Rescue Mission Blog

Ted Fortsman: Leadership as Creation

  

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Ted Fortsman passed away a few days ago and I ran across this great quote.  It reminds all leaders that as we strive to create organizations that add value, serve the community, or build exiting products, we are swimming against the stream.

"The (leader) as a creator of the new and destroyer of the old, is constantly in conflict with convention. He inhabits a world where belief precedes results, and where the best possibilities are usually invisible to others.

His world is dominated by denial, rejection, difficulty, and doubt. And although as the innovator, he is unceasingly imitated when successful, he always remains an outsider to the "establishment".    Ted  Fortsmann

Are you creating value or waiting to be served? Are you going along with the status quo, or creating a better future for those you serve?

David Curry

As a leader, what are you projecting?

  

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Most would agree that the way you feel affects the way you move and project to others.  Your affect is low and melancoly when you are feeling depressed and discouraged.  But is it possible that the way you move affects the way you feel?  

Amy Cuddy from Harvard gave a speech on how your body language affects your moods and vice versa.  Credit to Michael Hyatt for posting this on his blog, it's worth the time to watch it. 

What you can't control

  

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A big part of being content and happy, whether at work or in life, is knowing the things you can't control, and trying to let those things take care of themselves, and pouring yourself into the things you can control

Turns out there is a lot you can control, but not nearly as much as you think.

You can't control the economy, but you can control you investment in your work

You can't control others, but you can control how you interact

You can't control others reaction, but you can control your input.

You can't control everything you hear, but you can control everything you say.

You can't control who your family is, but you can pick your friends.

You can't control if people will appreciate your work, but you can pour your heart into it.

You can't control everything you see, but you can choose to look for beauty.

You can't control what others think of you, but you can control your self-talk.

It's easy to see there's more to add to this list.  Remember to concentrate on the things you can control, and never be passive in those areas.  Yet remain open handed towards the things that are outside your reach.

What would you add to this list?

David Curry.

Non-Profit Leadership: How to Improve Environment for Distance Learning

  

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With the completion of our new Adams Street Family Campus the Rescue Mission has added an additional technical expansion to our Challenge Learning department that is helping us stream our classes live each day between our Downtown Tacoma Campus, Adams St. Family Campus, and Tyler Street Campus.  This technology holds tremendous potential for future expansion and coordination between other Rescue Missions, non-profits and schools as we learn about how to better use this technology to expand services and help keep costs down.

But there are also new challenges with distance learning that need to be addressed, and experimentation that needs to happen.  Some of the challenges include determining the true cost of these technologies (since costs are often embedded line items other than education), and work flow issues (preparation of materials and coordination between sites is more critical when you are using distance learning).  But perhaps the biggest challenge is the way it changes the nature of teaching for the instructors.

In the meetings I've hosted by streaming technology I've noted a few critical things that other instructors may need to consider:

1. Visual distractions.  Things are exaggerated by video and repetitive movements, distracting backgrounds, or people and things moving inside the frame of the screen is much more distracting by video.  Careful thought and consideration needs to be given to this unique visual environment so that no one is distracted by what is happening around you, instead focusing on what you are instructing and presenting.

2.  Ambient Noise. The benefit of this advanced technology is that the camera and microphones are high def, picking up any question or comment from those in the group.  This same technology also tends to amplify the sounds indiscriminately.  Coughing, doors slamming and the like have an amplified affect on video than in real life. Instructors need to consider how to manage the distant classroom by using the mute button on the microphones, and having an assigned facilitator in the classroom to help manage these elements.

3.  Visual Presentations. Most of these modern video conferencing equipment allows you to use a computer to project powerpoint and other presentations.  Learning to interface with these programs will be critical since writing on blackboards and other localized presentation slates is limited in its effectiveness.

For those of you who have done teaching by distance learning, I'm interested in your feedback and additional help in improving the effectiveness of this technology. Any ideas? What are the challenges of being a student in those environments and how can we improve the experience for students?

David Curry

When an Early-Adopter is Married to a Late-Adopter..

  

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In this age of fast moving technology, systems change and economic upheaval, there are always those techies out on the cutting edge trying the newest software, gadgets and seeing if they will be useful for work and life.  They sit each night by the fireplace (projected on their Ipad) reading a kindle while checking their email on their iphone. These people are EARLY-adopters.  

On the other end of the spectrum are those people who are LATE-adopters. They swear they'll never give up paper books, cell phones are a nuisance and they say things like "If anyone wants to get a hold of me, just send it by pony express". In their opinion, they've been proved right time after time, that not following the fads save money and energy.  

Of course, I'm exaggerating ever so slightly. But what is one to do if you are married to, partner with, work for, someone who is at the opposite end of the technology adoption spectrum?  This isn't just a hypothetical question, it's a question that is being battled over in homes and businesses all over America because where you sit on the adoption spectrum dictates where resources, research and change will focus.  Companies are threatened by adopting to the changing environment too slowly, yet there are also plenty of examples of companies that have been crashed along the rock by chasing fads.  While the stakes within the household aren't so dire, the tension from being on opposite ends of the EARLY-Late spectrum is real. 

A FEW TIPS

1. Be Yourself.  If you've a natural curiosity and desire to be on the cutting edge, or conversely want to stick with tried and true, be authentic. If being it's about being Retro or Techie or some other label to please others, don't do it.  

2. Respect The Others Perspective. Late adopters are the largest part of the population, so they'll give you a clue how the biggest portion of your clients are thinking and reacting.  Early Adopters are discovering how things will work and function in the next round, so they'll give you a window into the possibilities.  

3. Know what's critical. In business, being a late adapter to change can be the death knell (see Borders as an example), but not every change is life or death. Pick your battles carefully. There are times when change is critical, and being left behind isn't an option, but not all of change is that monumentious.  Likewise, not every change needs to be fought as the end of civilization by late-adopters. 

4. Have a sense of humor...about YOURSELF. So many times we pick on those that aren't like us, but can't take it ourselves.  No one likes a grump how can't laugh at themselves.  Loosen up early adopters, take it easy late adopters.

5. Be Willing to Recognize When You Are Wrong. While I realize that you can point back to example after example of ways you have been proven right over the years by being a (late/Early) adopter, be open to the idea that maybe this time you could be, just maybe, wrong. 

Have you experienced this tension? What are some of your challenges being partners, working for, or being married to an opposite in the area of technology adoption? Any suggestions to add to my list of potential solutions?

David Curry

The Great IPad Experiment

  

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Thanks to a grant from an anonymous private foundation, the Rescue Mission is able to buy technical equipment for our new Adams St. Family Campus.

I’m using this opportunity experiment with how we can use computer tablets, in this case the Ipad, to help us build a more effective Learning community for homeless kids and parents. Hopefully along the way we’ll discovery some ways we can be more efficient teachers as well. This isn’t our first experiment Read here some of the other innovations we are making.

Here’ the experiment:

We’ve purchased eight Ipads and distributed them to various teachers/councilors through the Rescue Mission with one charge: Experiment! I want them to try stuff, use it for reading projects, use it for presentations, find ways to use it to spark the imagination of your students.

At the opening of the Adams St. Campus, the Ipad’s go to the students and we evaluate how we move forward.

No reason, NO REASON AT ALL, that homeless students should get anything but the best possible teaching and the most creative of teachers. Let’s experiment!!! As they say, “if you know how it’s gonna turn out, it’s not an experiment”.

DC

Distance Learning for Rescue Missions

  

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Within the next few months the Rescue Mission is going to be upgrading our technical equipment to be able to stream classes from our Challenge Learning Center at our New Life Sq. Campus in downtown Tacoma to two of our other campus’ on Tyler Sq and Adams St., and vice versa.

These valuable classes cover issues such as Genesis Drug Recovery Classes, Life Skills Classes and basic education classes. We are doing this for a number of reasons.

1. Quality of teaching. Like all Rescue Missions I imagine, We have to teach a number of classes daily to the men and women in our programs, but we do not have a resources to hire enough teachers that would allow for the instructors to go deep in one or two particular subjects. With the ability to stream the classes from one site to another we can use each teacher within their one or two strongest subjects and stream it to the other sites.

2. Quantity of teachers/teaching. Right now we are limited by resource constraints on how many teachers we can have on staff. This new strategy will effectively multiply the quantity of teaching we have available to our students at each location because the classes will be available to them live and saved on our site for future viewing.

3 Better Stewardship. Our plan to stream our classes live will allow us to expand our reach without adding significant more staff positions at our new family campus. Our goal is always to see lives transformed through our work at the Rescue Mission, but in pursuing that goal we make a promise to our donors, that we will be effective and efficient with their charitable investment. This will allow us to fulfill both of those goals.

4. Partnership. While I dont’ know of any other Missions that are streaming their daily classes, as time goes on we will be able to seek partnerships with other Missions, schools and ministries. There are endless possibilities for expanded learning opportunities for those we serve in future use of this technology.

I’m curious what you think. Are there other potential uses, advantages and partnerships that we’ve not yet thought of? Do you know of other missions that are streaming their daily drug rehabilitation classes that would be open to partnership? Give me your feedback.

DC