Making the Most of Your Time

Time is a limited commodity. We have choices between time and projects. Without some level of guidance in our lives and goals we can be wasting time on things that are not important to us, our companies, or society. Knowing what you want to accomplish and putting together some goals helps in aligning your time appropriately.

You define goals in your daily life and you can define goals for your career. Career goals are accomplished through your work. Ensuring that you understand your job and what is needed to succeed can be helpful in obtaining your career goals.

On any given day we have work to do that is both tedious and time consuming. We might procrastinate on that work hoping that it will magically disappear. Instead of being proactive we start wasting time on less important projects an activities that do not help our career or our goals.

Take a few moments and think about what is important to you. This could be anything that includes money, family, recreation, travel, etc... Then think about what is needed to obtain those things. You will need to know how much time and effort is needed.

In the work place your goals should align to the needs of the organization. If your organization requires a certain sales quota, or other activity to succeed, the majority of your time should be spent there. Other types of maintenance work may be necessary but should be minimized as much as possible.

Factors that Influence Veteran Tansition from Military Service to Higher Education

Transition from military life to higher education can be a difficult one. People make assumptions all the time of veterans and their difficulties. Coming from high organized and often dangerous environment veterans understanding of the world is very different than that of the traditional college student. They were forced to grow up quick and college becomes another major hurdle for them.

In university life, people are expected to be free thinkers. This may not be the case in everyday life, workplaces, or social circles but in our university work we are expected to think for ourselves. Military personnel were not expected to be free thinkers and the idea could be alien to certain members of the enlisted ranks. Their lives revolve around what is termed Total Institution.

Total Institution means that the person lives under authority, works in a batch of others, formal rules, and a general exclusion of knowledge over decisions (Goffman, 1961). The person lives within a collective of others that requires working as part of a unit and following commands without questioning the bigger picture.

Students are the opposite. They are expected to question their environment, decisions, and choices. People are fed knowledge regardless of whether or not they have the capacity to understand or take responsibility over that knowledge. Students often learn to be responsible only to themselves and take care of their own needs unlike the military where one is expected to sacrifice.

Military veterans moving into higher education often experience difficulties in task cohesion, structure, anxiety, experiences and social cohesion (Naphan & Elliot, 2015). Getting military students together into a group can be helpful. Both virtual and/or physical groups can help veterans rely on each other and work through adjustments.  They can share resources and work together on projects.

Goffman, E. (1961). Asylums: Essays on the social situation of mental patients and other inmates. New York, NY: Anchor Books.

Naphan, D. & Elliont, M. (2015). Role Exit from the Military: Student Veterans' Perceptions of Transitioning from the U.S. Military to Higher Education. The Qualitative Report, 20 (2)

Dealing with Disgruntled Students-Feedback, Tips and Tone

Students can get upset when their expectations are not met. The very nature of giving feedback and pushing others to grow can be difficult in a higher education setting where fragile egos can be broken. Giving accurate feedback can break perceptions of perfection leading to frustration and anger as the next step for some students. Showing them how to improve and communicating in a way that lessens their fear can be difficult.

It is important to provide accurate feedback to ensure that the student not only is getting a high quality education but they are also given an avenue for channeling their frustrations. If there isn't adequate feedback the professor becomes the target of student frustration as the student seeks to avoid responsibility for poor work.

It is often easier to blame others than it is to blame ourselves. When we blame others we have no need to change, grow, or develop. Emotionally we are "off the hook" as all of the problems are the direct result of the professors grading. Over time students may find themselves unable to compete in a bigger market.

Beyond simply providing accurate feedback and methods for improving professors should also learn how to communicate in a way that empowers the student to take control over their education. Positive tone and demeanor can help students palate the feedback but also feel as though they can master the skills needed to succeed.

Frustration is a natural part of learning, blaming others is easy to do, but growing takes courage. Professors are not only administrators of classrooms but also administrators of student growth. Through providing solid feedback, tips for improvement, and a positive tone in communication they can bridge the natural gaps between a knowledge seeker and a knowledge provider.

Organizations with a Purpose

Organizations with a purpose are more likely to succeed than those who don't. When organizations think beyond their current position they can aspire to higher forms of performance and attract top talent that ensures their goals are met. When organizations become a collection of process and procedures without a higher order function they begin to decline in performance and relevance.

Successful organizations should have a purpose that draws people to a shared vision.  A purpose should be "brief, clear, and realistic, and it also should convey a representative picture of the future while enabling and appealing to employees, customers, and the broader community
Schultz, 2014)." The purpose becomes the overriding goal that people can believe in. 

Example 1: The purpose of a recycling center may be to create a greener community. They way the do this is by getting the community involved in recycling, putting out bins, and incentivising returns. The center's daily operations are designed to support its purpose. If its purpose was to only make money it would lose stakeholder support. 

Example 2: The purpose of the Justice Department is to create a safer community through the accurate dispensing of justice. The process of arresting, trying, and convicting offenders is only one of the many functions that can help in achieving its purpose. If the operations begin to be more important than its purpose, it will lose community support. 

The purpose gives the organization something to strive toward. This greater vision helps to ensure that its daily operations align with a better future outcome. The purpose guides daily decision-making and helps to chart strategic plans to achieve its purpose.

When policies & procedures become the main purpose the organization is doomed to eventual failure. Daily operations are its most important function and reconfirm itself creating a closed system that will become more irrelevant each year. People within the organization have no vision and begin to cannibalize the system.

 In the first example the manager of a recycling center may use the size of his paycheck and the size of his department as a reference of performance while in the second example an officer might look at the amount of arrests made as a metric of performance. The functions supersede its vision and become more of a resource for personal gain than fulfillment of a greater cause.

Successful organizations have a purpose that makes its way into a clearly articulated vision that people can follow and believe in. Stakeholder  vision is stronger as interested parties support the overall purpose of the organization and encourage ever improving operations to achieve that purpose. Employees can take pride in the work they do and maintain their motivation beyond the monetary benefits they may gain.

Schultz, J. (2014). Framing the Organization’s Purpose with Its Ultimate Goals in Mind. Global Business & Organizational Excellence, 33 (3).
 

Chula Vista Harborfest

I went down to Chula Vista's Harbor Fest over the weekend and explored the sites. Warm weather, lots of games, food, ocean view, music, and good fun. The event was free and drew a Bayside Park. I spent a few hours there and then biked around the area for an hour or so. Great bike trails on the main road but almost none along the bay. That is a shame because it would be beautiful. http://www.cvharborfest.com/

Power Negotiations Through Coercion or Inspiration

Negotiations are a natural part of life. Most of us do it without conscious awareness. We negotiate with our partners, friends, co-workers, mechanic, children and just about everyone else. Power is still a major factor in all negotiations but is not always the deciding factor. The type of power used will often determine how the negotiations will run but doesn't always determine the outcomes.

There are two main types of power; coercive and non-coercive. Coercive power is often used in power over situations while non-coercive power is used in power with situations. One seeks to create power over individuals through negative consequences while the other creates power with people through inspiration.

Coercive Power: If you don't do this I will do this! A reward and punishment system. For example, someone who is physically bigger than you or who has a weapon could simply force you do do something physically. It may even take the form of formal power where your boss tells you to do something and the consequences of not doing it are not worth it.

Non-coercive Power:Non-coercive power is based in the ability to get people to believe in what you are doing and follow your lead. For example, information helps people make better decisions while force might ensure enough sustaining power to get a job done. People follow because they believe in the vision and power is used appropriately to make things happen.

It is possible to approach each problem with coercive or non-coercive power. Culturally we believe heavily in the coercive method but sometimes it is counterproductive.  As a general approach, non-coercive power leads to better decisions, open debate that is akin to democracy, knowledge sharing, and more collaborators. Coercive power should be used when no other option is available and parties refuse to negotiate in good faith.

Negotiations can use coercive or non-coercive power to come to a resolution. The general process of negotiating is non-coercive but people still reserve the right to strike or walk out of negotiations. The ballistic approach sometimes works but may also be counterproductive if the other side simply cuts their loses and begins to find alternative strategies to minimize the long-term power of their opponent. Non-coercive power seeks to find a balance where both parties agree making a longer-term arrangement.

When Free Trade Agreements can Help San Diego's Economy Bear Fruit

Trade Deals can be or not be beneficial depending on their design and the economic environment in which they are enacted. An article entitled Trans-Pacific trade pact benefits San Diego by Jerry Sanders in San Diego Union-Tribune does a pretty good job outlining the benefits of a trade deal and its potential impact on the San Diego Economy. The level benefits of any trade agreement rests on a few things that San Diego must have to maximize its opportunities.   

When Businesses Crave Access to New Markets: Local businesses must want new markets. Opening up the international market affords an opportunity to sell more products, create more revenue, expand operations and hire more people. There must be a growing need to find new markets. 

When We are More Competitive than Other Locations: One of the reasons why countries use tariffs is to protect their weaker businesses and encourage them to grow to a competitive positions. China is great at this. If San Diego Business are developed, can produce a market-driven product, and have a working business model they can compete on the international market.

When We Need Access to New Resources: Innovation produces new products that need cheaper resources for mass production. Trade agreements can provide access to new resources at prices not found locally therefore making the products more competitive. Growing countries need resources to feed their business expansion plans.

 When the Agreement is a Net Plus for the Economy: The numbers are important in this case. Economics and number crunchers will need to determine whether or not we will expand or shrink our economy under an agreement. Some places will be losers while others will be winners.

When Local Technology and Skills are High: If locals have unique skills that have demand on the international market and access to the technology to produce the next generation products such trade agreements make sense. The area itself must be competitive and unique when compared to other places.

When Local Universities Draw Talent and Innovation: Local universities draw talent and innovation from other places. Graduates settle in the area when jobs are plentiful further feeding intellectual capital needs. Universities create new products and ideas for market consumption.

When Investment Will Match New Opportunities: When the market shifts due to new trade agreements it is an opportune time for hubs to market their investment opportunities. New resources, expansion, and new intellectual knowledge draws new investments. Investment sources should be expanded.

When Local Government Can Manage to an International Community: Local government and its effectiveness in understanding and managing across genders, races, origins, and localities depends on its developmental level. Government includes policing, services, policies and the intellectual abilities of people in power. Diverse populations and people from other places will want to trust the government to be fair and transparent in decisions and the information leading to those decisions.

When the Business Community Can Work Together: When the local business community can work together to maximize their opportunities and expand the economic engine. This includes marketing the area, partnership in government, encouraging investments, pushing for pro-business policies, and better management of the region.