theVoice rockfordchamber.com
July 2013
Rockford University PERSPECTIVE
Educate yourself and your staff As leaders in the Rockford area, we all need to REALLY commit to continuing to learn new ideas and educate ourselves and our staffs. If Rockford is going to be competitive on a world stage, we need our leaders and our workforce to embrace education, not as an end result (such as a degree), but as a journey that will continue throughout our careers.
I believe the Rockford area is poised to evolve like the caterpillar transforming into the butterfly. It can happen if we all commit to education and learning. What exactly do I mean by education? For this article, education is the pursuit of knowledge that will help you and others in your organization efficiently and effectively compete in an ever-evolving global environment. No easy task, but doable with the right support and encouragement. What exactly do I mean by learning? Learning is acquiring new skills or ideas to solve existing or new challenges that our organizations do and will face. In other words, it is finding new ways to solve old problems. It is embracing new ideas instead of protecting a “this is the way we’ve always done it” culture. Education and learning by these definitions do not necessarily mean obtaining a degree, although that is one path (and given that I work for Rockford University, I hope this is an option some consider). Education and learning also can mean more effective on-the-job training programs. It can mean keeping up to date in your industry through reading and attending conferences and trade shows. It can mean understanding your organization well enough to be able to explain it to others in three minutes or less.
True Commitment to Learning My belief is whatever is done to become better educated and embrace learning however, has to be deliberate, sustainable and an integral part of your organization’s long-term goals. So if you start a reading group, it can’t be something that is cast aside when work is busy. If you want your workforce to be more knowledgeable about your industry, your competitors or your business, then you need to
commit Jeff Fahrenwald to giving Rockford University people time weekly or monthly to do this. If you need people to improve their formal education, then you need to consider providing tuition reimbursement or paid time off to attend classes. If leadership or management skills need to be developed, then you need to seek out quality training programs, develop your own internally or give people time off to volunteer. In other words, in order to commit to education and learning, you must be willing to commit time and resources. Education and learning are not vested in degrees, but what those degrees represent. Education and learning are not one time or one shot occurrences and are not a quick fix. People need time to enhance an education and learn new things. Ideas need to be processed, evaluated and tried.
Starts with Us Finally we need to acknowledge that education and learning starts with ALL OF US! Too many times, I meet with leaders of organizations who want me to train “their people,” but who really need training themselves. If we truly believe that education and learning are important, than we have to commit to doing everything I mentioned above ourselves. When was the last time you attended a class (in person or virtually)? When was the last time you went to a training seminar or committed to reading a specific number of hours per week about things related to your organization or profession? What are your personal goals for education and learning? I believe the Rockford area is poised to evolve like the caterpillar transforming into the butterfly. It can happen if we all commit to education and learning. It is what we ALL must do to keep our jobs, grow our organizations, be competitive in a world market and to lead a full life. I hope you make this commitment and help lead this area into a brighter future. Jeff Fahrenwald is director of the MBA program at Rockford University. The views expressed are those of Fahrenwald’s and do not necessarily represent those of the Rockford Chamber of Commerce.
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