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The changing landscape of our world that forces new thinking

The Department of Education reports that between 1994 and 2004, the number of English language learners (ELLs) increased in the United States by 65 percent. With the U.S. Census projecting the country’s population to swell to over 415 million by 2050, the number of ELLs will rise.

Finding the perfect job…

Tips for Completing an Employment Application
Gone are the days that you clean yourself up, make a trip to the downtown corporate office and complete the employment application with paper and pen, hoping to make a great impression on the receptionist so she will tell the recruiter how sharp you looked and how wonderful you sounded.  Things have definitely changed.  No more paper applications or resumes printed on white paper, or early visits to the company’s recruiting office.  Now, we have to impress companies on-line with our computer skills.  So if you have just found yourself in the job market again or maybe it is the first time you have ever completed an application, you will want to start to think about some of the things listed below:
1.  It is time to gather facts.  Write information down so that you will have it available each time you complete an application.  Some things you will want to write down will be:
Employment history including company names, addresses, telephone numbers, managers’ names and dates of   employment.
Volunteer work history with professional or community organizations including the organization’s name, address, telephone numbers, dates of service and the names and contact information of some of the organization officers with whom you worked.
Personal and professional references including names, addresses, telephone numbers and email addresses.
Personal information such as education.
2. Decide which companies you want to work for, do some internet research and get to know what those companies have to offer, and then decide what you can offer those companies.  Many people say there are lots of jobs “out there,” but there is still a great deal of competition for the really good jobs.  Your job is to explain clearly why you are the best candidate for their jobs.
3. Check the names on all your email accounts to be sure they sound professional.  When you were in school it may have been fun to have a cute email account name.  But employers will not be very impressed by some of the names that were cute to you in school.  Remember, you are trying to convince the company that you are the best professional employee they can find.
4. What does your blog or other networking sites say about you?  Like it or not, more and more companies are researching your blogs to learn more about you.  Some comments and pictures will not be the sort of things you want a future employer to see.
5. Read the instructions on the application carefully and follow them exactly.  Not only do the hiring managers use the employment application as a means to find out employment information, they are also seeing how you work.  If you have many words misspelled, use poor English, or don’t complete the application thoroughly, then they may think that is how you will do the work if you come to work for them.
6. Be neat and thorough with your answers, and be honest. 
7. What you put on this application will be the first time the recruiter has a look at what you have to offer and will decide if you are a good match for the position you are applying for.
8. If you are allowed to attach a resume to the application do that also, because sometimes the resume will give more information than you put on the employment application.
9. Complete the application in detail.  The hiring manager may not look at your resume or call you if they are not impressed with your application.  Avoid saying “see resume” because the recruiter may just skip to the next application.  Make the recruiter’s job easier if you want to get the job of your dreams!
Check out a few of our great job opportunities:

Relational Leadership replacing Leadership by Position

Leadership Networking: Relate, Collaborate, and Get Things Done- Second in a series…
Relationship Skills Can Be Learned
Effective relationships allow leaders to accomplish more than they can alone. So what can you do to build and improve relationships at work? Here are ten behaviors that will make a difference.
Choose the positive. Good relationships are based on handling problems in a positive way. Avoid creating adversarial relationships or alienating others.
Be a diplomat. Negotiating, giving feedback, sharing news and making decisions all require good timing and common sense. Be mindful of the whole picture and make your points at the most appropriate time.
Find common ground. Shared goals, similar challenges or areas of agreement are great starting points for accomplishing work and building relationships. Work to find common ground when dealing with conflict or complexity.
Keep cool. Can you handle an unfair attack from peers with poise? Are you steady when tensions are high? Keep your cool and avoid being defensive or counter-attacking.
Avoid isolation. Don’t limit your associations and relationships. Learn to relate to all kinds of individuals tactfully, from shop floor to top executives. Find ways to talk with staff members who are older or more experienced than you, as well as those who are younger.
Expand your view. Strive to understand others’ perspectives and needs.
Listen. Active listening is essential. Listen carefully to different peoples’ needs at all levels in the organization – both when things are going well and when they are not.
Share information. Communicate well and communicate often. Keep people informed of future changes that may impact them.
Involve others. Encourage direct reports to share ideas and information. Involve others in the beginning stages of an initiative or decision. Work to gain commitment of others before implementing changes. Your relationships will improve when people are motivated to work together.
Be realistic. Recognize that every decision has conflicting interests and constituencies. Good relationships won’t prevent conflict or disagreement. However, with strong relationships, you can work through challenges from a platform of cooperation, trust and respect.
Keep It Simple
When it comes to relationships, sometimes a small change makes a big difference. You can begin to build more effective relationships if you choose to:
Be aware. Start paying attention to how you interact with coworkers. When you start to look at your relationships, you can begin to see the effect your behaviors have on those around you.
Be present. Don’t stay in your world and wait for people to come to you.Walk around, shake hands and get to know people. Ask them what they are working on or how they are doing.
Be human. Listen to people and engage them on a personal level. Be genuine and open with others by sharing information about yourself.

Young son of Birmingham Radio Host Rick Burgess Drowns

Young Son Of Birmingham Radio Host Drowns In Swimming Pool

Sunday, Jan 20, 2008 – 07:32 PM 

By Associated Press

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) – The 2-year-old son of a popular Birmingham radio personality has drowned in a residential swimming pool in Shelby County.In a statement, Sheriff Chris Curry says the child, William Bronner Burgess, the youngest son of Rick and Bubba Show co-host Rick Burgess, was pronounced dead last night at Children’s Hospital.

Shelby County 911 received a report at 7:24 p.m. Saturday of a possible drowning, according to the sheriff. Deputies and North Shelby Fire and Emergency Medical personnel responded to a house on Indian Crest Drive in Indian Springs Village.
The sheriff says a preliminary investigation indicates that this is a tragic accident and he extended “deepest sympathy” to the Burgess family.

Young son of Birmingham Radio Host Rick Burgess Drowns

Young Son Of Birmingham Radio Host Drowns In Swimming Pool

Sunday, Jan 20, 2008 – 07:32 PM 

By Associated Press

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) – The 2-year-old son of a popular Birmingham radio personality has drowned in a residential swimming pool in Shelby County.

In a statement, Sheriff Chris Curry says the child, William Bronner Burgess, the youngest son of Rick and Bubba Show co-host Rick Burgess, was pronounced dead last night at Children’s Hospital.

Shelby County 911 received a report at 7:24 p.m. Saturday of a possible drowning, according to the sheriff. Deputies and North Shelby Fire and Emergency Medical personnel responded to a house on Indian Crest Drive in Indian Springs Village.
The sheriff says a preliminary investigation indicates that this is a tragic accident and he extended “deepest sympathy” to the Burgess family.

Talking about constructive change….

I have mentioned continuously a need for individuals to do their part in being difference makers. Below I am including in this blog about a concept called "transfomational leadership". Notice the concept and how it takes this idea of individual input in the world to a new and unique level!

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word "transform" this way: "to change in structure, appearance or character."

That's what I have dedicated the past eighteen years of my professional life to doing. Changing, in a positive way, the structure, appearance and character of the leadership and service we offer others — our followers (employees) and our customers (internal and external.) I don't mean to imply that every leader or service professional needs to be changed in some drastic manner. However, I have always believed that, as it relates to leadership and service professionalism, we never fully "arrive." There is, and always will be, room for improvement in all of us. My job is to support that improvement by identifying specific "changes in structure, appearance and character" that might make each of us better leaders and service professionals.

Think of it this way. Over time, various barriers may crop up that stand in the way of us leading and serving others as effectively as we might. Often, these barriers were not constructed intentionally. Instead, they have a tendency to gradually sprout and take root in the same way an untended garden will sprout weeds and unwanted grasses. When left untended, these weeds and grasses eventually choke out the crop we had set out to grow.

"Changing the appearance" is equally important to evaluating and changing the structure of leadership and service professionalism. For example, let's assume the "structure" of our organization (department, division) is found to be fine…but the perception of our followers and customers indicates otherwise. It's been said many times, perception becomes your reality. Therefore, we must consciously and intentionally work to transform or change the appearance — the perception — of those we wish to lead and serve. People choose to believe what they see and what they hear. As leaders, we must be sure they are seeing, hearing and ultimately perceiving what is consistent with our leadership and service intent.

Those of you who have been long time readers of my newsletter know that I have written extensively about situations and circumstances that require leadership and service attention to "structure and appearance" issues. But, by my own admission, the lion's share of my attention has been focused on the third aspect of the definition of transformation: "changing the character" of leadership and service professionalism.

It is my personal opinion that nothing is more critical to leadership and service excellence than building and maintaining a rock solid, unshakeable personal character and reputation. Legacies, fortunes and organizations are built on the foundation of good character. We all will be known for something. What would be better to be known for than a good character?

In the Old Testament's recounting of the life and experiences of the biblical leader and servant, Daniel, we get a perfect example of the benefit of character. Daniel was elevated to a position as one of three "presidents" who ruled over an additional 120 "princes." In an organizational chart, this position of "president" was a second-tier leadership position that reported directly to the king. What's more, a promotion appeared to be in the works for Daniel. Chapter 6, verse 3 of the Book of Daniel tells us: "Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm."*

On the surface, the future looked bright for Daniel. But as you might imagine, there were 122 people (the other 2 presidents and 120 princes) who weren't crazy about Daniel's impending promotion. With it, they saw their own professional standing being diminished. Therefore, in the cutthroat fashion too often found in organizations today, they set out to discredit Daniel and to sabotage his impending promotion. Their plan was to make themselves look better by making Daniel look bad. There was only one problem. Daniel's character stood in the way. Chapter 6, verse 4: "Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nore fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him."*

How would you like that to be your professional legacy? It is what every true and aspiring leader or service professional should work toward. It's true that none of us will ever be the "perfect" leader or service professional. It's also true that there are never-ending opportunities for each of us to transform ourselves again and again as we strive to have no "error or fault" found in us. Since 1988, my professional commitment has been to help make that professional, "transformational" journey a little easier for each of you. And there is still work to do.

Thanks, Rob for allowing me to clarify my purpose for all my readers.

All the best!

Phillip Van Hooser, MBA, CSP

(*drawn from The King James Study Bible, copyright 1988

 Please email your comments to info@vanhooser.com if you would like to directly address the author and not the author of this blog.

Great ESPN Father’s Day Story !

By Michael Smith | ESPN.com

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INDIANAPOLIS — Once he's gotten off the phone with his friends for the night, it's not unusual for Eric Dungy to chat with his dad. The father-son moments allow Tony Dungy to ask, you know, how things are going, which young lady Eric is going with, those sort of things. Dad wants to see if there's anything on Eric's mind and if there's any fatherly advice he can offer.

As coach of the Indianapolis Colts, Tony Dungy makes his living making adjustments. Some are subtle. Parenting and coaching are a lot alike in that way. As he and his family cope with the toughest loss of their lives, that of their son and brother, James, Tony Dungy is taking the necessary steps to see that it doesn't happen again. Those steps don't have to be huge. In this case, they amount to a simple stroll into the other room.

"Sometimes I don't want to listen but I know what he's trying to do," says Eric Dungy, 14. "He wants to have a relationship, he wants me to know I can talk to him when I need to."

"I probably think about my kids more," Tony Dungy says. "I worry about them more, especially with the letters I've gotten about what teens and young men are going through, the pressures on them."

And with good reason. In the early-morning hours of Dec. 22, 2005, Tony and Lauren Dungy lived a parent's worst nightmare when they learned their eldest son and second of five children, 18-year-old James, had been found dead in his suburban Tampa, Fla., apartment. In February, James' death was ruled a suicide.

"As a parent you'll never have any greater pain in your life," Colts president Bill Polian says. "Anyone who's a parent dreads that call in the middle of the night. I have four grown children and I still dread it."

When Dungy told Polian the news, "[I thought], 'Oh my God. Oh my God, what a tragedy.' I think that's what I said. … The hardest punch you've ever taken to the gut doesn't compare. It's something you never want to relive."

And yet Dungy is able to live with what other parents who have lost children often describe as an unbearable pain because of his faith. Great coaches have the ability to see the game differently. Great men are able to view life's unfortunate circumstances from a unique perspective. Dungy's doing that.

DUNGY ON 'SPORTSCENTER'

Dungy, a devout Christian, believes no matter what happens that all things work together for good for those who love the Lord. We're talking about a man who views it as a blessing that Pittsburgh moved him from quarterback to defensive back in the mid-1970s, because it was only then that he got to room with Donnie Shell, with whom Dungy would study the Bible as much as they did the Steelers' playbook. Dungy didn't fret when the Eagles (twice) and Packers passed on hiring him as their head coach or even when the Buccaneers fired him, instead holding firm to his faith that God was in charge and had a plan for his life and career.

Last season, when first-year Colts defensive tackle Corey Simon and his wife experienced a personal tragedy, Simon and Dungy had a talk in the head coach's office. Dungy has an open-door policy; his players feel like they're talking to their father rather than their coach. Dungy reminded Simon that God's will is perfect. When Colts middle linebacker Gary Brackett lost his father, mother and brother over a 16-month period ending in February 2005, Dungy told Brackett that he was in a position to inspire others by holding his head high in the face of his adversity. Dungy put his arm around running back Warrick Dunn when they were together in Tampa Bay and Dunn was trying to cope with the death of his mother while also balancing a career and raising five siblings. Lauren Dungy often would accompany Dunn on parent-teacher conferences — that's how extended the Dungy family is. We could go on for days with stories like this.

Says Dunn of his former coach, "He never gives you room to question his faith."

Dungy tried to offer encouragement to former Bucs quarterback Trent Dilfer three years ago after his 5-year-old son, Trevin, died of heart disease. Still, Dungy, though he's one to practice what he preaches, admittedly had his doubts about whether he'd even be able to handle the loss of a child.

"I said, 'Trent, we've been through a lot, been through ups and downs, tough times, and I think I could go through just about everything you've gone through, but I couldn't go through that,'" Dungy said.

Dungy said the same thing when he and Dilfer talked before the Colts and Dilfer's Browns met in Week 3 last season. On both occasions, Dilfer assured Dungy that he could and would endure, for their God would provide Dungy the strength necessary.

Dilfer has never been more on target. Since James' death, Tony Dungy has displayed nothing but his usual class, dignity, grace, and poise — be it in eulogizing James at his Dec. 27 funeral, addressing the public immediately afterward and at speaking engagements, or just in how he handles himself day to day in those moments when few are watching.

"The day it happened," Eric recalls, "he was sad, but he wasn't a wreck or anything. He just kept his faith in God."

"The only word I can think of to describe it is 'extraordinary,'" Polian says.

But because so many (maybe millions) are watching, Dungy believes — just as he told Brackett — that God has placed him in this position not for him and his family to suffer but so they can be an example to others, a testimony.

"Our God is bigger than our pain," Dilfer says.

"The Lord has a plan. We always think the plans are A, B, C and D, and everything is going to be perfect for us and it may not be that way, but it's still his plan."

Tony Dungy

Dungy saw the evidence of that the day after James' funeral, when a man approached Dungy to tell him that he'd heard him in the eulogy talk of men striving to be better fathers and role models and of parents not taking their children for granted. The man also said that he'd been inspired to take the day off from work and spend it with his son. Dungy's seen it in the thousands of letters his family has received, citing one in particular: A girl wrote to tell him that because of what she saw and heard during James' funeral at the Idlewild Baptist Church in Tampa that she'd come to know God and had been baptized there.Dungy could see God at work in the letter informing the family that two people can literally see now because they received James' donated corneas. In January, Dungy managed to pen an encouraging letter to Rhonda Brown, wife of former NFL defensive back Dave Brown, after her husband died at age 52 of a heart attack while playing basketball.

"I [wrote], 'I don't know exactly what you're feeling but I know that the Lord can get you through it.' That's the encouraging thing, that I can say to people now, that you'll make it," Dungy says.

Day by day, blessing by blessing, Dungy can make more sense of something that seemed so senseless just seven months ago. According to Lutz, Fla., police, James' girlfriend, Antoinette Anderson, said she'd discovered James' body and that the 6-foot-7 Dungy, who was attending Hillsborough Community College, had hanged himself from a ceiling fan using a leather belt. James would have turned 19 on Jan. 6.

Listening to Dungy put it into perspective, it's easy to understand how he's taken his many difficult professional losses in stride. The man is simply unwavering in his beliefs. He can be calm in even the worst storms. Nothing, it seems, can shake him from his foundation.

"The Lord has a plan," Dungy says. "We always think the plans are A, B, C and D, and everything is going to be perfect for us and it may not be that way, but it's still his plan. A lot of tremendous things are going to happen, it just may not be the way you see them.

"You may not win the Super Bowl. Your kids may not go on to be doctors and lawyers and everything may not go perfectly. That doesn't mean it was a bad plan or the wrong thing. It's just like a football season. Everything's not going to go perfect. You're going to have some losses that you're going to have to bounce back from and some things that are a little unforeseen that you're going to have to deal with. It's how you work your way through things."

Dungy's way of coping with James' death is to take something of a head coach approach and not spend too much time on the last play, if you will. He's focused on the larger picture and keeping his family together rather than trying to piece together the puzzling circumstances surrounding the death of his son, who Dungy says was the most "sensitive" of his children and who is described as a pleasant young man who seemed to love life. Among the many lessons Wilbur Dungy taught his son Tony was not to dwell on the past but to learn from the experience and focus on what he would do next. Wilbur Dungy taught Tony that life does indeed go on — even after the death of a loved one. In fact, when Wilbur Dungy died June 9, 2004, from leukemia, Tony was at minicamp practice the next day because his father loved going to practice and that's what he'd have wanted Tony to do: to go on.

When James Dungy died, Polian told Tony to take all the time he needed, until March if necessary, to work from Tampa if he wanted. Polian insisted that the Colts would make it work whatever he decided. The week he took off — and this is typical Tony — Dungy was more concerned about how the team was handling everything than he was himself, assistant head coach Jim Caldwell says. Polian says when Dungy returned with Eric to the facility the Thursday before the final regular-season game, it brought a sense of normalcy to the organization. Dungy, who couldn't imagine how to deal with James' death without the grind of the season to serve as a distraction, says he never considered stepping down as head coach.

Amid speculation about his long-term future, Dungy told Polian he'd be back before Polian could even broach the subject. "The happiest moment that I've had with the Colts," Polian says, "because I couldn't imagine going forward without him."

Dungy says his wife is having a harder time than he is; James (everyone called him Jamie) and his mother were quite close. (Tony politely declined an interview request on Lauren Dungy's behalf.) It's emotional for Lauren, Tony says, whenever she drives past one of James' old schools or near a park. Or when she's alone with her thoughts when the couple's younger children, Jordan and Jade, are asleep and Tony isn't home. Or when they're in a store and a clerk who was a schoolmate of James' wants to share stories about him. Theirs is a pain to which only parents who have lost a child truly can relate.

Somehow, Tony Dungy can accept the possibility that he may never truly come to know why James is gone. It's hard sometimes, though, moving on without his oldest boy. When Tony and Eric attended the Big Ten men's basketball tournament, Tony's thoughts turned to James and he couldn't help but think that he should have been there with them. He thought the same thing at the league meeting in Orlando, Fla., and on a trip to Tampa's Busch Gardens the family took during the playoff bye week, a vacation that originally was to be a fishing trip with just James and Eric. James crossed Tony's mind when he emerged from the tunnel before the emotional finale against Arizona.

"People say you never really totally lose that," Dungy says.

Because the Dungys are such a close family, one that always travels together, and because Tony is such a committed father, it made James' death all the more heartbreaking. And shocking.

"I don't know that we will ever really have any answers," he says. "We've heard from a lot of people … who have been in the same situation and … you never really know for sure. And so we've just tried to look forward and move forward and not really look back too much and search for answers."

He adds, "You never really know why. … That's what most of the people I've talked to, the parents, they're still trying to figure out. Why? What happens that your son or daughter thinks is so difficult that they can't talk to you or they don't? That's what you can't figure out. That's always tough. And then you think about, 'Could I have done something different? What if, what if, what if?' You look behind you, but there's nothing really you can change."

"The day it happened [James' death], he was sad, but he wasn't a wreck or anything. He just kept his faith in God."

Eric Dungy said of his father, Tony

Even the strongest among us need consoling. It took a conversation with his friend, Mark Bradshaw, for Tony to realize how selfish it was for him to want James with him rather than in heaven with The Father. When he and Dilfer talked two months ago, they encouraged each other with the belief that their sons were there together. Indeed, Dungy might seem superhuman in how he's coping, but at times he's still only human. He admits he hasn't always been above the feelings of anger and frustration that family and friends of suicide victims often experience."You go through that, 'How could you do this to us?' Then common sense prevails and you realize he's not trying to hurt you," Dungy says. "Something was really hurting … inside of him. That's one of the emotions you go through [anger]. You feel sorry for yourself and you're hurting more for yourself than you are for him. Then you realize that's not the right way to go."

Dungy acknowledges that he has had thoughts of, "Why me?"

"You start out like that, but then you realize it's not just you," he said. "It's much more common than we could imagine."

He's learned that it's all too common among young men who seem to "have it all." Dungy says he has had correspondence with at least a dozen families who are dealing with losing a child to suicide who was not considered "at risk."

"It's not the kids who are struggling or that had issues that we would think were issues," Dungy says.

Perhaps Dungy's only real regret as a father is that he hasn't been there for his children as much as his late parents were for theirs. As well as Tony can remember, Wilbur and Cleomae Dungy, both teachers, attended every event, every game when he was growing up in Jackson, Mich., and were always home on weekends. Tony's career has kept him from doing the same. Still, he's always prioritized his role as a husband and father ahead of his job and encourages — much the same way mentors Chuck Noll and Dennis Green did with their teams — his players and staff to do the same.

Dungy is as committed to his work with All-Pro Dad and Family First as he is to improving his 107-66 career record and capturing that elusive Super Bowl title, though the latter never at the expense of quality time with his family, which he vows will not be defined by this recent tragedy. Dungy takes his children to school and gets out of the office early whenever he can. No first in, last to leave stuff with him. His primary advice for parents — fathers in particular — is to just be around and available to their children.

"He sets a tone," Caldwell says. "I think you'll find that every one of us has become a better father being around him."

Of course, Tony Dungy will be spending Father's Day with his children. The Dungys probably won't do anything special. It'll be something simple, something outdoors. Wherever he is, naturally he'll think of his father and reflect upon the profound impact he had on his life. And he'll think of Jamie, and how his life ended much too soon.

But Father's Day won't be a sad day for Tony Dungy. Despite his family's pain, he is able to experience peace, the kind that, as Dilfer put it in paraphrasing a verse from Philippians, comes only from God and transcends understanding. Their faith teaches Dungy that Jamie is in a better place now, that others somehow have and will continue to be blessed by his death, and that someday they'll be together again.

"I've said all along that God is in control," Tony Dungy says.

"I have to believe that he's in control here, too."

Michael Smith is a senior writer for ESPN.com. Contact him here.

On Father’s Day

On Father's day it is important for all fathers to understand the influence that they have and how they have been given a responsibility to be difference makers.

I would go as far to say if one is not going to start at home making a difference then one is really not going to leave a positive legacy in this world. You can do many things but if it does not start at home …then your greatness has not started yet.

When all is said and done, as a rule, more is said than done.

-Lou Holtz                   

The Bottom Line

Face it , no one owes you a living,

What you achieve, or fail to achieve in your lifetime, is directly related to what you do, or fail to do.

No one chooses his parents or childhood, but you can choose your own direction. Everyone has problems and obstacles to overcome, but that too, is relative to each individual.

Nothing is carved in stone, you can change anything in your life, if you want to badly enough.

Excuses are for losers: Those who take responsibility for their actions are the real winners in life. Winners meet life's challenges head on, knowing there are no guarantees, and give it all they've got.

And never think that it's too late or too early to begin, time plays no favorites and will pass whether you act or not. Take control of your life. Dare to dream and take risks….

Compete.

If you aren't willing to work for your goals,

Don't expect others to…

Believe in yourself.

taken from www.leadershipAIB.com