First, about the K-12 Standards.  Here is the mission:  The Common Core State Standards provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them. The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers. With American students fully prepared for the future, our communities will be best positioned to compete successfully in the global economy.

The Standards developed so far include math and literacy.  Forty-six states have pledged to adopt the Standards by 2014 and the New York school district has been in pilot stage.

Second, this is big!  It will dramatically change K-12 education for the better (in my humble opinion).  One thing that I particularly like about the initiative is that it focuses on mastery of skills — not just knowledge and memorization.  It goes deep into smaller bits of information before moving on to the next, more complex concepts.  That’s the good news.

But the bad news is, curricula will change.  Teachers will have to be trained.  Assessments will be more meaningful, but the scores — particularly early on — may be lower.  Parents will have to get on board.  School Administrators will lose some autonomy.  The list of challenges goes on and on.

My interest in the initiative echoes that of the GE Foundation as well as all the business leaders  present at the meeting.  We are facing a talent shortage right now and we know it will get way worse before it gets better.  Every business and every community needs a career-ready workforce, so we need to do everything we can to help young people prepare for either a sustainable job or post-secondary education.

So finally, do me a big favor, please.  Watch for news of this initiative in your local community.  Learn everything you can about it.  Then support it!

But as I’ve thought about the phrase and how often I say it, I’ve pondered its meaning for me.  It’s not that I’ve given up responsiblity for things that happen.  Rather, the bad things that challenge us can, indeed, make us stronger.  I’m in charge of how I handle those bad things — I can choose to react negatively and make myself even more miserable, OR I can figure out how to find something positive in the challenge.

So next time something bad happens to you, ask yourself, “what’s the reason?”  Then, work hard to make it positive.

Second, I’m not much of a non-fiction reader.  Having said that, I’m reading a lot of Bill Bryson this summer.  I’ve never read more compelling non-fiction — Bryson could make the phone book interesting (and I’m not kidding!).  So far I’ve read At Home: A Short History of Private Life and A Walk in the Woods.  Waiting in my elibrary are Shakespeare: The World as Stage and I’m a Stranger Here Myself.  I highly recommend anything Bryson has written.

Third, I’m a fiction junkie.  I’ve read a ton of books so far this summer — I go through at least one per week.  My favorite was The Art of Racing in the Rain.  I’m a dog person, so the dog’s perspective made the book very special to me.  But it is the well-written, compelling story with a message that puts this book on my list of top ten favorites of all time.

I’d be interested on others’ top ten favorites.  Mine change all the time, but currently they include A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving), To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee), The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay), The Passion (Jeanette Winterson), East of Eden (John Steinbeck), Time and Again (Jack Finney), Life of Pi (Yann Martel) and anything by M.F.K. Fisher — to name a few.

Finally, I’m currently reading Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon.  It’s part of her Outlander series — a series of seven historical novels with an interesting time-travel twist.  (I’ll also mention that they include several ‘bodice ripper’ scenes that all will enjoy.)  Drums… is the fourth in the series and I’m comforted by the fact there are three more to go.

Somehow I find the time to get in most of the reading I’d like to do (and sometimes stay up way too late to do it).  I actually don’t know what I’d do without reading — perhaps I’d have to watch more Real Housewives on TV!

1. Don’t miss the point.  Skills and abilities are the ante that gets you the interview.  According to this author, once you’re in the door people hire you because they like you.  I agree to a point.  What scares me about what she wrote is the last part of that advice about why people like each other and get hired… ”Why?  Because she reminded me of me.”  If all we hire are people who remind us of ourselves, we’re missing the whole point of diversity — we should consciously look for people who have different ideas, thoughts and perspectives.  Those people may not remind us of ourselves, but they will make for a better team.
2. Don’t sell yourself wrong.  This advice was framed around an interview with a stripper (yes, a stripper) and the point is a good one.  Read your interviewers and give them what they want.
3. Don’t be a sucker.  And the final advice is one I can relate to.  I can be a sucker because I really, really want people to like me.  Her point is — particularly aimed at women, but for all readers — don’t sell yourself short.

Interesting, entertaining post that is worth reading and will make you think.

• 20% of the 18,000 employers we interviewed in the U.S. plan to add to staff between July and September.  You could call this good news for those who are looking for work.
• 8% plan to reduce their workforce.
• 69% expect their workforce to remain the same.  This is good news for those of us who are currently employed.
• All 50 states show a positive employment Outlook.
• Nine of the 13 industry sectors are looking to hire.

The good news — this is the largest percentage of employers planning to add staff since the fourth quarter of 2008, the positive trends are widespread AND we’ve seen seven straight quarters of employment growth.

The not-so-good news — while this is a good trend, the increases aren’t quite as robust as we’d like them to be.  So while I’m tired of being cautiously optimistic, that’s where I remain. 

Cautious!

• Fourteen hundred!  That’s both good news and bad news.  The bad news is that so very many folks didn’t graduate from high school in the traditional way and 1400 is just a fraction of those who are in the same boat.  In fact, every four seconds of the school day, someone drops out of high school!  The good news is 1400 people saw the value of education and found the discipline and courage to do something about it.
• The age range of those at the ceremony were from early twenties to very late middle age.  As I sat on the platform watching the graduates walk across the stage, I couldn’t help but wonder about each individual’s motivation.  I was particularly curious about the older grads — was this something they’d always regretted and finally decided to do something about it?
• I also attend MATC’s regular graduation ceremonies twice a year.  The graduates are always filled with pride and excitement about their accomplishment.  But the grads last week were particularly proud and they weren’t ashamed to show it.  There was dancing, prancing, raised arms and huge smiles as each was handed his or her diploma.

It was an inspirational evening.  I am proud to be associated with MATC and most particularly proud that these 1400 grads now have a fighting chance — to get a family-sustaining job and/or to go ahead into a post-secondary field.

Congratulations grads!!

My answer to both of those questions is a resounding ‘yes!’  Open positions can attract many, many candidates.  As a hiring manager, if I’m trying to narrow the field, a misspelled word or two will definitely eliminate a resume.  And there’s another important issue, as well.  With the utilization of electronic key word searches to highlight skills, a misspelled skill will definiately knock you out of the running.

So utilize spell check.  Take extra time and care to make sure your letters and resume are flawless.  And take the seemingly small things seriously — because they could determine your success.

I doubt that the Wisconsin budget is unique. Our projected deficit is more than $3 billion (that’s not a typo — billion with a ‘b’).  No program will escape unscathed — and we understand that. But without good, effective, practical career and technical education and training we won’t have the skilled workforce to do the work. So our objective was to make sure the decision-makers know that we are part of the solution. 

It was an interesting and invigorating day. I hope we got our message across as MATC continues to provide the skills that Milwaukee businesses and taxpayers need.

At the event honoring her service to Manpower, I thought a lot about legacy and how people leave organizations.  There are obviously many ways to leave — either voluntarily or involuntarily.  And there are equally many ways to affect how people will remember you.  What struck me about Barbara’s leaving was how universally liked and respected she was by all.  Her exit was graceful, dignified and honorable.

So while you’re working, make sure you treat all with kindness and respect.  When you leave, keep Barbara in mind.  Burning bridges is never a good thing — strengthening them as you exit makes the most sense!

And P.S.  Leaving Manpower was very hard for Barbara.  Her final, emotional words to us were a quote from Dr. Suess:  “Don’t cry because it’s over.  Smile because it happened.”  Great words to live by!