Considering Kindness: An Elegant Approach

Oxford Dictionaries defines elegance as "the quality of being graceful and stylish in appearance or manner."  In Ian Glynn's book, Elegance in Science: The Beauty of Simplicity, Glynn asserts that in addition to simplicity, elegance involves ingeniousness, conciseness and persuasiveness.  

Today a simple thought ... consider kindness.  Regardless of our choice of definitions, kindness is elegant.

Suggested Reading to support the case for Kindness as Elegance

• Baker, W.F., & O'Malley, M. (2008). Leading with kindness: How good people consistently get superior results. New York: Amacom.

The Kauffman Foundation and A Look at Today's Entrepreneurs ...

After serving in the Navy during World War II, Ewing Marion Kauffman started his career as a pharmaceutical salesperson before founding his own pharmaceutical company in his basement.  His company, Marion Laboratories, grew to become a global healthcare company until he sold it to Merrell Dow in 1989.  In addition to founding and growing a pharmaceutical company, Kauffman bought the Royals and moved them to his hometown of Kansas City.  

Through Kauffman's generosity and commitment to education & entrepreneurship, the Kauffman Foundation began its work.  The vision of the foundation is: a society of economically independent individuals who are engaged citizens contributing to the improvement of their communities.  

The Kauffman Foundation website offers a variety of information about entrepreneurship - I thought I would offer it as a resource and direct you to a couple of related links.  The first link below will take you to the Kauffman Foundation website and a quick & entertaining look at a description of today's entrepreneurs from Amy Wilkinson, author of The Creator's Code. The second link will take you to Amy's Youtube video that shares some entrepreneurial wisdom from the interviews she conducted that led to her book:  

Link 1
http://www.kauffman.org/multimedia/sketchbook/kauffman-sketchbook-cracking-the-code


Link 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6R3kNn461Xs

This information is hot off the press ... see Kauffman's "Newsroom" from this week! As you visit the Kauffman website and watch Amy's videos, are you imagining yourself as an entrenpreneur?   

Blooming in Higher Education

It has been quite some time since I have written anything on my blog.  Because I am returning from a long absence, I will share something I have been playing with for quite some time that helps describe where my current passion is with regard to college students ... Bloom's Taxonomy.  If any of my current students are reading this, they may be sighing, "oh no, not Bloom's Taxonomy again!"

But, it takes many impressions to close a sale and we understand concepts intellectually before we can apply them to our daily lives, so I'm still promoting Bloom:

The theory was born of educational psychology in the 1940s and 1950s, but we are still trying to effectively live the wisdom of Bloom's Taxonomy in higher education today.  Since the theory's pivotal assertion in 1956, it has gone through modifications and, as with virtually all theories, there are ongoing critiques of its validity.  I have included a picture of the modification I discuss most often with my students where create inhabits the top spot.  A key element of my passion is to assist students with their own experiences of creating.

This topic relates to a key concern I have within higher education today.  I believe that many academics were indoctrinated into a system of remembering which is causing a cultural block to offering students transformational educational experiences.  If we ask students to conform to a daily droning of lectures and algorithmic assignments where they sit well controlled, waiting to be spoon fed and hand held toward enlightenment, it should not surprise us that employers today are finding recent college graduates passive and under-prepared. How can we expect to send creators and innovators into the workforce if we just ask students to conform and remember their way through college?  And, if we are not facilitating the development of intrapreneurs, how can we even have a chance at protecting or expanding a culture of American entrepreneurship?

I am confident that students are getting plenty of information to remember as they complete coursework at American community colleges and universities.  I also know that students on every college campus are directly, and indirectly, offered opportunities to build skills and create yet many students are participating in college just hoping to check the required boxes and get their diploma without putting much thought into how that diploma will help them achieve their life aspirations.  

Two hopes for "blooming" with creativity in Higher Education:  

1)  We, who are employed in higher education, will keep challenging traditional paradigms so that we can innovate and continue to improve the value of higher education for students who are trusting us to prepare them for post-graduation life in a dynamic world that continues to unfold.

2)  Students will not accept the status quo and will actively seek value - becoming aware of what they want and need ... even creating their own transformational college experiences when we fall short as well intentioned individuals and members of well established cultures/systems.

Remember, Understand, Apply, Analyze, Evaluate and ... CREATE !  

Are you buying Bloom yet?