Month: July 2013

#415 roles

July 21, 2013by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

Last week on ESPN2, Los Angeles Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni commented that some players say that they don’t know their role on the team, but in reality, they know their role but just don’t accept it.

While he was referring to one of the NBA’s All-Stars, the same mantra reminded me of someone much further down the food chain.

I just had a conversation with a colleague who was recounting a chat he had with a new graduate. She was hired about a month ago for an entry-level position, and as such was given entry-level work, but felt that she should have more challenging assignments. My colleague asked if she had put any of her ideas in writing or taken the initiative to volunteer for other assignments or committees. The answer was, of course, no. She had an entry-level role and wasn’t acting with the maturity or ambition beyond it, yet was having difficulty in accepting her position as it is.

It’s one thing not to accept your role, but it’s another thing to expect it to be different without earning that change. Hard work, initiative and assuming more responsibilities have a way of changing the role that you were first placed in.

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

#414 leveling

July 20, 2013by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

I wrote yesterday that I took my staff on tour at the Lock and Dam. The lessons that we learned from the tour were unexpected.

The reason I took them originally was that I wanted them to consider how our division functions as sort of a lock and dam system for the university:

> Like the locks, we align expectations with reality for our prospective students. We help them know what to expect before coming so that it is easier to navigate the waters once they get here.

> We also serve as a leveling agent regarding affordability. Through our financial aid processes, we are able to help families come to a balanced level of what they owe in conjunction with what they can pay — even though the gap may have seemed too big to traverse in the beginning.

> We also serve to balance perceptions and reality vs. our messaging. Our communication efforts function like the dam system to control the flow of messaging, and act like the locks to help align various levels of perceptions into a balanced state instead of undercurrents and rapids.

The lock and dam system is an intentional set of systems and structures that make navigation possible. The admission process also contains systems and structures that control the flow of qualified students into the university.

What functions in your organization parallel the locks and dams? Are you allowing your “river” to flow freely, or do you have sophisticated, intentional systems in place to balance disparate entities? Help the navigation of your information and products flow more smoothly with processes that control the flow.

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

#413 channels

July 19, 2013by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

As part of our staff retreat on Wednesday, we took a tour of Lock and Dam #11 on the Mississippi River. Our tour guide, Ranger Brian, was a perfect combination of business, history and humor.

He set out the ground rules before we began: we were entering a government restricted area; there were cables and danger everywhere, and one misstep could land you in the mighty river just feet from a powerful undertow sucking you under the dam. There would be no messing around.

But once he saw we would follow the rules, then he became a wealth of history about the lock and dam system. The 27 locks on the Upper Mississippi were established in the 1930s as part of Roosevelt’s Public Works projects in order to allow commerce to occur on the river. The Lower Mississippi (St. Louis and South) didn’t need the locks because that portion of the river remained deep enough due to the flow from substantial tributaries like the Missouri, Illinois and Ohio. Today, the Corps of Engineers takes on continuous dredging and water flow control to keep the river at the prescribed 9-ft channel depth (to accommodate the level a barge submerges when fully loaded).

Ranger Brian interspersed his history lesson with jokes about what Lock Masters do when there isn’t a boat going through the locks and warnings about pelicans flying overhead. He was a great PR representative for the Corps.

As we were set to leave, he said that we would have to do the whole tour over again if we failed to get his last question right: “What is the purpose of the lock and dam system?” The answer: Navigation. Before the tour, I think we would have given answers like flood control, power sources and recreation, but everyone knew the right answer because Ranger Brian had repeated it over and over during our stay.

Think about the core message that you are trying to get across about your organization. Can you distill your core purpose to a one-word answer as to what you are all about? And if so, can you find an engaging and yet informative way to communicate it to your visitors in a way that is memorable and crystal clear?

Customer service lessons can come from the most unlikely of places. I would not have guessed that a Corps of Engineers Park Ranger could teach our student ambassadors and tour guides lessons about how to host a memorable visit, but he certainly could. Take some time this summer to go on an organized tour — and see what lessons you can learn for your organization.

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

#412 thinking

July 18, 2013by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

I held my all-staff retreat yesterday — always one of my favorite gatherings. There is always so much energy in the room, even when the room was a non-air conditioned park shelter during a heat advisory as it was yesterday!

We spent the day “thinking about thinking” — implementing some of the strategies in Paid to Think by David Goldsmith; doing exercises to help train our brains to see “what isn’t” instead of the literal, and discussing the process below.

I believe that a three step process can help people become more effective thinkers:
1. Experiences — people need to have new experiences (aka: “dots”) in order to have the basis with which to form new ideas. This phase is being attentive to “what is”.

2. Connections — The experiences need to be connected to other experiences — forming a new concept or idea. This is “what isn’t”.

3. Communication — Having experiences and new thoughts doesn’t produce anything new unless people share the idea and get buy-in to make something new happen. This represents “what could be”.

The above process doesn’t have to be lofty: I could see something in a magazine I was reading (experiences); think about how it could apply to a project someone else is working on (connections) and cut out the article to send it to her (communication). But failing to do any of those three steps short circuits the thinking process and precludes anything from happening.

Spend some time today thinking about your thinking. Which of the above three steps are you best at? Which could use some intentionality and focus to improve? Just being aware of the process should help you see things in a new light — and hopefully do something with those thoughts.

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

#411 straw

July 17, 2013by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

As a way to be more attentive, while I was out walking my dogs I was doing a silent Rain Man imitation in my head and mentally saying all the things that I saw. First I saw pieces of straw that had fallen onto the curb as excess from serving as protective covering for new grass seed. Next to it was a red drinking straw that someone had tossed. “Straw”; “straw” — even though they were totally different objects with no related source or purpose.

Thinking that the dual meaning was an anomaly, I began to look for other objects along my path that fit that pattern. I was surprised to find many:
> drive (as in driveway or the action of motoring a car)
> curb (as in the side of a road or heeling your dog)
> grass (as in what you mow or the illegal stuff)
> weed (as in illegal grass or annoying things you pull)
> flag (flying from the pole or how you hail a cab)
> band (as in rubber or the music playing in the background)
> sign (piece of metal that indicates the streets or the act of affixing a signature)

It struck me as how we seamlessly handle the duality of our language — most of the time. The complexity of our vocabulary should be a reminder that face-to-face conversation is great when you can get it — it allows you to clarify if you mean the red straw or the kind that resembles hay. If we do resort to communication in writing, my little exercise can be a reminder to take extra care to have clarity — especially if your message is going to someone new.

Does your note mean to pick up the dough at the bakery or the bank? And where do you get the bread?

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

#410 labeling

July 16, 2013by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

As I was sitting at the dinner table, I noticed that the just-finished mustard bottle had a different design than the new one (sorry, marketing geek habit!). Both had the French’s flag that has been flying since 1904, but the new bottle had two elements that caught my eye:

> The new one had a font that was designed to look hand-drawn. I am sure that when printing and graphic design first became accessible, everyone was excited to have labeling on products that was not hand-drawn. But now that there are fonts-a-plenty, apparently trying not to look like a professional font is more appealing, or at least seen as more eye-catching.

> The front of the bottle reads: “No calories, fat or gluten.” I doubt that mustard has contained any of those elements since its inception over a century ago, but it is a sign of the times that the product manager felt compelled to list them explicitly for consumers to see.

Does your organization have features that are akin to “no gluten” — things that have been part of your makeup and offerings since you began — but now may need to be highlighted for others? Is there something that you just assume that people know when maybe they don’t? [We had an example of that yesterday when we realized our STEM workshop flyer failed to mention that it is, was, and always has been free registration.]

Pretend that you are designing a new label for your organization and take the opportunity to question whether it needs to have some updated content.

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

#409 emulate

July 15, 2013by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

I wrote yesterday about the 3/50 project, an effort to promote spending $50/month at three locally owned businesses. Whether you believe in that cause or not, it’s worth your time to spend a few minutes looking at their website www.the350project.net/resources.html

This organization has done a great job of bringing positive conversational language to the web. As an example, instead of getting overburdened with legal clauses, it says “…no edits or alterations. Well, not unless you’re really anxious to discuss trademark and copyright law with a really nice attorney we know. Click here for media notes that will help you avoid “oops” moments.” Etc.

Look at the350project site, then flip over to your own. In addition to supporting their core project, maybe your organization can also learn from their efforts to make a website readable and friendly!

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

#408 3/50

July 14, 2013by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

I recently became aware of the 3/50 project, an effort to “save the brick and mortars our nation is built on”. This is an effort to support independent retailers and encourage consumers to shop at locally-owned businesses.

Three: The project encourages consumers to think about the three independently owned businesses they would miss if they were gone. Then Fifty: An encouragement to spend $50/month in these establishments.

The stats they quote: for every $100 spent in independently owned stores, $68 returns to the community. For every $100 spent at a national chain, only $43 stays in the community. For every $100 spent on-line, none is directed back to the local economy.

Independently owned might mean bookstores, florists, restaurants, movie theatres, cleaners, gift shops, or hair salons. To help you find these places, the 3/50 project has developed a free LookLocal application that you can download from the App Store.

When I think about it, there are many independent businesses that I would miss if they were gone. All of our “Dive Lunches” (#105 9-14-12) take place at local eateries. Scratch cupcakes (#381 6-17-13) and Betty Jane’s ice cream (#348 5-15-13) both qualify. Fincel’s sweet corn (#25 6-26-12). Dubuque Mining Company (#204 12-22-12). My favorite local theatre where I see 100% of my movies.

I’ll bet that if you think about it, you could come up with a list of three favorites too. Even if you make it the 3/25 project and spend less than $50 each month, we’d all be better off if the places that make our towns unique were thriving. Try to do your part!

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

#407 best behavior

July 13, 2013by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

It seems that lately the news is full of examples of celebrities who have fallen from public favor. I would guess that the lapses in behavior that are making headlines are not their only transgression, but in this age of instant and pervasive media once someone “discovers” something, it goes big fast.

Think of Paula Deen — living large with merchandising arrangements with Sears, JCPenney, Home Depot, Target and Walgreens — now all gone in a matter of days. Her upcoming cookbook was pulled by the publisher. Her television broadcasts have been “phased out”. She went from media darling to disgrace once word of her past inappropriate language went viral.

In a more serious case, in one day, ex-Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was charged with first degree murder and lost a pro football contract.

Even if you are not a famous person, your world can change and your reputation can be ruined in a single day.

My mantra: “You have to behave all the time.” It’s the best way to keep yourself out of embarrassing (or worse) situations.

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

#406 space

July 12, 2013by leadership dots by dr. beth triplettLeave a comment

Think about the things that you do daily. It seems that my list grows longer every day. Shower, get dressed, brush teeth twice, feed dogs twice, write a postcard to my Mom, publish a blog entry, read the newspaper, physical therapy, sleep, eat. I think of all the things I should do daily: exercise, floss, read books and journals, reflection, walk the dogs, etc.

Lately I feel a need to be more selective about what I commit to do on a daily basis. There are only 24 hours/day and so I have less opportunities to schedule and trade off obligations as I do in a more expansive time frame. Time is like a paycheck: if you make too many on-going commitments, you don’t have enough disposable income (time) left to do all you want to do.

I wonder what trade offs I made to fit writing this blog into my routine (my dogs could tell you!) What did I forgo when I needed to do physical therapy exercises again? What have people done without to make time for Tweets and Facebook?

Give extra pause when you make commitments that demand your daily attention. Can you make it your goal to leave some unstructured time each day? Too hectic of a routine is like too many beautiful pictures all hanging on the same gallery wall. At some point, you don’t appreciate any of them. Try to create enough space in your existence to allow you time to savor something every day.

— beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com