Triangle - 2001 November

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2001 November

THE EXPONENT: Volume 01, Number 8

"If you look after getting repeat business, profit will largely take care of itself. When faced with any business decision, any call on your time or resources, you need to ask, What will this do to help bring the customer back?" - Feargall Quinn, Founder of Ireland's most successful Supermarket chain

By now, all students are back in the swing of the 2001-2 academic year again. Welcome to those whom we're just getting to know and welcome back to those whom we've known before.

Alumni, time sure does fly, doesn't it? We're another year older, but we've also gained much wisdom in all likelihood. We're certainly busy, but I hope we'll each find a way to share that wisdom with our fellow man and our Brothers in particular.

I've spoken in the past about each Triangle man taking up the torch of improving Triangle to become the ultimate in Fraternity. Many have said that just making the statement is easy enough on it's own, but that I also have to back up my charge to you with information. So, here goes...

To be able to recognize what can make our Triangle great, look first to what Triangle is. Triangle should be the kind of place that takes a man and molds his abilities and his character into something greater than he ever could have been without the Fraternity in his life. Friendships are built and forged stronger when men get together in this way.

As Mr. Quinn alludes above, there are two main measures for seeing how successful we are. The first is how well what Triangle offers gets people in the door -- butts in the seats in the vernacular of entertainment. Just like nearly any product you buy, though, for any kind of on-going thing like our Fraternity what matters most is how well we generate repeat business.

"Repeat business?" you question, "Why we only have to 'sell' once. After all, once a man's a Brother, he's always so." I agree generally with the Brother comment -- unless someone decides to terminate his membership or proves his unworthiness and so gets involuntarily terminated, he's a Brother. What matters to this argument, though, is whether a man is willing to stay involved at some level.

For actives, will a man continue to be a live-in member when there's space for him? Will he continue to stay involved or will he drift away into what some call "the old man's lifestyle?" Instead of feeling a need to come back year after year, both physically and mentally, many actives choose to go their own way after the first time around. Sure, it's important to bring 'em in with annual recruitment, but it's even more important to make sure that what we offer is at least good enough to make them stay interested.

Alumni, this "repurchase" concept affects us, too. If an alumnus doesn't feel what Triangle offers is still important, we don't participate enough with our time, talent, or treasure.

So, to back up my claim, I ask each of us -- actives and alumni alike -- to take a look at what Triangle offers and what it has actually delivered, locally and nationally. First, does it get enough of the kind of men in the door to start with? Second, and more importantly, what can each of us do to help Triangle do a better job of getting repeat purchases? (hint: I think you'll find by doing this exercise that you've gained something yourself...)

Are you lost when it comes to answering those questions? Try asking current members -- even if that member is YOU - what they want. Then try to implement those things.

Contents

Leaders 'R' Us: Tim Eiler minn87 (summary of an article by Art Zito, The Economics Press, 2000)

If you want to build teamwork, something that's essentially critical to the success of a chapter (or in an alumnus' professional life), you are undoubtedly a leader. No matter whether you were elected to a position of authority and you're trying to figure out what to do next or how to behave or you are just trying to help your chapter better at delivering on its promise, you're the one who needs to start the process. Making teamwork happen must start with leaders.

That doesn't mean that your position of leadership makes you any better than the other team members. It only means that you've got the guts to attempt to bring people together for a common cause. You'll find these recommendations helpful in your efforts:

As a leader, take a position of quiet moral leadership. Model the behavior you expect out of others. If you expect no one to do anything, then slack off yourself. If you want people to attack each other, make sure you're the first to criticize everyone. If you desire that everyone just "hangs back" without participating or being vocal and helpful, then be quiet and lackluster yourself. Leaders set the tone.
When planning work, stress team goals. Make sure through your words, actions, and role as team leader that each person knows exactly what goals the group, as a whole, is trying to accomplish.
Clearly explain to each team member that person's role in accomplishing team goals. Make that person feel that he or she is a vital part of the planning and execution of the work needed to accomplish the team's goals.
Be equally clear about where the job responsibilities of individual team members begin and end. Resentment can build up among people when tasks overlap due to gray areas of job descriptions, and one person feels that another is usurping their duties. (Not to plug the organization of the Minnesota chapter too much, but this is why that chapter has a 5-VP executive board. The division of labor and the empowerment among members is, IMO, more clear with such a breakdown. --Ed.)
Likewise, when honest differences of opinion arise over how to accomplish certain tasks, immediately resolve these differences as best you can the same day they occur. (Past issues of the Exponent, topic searches via the 'net, and materials and advice from the /T\ HQ staff can point you to information about how to do this effectively. -- Ed.)
Lastly, establish job-performance metrics that rate team members based on how well they work with others to meet the team's objectives. People like to know that what they're doing makes a difference and also how well they're doing/have done.

You Can't Create Leaders In a Classroom: Tim Eiler minn87 (Review of a Fast Company article, November 2001)

Anyone who's ever taken a management class of any variety has probably heard of Henry Mintzberg of Canada's McGill University. After studying mechanical engineering at McGill, he went to work in operations research at Canadian National Railways and then to MIT to study management. At MIT, he found that he was more interested in how people worked than in how things operated. "In his first book, The Nature of Managerial Work (Harper and Row, 1973) , Mintzberg explored his topic by watching what managers actually did in their offices, rather than, as most academics do, by inventing theories and then trying to back them up. What he found demolished the assumption that managers were organized and confident planners. His research demonstrated that real bosses spent more time responding quickly to crises than they spent doing anything else -- a lesson that many new-economy chieftains think they're discovering only today.

Mintzberg concedes that the U.S. style of management education is in demand around the world -- but mainly, he says, that's for the big bucks that such a degree confers upon its holder. "Right now, we are creating a kind of neo-aristocracy," he complains, "a 'business class' that believes it has the right to lead because it spent a couple of years in a classroom." But if you really want to learn how to be a manager, he says, you need to be in an environment with, well, other managers. "This is supposed to be about leadership," he says. 'You can't create a leader in a classroom.'"

Learning activities need to be connected to real life rather than case studies and such. He believe that working in groups is a good thing because it "is both a support network and a better way of ensuring that new ideas will become reality." It also allows better discussion to take place so that the best opinions can come to the surface. Remember that sometimes our colleagues are also our best teachers.

Learning needs to have a portion dedicated to reflection. It can't be all action. In Mintzberg's opinion, reflection allows a manager to derive an objective and a plan for action rather than simply taking action based on a need for action. As he puts it, "you must learn to ask the right questions, to reflect, and to avoid the traditional manager's trap of reacting to one crisis after another."

So what does this all mean to you, a Triangle man?

First, even though some schools are trying to include leadership training in classroom activities, many (and I have personal experience with this!!) I've yet to see or hear of one that can or does do as good a job with it as Triangle does. The opportunity a man gets to develop his skills and friendships in Triangle far exceeds what he might get in a class.

Second, there are things embedded in Mintzberg's thinking that can make Triangle's product in this area even better. Are Triangle's active chapter leaders looking, for instance, at how decisions get made in their chapters? Remember that building leaders requires giving them practice. If active leaders are making authoritative decisions, other leaders may not be getting the training they need.

Boredom, bills concerns of college-bound high school students: Associated Press

WASHINGTON - College freshmen say they often were bored as high school seniors, coming late to classes or missing them entirely, evidence of what university researchers call ``academic disengagement.'' These students also worried about how to pay for college and one-quarter indicated there was ``some'' or a ``very good'' chance they would have to work full time while in school.

The 34th annual American Freshman survey questioned first-time, full-time college freshmen last year about their habits and attitudes during their final year of high school. More than 260,000 students at 462 two- and four-year schools participated in the research by the University of California, Los Angeles' Higher Education Research Institute, primarily during summer orientation or in the first few weeks of college.

A record 40 percent of the students said they were ``frequently bored'' in high school classes, compared with the one-quarter who answered yes when the questions first was asked in 1985. More students also reported they were late to classes or skipped them. College and universities ``need to make sure if the students are already feeling disengaged in high school that they are going to get the support, mentoring, tutoring and other services they need to make it through college,'' said Jennifer Lin of the United States Student Association, a Washington-based group serving 3.5 million students.

Linda Sax, a researcher who directed the survey, said the rapid advances in today's high-tech world may make it harder to hold students' attention. ``This is a reflection of an increasingly fast-paced society, made more so by computers and other media,'' Sax said. ``Students tell us anecdotally that they love it when teachers use more interactive tools. But not all teachers do it.''

Also, 30 percent of respondents said they often felt ``overwhelmed by all I have to do'' - the highest percentage since the question was first asked in 1985, when 16 percent felt that way.

Students increasingly are worried about the cost of higher education. A record 25 percent of students said there was ``some'' or a ``very good'' chance they would work full time while in college. Just 16 percent answered that way in 1982, the first year that question appeared.

More college-bound students rate themselves as above average academically, 59 percent, compared with others their own age, and 34 percent reported earning an A average, more than in previous years. About half expect to earn at least a B average in college. Sax said there is evidence that some students could be disappointed with their college report card. Corresponding performance on standardized tests and remedial course work suggest grade inflation. ``The expectations of students are very much at odds with the reality that the faculty feel they are facing with students,'' she said.

Among the other findings in the 1999 college freshman survey:

Students are a bit older and are taking longer to finish high school.
More aspire to be teachers and performers.
While a record number of students did volunteer work as seniors, the percentage of those who thought it very important or essential to "influence social values" dropped to 36 percent, its lowest point since 1986. Also declining was an interest in participating in community programs or becoming a community leader.

The survey was adjusted to represent the 1.64 million freshmen entering in the fall of 1999. The margin of error was less than 1 percentage point.

HS Seniors Bored, Worry About Loans: Arlene Levinson, AP National Writer, January 24, 2000

What joy of learning? America's current college freshmen recall their last year of high school as drudgery, marked by worry and boredom, according to a survey released today.

And what did they look forward to in college? They fretted over how to pay for it, according to the 34th annual American Freshman survey, conducted by researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles. Entering first-time, full-time freshmen were surveyed last year by questionnaire, mostly during summer orientation or within the first few weeks of school. More than 260, 000 students at 462 two- and four-year schools participated in the survey by UCLA's Higher Education Research Institute.

The margin of sampling error was less than 1 percent. Results were adjusted to represent the 1.64 million freshmen entering in fall 1999, of whom about one-third attend community colleges and 55 percent are women. A record 40 percent of the freshmen said they were "frequently bored" in their high school courses -- nearly doubling from a quarter of students first asked that question in 1985. A further sign of what researchers call "academic disengagement" was that more students spent their senior year arriving late or missing classes altogether. It's not the best attitude to take to college. "This is a signal for colleges and universities to work closely with student groups and leaders," said Jennifer Lin of the United States Student Association, a Washington-based group serving 3.5 million students. "They need to make sure if the students are already feeling disengaged in high school, that they are going to get the support, mentoring, tutoring and other services they need to make it through college," Ms. Lin said.

UCLA Professor Alexander Astin, founding director of the survey begun in 1966, felt this year's most important finding was students' lessening interest in activism. Only 36 percent of students felt it important or essential to "influence social values" ; just 21 percent wanted to take part in community action programs; 28 percent were interested in becoming community leaders. "That's been a fairly recent phenomenon," Astin said, noting it reflects a society favoring individualism, materialism and competition. He added, "We all have some part of us that wants to do the right thing. That shows up in the volunteerism and wanting to teach. The better side of us has to pop out somewhere."

Encouraging, he said, was the 75 percent of students who did volunteer work in high school -- "the bright light on the horizon." Interest in teaching was expressed by 11 percent of students, a 30-year high, but far below the 1968 peak of 24 percent. A record 8 percent want to be artists or performers. The group was confident in one area: More rate themselves academically above average -- 59 percent, compared with others their own age, and 34 percent reported earning an "A" average in high school, more than in previous years and indicative of increasing grade inflation, the researchers said. About half the students expected to earn at least a "B" average in college.

The 1999 survey also suggests a maturing of American students. They' re a bit older, taking longer to get out of high school. In high school they partied less, drank less beer and, after a decade of increased smoking, the survey found students smoke less. And more aspire to be teachers and performers.

Yet, there's a vulnerability. Starting college, record numbers -- 70 percent of women, 57 percent of men -- worried they won' t have money to complete their degree. Also a record 30 percent of students, looking back at their senior year, felt "overwhelmed by all I have to do" -- the most since the question was first asked in 1985, when an all-time low of 16 percent felt that way.

Hope you enjoyed this issue!!! If you have questions, feel free to email the editor ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ).

Tim Eiler
Exponent Editor

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