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December 2001 NC State Industrial Engineering Commencement Address December 19th, 2001 Denis Cormier You may or may not be aware that I gave the departmental commencement address this past spring. I was tempted to give the same talk again, but I was worried that my fellow faculty members would heckle me! Many things in life involve compromises, so I decided to keep the same theme that I used this past spring, but to include a few new observations. How many people here have heard of the book by Robert Fulgham called, "Everything I Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten"? It's reminds us that we learned in kindergarten to share, play fair, to clean up our own mess, and so on. I would like to share with you my own version of that book. It’s called, "Much of What I Need To Know, I Learned from My Two Kids Who Haven't Been to Day Care Yet, Much Less Kindergarten". I’m sharing this with you, because my introduction to parenthood four years ago parallels your introduction to "the real world" in more ways than you might think. With that said, here is some advice for you based on the things I’ve learned over the past few years from being a parent.
Have you ever seen a kid who didn't love to stomp in puddles, play in dirt piles, or smear finger paint everywhere? Kids aren't afraid to get dirty doing the things they love. Whether you end up working in a factory or in the service sector, don't be afraid to roll up your sleeves and to get a little dirty. You will soon be making high level managerial decisions intended to improve the productivity and efficiency of some sort of operation. In order to do your job well, you have to know the systems you are working with. Get out there with the people doing the work, and wear their shoes for a little while. If you merely watch others doing the work, half of what you see won't sink in. Roll up your sleeves and get your hands a little dirty. I promise you that it will wash off. Last week, I had a very amusing conversation with my four year old son Danny after I discovered the sticky remains of a melted Popsicle on the carpet in his bedroom. Our conversation went something like this: Me: Danny, did you do this? Danny: No. Me: Well if you didn't do this, then who did? Danny: (Long pause) Mr. Stinker. Me: Would you tell Mr. Stinker I'd like to have a word with him? Danny: No, he's gone now. The older you get, the more difficult it is to pin the blame on your imaginary friends (or anyone else for that matter). Everyone makes mistakes from time to time, and that's OK. If you build a reputation as someone who makes excuses or tries to shift the blame, that reputation will become pretty hard to shake. Instead, admit it when you make a mistake, and then do what needs to be done to make it right. In the long run, character does count. For all the moms and dads out there, what happens if you coop up a four year old boy in a car for a four hour drive to grandma’s? He gets cranky. Then when you let him run around and burn off energy, he feels better. As adults, we are cooped up in the office every day. Unlike children, we never seem to have enough energy. The cure is the same though. Do some sort of moderate exercise on a regular basis. It will help you keep your sanity, and you’ll find that it actually improves your energy level. Here's another question for all the moms and dads out there. What happens when a four year old boy doesn’t get enough sleep? He gets cranky. What happens when us grownups don’t get enough sleep? We get cranky too. As college students, you typically have oddball schedules. However, once you leave this place, you will have a little more control over your schedules. Do your best to get on a regular schedule that provides you with enough sleep. Don’t rely on coffee to help you maintain consciousness throughout the day. Nobody likes a cranky co-worker. Some of you may have heard of a continuous process improvement technique that the Japanese have in which they ask the question, "Why" five times. My theory is that they learned this from their kids. Danny is at the age where he asks "why" a couple thousand times a day. A recent exchange between us went approximately as follows: Danny: Daddy, what road are we on? Me: Lake Wheeler Road. Danny: Why do they call it Lake Wheeler Road? Me: Because it runs past Lake Wheeler. Danny: Why do they call it Lake Wheeler? Me: I have no idea. Danny: How fast are we going? Me: 50 miles per hour. Danny: Why? You get the idea... A four year old asks, "why" all the time because everything is new and he or she wants to know how it all works. Those of you who aren’t sticking around for graduate school are about to enter a relatively new world too. The difference is, in your world, people expect you to contribute as quickly as possible. You need to learn to ask questions, even if it’s against your nature. Now I'm not suggesting that you go around incessantly badgering your soon-to-be co-workers with questions – you do need to exercise some judgment. However, many newcomers are too timid to ask important questions out of fear that they will be perceived as "dumb questions". Believe me, you are far better off asking a dumb question in the beginning and getting a job done right and on time than you are keeping your mouth shut and making a mistake that pushes a project past its deadline. This can be a surprisingly difficult lesson for some people to learn, but as long as you get the job done, nobody will mind the questions. This is something of a continuation of the previous comments. There's something special about watching a child's enthusiasm for learning. When you are four years old, you see new things virtually every day. Just stop and think about that for a minute. Can you imagine how much fun life must be when you see and learn new things every single day? That’s what it’s like to be four. Children love to learn, because it’s all so new and exciting for them. As we get older, we seem to lose much of that excitement and enthusiasm for learning and experiencing new things. We’ve seen enough that we have to work a little harder to get exposed to new and interesting things. Many people don’t make the effort, and the result is boredom. My advice to you is to remember what it is like to discover new things. It doesn't have to be related to engineering. Watch a documentary on the History channel. Go to the Craft Center and learn how to make stained glass. Take sailing lessons at Lake Wheeler. Volunteer for meals-on-wheels. Go hang gliding at Kitty Hawk. Sure, you have to work a little harder at it than a four year old, but it’s worth it, because that's what makes life interesting and exciting. While it is important to develop a passion for learning, it is equally important to pass along what you've learned to others coming along behind you. You've all heard the phrase, "it was a painful lesson to learn". Sometimes, teaching can be painful too. Danny loves to work in the shop with me, and I love having him there … usually. This past summer, I was hammering together some 2x4's to build a storage rack in our garage. Danny wanted to hammer too, so I came up with what I thought was a good idea. I gave him a piece of Styrofoam, a junior size hammer, and some nails. Danny likes to hammer with both hands, and he couldn't figure out how to get the nails to stand up while he hammered. His solution? He handed the nail to me and said, "Here Daddy – you hold the nail while I hammer". As you gain experience in the workplace and move up the corporate ladder, be sure to pass along what you know to the next generation. It may not always be pleasant or convenient, but the people below you form the foundation of the company. Train them well, because your own livelihood may eventually depend on it. Every day when I get home from work, the exact same thing happens. When I open the front door, I am immediately greeted by two black labs who are so excited to see me that they literally trip over one another. Next, Danny comes running down the hallway hollering, "Daddy's Home!!!". Not far behind comes my wife with arms outstretched holding the baby while also hollering, "Daddy's home!!!". For her part, little Hannah is so excited that her arms and legs flail wildly about. It doesn't matter how rotten my day might have been, it's almost impossible not to smile and feel better under those circumstances. My point here is that you have more power than you know to influence other people's moods and behavior. Some of the things that we adults are all too familiar with – cynicism, sarcasm, gossip – you’ll never hear those things coming out of the mouth of a four year old. Although that tends to change as we get older, I’ll bet everyone here can name at least one acquaintance who never says anything bad about others, who always seems to smile, and who just plain seems happy. Spend a little time with someone like that, and you’ll find that it can be infectious. The cynicism, sarcasm, and other negative vibes just don’t seem appropriate when you are around someone like that. That attitude is something the rest of us, myself included, should try to emulate. When you find yourselves around negative people, try to avoid getting sucked into that mindset. You’ll be much happier the other way around. When you start work, you will find that it’s very easy to fall into the trap of living at work, and not having much of a life. Since I become a father four years ago, spending time with my family is something that I really look forward to towards the end of each day. As much as I enjoy Park Shops, I don’t want to live there. In order to make it possible to go home at a reasonable hour, I come into work at what many consider to be an unreasonably early hour. That helps, but the other thing I’m constantly working on is becoming more efficient. Although that’s a never ending mission, I do have some suggestions that I think will help you. When you are at work, work hard and be efficient. It’s tough to have a life if you work 70 or 80 hours a week. Do NOT surf the web for an hour when you get into the office in the morning. Do NOT spend hours swapping personal e-mails during the day. Habits are tough to break, whether they are good ones or bad. Form good habits right from your first day on the job, and they will serve you well. The more efficient and organized you are, the less harried you will feel and the more you will enjoy your work. Also, be respectful of other people’s time, and politely avoid letting other people waste your time. This is especially true when it comes to meetings. When you go home at night, leave your work behind and have a life. Do NOT buy a big screen TV and DirecTV satellite dish with your first big paycheck. That’s the easiest way to become a couch potato. It’s also the easiest way to become bored with your life. Remember what I said about seeking out new and interesting things. Instead of watching hours of TV in the evening, plan ahead of time which project or activity you’ll do when you get home. That will give you something to look forward to during the day. As I said a few minutes ago, constantly exposing yourself to fun new activities will help you keep your lives interesting and balanced.
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