THE EXPONENT: Volume 01, Number 6

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."--Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Fraternity that outclasses everyone's belief of what a fraternity is.

That's what Triangle should - and can - be. All Greeks offer mostly the same "product" to Greek consumers. Our biggest advantage is the fact that we have focused on a tight sector of consumers - people who understand technical stuff! It's not so much about what we deliver. That's the ante to the game. What's really important is HOW well we deliver it.

Triangle, our Fraternity, should be so good at what it does for people that scarcely anyone can believe the results they see. As a result of being so good at what we do, the people we affect - actives, alumni, parents, educators, employers - should feel an awe, an inspiration.

YOU are responsible for making that happen. WE all are.

So what are we doing about it TODAY?

Are you standing by, waiting for someone else to pick up the torch because you are afraid you don't know what to do to help Triangle (and you) or are you carrying it onward, doing what you can to build the Fraternity to become better? If it's the former - seek help now from your alumni and from the Headquarters Staff. If the latter - keep charging hard.

• Rules to live by (at Boeing)
• Carrying The Torch
• Loco Parents

Rules to live by (at Boeing)

Regina Fazio Maruca (via www.fastcompany.com)

A Compelling Challenge
Teams must pursue attainable goals -- end results that are neither vague nor so far beyond reach that they appear unattainable. At the same time, a team has to feel as though it's being called upon to do something that takes a stretch. People won't engage or feel motivated to excel if they don't consider a project compelling.

Clear Performance Goals
Everyone on the team -- engineers, designers, suppliers, administrative assistants -- must understand what's expected of them. We specify who will do what at all levels within the team structure before we start a project. This prevents people from getting tangled up.

One Plan
Everyone must own a copy of the plan -- the timing, the expectations, the responsibilities. Each team member must be able to march through the organization and beyond -- to suppliers and to vendors, for example -- and explain who does what, when, and why.

Everyone Included
We make sure everyone on the team -- from the senior-most designer to the junior administrative assistant -- knows how he or she fits into the plan, and why each person's contribution is important.

No Secrets
Good news, bad news, whatever -- people need to know they can and should come forward if they need help.

The Data Sets Us Free
If there's a conflict between team members, we don't debate the issue endlessly or let the situation get personal. Instead, we sit down together with the data. If you have the right information, it will tell you what to do.

Propose a Plan and Find a Way
A certain amount of frustration is understandable. And there's nothing wrong with venting. We'll all listen. But once you've vented, it's time for all of us to find a way past whatever is bothering you.

Demonstrate Emotional Resilience
Recognize that you're under pressure, and that the people around you are under pressure as well. Try to be resilient in the face of that pressure.

Enjoy the Journey and Each Other
We think we're lucky because we're working on exciting, impressive machines. It's something we take time to enjoy.

Carrying The Torch

Seth Godin (via www.fastcompany.com)

Last year, more money was spent to fund new business ventures than in any other year in the history of the world. Yet a huge amount of money sat uninvested, because there was no place to invest it. Are we really out of good ideas? No way. I've got a file cabinet filled with them, and you probably know of a few as well. Is there a shortage of engineers who are capable of implementing those ideas? Nope. There are plenty of engineers too.

So, if it's not a lack of money, ideas, or engineers that is slowing down our shift to the new economy, what is it? Exactly the same thing that's holding up your company's transition to a new way of doing business -- the absence of someone who is willing to stand up, look everyone in the eye, and say, "I'll make it happen."

Here's how I know that I'm talking to a torchbearer: First, torchbearers don't make excuses. Our current economic good times won't last forever. You won't always be able to found a company and go public in less time than it takes to have a baby. At some point, the venture-capital funds will dry up. And, when those tough times come, they will present a perfect opportunity for the pretenders to fold their tents. Filled with vitriol and busy looking for a lawyer so that they can sue someone, these entrepreneurial also-rans will find a way to blame their troubles on other people. Real torchbearers run uphill with the same grace and style that they bring to gliding downhill.

Second, torchbearers often attract a crowd. People are fascinated by folks who are willing to carry responsibility. All too often, people add their own burdens to those that their leader must already carry -- but, in any case, they're usually delighted to follow along. And sometimes these folks are loyal and hard-working enough to follow a torchbearer uphill as well as downhill.

Third, most torchbearers don't realize how unique they are, how powerful their role is, or how hard their task is. Even though they could make outrageous demands and insist on all kinds of special treatment, most of them are happy just to perform their role and to handle their task.

Fourth, torchbearers often care more about forward motion than they do about which route to take. You won't find them tied up in endless strategy meetings, looking for the perfect solutions. Instead, you'll find them out on the road, picking their way through boulders and weeds -- moving, moving, moving, because they realize that moving is often the best way to get where they're going.

Fifth, and most important, real torchbearers don't stop until they finish. In the life of any torchbearer, there's a balance between devotion to duty and the pursuit of joy. A torchbearer never forgets about or shortchanges a duty, even when that means postponing joy.

In established companies, the refrain that I hear most frequently is "Well, we'd be doing great if [insert person or department, along with pejorative adjective] would just get [his/her/its] act together." Many previously great companies, both big and small, are having a lot of trouble dealing with all of the changes and rifts that the new economy is bringing to their doorsteps. Why? Because in many companies, the torchbearers have left the building. Either the folks in charge have forgotten what it takes to practice true leadership ( after all, they've made it, the company has hit its marks, and now it's "Miller time"), or they've left and been replaced by a different kind of management.

The point here isn't that people in top management are unwilling to embrace change. The point is that the people who are busy pointing fingers and whining about "those guys" are demonstrating that they're not torchbearers.

If you're waiting for someone else to lead you to a better way of doing business, then reckon with this Olympic-size news flash: Settle in. It's going to be a long wait.

All of a sudden, in every company in every country, torchbearers are in high demand. Everybody is trying to figure out where to go. And, much more important, they're trying as hard as they can to find someone who will take them there: someone who will walk through walls and over hot coals, someone who won't give up until the job is done.

Intrinsic to being a torchbearer is recognizing that you bear the torch for someone else. In our increasingly "me"-centered society, it's easy to worry about increasing the value of the Brand Called You, while letting someone else carry your company's or your investor's torch. Torchbearers do both.

In a small town in Georgia, a woman named Karen Watson faced such a challenge head-on. Several years ago, her friends and neighbors were complaining about the way that blacks in that town were treated. There was an undercurrent of racism, and, in particular, blacks were being tracked to lower-level classes in school.

For a while, Watson and her neighbors appealed to civil-rights organizations, waiting for some big shot to come to town and save them. Then it dawned on Watson that maybe, just maybe, nobody was ever going to come -- and that the person who could make a difference was her.

So she stood up and took charge. She taught herself what she needed to know. She made a commitment. And the organization that she built, the Positive Action Committee, has made a huge difference in her community, generating change in several areas. Watson took responsibility -- for her town and for her neighbors' town. She is a torchbearer.

So could you be a torchbearer? Are torchbearers born or made? Here's my guess: Many of us have the torchbearer gene, but for some of us, it lies dormant until something awakens it. Some parents raise their children to be torchbearers from birth. Others do whatever they can to persuade their kids to hide it. We're certainly not organizing our schools or our society to reward children who demonstrate torchbearer qualities.

But I think that you can awaken the torchbearer within. I think that most people, given the right reason, can find the intestinal fortitude to carry a flame across the finish line.

Now, I'm not talking about working hard, or being dedicated, or putting your mission first. Being a torchbearer has nothing to do with how late you work at night, or whether you give your cell-phone number to your boss. No, I'm talking about the people with that rare skill, the ability to dig deep when the need arises -- to get past the short-term pain and to pull off an act that few would have believed possible.

Loco Parents

Tim Eiler minn87

Prior to the 1960's, many universities and colleges took it upon themselves to set behavior-oriented rules students were expected to follow. Infractions of those rules would lead to disciplinary action, sometimes up to dismissal from enrollment at the school. This is typically known as the doctrine of "in loco parentis," meaning that the school acted in many ways like a student's parents might have done. During the 1960's, this practice began to fade and now it's pretty much only a memory. The demise of this practice was caused by new thinking that college-age students, who are old enough to vote, to drive and to defend their country should be seen as old enough to make their own behavioral decisions and to take care of themselves.

Most adults view the demise of the doctrine as largely right. College-age students are old enough to make their own life decisions. At least they had better be by this point in their growth or their lives will soon become disasters.

The fundamental underlying principle to the change, however, is the assumption that these students will take responsibility for making their own decisions and accountability for the consequences of those decisions.

A school could take the parent role in the "olden days." Triangle couldn't take that role then and still can't, even if it wanted to. Instead of taking the in loco parentis approach, any Triangle policy related to member behavior simply sets standards to which all members are expected to adhere. The policies are founded based on the concepts and principles espoused in our Oath and Ritual. They're in place so that our Triangle is protected from the consequences of a poor choice on the part of one member or one chapter.

All Triangle members - past, current, and future - are counting on each man to use his head in living up to Triangle's principles. Following her policies is one aspect of that obligation. Otherwise, a lot of folks will wonder why Triangle was so "loco" in trusting her members. A lot of folks are just salivating, waiting for the demise of organizations of our type. Please do everything in your personal power to prove them wrong in advance.

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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