THE EXPONENT: Volume 2003, Number 4

"You can have anything you want -- if you want it badly enough. You can be anything you want to be, do anything you set out to accomplish if you hold to that desire with singleness of purpose." - Abraham Lincoln

Welcome:

Robert Schuller once said that it's better to do something imperfectly than to do nothing flawlessly. I think he was speaking of the same thing Lincoln was. Are you the kind who sees something that could be and says that it can't be done or are you the kind who sees that thing that could be done and makes it happen?

Triangle's purpose is:

To develop balanced men in the fields of Engineering, Architecture, and Science by providing an environment which fosters personal growth and professional success.

We Triangles want all other Triangles to constantly be building themselves -- that's the personal growth aspect. We want Triangles who are balanced, too.

Put another way, Triangle wants men who are pretty damn good at a lot of things in their lives. They need to be more than just well heeled at solving engineering problems; they need to be sound thinkers with good personal judgment. Triangles need to have more than just good judgment; they also need to be stable in their actions. Character counts every bit as much as "technical" ability!

Triangle can't develop you, though. Triangle can only provide the right environment. The rest is up to you!

• Give Someone The Finger Today
• Don't Worry, Be Different

Give Someone The Finger Today

Tim Eiler minn87, Exponent Editor

Ok, here's the drill. Right now, wherever you are, point at someone you blame for something or don't like. Even if you have to imagine that person standing in front of you, do it. Hold your hand in that pointing position for just a moment.

Look at your pointing hand -- the one that's indicating blame for something. You have one finger pointing outward, but the other three are pointing where? Right back at ya!

The point of this exercise? Hopefully, you'll see that we each have a choice to make. That choice is whether to be a victim or to be in control of ourselves. We don't get to select what happens to us -- that's outside our control. We DO, however, get to choose how we react to what happens to us. So, while the blame (the finger with which you're pointing) may, in fact, reside with others, the onus (the three fingers pointing back us you) is on us regarding what to do about it. Blamestorming, after all, doesn't solve problems. People -- leaders -- solve problems. Like our buddy Al says (Einstein, not Evon), "nothing changes until something moves."

So what are you? A vicitim or a leader? Are you letting your perception of your circumstances control you (pointing that single finger at them) or are you taking the control? Are you infecting those around you with the easy way out of victim behavior or are you energizing them with your can do, take charge, get control attitude?

Ok, so you're maybe now thinking, "hey, I'm a take charge kinda guy. I want to energize those around me, but I'm not in a position of power to be able to do much to affect my situation, my organization, my world."

Time to throw down the bullshit card. Ever hear the expression that it's easier to ask forgiveness than permission? How 'bout the one about a journey of a 1000 miles beginning with a single step?

It doesn't matter whether the organization in which you're having issues is your work, Triangle, some other group, or even your family. What matters is that you step up to the task -- to be a GOOD leader and follower!

In his article, "Stop Whining and Start Leading," (http://www.clemmer.net/excerpts/stop_whining.shtml), noted author and speaker Jim Clemmer, whose articles I've used in the Exponent in the past, gives the following ideas for you to be a better leader and follower. They're written in "workplace" tones, but it should be very easy for any active to replace boss with some other chapter-specific title. These things apply to our lives in Triangle just as easily as they do at work. They speak to our character.

• "Try to better understand the bigger picture that your boss and those above you in the organization are operating within. Do you know what keeps them awake at night? What their key goals and priorities are? Don't wait to be told -- find out.

• Take the initiative to keep communication channels open with your boss. Set your top five goals. Get your boss's input and adjust accordingly. Meet periodically to review progress and reset priorities. Ask, "What do you think I should keep doing, stop doing and start doing?"

• Are you part of the solution or part of the problem? Are you a reactor or leader? Does your attitude and do your actions just reflect the temperature of your more-senior managers to the people in your part of the organization? Or do you try to readjust and change the temperature?

• Focus most of your own and your team's energy on those things within your control. Pick carefully the areas or changes you would like to influence. Figure out how to let go of those things or circumstances over which you have no control. Not doing this just increases everyone's misery and creates paralysis. The poet Longfellow was right on when he observed: "I have found that the best thing to do when it's raining is to let it rain."

• Learn how your organizational game is played. Any group of five people or more is political. Politics involve relationships, trust, power, persuasion and influence.

• Build networks and coalitions, especially if you're trying to influence significant change. Work with those people who are ready to move forward and build momentum with you. Don't fixate on the fence-sitters, naysayers or resisters. Involve your boss where appropriate.

• When it's the right thing, be the leader and do what needs to be done. It's easier to get forgiveness than permission.

• Seize the learning opportunity. We can all learn what not to do from an especially bad leadership example.

As our organizations struggle with change, we can either be navigators, survivors or victims. Our leadership response doesn't depend on our position; it depends on our choices."

So, what's it gonna be -- will you be a leader or you let others control your situation?

(Portions reprinted with permission from the Leader Letter, Jim Clemmer's free e-newsletter. Jim Clemmer is a bestselling author and internationally acclaimed keynote speaker, workshop/ retreat leader, and management team developer on leadership, change, customer focus, culture, and personal growth. His web site is www.clemmer.net.)

Don't Worry, Be Different

Tim Eiler minn87, Exponent Editor

The first step in gaining new members is to be noticed on your campus.

How to get yourself noticed has been discussed a lot in the Exponent over the years and there have been numerous other attempts to get that message across at Herb Scobie Leadership School, Regional Workshops, President's Academies, Chapter Consultations, and more. While you can expect to see still more, I'm going to focus on the second step here.

The second step is to give those who notice your chapter a reason to join you.

Assuming your chapter is perceived, it fits in one of the quadrants of a 2-dimensional table.

• I - the population of perceivers generally feels that your group offers value to its members and that they could "fit" in with the current group
• II - Individuals in the population feel they could fit in with the group, but that there really isn't value offered
• III - the population feels that there is value offered for somebody, but just not them, since most individuals in the population group don't think they could fit in with the current members
• IV - People don't think the group offers value to its members and few, if any, individuals think they could fit in with the current group anyway

"Value" is the balance of what somebody gets vs. what it costs them to get it --> Get/Input. People want to maximize "get," while minimizing "input."

The first thing I've seen too many chapters do to increase value is to decrease the required input. Most often, this means a reduction in the price charged for participation in Triangle. Sometimes it also includes reducing the expectations for participation.

Those doing the reducing forget, however, that when the "input" requirement becomes too small, the value of what they "get" is decreased significantly at the same time. That which is obtained too easily is esteemed too lightly, after all. Kind of another way of saying that free stuff is usually worth what one paid for it.

You may consider it heresy, but price is not the important adjustment factor. Price is only an arbitrary figure that merely represents the value of what you offer. It's only important when you compare two things of equal "get." When that's the case, price is the only real, visible distinction between the two. If your value is perceived as equal to that of others, naturally, the cheapest alternative will be chosen by the chooser.

The way to get chosen is to be different, not just for difference's sake, but better.

Price (or nearly any of the "input" factors) is only a metric -- a currency to which most people can relate. Take the weather, for example. When you meet someone on the street, it will likely be a topic of discussion because the weather is a common denominator. Temperature is the same for everyone. "Hot" and "cold," however, are different.

Similarly, price is only used when there's nothing to which one can compare your value. (Of course, price is not the only metric. But most people understand units of dollars more than they do value, which is more subjective.) Therefore, if you're too similar to competitors, price will always be an issue.

The more unique you are, the less competition you will have. And the less competition you will have, the less substitutable you are (or your product is). And the less substitutable you are, the less elastic the demand for your product will be (in other words, the less important price becomes, in this case).

So, if you are copying your competition, or trying to promote your offering as one that's better than your competition, like it or not you're only reminding people of that which you are better: your competition. So stop duplicating - differentiate!

"How?" you ask. Well, there'll be more about that in the Exponent, but fundamentally, there's an opportunity here for * you* to get some of what Triangle offers! You get to learn how to think and do things a lot of engineers, architects, scientists, and other folks don't get to try until much later in their lives, if ever.

Plan, Do, Check, Analyze.

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

A relentless pursuit of Excellence!