u101

A 'C' Average....Really?

2009-07-28T21:54:00.000-07:00

In the last post, we looked at a quote from current Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. In this post, I want to look at a previous Secretary of State - Colin Powell. This evening, he was on Larry King Live. He talked about current affairs, as well as his own personal history. I was surprised to learn that this highly successful civil servant had a 2.0 GPA in school. Like so many, I wrongly assumed that he must have had an A or B average in school, in order rise to the ranks of a four star general, or Secretary of State.

During the Larry King interview, Powell explained that the one area where he excelled the most was ROTC - he got straight A's! More importantly, he has in other interviews, described this period as 'one of the happiest experiences of his life; discovering something he loved and could do well - he felt he had "found himself."' Colin Powell's experience is one that we can all learn from.

From this story, we learn the amazing things that can happen when you find your own 'niche'. We all have that place where we can excel, rising above the rest. Now, this is not a reason to slack off in all areas except the one that you love. However, it is a great example of the formula for success:

Success =

combining what you're good at (strengths/preferences)

what you love (your passions/values, etc)

This formula is a little simplistic, but it captures some of the key requirements for both personal fulfillment and professional success. We know that this was the case with Colin Powell. In the interview, he said that he not only got straight A's in his ROTC classes (a good sign that this was something he was definitely 'good at') but he also loved it.

When you think about your own search for a future college major, or the university you might attend or even a career path - start by asking yourself, 'what am I really good at AND what do I love?'. The intersection of these two data points may provide a good launch pad in your quest to make smart decisions about your own future.

I think that another important take-away from Colin Powell's story is that it's not just the straight A students that rise to the top - it's also the C students who find that one thing they do better than anyone else. No matter what you're GPA, the formula for success remains the same - find the one thing that you do well and that you really love, and then pour your heart and soul into it! You'll be amazed at how far you go!

You just never know.....or can you???

2009-07-28T12:51:00.000-07:00

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I don't know whether you're a fan of the Sunday morning talk shows or not, but being a news junkie - I confess to having many an episode of This Week with George Stephanopolis or Meet the Press with David Gregory on my DVR. This past Sunday, David Gregory interviewed Hillary Clinton. At the end of the interview, he showed something that Secretary Clinton wrote when she was in the 6th grade: "When I grow up, I want to have the best possible education I could have obtained. If I obtain this, I will probably be able to get a very good job. I either want to be a teacher or a nuclear physics scientist." Secretary Clinton responded, "I think it's just a lesson to everybody, you don't know where you life may lead and what your opportunities could be."

There are some interesting take-aways from this quote by Secretary Clinton. First, she was very smart to know, even as a 6th grader, that a good education is critical to success. There are plenty of studies out there that validate that even with the rising cost of a college education, you're still better off in the end than if you'd opted out. If you've ever studied Secretary Clinton's bio, you'll know she went to Wellesley College, followed by Yale Law School. She obviously attained that personal goal of 'the best possible education'. However, it's worth noting that there are great schools outside of the realm of Ivy League schools. If you're interested in learning about some alternatives, check out the website: www.ctcl.org. This website is built around the original research of education expert, Loren Pope, who wrote the book Colleges That Change Lives. This book should definitely be on every high school student's reading list. If you also aspire to get the best possible education - and not just 'best' in terms of US News & World Report rankings, but also 'best' for your unique needs/goals - then check out this book or the website above!

Next, we can look at the second part of Hillary's statement, where she linked getting a 'good education' with getting a 'good job'. Generally speaking, this is definitely true. As we said before, you're better off with a college degree than without one. However, it's also worth pointing out that getting the right college degree for you is also key to future career success.

What I mean by this is that we each have unique strengths and weaknesses. If you want to give yourself a head start in this process, then learning about yourself - from your personal thinking preferences to your passions - can all help you make smarter choices about both college majors and career paths.

Here's an example: let's say that you love to communicate. You're not sure about your precise career path, but you especially love both writing and current events. In college, you write for the college newspaper and also get some internships working for real newspapers. The experience of writing for your college paper and interning with a few newspapers will collectively give you an advantage when you apply for a job as a writer for a newspaper/magazine after college. That doesn't mean that if you don't major in journalism and don't get any internships with newspapers that you'll never be able to be a writer. However, if you are able to learn early in life about your passions for writing + news/current events, then you can put yourself on a journalism path that you'll be happier with and more successful in - than if you'd taken a more ambivalent approach.

There are plenty of people out there WITH good educations but WITHOUT great jobs...and, not just because unemployment happens to be high at the moment. Did you know that studies done in 1994 found that 25% of the Harvard class of 1958 was on welfare? And, amazingly, the statistics for other Ivy League schools was similar. I don't mean to knock Ivy League schools. The point is that those who actually end up being the most successful are not those with the right academic pedigree or the major that boasts the highest salaries after education. The people who end up being the most successful are those who know who they are and leverage their strengths/weaknesses with smart choices about college majors and careers.

Did you happen to notice that Secretary Clinton listed two VERY different careers as examples of 'a good job'? If you were to look at the HBDI thinking preferences of a teacher versus a nuclear physics scientist, you'll find that they are at nearly opposite ends of the spectrum. I'm guessing that in the years after 6th grade, Hillary Clinton was able to get a better understanding of her own strengths and weaknesses, and what career paths would be most suitable for her. However, there are a lot people out there who are, in fact, considering wildly different majors or potential careers. While it's great to have an open mind, considering all of your options - you also want to be prudent. If you're not a math/science person, maybe a career as a nuclear physics scientist is not in the cards for you.

The last take-way from this interview excerpt with Hillary Clinton is that she said you never know where life will take you. True enough, I'm sure that whether it's former first lady Hillary Clinton or the current First Lady, Michelle Obama, the world is full of people who end up in places they never dreamed. It is also true that if you are passionately driven in the areas you are gifted, you will go far. None of us may no precisely where you will end up, but we can be sure you'll do great things in life if your strengths are leveraged in the areas consistent with your values and interests. And, we know that you can pro-actively equip yourself with information about yourself, and the decisions you will be making (like what to study, where to go to school, what career path to take) so that you can be confident in your choices. Tools, like LeadAmerica's u101 course - can help you learn more about your thinking preferences, and how you combine those with other factors, such as your passions, to make smart decisions down the road.

So, what do you think of Secretary Clinton's quote from David Gregory's Meet the Press interview? Do you agree? Disagree? Share your thoughts!

Not to toot my horn, but....

2009-07-22T10:41:00.000-07:00

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I was actually a pretty decent flutist during my middle school and high school days. There were a few years when I was first chair in our school band, so you could say I was fairly competent. For a time, I actually thought that my future might be in music. At that time in my life, it was the one thing I did pretty well. Then, I went to Stanford for a summer....

The summer that I participated in a summer leadership program, similar to the Lead America programs, was the summer that everything changed for me. I still loved music. I still played my flute. But, I had this hunch that maybe music was not my future. Instead, I started participating in activities I'd never considered before - like Debate Team and Model United Nations. It was in these activities, as well as classes such as American Government and Politics, that I realized I had strengths and passions other than music.

I can vividly remember the confusion during those years while sorting between the skills that had defined my earlier teen years and the new interests that were motivating and inspiring me more than anything before.

Where am I going with all this?

Finding your path is a process. There is a certain amount of trial and error. The first or second thing that you happen to be good at might not necessarily be the area you're meant to base your entire future career on. Give yourself some leeway to try different things. But, be smart about it. There is an endless list of options, so consider what you already know about yourself in terms of your strengths and passions. And, look to the options that groups like Lead America provide. Perhaps, participating in a pre-med or pre-law session will help solidify hunches you had around particular areas for future study or career paths. In addition, look to the new u101 product as a perfect partner to the summer sessions - giving you in depth and very personal insights into your own thinking preferences so that you can make smart decisions about colleges, majors and careers.

I'm really glad that I didn't force myself to stick with a career in music. When I listen to the radio or I go to the symphony, I come face to face with people who have found their calling and who can make music that I could never have made - no matter how hard I tried. I still love music. It is still a part of my life, but it is not my career. And, that's a good thing because I get to do work more in line with my strengths and passions.....such as coaching and engaging with students like you!

Send me a note, post a comment, ask a question... I'd love to hear where you are in this process!

Truth or Dare

2009-07-20T11:23:00.000-07:00

I've been told by those well-connected to the world of teens, that a game I used to play in high school with friends, called 'Truth or Dare' has now been replaced by 'Two truths and a Lie'. So, since some of you may not be familiar with the basic rules for Truth or Dare, let me provide a brief tutorial.

So, you and a bunch of your friends are hanging out on a Friday night. You've already watched a movie and stuffed yourself with popcorn, pizza and cookie dough. Your favorite tunes are blaring from the stereo, but you're not sure what to do now.... This is the perfect setting for a game of truth or dare. The way it would work, is that you basically take turns doing just that - you must choose which you want - a truth or a dare. If you say, 'truth' then your friends might say, 'who do you have a crush on? Is it Jim? Tell the truth!!!!' And, then you must answer. Or, if you choose 'dare' then your friends might say, 'we dare you to prank call Bob' or 'we dare you to run around the house once in just your t-shirt and boxers (in the middle of winter...in Chicago)'. You get the idea....

The choice is pretty simple with this game. Either way, you're taking a risk of sorts. You either tell the truth or you accept a dare. And, in the game of life, the risks are somewhat similar. You can either look at the truth of who you are.... your passions, your values, your strengths (as well as your weaknesses), your thinking preferences. Then, employed with this knowledge you can make your decisions regarding schools or future careers.

Or, you can take another approach. You can ignore the truth of whatever your strengths and weaknesses might be...of the values and passions that affect your life.... And, just hope that it works out! It is a dare of sorts. For some students, it's not quite as severe as turning their back on the clear cut set of strengths and weaknesses, or passions. For some students, they simply don't know what those strengths are or how to distinguish between what they're good at versus their unique areas of giftedness.

No matter where you fall on the spectrum of self-awareness, you take a huge gamble when you make major decisions without any kind of guidance or spectrum through which to evaluate your choices. u101 is not about making choices for you or giving you the answers, neatly packaged for you to simply unwrap and follow. Rather, u101 is about empowering you to make smarter choices so that it's less of a gamble.

More than anything, we want to unveil the truth of who you really are because we believe that within each of you lies HUGE potential to do great things. I like the way Anne Frank put it: "Everyone has inside himself a piece of good news! The good news is that you really don't know how great you can be, how much you can love, what you can accomplish and what your potential is!"

So, are you up for a game of Truth or Dare? Whether you realize it or not - you're already in the game. You will make choices. We want to help ensure they're the best possible choices for YOU!

Picking a major, a school, a career....and, now...a city?

2009-07-14T10:08:00.000-07:00

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There's a fascinating new book out, titled Who's Your City: How the Creative Economy is Making Where to Live the Most Important Decision of Your Life. The author, Richard Florida, makes the argument that this decision is as important as any of the other big decisions that people make - like where to go to school, or what career to pursue. If you like data, Florida has plenty of it in his book, which uses a variety of disciplines, from sociology to economics to make some persuasive arguments about the importance of where you live.

Here are some personal examples from my own life, which anecdotally validate Florida's claims.

First, I went to college in the Midwest. My fellow students were mostly Midwesterners....the type that hadn't been out of their home state to date and probably wouldn't...except for a vacation in Florida....or if they were really daring, Cancun!. (Can you tell I'm being just a little sarcastic?) The point was that it was not a highly diverse or adventurous group, aside from a small minority. For a young woman, eager to explore the world and experience different cultures - this was not a particularly exciting place. To make matters worse, when I was ready to graduate, many of the headhunters were looking to fill spots locally - not in New York City or San Francisco or some other large city that appealed to me. Now, to be fair, not every Midwestern school is like this! I don't mean to knock Midwestern schools. I'm very proud of my Midwestern roots, I love many parts of the Midwest. However, if I'd been really smart, I would have done more homework when looking at universities. I would have talked to the admissions and career offices to learn more about both the diversity of the student campus, as well as where graduates often got placed...both in terms of the kinds of companies, as well as the geographic location of those placements. Some schools have a very wide net, in terms of where their students go after graduation. Other schools, are more regionally or locally focused. It pays to do your homework....if location matters to you.

Here's one more personal example. My husband is from Singapore. (That would explain how a woman with blond hair has the last name 'Chung'.) We spent years working and living abroad. It was a fantastic experience. Eventually, though, we decided that it was time to put down roots in the US. One of the factors that we looked at was local ethnic diversity. We wanted a place where multi-racial families were common....where it was easy to get good Asian cuisine, etc.

One of the ways where this ties into HBDI is that you find that people with similar thinking preferences tend to group themselves. Whether this is intentional or not, you find that engineers will have common thinking preferences, versus elementary school teachers who have a completely different set of preferences. And, so we know from other data points that people group themselves.

Florida goes to great length to argue that different cities have different characteristics or 'personalities', if you will. I would argue that the city in Taiwan where my husband and I worked for many years, Hsinchu - was dominated by A-quadrant type folks (to use HBDI lingo). It was a city filled with semiconductor researchers, engineers - very analytical types. On the other hand, Paris is a city defined by its aesthetic beauty, the appreciation of art, culture, wine and food.... The personality and defining characteristics of this city are completely different than Hsinchu, Taiwan. To go back to the HBDI tool, it's a city that is more in line with the C and D quadrants.

What's the connection to high schoolers who are probably just eager to as far away from home as possible? Be smart about your decisions. Do your homework. Think things through. When you get to that point in your college search when you're seriously considering one school or another, think about where it's located AND also do some research into where most graduates go afterwards.....do they stay in the same city or region as the school, or does the school have strong ties across the country....even the globe? More than likely, there are cities where you'll thrive and other cities where you'll feel less fulfilled and stimulated.

So, as Richard Florida puts it, 'Who's Your City?'. I'd love to hear your comments.

Why should I care?

2009-07-10T14:41:00.000-07:00

Image by Jill Clardy via Flickr

It seems like yesterday that I was in your shoes....a high school student, trying to figure out what my purpose in life was. Heck, I would have settled for just knowing what I was good at! Fortunately, I was not too far into my high school experience when I decided to spend a summer at Stanford, participating in a youth leadership program - much like the Lead America programs. That was the summer that changed my life. You can ask anyone who knows me, and they will vouch that I came home to Chicago, a new person. Somewhere in the course of those weeks in Palo Alto, California, I gained a sense of confidence and purpose that has endured through the years.

From then on, I was a woman on a mission. I joined all kinds of extra-curriculars, like the Debate Team or Model UN. After a brief exposure to the world of government and politics during my weeks at Stanford, I had caught 'the bug'. I was 'hooked' all things related to getting involved with government at all levels. Even my grades improved as a result of this huge boost to my confidence and new sense of purpose.

Don't get me wrong, life was not a complete cake-walk. I did stumble a bit along the way. And, I'll probably go into greater detail on those lessons that I learned, in future blog postings. But, for the moment, I want to make two points.

First, I know from personal experience the difference a program (like those at Lead America) can make in the life of a teen.

Second, I care because I've been where you are right now...and I've not forgotten. You see, I believe that democracy is not a spectator sport. You cannot say you believe in America's future or in education or in youth without putting your money where your mouth is.....as they say. So, here I am.

Most of the time, I keep pretty busy as a Senior Consultant for Larcen Consulting Group. Our typical client is a business executive who has a high schooler....not is a high schooler. But, when I found out about this opportunity to partner with Lead America and Herrmann International - I couldn't resist. I knew this was a unique opportunity.

So, join me. Join this blog. Sign-up for u101. One way or another, get involved.