TRIPLE III TIME: A Workshop On NETWORKING
As we all realize…continuous improvement and life-long learning often requires revisiting special important topic areas from time-to-time. So as I was talking to my American Government & Politics class recently about establishing and building a solid professional network of friends and colleagues… the last question I thought I would be asked was: “Well sir… if you were teaching A Workshop on NETWORKING to our graduating senior class… what topics would you cover?”
YES… I was caught off-guard! But yes you probably all know I carry a bunch of yellow legal pads with lots of notes… so I was ready to answer the question. And just for tradition-sake… I drafted customized concepts for A Workshop on NETWORKING in my own TOP 10 fashion!
- Be aware that NETWORKING occurs everyday and everywhere you converse with people. Never waste an opportunity.
- NETWORKING quality should not be measured by someone’s credentials. Let them be authentic.
- Ideas and innovation are natural outgrowths of NETWORKING.
- NETWORKING allows you to learn a little more about what you don’t know and avoid being wrong about an issue.
- Good advice and support via NETWORKING can be high value no matter someone’s age.
- Your professional reputation can be enhanced with solid NETWORKING connections.
- Gaining linkages to specialists in multiple fields is a NETWORKING outcome.
- Developing professional NETWORKING connections…causes one to uniquely test your relationship-building skills.
- Sharing in a variety of ways is the essence of NETWORKING!
- This is my favorite: NETWORKING helps make your ideas and events better.
Well the class probably got more information than they expected…but surely it was a lesson worth learning.
I hope at least one TOP 10 helps you be a better professional tomorrow.
TRIPLE III TIME: Disruptive Innovation
Last week our TRIPLE III TIME message was all about: Quality Control – The Little Things Matter. In it I talked about a TOP 10 list of very basic, common sense and professional courtesy driven actions… that if employed regularly, would heighten personal and organizational quality outputs. Ultimately, it was/is my hope that if appropriately applied… all aspects of one’s operation would improve!
Now as a next step in professional positioning and growth… I want everyone to think about: Disruptive Innovation.
“Disruptive innovation, a concept developed by Clayton Christensen, describes a process where a simpler, cheaper, or more accessible product/service starts in a small or new market, eventually moves upmarket, and displaces established competitors. It typically targets underserved customers and makes a formerly complicated or expensive product affordable for a broader audience. This process leads to a new market and value network that ultimately disrupts an existing one.” (Google-AI)
Consider the product you produce or the service you provide. Has it been impacted by Disruptive Innovation? Consider the job search arena. Has Indeed, Trillium, Kelly Services, and Monster changed the government funded employment services system?
Has simple cost and convenience altered how citizens search and find new jobs? This example of Disruptive Innovation is just a means of getting your professional development attention and in some way energizes a little creativity in your worlds-of-work.
Disruptive Innovation most often asks you to first return to the service/product problem you are trying to solve for your customers. Can you break it into smaller pieces to ease understandability? Could you make it easier to access…with or without technology? Is it as customer-friendly as it can be…or has high-tech made it a “distant-reach” for your customers? Does your service/product methodology ask customers (and even staff) to go too far too fast??
Finally, understand that Disruptive Innovation does NOT tell you how to do what you do differently. Rather it just asks that you THINK DIFFERENTLY to maybe start new initiatives aimed at solving old problems in smaller, cheaper, simpler or in more effective and efficient customer service ways.
Hopefully this message helps with customers lost… customers missed…and new customer connections!
LEARNING MOMENTS Podcast: Building Indispensability
When you think about professional development, sometimes you need to look in the mirror and consider you… your business… and your organization’s current and long-term value in the marketplace. Are your services… products needed, and growing… or fading and sliding toward that “obsolete” category?!
This Building Indispensability podcast is meant to encourage everyone to self-check their value in the workplace and customer needs arena. This assessment should be a natural business/organization/personal exercise to ensure appropriate changes and progress actions are taken to continually place you and your group in that “you can’t be successful without me” category!
Enjoy the listen.
TRIPLE III TIME: Quality Control – The Little Things Matter
No matter what employment sector you work in…there is a common…important need for Quality Control. Even if your job currently is being a high school student. The quality of the homework you complete and/or the way you conduct yourself in the classroom…all can be labeled a different form of Quality Control.
I’m guessing you are forming a quick understanding of the: Quality Control – The Little Things Matter…focus for this week’s TRIPLE III TIME message. Tell me if your thoughts follow these special TOP 10 examples:
- Return phone calls or online messages in a timely manner…it is an important personal responsibility.
- PROOFREAD what you write or send…your words are a “vision” of you.
- Provide adequate notice for future assignments or meetings…it is professional courtesy.
- Meet deadlines for work assigned…don’t follow a “that’s close enough” approach.
- In our electronic age…confirm receipt of information/messages…don’t make the senders assume receipt.
- Try to guarantee accuracy in your communications…inaccurate “pass-alongs” to multiple people can cause endless problems.
- Voice tones in the delivery of written or oral directives have more Quality Control impacts than most realize.
- Don’t question yourself when over-sending information to people…because under-sending and leaving people out would be a bigger issue.
- In all areas of what you do and how you do it…commit to a Promises Made-Promises Kept routine.
- Finally…although it sounds little in function…always try to do one extra “progress thing” each day (more ideas/insights/information/initiatives/inspirations).
Somehow this TOP 10 list of Quality Control – The Little Things Matter doesn’t really seem so “little”!
TRIPLE III TIME: “Entrepreneurship is a Way of Life!”
First, I want to be clear that I have not shared anyone’s email as complete a TRIPLE III TIME message before…only quotes and/or paragraphs. However as you will read this email message from a very good friend, you will realize it is a unique testimonial to “my way of life”! Therefore, for professional confidentiality sake and sharing it with total word-for-word accuracy… I have made no changes to JG’s excellent document!
I feel privileged and proud to share this with you:
Rural Michigan: The Next Great Frontier for Entrepreneurs
While the world races toward urban tech hubs, I see a different kind of goldmine, rural Michigan.
Not in the form of apps or algorithms, but in community-rooted entrepreneurship, in people with grit, creativity, and deep ties to their land and neighbors.
Rural Michigan is brimming with untapped potential:
🌾 Family farms ready to diversify.
🏪 Main Street businesses needing new energy.
📦 Supply chain gaps waiting to be filled.
📡 Tech deserts begging for innovative infrastructure.
And above all, young people hungry to create, not just consume.
What if we stopped viewing rural communities as places to escape from, and instead saw them as launchpads for new venture creation?
What if we:
1️⃣ Invested in broadband AND business incubators?
2️⃣ Built entrepreneurship high school pathways in rural districts?
3️⃣ Incentivized rural innovation zones, not just urban ones?
4️⃣ Put real capital in the hands of rural founders, especially women, veterans, and first-gen students?
Entrepreneurship isn’t just for Silicon Valley. It’s for rural towns across Michigan! It’s for people with vision, values, and roots.
Michigan’s future will be brighter when we stop treating rural as a challenge, and start treating it as a competitive advantage.
Let’s grow the economy from the ground up.
Literally.
“Entrepreneurship is a way of life.”
TRIPLE III TIME: “Observational Research”
Sometimes in my roles as a consultant or an educator a need arises to conduct a small bit of active research to offer a client “the better way forward”. Typically it is understood that the research is not the only factor involved in making an appropriate decision regarding a change in current organizational operations. Rather the goal is to gain a more in-depth snapshot of individuals…a group…or a certain setting to make sure of the accuracy of factors impacting what you may or may not want to change.
Why is “Observational Research” an important TRIPLE III TIME topic?
The intent of this “Observational Research” message is to encourage everyone…no matter your job…to occasionally apply this form of “natural assessment” to stay up-to-date with current product/service expectations. You don’t have to be a degreed scientist to do “Observational Research”. Instead, just keep your special study simple. Prioritize these points:
- Decide what do you want to know.
- Decide what you need to observe and for how long.
- Keep resources in mind. Both time and money!
- Analyze only what you observe…but include newly discovered insights.
Remember “Observational Research” can be a more quick and efficient way of gaining evidence-based information for planning or decision-making purposes. Also keep in mind that the purpose of “Observational Research” is to learn more about a certain organizational activity or issue…but not to make comparisons. Finally, when I utilized my simple “Observational Research” methods…it didn’t matter if a few issues changed during my study time. Instead it forced me to stay focused on my original “what do I want to know” goal!
Basic “Observational Research” is a useful administrative/management assessment tool. Try it!
TRIPLE III TIME: Artificial Intelligence (AI) – Purpose & Use
This is one of the most difficult TRIPLE III TIME messages I feel a unique nervousness in writing about. Maybe it is because I daily try to avoid using technology in delivering my professional services. Or maybe I have not been a “student” of this area of new age professional development and therefore I feel totally inadequate when progressively discussing it. So am I guilty of utilizing a “hiding-spot” to avoid discussing AI and thereby going against one of my own leadership principles… maybe?
Well this week as I have been participating in preparation for start-up of the fall semester at the community college… Artificial Intelligence (AI) – Purpose & Use was a high impact discussion topic. So continued avoidance no longer is an acceptable professional leadership option… and taking a position on its workplace contribution needs prompt attention.
First the most important point I want to make is that I know AI WILL be part of everyone’s job/career going forward. Therefore, does every worker/workplace need to have quality discussions regarding its purpose and use…ABSOLUTELY! To me this means that everyone must acknowledge it as a solid tool for improving products and services… but that overuse can harm professionalism.
Second, I believe to appropriately make use of AI… establishing understandable boundaries and expectations will be difficult but necessary. What do I mean? For example, will it be a good situation to have an AI generated staff memorandum distributed when it in no way sounds authentically like YOU? Or would it be progressive to have your bosses start asking AI “what IT thinks about an issue”… rather than asking YOU? Would these actions delete the customer-valued “personality” your company/organization has tried to build?
Bottomline: Next week when classes start…I will strongly remind students that THEY are in my class… not computers. But I will also indicate that AI in an evolving professional career-building tool and that THEY still hold the keys as to when/where/and how much AI can positively contribute to their work.
LEARNING MOMENTS Podcast: Sending Progressive – Initiative Messages
This Inspiring Innovations LEARNING MOMENTS podcast is all about doing a honest assessment of the positive – progressive – future-minded messages you and your organization convey to everyone… everyday. Think about all of the different ways we communicate today and then consider the confident quality of each message delivered by your company. Are they (the messages) Sending Progressive – Initiative Messages that instill a future growth mindset?
This self assessment action would not be easy… nor just a one-time activity. It must be an ongoing continuous improvement “habit”!
As I have done in the past… I have tried to share potential hours of discussion issues into just 10 minutes. Hopefully this Inspiring Innovations LEARNING MOMENTS podcast helps everyone better prioritize in this critical communication area.
Enjoy the listen.
TRIPLE III TIME: “Job Titles”
Have you ever been in a decision-making position that has required you or a group to determine the “official” Job Titles for various work areas? I have participated… coached… and observed this seemingly easy process… but let me report that “EASY” has never been the right word to describe the assignment!
Well because more recently I have been asked to provide some guidance in determining MODERN… ACCURATE… RESPECTABLE and COMMONLY UNDERSTANDABLE: JOB TITLES for a couple of groups… here are my TOP 10 thoughts applicable to this situation:
- Don’t select an option just to make someone happy.
- Plan to assess and review all organizational “Job Titles” annually.
- Pledge to stay modern… old titles create an age stereotype/bias.
- Do real research on options… go beyond typical/traditional.
- Write down job expectations first… then think title.
- Take particulars about current employees out of the job description title…make it stand alone.
- Make final “Job Titles” choices with at least 3 other colleagues.
- Realize and remember that every job today will have techno-applications.
- Make sure your mother (and even grandmother) could understand the job via the title.
- Try to not consider money/salaries or status… because “Job Titles” are about duties and responsibilities.
Finally, and maybe this is #11: Include a personnel option that allows if someone REALLY doesn’t agree with their Job Title… that they have the option to submit an alternative title along with quality justifications for change.
These thoughts may or may not make determining “Job Titles” easier… but it will sure make everyone respect the effort to find the best there is!
TRIPLE III TIME: Allowing A “ Recognition Pause”
I hate to admit it…but as I have “aged”, I have taken just a little more time when communicating in any form and moving less quickly forward on most new initiatives. Now don’t start thinking that because I am getting older that my whole being has begun to slow down…NO! Rather I have more recently realized better…the greater value of: Allowing A “Recognition-Pause”.
What am I trying to explain?
During my entire work history I can honestly say that I rarely took time to really celebrate a specific organization/professional “win”/achievement! Rather my focus was to stress the importance of “what next and what-else” still needs to be done. Even when the Board I was responsible to specifically asked me to spend more time discussing the cool stuff we were accomplishing…I would tell them that that was “old-news” and we need to look forward to the future. New ideas and innovations were the priority…every time…all the time!
Was I extremely lucky that I had great support from Board members and the group that worked with me…yes! However, did I miss the unique support value of Allowing A “Recognition-Pause” from time to time and encourage a special celebration moment so that everyone could be at the same progressive “place and time” on a specific achievement…YES!
Bottomline: Don’t always focus on what’s still left to do…organizational fatigue can be paralyzing. Reflect and learn from the achievements/successes realized…even in one day. Again to some they may be baby-steps forward…but to others they may be a once in a lifetime opportunity! By Allowing A “Recognition-Pause” in your workplace…you may experience even greater service consistency and performance.
Inspiring Innovations, Inc. 