowledge and experience during the 2017 UUKU Bangkok delegation in Hotel Indigo.
Importance of Experience and How to Acquire it
In the beginning stages of my career I looked at the world and my managers and seniors with immense respect. As time went by, and my confidence in my own abilities increased, I started to question the superiority of my older managers. Shouldn’t my fresh knowledge, ideas and energy triumph over experience and old age? It was only later in my career that I started to realize first hand the importance of experience. In my senior positions in many associations, private firms and state-owned enterprises, I have been able to observe and understand the importance that years of experience bring.
Some aspects of experience can be learned by studying real business cases, and by learning directly from successful business executives and studying their ways. Some knowledge can only be gained by living and experiencing it. Failures are great lessons and I’ve had the great pleasure of enduring countless in my long career.
Naturally, young people have no idea what it is like to be a senior executive. A senior and only a senior, has had experience working at so many different stages of life. As you get older, some of the
memories of your early years start to fade, but you do not lose the practical skills and instincts that have been sharpened throughout decades of dedicated application. I’ve achieved some of my
greatest achievements in business in my 50’ and 60’s, and its those achievements my organizations and I are most proud of, and have received considerable recognition for.