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CandidProf is a Professor of Physics and Astronomy at a state university. Hell be sharing his thoughts and experience teaching todays students anonymously every Thursdayanonymously because thats the only way he can write really candid posts.

Last week I wrote about what is involved to be a good teacher. What I described takes a lot out of me. It means that for every hour that I am in lecture, there are several hours outside of lecture associated with the class. Every now and then, someone in the state legislature points fingers at the college faculty saying that we are overpaid because we dont teach 40 hours per week. A full load is considered only 5 classes per semester. Depending upon the institution, some of that requirement is met by mentoring graduate students, and some is met by research in lieu of lectures. But, that doesnt look like much. It doesnt look like much, that is, until you look what some of us put into what we do.

For us, this isnt just a job. It is what we do. I feel responsible for my students. I have dozens of students who sign up for the class expecting to learn something. I feel that I am letting them down unless I give my all. So, that is what I do. And, that is what makes me successful.

Teaching is leading students. You lead them to learning. You cant force the knowledge and understanding into them. You have to lead them to where they can learn.

Good leaders realize that leadership doesnt stop at the end of the work day. Sometimes, the leader has to put in extra hours just like everyone else. As I see it, how can you actually be leading if you are not working as hard as those you are trying to lead?

What do you think?
Is teaching too easy?
Is compensation fair? High? Low?

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Don’t miss my other WW: bad corporate culture

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By Wes Ball, author of The Alpha Factor a revolutionary new look at what really creates market dominance and self-sustaining success. Read all of Wes’ posts here.

If youre alive, youve probably been watching the drama being played out at Starbucks. Hundreds of stores are slated to close across the country, and customers ranging from local neighbors to business owners to the mayors of cities are calling to lobby for their local store.

Starbucks management claim that they over expanded, and that has caught up with them as they experience the same economic downturn that is haunting everyone else. That is certainly the case, but there is something even more significant being displayed here: the power of an Alpha company.

Alpha companies are the leaders of customer expectations in a product or service category. They define what it means to be good. Everyone else has to either emulate or overcome them to establish themselves as acceptable. They accomplish that by driving emotional needs fulfillment ever higher to self-satisfaction and significance.

One of the benefits of making yourself this kind of company is that you have a lot more margin for error when you really blow it.

Not since Coca-Cola nearly immolated itself with New Coke in the 1980s has there been such a customer response as we are seeing for Starbucks. Customers saved Coca-Cola from disaster. They are trying to help Starbucks in the same way. What a testimony for leadership over management.

Cost-side management has really been the cause of the problem. What was forgotten was that cost-side management could never have created this kind of customer response. Only revenue-side management (which is the focus of leadership vs. management) could do this.

Luckily, Starbucks has been given a gift by its customers. I hope that it recognizes the true cause of its decline is a cost-side focus and uses this time to re-focus upon the customer experience that defined new experiential expectations for a coffee shop.

How will you react when your local Starbucks closes?

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Jeff Scott is the Library Director for the City of Casa Grande Public Library in Casa Grande, Arizona, and as president of the Pinal County Library Federation, a consortium of 13 public libraries, he helps guide a budget of over $3 million for the City and County Libraries. A technology advocate in a rural area, he developed the first free wireless hotspot in Pinal County and experiments with e-books and technology for the library users. You can find some of his writing at Gather No Dust, and at MCLC Tech Talk.

When we talk about leadership, we often speak of being innovative, having a vision. When we talk about management, we talk about leading teams and change management. Too often, leaders and managers are afraid to make changes or have a firm vision. There is a reason behind that, they have common sense. When you place your hand on the hot stove you get burned. In the future, you know not to do it.

Those who are innovative know that they are going to get burned, but they do it anyway.

I remember watching NFL films about the kickoff teams. These teams run downfield as fast as they can hurling themselves against a virtual brick wall of people. It is the equivalent of getting in a car accident every kick-off. One of the players was asked, Dont you get scared of doing that every time? His reply, Of course I am scared, but I do it anyway. Courage is being afraid, but going anyway.

I learned a lot from that when I became a manager. I know there are projects that are going to be very beneficial, but after a certain number of changes and innovations, you begin to learn who is going to oppose you and by how much. What happens over time is that you avoid conflict in those areas. You are too afraid to make the change because you dont want to deal with the consequences. This is bad. This is probably the number one reason things dont get done in an organization.

How do avoid this trap? This is what is commonly referred to as mitigating risk. We know what is going to happen when we make this decision. You will anger some people, please others and the end result may be positive or negative based on perspective. Knowing ahead of time which burners will launch on the stove will lead to avoid being burned. Attempting to get ahead of the curve and realize the hot points will save your bacon. It will also allow space for failure.

When you make a mistake, everyone will know how and why and what you learned to avoid it again.

How do you handle your hot stoves?

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Today’s investment bankers are known mostly for their greed and excess (with a few exceptions), but has the profession always been that way?

Meet James Truslow Adams, whose take on life is vastly different.

“There are obviously two educations. One should teach us how to make a living and the other how to live.”

“The greatest discovery of my generation is that man can alter his life simply by altering his attitude of mind.”

“The great use of life is to spend it on something that will outlast it.”

What unexpected source do you like?

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