What a success!
This last weekend I attended one of our final Leadership Iowa University sessions in Cedar Falls, IA. Despite the challenging road conditions due to a statewide snow/ice storm, we saw almost 100% attendance from this year’s inaugural class. With students located throughout the entire state including the large public universities to smaller private colleges to some of the country’s finest community colleges, it was great to have so many of us make it.
The session was terrific. With only a day and a half together, some of the activities we did were:
- Individual Strengthsfinder analysis from Tom Rath’s nationally renown book, Strengthsfinder 2.o
- One-on-one resume and cover letter improvement meetings with experienced human resource professionals
- Tour of one of Iowa’s Fortune 500 companies, John Deere
- Marketing workshop with ME&V
- Etiquette lunch with Christian Fong, an Iowa young professional who recently ran for the Governor of Iowa
One of the activities I enjoyed the most was hearing our keynote speaker, Christian Fong, speak during our etiquette lunch on Saturday. Christian spoke on why Iowans are leaving Iowa at such an alarming rate and what is being done to reverse the trend. As a young, born-and-bred Iowan nearing my college graduation, the issues he discussed struck close to my heart. It was quite refreshing hearing him tell his story about leaving Iowa and coming back to pursue a successful career, which he has clearly achieved at such a young age. One of the key points he made was how Iowa’s business and civic environment offers many jobs with internationally competitive salaries that provide greater opportunities for success than other states. It’s crazy how many people who I’ve heard say “I want to leave Iowa because I can make more money and have a better career” or feel impelled to leave because of the “glitz and glamor” of big city. With this said, I’m not saying that none of these claims have merit as many of them do. What I think, though, is that people are doing this without a good understanding of what they are leaving for, and what they are leaving behind. As a finance guy who understands the value in cost-benefit analyses, it is necessary to develop an educated decision by weighing the pro’s and con’s of a situation and not simply acting on emotional impulse.
Fong spoke about how in Iowa it’s much more attainable to become a big fish in a little pond whereas many ambitious people leave Iowa and find themselves utterly disappointed at the fact that no matter what they do, they will always be a little fish in a big pond. One of the unique characteristics of Iowa is the accessibility of local, county, and state politicians, but more importantly, the accessibility of becoming civicly engaged in Iowa often goes understated. Mr. Fong emphasized that one of the advantages young people have in Iowa is the ability to become involved and make a positive difference in their communities, which can lead to increasing professional opportunities as well because you are seen as a leader in the community.
Another part of the mini-conference, which ties closely with Christian’s message of accessibility to community leaders, was having the opportunity to meet some Iowa entrepreneurs. I was able to meet the head chef for a new, phenomenal Waterloo restaurant Roux Orleans and a woman who has created a unique business through consulting and writing books which combine expertise in nutrition, etiquette, and professional behavior.
As a member of the task force and participant of Leadership Iowa University, it’s rewarding to see the success and be a part of the inaugural year of what is becoming one of Iowa’s premiere collegiate organizations. I look forward to seeing what future events have to offer!
