I revised my schedule again earlier this week. Pending everything going well with my grade in Ethics and Political Acumen I will move on to my last two traditional classes.
Contemporary Systems Management
Architecture of Leadership
I will fit a dissertation class in here between the two. Right now, it appears that my traditional classwork will end on the first week of November.
I’m feeling a lot more confident about my research topic and the progress that I will make towards my dissertation. I’m looking forward to it.
On my teaser slide that I placed on the home page I said “What I learned while teaching 4500 people to use Salesforce”. Let me add this disclaimer: I was not alone on this project. The thought of one person taking on that much work is laughable. There were three of us at first, so it was a team effort. You can see that the student-teacher ratio is now much lower at a more manageable level of 1500:1. 🙂
In my last post I mentioned how I had a considerable portion of my grade hanging in the balance during the last week of class. It ended well. I took a risk on my final assignment, and the professor liked it. I received the grade I was looking for, and moved on to my next class. Only three more traditional classes left. After that the only thing that stands between me and a DM is my dissertation.
I was reading the book “The Genius in All of Us” by David Shenk today. It is a fantastic book that breaks several myths about talent and how much of it we can expect to inherit from our parents. The good news is that talent is something that everyone can develop. It isn’t just for the gifted few.
A good friend of mine, Enrico Contolini, noticed that his oldest daughter had a knack for geography. He helped his daughter develop this knack to the point where she was good enough to compete. Fast forward. She has won the state geography bee twice.
Shenk makes the case that genetics will only take a person so far. Having talent is one thing, but developing that talent is another. The environment also plays a very formative role. Shenk uses examples of both cello virtuoso Yo-Yo Ma and Mozart to illustrate that very involved and capable parents play a critical role in helping children realize their full potential. Enrico’s daughter inherited a mother who is a skilled educator and a father who is an engineer. The cards appear to be stacked in her favor.
Enrico has developed a teaching and coaching method that clearly works with his daughter. Music’s Shinichi Suzuki developed and honed his Suzuki method of teaching, and it revolutionized how music is taught to children. Perhaps the study of geography is about to receive the Contolini Method for getting kids energized about the places of the world. See more on this father-daughter team’s quest to share their love of geograhpy at www.geokid.org.
I love highlighting great work by amazing people. A good friend of mine lives with his family in Colorado. He recognized that his eldest daughter had a talent for geography, so they explored it together. This father-daughter hobby turned into a competitive sport. Enrico now coaches his daughter in her geography bee pursuits at the state and national level. This father-daughter team also take their love of geography to local schools. See more on their story at www.geokid.org.
My wife has done a fantastic job over the past 12 months at the Animal Care and Control division of the Charlotte-Mecklenberg Police Department. Check out her site at www.clever-canine.com for more details. If you are short on time, just check out the first post or the first video.
I finished another class yesterday. I never like going into the last week of class with a large portion of my grade still undecided, but that is what I faced here. I should get my grades here in the next few days, so keep your fingers crossed.
My academic advisor and I agreed today that it would be good for me to switch the order of my next 2 classes. This will give me more time to finalize an advisor and find one more person for my committee. So I have a bit of a break this week and next before starting Political Acumen and Ethics. I now have only 2 more traditional classes, and then the dissertation.
I started my doctoral journey in the fall of 2009. I can’t believe I have finished 2 years already. I finished my 3rd year residency in October. It was 8 days of comprehensives. I am glad that it is over, and I would not want to repeat it.
I still have a long way to go. I have to complete my 3rd year classes and I still have loads of work to do on my dissertation.
Here is a look at my upcoming classes.
Organizational Diagnosis and Intervention (in progress)
Political Acumen and Ethics
Contemporary Systems Management
Architecture of Leadership
I should be finished with these formal classes by the end of September, but this does not count my dissertation work.
I am going to place my updates in the regular blog section for this site, and I will place these posts in the “doctoral” category to make searching for these posts a little easier.
What are we to make of those who have it really easy? I’m referring to people for whom growing and running a business comes with little effort. He may be better with people, her dad gave her a head start, or his family has more connections that you. Maybe it has nothing to do with connections. Maybe they simply have more raw talent — better at spotting opportunities, better at self-promotion. Why is it so easy for them and so hard for me?
We all have to encounter God somewhere. By encounter I don’t mean something passive like watching a movie. I mean wrestle. There are so many places where this can happen — in our business, health, finances, marriage, children, children’s health, parents’ health, parents’ finances… The list goes on. We all have an Achilles heel where our lives just do not make sense. Take a look at some of the people you know. The yard looks perfect, the kids are well behaved, but health is a big issue in that house. The guy who has it all together at work? His kid just bit another child at school. The third one this month. The lady who pulled up in the Beamer, dressed to the nines? She hasn’t been able to keep a relationship together for more than 2 years at a time. We all have our areas where we are uncomfortable, and this is where we wrestle with God.
I know many of us have asked “Why?” during desperate moments. It may be a fleeting thought. “Why is this so hard for me? Other people seem to be doing well in their ventures. Why not me?” It is a oneway thought that takes only a second. It turns out that this is a form of prayer, and it is moments like these that start to unlock the riddles you face. I am not the first to say that hardship and pain is one way that God draws us closer to him. I don’t like it, but I had to get used to it. Keep asking why. This is a good thing. Let your questions grow longer.
For those of you who are not that familiar with prayer, let this next thought soak in for a few minutes: there isn’t really a way to get prayer wrong. Don’t feel the need to get all sanctimonious. God doesn’t need you to be in a choir robe. He does’t need high church. He doesn’t need your money. God can hear your prayers right where you are. You don’t even need to follow a formula. Just allow your questions to grow a little longer. After you think/ask “Why is this so hard?”, continue with “Is there something you want to show me?” or “Show me that you are really listening.” Again, there is nothing magical about these questions. The point is to take another step toward understanding your situation. He will answer, and will do so in a very personal way for you. It is pretty exciting stuff starting a conversation with the One who made you.
You may ask what it is like to hear from God. I feel that it is a very natural thing that anyone can do. Many people have written about hearing from God, and you can even find good audio resources, too. For me, I have never heard God audibly like one person speaking to another from across the room. Instead, most of my conversations with God happen internally in the form of impressions on my heart or thoughts that cross my mind. One example that have is that recently I have been given many good ideas for my writing projects right when I am in the middle of praying. I literally have to stop praying in mid-sentence, take a few notes and then continue praying.
For some the very word prayer evokes images of monks, pastors and men “of the cloth.” Somehow prayer is for them and not for you, that they are better at it or get better reception than you do. You don’t need to be a pastor to have a conversation with God. Now, I do believe that certain people have God’s ear more than I do. He unlocks certain mysteries of life for them maybe more than he does for me. I’m ok with this because it doesn’t mean that you and I don’t get access. Think of it as everyone getting into the concert, only some have VIP seating. Some get general admission, some get front row seats and some get tickets to the luxury box. Again, the good news here is that everyone gets in to the show. Prayer is for you, and it is nothing more than a conversation.
A conversation with God is available to everyone. One question is all you need to start.
