Book Review: Whale Done by Ken Blanchard

          Ken Blanchard has written a number of best sellers.  Perhaps you have read his One Minute Manager series, or Raving Fans (how to make your customer a raving fan), or Gung Ho! which encourages your pursuit of excellence.  If you’ve read a Blanchard book you know that he is a master storyteller who makes his points by telling a story that is easy to read, entertaining, interesting, and most important of all, drives to the point he is making.

          Whale Done is no exception.  The book jacket explains that “both whales and people perform better when you accentuate the positive” and of course give people the much deserved, “Great job!”  The book follows a business manager/family man names Wes Kingsley.  As Wes reflects on his life—both personally and professionally, he realizes that things are not going well.  There is a great deal of tension in both arenas and while on a business trip he escapes to Sea world and watches the killer whale show.  As he goes backstage he learns that the trainer’s techniques of building trust, accentuating the positive, and redirecting negative behavior work together to create the extraordinary performances that we all witness.  

          The book’s story continues as Wes learns to apply these skills in his personal and professional life.  He, and his family, learn how to apply these technique and ultimately live a much happier and more fulfilling life.

          At C4K we promote the Big 3—building relationships, communicating formally and informally, and recognition for exemplary performance.  Working on the Big 3 will help you to build trust, focus on the positive and redirect negative behavior as you acknowledge good work. 

          Consider reading Whale Done! and also consider checking out the C4K videos on the Big 3.  Both are user friendly and insightful. 

Creating Innovators by Tony Wagner

By CynDee Zandes

This article is written by a member of our expert blogging community.

     Tony Wagner, author of The Global Achievement Gap, recently published Creating Innovators.  In my opinion, this book picks up where The Global Achievement Gap left off.  The Global Achievement Gap identified the current state we find ourselves in.  He shares sobering statistics about how even our AP students have fallen seriously behind their counterparts in other counties.  He identifies 7 skills that he believes we must develop in young people to ensure their success in college and career.  These 7 include:  collaboration across networks and leading by influence, agility and adaptability, initiative and entrepreneurship, effective oral and written communication, accessing and analyzing information, and curiosity and imagination.  You can view Wagner speaking about these 7 skills by tuning in to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NS2PqTTxFFc.  I think it should not be lost on us that he has identified these as “skills”.  Skills are different than talents and interests.  They can be learned and honed.  In other words, these skills can help the masses, and are not housed in a few core people.

     In Creating Innovators, Wagner does several case studies of young people who demonstrate innovation both in social enterprises and more traditional business arenas.  What he has found is that they each had parents or caregivers that supported them and did not over-schedule time, allowing them to explore and play.  They had a mentor who did not subscribe to conventional and traditional educational lectures and papers, but rather more authentic learning.  Wagner goes on to say that if you overlap expertise, motivation, and creative thinking skills, at the center you will find innovation, and that when you input the 7 survival skills into that innovation, you have a “revised framework for developing the capacities of young people to become innovators.” 

     Wagner’s book is well worth the read.  It gives you a great deal to think about.  In afterschool we are well-positioned to support authentic learning, hands-on explorations, and collaboration among learners. 

What strategies are you using in your program to encourage innovation?  How are you using an understanding of the 7 Survival Skills to make your program more relevant?  Let us know by weighing in at support@consultfourkids.com

Charting the Course

By CynDee Zandes

This article is written by a member of our expert blogging community.

On October 12, 1492 Christopher Columbus thought he had found a new route to India and the spices that were in such demand in Europe at the time.  The Italian born Columbus was eager to sail for Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, not because he was an expatriate but because he was an adventurer and was delighted at long last to have a sponsor for his expedition.  His crew, divided onto three ships, the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria were tired of the endless ocean and it was fortunate for Columbus that he found land before the crew mutinied. 

What's New at C4K?

Did you happen to hear bells tolling or fourteen choruses of “hallelujah”?  If you did then you are already aware that the C4K system is complete!  We’ve been working through the kinks for several years.  It is like pulling at a thread until the entire tangled ball unravels.  We made a commitment to “measure” many times before we “cut” and it has finally paid off.  For several years we have been proud of our product.  We believe that we have a great staff development system to support high-quality afterschool programs that are supported by exemplary performance.  We are proud of our Program Made EZ Lesson Plans and activities, units, kits and toolboxes that you can purchase from our online store.  We believe that the website provides a place for afterschool professionals to come and share best practices as well as the great work they’re doing.  In other words, we’ve been pleased with our work that you interact with.  What we’ve been working on is the systems behind the scene.  How do we track, guide, and support the work going on?  How do we create user-friendly interfaces and tools that make it easy to get the most out of the website?  How do we build a more effective Learning Management System that will allow you to assign, track and monitor your staff?  What tools do we need to help get new sites and users up to speed quickly and in a nearly-automated way?  These are the things that we’ve been working on and we are thrilled that it’s ready to launch.

We're Hiring!

Photo via Sho & Tell

Consult4Kids, better known as C4K, is a consulting firm, specializing in afterschool staff development. In its simplest terms we train and develop adults both virtually and live who then train and develop youth to be successful both personally and professionally. C4K's work is nationwide in scope and is soon to be a worldwide business. Our goal over the next 10 years is to impact 100 million youth and 10 million adults. We are looking for special, talented people interested in a long term career, not just a temporary position, willing to go up and beyond the call of duty.

We are searching for people who are passionate about helping children and youth to fill two positions: 

Resourceful Receptionist
*Handle office logistics (meeting agendas, company calendar, etc...)
*Attend and transcribe meeting minutes as requested
*Set Appointments
*Answer phone calls and take clear notes
*Contact outside entities to build partnerships 

Administrative Assistant
*Research information and summarize findings using various Internet search engines and research sites
*Assist with the volunteer recruitment process (Marketing, Screening Applicants, etc.)
*Data entry (entity files, daily reports, monthly reports)
*Create materials and supplies from scratch 
*Minimal video recording and editing 

Key Characteristics to be successful for both positions include:

• Strong Interpersonal Skills; excellent ability to interact positively with a variety of individuals/stakeholders
• Willingness to learn and try new things outside of their typical comfort zone 
• Able to handle and maintain confidentiality
• Demonstrates a natural confidence and leadership mindset
• Insists upon a high level of quality work 
• Works well under pressure 
• Extremely confidential
• Highly loyal 

Skills needed:

• Ability to think ahead, able to anticipate and act on future issues and needs, must be able prepare self and CEO for predicted events
• Excellent communication skills in both written and oral forms
• Superb organizational skills including planning and prioritizing, ability to multi-task and adapt to changing needs and demands
• Sound judgment and decision making skills, ability to analyze and objectively investigate situations and problems
• Must have experience using Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
• Must be able to demonstrate proper phone etiquette 
• Must have excellent keyboarding skills

Other Items:

• May occasionally require some irregular hours, possibly including some evenings and/or weekends
• Marketing and Social Media knowledge is important, but not required 
• Ability to critique and analyze written narrative and other items 
• Minimal travel required
• Creativity

To be considered for these positions, email us at support@consultfourkids.com with your resume. In the subject line, include your name and the position you are applying for. 

*Serious inquiries only, this is a long-term career position geared to accomplish helping youth and communities.

What We're Reading: "Start With Why" by Simon Sinek

Master consultant, CynDee, is reading Start With Why. Check out her takeaways below.

Photo via Human ResourceFUL

Simon Sinek’s book, Start With Why, discusses the importance of knowing why we do the work we do and then sharing that why with anyone who will listen.  Sinek describes what he calls the Golden Circle. At the center of this circle is the WHY?  This circle describes the reason we do what we do.  In other words, the cause that we value and embrace is found in the center.  The second circle is the “value proposition” and explains how we do something.  The third circle is about what we do, and explains the products or services that we provide.  

She Said I Was Smart, So I Am: The Importance of Mindset

By CynDee Zandes

This article is written by a member of our expert blogging community. 

Whether you call it your mindset, your paradigm, or your world view, the lens that you look through, intentionally or not, and interpret the world around you and your place in it is important to identify and understand. Dependent upon your age, this lens has been honed by years of messages from those around you, your own experience, and the outcomes of the choices you’ve made.  No one is oblivious to these pressures.  If the messages you have received are positive ones, like

"You are capable"

"You have integrity"

"You make good choices"

your mindset is different from the person who received negative messages, like

"You are unworthy"

"You lie and cheat with every breath you take"

"You make one poor decision after another, no wonder you are in the position you’re in"

The “tapes” we play in our head each day contribute to our mindset.