A Season of Ethical Enterprise

December 9, 2011

I have dear friends who are vehemently opposed to capitalism. Personally, I’m not opposed to capitalism. I am, however, opposed to greed, manipulation, lies and unethical practices. There are those who might argue that those things are synonymous with capitalism.

I wholeheartedly disagree. Capitalism is defined as:

An economic system in which investment in and ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange of wealth is made and maintained chiefly by private individuals or corporations, especially as contrasted to cooperatively or state-owned means of wealth. (Source: Captialism – Dictionary.com)

If an independent farmer takes his vegetables to the market and sells them to people who need nutritious food to eat, he is a capitalist. If he says his food is organic when in fact it is full of nasty chemical pesticides, he is a liar.

Swirl of giftsThere are amazing examples of admirable production, distribution and sale of goods (i.e. capitalism). Etsy, for example, is not only a marketplace it is “a community of artists, creators, collectors, thinkers and doers”. But make no mistake about it, people buy and sell goods freely. That’s capitalism in its truest form.

Kiva is an organization dedicated to helping entrepreneurs in developing countries access microfinance loans. There are over half a million lenders. Lenders are financing

entrepreneurship, which is free and independent business. Entrepreneurs in developing nations are empowered to develop products and services to sell in order to make money. That’s capitalism. It helps them gain skills, knowledge and financial independence. That’s good, right?

Some social justice advocates adore initiatives like Kiva and Etsy, but their neighbour who opens a shop or a service business is loathsome. Trust me, as an educational entrepreneur, I can assure you that the many entrepreneurs in the developed world struggle financially. Some even live in poverty. Is the idea that as long as someone is trying to move out of poverty, capitalism is OK, but after you’ve passed that magical “poverty” line, business transforms as a vehicle going straight to depths of evil? I have never been very clear on where people draw the line… or why?

I grew up under the poverty line, with a single, immigrant mother who came to Canada with a grade 10 education. We never owned a home or a car.

For extra cash, she would pool her money with a couple of other ladies in the neighbourhood. They would rent a table a local flea market on the weekends where they would sell their crafts, knitting and crocheting. They worked hard to make enough product to keep the table going, doing informal market research along the way. If an item didn’t sell, they wouldn’t make any more of it. If it did sell, they’d make more of it. They responded to market demand by observing and analyzing their own sales. It was Etsy “old school”. Through her flea market sales, she was able to afford “extras”… Saturday night supper at the local diner (another capitalist endeavour owned by a local Greek family) or tickets to a movie. Her salary did not allow for such luxurious. Her entrepreneurial endeavours did. No wonder I have entrepreneurship in my blood.

Now I own a car and a home… I’m working on the corporate jet, but don’t hold your breath. (Kidding!) My point is that part of the reason I have been able to move out of poverty into a more middle class life is due to owning a business. I have also been an educator, a researcher, a writer and speaker. These are all essential elements of a career that has involved being both an employee of large organizations (usually universities, colleges or school boards) and being an entrepreneur. The work is the same. My dedication to my students, clients and co-workers is the same. My obsession with producing the best quality work I can never leaves. I seek to serve, to help others grow and develop and to promote lifelong learning as a way of life.

Along with the entrepreneurial genes came a deep drive to be creative and industrious, to work hard, to do honest work for a fair price and be ethical in one’s dealings. If you’re not honest, that just ticks customers off. It also ticks off co-workers, bosses and students. And rightly so.

Which brings me to my point. To my fellow entrepreneurs – and particularly those who are in the business of selling educational products, training, courses, books and educational services – I hereby declare this the Season of Ethical Enterprise. To celebrate this season, I call on ethical entrepreneurs everywhere to:

  • Give something this season that does not involve our name or logo on a calendar, pen or other swag. Make a donation to a charity on your clients’ behalf. If you can not afford to give money to a charity, give the gift of yourself: help someone do something they couldn’t otherwise do, give helpful advice (without a consultation fee) or give someone an hour of your time as a mentor.
  • Refuse to engage in the “holiday swindle”. Giving someone the “gift” of 50% off your services or products if they buy before the end of the month is not a gift. In fact, calling it a gift isn’t even ethical. It’s a sale. Call it what it is. You are not being benevolent or generous when you tell people that you are giving them a gift, but really you are asking them to open their wallets.
  • Encourage ethical enterprise. Have conversations with others about topics such as corporate social responsibility or green business.
  • Think carefully and act mindfully when it comes to holiday spending. What are you spending and why?

I believe to the depths of my soul that business can be a force for good and not evil. It starts with a deep commitment to ethics, transparency and accountability. This is the perfect time of year to focus on building relationships, deepening our commitment to building a better world and helping each other. You just can’t put a price tag on that.

What would you add to my list?

___________

Share this post: A Season of Ethical Enterprise http://wp.me/pNAh3-14w

Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

Comments Off on A Season of Ethical Enterprise | marketing, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

Everything I needed to know about relationships, I learned from a hotel maid

November 29, 2011

There I was, rushing out of my hotel room to head down to the conference when I suddenly realized I hadn’t left a tip for the maid. I’m one of those people who leaves a tip every day for the hotel maid, rather than leaving it all at the end. The cleaning staff have different schedules and throughout my years of travelling, I have noticed, sometimes, that there can be different maids on different days. I figure that if I leave the entire tip at the end, then one person can clean up and any others might go without.

Leaving smaller tips every day has its drawbacks. It means that you can’t be carrying all $20 bills in your purse (unless, of course, you leave the maid a $20 every day.)

Although I haven’t seen her (or him, or them), I suspect that it has been the same person cleaning my room during the three days of my conference. Here’s why:

After the first day, I left a reasonable tip. I had mostly $20s with me, but I cobbled together enough of a tip that it wasn’t an insult. I came back to the room at the end of the day, and my room was clean and nicely arranged. There were a couple of extra drinking glasses in the bathroom. I always stick my toothbrush in one to dry out during the day, leaving only one other glass. The housekeeping staff had added a couple of extra so I wouldn’t run out. Nice touch. (When your job involves enough travelling, you notice the little details in hotels.)

On the second day, I realized that I’d forgotten to get change. All I had were larger bills. “Oh well,” I thought. “I don’t like to do it, but I’ll leave double tomorrow.” I knew in my head what my plan was, but it never occurred to me to leave a note for the housekeeping staff. I went on my way, with a small twinge of guilt in my gut — and a plan to correct my wrong the next day.

When I came back to my room that night, the bare minimum had been done… and the extra bed pillows I’d tossed onto the  arm chair before bed the night before remained there. Again, when you spend enough time in hotels, you notice.

During the day, I had made a point to get some smaller denominations. So, at the beginning of the third day, I did as I had intended and left a double tip.

What happened? I came back to an immaculate and sparkling room. The pillows were arranged perfectly, my personal toiletries were neatly organized on the bathroom counter and there were even extra towels that I had not asked for. Oh yeah, and there were extra bars of soap and bottles of shampoo and conditioner, too.

Of course, we don’t know for sure if it has been the same maid for the last three days. But let’s say, for the sake of argument, that it was. If I reflect on this possibility, then it occurs to me that there is much to learn from this. Here are 7 things I learned from this exchange:

1. Show appreciation. A little acknowledgement goes a long way in letting others know that you are thinking about them.

2. Non-verbal communication speaks volumes. I have never spoken with the hotel maid. I don’t even know what he or she looks like. But over the last three days, we have communicated with each other in non-verbal ways. Sometimes, it isn’t what you say, it is what you do not say that speaks the loudest.

3. Notice what is going on. Non-verbal communication may say a great deal, but if you are not listening, you will not hear the message. Take the time to notice what is going on around you, what is communicated silently and perhaps, deliberately.

4. Say what needs to be said. I just didn’t have any cash on me yesterday to leave a tip. It wasn’t a sign that I was dissatisfied or that I was being cheap. I could have left a note to say, “No cash with me today. Promise a double tip tomorrow.” I didn’t. In fact, it didn’t occur to me until much later.

5. Consistency creates security. The first day I left a tip and the next day I did not. I was inconsistent in that unspoken language of between a customer and a service worker. If I had been consistent I would have been sending the message that I was consistently pleased with how things were going. In relationships, it is helpful to act in a consistent way.

6. If you screw up, fix it — and fast. I understood from the minimum services that were performed on the second day (the day I didn’t leave a tip) that my house keeper was not happy. In the unspoken rituals of being a hotel guest, I screwed up. I corrected the situation the next day by leaving a double tip. In other words, I fixed the faux pas as soon as it was appropriate.

7. What matters is reality, not theory. Really, it shouldn’t matter if I leave a tip or not. The maid gets paid to do a job and certain duties are expected. That’s the theory. The reality is that to people in the service industry, tips matter. Whether or not you agree with reality is a different issue entirely from the fact that reality itself matters very much.

I’ve learned a great deal over the course of this three-day, silent exchange with this hotel housekeeper whose face I have never seen. I silently salute her (or him) and say, “Thank you for this lesson in human relationships.”

What relationships do you have where non-verbal communication speaks louder than any words between you? How are you listening? How do you address what is real in a relationship, rather than the way you think things “should” be?

______________

Like this post? Share or Tweet it: Everything I needed to know about relationships I learned from a hotel maid http://wp.me/pNAh3-12k 

Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

Comments Off on Everything I needed to know about relationships, I learned from a hotel maid | Communication, leadership, marketing, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

How to market your language or literacy program: Build trust over time

October 30, 2011

If you send prospective students a brochure or answer an e-mail, they are not very likely to register in your program. Here’s why…

Marketers tell us that we need to see an advertisement or hear a message at least seven times before we are likely to buy a product. Sales professionals say that it can take anywhere between five and 27 “touches” or contact with a prospective buyer before they are convinced to make a purchase from you.

What does that mean for language programs and literacy organizations? It means that we can not simply send out a brochure to a student and reasonable expect that suddenly he or she will want to register in our program.

The “drip theory” recommends regular, repeated contact – at least six or seven times – with a prospect to ensure that your name sticks in her mind. This does not mean sending out six or seven copies of the same brochure! There is a difference between “dripping” and “bombarding” or worse yet, “stalking”.

Each “touch” needs to be different — and still relevant. For example, connecting via e-mail, followed by sending a brochure, followed a week later by an invitation to register, followed by a couple of monthly newsletters.

The timing of each contact is also important. Bombarding someone in seven different ways in a very short period of time is more likely to turn them off than to convince them that they want to join your program. There is no one perfect formula for how often you should connect with your prospects… Once a week or a few times a week seems to be an accepted norm in the educational and non-profit sectors. There seems to be a lower tolerance for repeated contact in a short period of time with prospects in the social sectors than there is in the business sectors.

In my PhD research, I found that it can take anywhere from two to five years to get a new language program off the ground. That is the “sales cycle” for English as an Additional Language (ESL / EFL / EAL / ESOL) programs. It can also take up to two years to convert a prospective student into a current student.

In Guerrilla Marketing for NonProfits, authors Jay Conrad Levinson, Frank Adkins and Chris Forbes talk about how non-profit organizations often give up too soon. They expect to see results NOW. If they do not get an immediate response (which is highly unlikely) they give up. In fact, they say that most non-profits give up on new programs just before they hit the point of success.

If you get an e-mail address for the prospect and you can send monthly updates about what is going on in your program, you will be using yet another medium to show your prospects that you have not forgotten about them.

Ideally, you want to combine different types of contact: social media, mail, e-mail, phone calls and personal contact. This is not always easy in an international marketplace, but do try for repeated contact in a variety of ways.

If you don’t get any response after several tries, then you can change the prospect from active to inactive in your database. In any case, you are more likely to get more registrants by using the drip effect than by sending an initial brochure and nothing else.

Here are seven ways to help you market your language or literacy program consistently

1) List all of the methods you use to connect with your prospective learners (phone, e-mail, drop-in, brochures, etc.).

2) Set up a spreadsheet with each method of contact across the top.

3) Every time a prospect contacts you, ask for his or her contact information.

4) Note the date that you made contact under the appropriate column.

5) Make an effort to stay in touch with the prospective learner, at least once a week, using a different method each time.

6) If a prospective student shows a preference for a particular type of communication, use that one more often. For example, if a prospective student does not respond to e-mails, but calls or Skypes, then make a note of it. At least once, take the initiative to connect with the prospect in the way that they prefer. It’s about them, after all.

7) Track how many prospective students actually end up enrolling in your program and how long it takes. You may be surprised to find that it take  longer than you think it will, or longer than you would like it to. This does not mean that should try to accelerate that cycle. That can often backfire and turn prospects off. It is useful, however, to show you how long prospective learners may take to make a decision.

It’s not about trying to force them to make a decision faster. It is about cultivating trust and building a relationship with them so that when they are ready to make a decision, they choose your program because they feel that they know you and that you care about them. When the time comes for them to make their decision, trust will often be the factor that sways people one way or another. If you haven’t built the trust with them over time, they may never register. That takes time. In the long run, it is worth it.

___________________

This post is adapted from “Idea #17: Be a Drip ” in 101 Ways to Market Your Language Program

________________

Share or Tweet this post: How to market your language or literacy program: Build trust over time http://wp.me/pNAh3-wx

Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

1 Comment | 101 Ways to Market Your Language Program, language program administration, Literacy, marketing, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

Secrets Gandhi Knew About Language Learning

July 11, 2011

Regular readers of this blog know about my passion for connecting language learning to leadership. I truly believe that language learning helps us to improve our leadership skills, understand others with a deeper sense of compassion and see the world in wiser ways. I am inspired by the work of Gandhi, who was a strong advocate of learning second and foreign languages.

Here’s a reprint of an article that was published on the topic. It was originally published in Zephyr, the newsletter of the Second Languages and Intercultural Council (SLIC) of the Alberta Teachers’ Association. It is reprinted here with permission:

View this document on Scribd

Related posts:

Share this post: Secrets Gandhi Knew About Language Learning http://wp.me/pNAh3-N7

Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

2 Comments | education, ESL, Gandhi, languages, marketing, second languages, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

New Report: The Economic ROI of Adult Education Programs

July 1, 2011

A new policy paper published by the McGraw-Hill Research Foundation that was developed in collaboration with the United States’ National Council of State Directors of Adult Education and the U.S. National Adult Education Professional Development Consortium states that “a preemptive focus on adult education actually saves governments money by reducing societal healthcare, public assistance, and incarceration costs”.

The report, “The Return on Investment from Adult Education and Training: Measuring the Economic Impact of a Better Educated and Trained U.S. Workforce,” put it in plain simple language by saying that adult education “improves and expands the nation’s available pool of human capital by helping motivated but under educated people achieve gainful employment in today’s increasingly high-tech and global job market, and at a far lower cost per learner when compared to either K-12 or higher education.”

The co-authors Dr. Lennox McLendon (Executive Director, National Council of State Directors of Adult Education and the National Adult Education Professional Development Consortium), Debra Jones (California Director of Adult Education and Chair, NAEPDC Research Workgroup) and Mitch Rosin (Editorial Director, McGraw-Hill School Education Group) have put together a solid 26-page report that is a brilliant combination of statistics and related evidence that ultimately constructs a clear picture of the economic return on investment (ROI) of adult education and literacy programs. The culmination of the evidence they present  fully supports their closing argument:

“Current federal adult education and workforce skills programs need to be better funded, but they also need to be redesigned and connected more effectively to state and local programs. We must have an integrated system of adult education and workforce development that serves millions of Americans in accessible, affordable, and accountable ways – on the job, online, and in the classroom.”

Although this report is focused on the U.S.A. it provides compelling evidence for programs in other countries, too.

This is a report that is worth looking at and sharing.  Download your free copy from here: http://www.mcgraw-hillresearchfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/the-return-on-investment-from-adult-education-and-training.pdf

Related posts:

The economic impact of language programs on communities

Research: ESL programs boost Calgary’s economy by $26M+ per year

________________

Share this post: New Report: The Economic ROI of Adult Education Programs http://wp.me/pNAh3-Mm

Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

Comments Off on New Report: The Economic ROI of Adult Education Programs | education, language program administration, Literacy, marketing, research, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »