Yesterday was our university's convocation -- the ceremonial start of an academic year. The faculty wear regalia and walk in procession; the new students are awarded a symbolic tassel to remind them of their goals, and last year's professor of the year gives an inspiring address.
Many schools do a similar event, but what sets ours apart is the tree planting ceremony that follows. For 106 years, each incoming class has planted a tree and each senior class has named their tree. The trees are christened with names that reflect their times; last year was "Whomping Willow" in reference to Harry Potter; in 2010 it was the UniversiTREE to commemorate our transition from college to university.
Today, the oak was named "Hash Tag Tree" by the class of 2013. Another sign that the times they are a 'changin. I have never once in my life called the # symbol a hash tag. It is the pound sign (as per instructions of what to press on all the phone surveys) or a number sign (as in this is blog #104). What the heck does hash tag mean?
I immediately left the ceremony and got a crash course in Twitter from one of my many staff members who is young enough to be my child. He was patient and helpful, and when I left his dual-screen computer that allowed us to post and view his Twitter feeds, I felt like I "got it". Right after that I was at a senior leadership meeting where the same topic came up, and ironically I became the one explaining what a hash tag was. (Don't tell them I am a fraud!)
I was struck by the ironic twist that a 106-year old tradition was infused with a piece of modern culture that was so new (to me) that it needed an explanation. I thought it was a great model of how to do what Jim Collins and Jerry Porras advocated in Built to Last: preserve the core (tree planting) and stimulate progress (#Tree). We need to create more environments where we can honor the past and still allow for enhancements to occur. Think about that intersection in your organization -- how can you celebrate a tradition in a way that speaks to today?
-- beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com
I have dedicated my career to education and believe wholeheartedly in its worth. I know that education provides many valuable lessons and transforms student lives in ways that few other experiences can.
Much of education is measured by the compilation of credits. Students take classes, earn credits and move forward to the next grade. Obtain 128 of the right credits in college and you graduate. Mission accomplished -- yeah! If you never pick up a book again, you still have achieved your goal.
What education doesn't do well is teach students the concept of negative progress. Most things in life are not like credit accumulation, where once goals are earned they remain yours. Instead, life is more like weight loss or savings -- you can continue on a steady path and achieve your goal, but if you don't continue the behavior that got you there, you will lose all results that you have obtained. You can't methodically exercise and eat right; achieve a weight loss goal and then celebrate being "done" and expect the results to stay with you as a diploma does.
It is a valuable life lesson to learn that reverse can happen, and understand how to prepare for it; to know that success is tenuous and that behavior needs to be sustained to preserve it. Education would do well to celebrate the journey more than the destination and to help its students master the lesson of persistent, lifelong effort rather than focus on the episodic endings.
-- beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com
A friend of mine was recently talking to a history major (from the "purple school", I need to add!) who did not know what started America's involvement in World War II. I wonder if someday the tragic events of September 11 will be forgotten as easily as this man forgot Pearl Harbor. Let us hope not.
It is hard for me to believe that 9/11 was 11 years ago; I remember many of the events like it was just last year. My boss at the time was out of reach on a remote fly fishing trip, and he commented later that he missed the raw emotion of the event. He was not with other sobbing people at make-shift vigils; he didn't spend the good part of the week glued to television sets watching the evil deeds over and over and over; he didn't know the eerie silence of no planes overhead. I am glad that I was not immune to experiencing this important part of our nation's history.
I put a flag in my living room window right after the tragedy, and that declaration of pride remained there until I moved seven years later. I remember the first time I tore myself away from the television to venture into the commercial world; the craft store was handing out free red/white/blue ribbons that I wore for months. My radio station still plays the Star Spangled Banner every morning at 5:30am, 11 years after it started the tradition on that fateful day.
The positive side of 9/11 was the incredible surge of patriotism that it inspired in many Americans. I hope that you use today to remind yourself of that spirit, and to stop the partisanship that has embattled our country almost ever since. Take a moment to reflect today and pledge to become a patriot again.
-- beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com
A colleague and I recently conducted a training for student employee supervisors.
At the end of the workshop, we gave everyone apples. A real apple for the short term and a felt apple to serve as a reminder during the rest of the year. An apple for the teacher.
In our view, a key role of being a supervisor is being a teacher, no matter what level of employees you supervise. The student employee supervisors need to teach life lessons, such as promptness, attire, confidentiality and work ethic. But staff supervisors need to make it part of their daily work to teach employees about the bigger context, latest trends, threats to the organization, how to push themselves further and where to apply initiative.
The most successful people I know lead their lives with equal parts as teacher and as learner. Never stop trying to improve, and never stop sharing your knowledge to help others improve too. Follow that advice and you'll be rewarded with more than just a shiny Red Delicious.
-- beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com
Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first to use the 100-day mark as a measuring stick for his administration, and ever since, media and politicians have used this timeline as a standard for assessing the effectiveness of a president. During FDR's first 100 days, he passed 15 major bills through Congress, including the Tennessee Valley Authority, Civil Works Administration, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and Civilian Conservation Corps. It was a welcome response to the calamity facing the nation, and set the tone for decades to come. It also set the bar high for future presidents, as their first 100 days is evaluated against the sweeping legislative success in the early stages of FDR's first term.
I am not sure why 100 days was chosen as the benchmark -- maybe because it is a more sexy sound bite than "three months". The measurement is now used in other settings: 100 days until the election, 100 days of summer, 100 day challenges, 100 day countdowns until Christmas (which is September 16 if you're keeping track), and 100 day projects or exhibits. Google "100 days" and there are enough entries to keep you reading for that length of time.
What I will say about my first 100 days is that it hasn't turned out at all like I expected. For years, I have been putting off writing a blog because I had it in my head that the work had to be linear -- I needed to organize things first and then write it. As it has happened, so much of what I have commented on is from current events and daily observations -- things that I didn't even know existed when I started.
And that brings us back to the theme of this whole thing -- that little things are like dots that can be connected together to make a whole. I hope this blog has in some way inspired you to focus on starting something -- making that first dot is the hardest one. The other 99 have come with relative ease, and dare I say, even enjoyment. If you've learned one thing from me in these 100 days, I hope it is that little things do matter -- and do quickly add up to make an impact.
-- beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com
Yesterday we said farewell to one of our most talented employees -- who we lovingly say was "poached" by the guy to whom this blog is dedicated (see entry #1). As with any departure, there was the goodbye gala, cards, hugs, tears and a mad scramble to finish all the last minute details.
What set this exit apart was a little gesture that I hope communicated how much we love Tricia. As part of her responsibilities as a graphic designer, she took on the role of brand monitor. And that included abhorring the color of our main competitor. She would give people the evil eye if they wore it to work or even suggested it appear in print.
So yesterday, every single person in the entire division came to work clad in purple in her honor. We got a lot of funny looks as we went to meetings or people saw into the office where everyone there was in the same hue. Tricia took it all with good humor and the gesture was understood.
Note that it cost us not a cent. Oftentimes the most meaningful things we can do are the ones that show we listen. Whether in fun or in recognition, once again, the little things are what make a big impact. Pay attention to those nuances that can make the people in your life feel heard.
-- beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com
Say the word "nuance" aloud and hear the similar root to "new." I do not believe that anything is completely new anymore. Newness today is created in altering the nuances of items or situations. There are no wholesale inventions or changes; subtle or slight degrees of difference are created when things are tweaked, elements deleted or existing concepts are combined in different ways. There may be limitless variations of the methods, but almost everything today is a modification of something else.
A hotel allows your reservation to sync with your Outlook calendar. Starbucks offers pumpkin spice lattes. The iPad allows you to translate all your concepts to Spanish. The dry cleaners provides pick up and delivery to your office. The beer comes in an aluminum bottle. Version 3.0 has a few more bells and whistles than version 2.0.
All these are enhancements that serve to differentiate one product from another, or even one service from its earlier self. I think you'll be more successful if you stop searching for that silver bullet or big idea and focus instead on the "newances" you can provide that provide value to you or your organization.
-- beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com
