Put yourself in the right place at the right time, because you intended to be there, you worked hard to get there, and you made a plan to ensure you stayed there. You can’t just show up in your manager’s office door and say “we should have ebooks” and expect it to happen. You must have a plan. (I would, on behalf of all managers everywhere suggest that if you are the sort of person who shows up and says “we need ebooks” you might consider how that sounds to your audience, and consider how well it’s working for you.)
A plan is key. Because I believe that, I’m going to assert that any goal can be project-managed, and I’ll also assert that any goal should be project-managed. Must be. I’ll say it again: Change doesn’t just happen. Change happens because someone worked hard to put themselves in the right place, at the right time. Work to put yourself in that place, just at that time. Plan for brilliance, agitate for success.
fleschnerj on 09 Oct 11I especially liked this quote: I'll call attention once again to the University of Wisconsin-Madison's House Party as an example of an excellent new year kick-off event. There's no bait-and-switch, but they have built-in incentives to keep students coming back to use the library for its intended purpose. For example, the winner of the Texas Hold'Em tournie wins their own study table in the library for the year, complete with a nice sign designating it their table. The first interaction most new students have with a librarian is having their palm read or playing ninja tag with them, not finding out about resources which they don't yet need. We do much the same with our button-making booth and CARNinfoVAL. It's a strong, unexpected first impression.
