Infinite Possibilities

Fair Warning... This is not a pleasant read...

Fresh Meet 2009. The speeches that we heard, especially the one from Scott McBride, just fantastic. Scott highlighted the need for fresh, innovative idea's. "The chef is in-charge, but it's up to you to be his right arm" (Don't quote me on that, my memory is no where near good enough to remember his words exactly). But the idea remains the same. Fresh ideas, fresh faces who don't follow the status quo.

One thing about our generation that I think hasn't really been discussed often, is Gen Y never really has had a status quo. The world around us, especially the internet, has prevented anything from really sinking in and becoming a 'status quo'. For our generation the status quo is the flavor of the week. We've never experienced 'the way things are done around here', and in my mind that's the best possible new hire you can have.

An interesting idea was once mentioned to me that opens a few doors. We all know that a child when born is a Tabula Rasa (Latin: Blank Slate). Our experiences shape us, and define who we are. A student who goes to school vs a child on the streets. Both will have extremely different lives based on their experiences. But what if every child born is not only Tabula Rasa, but capable of anything? What if their experiences through out live don't help them to grow, but only confine them within a box of their own making?

-- Now apply this to a student vs experienced worker.

In an organization of people who have worked together for a while, they peak. There is a point in which they cease to grow. They work so well together, anticipating each others next move that there are no significant inputs of new ideas or energy into the team.

Students, with no experience have no choice but to reach out to their imagination. The schooling we have gives us set guidelines(or rules) as to how things are done. But outside of those guidelines we have no experience to draw upon. So we imagine! We say things like "Exactly how difficult would it be to dress up 350 people, drop them into a city, and cause a 'Thomas Crown'-esque scene with the bowler hats on that citys public transit. We imagine 'how cool would it be if...' and then we do it.

But our imagination draws upon what we already know. We know many things... Reading, writing, basic social skills. Maybe some of us have experience in pro-hockey, or studying a part of history, or a background in another part of the world. Whatever we have, it's the box that's been created around us, but it's not fully complete. We have the ability to say 'Hey, wait a sec... Why wouldn't we do it this way...?'

Sadly, without a good manager who's willing to hear new idea's, and a student who's willing to speak up, there is no chance that either the student, or the business will grow to it's full potential.