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THE EXPONENT: Volume 2002, Number 4
"The brave man carves out his fortune, and every man is the son of his own works."- Miguel de Cervantes
Contents
- Welcome!
- Tim Eiler minn87, Exponent Editor
Bravery. An interesting concept as I sit here writing on September
11, 2002. There has been much said about courage and the courageous in
the past 12 months. The thing that strikes me is that courage is not
reserved for those who face immense obstacles. Sometimes, perhaps, it
takes less than the prospect of loss of life for one to act courageous.
How were you courageous today?
When Cervantes says that every man is the son of his own works, I'm
struck by an odd thought. When I was a young man, I wanted to leave an
indelible mark on the world. I hoped to leave a record somewhere that
someone in 100 or 1000 years might find to know I existed and made a
difference. Now that I have children and am older, however, I know that
it is just as enduring a legacy to make change in the world that goes
unwritten. My name need not be associated with the change for it to be
worthwhile.
As a young boy, I was taught to leave any situation -- my room, a
host's home, my schoolwork, anything -- better than when I found it.
Though they didn't probably know anything about it, my parents and
other teachers were attempting to teach me to "fight entropy" (an
interesting concept for a t-shirt or bumper sticker slogan!). To do
this takes work, particularly if its results go undocumented, takes
courage, in my opinion. It speaks to one being the "son of his own
works" and to being a "brave man," I think.
Now that the new school year has begun, you have your chance to
leave your chapter better than when you found it. You have a shot at
leaving a legacy, even if that means you must be brave enough to tackle
the work with little hope of that person 100 years from now knowing
anything about the work, its result, or you. Isn't it better to know
that you made a positive change, leaving things a little better off
when you leave than when you arrived -- even if only you or only your
contemporaries know about it?
Alumni, you too have a chance to be brave. Your chapters and your
Fraternity need you -- time, talent, and treasures. The world needs you
-- you went to school to learn to make the world different.
Be brave, Triangles. Be the "son of your own works" by working to
fight entropy in Triangle and the world. Be known, if only to yourself
or your contemporaries, as someone who did make a positive difference.
- What is the Exponent?
- Tim Eiler minn87, Exponent Editor
If you've been a reader for a while, you might be able to skip this
part. Otherwise, please let me tell you what this newsletter is all
about.
The Triangle experience is about each member improving himself. It's
about taking the success of each of us and aggregating it to improve
our chapters and Fraternity. The Exponent contains some of the tools
you need to make those improvements, to achieve success in life. This
includes things like information and advice about leadership and
management. It talks about Brotherhood and living up to the Ritual's
concepts. It purports to give you tools to help you succeed both
personally and as a group.
Sometimes it might come across as a bit preachy. If it does, I hope
you'll forgive the editor (me). That's just my nature and my passion
for Triangle and Triangles coming through.
So what good is the Exponent? That's up to you. Tools it can give. Enthusiasm's up to you.
- A Peacock Among Penguins
- Tim Eiler minn87
People have choices. That's true no matter whether they're buying
toothpaste or choosing how to spend their time. So how does one go
about winning their attention?
In marketing terms, one differentiates. In regular people's terms,
one stands out from the crowd. You've got to be the peacock in amongst
the many penguins.
In the market for toothpaste, there are many, many penguins, but I'd
bet that the vast majority of you have chosen one brand and you stick
to it pretty much for the long haul. How do you choose your "toothpaste
peacock," the one variety that stands out from the crowd enough for you
to have chosen it above the others? Did you think that it will give you
fewer cavities, will make your teeth whiter, or will make your breath
smell better than the other choices? Maybe it was simply the least
expensive option.
While choosing membership in a Fraternity is not the same as
choosing toothpaste, there are parallels. Today's student is faced with
a myriad of options and choices competing for his time and attention.
If we want that prospective member to join, we've got to offer him some
worthwhile reason to do so. That much is obvious.
What's more, though, is that we've got to offer him something that
he'll think is not just as good as what he can get somewhere else, in
some other activity. Even ignoring the extra hurdle we fraternities
have given ourselves over the past 40 years of behavioral issues, if we
want to capture the kinds and quality of men we seek, then we've got to
stand out. In reality, its not a stretch to recognize that we quite
often start at a deficit in that process.
Peacocks can be flashy birds -- lots of style and not a lot of
substance. Standing out doesn't necessarily mean changing anything you
are, however. You shouldn't, in fact, go for style over substance. It's
possible for a peacock to be all flash and no go. Most probably you
simply should better emphasize the things you already are. Triangle's
values are a good place to start. Remember that our behavior speaks
more loudly than words anyway, so there shouldn't be any worries about
secrecy! What personal intellectual, social, and professional
(leadership/management) growth you offer the prospective member --
particularly the parts or amounts he can get in Triangle that he
couldn't or wouldn't likely get elsewhere -- are good differentiators.
Finally, the friendships he'll develop as a Triangle and the lifelong
connections he'll have -- those are also good standout points.
Sometimes deciding to stand out, to differentiate yourself from
others in order to attract new members, will require changing, though.
That's when you find that what you offer isn't good enough to be
outstanding! There's hardly anything wrong with changes for the better,
after all. After all, you'd want that to happen so that * existing *
members get the most from Triangle. Making Triangle the best possible
for current members, in addition to making our Fraternity good for us,
makes it the most attractive for new blood.
- It's Not Rocket Science
- Tim Eiler minn87
Brotherhood. That's a word that gets used quite a bit in the
Fraternity world. In fact, usually when I hear the answer to "what
could use improving at your chapter?" it's the first thing I hear. But
ask 10 different men what it means and, though you will hear some
overlap, you'll get 10 different answers. So what do I think the answer
is?
Think About the Individual First. One of the hurdles we place
in front of ourselves is our tendency to try to run before we walk. We
talk and think in terms of "improving the chapter" or "improving
Triangle" when we should be thinking about "improving a Brother." If we
all work on our own Brotherhood and attempt to help those Brothers with
whom we share Triangle, "chapter" and "Triangle" improvement follow.
Caring For, Learning About, Supporting Each Other. In my
professional experience, I purchase quite a few things from vendors.
One little trick I'd like to share with you -- feel free to use it --
is that vendors are less likely to screw you if you meet face to face
with them early on and often. The more they know you and the more they
feel that you're a human being, maybe even a friend, rather than just a
faceless person or company, the more they will help you rather than
hindering you. The same thing is true for Triangle.
Thus, the next advice I give for improving Brotherhood is:
"Be together often."
Triangle is about having fun. It's about developing lifelong
friendships. We're charged as Triangles to develop our intellects, our
social abilities, and our professional abilities and skills. To build
friendships and build yourselves, you've obviously got to be together
occasionally. That's where you learn about each other, learn to trust
each other, and give and take from each other. The more you're
together, the more likely you'll be successful. In being together, you
have the opportunity to learn about each other. You get the chance to
help each other out and to learn to lead groups and follow, too. Those
are abilities and skills you'll find useful in your professional work,
in your family life, and pretty much everywhere.
(Author's Note: All of this togetherness is the major reason to have
a chapter house -- it allows folks to be together more often, just as
it provides a central focus for each of us. I believe strongly,
however, that these things, that Fraternity, even Triangle, can exist
without chapter houses. That doesn't mean I think everyone should rush
out to try to do that, but it can be done. Fraternity is about building
friendships and building yourselves much more than it is about
buildings. The buildings are only facilitators.)
As a manager, particularly as I've managed projects, I've found that
a common vision and purpose for the team are absolutely necessary.
Without that, it's not a team, but rather a loose collection of
individuals. Those folks, without the same goals, wander off in
different directions. They don't support each other as well as they
could or should, either, and there's generally a tremendous amount of
whining and subversion in addition to all the pulling in different
directions. Once again, if you recognize a Triangle group as a team,
the same kinds of thoughts hold true. My next advice is, therefore:
"Talk about Triangle regularly."
What we can learn from the Ritual, the Code of Ethics, the history,
and such is not just interesting; you can learn a lot from it. First,
you'll learn more about what makes Triangle "tick" -- why it even
exists in the first place and how you can best use it. If you've ever
read the National purpose statement, you probably already know that its
charge is based 100% on the principles that are learned from the
Ritual, CofE, history, etc.
Next, this material is a good launching point for finding out about
yourself and how to live, particularly in terms of living in a group.
The Ritual and CofE, in particular, talk about what you need to do to
be successful in Triangle life -- active and alumnus -- and in life in
general.
You don't need to hold major retreats where you go hundreds of miles
away to lock yourselves in to talk about stuff like this, either. Talk
about stuff like that at your weekly meetings. Hold gavel passes
regularly. Have "meetings of the whole" every once in a while to talk
about it. Talk about it in front of the TV and at the dinner table now
and again.
Students today still have full course loads. Today's student also
works much more than he ever has. Fraternity activities added on top of
all of this obviously make for a very busy active. I hear time and
again that life is overwhelming for everybody. Therefore, my last
recommendation is:
"Zero-base your time."
Small chapters, more than most, regularly report that members are
overwhelmed and burned out. Much of that has to do with the chapter
(i.e. its members) being spread very thin -- lots of activities. A lot
of this simply happens because of "tradition." In other words, all
those events happen because they were done the previous year.
Thus, just as should be done with your financial budget, start your
annual planning from a zero-base. Start with no activities in the plan
for the upcoming year or upcoming term. Then start adding them in,
evaluating along the way so that you get only the best ones that build
Brotherhood and promote Triangle within the constraints of the time
capacity of the chapter (That sound like an engineering problem to you?
It should.)
Here's where the "non rocket science" factor comes in. Just try. If
you make a "mistake," correct it as best you can and move on. This is
one of those horrible "there is no right answer" tests that you'll
encounter throughout life. Have courage. Fake it 'til you make it. Do
whatever it takes. Have fun! Leave better than when you came in! Those
things don't take rocket scientists, just courageous people. Good thing
Triangles are both.
- I've learned (with thanks to Andy Rooney)...
That the easiest way for me to grow as a person is to surround
myself with people smarter than I am.
That just one person saying to me, "You've made my day!" makes my day.
That opportunities are never lost; someone will take the ones you miss.
That everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you're climbing it.
I now recognize that when I graduated from engineering school, I was
about 3 years ahead of my peers in a lot of important ways.
Unfortunately, my grades were off by about 0.5 from where I think they
could have been, but at 2.9, they weren't as bad as they could have
been, either. Still, I learned a lot about myself -- strengths,
weaknesses, new skills, and new abilities. My morals were reinforced,
and by talking to my Brothers, I got exposure to a lot of new ideas --
it's at the chapter that I was first exposed to objectivism, for
instance. I got the chance to learn how to follow others and to lead
others. I was able to figure out, maybe not perfectly, of course, how
to manage money. As an alumnus, there have continued to be
opportunities to do this. Some will chuckle (I'm unemployed right now),
but I feel I'm at the top of my game at the moment and I know I'm far
"out front" of many of my peers professionally and in my life. That's
largely thanks to the serendipity of my relationship with Triangle.
So, what about you? What have you learned? Are you taking the opportunities in front of you?
How has Triangle helped you learn? What more opportunities can it
offer you? Will you leave Triangle a better man than you would have
been without her?
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
Relentlessly pursuing excellence!
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