This week’s teaching tips is full of resources.
There is a blog post about one of my favorite books, Austin
Kleon’s Steal Like an Artist.
There is a book review of a great summer read from a few
years ago, Don Tapscott’s Grown Up
Digital. Check it out. It will help you appreciate and understand the young
people you work with every day. He is
the first to note the difference between digital natives and digital
immigrants. If you’re looking for hope for the future, give this book a read.
There is a clip from another of my all time thinkers and
authors, Thomas Friedman, author of the iconic The World is Flat. In the
clip, Friedman, a MN native, offers career advice for his daughters. In short, here are the four pieces of advice
1. Think like a new
immigrant. How does a new immigrant
think? Well, they show up and roll up their sleeves and get to work. In fact,
they often will resort to doing the work many of the natives turn their noses
up at. They have very few advocates. They have to toil in order to thrive. They
don’t have actress Lori Loughlin and her fashion designer husband Mossimo
Giannulli to buy their way in to any college they want. They have to get to work. Every job, every
task, no matter how hard or how dirty is an opportunity. In Friedman’s words: a new immigrant is a
paranoid optimist. They’re optimistic because they’re here, which is far better
than the place they left behind, and they’re paranoid because they’re driven by
a fear that it all could be taken from them at any second. How refreshing is
that if you consider some of the entitlement you might see in young people
today?
An example – Coach
Mumm. In this week’s newsletter is a picture of coach vacuuming the floor at
the movie theatre. We were there for football to watch the film Radio as a team
bonding activity. Coach Lingen was busy making sure everyone was accounted for
and found a seat. I was with Cash and
Kenzie getting them popcorn and Icees when I looked up and noticed that some of
the players had been less than careful with their buckets of popcorn. The floor was a mess. Before I could say
anything, Coach Mumm was asking where their vacuum cleaner was. And he got right to work. That’s thinking like an immigrant and not
being afraid to do the dirty work. Literally.
2. Think like an
artisan. Go back to the days prior to the industrial revolution and mass
manufacturing where everything – well, everything that was worth anything – was
handmade. The artisan was so proud of his product that he often carved his
initials into it. What if our young
people today began to do their work with such attention to detail and care and
love? What if we approached our own jobs
with the attitude that we are going to bring so much value and personalization
that we would want to put your names to every student that leaves our room or
every client we serve?
An example – my
former neighbor Todd, who owns a heating and cooling business in town. The first winter after he moved in, I noticed
a man blowing out not just my driveway but all of our driveways in the entire
neighborhood. It was Todd. As soon as the snow hit and he got home from
work, he donned his snowmobile gear and hopped in his Bobcat with the
snowblower attached and saved us all hours of shoveling. When it came time for me to buy a new
furnace, guess who I was going to contact? Todd. If he took care of my driveway so well, I
couldn’t imagine how well he’d take care of my furnace! Sure enough, two years
– on Christmas Eve – our furnace went out. So I called Todd. He was over in less than ten minutes and went
right to work. On Christmas Eve!!! That’s the way to approach your work, not as
if you’re just going through the motions but as if every single piece
matters. Because it does!
3. Think like a start up in Silicon Valley.
For a start up in Silicon Valley, one of the most competitive places on earth,
if you think you’re ever finished, you truly are finished. To survive as a
start up, you always have to be in beta.
Always think of yourself as a work in progress. The world doesn’t care
what you know. The world only cares with what you can do with what you know.
Never stop learning new ways to do, to serve, to apply, to customize, to
distribute what you know.
An example – Check
story of Rob McEwen and the story of his Gold Corp challenge below. It’s a great example of how the world pays
off not in what you know but what you can do with what you know.
4. Think like a waitress at Perkins.
Friedman tells a story that he and one of his friends went to have breakfast at
a MN Perkins. Friedman sat down and
order pancakes and bacon while his friend ordered pancakes and fruit. Fifteen minutes later, the waitress came and
set down their plates. Then she turned to his friend and said, “I gave you
extra fruit.” They didn’t hesitate to give
her a 50% tip. Why? Because while she
couldn’t control much, she controlled the fruit ladle and she gave extra. Never stop finding ways to bring or deliver
your extra. When you think about your
work in that way, what new opportunities does that open up for you?
An example – I
don’t know if anyone does this better than my former principal, Mr. Zutz. Of
course, he is now VP of HR at Digi Key. When we toured there last week, our
guide, Sally, mentioned how Mr. Zutz was disappointed when he learned that he was
going to be away on business and couldn’t see us all. Yet, when we came to get our “gift” bags that
Digi Key had set up for us, inside was a typed note from Mr. Zutz talking about
how much he missed us and then explaining a bit of what he’s been up to at Digi
Key. Talk about bringing your extra!
Friedman says if his daughters can master those four
mindsets, they’ll never, ever be out of work.
How can we apply this to the students we teacher? Better yet, how can we apply this to how we teach?
Later in the teaching thoughts, under the free resource, I
highlight a very interesting example from Don Tapscott’s TED Talk. It’s called the Gold Corp Challenge.
In short, Tapscott’s neighbor is Rob McEwen. Tapscott met
him at a cocktail party and learned that McEwen owned a gold mine. In talking,
Tapscott discovered something fascinating.
McEwen said that his geologists knew there was gold in the mine . . .
they just couldn’t find it! So McEwen thought like an artisan (to tie it in
with Friedman’s advice for his daughters) and decided to do something totally
different than any gold mine owner before . . . he was going to publish all of
his geological data. Why? He was going to
hold a contest. He reasoned that if his geologists couldn’t find his gold . . .
maybe someone else could.
McEwen offered $575,000 to the winning entrant. And did the entries poured in! McEwen got submissions from all kinds of
areas – some we geologists, but many were from other disciplines that were
willing to think outside of the box to find the gold: mathematicians, military
leaders, students, software designers, business owners, and students.
Eventually, thanks to the competition, McEwen found where
the gold was, so much so that his company exceeded 6 billion dollars in
value. Now that’s a great return on
investment for little over half a million dollars in prize money!
What are some ways we can think outside the box to better
serve our students and community? I’d love to hear your ideas!
Have a great weekend. Remember, our work matters. And it
matters every day!
Here is
the link for Teaching Thoughts week 29!
Kurt
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