- Author: Wendy Powers
A week or so back I was contemplating what it is that makes Southwest flights seem a bit more laid back with employees that displayed a great deal of humor. I even wondered what a flight attendant interview might be like. It turns out my answer was not far away. The next time I flew Southwest (a week or so later) I happened to read the CEO and Chairman's greeting in the August issue of the Southwest magazine where it was explained that three characteristics were sought in Southwest employees: a Servants's Heart, a Fun-LUVing Attitude, and a Warrior Spirit. Combined, these three traits are referred to as “Living the Southwest Way”. The result is a company and its personnel who are recognized for their incredible acts of kindness, ability to take the competition seriously but not themselves, and success in finding ways to beat the competition. To me, this very much sounds like a brand promise.
Strategic Communications has shared their strategic plan with the Communications Advisory Board (CAB) for feedback before a broader release. The plan includes efforts to intentionally weave the UC ANR promise into and throughout communication efforts for the division. This means highlighting the relevant elements of the UC ANR promise by perhaps establishing common vocabulary or sections of communication pieces (i.e. sections of a magazine that appear in every issue with the content within a section changing in each issue). Once widely distributed, take a look at the strategic plan and the UC ANR promise and see where your own efforts weave in.
Along those same lines, the Southwest magazine takes the approach of having regular sections in each issue that include an employee feature, a passenger spotlight, stories to support the Servant Hearts of the Southwest employees, and a community outreach article. This month's community outreach piece talked about the airline's Heart of the Community program that partners with local organizations to create spaces and opportunities to bring people together with an intended outcome of strengthening communities. That concept of building relationships in order to facilitate collaborative problem solving sounds very familiar, doesn't it? There weren't any cities in California identified as having received any of the $6.4 million invested by Southwest to date. But given the prominence of the airline in California, coupled with some overlap in core values and mission, it seems like there is some potential here.
It's shaping up to be a very bust next 7 days. True to its name, Labor Day is shaping up to be a bit laborious. I'm not sure when I will get back to another post – perhaps not until after Labor Day. If that's the case, I hope everyone enjoys the long weekend and official end of summer (can't believe we are facing September already!). In the meantime, I will be processing the conversations and discussion that took place during the workshop we held with program team leaders, SI leaders, statewide program and institute leaders to develop condition changes that reflect the public value statements developed by these leaders back in May. Great discussion but a lot to absorb.
- Author: Wendy Powers
As last week wrapped up it was easy to see elements of the UC ANR Promise everywhere. On Thursday afternoon the REC Directors shared their thoughts about how best to position the REC system to meet research needs in the future. Clearly the group has been thinking long and hard on that question with a focus on staying true to our promise to provide practical, non-biased research that people trust. Earlier in the week I had spoken with a researcher about conducting controversial research and the challenges of sharing controversial findings. That's where trust, and a long history of it, becomes so important, not to mention the courage to be non-biased even when confronted with unpopular findings. Those elements, trust and non-bias, are inseparable and the foundation of UC ANR research at the RECs and across the state.
Another component of that foundation is addressing emerging challenges through cutting edge research and technology. I read a great interview of Maggi Kelly over the weekend that highlighted how she and her lab are at the cutting edge of mapping technology to the benefit of the UC ANR network. Maggi @nmaggikelly refers to her work as special data science. Be sure to take a look at the Women in GIS interview to learn about some of Maggi's favorite projects!
Other stops for the day included meeting with the nutrition group in the San Bruno office to hear more about their programs, including EFNEP, CalFresh and the Healthy Living Ambassadors program. I had a chance to see the HLA program in action in Redwood City where trained teens educated the elementary school participants on MyPlate and helped the kids maintain a school garden.
We also met with some of the Master Gardener Volunteers (MGV) at the Veterans Memorial Senior Center in Redwood City to see the location of the satellite helpline right in the community and the demonstration garden constructed with the seniors in mind. The partnership is broader than just UC; including Girl Scouts and others throughout the community. These volunteers are certainly current on technology, using QR codes to link to information about plants sold at their plant sale! A fabulous day and another example of outstanding programs in people in UC ANR.
Crucial Conversations training is on the calendar for the next two days; as much as it pained me to do homework, I have completed the assigned reading and thought about a couple of scenario conversations. I hope there isn't too much role playing. In spite of having gone through this type of training in the past, I don't think the road to continuous improvement is comprised of ‘one and done' development opportunities so I have no doubt I will learn a few things. Hopefully the sun will be back in Oakland when I return!
- Author: Wendy Powers
In an earlier post I mentioned the UC ANR Brand Promise, something I first heard of when the communications group met to develop a strategic communications plan. After ‘Googling' the term, I found a Powerpoint file about the UC ANR Brand Promise that appears to have been used at the 2015 Joint Strategic Initiatives Conference. The elements of the UC ANR Brand Promise are as follows:
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UC ANR is a network connecting the people of California and their University
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Practical, non-biased research that people trust
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Part of the community
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Participatory model
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Serve in a leadership role
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We serve where private industry can't/won't
These elements certainly describe what I think of when I consider what makes UC ANR different from any other game. But while I recognize the elements, I have to wonder how often I overlook one or more of them when I describe who we are, what we do and the value that comes from partnering with UC ANR. I think I will post the bullet points somewhere so that I see them often. Recently I saw someone had the bullets ‘positive' and ‘empowered' posted as a way of providing themselves with a constant reminder. The fact that I have already forgotten what the third word was suggests I need the post-it with the promise elements more than I care to admit.
Another busy week is ahead but with primarily ‘local' travel. I'm hoping this gives me a chance to review a student's manuscript and get that off my desktop. I managed to get through part of a manuscript plus a M.S. thesis this weekend. My students at MSU are quickly winding down their programs and moving onto their careers. The annual review process continues this week as well; it does seem to be a long process at UC but I think it's the rigor associated with the process that contributes to the caliber of programs and people.
Welcome to Gerardo Spinelli! Gerardo starts on Monday and is the Area CE Vegetable Production and Irrigation Advisor, located in Modesto, CA with programmatic responsibilities in Stanislaus, San Joaquin and Merced Counties. Please reach out to Gerardo and welcome him to UC ANR.