A few weeks ago, following the layoffs at the NBA and ESPN, I wrote this piece on the underappreciated value of institutional knowledge and it seemed to have resonated with a great deal of people.
Today is the 106th birthday of Sister Jean Delores Schmidt…a woman of tremendous faith, a curious learner for life, and a heck of a Loyola Basketball fan. I mention Sister Jean today and thought back on my meeting with her a little over a year ago in Chicago and how much she continued to talk about the value of learning, institutional knowledge and being inspired by where we are going no matter what age, no matter where we were.
I try to pass her thoughts along every time I speak to our students at Columbia, or to people searching for career moves, becuase that quest to learn more always seems to help move things along on the darkest days.
That brings me to the library…sorta. Another thing I mention to the students when they ask where they should be looking to learn is pretty simple…Columbia has 22 librararies…go literally check them out.
I love visiting libraries on college campuses as mush as bookstores…talk about a place undervalued in the institutional knowledge space…I came across the checkout slip and noticed a great reminder for what the library brings in added value to its members; there was a listing of the monetary savings I had accumulated over the years by borrowing books.
Now this is not to say I don’t buy books. I buy a good number of books. But trips to the library have always given me the chance to sample titles and authors and stories that I wasn’t sure about and let me take a quicker read…limited time drives engaged and quick reading…to see if there was a worthwhile purchase. Often times there is, and then I can make the investment. Sometimes there are a few notes that I can clip and save, and I can get on to deeper learning, but the bottom line is the library serves a great purpose, and the monetary value presented on that little slip served as an amazing reminder of value.
That reminder of value add is often what was forgotten when institutional value is questioned during hiring, or layoff decisions. Organizations point out that the layoffs often were in “non-revenue generating areas.” Which means those kept had a clear and easily quantifiable impact on the bottom line. Sales, partnerships, media, all have a dollar attached to them. Other areas…communications, events, community relations…maybe not so much. It takes time in those areas to see and explain value.
So what does it mean?
It means no matter how busy we are, or how valuable the work we are doing is, we have to constantly remind ourselves, and others, how we bring value to the project or the organization. Agencies often do a great job of explaining value, delivering deep metrics, including the age old value of “impressions” to show how much time and effort is being brought in. The spend is justified. However those on the inside, constantly focused on getting stuff done, sometimes assume too much that their “Value” is understood and quantifiable, and hence, are the easiest to dismiss unless the value can be shown in various ways.
This is perhaps no bigger issue than in the college space, where the value that all those people in the sports media communications area deliver is sometimes cast aside, because there is not direct tie to revenue. What used to be called “Sports information” has tried to better explain and quantify value in recent years, but still when you talk to those in the field many are so busy just getting stuff done they get lost in the shuffle of true valuation for the organization.
Now this is not to say we need to run around all the time saying look at me and how great we are. There is way too much self promotion out there already. What we do often need to do is explain and take stock of value that can be explained and shown visually. Those who say they are too busy to justify worth often times get what they deserve; lack of recognition and in many cases, low wages that don’t fairly evaluate or explain what is brought to the table. It also comes down to time management and assessing work load and flow. Sports is a business of cycles and seasons and routines. In the routine it is really easy to get lost and just keep doing for the sake of doing. The ones who excel in the field are usually the ones who can manage the time to get things done and also find ways to learn, break the cycle and lead. It’s not always easy but for personal and professional growth, the cycle breaking is both exhilarating and effective.
We are in a world where assessment is constant, and justification is important. Don’t leave it to others to make those decisions, help them, just like the library does.
or if you can…ask what Sister Jean still does. Does anyone else have more instituional value?
Focus and Timing…Learning From Curve Balls and Punt Catching…