model college ideas

Exploring Digital & Global Education
Discovering Work and Learning Strategies
for the New Millennium

SPJC's
EDGE Business Forum


The Exercises, the Outcomes, and the Participants

Business leaders throughout the county gathered on Thursday July 22nd, 1999 at SPJC's Allstate Center for a business thinktank. From 7 am until 1:30 they worked at defining the business community's educational needs for 2005. The forum was facilitated by Jay Smethurst and Bryan Coffman of the Sente Corporation. Participants were formed into different small groups for each of three exercises and reports to the entire group.

View the summary document produced by the Sente Corp. at this link (many pictures!)

Exercises
Directions to Each Group

The Keys to Successful Growth as a Service Provider (or manufacturer)

It is 2005 and you are the management team of a service company that has jumped from 478 to 320 to 56 on the Growth 500 list in the last three years. The St. Petersburg Times has asked you to write an article describing the keys to successfully growing a company in the first decade of the new millennium.

These keys fall into two categories, timeless elements that work in any environment, and "new strategies" that are responses to Peter Drucker's 5 points about the driving forces in society for the forseeable future. These are:

  • the increasing number of careers individuals hold during a lifetime
  • growth of computer and network technologies
  • increasing globalization and competition (business & politics)
  • increasing importance of "knowledge work" and increasing importance of maintaining a knowledge worker's job satisfaction.
  • major demographic changes, including aging of the population.

The Seven Arts of the 21st Century Employee

Samurai in ancient Japan were required to learn and master seven arts in order to qualify themselves in their profession. These included mastery of the sword, bow, brush (painting), tea ceremony, bamboo flute, poetry, and GO (a strategy game).

Howard Gardner identified seven types of intelligences that we all possess and employ to varying degree. His list includes language, math and logic, music, spatial reasoning, movement, interpersonal abilities, and intrapersonal abilities.

If there were seven arts that business employees of all levels should master, what might they be? List 7 arts on the pane, and write next to them what their purpose is- what they are designed to accomplish.

Learning the New Arts

In 2005, Pinellas County is recognized for having a labor pool far superior to that of any county in the Southeastern United States. The labor pool's strength lies in its skills and abilities - not the knowledge of any specific skill, but the desire and ability to learn new skills rapidly. The greatest challenge that the county - business, education and government together, -- had to overcome were the methods and systems for transferring the arts of the 21st Century Samurai to existing and potential employees.

Describe how employees acquired the New Arts. What was the process, how long did it take? Where did learning take place, and what technologies were most valuable. What kinds of programs were most valuable to employees and employers and how were they delivered?

What the Business Forum Participants Said

Exercises
Responses From the Participants

The Keys to Successful Growth as a Service Provider (or manufacturer)

product leadership

clear vision, performance expectations

knowledge based

leverage relationships and technology to shorten cycle times

Small focused project teams empowered to innovate

keeping good people, low turnover, mentoring, a learning environment

constant learning and growth fueled by interest and ability

continuous investment in technology

overcame "privacy of information"

become indispensable to clients by always exceeding expectations

be such a good employer that people are standing in line to work for you

compensation tied to performance

fluid authority, everyone a boss to some degree

constant training, communication and sharing

providing for people- educational needs, growth, leadership because success comes from the people in the company

utilizing technology effectively

Conclusion: the ideas were similar from each of the 4 teams, so the real challenge is in implementing these keys to success.

The Seven Arts of the 21st Century Employee

Group 1
Group 2
Group 3
Group 4

Monopoly

make a movie

study ethics

play a reed instrument

assignment abroad

play golf

acquire discipline

basketball

cooking

teach children

crossword puzzles or Scrabble

a cross cultural experience

Tai Kwan Do

keep a journal

community work

foreign language

computer art

build sand castles

continuous learning

cooking

ropes, climbing

do community service

master music or dance

mentor someone

Dale Carnegie

play computer games

do something entreprenurial

create a portfolio or body of work

Learning the New Arts

collaboration in developing curriculum

life skills, office skills, and skills within a discipline

variety of access, self paced, customization to fit the learner

cooperative education and apprenticeships in the workplace

time is critical, just in time learning, rapid responsiveness to learners

it takes community business, labor, education and support systems all working together to support each other in attaining high quality of life

learning will be available by multiple ways, anywhere, any time, at your pace.

sets of skills, socialization, conflict resolution

flexible, use technology, provide broad subject areas as well as survivial skills and core skills.

partnership and collaboration

cross cultural skills

experiential learning credit important

most valuable aspects are distance, simulations and experiments.

most valuable programs are community work, telecommuting, and continuing education

The Participants in the Business Forum were:

Lara Butler

Sales Manager

Peoplesoft USA, Inc.

Pamela Campbell

Attorney

Pamela A.M.Campbell, PA

Charles Canerday

President

Canerday & Associates, Architects

Dr. Pamela Davis

CEO

Pride Enterprises

Deborah Esposito

Executive Vice President

Essilor, NA Operations

Elizabeth Grady

Human Resources Manager

Beckwith Electric

Bert Landau

Industry Advisor

Peoplesoft USA, Inc.

Ed Schons

Manager, Economic Development

Florida Power Corp.

Jerry W. Stettner

Senior Vice President

Eckerd Corporation

Earnest Williams

Insurance Agent

Earnest Williams Insurance Agency, Inc.

Gregory Wilson

President

Parsons-Wilson, Inc.

SPJC Participants

Ginnie Eitel

Program Coordinator

Open Campus, AC

Denise Kerwin

Program Coordinator

Open Campus, AC

Dr. Carl Kuttler

President

DO

Sean McCormick

student, EDGE administrative assistant

AC

Dr. Esther Oliver

Provost

AC

Diane Reese

Communications Faculty

SP/G

Joe Smiley

Program Director

TS

SPJC Support Staff

Cathy Hakes

Volunteer Coordinator

SP/G

David Hartman

EDGE co-chair

SP/G

Guy Hancock, DVM

EDGE co-chair

HEC

Pictured, from left, Bert Landau, Pamela Campbell and Charles Canerday.


Last updated: Sept. 1, 1999
EDGE logo design by Mike O'Berry
Design consulting by Vicki Westergard

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