the Friday edition: the one the day of college orientation
By the time you are reading this, I’ll be attending what is likely my 6th college orientation.
“Why so many?” you might ask.
Just a lot of kiddos have had the privilege of supporting on their way to what’s next, Well, I also earned my college degree at 49, but that’s another story for another day. On this Friday, we’re talking about my beautiful niece, Selma.
The path for her, and many other kids, probably starts around 5th grade (in the US grade system) when their personal interests and temperament are starting to show through. Around 7th grade, we see more elective choices. Somewhat horrifyingly, by 9th grade, some US school systems are asking kids to lock in their “learning path” for the next 4 years.
I don’t know of many people that end up employed in their college major let alone deciding in high school. Do you?
The kids who end up closer to it may have a bit more plan and longer-term vision. The nurses, firemen, lawyers of our land. Not only do these careers take a unique level of dedication to be good, they require a certain level of training and foresight to commit to the uphill work to eventually be able to work in the field. They stay the course even when it’s hard because they know what they want and that it’s worth the effort.
How does this apply to business growth and marketing?
Our first key – having a corporate strategy that is clear, understood, and shared allows anyone in your organization to work towards the right, long-term result.
Even when the tough things happen.
Even when there are setbacks.
Even when it takes a little bit.
If you haven’t started working on your 2025 strategy and planning – NOW is the time.
Here’s a short video on the importance of strategic planning and plan adoption.
As for Selma – she’s on that lawyer track. She wants to help families in crisis – especially those working within the foster care system. She’s known this for quite some time – she selected her school based on its offering to get her there in about 6 years. She has a vision and strategy and a good team of us supporting her reaching that goal.
Never underestimate the power of everyone around you knowing what difference your company will make in the big picture, then where you want to go in the next 2-3 years, and what absolutely has to happen now (this week, this quarter) to get there.
Speaking of colleges and universities – one thing most do well is prospect, multi-touch marketing, and nurturing of students to gain their coveted decision to commit (and the funds that come with). One thing these advanced marketing machines get right is implementing and using lead scoring.
If you’ve not looked at leveling up your marketing game with lead (and customer) scoring, our new guide may help!
