The Camp Director

How Summer Camps Can Apply Zappos Principles to Camp: Review of Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose

jennselke — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 08:36:50 +0000

I was given a free advanced copy of Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose by Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.com. It has been a book I have been eager to read so I did not mind writing a review in exchange to get my hands on the book a bit early.

In September 2008 I first met Tony at a social media conference in Las Vegas. By then he was the talk of social media. He had embraced twitter and was replying personally to people. Even sent me a note about a picture I posted of my cat. The photo on the left was taken in 2009 at SXSW during the taping of Brian Brushwood’s show Scam School on the Revision 3 network. Brian was supposed to be teaching Tony a trick but Tony came prepared with tricks of his own. Completely makes since now after reading in his book that he likes magic tricks.

Building relationships is a theme in the book Delivering Happiness. It was that personal touch that made me take notice of Zappos and Tony. When recruiting speakers for the American Camp Association Conference in Las Vegas, Zappos (located near Las Vegas) seemed like the best place to look. They graciously sent us speakers from the head of their recruiting department to speak at the ACA CampWest Conference. Christa F, the Recruiting Manager, was our lead speaker and has written a few pages in the book Delivering Happiness. It was a truly inspiring 3 hour workshop. We were also able to go on a tour of the corporate offices and learn about what makes them so successful. I know what you’re thinking, “Who goes to Las Vegas to get a tour of a corporate office?” It was tremendous. To be able to talk about how they do training and how they keep staff retention and productivity up was priceless. You can see some pictures from our tour at Zappos here.

To say I was a big fan before the book, Delivering Happiness, is an understatement. The biggest challenge when I received the book was realizing I was actually going to have to read. Since completing my Ph.D., reading has not been something I do anymore. I prefer to listen to audio books. My eagerness won out and I was very happy to discover that Tony did not use an editor to clean up his writing making this a book that was more like listening to him speak. This made it a quick and easy read. There is some fascinating background about his beginning entrepreneurial life and what he did before Zappos but a good part of the book is about Zappos, how they survived, and about their core values. Even though I had followed the Zappos story and knew the ending, I was riveted reading about the many times Zappos almost folded. There are sections with their sample interview questions and how they hire staff. Tony also goes over each of their core values and talks about what it means to them and adds essays and examples from various individuals.

Zappos is all about customer service. Not simply good customer service but WOW-service. That is the one thing I am taking away this summer. There are so many other takeaways in the book but this is the one that fits what our camp needs at this time. We do a great job with customer service but we don’t WOW people. I am eager to bring that to the staff to figure out how they see us putting that in action.

I do recommend the book. You can get it at Amazon or I am sure any place that sells books.

No related posts.

Giving the Gift of Time at Summer Camp

jennselke — Sun, 09 May 2010 05:46:28 +0000

This post is part of a digital book club of summer camp directors and recreation professionals reading Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? by Seth Godin. To see all the posts in the series go to our linchpin start page. You are welcome to join in at any time.

Week 7: April 12th – 18th
The Powerful Culture of Gifts
Pages 150-173

What is the gift you have to give as a camp director? For me, it is the gift of my time. Seth Godin discusses, in this section of Linchpin, the culture of reciprocity and gift giving. I was reminded of the research on reciprocity by Robert Cialdini at Arizona State University. Below is a clip of Dr. Cialdini on youtube talking about reciprocity.

SELFLESS GIFT GIVING
The important element that Seth Godin talks about is the self-less act of the gift giving. In Robert Cialdini’s video clip, it can be easy to see reciprocity as a selfish act. Most people are sensitive to a gift-giver who has selfish intentions. It is difficult for most people to fake selfless gifting when you have the intention of wanting something in return. Seth Godin calls this “the capitalist misunderstandings of what it means to give or receive a gift.” page 165

WHAT IS YOUR TIME WORTH?
That leads me back to what summer camp directors have to give to our staff. We all have the same allotment of time and for camp directors, it is always in short supply. We protect it, manage it, try to save it, but we can’t get more of it and we certainly can’t get it back. If you’re a psychologist or someone who bills hourly, your time also has an hourly rate. “Every hour is a billable hour.” Once I started my private practice, I realized I could not give my time away or I would be working at a net loss. While I protect my time, I also have priorities at camp and the people that work for me at camp are at the top of the list.

HOW TO FREE UP YOUR TIME
1. Divert Non-Essential Communication
So that sounds a little cold but when you look at your time and attention in black and white terms, it can help you see where the black holes are. Once my staff grew too large for me to supervise individually, I moved into that role of supervising supervisors. It took a few years of having a staff of over 100 to realize that everyone was still coming to me, despite them having their own supervisor, and that was eating away all my time. It was also not helping grow supervisors since they did not get to troubleshoot and solve problems. Mike Anderson, a good friend and speaker colleague, used to tell his middle school students, “Ask three before me.” I instituted that and it worked! Staff realized they had other people around to help them with questions besides me! That freed up my time to talk more with staff with problems that could not be solved at other levels.

2. Not Everyone Gets the Same Amount of Time
Once the “Ask Three” rule was in place, I had to come to terms that I was not going to be able to “be there” for each staff member. Everyone had a team leader and that could no longer be me. My time needed to be invested in the core administration team who then invested their time in those on their team. It was a hard shift and took years to change the camp culture. Staff needed to see that supervisor time came from their team leader and not me. I also give my time to my top performers at all levels. Those individuals are the future. Some people may think you should spend your time with the lower performers. I just don’t think that is very effective in the long run.

HOW TO GIVE AWAY YOUR TIME
One habit I have condition my self to do is allocating and sitting in one place when someone wants my full attention. Space it at a premium and I share an office with 15 people. No way to focus in there. Just out side my office is a curb next to the disabled parking space. It has become known as my “office” and it is where I go to give away my time. Those parking spaces are typically free during the day. Everyone knows when I am there that I am not to be bothered. It is protected space. I often think about installing a bench but the terrain is unaccommodating. It is where I can really focus on someone and give my full attention. By having a set spot, it has also conditioned my brain over time to truly “be there” when someone is talking. You would think training as a psychologist would mean I am an expert but the sights and sounds of camp and tasks are debilitatingly distracting. It takes all my might to really be present with someone. It doesn’t count as a gift of your time if you are only partially present.

What challenges do you have giving your time away at camp?

What are the gifts you give to others?

What selfless gifts have you been the recipient of?

Children with Anxiety: The Resistance or a Mental Disorder?

jennselke — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 00:03:49 +0000

Week 6: April 5th – 11th
The Resistance – part 2
Pages 123-149

In discussing the resistance, Seth Godin connects how an individual’s anxiety contributes to the resistance. One of the ideas I agreed with was his advice on how to stop the spiral of anxiety.

“ The best time to stop the spiral is the very first moment. Taking action at the start, calling it out, recognizing the cycle — this is your first and best chance. Embrace the itch from the start, but don’t scratch it. To do otherwise is to lose all perspective. You can’t make a useful map when you’re busy exaggerating the downside of every option.” Page 139

One of my jobs during the school year is teaching middle school students how to stop the spiral of anxiety. It has proven to become useful at camp working with both staff and campers. For many people, recognizing that what they are experiencing is anxiety is the first task. Learning self-assessment and self-reflection is step one. If you stop reading right now and take a minute to reflect think, “How are you really feeling? What is contributing to that feeling? Do you want to choose a different way?” Once people learn to their internal temperature then they can learn to apply some skills to stop the anxiety spiral.

In the groups I run, we talk a lot about how thoughts affect your feelings, which affect your actions or behavior. Step one is understanding the feeling of being anxious and what physical feelings and emotional feelings are like. As the students learn to understand their thoughts, they can start to reduce their anxiety by challenging those thoughts and gathering evidence as to whether they have a basis in reality. It’s not simply enough just to identify anxious thoughts. You have to also to identify an alternative positive or coping thought. Positive thoughts help a person feel less anxious and contribute to an internal dialogue reduces anxiety. It is a life skill that can be learned but, without practice, is difficult to put into action when it is most needed.

Of course there are some children and adults with anxiety at levels that are beyond what can be managed without medication and/or more intensive care. Seth Godin is of course not talking about anxiety as a mental disorder, but anxiety as part of the resistance preventing you from doing your best work.

What does worry and anxiety look like for you? When does it come into play? Does it look like procrastination or contribute to it?

Do you have kids at camp that are anxious? What do you do that helps them?

Camp is Like Saturday Night Live: Shipping is Built-in But There Are Lizard Brains in Both

jennselke — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 04:09:42 +0000

Week 5: March 29th – April 4th
The Resistance – part 1 Pages 101-123

Camp is Like Saturday Night Live: Shipping is Built In

In listening to this section of Linchpin, I was struck by the statement “Artist Ship.” Seth Godin spent a number of pages talking about artists, writers, creators, project managers, etc. and the challenges they face when completing projects that involve a large number of people, deadlines, and ship dates. He said Saturday Night Live is a show that has shipping built-in; it is going live regardless of who still wants to make changes to an episode. That may be very different from what you a have experienced with redesigning your website or your summer camp brochure. How many of you have had those dates pushed back because of last minute changes or too many cooks in the kitchen? Camp is like Saturday Night Live: shipping is built-in and not shipping is not an option. Kids are coming whether you’re ready or not.

What is the Lizard Brain Keeping You From Doing?
A second theme in this section was the introduction to the lizard brain as the source of the resistance and the opposing Daemon or the genius inside each of us. Seth Godin described our work as letting your genius do its thing while keeping the lizard brain out of the way. It forced me to consider what my lizard brain keeps me from doing at camp.

When I think of the tasks I avoid most at camp, they often revolve around mediating staff relationship issues. I don’t tend to procrastinate on supervision issues that are related to safety, timeliness, or policy infractions. Those I may even jump in too quickly. Those are easy since infractions are fairly straightforward. What bogs me down is relationship issues. You know . . . when two key administration staff are not getting along because of a communication conflict. I just want people to do their job and solve their own problems. As we all know, not dealing immediately with negative staff relationship issues can be the most damaging to your camp and its culture. That is when my lizard brain kicks in and tells me that if I don’t get involved the issue may resolve itself. Perhaps it is also the fear of getting involved in being unable to solve the problem sense the wildcards are the people involved. Relationships are messy and growth involves pruning. Knowing that, I’m very aware of the resistance and use it as a reminder to take swift action rather than to procrastinate. It has taken me years to build up those skills action oriented and yet I still don’t execute as quickly 100% of the time.

What is your lizard brain and the resistance keeping you from doing? Is there something you are currently avoiding? Confess here and let us help you overcome the resistance.

“The road to comfort is crowded and rarely gets you there. Discomfort brings engagement and change.” Seth Godin

What Do You Think I Am Hiring You to Do?

jennselke — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 03:18:45 +0000

Week 4: March 22nd – 28th
Is It Possible to Do Hard Work in a Cubicle?

What Do You Think I Am Hiring You to Do?

“In most jobs that involve a customer, all you are getting paid for is volunteering for emotional labor.” The gift of emotional labor, Seth Godin goes on to describe is the art of:

taking initiative
being surprising
being creative
putting on a show
changing people

Did anyone else think of camp when you read that? It was followed by, “Companies are hiring for it.” If we can help staff articulate what they do at camp, then they can show future employers the indispensable skills a camp job brings.

For a number of years I have asked the pre-screening question. “What Do You Think I Am Hiring You to Do? “ There is not an exact correct answer but I like to hear what exactly they think the job involves. “Keeping kids safe,” better be on their list. The question has changed this year for the returning staff as I have been asking, “What makes you remarkable?” Why would a camper go home and talk about YOU! As the director, they certainly aren’t going home to talk about me. Although one of my assistant coordinators has a very vivid memory of playing catch with me at camp when I came to his softball class over ten years ago. Sadly I have no memory of that but it did remind me that some kids still think it is cool to be around the director.

While we think those sorts of interview questions will ferret out the best staff, I find the most remarkable summer camp staff do a horrible job articulating what makes them so remarkable or indispensable. They are working in their strength zone and it is hard to really pinpoint what it is they do. It is their art. “The easier it is to quantify, the less it is worth.” page 96

The Art of Being a Great Camp Counselor

As Seth Godin describes in Linchpin, there is a difference between being a cook and a chef. There is a difference between being a camp staff member and a teacher or camp counselor. In hiring for an art or talent, you have to be a skilled talent scout. I think that is an art in itself. This time of the year when I am interviewing so many people I have to trust my instinct even when it means passing on someone and interviewing yet another applicant. When I choose expediency over my hunch I always lose and end up with an unremarkable staff member.

“The future of your organization depends on motivated human beings selflessly contributing unasked-for gifts or emotional labor.” page 96

As a camp director, unlike at other companies, you can hire a new team each summer. You are not stuck with the average worker unless you are afraid of telling someone their time has come to move on. This camp season has brought a highly qualified pool of applicants, more than any other year. Your summer depends on your ability to discover talent and to pass on applicants you do not make the new standard.

What are you seeing with your applicant pool this year?

What are your biggest challenges in the interview process?

Using QR Codes For Summer Camp Marketing

jennselke — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 01:24:35 +0000

This past week I attended SXSW Interactive, a large technology conference in Austin Texas. The SXSWi organizers added 2D QR codes on the badges that were scannable by your mobile devise. You code connected to your SXSWi account where someone could access what information you posted. People also had the codes on t-shirts and posters.

Gina Trapani wrote a concise post hear about the codes and their uses: What Business Card? Just Scan My QR Code. Side note: At least 3 to 4 times each year at SXSW I am approached by someone who thinks I am Gina Trapani. Since she is amazing, it is great to ride on her coat tales.

Like most interactive technology, QR codes are simple to set up and hard to execute well. How long did it take for camps to get half-way decent web sites? I know many (me included) are still working on it. While you may be eager to try some cool new technology, make sure you can do it well. Do you really want someone scanning in your QR code only to get a link to your web site or your business card? Since QR codes are open source, they are free to generate and you can make your own. You can try it by scanning my code on the right.

While at SXSW I met with Jerram Watters who works for a company that helps with the back-end technology of these codes. QMCODES provides that interactive experience that can bring these codes to life. Click the TRY-IT button on their web site to see some of what they can do. Imagine how you can use that for camp on your brochure? Now your print materials suddenly become interactive.

How can you see camps using this technology?

No related posts.

Summer Camp Jobs: The Market for the Truly Exceptional is Better Than Ever

jennselke — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 03:46:11 +0000

Week 3: Becoming the Linchpin
Pages 49 – 79

How You Be a Linchpin?

Becoming a linchpin is going to be one of my staff training topics this year. If you’re like me, you have a lot of returning staff and can’t run the same training each year. I do have a job with Charthouse where I run Fish! For Schools training for teachers around the country. While each event is slightly different, for the most part I can get away with the same training every time since each audience is new. Not so with camp staff. This year, as a group, we are going to put together the recipe on how to become a linchpin.

As Seth Godin says, linchpin’s solve problems that people haven’t predicted yet. In this week’s reading, Krulak’s Law was explained. In the area of always-on cameras, social networks, and cell phones, General Krulak hypothesized that the front line Marine would potentially have the most influence on the immediate situation as well as at the strategic level. Krulak’s Law: “The closer you get to the front, the more power you have over the brand.” page 61 That has never been more true than at a camp and for me is the reason that young staff makes the leave into a higher rank. The kids and parents see my front line staff 97.5% more than they see me. The kids tell stores about the connections with their camp counselors, not about their director. It is the camp staff who notices someone being left out or teased. When they don’t, kids suffer and it is a reflection on our entire program.

This time of the year I am inundated with requests from my junior level counselors requesting to be interviewed for a higher position. At 17 years of age they typically have had 3 years “working” at camp and if we have kept them around it is because they do a good job. At 17 they make good judgment calls about 70% of the time. What I am looking for is the other 30% that comes with age and maturity. Being on the front line, they can make or break camp for a child. In many ways they are on their way to remarkable. They are just not fully cooked. They are remarkable at their level. This is a very hard concept to get across because the teenager is biologically blinded from seeing that they are missing that other 30%. It is imperative to reward and recognize the junior staff for their remarkableness or they turn into a Steve, the character described on page 77. You know Steve, the staff member that does not really work hard because you are not paying him enough. I actually had an 11th grader tell me that, “If you pay me more than you will see that I can work hard.” Needless to say that was his last day with our organization. He did not understand that you work hard, connect, and engage first and the rewards will follow.

Pictured above is one of my young energetic high school junior counselors who brought her whole self to work every day. I am sure you all have this sort of remarkable staff member who musters enthusiasm for their work even when tired or cold, even when they have heard that same dance song six hours a day for the last 2 weeks! That is the sort of individual you reward and even try to clone. Who is that person in your camp or rec program?

The Law of Linchpin Leverage

From the director and administrator perspective, I am perpetually working with my admin team on being useful throughout the day. We talk a lot about MBWA (Manage By Walking Around) and being visible and available to solve problems as part of the job. I too can go through the day an not feel like I have done much, having delegated most of my tasks away. I do like the camp to run without me and it does quite well, although the staff say it is just not the same without me. I always thought that was flattery. What are they supposed to say, “We didn’t even notice you were gone.” The Law of Linchpin Leverage is, “The more value you create in your job, the fewer clock minutes of labor you actually spend creating that value.” page 51. That quote pulled it together for me and explains why I can feel like I don’t do much all day yet know I am necessary. It is why my admin team is also necessary and can also feel like they are not doing much. A high level staff member, a linchpin, “solves problems people haven’t yet predicted.” It comes so naturally that you just do it, but if you weren’t there, who knows how many fires would have to be put out because you were not there to solve the pre-problem. Just by “being there” a linchpin makes a difference. That is why “being there” and mentally showing up is so important.

What did this chapters bring up for you?

What do you do during your interviews to determine who those linchpins are?

Where Do Indispensable Summer Camp Staff Come From?

jennselke — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 13:11:07 +0000

Week 2: Thinking About Your Choice & Indoctrination: How We Got Here
Pages 28 – 48

What role can camp serve in teaching campers and staff to be remarkable?

I started my tenure as a camp director and was a bit too involved in every decision. As the camp I ran got bigger, necessity forced me to learn to delegate. I discovered that made for a better camp and a stronger staff. I often fight the tendency to have things run perfectly rather than have them run in a way that provides the most growth. In Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? Seth Godin says that when encouraging people to take initiative, someone might get upset in the process. I was immediately reminded of one of my staff members who had great initiative. Martin (not pictured on left) was young but took the lead. He was running one of the camps that had extra room and a parent inquired on registering her camper but since it was half-way through a session the parent wanted the price pro-rated. Martin said no problem, since his camp had room, and he arranged the registration. As any camp director knows, each camp has their own policy on prorating registration and late registration. Ours was not to pro-rate camp. For logistical and safety reasons, we just can’t manage it. Martin didn’t know because he worked in the leadership camp. His camp was small and he felt he could handle the extra camper. At that moment I knew his long term growth was more important than me getting upset about some policy. His willingness to take initiative in the future at camp was dependent on how I handled his first try at it. I thanked him for working with the parent to get it all taken care of and at a later meeting that week, I explained to him that typically we don’t pro-rate and why that policy came to be. Timing is everything. I can’t commend him in one breath and correct him in another. It was important to me that he knew how much I appreciated him taking the initiative. It was in fact a new skill for him to be working in an admin capacity and he was so proud that he brought in another camper.

How I Encourage Initiative at Camp

Set up the goals for the task and let the staff determine the best ways to meet the goals. This works a lot better than setting the goals and micromanaging the way they get there.
Give people opportunities to make decisions and plans. Let them work the plans and make corrections along the way. Those plans are often related to the goals and standards we all have agreed upon. Don’t jump in when they are mid plan unless they ask for help. Of course if safety or customer service is in jeopardy, I would offer support.
Help staff determine what their strengths are. I think we are often the most remarkable in the area of our strengths – that which invigorates us, not that which we do well. This is based on much of the work by Marcus Buckingham.

Despite doing this, staff are always in a state of development. I recall one morning when a staff member came to tell me there was some vomit on the floor in the hallway by the building. He had coned it off but a bio-hazard kit was needed to clean it up. He had kids waiting for him for class so either needed his class covered or someone to clean it. I would guess over 25 staff had walked passed that spill and this first year staff member was the only one to report it. There was even a building clerk about 20 feet away. We all know the studies of people being less likely to report or call for help when there are more bystanders. I am sure most people who passed it thought someone had already handled it. It goes back to Seth’s illustration on page 34 asking, “Who has the job of installing the second can in the restroom?” We need to empower the staff to speak up, notice problems, and apply solutions. When staff feel like what they say matters, when they see the results of their suggestions in action, they are more likely to speak up in the future. I try to let staff carry out their ideas when they feel passionate about something, even if I think it won’t work. It is far more important for them to get the experience taking initiative and problem solving than it is for me to be right or remind then that we tried it that way 5 yrs ago. This could be the time their fix works.

Do You Really Want Indispensable Employees?
At camp we all know people come and go. I remember the first time I lost a linchpin. I wondered how camp would run without them. As I saw the cycle repeated year after year, I realized that if I got better creating linchpins, when one left I could train-up a new one. It was not so scary to lose key players. The show goes on. It is the Win-Win as Seth describes it. Sure, camp is different than in most workplaces. Other workplaces train linchpins to stay, we train linchpins to leave. It starts with hiring. “Letting people in the organization use their best judgments turns out to be faster and cheaper – but only if you hire the right people and reward them for having the right attitude.” page 37

What did these two chapters bring up for you?

With this being interview season for many camps, what questions do you ask that helps you assess linchpin qualities?

Like me, do you have behaviors that can squelch linchpin development if left unchecked?

Featured Book Club Member

This week we feature Michael Staires. Michael has been reading Linchpin and has a fabulous blog. A few highlights that relate to our topic are : The Clock is Ticking and I want to give you my art.

Help Develop a Social Media Track for Camps and Recreation Conferences

jennselke — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 04:19:41 +0000

After running a number of social media sessions at the American Camp Association National Conference, I realized a trend in the session programming. There were quite a few broad based sessions on social media rather than sessions focused on specifics. Those attending my sessions often felt the hour went by too quickly because our topic was very broad. Speaking with people who came to my sessions and those at tweet-ups in the lobby, I met a camp community eager for more advanced technology programming. I feel fortunate to be able to attend some of the top technology conferences each year. Camp directors count on their annual camp or recreation conference to provide professional development in all areas – a huge programming task. One of the best sessions I went to at the ACA National Conference was a round table with EPIC. We had a powerhouse group at our table and talked Static Facebook Markup Language (Static FBML) and utilizing email marketing services more effectively. I do remember the day when camp directors didn’t really use email and every year all they wanted to hear about was myspace even though facebook and twitter were what everyeone else was using. That day has passes as new young professionals and those not so young like myself embrace technology are eager for more learning.

This is an open call to ACA National, Tri-State, EPIC, National Recreation and Parks Association Conferences, LERN, and other recreation programming webinars, etc. to program more specific sessions rather than general social media marketing sessions. ACA has asked me for my ideas for sessions so I thought I would bring it to the readers since most of you are in the advanced category of social media users. I need your help to propose titles and ideas for sessions. My goal is then to reach out to people I know in the tech and social media space to get them to some of these conferences.

Please submit YOUR ideas for sessions and comments about this new way of thinking about tech programming at conferences.

Here are ones I’ve come up with – what are yours? Would You Want to Come to These?

Using Online Video to Market Programs
Understanding video as a marketing tool, various types of video, streaming live on sites like ustream and qik, etc.

Getting the Most of YouTube
Many camp directors have not set up their YouTube site to mazimize search and marketing. Come learn the ins and outs of YouTube to maximize your marketing goals.

Facebook & Twitter for Beginners
(for people who still don’t get it all)

Using Facebook as a Marketing Tool
(advanced – Pages vs Groups, FBML, Facebook Ads, Business Application to load on your page, running campaigns, etc)

Going Local – Web Based Local Marketing
Google local, Google Business Pages, Yahoo local, Bing for businesses, Insider Pages, Yelp, Foursquare, Gowalla, Angie’s List, etc

Getting More From Twitter (Advanced skills)

Adding Social Media to Your Daily Work flow
learning a daily, weekly, monthly task plan

Investing in Google Adsense to Advertise Camps

Using Google Analytics to Bring in More Campers

Web Site Usability
Bring your web site and have the group of fresh eyes offer suggestions to improve the user experience.

Becoming an Email Marketing Ninja
Learn what tools to use and how to use them. Chris Penn from Blue Sky Factory would be great for this session. Check out the blog from Blue Sky Factory.

Free or Near Free Web Based Applications for Camp Marketing and Productivity

Beyond Facebook: Online Community Tools to Engage

Starting a Blog and Keeping it Up

The Tools to Listen Online and Rules of Engagement in New Media

Photo Credit: Brian Solis The Conversation Prism.

What am I missing? What do you want to see covered?

No related posts.

How Does Summer Camp Prepare People For The New World of Work?

jennselke — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 05:08:39 +0000

Week 1: Introduction & The New World of Work
Pages 1 – 27
I have never thought of myself as an artist. After reading Seth Godin’s Linchpin, I’m beginning to think otherwise. He has defined art more broadly to now include ME, even though I don’t like to sing, draw, dance, or sculpt. I love working at a large summer camp for a few reasons, I am invigorated by solving logistical challenges, and helping people discover their unique talents and life’s work.

“Artists are the people with a genius for finding a new answer, a new connection, or a new way of getting things done.”
page 8 (Linchpin)

Seth Godin defines art on this blog post Making Art, as having three elements.

1. Art is made by a human being.
2. Art is created to have an impact, to change someone else.
3. Art is a gift. You can sell the souvenir, the canvas, the recording… but the idea itself is free, and the generosity is a critical part of making art.

By my definition, most art has nothing to do with oil paint or marble. Art is what we’re doing when we do our best work.

How are you an artist and how does your current role at camp or work allow you to express your artistry? Or is your art silenced? Have you “traded your genius and artistry for stability?”

What Business Are You In?
A number of years back I heard a corporate talk about making sure your employees know what your mission is. Too many companies have mission, vision, and goal statements no one can recite. As a camp team we decided to come up with our own. Now, all the staff can tell you, “We are in the life skills business.” It serves as a reminder that we are always growing and learning and with each mistake comes a potential new life skill. Learning to show up for work on time while also getting enough sleep to function properly is a life skill. If I can help an individual learn more effective systems for getting where they need to be on time and with the proper supplies, I will have made a difference for a lifetime. Of course, those who are not ready for that life skill may need to work elsewhere until they become more proficient.

How do you help your staff understand that what they are learning at camp will apply to any job or career field so they don’t think they need to take that “internship” somewhere else?

Teach Campers To Be Artists
In addition to the basic life skills, we are also teaching campers and staff to be artists. Our campers are in training for jobs that are not even thought of yet. Working in a public middle school and public university, I am not confident that our educational system will be able to adjust. Sure there is a lot of great things going on in schools across the country, I am afraid a lot of it is shiny technology without the creative reasoning and thinking skills that should come before it. Teachers are hampered by the system they have to work in. Summer camps and recreation programs are uniquely positioned to teach kids creativity and artistry, and it doesn’t take a shiny computer to do it. “We are training laborers to be part of this new workforce where remarkable and indispensable are rewarded.” page 14 (Linchpin)

What unique features do you have in your program that are teaching campers and staff to be artists? Do you think you can you teach people to be indispensable and remarkable or is it a talent you expose? How to you teach it?

Featured Book Club Member
Last week David Betz from CampTV sent us unboxing photos of his Linchpin book. It started a trend and so I will feature photos each week from book club members reading their book. You do need to get yourself in a picture with your book. Mike D’Avria sent in this picture of reading his book on his iphone using the Amazon Kindle app. Mike is Executive Editor of CampLeadership.org, a fantastic site with resources for the camp and recreation professional. I especially like the site’s song videos since I work at a camp that doesn’t sing much (long story). Do check out Mike singing “Wishy-Washy Woman.” Well done!

No related posts.