- Author: Wendy Powers
I hope everyone had a good long weekend. Email traffic seemed light on Friday so I suspect some were able to get a head start. I had big plans to make the most of what many consider the last weekend of summer. In addition to ‘summer things', I planned to spend some time on a creative hobby. To get into a creative mindset, I listened to a couple of TED Talks last week. One of them, “How to get out of the box and generate ideas” was ok. I've listened to that one before.
The one I really liked from last week's listenings was by Guy Kawasaki, a former Apple employee. His talk, “The art of innovation” focused on 8 key principles to success in innovation”
- Make meaning
- Have a mantra (not mission statement)
- Jump to the next curve
- Don't be so successful on the icemaking curve that you can't see the refrigerator curve
- Innovation isn't a better daisy wheel printer but rather a laser printer
- Create something that is deep
- Don't worry, be crappy
- When you have jumped to the next curve, it is ok to have elements of crap in an outstanding product
- Let 100 flowers blossom
- Macintosh was saved by Aldus Pagemaker (The Apple product stood out from other computers because it was viewed as a desktop publishing machine)
- Polarize people
- TiVo, iPhone
- People need to either love the product or hate it
- Churn baby, churn
- Keep evolving
- Niche thyself
- Uniqueness (y-axis) and value (x-axis)
- Be in the upper right corner (high value, highly unique)
- Perfect your pitch
During VP Council last week, we focused on strategies to be more entrepreneurial in our efforts. Some of the ideas generated were quite creative. One idea was for each statewide program to develop a business plan using the talents of business school students. A better understanding of what restrictions/policies are the sideboards to entrepreneurial activities is needed by all. Another recommendation was to discover and share what our counterparts in other states are doing to address the same challenges UC ANR has with declining central funds. #3, above, might be a good principle to consider. Now that I write this, I realize that I left with homework – I had better write that down or it won't get done.
Well now that the holiday is over, it's time to get ready for the week. The SI leaders have a full agenda tomorrow. Program Council meets on Wednesday. REC directors and County Directors have Zoom meetings on Friday. I can't remember what's on the calendar for Thursday so I will just leave it to be a surprise. Construction seems to be everywhere so I'm not clear how I will get to Oakland or Davis this week but that's all part of the adventure.
- Author: Wendy Powers
It's time for more fun facts:
- Almonds represent approximately 29% of ag receipts in Stanislaus County and dairy brings in 18%
- Mechanical thinning of stone fruit translates to an estimated $1400/acre profit
- Nutria, a rodent pest, is a force to be reckoned with in California. Its orange teeth distinguish it from other rodent relatives. It reminded me of the capybara that were seen everywhere during a visit to the Pantanal. Capybara have been spotted in California.
- Stanislaus County has recently provided support for both a 1.0 FTE Master Gardener Coordinator and a 1.0 FTE 4-H Community Educator
- A local school district provides the land where almond variety trials are conducted
- The UC ANR team in Stanislaus County is beginning to discuss metrics and indicators of progress, as part of their reporting back to the County
These are all things I learned during a recent visit with this relatively new team, many of whom have been with UC ANR less than 2 years. While this may have some suddenly calculating how old they were when these newcomers were born, the upside is that 1) the offices are almost all occupied, and 2) there are new skills and energy contributing to the team environment. I'm excited for this office team. They have great relations with clientele, the county, and each other – provided Roger remembers to bring cake on his birthday.
Today, a group of us talked about communication needs for the division with the intent of these needs/goals translating into a position vacancy announcement for a Director of Communications (I may have the title incorrect). As Scott Brayton pointed out, we are all communicators, each with different primary audiences. Yet, we all need to be part of the effort to enhance communication to a broader audience – whether that is increasing reach to clientele, improve understanding of who we are to others in UC, or conveying the public value of UC ANR work to influencers and supporters. Crafting the message and getting it out there offers a continuous improvement challenge for us all.
Communication, the message itself and how the message is shared, is especially challenging when the topic is controversial or evokes strong emotions. The need for our messages to be balanced and science-based can't be understated. Fortunately, we have a number of people who do a great job at this! Take a look at the blog that Laura Snell hosts. Her 2 summer interns provide the content, under her mentorship. And if that's not a great example of how Laura's work addresses all sides of a topic, take a look at the new video that she and her team produced, working with the US Forest Service. A great example of the important communication coming from Modoc County!
Speaking of Modoc County, the big topic for a group of us heading back from Alturas a few weeks ago was the price of a drink + hot dog at Costco. I stand corrected; Anne Megaro was correct in telling us that the cost was $1.50. That definitely fits my expense budget for the upcoming long weekend. I hope everyone makes the most of the ‘last weekend of summer'!
- Author: Wendy Powers
What a gorgeous weekend, at least where I was. I wasn't sure it was going to ever start given that it took me 4 hours to get home from Oakland on Friday due to extra security on BART followed by a car accident. Who knew it would be quicker to get from San Jose to Davis, departing at 4 pm (3 hours).
While we were visiting Santa Clara UCCE the results of an employee survey were shared with us. The survey showed that those who live in the Southwest Bay had an average commute time of 27 min, by car, and 60 min by public transport. Those in the East Bay area spent 90 min in the car (no data provided for public transport). Finally, those in South Bay spent 38 min in the car. Presuming those numbers are one-way travel times, I suspect there are many other offices throughout the state, including the Davis and Oakland offices, where similar travel times are experienced. Depending on office destination, my own commute is either 1 hr or 2 hrs. I do my best to make good use of the commute time.
Over the weekend I happened to come across an article that indicated the average U.S. commute time is 26 min, each way. This compares to Stockton, CA which boasts the longest average commute time of just over 2 hours. The article featured 10 individuals that shares how they make the most out of their long commute times. Sam Shank, CEO of HotelTonight shared that he uses Uber for his commute in the Bay area. This allows him to fire up his laptop or make calls – not exactly applicable to the BART. Soledad O'Brien makes lists while she rides Amtrak. I can relate to that but it's not possible for the drive time. Bryn Mooser, CEO of the virtual reality studio RYOT, admits he just daydreams during his Venice, CA commute as it relaxes and prepares him for the office bustle.
Hopefully we all make good use of our commute times, no matter how long it is. Weather like this weekend certainly makes living in CA worth the traffic. Not to mention the chance to be part of UC.
MONEY magazine just ranked the top 50 colleges based on offering a superior education at an affordable price that enables graduates to avoid heavy debt and succeed in the workplace. Seven of the 10 UC campuses made the list with 4 (UCSC, UCI, UCLA, and UCB) in the top 10! UC Davis just missed the top 10, coming in at #11. Congratulations UC!
I managed to get a couple of projects done over the weekend and am close to caught up on emails. This week a group will be talking about the position description for a communications director. VP Council meets on Thursday and will be talking about developing business plans for the statewide programs. Executive Council (4 deans plus Glenda, Tu and myself) will meet with VP Council for lunch, followed by an afternoon meeting on Thursday. Time to get ready for the week.
- Author: Wendy Powers
I suppose it seems like I am on vacation this week given my lack of posts until now. But, no, it's been super busy and I am way behind on responding to emails. Any trace of a summer slowdown is clearly behind me. I'm hoping to be caught up on email by the end of the weekend and have some projects with strong progress by this time next week.
I had a chance to visit with the Stanislaus office and the Santa Clara office this week – more on some specifics from those visits later. In Santa Clara, I had the chance to meet Lucy Diekmann. Lucy is a CE Advisor in Urban Agriculture and Food Systems, based in San Jose, CA, with programmatic responsibilities in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties. Lucy has been in the Bay area for a few years so I have no doubt she will be off to a fast start. If you get a chance, please welcome Lucy to UC ANR!
One of the topics that's been floating around in my head lately is the UC ANR logo. In part this is because there have been discussions about getting branded clothing. Admittedly, I need to enhance my own UC ANR wardrobe a bit. From what I hear, there's a place in Davis where you can order just about anything and have it embroidered. They have the logos on file and have a number of items to try on. I'm sure someone out there can remind me of the name of the place.
The other aspect of the topic is the use of ‘UC ANR' versus ‘UCCE'. I've always considered CE as an important component of all that UC ANR is. Maybe it's the result of my experience in other states but county offices across California are far more than CE. The office in Stanislaus County, for example, has a fabulous lab space and Daniel, a Staff Research Associate. This isn't uncommon in CA yet is rare, if not unheard of, in other states. In addition, UC ANR includes statewide programs that are not found in other states (IGIS, SAREP, IPM, NPI, Water, AIC). And then there are the RECs. While other states have similar facilities that are associated with departments and colleges, the 9 RECs are a key component of UC ANR. So here's how, in my mind, it all adds up:
CE + applied research + Statewide programs and institutes + RECs = UC ANR
This is what makes UC ANR all that it is, and it is exceptional. So why not own it all?
- Author: Wendy Powers
Despite taking a vacation, I'm tied to the clock this week; a tidal clock. Activities revolve around the water level. While a bit frustrating to have to plan so carefully even on vacation, without attention to the clock, we would have missed the fowl fly ins and boating with the dolphins. We'd also find ourselves stuck in the mud with the gators, or waiting out in the river for the marsh to fill. I find it normally helps to know what the desired outcome is in order to adequately plan the strategy to achieve the outcome. That's not to say there weren't surprises along the way. We went looking for the brown pelican, and unexpectedly encountered the roseate spoonbill in addition to the pelicans. En route, we went off the beaten path, on an unplanned path, and came upon what claims to be the smallest church in the U.S. (non-denominational). It only seats 12 and there's no A/C, but cute nonetheless, and a nice stop along the way. We're out of season for the manatees in the rivers, but otherwise this is a great place for a Master Naturalist.
The Cal Naturalist program was recently reviewed. Thanks to Cheryl Wilen for leading the review committee and Jennifer Caron-Sale for her work organizing and facilitating the committee's work. Cheryl presented the committee's findings to Program Council during the July meeting. Program Council's recommendations to VP Humiston are almost ready to share with her.
Tomorrow's activities will be brief and perhaps limited to gator watching in our back yard/marsh. I'm hoping the internet connection is strong enough that I can participate in the WebANR about condition changes and using targeted outcomes to focus one's efforts. The ANR condition changes serve the purpose of providing a sense of structure to allocation of effort to the public value of ANR work. Of course, there's flexibility in the path to reach the goal. One just wants to be aware of the tides.