THE EXPONENT: Volume 98, Number 4

News and Commentary for Triangle Leaders

Confidence comes not from always being right but from not fearing to be wrong. - Peter T. McIntyre

Perhaps you'll get this email and think, "That's too long to read." Maybe you'll open it and think, "None of it applies to me, my chapter, or my alumni association, so I think I'll pass." It's even possible that you'll think, "Doesn't apply to Triangle or even Fraternity life -- I can't figure it out and I couldn't use it even if I could."

Success waits for those who pluck it from its place. It rarely falls into your lap. Even when it does do that, it must seem worth less for not having a cost. Don't fear to reach out for it - grab for the brass ring at every opportunity! You'll make yourself, your Triangle experience, and the Triangle experience of countless others the better for having done it.

Contents

• Brotherhood
  • Ethics and Values
  • A Falsehood
• Leadership
  • It's the Law
• Management
  • The Keys to the Kingdom

Ethics and Values

Adapted from an article in the Chi Omega Eleusis by K. Cocke Hassell

Some time ago, an editor of the Crimson, Harvard's undergraduate newspaper, lamented the lack of civility, or just plain old-fashioned good manners that he had experienced on the Harvard campus. He complained, among other things, that students whooshed through doors without the courtesy of holding them open for those behind them. He cited many other evidences of a lack of good manners and caring concern for fellow students, faculty, or anybody else.

A recent Carnegie Foundation study of 18 representative colleges and universities showed the same lack of common courtesy, indicating a declining sense of community among students. The panel was dismayed to find negative trends in crime, sexism, alcohol and drug abuse, rape, cheating, polarization by race and ethnic background, and other disturbing trends. They also noted a wide disparity between academic and extracurricular activities, noting that there were few intellectual interests pursued beyond classroom requirements. Another 1997 survey of 252,082 students at 464 US colleges supports this claim, finding that a high percentage reported being frequently bored in class and/or missing class, little interest in politics and social issues, and, most importantly spending less and less time studying. Ironically, all this comes at a time when more students aspire to graduate study. These trends suggest that while students' level of interest in the studies is down, they realize the need to be successful in college in order to remain competitive.

These examples of ethical and moral uncertainty should trigger our concern as well as our moral indignation. However, I think before we make too many moral judgements about what others are doing, we need first to engage in some self-evaluation and self-regulation. We need to reflect less on what others are doing wrong and concentrate instead on what we know we should be doing. We might then be able to preserve our fraternity and the fraternity system for the generations to come.

Many university officials, while recognizing the value of a Greek system on campus, are becoming increasingly concerned about the bad press and litigation resulting from alcohol abuse, hazing, sexual abuse and other irresponsible behavior of some groups. Many of them are developing strict guidelines that set perimeters for fraternity behavior. Any group violating these rules will be banned. Twenty-three schools have banned the entire Greek system.

I could say, of course, that the critics of the system are shallow and wrong; that they see only what they want to see; that they judge all groups by the behavior and misdeeds of one or two groups or the individual group by the behavior and misdeeds of one or two members. I would suggest, however, that the best response fraternities can make to the growing criticism of the system would be to admit our shortcomings, stay off the defensive, and use our energies to do something about it. We must do some innovative things to improve academic quality, to improve standards of conduct and integrity among members, and anything else we need to do to clean up our collective act and make a positive contribution to campus and community life as responsible citizens. If we communicate and demonstrate the positive leadership and personal development aspect of fraternity membership rather than the purely social aspect, we might find ourselves the blessed members of campus life and awash in members. Remember that the flaws with any group are determined by the sum total of the flaws of each of its members.

I have said many times that the problem with all of our fraternity groups is that we have too many pin-wearers -- members who accept the badge and the privileges of members, but none of the responsibilities. If all of us, actives and alumni, lived up to the reality of our creeds and kept the promises we made when initiated, nobody could justify a criticism. We all have a challenge here that has never been fully accepted. Any fraternity is judged by the chapters which make up its National Organization. Like a chain, a National Organization is only as strong as its weakest chapter and a chapter is only as strong as its weakest member. The measure of Triangle's quality is the quality of her Brothers.

Here are some specific things you can do to promote ethics and values among your members and at the same time enrich your own life:

1. Live up to the standards of the Fraternity.
2. Expect others to live up to the standards of the Fraternity.
3. Encourage the chapter to be an intellectual community. Don't let education be the thing for which members are willing to pay and then not get. We represent an honorable organization and we have an obligation to see to it that our members make the best possible preparations to reach their highest and best potential as professional men.
4. In whatever your capacity as a Triangle leader, you can and should be able to deal effectively with the social and moral values of your members. Through careful programs, guidance, and by example, you can teach and promote moral and social responsibility, respect for law, and respect for people and property. Set high standards for your members and expect every member to meet them.

If we seek fulfillment and have a desire to help our Fraternity reach its highest and best potential, each of us should strive to be a person of quality and character, and then help other members do the same. The person who reaches this goal in life is a person who realizes in time that satisfaction does not arise merely from being good at something, but also from being a certain kind of person. Character takes no account of what your thought to be, only what you are.

A Falsehood

From the BR Institute Reader

It's The Law

From the 1998 "Brief Factx" of the Intelligent Solutions company

The Law of the Mind: Thoughts objectify themselves. You become what you hold in your mind.

The Law of Responsibility: YOU are completely responsible for everything you are and have, and for everything you become and achieve. This law gives you response-ability.

The Law of Compensation: No one likes to hear this one -- you're always fully compensated for whatever you do, positive or negative. Your rewards in life will always be in direct proportion to the value of your service to others.

The Law of Values: What you truly value and believe is only, and always, expressed in your actions. You DO what you BELIEVE.

The Law of Applied Effort: All great success is preceded by a long period of hard work in a single direction, towards a clearly defined purpose. The harder you work, the luckier you get. To achieve more than average, you must work longer and harder than average.

The Law of Expectation: Whatever you expect, with confidence, will have a tendency to materialize in your life.

The Law of Attraction: You inevitably attract people, events, and circumstances into your life that harmonize with your dominant thoughts.

The Law of Sowing and Reaping: You reap what you SOW. You reap what YOU sow. YOU reap what you sow.

The Law of Mowing and Reaping: If the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence, it's probably because it's getting better care. Work your own lawn and it too will become greener.

The Law of Preparation: Effective performance and efficient achievement are preceded by painstaking preparation. Do your homework. Even Michael Jordan goes to preseason training.

The Law of Decision: Every great leap forward in life is preceded by a clear decision that leads to action. Act boldly and unseen forces will come to your aid. Act as if it were impossible to fail and it shall be. Good enough is usually good enough. Just DO IT!

The Law of Persistence: Your ability to persist in the face of inevitable setbacks and disappointments is your measure of your belief in yourself and your ability to succeed. Persistence is self-discipline in action. Never give up on your dream or what's right. Never give up on that - NEVER.

The Keys to the Kingdom

Source unknown (Fast Company Magazine?)

1. THE MORE YOU TELL, THE MORE YOU SELL. A funny thing happened on the way to the next century. People have simply stopped listening to drivel advertising. They have tuned out, moved on and just don't care about your good deals, low prices and once-in-a-lifetime offers. People don't believe, anymore!

   Wake up and smell the coffee, folks. Just because there is still a modicum of business as usual, and just because most people are still doing it just like they always did,...doesn't mean its working well!

   Peter Brock, the senior executive responsible for Nestle worldwide communications says it nicely:

   "There is no mass consumer any more, and people don't act just because someone tells them to do something."

   There is a new generation out there. They still want what you have to offer, but they want you to give them the information that will allow them to make an intelligent decision. They are trying to tell you...

   "Don't give me your sales pitch. Just give me that facts, and then I'll decide what to do about them."

   The new directive for marketing is to Tell, Tell, Tell, before you try to Sell, Sell, Sell! The problem is that few people understand the difference. Many people we have worked with think they believe this. But since they do not understand the psychology of the new consumer, they simply escalate their "Selling" techniques and thus believe they are now "Telling".

   What we're talking about here is education. Not sale hype. This is the art and process of providing useful information and trusting the consumer to make an informed decision. It's not about you, the merchant. It's about me, the consumer.

    

2. STOP BEING A TRADITIONALIST. Virtually everybody in business says "We Care." Every business promises "The Best Service." And every business is being ignored more and more.

   Unless...Unless that business recognizes that people care more about what you "Do" than what you "Say". As the technology of "Mass Media" advertising took over several decades ago, the nation was ready to buy. There seemed to be no end to what could be accomplished with a good ad budget and some creative agencies working for you. A couple examples should give you the idea...

   Puget Sound Bank of Seattle took the higher road. Instead of pouring more dollars into advertising, they created a bold partnership with local environmental groups to clean up the water and beaches of Puget Sound. Each banking transaction contributed money to the effort. They encouraged their employees and families to join in the clean-up days. They placed collection tubs for used motor oil in their bank branches.

   Here is advertising people can believe in. They see the reality of the "We Care."

   The LEGO Company -- you know, those little multi-colored building blocks that captivate both kids and adults!? -- well, LEGO decided to put some reality into their theme, "LEGO Builds Imagination" by actually building their own theme park in Denmark with 42 million LEGO bricks joined to form animals, ships, trains, the space shuttle and an entire miniature village. There is also The LEGO Builder's Club for kids to join, and competition they can enter.

   The largest Shopping Center in the world has brought this excitement to center stage in America - The LEGO Imagination Center at the Mall of America located in Bloomington, Minnesota and it works just like advertising. 40 million visitors a year get a chance to learn exactly what LEGO is all about.

   This is what I mean about breaking away from Tradition. Stop thinking like other people who are in your business. Study different types of business to see what works and then apply it to your own. Many years ago, a wise man told me something that has ever since been a guiding light...

   "If you're not sure what to do, look around you and find out what everyone else is doing -- and then do the opposite! The crowd is always wrong!"

    

3. DON'T TALK TO STRANGERS! This is not an admonition for children, nor a suggestion to curtail your social life! In the mid-1980s, a new paradigm burst on the mass marketing scene called "Database" marketing. Suddenly companies were mailing millions of ads on a monthly basis, simply because the names were available and their budgets permitted it.

   However, this initial courtship with the power of computerized marketing left a lot to be desired. And when the economy slowed down in the 1990s and marketing managers started paying attention to bottom line returns to a greater extent. That brought about the "Segmented" use of databases. And the advent of individualized marketing arrived. And it best arrive for you, too.

   You cannot afford to talk to strangers -- people about whom you know nothing. In today's market, you must discover how to speak only to those who have been identified (part of other discussions) as being interested in what you have to offer, or with whom you already have some type of affiliation. It all starts with the need to talk to someone you know, or who knows you. Don't Talk To Strangers!

    

4. TAKE AWAY THE RISK. "No Pain, No Gain" might work in physical fitness (although I really doubt it!) but it certainly does not work with marketing. However, until just a few years ago, this seemed to be the message of marketing technicians.

   "It might be a bit difficult to do business with us, but put up with it. After all, we have what you want."

   Not! To be competitive today, you must remove all the pain, and increase the gain for the customer. If there is any question about who should put up with a risk, or a problem, let it be you -- not the customer.

   This is not about reducing everything to the lowest possible cost. People seem to be willing to pay a bit more than bottom price if they can get a lot more value. And that means you need to move toward the EVP -- the "Extra Value Proposition." Or, to put it another way, take away all the risk for the customer to do business with you. If you have problems figuring out what your customers would like - ask them! Put out a questionnaire that isn't already stacked in your favor. In other words, honestly ask for peoples' opinion and suggestions. They will usually surprise you.

    

5. HELP OTHERS MAKE FRIENDS. If you're a Chevy Truck owner and have reached the 100,000 mile mark with your truck, you can join the special Chevy Truck Club just for such owners. As we discussed above, if you live in Seattle and are concerned about the environment, you can join the employees of Puget Sound Bank as they turn out with their families for their own annual Beach Clean-Up Day. And, whether you think its a good idea or not, you can join the MCI Circle of Friends and be part of the great group speak that AT&T loves to attack! If you're in Triangle Fraternity, you can be part of a chapter or alumni association.

   All of these, and many others, are examples of getting people to join in the fun. To be part of something with each other that is related to what you do. This is a powerful way of getting your customers to come back again and again. The magic of "Involvement Marketing" is a key to marketing success that will be seen with more companies in the years to come. Direct interaction centered on real customer interests is the best way to build strong, positive, repetitive feelings.

    

6. QUIT THINKING ABOUT YOURSELF. A key to the success of the future is what is being called "Total Relationship Commitment" (TRC). Instead of thinking up new ad slogans and campaign themes, it is time to find out what the customer thinks. Traditional marketing comes from the top down. Companies/people think up new products, and then devise ways to get the public to buy. NewThink marketing takes the opposite approach and finds out what the customer would like and then gives it to them. The concept can also be applied to existing products and services. In this case it means looking for ways to delight the customer with things/services they really want, if they simply stopped to think about it.

   Dell Computer went from a $1000 investment to billions in sales in record time by putting TRC to work for mail order computer buyers. What they really wanted was the ability to get help and solutions for any problem that arose -- and get it NOW! Through an elaborate system, Dell can make sure any problem or question will get resolved immediately -- to the customer's satisfaction. Listening. Responding. Passionately caring. Taking specific steps. Communicating with the customer. You will be seeing truly great companies coming on the scene with this concept.

    

7. BREAK THE STEREOTYPES. In the Information Society it is critical to be ready and willing to start over, to try new ideas and not to attach anything sacred to the past. Too much of the past simply doesn't work anymore. That's why it may be necessary to go back to "Square One" and redesign your entire marketing mix.

   When Harley Davidson faced bankruptcy in 1983, a team of executives led the process to buy out the company. With that base of strength, they took a bold course of restarting the company: its engineering, its production and its marketing. Today, the production is sold out for months to come.

   If you're not pushing ahead, you're falling behind. If you're trying to do business on the same basis of the past, you're likely facing extinction. There is nothing sacred in the world of marketing except...

   Give the customer what they want.

   Break the mold of what you think that means and study the processes that divulge what forward-thinking ventures are discovering about marketing in this information-rich society.

TRIANGLE FRATERNITY

Is Serious about Scholarship

Sets and Demonstrates High Standards

Celebrates Achievement