- Your colleagues think you’re crazy, but the students think you’re awesome.
- You’re exhausted.
- If you left your institution tomorrow, they’d be screwed.
- Your inspiration comes from your twitter feed, blogs and experiences “in the wild” much more often than it does from a textbook or trade journal.
- You’re passionately curious.
- You juggle anywhere between 1-3 side projects at any given time.
- Your initiatives cannot be explained in one or two words (ie. it’s not just a weekend program for students, it’s a freakin’ EPIC experience…let me tell you more about it)
- Your job is a platform. It’s not just a job, it’s a way for you to inspire others and create things.
- You have an opinion about important matters, ideas and issues…and you share it.
- You’re working with offices on campus that no one in your department has worked with.
- Your office is not perfectly neat at all times.
- You stay late, not because you have to, but because this stuff is so cool and you’re in the zone.
- You’re not afraid of the path less traveled no matter how messy it might be.
- You fail at least once a day/week/month/semester–whatever it is you’re failing, and it’s because you take risks.
- At the core, you believe in students and they drive all that you do.
How many of these correspond with being a linchpin?
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I came across this one thanks to a colleague, Instagram's Envy Effect.
And I agree with much of it. To a point.
Yes the interent shows half-truths. But what doesn't?
How many times have you had known a couple - or thought you knew a couple - and then they suddenly break up or divorce?
"They seemed so happy," is our response.
Or a colleague that you knew - or thought you knew - up and quits or is fired.
"She seemed so happy here," is your response.
I'm afraid life is half-truths.
I mean who do we ever really let in?
I certainly see the good in putting social media and the internet away and participating in good old reality.
I love technology, but when a discussion is really cooking in class and everyone is contributing and new ideas are being generated, that's as good as it gets.
But technology can accentuate that too.
I've become enthralled with pinterest. And I've never felt envy once.
But I've had many ideas sparked and been inspired numerous times.
I think pinterest alone has done more for wedding planning and birthday parties and class room projects than any invention in the history of the planet.
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And this is really interesting: High school senior writes scathing letter to Ivy League colleges that denied her.
I don't blame her for her bitterness. I just hope she doesn't let it limit her.
As Shawn Achor notes in his classic TED Talk on the psychology of happiness, there is plenty of unahppiness at Harvard. He spent several years studying students who at first seemed to have the world at their feet - they've made it into one of the world's leading universities, they have access to world renowned scholars, and their dining hall looks like something out of Hogwarts! Yet, after a few months many are battling depression. Even at Harvard.
They lose perspective. They forget how lucky they are and begin to change the goal posts of success.
I hope this senior realizes that Harvard's loss is another's gain. I hope she realizes that the university is only half - and I'd argue not even the vital half - of the equation. She is the vital half of the equation.
Whatever university she chooses, she will find challenges and inspiring figures and opportunities. She has to put the bitterness behind and make the most of what comes her way.
In fact, in another classic TED Talk on The Surprising Science of Happiness in which the speaker, Dan Gilbert, did a fascinating study where he examined the initial happiness levels of two groups: lottery winners and para-palegics. After ten years he examined them again. Guess who was happier? The lottery winners, right? Hands down?
Nope.
Both groups had adjusted and were making the most of the situations. Many lottery winners had lost their vast sums and many of the injured had adjusted to their new lives and were making the most of it.
Happiness is relative. One acceptance letter from an Ivy League doesn't change that.
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I love this concept - A Business with STEAM
Usually the big push is for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math). But this author notes that we also need to add art to the emphasis too.
She notes that 'art' really means graphic arts and design. But it can encompass other things too - writing (just try building a company without a good tech writing branch and see how far that gets you), art history (the great thing about this degree, or any degree that's part of a liberal arts program is that you are taught how to think, which means analyze, support your opinion, balance ideas, communicate, speak in public, and evaluate. When wouldn't those come in handy in the new 21st century economy), and even acting (for group presentations and selling products or concepts to executives).
The author observes -
I majored in musical theatre at NYU's music school. During this time I spent the bulk of my efforts focused on the singular question, "What does my character want?" From the past to the future, from rich to poor, it was my job to immerse myself into all aspects of a character's life -- to know it so well that I actually became the character. It is this training that helps me to understand my customer's needs, envision new services, and be a positive addition to our families' lives. Marketing...check!
In order to fund my theatre habit, I also played the French Horn (parents note: colleges will pay for a good horn player, even if it is not the student's major...choose horn!) The inextricable link between music and math is undeniable at this point. I loved playing my French horn, and today, in a very similar way, I love analyzing my company's numbers. Finance...check!
Our lighting designer spent college behind the scenes, learning ways to mix different sizes, shapes, and colors of light to create an overall experience. Success in this task is presenting something so well-crafted that the audience doesn't even notice it. And to get such design to run smoothly for eight shows a week: light board programming. Technology...check! UX...check!
Our architect: Operations...check!
Our stage manager: Human Resources...check! Check! (Have you ever tried to manage the needs of a company of actors?)
Our musical theater writer: Sales...check!
For anyone who has read Thomas Friedman's That Used to be Us this is exactly how someone brings their extra unique value to the table. And for anyone who has read Seth Godin's Linchpin this is precisely how someone makes themselves remarkable and thus on their way to becoming a linchpin.
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A 'new' Steve Jobs recording? I found this on Twitter last night. It's from a 1983 talk Jobs gave entitled "The Future Isn't What it Used to Be." I love that title. And someone was able to upload it to a service called Sound Cloud that allows digital uploads, which brings up a whole set of ideas and possibilities for teachers to have students record their reactions or speeches for class.
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If we plan to chuck our daily SSR time - and we are - then what would happen if we were to insert this into those 15 minutes every day instead?
Personally, I don't believe we do nearly enough - speaking for my classes specifically - to foster creativity. At the end of College Comp II we do a bit, where my students read the book Steal Like an Artist. Students each choose a chapter to teach to the class to illustrate the key concept of each chapter and this involves a hands on activity. And the kids amaze me with their originality and creativity. Then the work in small groups with a faculty member to teach a chapter from the book Where Good Ideas Come From where they also get to use their originality and creativity muscles. And they always amaze me. I just wish I could find room to build in more opportunities for this.
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My students suggested I watch this video as it relates to becoming a Linchpin and being remarkable and adapting to be different and unique.
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