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By Eddie Tadlock
Think back 30 short years to another time and reality. Rubik’s Cube was
today’s equivalent of the Xbox and Game Boy, but only a few really
smart, nerdy people could figure it out. The objective was pretty
simple: Line up all of the similar-colored tiles on each of the six
sides of the cube. Admittedly, to this day, I’ve never able to line up
all of the tiles on the correct sides of the cube. Thirty years later,
my nine year- old niece has demonstrated an uncanny ability to solve the
puzzle within two minutes — without gloating and making me feel like a
total loser.
I like to compare my intellectual shortcomings in solving
three-dimensional puzzles to the poor souls who have yet to program
their VCR, DVD player or microwave oven. If you don’t have children in
your household under the age of 12, some of you dear readers may still
have clocks on electronic devices with flashing green lights reading
12:00 a.m.
As we advance toward the future, we must recognize that society is
changing at a daunting pace. We should constantly be seeking ways to
expand our knowledge, which will increase our flexibility and
effectiveness in this climate of transformation. Continuing
self-education is essential in preparing us for this changing world and
future opportunities for success.
Almost everyone I meet in IAAM is successful because of doing a lot of
right things—and in spite of doing some things that just don’t make any
sense. Being simple humans, success can sometimes make you stupid. Let
me explain.
Accepting Change
Today, successful managers must be willing to change thought patterns
and models of thinking drastically. I mentioned earlier that we’re in an
innovative time of change in our world. It’s not just a year-to-year
change but a fundamental revolution where managers who have enjoyed
decades of fabulous success will find themselves on the outside looking
in the next five years if they don’t make revolutionary changes in the
way they think and learn.
Many of these changes deal directly with the fundamentals of
understanding people and how we do business in our venues, with our
vendors, with our employees and with our clients. Today’s societal
changes reflect a generational power shift, growing gender parity in the
work place, and basically a whole new brand of work ethic in our
industry. How do managers effectively adapt to these changes?
I can’t offer an absolute answer to this question. However, I do know
from my own life experience that many of the management techniques and
thought processes that applied 20 years or even five years ago simply do
not apply anymore. To continually succeed in the time warp known as
tomorrow, we can’t rely on the same old ideas from the same old people.
To succeed, we need to seek out innovation and knowledge in unexpected
ways, in different mediums and from different sources.
The predictable is no longer predictable. Our knowledge base is doubling
every two to three years. Just looking at the wealth of information
available on the Internet (e.g., newsletters, e-mail, RSS feeds, wikis,
blogs, etc.), a kid that graduates from high school this summer will
have been exposed to more information than their grandparents have had
in their entire lives. There will be as much change in the next 30 years
as there were in the last 300 years.
Visualize yourself five years from now — not so far into the future that
it’s inconceivable that your little world will be impacted (and it will
be impacted), but far enough ahead to allow room for imagination to
address those impacts with a new arsenal of knowledge. In any change
effort, the real work comes in constantly measuring the chasm between
where you are today and where you want to be tomorrow.
Lessons from School
Common for many, yet appreciated by a few, there has always been one
school of thought to guide us through the changes in our worlds: the
School of Hard Knocks. For those of you previously enrolled in the
School of Hard Knocks, even if you think you know what you’re doing,
there’s a high probability that you don’t know what you could be doing.
I offer you a few notes from the new school of thought on continual
learning.
Fall in love with learning. Great managers have to be in love
with learning, and constantly gain knowledge of new things. They find
clever new methods to share that knowledge to the good people in their
world (staff, friends, family, customers and vendors).
Diversify your knowledge network. There is a great network of
professionals outside of your industry that have plenty of knowledge to
share. Go outside of your current business, social and professional
networks to develop diverse relationships. Avoid networking with just
your old buddies that you see at every conference; it leads to
redundancy of information and learning.
The value of diversity is immense. Have the courage to venture into the
universe of people you barely know, both male and female, who look and
speak entirely differently than you do.
Get out of your comfort zone. Keep exploring new boundaries and
renewing yourself. Perhaps it’s learning a new physical skill like kick
boxing, or learning a new language to work the other side of your brain.
You’ve got to be fearless and not worry about keeping your job; consider
the notion of working yourself out of a job to achieve the greater gift
of knowledge.
Give an idea, take an idea. Are you a teacher or a student? The
simple answer is both. The path of knowledge runs in both directions. In
addition to maximizing every opportunity to learn from your peers, you
should also take on an important role as a teacher.
This requires that you be able to articulate your ideas and values, and
have the courage to admit that you missed a few classes in the School of
Hard Knocks. By doing this in an open and giving manner, not only will
you be able to learn more, you’ll afford yourself the opportunity to be
taught by your students.
Have fun. Learning need not be painful. Tickle your brain and
open up your mind to new ideas of thinking. Don’t be surprised that in
the lifelong pursuit of knowledge, you might find better ideas than the
ones you learned in the School of Hard Knocks.
Picking up new skills on an as-needed basis used to be a reasonable
approach to career advancement. Not anymore. You need to constantly
update your portfolio of skills every few years, if not more often. This
is a minimum survival necessity. Knowing what matters to you makes all
the difference.
I encourage you to develop your natural talents, update your body of
knowledge constantly, adapt to change quickly, and … never … stop …
learning. As a member of IAAM, opportunities for personal development
and expansion of your knowledge network are endless.
Personally, I can say that I’ve experienced a bit of sadness, outrage
and a tinge of regret in not being able to catch on to a kid’s game, a
toy — a seemingly simple plastic puzzle. However, I keep trying, not
willing to accept the fact that the six sides of the cube are constantly
changing, or that my efforts in solving this mystery might continue
longer than my social security benefits.
The thought of solving Rubik’s Cube or programming a VCR without the
help of a 12-year-old may seem painful, but to me, these are truly
exciting times. The green light on my DVD player has stopped flashing,
and someday, in the not too distant future, my Rubik’s Cube … might just
be melted down in a microwave oven.
Eddie Tadlock is general manager of the
Lynnwood Convention Center (SMG) in Lynnwood, Wash.
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