THE EXPONENT: Volume 2002, Number 1

"You can teach people how to accomplish great things but it's harder to teach them to want to accomplish great things." - Pat Kelly, CEO PSS World Medical

I've asked it here before and I expect to ask it again, but "what kind of Triangle are you?" Are you the one who wants to accomplish great things for yourself and for your Fraternity?

The quote is definitely right on the money. Sometimes it might seem like the difficult step, but in reality, knowing how to do something is the relatively easy part of the equation. I think that this is true primarily because one needs to want something to happen before one will take the time to learn how -- remember that really learning how to do something involves trying to put it into practice...being willing to take a few risks of skinned knees. Oftentimes when I want to know the "how" of doing something, but am so fearful that I won't know what I'm doing or so overwhelmed that I don't know where to start, I remember first that "an ignorant fool who chooses not to ask for answers remains both ignorant and a fool." Next, I recall that I can hold out both hands palms up, wishing for my desired outcome to appear in one hand and taking a crap in the other...it's fairly obvious which will become full first.

For Triangle's actives and involved alumni, the situation might be that the chapter is going through a down period -- membership may be low, there may be schisms in the group, it may not be as fun as it once was or should be. It might be that they've lost touch with friends. It could be many such things. Hopefully, they'll "want" for those things to be corrected. Once that happens, don't just crap in one hand and wish in the other. Get out there and do something. Yoda might have said that there is no try, only do. Some misinterpret his sage wisdom, though, to mean that if one can't complete something fully, that he shouldn't even try. That's wrongheaded, in my opinion. What I believe he meant was that we should not be satisfied with convincing ourselves that we should effectively give up before we even start.

Carpe Diem! Make Triangle and your life exemplary of Triangle's beliefs.

• Ten In-Demand Job Skills
• Brotherhood and Second Chances
• Mackay: Strong people have Strong Weaknesses

Ten In-Demand Job Skills

James C. Gonyea (msn.com)

As everyone who has held a job eventually learns, your future career prospects depend on the skills you have to offer an employer. And those workers with skills that are in demand are the ones who get the job. The skills you should develop depend upon your interests, abilities and aptitudes, resources and career goals. But, with uncertain economic times ahead, it's important to look at the skills that will be useful in advancing your career. Here are 10 skills that the US Department of Labor says are on employers' wish lists.

1. Problem-Solving Skills
   Many of the tasks we face each day in our personal and business lives are complex in nature. People who can identify problems, research solutions and make effective decisions are increasingly desired in such fields as business administration, management consulting, public administration, science, medicine and engineering.

2. Vocational-Technical Skills
   Today, technology is advanced in all areas of human endeavor. Installation, testing and repair of most electrical, electronic and mechanical equipment in fields such as engineering, telecommunications, automotive, transportation and aerospace requires people with advanced vocational-technical skills.

3. Human Relations Skills
   All companies with more than one employee face inevitable problems dealing with how people interact with each other. Often, the success of a company depends upon how well people can work together. It is the job of human resource managers, personnel officers, department managers and administrators to understand the needs of workers and how best to meet those needs within the confines of the employment environment.

4. Computer Programming Skills
   Understanding how to harness a computer's power and program it to meet the specific needs of a particular company can dramatically increase your employment opportunities. Specific languages most in demand today include C++, Java, HTML, Visual Basic, Unix and SQL Server.

5. Teaching-Training Skill
   Our modern society develops and collects more new data in a day than our ancestors did in a year. As a result, there will continue to be a demand for people with teaching and training skills in the fields of education, social services, management consulting and commerce.

6. Science and Math Skills
   Great advances are being made daily in the fields of science, medicine and engineering. Bright minds skilled in the sciences and math are needed to meet the challenges of these fields.

7. Money Management Skills
   With Americans enjoying a longer life span, it's essential today to carefully plan one's finances to ensure a comfortable life and retirement. Investment brokers and security officers, retirement planners, accountants and CPAs are in continual demand to meet this need.

8. Information Management Skills
   In the Age of Information, America now produces information as the basis of its economic system, and individuals who possess the ability to manage information are critical to most businesses. Systems analysts, information technologists, database administrators and telecommunication engineers are examples of people with highly developed information management skills.

9. Foreign Language Skills
   America depends upon many nations for raw materials and goods, as well as for global markets for our own goods and services. The ability to speak a foreign language -- today's hot ones include Russian, Japanese, Chinese, and German -- can enhance your employment opportunities and compensation.

10. Business Management Skills
    The business of America is business! Understanding of how to run a successful company is highly in demand. At the core of these skills is the ability to manage people, systems, resources and finances; to understand the needs of consumers and how to translate those needs into business opportunities.

Brotherhood and Second Chances

George Griffin

[Editor's Note: The following material comes from an email exchange on the Triangle listserv from a few years ago between Brs. George Griffin and Matthew Smith. I think a chapter must decide on a stance of this issue in order to be successful in the long run. Often, we see chapters that do very well for many years, but then slide into a poor state. This can quite often be traced back to the chapter deciding to let a member abuse, passively or actively, his relationship with his Brothers and his Fraternity without consequence. Therefore, a chapter has to be ready to deal with that kind of person. I think this discussion should help generate some good thoughts on this topic so hopefully chapters can correct for some of the wide variation in chapter health.]

Matthew Smith's comments end in a disclaimer: Matthew Smith is a registered trademark of The Ohio State University, and is the sole property of The Ohio State University. Any reuse or rebroadcast of Matthew Smith without the express written consent of The Ohio State University is strictly prohibited. Violators of this policy will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, up to and including being taken out and beaten. Have a nice day.

But his early comments about brotherhood should make the Exponent and might well find their way into some of the Oklahoma Chapter rush material. Even without the written consent of Ohio State University.

Anyway, I am off my point. What happens when, as has happened recently in our chapter, a brother stumbles too far. He does things, though not maliciously, to compromise not only his brothers' comfort, but also his morals. Is there a point when his brothers should say, "enough is enough,"

If I can stop you in mid-sentence (and with this medium I can), there is a point where brothers need to say "enough is enough".

and disassociate him from the Triangle name?

Expulsion is an extreme measure. I would hope that intermediate measures have been tried first.

In other words, is there ever a limit to brotherhood?

A "limit to brotherhood?" I would not characterize what you appear to be talking about as a limitation to brotherhood. Brotherhood is a two- or multi-way street. If a member is abusing the goodwill of the fraternity and the many advantages of membership and brotherhood then something has to be done about it or it affects everyone else. A lot of this type of thing is covered in some of the material. Whenever it happens, it always seems like it is a unique situation to the chapter experiencing it.

The answer, I would have to say, is NO. We, as Triangles are a family, and strong, close knit families do not let deeds get in the way of love. No matter what you did, no matter how awful, would it ever make your mother, father, and siblings stop loving you. This should hold true for brotherhood as well.

There is also a place for tough love. We as Triangles of a single chapter house set our own rules. We also have the obligation as individuals in the house to keep those rules. We have to pay our debts to the house, we have to do our tasks, we have to do our part to maintain the safety of the house and not put ourselves and our brothers at risk with potentially dangerous or illegal activity.

The family of the unabomber turned him in. This was a loving family that sent him large sums of money to live on, but he used it to kill people and make a name for himself. I had a friend in high school who developed a tendency to steal. He eventually stole something substantial from the place where he worked and his father (a minister) turned him in, and then financed his defense. The gentleman had to serve as an enlisted man in the Air Force for a few years. I don't think they do that any more.

Sure, actions, even extreme actions, may need to be taken to ensure the safety and well being of the house, the members, and the individual, but the brotherhood never ends. After all, we are human beings, and humans slip up from time to time. We market Triangle as a home away from home, and a second family. Well, with that comes a life long obligation to the well being of our brothers.

This case certainly needs to be addressed on its merits, which I don't know about. It appears that you are nearing a point where something needs to be done. While I agree with most everything that you have said, there are some instances in which expulsion is appropriate.

You have an obligation to both the individual and to the chapter, and these need to be balanced. Often, the easy thing to do is to say "the hell with him" and kick him out. But if the brother does not deserve that action, and is perhaps a scapegoat for "real problems" in the chapter, the act of taking expulsion proceedings might prove more divisive to the chapter than giving the brother another chance.

On the other hand, a member who openly defies chapter rules and does not do their part to keep the chapter strong and friendly could be creating rifts. You cannot be expected to make exceptions for folks who will not play by the rules. In a sense, you are damned if you do and damned if you don't.

Expulsion is covered in the constitution. If it were never needed, it would not be there. As it is, it is very difficult and must be done by consensus. That is by design.

Whatever is done should be done in the open and by consensus. If a handful of guys bring a call to expulsion to a chapter meeting without a consensus, they have created a potentially explosive situation. As with everything else you do, make a plan that everyone can live with for bring this brother back into the mainstream. Have contingencies for what steps will be taken if the brother does not hold up his end of the situation.

And if it gets to the point that expulsion is the next contingency, then do it quickly and get it behind you. You can find yourself in a situation where brothers aren't getting along, and fraternity life is no longer fun. When that happens, rush no longer comes natural and it can take years to pull out of the slump, and possibly alumni or national council intervention may be required to get things back on track.

If we cannot offer that, then what business do we have calling Triangle a brotherhood? I hope you all feel the same way.

Do what you can to bring him back in. But brotherhood is a two-way street.

Mackay: Strong people have Strong Weaknesses

Reprinted from Minneapolis StarTribune, March 23, 2000

Sometimes your greatest weakness can become your greatest strength.

I'm reminded of the story of a 10-year-old boy named Mark who decided to study judo even though he had lost his left arm in a devastating car accident. Mark began lessons with an old Japanese judo master and was doing well. But after three months, he couldn't understand why the master had taught him only one move. The master told him, "This is the only move you'll ever need to know."

Not quite understanding, but believing in his teacher, Mark kept training. Several months later, the master took the boy to his first tournament. Surprising himself, he easily won his first two matches. The third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time, his opponent became impatient and charged. Mark deftly used his one move to win the match. He was now in the finals.

This time his opponent was bigger, stronger and more experienced. For a while, Mark appeared to be overmatched. Concerned that the boy might get hurt, the referee called a time-out. He was about to stop the match when the master intervened and said, "Let him continue." Soon after the match resumed, his opponent made a critical mistake; he dropped his guard. Instantly, Mark used his move to pin him, winning the match and the tournament. He was the champion.

On the way home, Mark and the judo master reviewed every move in each match. Then the boy summoned the courage to ask what was really on his mind. "How did I win the tournament with only one move?" "You won for two reasons," the judo master answered. "First, you've almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo. And second, the only known defense for that move is for your opponent to grab your left arm."

His greatest weakness had become his greatest strength.

We all have strengths and weaknesses. We're human, aren't we?

I understand the importance of working on my weaknesses. For example, I'd like to be more computer-literate than I am, so I'm taking lessons from a computer whiz to become more skilled. I also want to master my Palm Pilot, so I'm learning new ways to utilize this incredible tool. In the past I've taken speed-reading classes to increase my speed and comprehension. I'd recommend it for anyone who must read voluminous reports, articles or books. Whenever I speak in a foreign country, I try to learn some of the native language and make sure I understand the culture and how my message will be received. Unless we come to grips with our weaknesses, they can always come back to haunt us when we're most vulnerable. So face them squarely.

Few people overcame weakness more effectively than Wilma Rudolph. She was born prematurely, the 20th child in a family of 22 children, and her survival was doubtful. Then at age 4 she contracted scarlet fever and double pneumonia, leaving her with a paralyzed leg. It wasn't until age 9 that she was able to walk without her metal leg brace. Doctors were amazed when, at age 13, she developed a rhythmic walk. Having been told that she would never walk again, Wilma Rudolph went on to win three gold medals in track in the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome.

If you don't know what your weaknesses are as a business, ask your competitors. Your friends are often too polite to point out your weaknesses, but your competitors go to great expense to advertise them.

Baseball great Stan Musial was having a field day against the Chicago Cubs pitcher Bobo Newsom. Stan the Man first slammed a single, then a triple and a home run. When he came to bat for the fourth time, the Chicago manager decided to yank Bobo and take a chance on a rookie relief pitcher. The rookie trudged in from the bullpen, took the ball from Bobo, and asked, "Has this guy Musial got any weaknesses?" "Yeah," replied Bobo, "he can't hit doubles."

MacKay's Moral: The greatest of all weaknesses is to be conscious of none.

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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