Is Your College Going Out of Business?

Today college students are asking themselves a lot of questions many of us once thought unimaginable. Mark Cuban asks ‘Is Your College Going Out of Business?‘. Check out his article, it’s really thought provoking.

I relate to Mark’s message. When my kids were in the process of choosing colleges, I drilled home to them the importance of coming out of school with as little debt as possible. (they each paid part of the freight)  Two of my three college kids came out of school with zero debt. The third had less than $10,000 in debt.

Being wise stewards of money (largely by being smart consumers of educational services) is one of the most important things my children learned as a result of attending college. I’m proud of each for having the discipline to make the tough choices that enabled them to come out of school with little or no debt.

I wish Mark hadn’t used some of the language he did towards the end of the article, but it is what it is.  Consider yourself forewarned.

Every Hand Went Up! —Part Two–From Grandpa’s Well Intended Faux Pas

NOTE: This post is Part Two (and a continuation) from ‘Grandpa’s Well Intended Faux Pas’ post on Jan 3rd.

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The Director asked the students, “how many of you would recommend the approach taken by Rob in the way he instructed your imaging course?” Every hand went up!

At the Southern California vocational school where Rob taught there was a gap in how prepared the students were to enter the working world.  Rob knew it, employers did too. Technically, the students  knew their stuff.  In other words, their skill-sets were fine.  The school had done a good job in training their students to be masters of an ever-increasing complicated technical universe.

Yet, increasingly employers realized the technical alone was insufficient. Purpose and values were  important. So was taking responsibility.  Like the employers, Rob believed that pouring in buckets of knowledge into student’s brain (as important as that was) was proving incomplete—after all, the school wasn’t preparing robots to enter the workforce.  The school, in effect, was preparing technicians to enter the workforce.  And traditionally that had been fine.

But today more was needed. Professionals were needed. Employers didn’t explicitly say so, but when you listened to their needs, professionals (the adjective, not the noun) is precisely what they were looking for.

Rob made the commitment to graduate professionals—not merely technicians. He did this on his own. He is to be commended. The implication? For students to meet the ‘professional’ standard they need both skill-sets and mind-sets.  Thus, he married the mind-sets from The Power of Professionalism with the well-established technical curriculum.  He upped the ante in a big way.

What did the students think?  They whole-heartedly recommended it.  Remember, every hand went up when the Director posed her question.

And if you’re wondering why the Director was asking that question, it was because the school’s owner was so impressed by the change in the students she asked the Director to look into expanding the approach to the rest of the school’s population of 1,000 students.  It’s an exciting prospect.

We promise to keep you updated as the story unfolds….

Having A Point of View

In The Power of Professionalism I wrote extensively about the importance of professionals having a point-of-view.  (see chapter eight, mind-set three)

Nilofer Merchant’s recent article—Having A Point of View–nicely compliments the spirit chapter eight.  As she notes, having a point of view ” attracts talent…creates allies…focuses the work.”  All true, plus some.

Check out the article, it’s a good reminder.

What Each Of Us Can Learn From Lance’s Disclosure

Full disclosure: I didn’t watch Oprah’s interview with Lance Armstrong, nor did I seek out articles regarding such.  My exposure to the subject was limited to one article I accidentally happened on through my ISP.

This article points out that Armstrong finally comes clean with his oldest son Luke about his indiscretions after he witnessed his son defending him in front of others.  In other words, Armstrong made an arguably tough decision after seeing the adverse impact on Luke.

As we’ve learned through Stanford Professor James March’s research on decision making, these types of tough choices are most strongly influenced by either one of two factors: 1) the consequences one is subject to—what I get versus what it costs OR  2) the choice is influenced by an especially important aspect of one’s identity.   The former is quite calculated, the latter is quite intuitive.

In Armstrong’s case it appears he finally fessed up to Luke because of the  identity he held of himself as Dad.   As the article points out, Armstrong became the most emotional when the subject of his son came up….this contrasted against the subject of all the sponsorships (and money) he had lost.

In his role as Dad, Armstrong no doubt had certain expectations of himself—to do right by his kids, to protect them, to teach them properly, etc. For those of us who are parents, our identity of ourselves (as either mom or dad) is one our most powerful.  Thus, we shouldn’t find it too surprising that Armstrong told Luke after he saw the damage the situation was having on him.

That’s the power that identity had on Armstrong—as it does for each of us. Our best decisions–especially the tough ones–are by-products of situations when we’ve been willing to be influenced by our identity.

Is it any wonder then that within The Power of Professionalism  we put such emphasis on being a professional—the ultimate workplace identity?

 

 

 

 

 

Mr. Shanahan–What’s Behind Your Question?

Ask any major league starting pitcher with a high pitch count how he feels in the late innings of a game, and 99 percent of the time he’ll tell you that he feels great. In fact, he probably doesn’t feel great. He’s probably trashed. The pitcher responds the way he thinks he’s supposed to.  After all, he’s a warrior!

This was essentially what Mike Shanahan (football coach of the Washington Redskins) did with quarterback RG3 (rookie phenom Robert Griffin III) on Jan 6th in a playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks. RG3 was clearly hobbled—barely able to defend himself. He was gimping around on the same leg (knee really) that he had severely injured earlier in the year.

‘You OK?'” Shanahan asked.  “And he [RG3] said, `I’m fine.'”   This exchange was late in the game.  At that point, even a grade school kid could tell RG3 wasn’t right. RG3’s response was no surprise—he was responding the way he was expected to. After all, even as a rookie, he was the face of the franchise and its unquestioned leader.

RG3 stayed in the game.  Minutes later he mangled his knee trying to recover a botched snap from center. RG3 was not only out of the game but possibly next season as well due to, among other things, a torn ACL.

Shanahan tempted fate.  He lost.

Shanahan’s assertions that he left RG3 in the game because RG3 said he was fine are ridiculous.  Shanahan has been coaching for—what—a gazillion years? He knew better. He knew that RG3 would say just about anything that would keep him in the game. In other words, RG3 responds the way he thinks he’s supposed to.

Even if the question came to mind, it should have never left Shanahan’s lips. In the end, however, RG3’s answer to Shanahan’s question proved to be the justification Shanahan used to keep RG3 in the game.

Let’s call this what it is, a lapse in judgment—a very costly one.  RG3 shouldn’t have been on the field—even if he’s our best player in the year’s most important game.

The lesson:  We’ll learn far more about ourselves as a result of asking this type of self-validating question than anything the person ever tells us in return.

The Key Mind-Set That Translates To Better Sales Performance

Professionals realize (and act like) they’re part of something bigger than themselves (mind-set two)

Mindset #2 often has the biggest impact on results.

An underdeveloped mindset #2 plays havoc on an organization’s culture—and the results that emanate from that culture.

Consider:

***An executive team that is littered with people who have messiah complexes and regularly back-stab each other.

***A department head whose self-aggrandizing style puts the organizations needs secondary to their own.

***A front-line clerk who believes they have a job—but not responsibilities.

For those familiar with The Power of Professionalism, these examples remind us of the debilitating impacts that the lack of mind-set #2 has on an organizations performance. And sometimes when we think culture, we think inside the organization. Yet culture naturally impacts an organization’s outside world as well.

Take the sales function for instance.  An underdeveloped mind-set #2 clearly hurts sales. Sales leadership expert Lisa Earle McLeod’s research has shown that quota- driven sales people sold substantially less than those sales people who wanted to make a real difference with their customers.  The latter group held mind-set #2 in spades, the former group far less so.

McLeod refers to the ‘difference makers’ as ‘selling with noble purpose’.  Her latest book—Selling With Noble Purpose–outlines the specifics.  McLeod’s research turns on its head the belief that money is the primary motivator for top sales performers.  The irony, of course, is that those whose primary motivation  was on making  a real difference with customers made far more money than those whose primary motivation was money.

For sales people the lesson is clear: put the client’s needs first and the money will follow—you needn’t have to choose between the two.  Isn’t that what you’d expect from a professional?

Trouble is “average reps are usually thinking about themselves and closing the deal”…this according to McLeod.  Whatever attention the average rep pays to the client, it isn’t their full attention.  Many of these reps can’t ‘get beyond themselves’. This doesn’t suggest they’re bad people, but it does suggest they’re subject to the whims of human nature—as we all are. Plus, the fact that most sales managers focus almost exclusively on ‘the numbers’ (at the expense of truly understanding—let alone appreciating– customer needs) no doubt contributes to this problem.

These average reps (and often their managers) simply haven’t yet developed a full appreciation of mind-set #2.  Unfortunately results suffer as a result.  It’s just as true with customers as it is inside the walls of the company.

Monday’s Pleasant Surprise

Trust Across America is an organization dedicated to improving the level of trust within the business sector.  Founder Barbara Kimmel has done a tremendous job growing the influence of the organization.

Earlier today Trust Across America published their top thought leaders for 2013. I’m pleased (and humbled) to have been included. The list has many notable (and impressive) people.

I can only hope this honor helps advance the important work we’re doing here at Wiersma and Associates.

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Are You Comfortable In Your Own Skin?

One of the important characteristics that is almost always found in a ‘true professional’ is the degree to which they are ‘comfortable in their own skin’.

In other words, they know who they are and aren’t inappropriately fearful of a new market entrant or feel threatened by the success of others….things like that.

Seth Godin recently published a blog post entitled True Professionals Don’t Fear Amateurs. That post nicely captures a number of important points that are consistent with the premise of being comfortable in one’s own skin. Enjoy.

Hard Unemployment Truths About ‘Soft’ Skills

A recent article by Nick Schulz of the American Enterprise Institute in the Wall Street Journal reveals some inconvenient truths about the difficulty the manufacturing sector currently faces in filling jobs.  There’s a lot of jobs that need filling, the problem is finding qualified people.

In many instances the difficulty stems around the lack of ‘soft’ skills—not necessarily the technical stuff. It’s skills that employers not-so-long-ago took for granted:  being on time for work, properly answering the telephone,  passing the drug test.

Others sectors have reported similar findings.  The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) has reported ‘that “professionalism” or “work ethic” is the top “applied” skill that younger workers lack’.

This probably doesn’t come as a surprise to many of you. Here’s the full article—Hard Unemployment Truths About ‘Soft’ Skills.

To me the skill-gap that Schulz has identified is really not a skill at all, it’s the lack of a professional’s mind-set.  Yet, let’s look beyond the semantics for now.  The problem Schulz is illuminating is symptomatic of a declining culture…one that hits the business community smack upside the head!

Grandpa’s Well Intended Faux Pas—The Doing/Being Transposition—Part One

It’s a holiday scene seemingly as old as time, family gatherings with relatives traveling great distances to be with their loved ones. Grandparents (especially) can’t wait to get reacquainted with their young  grandchildren.  At some point, one of the grandparents (often the grandfather) asks their young grandchild, ‘so what do you want to be when you grow up?”

Teacher, firefighter, musician, forest ranger, nurse, ball player, lawyer are just a few of the responses that the youngster might give.  The grandparent, no doubt, is pleased—sensing their grandchild has given this important question some thought.  Of course, this is all in spite of their young age and the likelihood that they’ll incessantly change their mind.

Yet, the grandparent has unknowingly perpetuated a misconception on the part of the grandchild. The problem started with the question the grandparent asked. Notice that the youngster actually answered a different question than the one posed by the grandparent.

The question the youngster answered was “what do you want to do when you grow up?” In other words, the youngster likely told their grandparent what interested them and how they envisioned earning a living (e.g. firefighter, teacher, forest ranger, etc) pursuing that interest.

The grandparent didn’t catch (or didn’t appreciate) the subtle, but important, distinction between being and doing— let alone point it out to the youngster.  How one earns a living is one thing, but it isn’t who they are—it doesn’t reveal what kind of person they are. Young people would be well served to understand that distinction.

Unfortunately, the experience with the grandparent subtly reinforces to the grandchild that what they do for a living largely defines who they are.  Of course, grandparents have a lot of company when it comes to this phenomenon….it’s no wonder, with all the emphasis on ‘career-mania’ in this country.

The fact that the youngster didn’t ‘get it’ is understandable, predictable really—given their young age.

All together now (in unison)—“what we do for a living, doesn’t define who we are.”  ‘Doing’ and ‘being’ are different!

For all the sacrifice parents (and some grandparents) make to ensure a first-rate education for their children; for all the blood-sweat-and–tears on the part of the diligent student; for all the prestige society puts in performing certain types of work…being is equally important (if not more so) than doing.   

Part two, which will be posted in a little over two weeks, will illustrate how one Southern California school has brought this important point to life.