15 Things You Don’t Need College To Learn

I make one statement in my “How to Be An Outstanding Organization!” speaking engagements that generates spontaneous applause—and it’s this:

“Outstanding organizations hire and promote character over credentials and college degrees.”

I suspect those who clap have been passed over for a pay increase and bigger title—or didn’t get hired somewhere—because they skipped college or didn’t attend the “right” school. Sadly, they’ve felt the pain of watching someone else win the opportunity they sought. Also sadly, the employer possibly missed out on the person of character desperately needed.

You know, the person who does crazy, unusual, and abnormal stuff like this:

Blame: The Spreadable Sin

So often people say, “There’s plenty of blame to go around!”—a favorite phrase of the media. It seems to be our human nature to immediately ask Whodunnit?! when something happens that was unplanned, disappointing, or embarrassing.

When it all goes wrong—even if we know in our heart that what we did was stupid—it’s tempting to spread the blame around saying, “Well, yeah, I did do that, but, you see, that person over there made me do it!”

Or this: “I accept 65% of the blame, but he/she is 35% responsible, too!”

In the ’70s, a common phrase that adorned car bumpers was this:

For Outstanding Organizations, The Customer Is Never a Burden

The King Soopers grocery store recruiting manager asked, “So, Jazzy, what does good customer service look like to you?”

With 17 years of life under her belt, Jazzy responded:

“Good customer service is being outgoing, friendly, and approachable; making customers feel like they’re your #1 priority and never a burden.”

“Um, okay, well, so … when can you start?”

When Miller Child #6—Jazzy Joy—shared this exchange with Karen and me, we beamed. “Good for you, Jazz!” we said in stereo.

And at that moment, my mind went back 24 hours …