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THE EXPONENT: Volume 2003, Number 2
Welcome!
"It saddens, and honestly disgusts me, when I see or hear
of alumni of my beloved brotherhood who simply consider their
relationship with the fraternity to be a one-way (gimme, gimme) street,
or a little 4 year fling while they are in school. This fraternity's
commitment to you is life-long...and your commitment to it should be
the same in return." - John George neb83
Contents
- Welcome
- Tim Eiler minn87, Exponent Editor
In the paraphrased words of the immortal George Thoroughgood, "Who do ya love? I say who do ya love?"
In Triangle terms, I'm sure most of us would answer "our Brothers
and Triangle itself." Like Br. George, I hope that's true 'til chapter
eternal us do part. I also hope that you'll also find some "love" for
all the of the folks interested in Triangle and what benefit it offers
the world -- prospective members, new members, actives, alumni,
parents, teachers, communities, employers. They all have a stake in how
well Triangle does what it's supposed to do (helping each member
achieve his highest level of intellectual, social, and professional
potential in an environment of friendship and support). We ought to
deliver the best of what Triangle has to offer to all of these people
and none of the bad stuff.
Doing that takes energy and effort. Fortunately, it's in the putting
forth of energy and effort that we each get from our Triangle
experience that which it is intended to give us (help getting us to our
highest level of intellectual, social, and professional potentials in
an environment of friendship and support). AND that effort and energy
shouldn't stop being put forth when one graduates, nor should one
expect the learning and growing to stop then either.
I think that's what Br. George is talking about when he talks of two-way commitment.
So what kind of Brother are you?
Perhaps an even more important question may be "What kind of
Brothers are you creating by how you behave and by what you actually
expect of your Brothers?"
- Not By Chance Alone
- Tim Eiler minn87
If there's a secret to creating the life we want or changing the
life we have, it's the simple notion that our choices make a difference.
Take the case of holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl, a Jewish
psychiatrist who survived in Auschwitz for three awful years. Why did
Frankl survive while so many others, including nearly his entire
family, perished? He believes it was because of the choices he made.
He is clear in his autobiography about the importance of the will to
live, of humor, and of curiosity. Each of these qualities, he feels,
was necessary to keep survivors like him alive. People who couldn't
keep them and who couldn't analyze their predicaments from outside the
situation itself didn't survive.
Frankl also believes that those who survived the death camps were
those who made the inner decision to retain their human freedom and
dignity. "Everything can be taken from a person but one thing: the last
of the human freedoms -- to choose one's attitude in any given set of
circumstances, to choose one's own way. And there were always choices
to make," he says.
If Frankl had choices to make, and if those choices made the
difference between life and death, how much more do we have choices to
make? What we want to be and what we want our surroundings to be like
is up to us.
So too, it was with Benjamin Franklin, one of the great founders of
our country. Though one of seventeen children and with fewer than two
years of formal education and had no inherited wealth, he could have
just thrown up his hands to say "making it better is beyond my meager
power," he didn't. Instead, he became the epitome of ideals - the
self-made man, morality, and social progress.
His choices, like Frankl's, made all the difference. He chose to
read and learn from as many masterful sources as possible. He chose to
venture out and do something different. He chose to live by a strong
set of virtues and values. He chose to experiment with his world and
life in an attempt to improve them both.
The ability to choose does not immediately nor even necessarily
produce the conditions we desire. Frankl chose life but he was still in
a death camp. Ben Franklin chose to make something of him with great
effort, discipline, and not a few setbacks.
We also have the power to influence our lives. Do we accept that
responsibility? Increasing our awareness of the things that affect our
lives, working to influence those things in ways that work for us, and
surrounding ourselves with supportive systems and relationships will
not happen by accident. They don't just fall into our laps.
But a simple decision, to take responsibility for these things,
changes the odds from long shot to likely. We can influence whether or
not the universe works for us or against. The outcome we want still
won't be automatic or easy, but our choices do have an impact on our
chances, making all the difference in the world.
So, what's this got to do with Triangle? Two main areas come to mind:
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If your life, your Brotherhood, your chapter, or Triangle
overall isn't what you think it should be, you can make the choice to
change it. Triangle needs men of such character.
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Triangle, with the "supportive systems and relationships"
it can provide for each of us on our quests to become, like Franklin,
stronger, better people, doesn't just spontaneously happen. We must
choose to make it happen.
You have responsibility for your own success. You have responsibility for Triangle's success.
- If Triangle Were Coca-Cola
- Tim Eiler minn87
What would happen to Coca-Cola if people thought of it the same way they think of Triangle Fraternity?
People know Coke. They can literally grasp a coke bottle and
recognize the brand. They are reasonably certain what it will taste
like, no matter whether it comes from a bottle or a fountain. They are
pretty sure it will give them the same effect and feeling each time
they taste it.
What about Triangle? Can we say the same? In other words, would Coke
be the recognized brand it is today if people thought about it with the
same kinds of feelings and thoughts they do about Triangle?
What is "the Triangle brand?"
Customers have always been willing to pay more for value. In other
words, do they receive more benefit out of the product or service than
what they paid for? If customers shopped on price alone, we would all
be driving the cheapest cars, buy generic products, only watch network
TV, and wear plain, inexpensive clothing. This obviously doesn't
happen, so consumers must also be willing to spend more on goods and
services that provide extra value to them.
So what do people value? Today, many people face poverty of time
issues - excessive demands on already busy lifestyles. Businesses that
provide convenience to their customers that relieve peoples' busy
lifestyles are perceived as having a great deal of value. Convenience
is a value that people appreciate and for which they will pay higher
than average prices.
If you don't believe this, think about your last visit to a
convenience store. What made the convenience store convenient? The
store was located near where you work or live. It was easy to drive or
walk to. You could park by the entrance. The store carried 80% of the
items that supermarkets carry - addressing most of your needs. The
store was small, so you didn't have to spend a great deal of time
negotiating your way around the store. The checkout lines were short so
once you choose your purchases you could get out quickly. Convenience
stores are usually open long hours - up to 24 hours a day, seven days a
week. For all that convenience, how much do you pay for items at a
convenience store? A great deal more than you would at your local
supermarket!
- The Number Of Potential Members Is Declining
"The number of doctoral degrees awarded by U.S. universities in
science and engineering has declined to the level of the early '90s,
according to a research report issued last week (Jan 4, 2003) by the
National Science Foundation. The number of Ph.D.s minted in the science
and engineering fields has dropped 7 percent since it reached a high of
27,300 in 1998. The number of women obtaining doctorates has steadily
increased." - eWeek (Jan 13, 2003)
What does that say to you? To me it says:
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What's true for graduate students is probably mirrored in
undergraduate entry/retention rates in technology-related fields. Can
anyone corroborate that?
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Triangle actives and alumni need to work smarter and harder
to recruit quality men, since the number of potential recruits is
decreasing. Fortunately, that shouldn't be hard to do. Triangle offers
a man an excellent product.
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People are exiting, or at least not entering, the fields
from which we draw recruits, in my opinion, because the jobs aren't
there to support the higher numbers any more. That's important because
competition for jobs in the tighter job market will mean a greater
desire for ways for men to differentiate themselves from one another --
i.e. the ones with the things Triangle offers will be more successful.
It's also important, as we might hope that the reduced number of folks
in these fields of study might be the higher quality ones.
- Are They Being Well Served?
How well satisfied are Triangle's customers -- any one of
prospective, new member, active, alumnus, parent, instructor, or
employer? Their satisfaction, after all, is essential to getting and
keeping their interest and support in our Fraternity.
Perhaps more importantly, what makes these people satisfied and how can you enhance their collective satisfaction?
Research and common sense indicates the first step to satisfaction
is exceeding a customer's expectations. But where do expectations come
from?
Every communication you have with a customer impacts their
expectations. Here's the simplest idea you can remember about service
and satisfaction: The more a customer perceives their experience is
better than their expectations, the more they're satisfied. While
exceeding expectations is best, minimally a customer's experience
should equal their expectations.
This sounds easy and simplistic, doesn't it? But organizations often
fail at this straightforward idea. Customers are promised the world,
but what's delivered is less than expected, with the result of
unsatisfied customers. You've probably had many service encounters
yourself where what was delivered was less than what you expected. In
many cases the failure was due to a difference between the actual
service and the promised service. But remember, expectations drive this
process, so implicit promises can come from many indirect places. (The
good news here is that many of Triangle's customers come into any
relationship with Triangle already carrying very LOW expectations.
Thus, we should be able to exceed those expectations fairly easily!)
You MUST manage expectations appropriately. Set them too high
(meaning you'll never meet them) and customers will be unhappy. Better
to set them appropriate to what you can deliver. In any case
expectations should be managed or else customers will set their own
expectations -- not only might that mean they will never give Triangle
any attention (see the note about low expectations above), it might
even mean that people join for the wrong reasons or even that the WRONG
people are recruited. I don't think any of us want that.
The fundamental lesson here is, I think, that chapters need to
establish what they are attempting to deliver and telling the Truth
about that to everyone.
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!
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