I3+2HTxC=SUCCESS

The 2012 Jostens Renaissance National Conference will be held July 13-15 at Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando, Florida. For additional information, you may contact me at llbiddle@aol.com

The first of three components of the formula is:

Leaders Who Embrace Innovation

Google’s employee #16, Susan Wojcicki shares Eight Pillars of Innovation

• Have a mission that matters
• Think big but start small
• Strive for continual innovation, not instant perfection
• Look for ideas everywhere
• Share everything
• Spark with imagination, fuel with data
• Be a platform
• Never fail to fail

Each of these pillars sends powerful creative messages to all of us in education. At Jostens Renaissance we have held, since the beginning, that our schools are the most important businesses in town ....

Integrity that Demands Accountability

“What if the Secret to Success is Failure?” is the title of an excellent article in the New York Times Education magazine by contributing author Paul Tough that highlights the importance of integrity as well as character in our schools. He cites a “freewheeling discussion of psychology and schooling” among Dominic Randolph, a headmaster; David Levin, co-founder of the KIPP network for charter schools; Christopher Peterson, a University of Michigan psychology professor; and Martin Seligman, a psychology professor at the University of Pennsylvania who helped establish the Positive Psychology movement. The discussion was based on “Learned Optimism,” a book by Seligman. This group went to Seligman’s office supposedly to discuss optimism. However, Seligman exposed them to a book that he and Peterson has just completed, “Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification,” a three and a half pound, 800-page work. Because neither Levin nor Randolph had a clear vision of how to turn an 800-page tome into a practical program, Seligman eventually introduced them to Angela Duckworth, a Ph.D. candidate at Penn, who had a different view of school reform.

“The problem, I think, is not only the schools, but also the students themselves. Here’s why: learning is hard. True, learning is fun, exhilarating and gratifying but it is also often daunting, exhausting and sometimes discouraging ... To help chronically low performing but intelligent students, educators and parents must first recognize that character is at least as important as intellect.”

She found in her research that self-control can be more reliable as a predictor of students’ success than their I.Q.s. She discovered, that while self-control seemed a critical ingredient to basic achievement, frequently it was not as relevant for those outstanding achievers who had a passion and unrelenting dedication, regardless of obstacles or time invested in achieving their goal. She called this trait “grit.” With the assistance of Peterson, the full list of 24 character strengths was narrowed to a final list of   seven: zest, grit, self-control, social intelligence, gratitude, optimism and curiosity.

Initiatives that Reflect Excellence

Excellence is always inconvenient. It is never an accident ... it is the result of four tenets: high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution. It represents the wise choice of many alternatives. According to James A. Autry, in his book “The Servant Leader,” excellent leaders, unlike managers, do not exhibit just a set of skills and learned behaviors. What you do as a leader will depend on who you are. And regardless of your own perceptions of yourself, those around you in the work place can determine who you are only by observing what you do.

2 HT: High Tech & High Touch

The age of electronic assistants has brought to the workplace both convenience and productivity ... to the extent that personal relationships have been neglected or ignored. In Chapter 6 of  “The Servant Leader,”  Autry points out the myths of the high tech workplace.

• MYTH ONE: We are more connected. While becoming more connected electronically, we are becoming less connected personally. BEWARE: The Tyranny of Technology.
• MYTH TWO: All our electronic tools have made communication faster, better and more accurate. E-mail is great for sending information but generally lousy for communicating ... REMEMBER: The power of silence, a gesture, facial expression and even a sigh.
• MYTH THREE: Having people come to a central place to work in groups is being made obsolete by the new tools. Without a sense of belonging and participation in a group effort, we lose focus on what we want to accomplish together as a team. WARNING: The virtual office should not become the virtual employees.
• MYTH FOUR: When people multitask, they get more done. FACT: People don’t multitask; computers do. NOTE: Don’t measure the quantity of the work, but the quality of the work. Technology is neutral; it either enhances or distorts relationships.

Commitment

Commitment powers the formula and empowers success in any endeavor. There are three levels of commitment that multiply the formula — depending on the level.

• Try: according to Yoda, “Do or do not. There is no Try.” (Little power)
• Do my best: The surgeons will do their best to repair your ruptured appendix. (A little more power)
• Whatever it takes: GRIT!

Jostens Renaissance continues to provide people and resources for issues impacting you and your school. We have created Pause Before You Post^TM, as a public service program that encourages students to make smart decisions about personal posting. Take the pledge: www.jostens.com/edserv.