Recently, I had a conversation with a group of high-school students. One of them wanted to go into nursing because she loves counseling people to better health and a lot of people she knew went into nursing. When I asked her if she has ever considered being a psychologist, she didn't know what a "Psychologist" does. By the time I finished talking about different career options for someone with her passion, she was more interested in being a psychologist than a nurse.
In my humble opinion, colleges/institutions of higher education should make a concerted effort to engage in a good type of "bait & switch" that benefits students. Reel them into college for degrees that they thought they wanted to get, i.e. nursing, accounting, etc. Then expose them to new and/or growing career fields that are not as common, yet in high demand and in line with their interests.
Why is this necessary?
Students from low-income families may not have the access to career advice that their more fortunate friends may have. Unless they know someone who works in say, the Supply Chain Management industry, they wouldn't have a clue that such a career option exists and that they have what it takes to do a great job in that career field.
Sure, credentials and experience count. But when faced with a pool of equally qualified job seekers, how do forward thinking companies, like Google, make their pick?
Through my conversation with a recent IMC graduate who got hired at Google, uniqueness of character and passion that drive an individual beyond just working to make a living are the factors Google looks for in a job applicant. But mind you, saying "I am passionate," won't be enough. These companies want to see you 'walk the walk' and, in some cases, 'climb up a cliff even though you're afraid of heights!'
Why?
Well, if you are a good leader with a great vision and you choose your team players based on more than just their work experience and education, your team's character will be the differentiating factor between your company's success and mediocrity.
The way I see it:
Great leadership + a great team = a company doing great things
Great leadership + not so great team = an exhausting endeavor
Not so great leadership + a great team = not possible!
Ever wonder why your loved one doesn't seem to feel your love?
Or, maybe nothing your loved ones do or say seem to be enough to show how much they love you?
Maybe you're speaking a different Love Language than they do...?
Here's what I mean:
There are those who feel loved through the gifts you give them. In that case, don't think a simple "Happy Valentine's Day" greeting would suffice. Be sure to get him/her a thoughtful gift! According to the Gary Chapman, creator of the "5 Love Languages," these types of people thrive on the love, thoughtfulness, and effort behind the gift. If that person speaks this language, the perfect gift or gesture shows that he/she is known, cared for, and prized above whatever was sacrificed to bring the gift to that person. A missed birthday, anniversary, or a hasty, thoughtless gift would be disastrous—so would the absence of everyday gestures.
My husband and I had to figure out our Love Languages before we got married. Maybe you and/or your loved one should take the 5 Love Languages test by Gary Chapman? Take it here!
What language(s) do you understand best?
The "5 Love Languages" are:
Words of Affirmation
Quality Time
Receiving Gifts
Acts of Service
Physical Touch
What I find interesting is that with a little bit of tweaking, these love languages can also apply to the relationship between a consumer and a brand!
The "Inggrid Yonata-Fu" version would be:
Words of Affirmation: The relationship relies on positive feedback and suggestions from the brand to improve customers' utility and value of the brand. Social media is the name of the game.
Quality Time: The brand and its representative is always on-hand to troubleshoot any customer issues--a worry-free relationship (outsourcing to India or using automated representatives is NOT a good idea).
Receiving gifts: "Congrats on your ______ (insert special occasions/milestone of customer) day! Here's a gift from us to you. Enjoy!"
Acts of Service: Prime example is Zappos, Inc., Nordstrom... companies that go out of their way to please the customer. Brands loved by these types of customers live by "Customer is King" motto.
Physical Touch: Actual interaction, be it in the form of a nice, firm handshake or a product demonstration that requires physical involvement. Jeep does a great job at making customers feel their brand by setting up a Jeep ride/test drive at the annual Auto Show.
Whether you are a company or just someone trying to get a special someone's attention, if you don't understand your target's primary language, you could end up wasting a lot of time and resources to make very little gain.
Like many of my friends in the Asian circle, we woke up this morning to find that a new basketball star was born. How fast did the star get discovered? Three games over the past 5 days. That's all it took for a nobody to become a somebody in this world of social media.
This is the story of Jeremy Lin, the first American-born NBA player of Chinese descent, and in just three games, he’s debunked one stereotype after another. Except for his family and friends, no one rooted for him and as a backup point guard it seemed that Lin was destined to the bench of the NY Knicks. He was the last resort. Finally, Lin got his chance to play and became an instant favorite among fans yesterday. No one knew or expected (not even his teammates), that he could dunk or play that well. Jeremy Lin is the latest example of a Schema Buster.
Poster Child effect:
Historically, Asian parents would never push their kids to go pro in any kind of sports. They don't see it as a viable or legitimate career. They urge their kids to become doctors, engineers, or financial analysts, never sports. But Jeremy Lin's story proved them wrong and if there is one takeaway from Jeremy Lin's life, it is that there's a lot of reward to be had if you find what you are really good at--be it finance or sports.
I must say that Lin's path to the NBA has all the elements of a Hollywood underdog-wins-against-all-odds happy ending! But making a movie takes a while. In the meantime, since the 5 days that he came to the radar of mainstream media, people are already selling J Lin 'Linning' t-shirts, artwork and other sports memorabilia!
Jeremy, my friend, I hope you're ready for this roller-coaster ride of media blitz, product sponsorships, book writing, and of course... invasions of privacy. Don't let them get to you!