You say it’s your birthday?

Here in the Netherlands, you do say it’s your birthday.  It is expected.  You don’t wait around to see if anyone remembers.  In this egalitarian society, everyone gets their day and they bring their own cakes into the office and throw parties for themselves EVERY YEAR, so there is no chance anyone is forgotten.  The Dutch never outgrow birthday parties,  skip the celebration or space it out to only celebrating the landmark big 0s 30,40,50…as is the custom in the US.

Another interesting thing to note is that a birthday party invitation trumps all other obligations.  There is almost no way out!  How much fun it must be to throw a surprise party for a Dutch person!  It would always be easy and they would always be shocked, because of course they would have also already planned their own party.

Today is in fact my birthday.  Usually not hung up on age, I’ll admit to not being thrilled this year.  As of today, it is no longer mathematically possible to divide the decade and remain in the mid-range of my thirties.  This realization made me feel old, until an incident last week in an undergraduate Corporate Communications Course that I was teaching put it all back into perspective. Continue reading »

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4-Hour Work Week Revisited

Yesterday, it dawned on me that I might be trying to do too much.  I had to have an MRI and found it to be the most relaxing moment of my week. (It was for my ankle, luckily not more serious.)  The week before, my relaxation was a dentist appointment.  Ouch!  I often refer to a trip to the hair dresser as a mini-vacation, but this is getting ridiculous!

Two things occurred to me.  First, it is strange that I need to be restained to relax.  But in these scenarios where it is simply not possible to multitask, catching up on relaxation is the only way to accomplish one of the undone things on my to-do list.  Pathetic!

Secondly, I realized that I should reread one of my favorite books again, The 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris.  This book is a lot of fun and takes your thinking to the extreme.  While I have no hope of getting down to 4 hours, it sure would be great to be more effective in the 40+ hours!

The photo above is a visual representation highlighting the tips from Tim Ferris.  Please share any of your own efficiency tricks in the comments.

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Drop the Microphone!

Imagine standing on stage to address a room full of 150-200 business and government representatives in a hotel ballroom at a lunch event.  You are the Chairman of the Board of the hosting organization and you are pleased to present news of positive results for the previous year. 

Just a few minutes into your speech, the entire room fills with chit chat and nobody is listening to your speech at all.  The rude talkers prevent the others from hearing you, even if they wanted to.  You carry on delivering the impressive speech that you carefully prepared and rehearsed.

I witnessed this last week and asked myself and a few colleagues, How did it all go wrong? 

First of all, it is shocking but true that Dutch crowds actually do this.  In other cultures, the audience would simply tune you out and politely daydream!

How can you prevent this from happening to you?   Before you take the stage , I urge you to consider your audience!  Ask yourself 2 questions. What is in it for them? How can they benefit from hearing what you have to say?  If you stay focused on your audience as you prepare, you will cut out a lot of crap that is just not interesting to them.  As a result you have a better chance of building rapport with the audience.  Another side benefit is that your speech will instantly be shorter, which will also win you bonus points!!  At this event, we were all standing up, so you should also keep the logistics in mind!  Is your audience feeling captivated or captive?

So, next time you take the stage, be sure to catch the attention of the audience immediately, or they will be lost to you forever and be sure to point out what’s in it for them.  If you haven’t won over your audience from the beginning, they may as well be chit chatting, because your message won’t reach them.  In that case, you should drop the microphone and run! 

 

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The Graduation Gift

All Adjunct (part-time) Professors at Webster University are invited (expected) to attend the annual graduation ceremony in May along with the semi-annual faculty meeting scheduled for our convenience on the morning before the afternoon ceremony. 

It was Saturday morning and the start of a three day Holiday Weekend.  The gift of unusually glorious, sunny and  warm weather was an unexpected taste of summer!   My husband was giving the kids their breakfast and the look he gave me as I walked out the door for the day could have otherwise sent me on an all-expenses paid guilt trip.  Our daughter is just weeks away from her first birthday and is currently as exhausting as she is adorable.  The prospect of entertaining and containing her for the entire day could leave anyone looking desperate before breakfast.  It was not as if I was heading out to the beach or spa; I had made a commitment and was simply fulfilling my obligation to be there, so no reaction from me, just a kiss and a plan to meet them later in Leiden.

By the time I arrived at the faculty meeting, I instantly remembered why I actually enjoy coming to these faculty meetings.  The faculty includes a variety and depth of individuals that have interesting “day jobs” in a multitude of sectors in business, international relations, media, psychology and the arts to name a few.  It is one of the reasons I enjoyed being a student at Webster too.  Having the opportunity to get to know each other is better than attending any “networking event”.  It was my pleasure to be there. 

At the end of the meeting we heard first from Peter van Krieken on his experience working in Laos with a UN organization for the past 2 years and then from Bruce Mutsvairo, who just returned from Zimbabwe reporting for the Associated Press.  The first hand account of his daring experiences reporting on the elections was awe inspiring.  It was truly my privilege to be there.

On to the graduation ceremony, we traveled together by boat through the canals to the Hooglandse Kerk.  Fully dressed in our caps and gowns, I was delighted to see a few of my former students on their big day. As the procession began and we marched behind the Dean and Department Heads through the aisle, I was struck by the faces of the friends and family members beaming with pride and full of anticipation to catch a glimpse of “Their Graduate”.  I did not know a soul in the crowd, but their energy was pure excitement. The day was not about me, and it was with no particular expectations that I could sit on the sidelines with the faculty and truly appreciate the gift of graduation.  It was an honor to be there.

I had intended to blog about the speeches, but I have already gone on and on. Fortunately, the speakers did not! All of the speakers were insightful and most importantly concise.

It is a shame that Graduation Ceremonies are not held everywhere around the world, including the Netherlands.  Many Dutch schools are now changing their names from Hogeschoolen (why would you want to change that?) to Universities, so perhaps they should be required to institute the tradition of graduation ceremonies as well?  Education is our privilege and our responsibility- it should be honored and celebrated!  

One last suggestion, Webster should invite all potential students to the annual graduation ceremony instead of an Open Day. Who wouldn’t want to be sitting on the stage along with these talented and diverse students from all around the world with their studies behind them and bright futures ahead,  the potentials would enroll immediately!

Congrats Erin, Marc and Elizabeth!

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