There were nine of us seated at the table – Jim, Susan, Justin, Mengyin, Liz, Shawn, Andrew, Dan B., and yours truly. Sandra and Jen were the dynamic duo that created a video recording of the event (I will post a link to the video once it is posted). My heartfelt thanks go out to all of you. Your participation made the event a great success!
In addition, the Alumni Advisory Board of WGU would like to publically thank Dan Pink for allowing us to convene a Bunko Breakfast and for joining us via Skype.
On a personal note…Dan, it was an honor to share your message with my colleagues. Domo arigato, Daniel-san!
I also wish to extend a very special “Thank you!” to the staff at Lamb’s Grill for their hospitality, the cheerfulness, and their mighty-good breakfast.
Now, on with the show…
1. There is no plan.
We had quite a chat about how those of us who are “older” received the same advice from our parents that Johnny received from his – graduate from high school, go to college, get your degree, and start your career. “You need to follow the plan,” they said. Some of us in attendance did our best to “follow the plan” and were utterly baffled when things didn’t work out exactly as we mapped them. Others were given different (perhaps better) advice that went something like this:
“You know what you want to do with your life and that’s great. You probably won’t get there overnight and you may not get there at all. It will serve you better if you are flexible in how you get to you goal. You will learn a lot along the way that you may not think is relevant now but may be of great benefit to you down the road. Remember, keep your goals in sight and stay flexible in your approach to reaching them.”
2. Think strengths, not weaknesses.
We discussed how working with a business leader who leads his/her team based on the strengths of the team members creates a work environment that is enjoyable, is open to the tack-and-jibe of life, and actually gets more work done on a consistent basis (shades of a ROWE?) In addition, we talked about work situations we have all experienced in which the focus was on weaknesses instead of strengths and how demoralizing/defeating that kind of environment was.
3. It’s not about you.
When we started talking about this career lesson, Dan B. told us about how he had recently become involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters. He told us that becoming a Big Brother gave him a new perspective on what is really important in his life. This lead to a discussion on what it means to be a part of a company/team/family that champions the notion “it’s not about me, it’s about we”. We also touched on how to deal with people who are convinced “it’s all about them” (Bob Sutton has some very interesting things to say on this subject).
4. Persistence trumps talent.
As we started discussing this career lesson, we soon discovered that many of us had been in situations where we were not the most talented person on a team but we were the ones that kept at it long after the “most talented” person(s) either gave up or moved on to other things. Liz shared a story with us about how she persisted at becoming a better writer while working with other writers who allegedly had more “talent” than she did. Her doggedness opened doors for her and eventually lead to her covering events at the 2002 Winter Olympics.
As a graduate of WGU I have a special appreciation for students who persist through class work that may not play to their talents. I was there many times and used my support system (my WGU mentors, my family, and my friends) to keep on keeping on.
A side note: I have met people in my wanderings that have massive talent but zero persistence. I used to think “If I had just one ounce of the talent so-and-so had I’d be the best in the business!” Now, I think “I really don’t care how much natural talent you have. If you and I have the same level of persistence and your talent is better than mine, you deserve to get the gig. However, if my level of persistence is far greater than yours (and trust me, IT IS), I will consistently get more/bigger/better gigs than you ever will.”
5. Make excellent mistakes.
We talked about the value (and the pain) that comes from making great-big-ugly-what-were-you-thinking mistakes. We also discussed how to handle the affects of such mistakes – do you crawl away, give up, and never try again? Or do you ask yourself “What can I learn from this super-sized-screw-up?”
6. Leave an imprint.
We all acknowledged that we tend to get so busy with living that we forget to make a life for ourselves. Making that life also includes making a profound difference in the lives around you. The old saw about stopping to smell the roses is still valid – the best way to do that is to take the time to plant some roses in the first place. As they grow and become part of the landscape people will remember you and benefit from your good work long after you are no more.
7. Stay hungry.
I asked Dan to share with the group the story behind how the seventh lesson was chosen. We then talked about how being comfortable is a very short step away from being complacent. Example: if an active student at WGU is progressing better than s/he anticipated and decides to coast for a bit, s/he risks becoming complacent and bringing his/her momentum to a grinding halt. That is bad enough on its own; what is worse is the climb back from dead stop to overcoming complacency to getting the flywheel spinning at the same speed again.
Our Conversation with Dan Pink
Through the magic of Skype, we had the grand fortune of interacting with Dan for about 30 minutes. We shared our thoughts with him regarding the seven lessons, the format of the book (Susan wanted to know why the pages turn from right-to-left instead of left-to-right as is done in traditional manga – he explained that his publisher made the decision to print the book that way so that more people would be comfortable reading it), and where Johnny got his last name (it is a play on the word “bunkobon“, a type of paperback book format popular in Japan). He also recommended two books that correlate to the fourth career lesson – Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell and Talent is Overrated by Geoff Colvin.
To everyone that participated in this event, I thank you once again. It was a joy and a privilege to be a part of the conversation.
April 27, 2009 at 11:05 pm
Oh my. I don’t remember that picture being taken…
Thank you, Brian and the Alumni Advisory Board. I had a good time, and The Adventures of Johnny Bunko is on its way.
April 30, 2009 at 6:04 pm
Brian, you are awesome. Thanks for putting the event together. What a special treat to interact with the author of Johnny Bunko! I’m already looking forward to our next local alumni event.
May 6, 2009 at 2:15 pm
Thanks again Brian for leading this event for us. I really had a nice time. It was greating meeting fellow students – in the same program even! I look forward to the next one.