Ask-Dr-Kirk

Ex-Student Releases His Third Book, SWAT: Seize The Accomplishment

Timothy L. Johnson was one of my MBA students back in the early 1990s at Drake University. Sometimes you get to remember why you went into teaching in the first place...It's the ability to look with pride at the accomplishments of former students.

Timothy's third book, SWAT: Seize the Accomplishment, has just been released. The book, written as a business fable is an excellent read on systems thinking and is being touted highly by top leaders such as the following:

SWAT is a compelling book on a subject that could be dry and brittle. Tim presents his topic by telling a story that everyone in business can relate to. It’s easy to read, and also realistic, humorous, and a great learning experience. I have worked with systems for over 30 years and I even learned some new things. If you want to get a better handle on business systems and processes, you won’t go wrong with this book! ...Richard Larson, PMP, CBAP, President, Watermark Learning

SWAT is a must-read for every aspiring (and practicing) business analyst, process manager, and project manager. It is the best business novel/fable/non-nonfiction business book around (this from someone who lists The Goal, It’s Not Luck, and Critical Chain as 3 of the 5 best business books he’s read). It is a clear, concise, entertaining, and EFFECTIVE introduction to systems thinking.   ...Mike DeWitt, Chief Operating Officer, Cyberactive Marketing LLC

SWAT takes an important topic, systems thinking, that has been avoided by many and makes it relevant and useful. This important knowledge is wrapped in a great story which is fun to read and provides an incredible opportunity to learn about the exciting world of SWAT teams. It is a combination that leaders and learners won’t be able to put down.    ...Kevin Eikenberry - Author, Remarkable Leadership: Unleashing Your Leadership Potential One Skill at a Time

Timothy is also the author of Race Through the Forest: A Project Management Fable and Gust: The "Tale" Wind of Office Politics.

Congrats, Timothy. I'm looking forward to the next book!

 

 

 

 

How To Impress Your Boss (Or Professor)

Terry Starbucker wrote a great blogpost on 10 Surefire Ways To Impress Your Boss (and get what you want). As he notes:

Be on time. Nothing, I mean nothing, is more penalizing than being habitually late. There is a lot of truth to the saying “90% of success is showing up” – that is, provided it isn’t after the appointed hour.

Keep your promises, and over deliver too. This is like mom and apple pie, I know, but getting the boss to trust you explicitly is absolutely critical. You need to be counted on when the pressure is on.

Display common courtesy, especially by returning phone calls & E-mail. In this day and age, doing this consistently actually makes you stick out. Those Thank yous and I’m sorrys add up in the “who’s a better person for the promotion” derby.

Show quiet confidence, and take “can’t” out of your vocabulary. A little positivity goes a long way out there...

Use the language appropriately – both verbally and in your writing. Bad grammar and spelling is right up there with punctuality as promotion killers. Proof read your stuff – and use spellcheck. It all matters!

Disagree and challenge respectfully. You can disagree with the boss, or even say “no”. Just be prepared to back it up, with a statesman-like flair. But if the play is called and it goes against you, despite your feelings you need to move on, and execute. There’s no pouting in the conference room.

Focus on the task at hand like a laser beam. I know it’s really hard these days to put down the Blackberry or stay away from E-mail, Twitter or Facebook, especially on conference calls, but when the boss is talking, stay focused.

All these suggestions would work well for our students also. In fact, I may tweak Terry's list and put on a future syllabus! 

You can access the entire article here:

A Positive Way Of Using Bonus Points

I’ve always been against giving bonus points in class as I felt it rewarded the wrong kind of behavior. However, Dr. Tena Long Golding (Southeastern Louisiana University) shares a recent experience she had with allowing bonus points as a way to reward completing homework assignments on time. Her approach seems like a win-win situation and I’m thinking about trying this myself.

USFSM Student, Amanda Evora, Competes In 2010 Olympics

One of my ex-students has been chosen for the U.S. Olympic Figure Skating Pairs team. Congratulations to Amanda Evora (University of South Florida, Sarasota-Manatee student) and her partner, Mark Ladwig. I'm looking forward to watching you compete!

Quote Of The Day

"I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by."    Douglas Adams

The Ten Worst Teaching Mistakes

Ever wonder what the top ten teaching mistakes are? Check this list out here.

Tips On Answering And Asking Questions In Class

Dr. William Cashin (Kansas State University) shares tips on how to develop good questions to ask your students plus how to respond to the questions they ask you.

 

Turning Student Groups Into Effective Teams

This is a great article on using student teams in the classroom. Drs. Barbara Oakley (Oakland University), Richard Felder (North Carolina State University), Rebecca Brent (Education Designs, Inc.) and Imad Elhajj (Oakland University) share tips on how to make the team process more effective. One suggestion I'm going to try myself is:

After 4-6 weeks into the semester (and several assignments), each team member must sign an individual request to stay together as a team (the authors say most students do). However, those electing not to are experiencing a dysfunctional team and are then put into different teams. This accountability means the students are more likely to do their share in the new teams.

There are lots of tips also on how to deal with problem team members and even a handout you could give the students with advice on what they should do to avoid the free rider student.

I Just Googled My Cat!

OK, this is just weird...if I type in Growltiger and Tampa into the Google search engine, my cat has several hits. He's pushing for his own webpage but in the meantime, you can see him at the Tampabay.com site. Here's another photo here.

 

What Could Twitter Do For Me?

For those whose colleagues, staff, or administrators ask, what exactly could I do with Twitter...here are some great suggestions.