I’m still working through my response to A Whole New Mind… and Drive… Now I’m challenging myself (and you) to apply the “new Operating System” to the field of talent acquisition, career transition,  and student success.  Pink claims that Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose are the basic elements of our new “Conceptual Age.” He indisputably demonstrates that these elements have displaced the traditional concept of rewards and punishment as motivation for solving all but the most routine problems.  I want to dig deeper; I want to think and discuss how these three elements can be applied to the dilemma facing individuals who wish to navigate the world of  employment, higher education, and entrepreneurship.  From where I sit and work, I see a disconnect between our 21st-C. workforce, which is creating the Conceptual Age, and the processes that govern recruitment, transition, and access to education.  I think the latter are stuck in the Industrial or the Information Age. How can we integrate the gatekeeping process with the Conceptual Age?

While I want to be an advocate for Pink’s “Operating System 3.0,” it has been my experience that few of those charged with admissions or recruitment actually seek-out those who admit to a preference for autonomy vs. teamwork; those who prize mastery over multiple task management; those who are purpose-driven vs. driven toward tangible outcomes. Is there a disconnect  between what science knows about human behavior and the talent acquisition process that is embraced by colleges, universities, and 21st-C. employers?  Do “fancy pants” consulting firms talk the talk of innovation while actually promoting more of the same management systems, supported by traditional incentives?

Can you chime-in with some thoughts about how Operating System 3.0 can become an engine of a more mindful transition process?  I’ll be coming back to this from time to time; your comments and ideas are what will make this discussion “pop.”

It is amazing to find that sometimes, you have been ahead of the curve and didn’t know it. I worked in a neighborhood bookstore as part of my "portfolio career" (a.k.a.,lots of jobs; little money) in 2002-2003. I was going to graduate school full-time and making the break from corporate life to consultancy. One of the benefits of my $8/hour job was access to pre-release copies of books. I was the only one in the shop that gravitated to the business books, and by now you know that I’m going to tell you that Creating Customer Evangelists… was one of the treasures I found. I recommended it several times, and even loaned it to someone who probably didn’t "get-it," ‘cuz I need to buy another copy after sending the link to a client!

Truth be told, I’m not comfortable with the "good news" connotation of customer evangelism, but the idea that clients are likely to enthusiastically promote my services if I make it easy for them to do so is almost a "no, duh."  I incorporated the term, "buzz," into my vocabulary; I even had to define and defend it in a presentation at Temple University. My sense of urgency about this now stems from yesterday’s global summit honoring "The Brand Called You," the 1997 Fast Company article that I’ve been sending to prospective clients for several years. To kick-off the 12-hour teleseminar (it was recorded, so look for it online), Guy Kawasaki facilitated an excellent session, "Evangelizing Evangelists to Build a Business and Build Your Brand."

Few business books stay with you the way this one has for me. This book’s authors are Ben McDonnell and Jackie Huba; Kawasaki wrote the forward and introduces the book’s discussion of customer evangelism and viral marketing through engaging case studies (no dull Harvard Business School  curriculum for you). I recall the one about Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks, and will have to wait to get another copy of the book to remember the rest. Okay, so I guess I am sharing "the good news" after all.  Buy the book; tell ‘em Karen sent you!

(As a cyclist, I had to add the picture of "Bike Friday," one of the products that has been successfully marketed through customer evangelism – not sold through retail bike shops!)   

Bucks County Community College is hosting author Carolyn See on Friday, March 9, 2007 – Library Auditorium, 8pm, FREE. 

Sponsored by the community college’s Women’s Center, the author appears as part of National Women’s History Month.

Ms. See will read from her recently published novel, There Will Never Be Another You, which links the personal tragedy of a husband’s death with the implosion of the Twin Towers on 9/11. 

The book was published in May 2006, and has earned accolades from many sources, including Oprah Winfrey and fellow authors. Joan Didion , author of several books dealing with the response to public events, called See’s work, “a book about things falling apart that turns out to be a day at the beach…Pure joy.” 

While See does not describe herself as a women’s author, she writes about how love, relationships, and careers intersect with the events that swirl around us.  From the Greeks and Romans to Shakespeare to John Steinbeck, literature has used signs of outward calamity as a device to portend tragedy for characters. 

As human beings, our level of sensitivity to the world around us varies. At the risk of engaging in gender bias, I agree with those who believe that women are more sensitive to the clash of emotions we experience on a daily basis. Human stories about natural disasters, wars, and genocide make our focus on colleagues, pay, and traffic seem petty and self-centered. 

Certainly we need to put our lives in perspective, and Carolyn See draws on her own experience to help her readers do that.  Join me in an evening that promises to be engaging and enlightening.