Every year I get invited to go into a secondary school and talk to year 12 pupils. These are first year A level students and I often find that they are not sure what they want to do in the next week let alone for the rest of their lives.
I have to be honest, I’m fine with that. I don’t think at 16 and 17 you should be making those final decisions on what your next 60 years looks like. Having said that I’ve met some 16 and 17 year olds who are very focused and very determined that their lives will go in a certain way. Some 10 years later, some are still on their determined track, whereas others have decided to do other things.
You’re probably wondering what I talk to them about? Well, in essence, I talk to them about the importance of making sure you are in the best shape as often as possible. I’m not talking physical fitness, I’m talking about the type of shape a potential employer would want you to be in. You know, the key things that people look for that will open up doors to opportunities. Those of us, shall we say more experienced in years, have the benefit of hindsight, after all it’s 20/20 vision isn’t it, it’s what makes us successful? At 16 and 17 you don’t have that yet do you?
Well, how do they react to me doing this? In the main, very positively. I think its down to a mixture of making it relevant for them and essentially I have licence to behave like a 16 year old again. For the past 10 years, I’ve had nothing but compliments and many of the pupils keep in touch and let me know how they are doing, albeit most via Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat!
It’s very much two way learning as well. I spend all of my time in businesses and corporations, working with executives, leaders, managers, employees of small and large organisations. They have very specific roles and objectives, very specific targets and outcomes. 16 and 17 year olds don’t. They just want to do whatever takes their fancy at that time. They want instant gratification, they want ease and they want stimulating. I have to completely change my view every time I walk through those school gates.
Here’s an example; one of the pupils asked me how decisions are made at an executive level when it comes to determining a business strategy. After I’d explained the various ways of achieving this, she asked, “But how do they know? The reason I ask is that we very rarely see things as they are, we see things as we are. So are all strategies a product of someone wearing blinkers?”
Do you know, whether this is correct or not, and believe me in some cases it is, doesn’t it show a remarkable level of thought? How often do we dismiss people of this age as computer game playing, social media activist, shallow and immature?
The lessons were numerous for me. We need to consider how strategies are put together, never form opinions of individuals or generations based on the opinions of others, go out and find out for yourself. Most importantly if we do see things as we are, so maybe start to look at things through the eyes of others. Take it from those that know, the ones without the constraints of experience.