“Be on chapter two when everyone else is on chapter one.” That was the career advice Russ (an assumed name) got in his late-twenties as an up-and-coming engineer. By all accounts the advice served him well. Russ went on serve in several executive leadership positions in a prominent U.S. based manufacturing entity.
Today Russ is enjoying a well-deserved retirement. Yet he’s committed to giving back. He has established a number of engineering scholarships at his alma mater—a prestigious public university in the South. Russ provides each graduate with what we’ll call an ‘educational care package’. The package contains an impressive leadership pamphlet—assembled wisdom from a lifetime of Russ’s collection of favorite business articles along with some of his own writings. He also includes a number of classic business books. This package goes to graduates of the very same engineering program Russ graduated from nearly fifty years earlier. It’s a classy gesture from a classy guy.
He wants the newly-minted graduate to succeed and seeks to instill a love of learning within them. He knows how easy it is for a young graduate to think they’ve ‘got it all figured out’ upon receiving their degree—especially when that degree comes from such a prestigious school. Yet Russ is also convinced that many of the potential pitfalls faced by many graduates can be mitigated by them ‘showing up’ as a professional would.
So imagine how pleased I was when Russ contacted me about adding The Power of Professionalism to the elite list of business books he provides to graduates. I was so honored. Turns out, the graduates will receive their ‘educational care package’ tonight at a university-sponsored banquet.
The Power of Professionalism is a book that many have become passionate about. Russ is one of those. And whether you ‘gift’ the book to two people (a common occurrence) or nearly a hundred (an uncommon occurrence)…you do it because you believe it’s a ‘difference-maker’. And you do it because you ‘aspire to reveal value in others’ (mind-set #7). It’s just one of the ways this fine southern gentleman gives back.
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