Five Things I Wish I Knew In Fifth Grade


The future is in your hands
Page 3


So here are five things I wish I knew were important in the fifth grade. Because if I knew they were important, I would have paid attention and focused on developing good habits. I had plenty of opportunity to learn them; I just didn't know they were important. These are far more important to you than they were to me. As the rate of change gets faster and the business models change, don't ignore how important paying attention to these five things and developing strong habits around them.

1. Be a Leader

A definition of leadership is "the ability to guide in direction, course, or action." Being a leader doesn't mean telling others what to do. Leadership comes from the inside - from knowing what you want and why it matters. Leadership means developing the habits that will help you be successful in life. The schools are about testing scores, they are not going to teach you leadership. Your teachers want you to know this stuff, but they aren't paid or supported in doing it. Although you may find a great teacher that points you in this direction, it is up to you to decide to learn and develop the habits you need to be successful. It is time to form those habits, not for mom or dad, or some test, or for your friends. The kids that develop these habits today will have an advantage in the new world of work. You have to develop these skills and habits today to lead you into the future. That habit of leadership is what will set you apart from others.

2. Think and communicate clearly and creatively

The International Association for Human Resource Information Management says the number one skill needed for new workers is creativity. The number two skill is communication. Look for chances to think, read and write creatively. Learn to develop and discuss your opinions. Learn to form original thoughts from what you read or see in the world around you. Learn to take your writing seriously. Communicating change and new ideas so many diverse people can participate is an important skill. Be creative. The ability to face your fears to perform great work is critical. Learn to communicate in writing from the heart with passion, vision, and emotion. With a shrinking world, much of how you are measured will be your ability to communicate a great idea to people who may never speak to you. Learn to be a great writer. Reading great writers is one way to do this. Develop a writing style of your own. The people who succeed in the future will have formed the habits of communicating clearly and creatively, both in writing and in speaking.

3. Network and Interact with others

You will face more diversity in your lifetime than the generations before you. You can't know everything, you will have to work with people from many cultures, and jobs will have a short time span. So who you know will become critical - because you will need to use that network to be successful in your work, find the right know-how, and find your next job. Already I work on project teams that contain Indian, Chinese, Arab, American, and European people working together on the project. The ability to build relationships, not just with people like you, but with people different from yourself, is a critical skill. Learn to keep track of people. Stay in touch with the smartest kid, the nicest kid, the best athlete, and the interesting people. They will help you find the next job or the expert you need to be successful. Challenge yourself to network well with kids different from you. The people that succeed will have developed a strong habit of communicating with diverse people and managing personal networks.

4. Develop project skills.

In the future, most work will be short term work. This means teams will form, solve a problem, and break up. It will happen not only inside big companies, but over half the work force will be independent specialists who join project teams as their job. So project skills are important to develop. Project skills include knowing what finished means, planning your time, doing the tasks well, and finishing projects with a high level of excellence. You have the ability to practice these skills almost everyday with your homework. If you develop great habits here, homework won't call for great effort, it will be easy. Learn to get A's. Not because you are interested in the work, but because good jobs will be competitive. Being able to identify what is expected, and giving it consistently, is an important skill. Do it today, you can't afford to wait to learn it later. The people who succeed will have formed the habits needed to define a project, plan and do the work, and deliver excellence.

5. Have passion and always improve

People will have to continually develop and improve their skills. You can't do this if you don't have passion about what you are doing. Learn what you are passionate about. Then go for it. Don't suppress it because someone might think it is lame. Learn to be passionate about something. If you change your mind, and you likely will, you will be better prepared to be passionate about something else. Don't learn to be mediocre. Learn to be passionate. Don't strive to follow the pack. Strive to have passion and improve something that matters to you. The people that are successful will have developed the habits of commitment and improvement that comes from pursuing things they are passionate about.

Habits for success

You will form habits in all these areas. It's up to you to decide if you want to develop skills and form habits that will help you be successful. Just remember, bad habits are hard to break. With these skills practiced and polished in my youth, I would have been able to reach success with much less effort and pain. I would have been better prepared for the world and far ahead of where I am today. You can't wait for someone to show you how to do this. We may not know what jobs will be available to today's fifth graders in ten years. We can make sure that teenagers have developed habits of leadership, creative communication, networking, project skills, and passionate pursuit. This will dictate the success these people have.

Continue: Page | 1 | 2 | 3 
# # #

Pete Blazek and Dennis Stevens lead Synaptus, a consulting firm that helps executives improve business performance by connecting strategy to execution. For more information, please visit www.synaptus.com.