the air

Photo courtesy of Sylvar

Many college students fail to understand leadership and often walk the path of tyranny. What students need to do is understand how to lead before leading. One of the basic principles of leadership is that you have to have followers. Just take a look around. If Barack Obama did not have any followers, how could he lead? How could we call him a leader? How could we even suggest that he is leading Hillary Clinton? Before you lead, you have to have followers. Pretty easy so far, don’t you think?

One of the best lessons I am learning about being president of the IIE student chapter at NIU is leadership. I’m learning how to work well with others, deal with miscommunication and poor information, work with deficient work quality and inadequate participation from colleagues, and more. Perhaps the single most important lesson I am learning is to lead through empowerment not judgment. Empowerment is, in my words, the art of teaching others to take the lead and move forward. Empowerment allows others to experience the same euphoria that you enjoy but in their own world. It’s really not a novel idea, but it is an idea that goes against conventional approaches to leadership.

Everyone’s Your idea sucks

A big mistake that many students make as team leaders is to go out and “suggest” that their approach is the best. Some of these students are so good, that they will feign interest in a discussion and garner other group members’ ideas as well. The true student leader will always enter a group discussion with an open mind before making up his/her mind. It is smarter for a student leader to listen to other people first before even saying their own ideas or offering their opinion. Some students are intimidated by leaders and will shut-down the moment they hear the leader’s ideas. They will even go as far as supporting the leader’s ideas regardless of what they think. Get others to talk before you talk. That way, there’s more participation and more people will feel like they “own” the task.

Let them make goals

Once you decide, as a group, what needs to be accomplished for a particular task, let the group decide what goals they need to set. If you are the leader, this is the time to keep your mouth shut and observe how the group is interacting. In my opinion, effective leaders mediate between members and let the members decide what course of action to take. Remember, a group cannot function with full effectiveness unless they all move forward together. The balancing act comes into play when you have to override someone and say that their goal is not necessary. Again, let the group take ownership of the goals and “lead” them to making goals that you think will work.

Empower their drive

I hate looking over someone’s shoulder to make sure that they are working correctly. The hardest thing about being a leader is dealing with ineffective group members. So I combat that dilemma by empowering my group members. I let them tell me how they will approach a particular task and how they will see it to fruition. I even go as far as making them write it down and verbally (in writing as well) promise to complete the task. My strongest emphasis are always on the deadline and the final result. The golden rule I follow is assist throughout the process. By continually offering my help and asking for quick reviews, I am able to demonstrate to them that I care about them and their work.

Sometimes, things don’t work out the way I planned. And that is what I am still learning to deal with. However, I think that sometimes, we do get ineffective team members who we simply have to deal with and carry as dead weight. It is at this point, where I ask for your methods. How do you deal with ineffective team members? What do you think about empowering others to accomplish tasks? What are other effective tools you recommend that have the potential to work?

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Photo courtesy of Apple

I think by now, almost everyone should have heard about Apple’s new computer called “MacBook Air” (MBA). And many of us have been given a major sticker shock when we heard how much it would cost. The MBA starts at around $1800 and can easily go beyond $3100. The major fervor around blogs concerning Apple products is the fact that it is overpriced for the gadgets it offers. Rather than discuss its technological benefits or hardware specifications, I want to offer my own thoughts on this product from a very different angle.

The MBA represents a whole new direction for personal computing. Rather than toting around a machine that does everything, the new concept focuses on what I call “complemented personal computing” (CPC). CPC is concerned with supplementing your current computing with a device that gives you increased flexible opportunities. In my opinion, CPC is a concept that can be seen more with mobile professionals rather than the mass population. However, I do believe that today’s society is increasingly becoming more mobile and technologically savvy. For instance, some college students use their cellular phone or iPod as a tool to replace their datebooks. I think that slowly, society is moving towards a realm in which we will have continuous access to our digital data through numerous synchronized electronic devices.

I think of CPC as a server and client type of approach to computing. Suppose you have a desktop and want to take notes at a meeting or a lecture. Unless your desktop is tiny and easy to “assemble,” you will most likely opt for a portable computing machine. This would be a great time to have a laptop, wouldn’t you agree? So why would you need a laptop and a desktop? Let me ask you this: why would you need two laptops? This is where my CPC concept begins. While one of your machines can be considered the primary computer with all the data, the other devices act as “clients” which can access your personal data on the primary machine on demand. This allows you to maintain your personal information at your fingertips no matter which machine you use.

The MBA is not designed to replace any desktop or laptop offering from Apple. Rather, it is designed for the mobile individual who demands portability over power. I think the MBA will prove to be successful amongst those who need a laptop to complement their primary computer, those who are in need of an extremely portable and mobile machine, and tech-savvy “geeks.”

I think that Apple has identified the new trend in computing and is encouraging the development of this trend. Since the machine is new and the manufacturing processes behind making such a portable machine are new, cost will undoubtedly remain high. I would not be surprised if the price for the MBA is reduced by the end of 2008 and it would certainly seem plausible that the MBA may have performance boosts by the end of the year as well.

CPC is a new concept and I, myself, sometimes have a hard time justifying it. However, CPC is a concept that I think people are aware of and probably have different names for it. Nevertheless, CPC is a new direction in personal computing and I strongly believe that Apple along with Dell, HP, and Microsoft are engaged in exploring this new trend.

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Photo courtesy of acerin

While in college, many students have a tendency to relax and take things casually. During important opportunities, these same students will do a complete 180 and commit to delivering impressive results. I remember a few months ago, a friend of mine committed to creating a fundraiser and running it herself. She presented some excellent ideas on how to encourage everyone to donate and she was very loquacious about her passion for helping the less fortunate. When it came time to actually deliver on what she said, let’s just say, I was left with a very bad taste in my mouth.

Listen Before Committing

The problem here is that too many people have ambitious ideas with no plans on how to actually go about accomplishing their ideas. Moreover, many people commit to delivering something without fully understanding what it is that they need to deliver. Hence, it is essential, imperative if you will, to listen and understand what is being asked. That way, you can then assess whether or not you need/want to commit.

Ask Before Committing

So we covered the listening part. Are you ready to ask questions? Needless to say, we cannot understand everything and it should be natural for us to ask for clarification. There is nothing wrong in even asking someone to repeat what they said or rephrase their speech. Not understanding what you are committing to is a great way to de-value your personal stock and should serve as a wake-up call. By asking the right questions, you’ll be able to make a well-informed decision as well as meet or even exceed the expectations of the person you are committing to.

Impress By Delivery

Remember that girl I talked about? She has an inherent tendency to impress others by making lofty commitments. Sure, the people on the other end might be impressed and feel confident in her. However, when it comes time to see the final results, what do they actually see? By impressing through commitment and failing to impress by delivery, you simply cause disappointment for others with no further value in your personal stock. More people are impressed if you deliver a product or service that exceeds their expectations. More people are disappointed if you cannot deliver on everything you committed to. So why impress others by committing when you can easily impress people by delivering the results they expect?

Complete the Commitments First

In the last point, I mentioned that you should impress by delivery, not impress by commitment. Before you go “above and beyond” the call of duty, be sure to successfully complete and achieve the commitments you made. If there is time left, feel free to add value to your work. For instance, let’s say you committed to tasks 1 through 5 and you accomplished tasks 1 through 4. Now, suppose you decided to do other tasks in the hopes to create value but skipped task 5 because it could not be completed by the deadline. In the end, you did not deliver what you committed to. Certainly, you added value, went above and beyond, and completed tasks 1 through 4. However, what if task 5 was a critical task that somebody was depending on? Do you see the picture that I am trying to illustrate?

Add Value, Some Restrictions Apply

In the last point, I talked about how you can go ahead and add value to your commitments. This usually means going above and beyond what you committed to and the expectations of the person(s) you committed to. The trick with adding value to your work is to ensure that:

• it does not take too much time
• it supports the primary commitments

If an extra task(s) take(s) too much time, you may want to reconsider it so that you do not deliver your results past the deadline. If you can complete additional tasks before the deadline and be ready to deliver them before the deadline, consider adding value to your commitments. However, what if the person you committed to is asking you to make more commitments? Simple, understand the commitment, request additional time if you think you’ll need it, and abandon all value-added tasks until you complete the new commitments. Going above and beyond is a great concept, but you should only execute that concept only if you can deliver everything prior to the deadline.

If an extra task(s) is unable to support your original commitments, you may wish to reconsider it. Remember, you cannot determine the added value of your tasks. Only the person receiving your results will ascertain the value of the additional tasks. For instance, say you committed to delivering a report on different computer monitors and you included another report on computer speakers. The person you delivered the result to would undoubtedly be surprised but would find little value in your added report. Now suppose that report on computer speakers outlines how particular computer monitors support speaker attachments. This may prove useful if those specific monitors are covered in your original report. See the difference? Only add value if it supports the original results that you committed to delivering.

Add Value Beyond The Delivery

Whenever I deliver a report or complete necessary commitments, I do my best to follow-up with the persons I delivered my results to. This way, I can assess their satisfaction with my work as well as remedy any issues they may have. This is a special type of value that you are adding to your work. It shows others that you care about your work and want to ensure that your work is up to the expected level. Most companies practice this value-added service and you may now it as the “customer satisfaction guarantee.” You do not need to necessarily guarantee your work, but following up and fixing any issues is a sure way to create extra value with little work. And let’s not forget, you’ll have one happy customer who will appreciate your work even more.

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Photo courtesy of Eli Hodapp

One of the reasons why I enjoy my cell phone is the fact that I’m never bothered by irritating telemarketers hawking their company’s products and/or services. My cell phone is literally my lifeline since it is the only way I can communicate with anyone far away through voice. And for this “luxury,” I end up paying close to $50 a month including an SMS package and a web browsing package. On average, I’ve discovered that I end up talking close to 600 minutes during peak times and almost the same amount on nights and weekends. Luckily, I never have to pay for a junk call. However, I’m afraid that may change quite soon.

Find Your Cell Phone Number Now!

Intelius, a company seeking an IPO, is selling your cell phone number for a whopping $14.95. In fact, for that price, you can look up just about anybody’s phone number. Since Intelius is a very sleazy nice company - insert sarcastic remark - , they don’t charge if no results are found. What makes the entire fiasco interesting is that your number is probably already in the database if you used your cell phone for ordering pizza. Here’s a short excerpt from the MSNBC article:

Ed Petersen, the company’s executive vice president, said it was surprisingly easy for Intelius to compile its directory. The company considers a consumer to have opted in to the service if he or she has ever given the number to a government agency or a business.

“Geez, [there are] tons of ways — everything from going out to a Web site and buying a ring tone for your phone to putting your phone number down at anything [like] ordering a pizza,” Petersen told NBC affiliate KING of Seattle. “There are literally dozens and dozens of ways that a user or a consumer could opt in to a database.”

Verizon is fighting

I’m glad that a company such as Verizon has taken notice of this company has proclaimed that it will defend the privacy of its customers’ numbers through litigation if need be. The article does not mention whether AT&T or Sprint will join forces with Verizon, but I imagine that neither company will let some company simply release their subscribers’ phone numbers without crying foul. The key thing to remember is that if you do business with a company, they are allowed to contact you, even if your number is on the DO-NOT-CALL list. However, if you do not do business with Intelius or its customers, then the theory is that they will not be allowed to contact you if you are on the DO-NOT-CALL list. Can anyone verify that for me?

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Photo courtesy of D’Arcy Norman

One of the most irritating events in my life is listening to dreadfully prepared presentations by my engineering peers. Many people will agree with the opinion that engineers are passionately socially retarded. However, engineering presentations are quite adventurous and give us glimpses of what we can expect in the future. The one thing that most college engineers fail to do correctly is design and present an effective and amazing presentation that leaves the audience yearning for more. And I’m sorry to disappoint you, but engineering presentations are interesting because they are far more inspirational than a traditional Cosmo article.

Simplicity is the key

Allow me to get over my engineering arrogance and simply proclaim an idea for the masses. “Simplicity” is the key to success for any presentation. Effective presentation speakers (i.e., Steve Jobs) not only are enthusiastic about their presentation, but they are continually telling the audience why they are listening to him. He provides answers to issues that they commonly face and says his words as if he’s trying to educate you on your available options. Mr. Jobs does all of this by simply expressing his ideas/words by using an image or a keyword. By keeping it simple, the audience is able to clearly remember his points while absorbing his supporting arguments.

Avoid extensive animations

In a professional environment, I strongly believe that no one should engage in trying to impress their managers through trivial means. Rather, impress your audience with creative ways to express your ideas, words, and beliefs. That does not mean you should resort to elaborate animation sequences on PowerPoint. What it does mean is that you should be willing to explore how you can engage your audience. Believe it or not, audiences appreciate the ability to interact with you. So do yourself a favor and skip the “over-the-top” animations.

Practice

Now I realize that many college students like to breeze through presentations. Some of us even shudder at the thought of speaking publicly. No matter what path you choose, you have to practice your presentation throughly. What I have learned in the past few years is that if I prepare for a presentation throughly, I can deliver it without any nervousness in my voice and I will feel genuine passion for my topic. Let’s face it. Most of us college kids are not very passionate about academic topics. If you can feign genuine passion, believe me, your grade will improve greatly.

Now I now that this may seem like a very short list of tips, but you should remember that you have to find your own successful style. You probably won’t improve overnight, but you can start today to have a better presentation tomorrow. If you inspire yourself, you will inspire your presentations; and in return, you will have one hell of a presentation that will definitely leave your audience speechless. I found a great website that discusses professional presentations in great detail. Check it out and let me know how it works out for you.

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