See You There

I had the opportunity to introduce one of our partners, Tim Smith, of Hills Bank and Trust, to my regional colleagues when he gave the capnote address at the North Central Cooperative Extension Association Fall Conference in Ames on Sept. 7. Whenever I talk with Tim, what I find fascinating is his concept of engaging partners who share the same mission and building a relationship based on that, rather than an alliance of convenience or where there are unclear benefits to those involved.

I came across an article quoting Tim that appeared in “The Coalition to Support Iowa’s Farmers.” In the article he talked about the list of characteristics they look for in farmers with whom they can partner. I thought his points also made a really good list of things that we should be striving to embody as we seek partnerships with others. A good partner can access information and evaluate operations, is a good steward, is consumer oriented, sustainable, productive, and efficient. A good partner understands how to be interdependent and is ready and willing to deal with change, constantly seeking new opportunities and best practices.

In his capnote message, Tim said that the partnership between Hills Bank and Extension and Outreach works because both organizations share two basic ideas.  First, we both believe education provides an effective way to address today’s challenges and best prepare for the future; and second, we both have deep roots in our communities.  Community involvement allows the opportunity to build personal relationships. “You can always find something cheaper, but we want the relationship that goes along with it,” he said.

All in all, the Hills Bank and ISU Extension and Outreach partnership works because of both parties’ sincere interest in customer/client development, the willingness to invest resources, the commitment of time, communication, and trust — knowing the players and the ability to see from the other’s point of view. He says we share values and successes, as well as challenges. We have a shared clear mission.   Turns out the better we know ourselves, the better partner we can be. See you there.

– Cathann

Tim Smith - Cap Note speaker at NCCEA Conference from Iowa State University Extension.

change, Extension, Mission, Partnerships, relationships

My daughter, Wren, enjoys the fun facts found on the inside of drink lids or on some of her favorite websites. She loves to regale me with such nuggets as, “On average, wherever you are, there is a spider within eight feet of you,”[1] and “Kangaroos cannot walk backwards.”[2] While mostly useless, some of them are rather intriguing. On occasion, she has read a fact that I have found bizarre: “Slugs have four noses,”[3] or “Horseshoe crab blood has probably saved your life.”[4]  We’ll be in the car, heading to some activity, and she’ll throw one out. We’ll mull it over and then move on to our activity. An hour later, I typically won’t remember whatever the fun fact was, except maybe that spider one. The reason?  Context. Without context or some framework to help make them meaningful, facts can’t translate into knowledge; they remain data.

Saunya Peterson, who identifies herself as a professional communicator, argues that story often gets lost when you present facts without context. Her example: “Young girl is mysteriously transported to a strange land where she kills the first woman she meets, then teams up with three strangers to kill again.” Peterson summarizes that while these are the facts of the Wizard of Oz, it is decidedly not the story.

John Kotter, a Harvard Business School Professor agrees. He argues that having more data often is less persuasive. It’s easy to get into a recitation of facts. It’s getting easier and easier to find them, like on drink lids. But it’s not just facts our constituents want — they are swimming in them. They want usable information or education within a meaningful context. Let’s not forget that in Extension and Outreach, we pull together the content derived from research, accumulated field experiences, and relevant principles to provide citizens with independent, impartial information, and through partnerships, the useful context. See you there.

– Cathann

[1] While it is debatable, from a mathematical perspective it’s possible unless you are floating in the middle of the ocean – at which point, you probably have other issues to worry about more than spiders.
[2] True. They cannot walk or hop backwards. But why would they want to?
[3] True. Although, calling them “noses” may be stretching it, they do have four pneumostomes, which are holes they breathe through (and which they can close).
[4] True. Horseshoe crab blood is used to test drugs from endotoxins. If you have ever had a tetanus shot, a flu shot, or any kind of shot, it was likely tested with horseshoe crab blood.

context, data, education, Extension, information, Partnerships

“I am the designer of my own catastrophe.”

I don’t know the original source of that quote, but I like its basic truth. What we do, or don’t do, can indeed bring about catastrophic results — or at least a less than ideal outcome. Skip going to the dentist long enough and you’ll have a mouthful of cavities or worse. Don’t pay your parking fines and you’ll end up in court. Many catastrophes can be averted if we act wisely now to make things better for later.

Daniel Goldstein talks about this concept as the battle between a person’s present self and future self. Goldstein is a principal researcher at Microsoft Research in New York City and an honorary research fellow at London Business School in the UK. He notes that every day we make decisions that have good or bad consequences for our future selves. He helps people imagine themselves over time so they make smart choices for their futureselves as they consider long-term finances, retirement, and other decisions. (See his Ted Talk.)

In Extension and Outreach, our present self was taking care of our future self when we gathered together for our leadership summit last fall. What we accomplished at that summit paved the way for our strategic plan, our business plan, and the reorganizing of our central administration — all actions that will help ensure our long-term viability and relevance to the people of Iowa.

Another way that today, we take care of our future is through our town hall meetings.  Terry Maloy and I hosted the first meeting in Ames on Aug. 27, and I am pleased to report that the discussion highlighted areas of focus in which we have been able to make an impact, and that our partners value their relationships with us.  It is always interesting to hear perspectives from our colleagues outside of Iowa State University who have appreciated participating in our programs or have ideas for new initiatives based on best practices. 

We have four more town hall meetings scheduled: Atlantic, Sept. 10; Storm Lake, Sept. 17; Oskaloosa, Sept. 18; and Waterloo, Sept. 19. Rather than designing our own catastrophe, these thoughtful conversations are allowing us to take care of our future. The insights we will gain will allow us to better fulfill our core purpose — helping Iowans make better decisions through educational programs. And Iowa State will become the university that best serves its state. See you there.

– Cathann

choices, Extension, relationships

Early in my extension career, I took an inventory to determine my personality style. The facilitator then posted our styles up on an overhead (yes, that’s what we used) so we could all learn to work together as a team. What struck me was how everyone in the group clustered together … except for one outlier. The facilitator described the main group — the “people” people, and as she did so, I recognized who the outlier might be. I was the lone “idea” person. That made sense to me as I contemplated our work. Extension is full of interactions with people, and relationships are a key to our success. You want to have “people” people for this kind of work.  It also means we have a lot of nice people who work in extension, people who are agreeable and concerned about others. It’s unlikely you choose a line of work like extension if you aren’t a nice person.

I want to be clear that nice is a good thing to be. However, with so many nice birds flocking together, extension work can become mired in a “culture of nice,” keeping bad work from being eliminated and good work from getting better. We’re too nice to call a bad project a bad project. When we criticize, we criticize in vague, general statements. Of course, we engage in these behaviors out of human decency. Who wants to be the one to say that someone’s program is not worth the effort?

There also is self-interest. We work with a lot of partners in this business. You don’t want to have criticized someone’s program only to find out you need his or her help on your next effort. So we shut up, and sometimes efforts that everyone knows are sinkholes of mismanagement just keep floating along. I’m not saying we should stop being polite, but doing our best work requires that we address the less efficient practices, the programs with little or no impact, the publications we spend money printing and storing in air conditioning but that no one wants any longer, or the time-draining meetings that no one wants to talk about.

In the article, “When Nice Won’t Suffice: Honest Discourse Is Key to Shifting School Culture,” Elisa MacDonald describes how educators feel deeply reluctant to openly critique their own practices or those of others, and how this serves as a barrier to thoughtful, meaningful sharing, especially in professional contexts. MacDonald provides a helpful list of signs that the culture of nice may be creeping into your professional conversation, including rarely questioning practices and assumptions, only sharing successful efforts to avoid judgment from peers, and recommending strategies that are not applied to our own efforts.

MacDonald gives examples and offers strategies to refocus the discussion in a more critical, honest direction. The goal, she argues, is to replace the culture of nice with a culture of trust, where educators feel safe in sharing their own growth areas and shifting thinking and behavior. She maintains that improvement only can occur when we can openly question long-standing norms and have rigorous collaborative discourse. MacDonald mentions it takes courage to respond in ways that will lead to incremental shifts in thinking and behavior. See you there.

– Cathann

culture, Extension, honest, people, trust

Steve Jobs argued against asking customers what they want, because much of the time, he maintained customers will tell you they want “better sameness.” They want the same thing they have, just better, faster, cheaper. For example, before automobiles were invented, people wanted stronger and faster horses. Essentially, we can only describe what we want in terms of what we already know. The trouble is, it only allows incremental change. How can we innovate or move towards new ideas when we don’t know what the possibilities could be?

Frank W. Capek with Customer Innovations Inc. suggests, instead, to (1) focus on behaviors that drive results; (2) create meaningful, memorable, and differentiated experiences; and (3) deliver in ways that build a strong bond with customers. He says you must move beyond better sameness if you want to provide customers with highly influential experiences.

One way we can move beyond better sameness in ISU Extension and Outreach is in how we communicate and develop our programs. Capek recommends moving from “campaigns,” which sell ideas we wish to promote, to conversations about the future, and to focus on ways to empower partners and create processes that are easy and, perhaps, even fun.

So, that’s what we’re trying to do with this week’s release of the ISU Extension and Outreach 2012 Program Catalog. I wouldn’t say we made it all the way to fun yet. But we hope creating a single, online collection of program options will enhance our program development process by promoting conversations, empowering partners, and allowing us to think more broadly than just a little cheaper or faster version of what we did last year. What’s beyond better sameness? Possibilities. See you there.

– Cathann

P.S. The catalog is an internal planning document for ISU Extension and Outreach staff, county staff, and extension councils and is housed on the ISU Extension and Outreach “For Staff” website, at http://www.extension.iastate.edu/ProgramCatalog/. For assistance with logging in, please contact a regional director, program director, or other staff member.

Extension, program catalog, program development, programs

“Oh I know, all I owe, I owe Ioway. I owe Ioway all I owe and I know why.”
— Rodgers and Hammerstein

Last winter Ames High School put on the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “State Fair.” You know the story: a farm family sets off for adventure at the Iowa State Fair. Set in the 1940s, it harkens to a simpler time. The lyrics “all I owe, I owe Ioway” may be a bit corny, but the musical’s feel-good message offers food for thought. What do we owe Iowa?  Iowa.  A place so committed to the idea that education is an important key to the future that our early leaders were the first to say yes to the Morrill Land Grant Act, and the first to embrace the idea of extension.

Thirty years ago, Bankers Trust in Des Moines published the book “Iowa: The American Heartland,” featuring words by well-known journalist and former Iowan Hugh Sidey. He wrote for Time magazine for nearly 50 years, covering the White House and the presidency. Sidey often came home to Iowa to hear from “real” people. He said:

“Iowa is people and land in rare harmony. Iowa is order and serenity and invitation and eternity. It is not a state that dazzles or explodes or shouts. It is not allegro or fortissimo or the clash of cymbals. Iowa is melody, the wise voice of cellos and the smooth note of the horns that knows what has gone before and believes in the future. …

“I do not know when the spell of Iowa came upon me. … Always, my heart has been drawn back to Iowa, which now I recognize to be more of a state of mind and a way of life than anything else. … The state’s best and most abundant crop is common sense, that blend of intelligence and humility that ripens into wisdom. If studied and copied, if exported in large enough quantities, if borrowed and used, if employed more and more, common sense may yet steady this tipsy world.”

Looking back over the last few months, I’d say the summer of 2012 has drawn on that abundant crop Sidey referenced. We’ve showcased our partnership with the College of Design in Iowa State’s exhibit for the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, celebrated our first county centennials, coordinated a better branded Extension and Outreach presence at the Iowa State Fair, exhibited thousands of incredible 4-H youth projects, and highlighted our partnership with the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences through our joint response to the drought — not to mention all those county fairs and field days.

Thank you for your long hours, hard work, and unending dedication as you provide research-based education to the people of Iowa. Thanks for everything you do to make ISU Extension and Outreach not only part of the rich history of our state, but a part of its future. See you there.

– Cathann

Extension, Land-grant mission, Partnerships

For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the message was lost.
For want of a message the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.
– nursery rhyme

Large consequences may follow from inattention to very small details. I was reminded of this while cleaning the full eaves of our new house. Partway through the task, I was distracted. My daughter needed something, my phone rang, then I took some clothes out of the dryer, and well … by then I may have lost motivation to get up on the ladder and finish. The ladder sat against the house for several days, because I was getting back to it. You know. Tomorrow.

Days kept passing without me getting back there. I was busy. It was hot. There wasn’t enough time before I had to take Wren to piano lessons. I forgot. Before I knew it, weeks had gone by and the ladder still stood. That is, until the wind picked up during the storm. Now I had two problems: 1) my eaves were still not clean, so water was spilling over across the deck and doorway, and 2) I was watching a 16-foot-tall aluminum ladder go airborne and hoping it wasn’t going to hit the sliding glass door.

I’m grateful the ladder did not hit the door, but it did land on the roses. As I cleaned up afterwards, I knew if I had just finished the eaves, or even put the ladder away, I could have saved myself the worry and work. What makes this so easy to do is that those links of causality listed in the nursery rhyme only seem obvious in hindsight. No one would ever think one nail could lead to a kingdom falling, and after weeks with no rain, I certainly didn’t envision an airborne aluminum ladder. And we are busy. There are so many small details needing our attention. Which can be ignored? Which lead to larger consequences?

The good news is positive consequences may start from small acts too. This summer the World Food Prize Hall of Laureates in Des Moines opens the Hall of Laureates Education Wing. Interactive exhibits tell stories of Norman Borlaug and World Food Prize Laureates, the history of agriculture, the challenges of feeding the world in the 21st century, and Iowa’s unique agricultural and humanitarian heritage. One exhibit includes a story about Iowa State becoming our land-grant college when Iowa became the first state to accept the Morrill Act. The exhibit also shows the university’s ongoing role as a leader in science and agriculture. Another will feature Iowa State’s influence on the life and work of George Washington Carver, and also Jessie Field Shambaugh and her place in history as the “Mother of 4-H.”

Today we don’t think of Borlaug’s, Carver’s, or Shambaugh’s actions as “small” in any way. But chances are they felt they were just doing their small part as Borlaug led the Green Revolution, as Carver created 325 products from peanuts, and as Shambaugh created the boys’ corn club and girls’ home club to provide relevant education for Page County children. They likely never dreamed that their work would influence and inspire so many.

So the next time you are teaching that workshop, answering that client question, or driving home from that late night meeting, remember this: Whatever your role is in ISU Extension and Outreach, your small acts may result in large consequences.

See you there.

– Cathann

consequences, Extension

It’s good to periodically scrutinize what you do to figure out if it’s worth doing. Over the years, extension work has been the subject of numerous studies ― nationally, at the state level, and in the counties.

Reasons for the studies vary: war, drought, surpluses, shortages, economic issues, social concerns. The studies addressed programs and methods; clientele, training, or financing; or the ever-changing environment in which we operate. But whatever the study, whatever the reason, it led to a similar outcome ― perhaps best stated in the 1948 national study of extension, known as the Kepner Report:

“whereas extension has done much for people, it is what extension has helped people do for themselves that achieves the greatest results.” (See Journal of Extension, http://www.joe.org/joe/1984september/a1.php)

This summer, we began celebrating county centennials in the first five counties that organized for extension work and hired the first extension agents. One of these was the first county home economist hired in Black Hawk County, Tura Hawk, who had to be proficient in many areas. With a bachelor’s degree from Iowa State Teachers College and two master’s degrees from Iowa State College, she was well prepared, and in her first three months created interest in sanitation, convenient kitchens, food conservation, and clean and pure milk. She also started 4-H club work, mostly in sewing. According to county records, she demonstrated to the county board that she could even shoe a horse. I’m grateful that while I was out celebrating last week, Extension Council members didn’t require my demonstration of that particular proficiency.

These centennial celebrations are honoring extension professionals past and present, not just for what they’ve done (and they’ve done great things), but for what they helped citizens to accomplish.

The Extension Professionals Creed says it best: we believe in people’s “right to make their own plans and arrive at their own decisions; in their ability and power to enlarge their lives and plan for the happiness of those they love.”

This idea was affirmed this past year as we articulated our guiding principles and our core purpose. And it’s exemplified in stories such as the work of Joe Cordray in our meat science extension program that Meat & Poultry magazine has ranked first in the nation. “Perhaps nowhere is the commitment to keeping industry managers more informed about food processing and food safety technologies more evident than at Iowa State University,” said the editors in the citation. Joe conducts workshops on meat processing skills and safety for small processors in Iowa and the nation. He also develops and delivers training programs for some of the nation’s largest processors: West Liberty Foods and Smithfield. West Liberty Foods is an Iowa farmer-owned cooperative that, because of its food safety program and performance, is the major supplier of sliced meats for Subway. As part of Smithfield training, employee-developed plans have saved the company several million dollars annually.

We truly are people advancing people, putting university research into action.

What ISU Extension and Outreach helps people do for themselves achieves the greatest results. See you there.

–Cathann

core purpose, Extension, guiding principles, Mission

This summer has not necessarily gone the way most of us might have envisioned it back in the spring.  You remember spring?  When temperatures hovered in the 70’s?  Craig Hill, President of the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, says they planned this past week’s Agriculture Economic Summit with the idea that we’d be talking about a bumper crop of corn and managing prices.  As Harrison, Clinton, and Muscatine counties planned their 100th anniversary celebrations, I’m guessing they weren’t expecting the temperature to match or surpass the number of years of county extension work being celebrated.  And on a personal note, I can tell you that I had other plans for the funds I’m now paying for repairing my old AC unit and keeping up with my electric bills.

As Sherry Glenn and I traveled across the state in the last couple of weeks, we heard a lot about the impact of the summer’s weather on our friends and neighbors.  All of us in Extension and Outreach are attempting to respond as quickly and efficiently as possible.  Extension and Outreach has been steadily assisting Iowans as they deal with this year’s drought conditions.

•    Joel DeJong reported that more than 250 people attended an emergency meeting that ISU Extension and Outreach organized in Le Mars on July 19 to receive updates on crop production, livestock feeding, and crop insurance from extension specialists and government crop programs from Farm Service Agency personnel. That same day in Davis County more than 60 people came to another emergency meeting, bringing their questions on chopping corn, baling soybeans, grazing cover crops, and more. Mark Carlton noted that the meeting had not even been advertised – clients heard through word of mouth. Extension field specialists are holding additional local meetings in stressed areas throughout the state. This year’s farmland leasing meetings are covering drought issues as well.

•    At least 11 locations hosted the July 20 webinar covering fruit, vegetable, lawn, and tree issues. The archived sessions are linked from the Dealing with Drought Web page, http://www.extension.iastate.edu/topic/recovering-disasters. Thirty-six sites hosted the crop and livestock issues webinar on July 25. The archived segments from that webinar also are linked from the drought Web page.

•    Questions and answers from the webinars as well as answers to other frequently asked questions received from clients will be added to the Dealing with Drought Web page. Check the page frequently for resources to help Iowans deal with drought and other natural disasters. Iowans will find materials related to crops, livestock, dealing with stress, home and yard, financial concerns, and tips for businesses.

•    Lee County Extension Council member Steve Newberry and his wife, Linda Newberry, hosted U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack and FSA Executive Director John Whitaker on Saturday, July 21, for a tour of parched fields. See http://www.thehawkeye.com/story/loebsack-072212 for a story from The Hawk Eye.

ANR Extension hotlines, Families Answer Line and Iowa Concern hotline are responding to calls and emails on drought related issues.  The Iowa Concern Hotline is available 24/7 to provide assistance.

Our Center for Industrial Research and Service (CIRAS) is scanning communities to determine water rationing policies and potential impacts on manufacturers.

We’re reaching out to Georgia Tech and Texas A&M, both partner institutions and requesting materials which were useful during their droughts and which may have utility in Iowa.

Faced with a situation that demands leadership, Extension and Outreach faculty and staff are ready.  We bring our mission to educate and our unwavering belief that education best prepares our citizens to recognize change is inevitable and that there will always be challenges.  An educational perspective allows us to see the opportunities and benefits in taking risks and learning from past mistakes.  It encourages us to constantly reflect on our actions and beliefs and think about the results and consequences of each and it best prepares us to make good decisions for the future.  See you there.

–Cathann

P.S. You can share your comments about this message on the blog, at http://blogs.extension.iastate.edu/seeyouthere/.

education, problem-solving

We all regularly deal with change, but often, we think of it as a temporary state to hurry through so we can get back to normal. General Eric Shinseki, retired Chief of Staff, U.S. Army and Secretary of Veteran’s Affairs was well known in the Pentagon for his perspective, best summed up in this quote:  “If you don’t like change, you are going to like irrelevance even less.”

That fits with the work of John Kotter, professor emeritus at Harvard Business School and author of “A Sense of Urgency.” He says we need urgency because the rate of change is ever increasing. He describes urgency as a way of thinking, feeling, and behaving, a “gut level determination” that we have to deal with the opportunities and hazards in the world. And we have to do something about them – today.  (Watch an interview with Kotter, “The Importance of Urgency”, at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5802FBaMSI.)

But Kotter also distinguishes between real urgency and false urgency.  He says real urgency is “running around in smart ways, getting rid of junk … get rid of the stupid meetings” so you can focus on what is truly important. False urgency occurs in an organization when people feel that the organization is in trouble and they have to do more and more with less and less. Change is viewed as an event, a loss that creates more stress. The middle ground is complacency, when people are content and think change isn’t needed.

When you operate with a sense of real, true urgency, Kotter says, you focus on critical issues. You do more of the important stuff and less of what is unimportant.  You understand that change is an opportunity and is continuous.

Daren Mueller, Assistant Professor in Plant Pathology and Microbiology, says for him, change is job security. Recently, he and his colleagues noted that changes impacting agriculture educators in community colleges and high schools were creating an opportunity. By repurposing our ISU Extension Field Guides and catering to this new audience, we were able to create a highly useful resource, which then snowballed into other new opportunities such as grants, student recruitment, and other programs.

In ISU Extension and Outreach, change is here to stay. But we are better prepared today to face change with the true urgency it deserves. We’re focusing on our mission, acting on our fundamental principles, and applying the lessons from our leadership summit. As we do our part to make Iowa State the university that best serves its state, we are ready to capitalize on opportunities created in the wake of change. See you there.

–Cathann

change, Extension