“There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.”

            Nelson Mandela in a May 8, 1995 speech in Pretoria, South Africa

On December 1st I went to Oak Park High School in Oak Park, MI.  A first ring school just outside of Detroit.  Principal Kwame Stephens along with Solution Tree Author Dr. Anthony Muhammad, provided myself and Stefan Kohler with a morning tour of the school, and some great conversation about struggling schools and what needs to happen to help the students.  Kwame is working hard to change the culture of the school, and Anthony is a best selling author on school culture, a very critical first steps to getting students to proficiency levels.  Kwame has only been at this school since August, but already he is making a big difference, and you can see excitement in both the faculty and the students.  I’ll keep us all posted on their success.

This morning I was reading an article summary in Marshall Memo and was reminded of the efforts taking place at Oak Park, and reminded why we do what we do.

In a recent Education Gadfly article written by Andy Smarick he says the just-released National Assessment of Educational Progress data from 20 large U.S. cities contain lots of sad news about disadvantaged students.  Which indeed it did.  Here are a couple of points about the Detroit schools.  Oak Park is were many families have moved their children to attempt to avoid similar results.  I truly support a parent doing what is necessary to help their child, but that is not a fix for Detroit, it is a flee.  The fix is our job.

–   Detroit is an educational emergency, says Smarick, with the lowest performance in all four areas and a nose-dive in 8^th-grade math to 3 percent of students proficient, 9 percent in 8^th-grade reading. Cleveland and Milwaukee are close behind. “We should all hang our heads in shame if we don’t dramatically intervene in these districts,” he says.

–   “Once you disaggregate results, your heart truly breaks,” says Smarick. White and non-poor students in several districts did quite well, pulling up the numbers. But the average proficiency rate for African-American students across all 20 cities was 12 percent.

.

For more information on this report you can go to ‘The 10 Things to Know About NAEP TUDA 2013″by Andy Smarick in The Education Gadfly, Dec. 19, 2013 (Vol. 13, #48),  http://www.edexcellence.net/commentary/education-gadfly-weekly

I had a half-dozen topics picked out to blog on during my flight to NYC today.  Relevant items on the recent planning processes for next year, our three year goal, the year end panic by students compared to shoppers, the release of a good friend who was a Principal in a very tough school, etc etc etc.  But after leaving my house at 11:00 this morning following a snow storm, sitting a collective 4 hours in a plane on a tarmac, being in Chicago now at 11:00pm when I was to go through Philly on my way to NYC and enjoy a nice dinner with Author Dr. Heidi Hayes Jacobs, and attend the Association of Educational Publishers meeting Monday, I decided to go with a different topic and to point out a positive.

This year Solution Tree has booked close to 3,500 days of professional development speaking engagements either in schools or at our events.  3,500!!!  Probably the most agnostic PD contracted by anyone in the country or the world.  And as I sit here in O’Hare whimpering about my woes, I began thinking about travel and those numbers. I do not believe we have missed more than 4 days all year long due to weather or sickness.

Now that is a WOW!!!!!

Remember, we market it, book it, schedule delivery, produce handouts, send out evaluations, do significant quality control, and our communication with both customers (host and speaker) are the best in the business. But we don’t drive our presenters to the airports.  We don’t offer limo service.  We don’t do wake-up calls or remind them to leave early for the school or the airport.  We tee it up, but they do the hard work.

Let me repeat myself…my kids hate that part..3,500 days and less than four days missed!  That is only a .001% failure rate.  That gets you into any Hall Of Fame.

These experts are committed to helping districts, schools, teachers and kids succeed.  They leave family and friends on a regular basis to travel to some not so pleasant places. They sleep in airports and ratty hotels. They prepare, and most important to remember, they are professionals. The best in the business.  They CARE.

I may have said it before but let me please repeat myself, travel is not glamorous. Travel the third time is not fun. Let’s be blunt shall we…travel sucks, but travel is a huge part of the work for these authors and consultants, who chose this profession to make a difference…and that is why THEY do it!

SABATICAL OVER.  I have been flat out busy for the past few weeks, but that is a crappy excuse…but the only one I have.  Here’s to improvement!

I spent 15+ years at three different Universities fund-raising and building Alumni Relations.  It was a great career where I met a countless number of very generous givers of time and financial support.  Really built a level of understanding of why people donate and how to bridge needs and giving.  Something that has really helped me in understanding author relations.

Well a few weeks ago I attended the Annual Habitat for Humanity breakfast in Bloomington.  The staff does a phenomenal job and has been identified as a Chapter of Distinction.  A very rare designation. At the breakfast a friend of mine, Tony Moravac, was one of the speakers talking about why he gives to Habitat, and he made a comment for which I can not find an original author, so I will give him the full credit.

It’s not what we have or what we do, but what we do with what we have. — Tony Moravac

At Solution Tree we try to care for our employees, be good corporate citizens and do right for our community.  One very proud attribute that DG and I started day one at Solution Tree is that we give 10% of our Net Profits to charity.  We are not after plaques, awards or accolades, but we are after the right home for our contributions.  Sure we give to the local athletic programs and youth sports, but those are mostly to support our staff’s children’s activities.  Our focus is on Faith Based, Educational, and At-Risk Youth Organizations.  The list has become pretty long and hopefully the gifts help to make the difference we hoped they would.  But the issue is not that we as a company or as individuals give money, or time, or of our reputation, or our any other asset we have, it is that we give.

So many organizations need your support, and support comes in many ways.

So as you count your blessings, see how maybe yours can become someone else’s.

So here is a quote that I have though of elevendy-hundred times over the course of my life.  I believe I first heard it in my thirties, and I cannot begin to calculate how many times I have referred to it when thinking about all sorts of life issues.

 

As our circle of knowledge expands, so does the circumference of darkness surrounding it.

— Albert Einstein

So the more we know, the more we don’t know (the darkness).

I’ve used this quote when thinking about faith, parenting four children, marriage, friendships, definitely running a company, managing personal finances and retirement planning, how to be a good son, and on and on and on.  The more I know, the more I don’t know.

A daunting thought, but great fun to ponder.  Continuous improvement….nothing more important.

Thursday I spent the day with the Solution Tree Guiding Coalition.  These are the current thought leaders within the company who will drive our success, or failure, in nearly every area.   They are a talented group of individuals whom I obviously trust with key decisions, and led by Ed Ackerman, President of Solution Tree.

It was a good day with a tight agenda where we discussed and broke down our financials.  We reviewed or history, shared 2013 hits and misses, to-date, dug into forecasts for 2014 and debated new initiatives moving forward.  I LOVE to discuss market trends and define future goals and initiatives, so for me this was a great day, and we repeat it each Fall.

One of the tools for success we discussed was communication.  I had recently attended a Strategic Coach meeting in Chicago where I first used one of their tools to help me better understand communications.  Kind of an important part of any team, and one I really felt was important to this team since they are playing such a critical role in my family’s future business success, the success of 125 Solution Tree employee’s families, 300+ authors, another 200+ associates.  Then there are all of the educators and a huge multiple of students’ lives! So you can see why I  think it is kind of important stuff that we communicate, and more importantly be successful.

So as not to bust copyright laws, seeing how I am a publisher, I won’t cut and paste Strategic Coach tools, but the concepts are easy, not revolutionary, but just plain good.

How do you like to get information and how do you like to give information.

Sounds simple.  I know I have very definite ways in which I appreciate information and ways I deplore getting information, so I’m assuming you do too! For instance, I don’t read emails all day long.  I sure the heck get them all day long, around 150, but I’m not at my desk alone in front of the screen all day.  So if someone wants a ‘quick response’, this is not a great mode of communication to me.  And, I don’t write long emails. If you get a long detailed email from me it is usually one you would prefer not to receive.  If I am not asked a question in an email, especially a chain or cc’d email,  I don’t feel compelled to send an answer.  As for text messages, turn around time here is much different.  I look at text almost too fast…but not while my car is moving. I respond with an answer almost too fast…I say dumb stuff too often.  I listen to voicemails as soon as practical, and call back in the same way.  I hate surprises, especially bad news that is only news to me, and I prefer to know about a problem whether I am a fix or not.  Oh how I hate to hear of an issue from an unrelated third party.  HATE IT!  I prefer face-to-face meetings, and an appointment is not needed. My door is always open.

The point here is that I know very well how I like to be communicated with, and how I like to be updated. I know how I like to communicate, and how I like to update.  But do the people I work with know?  And a better question for this blog is, do the people you work with know how you prefer communications?  I am pretty sure many of them are not mind readers, and I would image that by the time they figure you out, they have frustrated you quite a few times.  And that sucks for them.

So here is a note to self, and to you…let them know!!!  How do you like to receive information, give information?  When is the best time, worst time?   What do you need, and I mean in what detail.  Bullet points or short novels?  How will they know if you don’t tell them? Is it a secret?

Think you will save yourself and others a lot of angst.

I think I looked up 100+ quotes on “Government and Budgets” attempting to find a fit for our current mess.  Had to go back a ways to find this little gem.

The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be filled, the public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt.                                Cicero (63 B.C.)