Week 9 Assignment 4Skill(s) Being Assessed Problem Solving .docx

Week 9 Assignment 4
Skill(s) Being Assessed: Problem Solving
Criteria for Success: In this assignment, you will:
· Provide a clear, concise overview of the 10 Skills and their
importance for personal and professional life.
· Provide an overview of your philosophy of change that
includes a summary of your approaches to reacting, framing,
and managing change and use specific examples to connect them
to approaches to solving problems.
· Explain the relationship between the 10 Skills and your
personal philosophy of change using concrete examples to
support ideas.
· Communicate personal experiences and beliefs that are clear,
concise, and target a general audience.
· Develop a presentation or podcast that identifies a clear goal,
is logically organized, adheres to time limits and includes
written outline or script.
· Create an engaging presentation or podcast that is professional
in overall quality and formatting.
What to submit/deliverables: Based on the option you choose to
complete the assignment, you may submit either a presentation
(recorded or live) or an audio podcast recording, including a
written outline or script developed in the webtext.
What is the value of doing this assignment?
At this point in your time at Strayer, you've had significant
experience learning about, developing, and exercising the 10
Skills. How you've changed as a result of your experience with
the 10 Skills is unique to your academic and personal journey
and has likely impacted how you understand yourself and the
world around you.

In your previous assignment, you used your problem solving
skill to create your personal philosophy of change, which was
informed by your personal and professional experiences. The
purpose of this assignment is to effectively present how the 10
Skills inform and support your philosophy of change and/or the
role your philosophy of change plays in your continued
development of the 10 Skills. It also allows you to consider how
your experience with the 10 Skills translates to employability
and the hiring process.
The value of this assignment is to effectively communicate your
experience with the 10 Skills to help others think differently
about their own experiences and attitudes toward change. You
will have the opportunity to practice sharing your problem
solving process in creating your philosophy of change and in
connecting your experiences with the 10 Skills to this personal
philosophy. You will also practice agility and innovation in
exploring new ways of thinking about change.
Your goal for this assignment is to: Use your problem solving,
agility, and innovation skills to communicate how your
experience with the 10 Skills relates to your philosophical
understanding of change.
What you need to complete this assignment:
· Video camera, webcam, or audio capabilities for recording.
· Your personal philosophy of change (Week 7 Assignment).
·
Audacity Installation and Use Instructions
[PDF] (optional for podcast).
· PowerPoint (optional).
Steps to complete:
Scenario: A local business leader is looking for ways to
promote change around personal and professional growth and
learning for all members of the community. They have asked
you to present your philosophy of change to the community—
through a recorded presentation (or live, if in the classroom) or

through a podcast they will air this month—to help demonstrate
the value of employable skills and opportunities for positive
change. The goal is to use examples from your personal
experience to help listeners understand how they could begin to
think about their own philosophy of change and how they
navigate change in different contexts.
STEP 1: Introduce yourself to the audience and identify the goal
of your presentation or podcast in a clear, concise manner. Your
goal should be centered around how some or all of the 10 Skills
and a philosophy of change have helped you—and can help
others—exercise their problem solving skill (approximately 1
minute or less).
STEP 2: Since your audience will be unfamiliar with the 10
Skills and your philosophy of change, you should provide an
overview (approximately 1–3 minutes total) that addresses the
following:
· What are the 10 Skills and why are they important in your
personal and professional life? (
Note: You do not need to list and define each skill, but
you can speak of them broadly.)
· What is a philosophy of change and why is it important? How
can it help you think about and solve problems in your life?
STEP 3: Discuss your experience with the 10 Skills and your
personal philosophy of change (approximately 3–5 minutes).
Note: You may choose to talk about all 10 Skills or to
focus on only a few.
You can discuss any or all of the options below:
· How some or all of the 10 Skills have informed your
philosophy of change.
· How some or all of the 10 Skills can support you living out
your personal philosophy of change.

· How your personal philosophy of change can support your
continued development of some or all of the 10 Skills.
Remember, your audience will likely be unfamiliar with the 10
Skills and your philosophy of change. Your grade is based on
how well you communicate the connection between this
information in a way your audience will understand.
Your visual or audio presentation should be approximately 6–8
minutes long. Format for the presentation will vary (depending
on selection), but overall the focus should be on speed of
overall presentation, tempo of sections, volume (loud versus
soft; distractions in certain parts), use of filler words or
phrases, inclusion of an introduction and a conclusion, and
sounds practiced versus read. Refer to Chapters 8 and 9 in your
webtext to review professional presentation skills and tips on
how to successfully communicate to a diverse audience. If you
choose to do a podcast, refer to the examples in your webtext
(Page 9.7) as a reference for formatting and style.
·
Podcast Example 1 [M4A]:
·
Example 1 Transcript [DOCX].
·
Example 1 - Why It's an A [DOCX].
·
Podcast Example 2 [M4A]:
·
Example 2 Transcript [DOCX].
·
Example 2 - Why It's a C [DOCX].
STEP 4: Upload your recorded presentation or podcast

(including written outline or script) to Blackboard in Week 9.
Review the rubric on the assignment submission page.
See
Creating an Outline or Script for Week 9 Assignment
[PDF].
This course requires the use of Strayer Writing Standards. For
assistance and information, please refer to the Strayer Writing
Standards link in the left-hand menu of your course. Check with
your professor for any additional instructions.
Touchstone 4: Revise a Persuasive Proposal
ASSIGNMENT: Review the in-text comments and summary
feedback you received on your Touchstone 3 draft to enhance
your writing. You will then submit a revision of your
Touchstone 3 draft that reflects the evaluator's feedback. Make
sure to include a copy of your Touchstone 3 draft below the
reflection questions for this unit.
As this assignment builds on
Touchstone 3: Draft a Project Proposal, that Touchstone
must be graded before you can submit your final research
essay.
Sample Touchstone 4
A. Assignment Guidelines
DIRECTIONS: When finalizing your persuasive proposal, you
will need to use prior feedback to edit and revise your draft.
The final version should be cohesive and have sources
integrated throughout. It is also important to proofread and
check for grammar and spelling errors.
Keep in mind: Refer to the list below throughout the writing

process. Do not submit your Touchstone until it meets these
guidelines.
Editing and Revising
❒ Have you significantly revised the essay by adjusting areas
like organization, focus, and clarity?
❒ Have you made comprehensive edits to word choice, sentence
variety, and style?
❒ Have your edits and revisions addressed the feedback
provided by your evaluator?
Cohesion and Source Integration
❒ Is the information presented in a logical order that is easy for
the reader to follow?
❒ Have you included smooth transitions between sentences and
paragraphs?
❒ Have you introduced your sources clearly and in a way that
demonstrates their validity to the reader?
Conventions and Proofreading
❒ Have you double-checked for correct formatting, grammar,
punctuation, spelling, and capitalization?
❒ Have you ensured that any quoted material is represented
accurately?
B. Reflection Questions Guidelines
DIRECTIONS: Below your assignment, include answers to all
of the following reflection questions.
1. How much time did you spend revising your draft? What
revision strategies did you use and which worked best for you?
(2-3 sentences)
2. List three concrete revisions that you made and explain how
you made them. What problem did you fix with each of these
revisions? Issues may be unity, cohesion, rhetorical appeals,
content, or any other areas on which you received constructive
feedback. (4-5 sentences)
3. What did you learn about your writing process or yourself as
a writer? How has your understanding of the research process
changed as a result of taking this course? (2-3 sentences)

Keep in mind: Refer to the list below throughout the reflection
process. Do not submit your Touchstone until it meets these
guidelines.
❒ Have you answered all reflection questions thoughtfully and
included insights, observations, and/or examples in all
responses?
❒ Are your answers included on a separate page below the
composition?
D. Requirements
The following requirements must be met for your submission to
be graded:
· Composition must be 6-8 pages (approximately 1500-2000
words).
· Double-space the composition and use one-inch margins.
· Use a readable 12-point font.
· All writing must be appropriate for an academic context.
· Composition must be original and written for this assignment.
· Plagiarism of any kind is strictly prohibited.
· Submission must include your name, the name of the course,
the date, and the title of your composition.
· Submission must include your graded Touchstone 3
assignment.
· Include all of the assignment components in a single file.
· Acceptable file formats include .doc and .docx.
E. Additional Resources
The following resources will be helpful to you as you work on
this assignment:
1.
Purdue Online Writing Lab's APA Formatting and Style
Guide
a.
This site includes a comprehensive overview of APA
style, as well as individual pages with guidelines for specific
citation types.
2.

Frequently Asked Questions About APA Style
b.
This page on the official APA website addresses
common questions related to APA formatting. The
"References," "Punctuation," and "Grammar and Writing Style"
sections will be the most useful to your work in this course.
3.
APA Style: Quick Answers—References
c.
This page on the official APA Style website provides
numerous examples of reference list formatting for various
source types.
Lee Simmons
Sophia Pathways ENG1020
July 23, 2021
Where’s the Beef?: Ethics and the Beef Industry
Americans love their beef. According to a 2005 study on beef
consumption,
between 1994 and 1998, Americans consumed an average of 67
pounds of beef per
year, the equivalent of approximately three ounces of beef per
day (Davis & Lin, 2005).
Despite this high rate of consumption, in recent years people in
the United States have

grown increasingly concerned about where their food comes
from, how it is produced,
and what environmental and health impacts result from its
production. These concerns
can be distilled into two ethical questions: is the treatment of
cattle humane and is there
a negative environmental impact of beef production? For many,
the current methods of
industrial beef production and consumption do not meet
personal ethical or
environmental standards. Therefore, for ethical and
environmental reasons, people
should limit their beef consumption, and the beef that they do
eat should be humanely
raised, locally sourced, and grass-fed.
The first ethical question to consider is the humane treatment of
domesticated
cattle. It has been demonstrated in multiple scientific studies
that animals feel physical
pain as well as emotional states such as fear (Grandin & Smith,
2004, para. 2). In
Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs), better
known as “factory farms” due
to their industrialized attitude toward cattle production, cattle

are often confined to
unnaturally small areas; fed a fattening, grain-based diet; and
given a constant stream
of antibiotics to help combat disease and infection. In his essay,
“An Animal’s Place,”
© 2021 Sophia Learning, LLC.
Michael Pollan (2002) states that beef cattle often live
“standing ankle deep in their own
waste eating a diet that makes them sick” (para. 40). Pollan not
only describes
Americans’ discomfort with this aspect of meat production. He
also notes that they are
removed from and uncomfortable with the physical and
psychological aspects of killing
animals for food as well. He simplifies the actions chosen by
many Americans: “we
either look away—or stop eating animals” (para. 32). This
decision to look away has
enabled companies to treat and slaughter their animals in ways
that cause true suffering
for the animals. If Americans want to continue to eat beef,
alternative, ethical methods

of cattle production must be considered.
In addition to the inhumane treatment of animals, CAFOs also
raise ethical
questions in terms of the environmental impacts of industrial
agriculture. Because cattle
raised on factory farms are primarily “grain-fed,” meaning that
their diet largely consists
of corn and/or soy rather than grass or other forage, huge
amounts of grain are required
to provide the necessary feed. This grain comes primarily from
“monocropping,” an
agricultural practice that involves planting the same crop year
after year in the same
field. Although rotating crops to different fields each season
helps to retain the natural
balance of nutrients in the soil, mono-cropping is considered to
be more efficient on an
industrial scale, providing larger yields of grain even though it
also requires the use of
more chemical fertilizers to provide adequate nutrients for the
plants. According to
Palmer (2010), these chemicals can leach into the groundwater,
polluting both the
surrounding land and the water supply.

The emphasis on a grain-based diet, and therefore a reliance on
mono-cropping,
also contributes to the inefficient use of available land. The vast
majority of grain
production (75-90% depending on whether corn or soy) goes to
feeding animals rather
than humans, and cattle alone account for a significant share.
As a result, a majority of
land available for agriculture also goes to producing livestock,
whether actually housing
the animals or growing grain to feed them (Lappé, 2010, p. 22).
This inefficiency means
that a disproportionate amount of agricultural, food, and
monetary resources are poured
into a type of cattle production which has been demonstrated to
be inhumane and to
have negative environmental consequences.
Other environmental issues include the amount of manure
produced by factory
farmed cattle. Traditionally, cattle graze a large area and
distribute their waste

accordingly. In contained situations such as CAFOs, however,
animal waste builds up in
a relatively small area and the runoff from rainstorms can
potentially contaminate the
groundwater (Sager, 2008, para. 7). Furthermore, because
closely contained animals
are more prone to disease, factory-farmed cattle are routinely
treated with antibiotics,
which can also leach into the local ground and water,
potentially affecting humans.
According to Brian Palmer, a man who has done extensive
research on the topic (2010),
“Based on some estimates, we spend more than $4 billion
annually trying to clean up
CAFO manure runoff. In addition, the long-term, low-dose
antibiotics CAFOs give
livestock can lead to antibiotic-resistant bacteria, further
undermining our dwindling
supply of useful medicines” (para. 12). The negative impacts of
antibiotic runoff, manure
contamination, fossil fuel use, and mono-cropping indicate that
sourcing beef from
CAFOs is neither an ethically responsible nor an
environmentally sustainable decision.

An alternative to the grain-fed cattle raised in CAFOs is cattle
which are allowed
to range and forage for grass and other greenery as their
primary form of nourishment.
This “grass-fed” beef is, almost by definition, more humane
than grain-fed beef because
the animals are allowed to move freely and eat a more natural
diet. There is also some
evidence that grass-fed beef is healthier than grain-fed beef for
the humans who
consume it: it is higher in cancer fighting, vitamin-A producing
beta-carotene; it is much
lower in fat, including having half the saturated fat as grain-fed
beef; and it contains
many more omega-3 fatty acids, conjugated linoleic acid (CLA),
which prevents cancer
growth, and vitamin E, which prevents cancer as well as heart
disease (Ruechel, 2006,
p. 235). Due to the benefits of a grass-based diet, as well as the
benefits of being raised
in pastures rather than feedlots, grass-fed cattle themselves tend

to be healthier. Taken
altogether, grass-fed cattle production is better physically for
both the cows and
humans.
It is important to note that grass-fed does not inherently mean
organic, which is a
separate, legal category with its own requirements. It is possible
to find grain-fed beef
from cattle raised or slaughtered in inhumane conditions that is
labeled “organic”
because the cattle were fed organic grain, whereas grass-fed
beef may come from
cattle that have been raised on land that does not meet the
requirements for organic
labeling (Sager, 2008, paras.10-15). However, in a guide to
raising grass-fed cattle,
Julius Ruechel (2006), notes that “Raising [cattle] in a pasture
reduces or even
eliminates the use of toxic pharmaceutical pesticides to control
parasites and all but
eliminates residues of high doses of antibiotics used on cattle in
feedlot conditions” (p.
236). Even though it may not always be organic, choosing
grass-fed beef reduces or

eliminates many of the environmental and ethical concerns
raised by factory farming.
Grass-fed beef also comes with some benefits to the
environment. As noted
earlier, most grain-fed beef relies on environmentally damaging
mono-cropping. This
problem is not an issue with grass-fed beef, which relies
primarily on forage and does
not require the same crop to be planted year after year. Further,
if the grass-fed beef
that one eats comes from local farms and ranches, it lessens the
environmental impact,
whereas the long-distance shipping required by factory farming
practices consumes
fossil fuels, which contribute to global warming. Lappé (2010)
explains the massive
effects that industrial food production has on the environment,
noting that throughout
the life cycle of production, processing, distribution,
consumption, and waste, our food
chain may be responsible for as much as a third of the factors

causing global climate
change (p. 11). However, as Pollan (2002) argues by the end of
his essay, farms which
focus on traditional agricultural practices are both more humane
and more
environmentally friendly than CAFOs. Ultimately, food
decisions should be made with an
eye to sustainability and humane treatment, ethical stances that
are both supported by
local farms focused on sustainable diversity.
Despite grass-fed beef scoring better on an environmental
impact level than
grain-fed beef, it is still not perfect, a fact that highlights the
problems of eating beef at
all if one is concerned with environmental ethics. Most notably,
to assuage Americans’
rapacious appetites for beef, landowners in South America often
clear cut rainforest in
order to create grazing land. “The realities of the global market
are a great temptation to
many: Where land is cheap and the demand for grass-fed cattle
is on the rise, the local
economy may respond by cutting down a forest to create pasture
or by planting grass

where millet or rice has been grown” (Sager, 2008, para. 21).
This practice has negative
environmental impacts on the local landscape and the planet as
a whole, since losing
vast swathes of rainforest increases the amount of carbon
dioxide in our atmosphere,
contributing to ozone depletion. In their article for Science
magazine, scholars Molly
Brown and Christopher Funk (2008) examine how climate
change will affect food
security and find that people in the developing world are at
particular risk for a lack of
food due to climate change. Mono-cropping and mono-grazing
practices, designed to
snag American dollars in the short term and not to sustain the
local population in the
long term, will only exacerbate these effects (p. 580–81).
Furthermore, the rise in the
market for grass-fed beef has meant that much grass-fed beef is
shipped to the U.S.
from South America and Australia. Even if these animals are

raised in a humane and
sustainable manner, the long distances they travel to reach
American bellies has
significant, negative environmental impact, again due to the use
of fossil fuels (Sager,
2008, para. 21). This reinforces the importance of buying beef
which has been locally
produced, reducing the impact of long-distance shipping and
potential mono-grazing in
other countries.
No matter how ethically sourced, one can still identify some
serious ethical
problems with the raising and slaughter of beef, and those
ethical quandaries are
passed on to consumers. While grass-fed beef is clearly an
ethical improvement over
grain-fed beef in terms of humane treatment and potentially in
terms of environmental
impact, “No matter how you slice it, eating beef will never be
the greenest thing you do
in a day. Scientists at Japan’s National Institute of Livestock
and Grassland Science
estimate that producing 1 kilogram of beef emits more
greenhouse gas than driving 155

miles” (Palmer, 2010, para. 2). A kilogram of beef is about the
equivalent of two
generously sized rib-eye steaks. Multiply this by the amount of
beef consumed by
Americans in a year and the impact of these greenhouse gasses
cannot be ignored.
However, as compelling as this argument is, it is not reasonable
to expect that
Americans will stop eating beef altogether. In the short term, it
is more practical to
encourage Americans to eat humanely raised, locally sourced,
grass-fed beef, which
will ultimately lessen the ethical and environmental
consequences.
If consumers are truly concerned about the ethical treatment of
animals and the
environmental impact of agricultural production, then the
logical action is to stop eating
meat altogether. If Americans are not willing to do this, then
the next best action is to
focus on humanely raised, locally sourced, grass-fed beef, while

acknowledging that
this may affect our beef consumption at many levels. Pollan
(2002) concludes his essay
by acknowledging that more humane treatment of animals would
likely cause higher
prices and lower consumption. However, he states, “maybe
when we did eat animals,
we’d eat them with the consciousness, ceremony and respect
they deserve” (para. 82).
This emphasis on the respect for and well-being of the animals
cultivated for food
benefits both the animals and the consumer, acknowledging the
desire to be true
omnivores while satisfying our need for ethical clarity.
References
Brown, M., & Funk, C. (2008). Food security under climate
change. Science, 319
(5863), 580-581. doi: 10.1126/science.1154102
Cook, C. (2004). Diet for a dead planet: How the food industry
is killing us. New York,

NY: New Press.
Davis, C., & Lin, B.H. (2005). Factors affecting U.S. beef
consumption. Retrieved from
https://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/pub-
details/?pubid=37389.
Grandin, T. & Smith. G. (2004). Animal welfare and humane
slaughter. Grandin.com.
Retrieved from
http://www.grandin.com/references/humane.slaughter.html
Lappé, A. (2010). Diet for a hot planet: The climate crisis at the
end of your fork. New
York, NY: Bloomsbury.
Palmer, B. (2010, December 21). Pass on grass: Is grass-fed
beef better for the
environment? Slate. Retrieved from
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_
science/the_green_lantern/2010/12/pa ss_ on_grass.html
Pollan, M. (2002, November 10). An animal’s place. The New
York Times. Retrieved
from http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/10/magazine/an-animal-
s-place.html
Ruechel, J. (2006). Grass-fed Cattle: How to produce and
market natural beef. North

Adams, MA. Storey Publishing.
Sager, G. (2008). Where’s your beef from?: Grass-fed Beef: Is
it green, humane and
healthful? Natural Life Magazine. Retrieved from
http://www.naturallifemagazine.
com/0812/grass-fed_beef_green_humane_healthful.html
Reflection Questions
1. How much time did you spend revising your draft? What
revision strategies did
you use and which worked best for you? (2-3 sentences)
I spent about an hour and a half revising my draft. I spent a lot
of time going over each
of the critiques I was given, and thinking about how I can
implement those in a way that
will truly make my essay better. Creating unity and coherence
was the most satisfying to
me, because it allowed me to put everything together in a way
that made me proud.
2. List three concrete revisions that you made and explain how
you made them.

What problem did you fix with each of these revisions? Issues
may be unity,
cohesion, rhetorical appeals, content, or any other areas on
which you received
constructive feedback. (4-5 sentences)
One I came up with was moving the paragraph on how the
production of meat can raise
questions in terms of environmental impacts. This helped
increase the flow and
effectiveness of how the information was being presented.
Another critique I made was
including a more focused thesis statement. This helped include
all of the points I made.
Another revision I made was adding more appeals to my claim
that chemicals can leach
into the groundwater, polluting both the surrounding land and
the water supply. This
helped add legitimacy to my argument.
3. What did you learn about your writing process or yourself as
a writer? How has
your understanding of the research process changed as a result
of taking this
course? (2-3 sentences)

I learned that writing a truly good Argumentative Essay is way
more than just writing
and research. You need to dig deep into your sources, and really
learn about both sides
of the arguments are you taking on. The entire process is
important to make your
argument a solid and supported one.
PHI201
© 2020 Strayer University. All Rights Reserved. This document
contains Strayer University Confidential and Proprietary
information and may
not be copied, further distributed, or otherwise disclosed in
whole or in part, without the expressed written permission of
Strayer University.
Page 1 of 5
Creating an Outline or Script for Week 9 Assignment
Prepare for Recording

For many, hitting “record” is stressful. What are you going to
say? How are you going to say it?
What happens if you mess up?
While you cannot plan for everything, you can avoid some of
the most common with strong
preparation. As part of the Week 9 Assignment requirements,
you are asked to prepare by
developing either an outline or a script.
The focus should be deciding, in general, what you want to say
and when to say it. This simple
act of planning makes it easier to hit that record button and,
when combined with some solid
practice, increases your chances of making a solid presentation
or podcast.
Two Options
Different people have different preferences in how they work.
Do you want to create a general
overview to work from (an outline), or do you want to write
something to help you make sure
you get the words just right (a script)? The overall structure of
either will be the same. The only
real difference for this assignment will be how much you write.
NOTE: Using a script can be difficult without practicing. It is
important to avoid sounding like
you are reading (or looking like it if presenting on camera or in
person). Remember, the script is
there to help make sure you collect your thoughts and deliver
the presentation the way you
want. It is not meant to be read word-for-word in front of the
camera or audience.

Structure
OPENING INTRODUCTION OVERVIEW – FIRST POINT
OVERVIEW – SECOND POINT
RELATIONSHIP (FIRST POINT TO SECOND POINT) KEY
EXAMPLE(S) CLOSING
Example for Assignment – Outline (Based on “Podcast Example
A”)
1. Opening.
a. Name.
b. Background.
PHI201
information and may
Strayer University.
Page 2 of 5
2. Introduction.
a. Philosophy of Change.
b. 10 Skills.

3. Overview – First Point.
a. Heraclitus quote.
b. Change.
i. Connect change to quote.
c. Electronics example.
i. Background.
ii. Learning.
iii. Transition to 10 Skills (agility).
4. Overview – Second Point.
a. Return to Heraclitus quote and connect to 10 Skills/theme.
b. 10 Skills and different experience levels.
5. Key Example – Agility/Innovation/Problem Solving.
a. Focus on these.
b. Margaret Atwood quote.
c. Connect philosophy of change and 10 Skills through quote.
6. Closing.
a. Review key points on change.
b. Leave audience with something to remember.

i. Two options: be ready or ignore.
PHI201
information and may
Strayer University.
Page 3 of 5
ii. One is good.
Example for Assignment – Script (Based on “Podcast Example
A”)
OPENING
My name is Ed Buchanan and I have traveled many different
roads in nearly 40 years. From
working in the professional world to working toward a degree,
my experience points to one
specific idea.
INTRODUCTION
Today I will share my philosophy of change and how it is
reinforced through experience working
with employable skills.
OVERVIEW – FIRST POINT

“The way up and the way down are one and the same. Living
and dead, waking and sleeping,
young and old, are the same.” —Heraclitus, Life Is Flux, about
500 BC
All of these comparisons have one thing in common: change.
They are the same because they
all involve a degree of change. If you do not look deeply, you
may argue that there is no change
happening in people who sleep or are dead, but that is not
correct. Sleeping people breathe,
cells heal, the brain functions and continues to work through the
day’s problems. Even in death,
we change. Some body functions may continue well after our
deaths. We are not the same
physical beings at the time of death as we are months or years
afterward. Heraclitus believed
that “the only constant is change” and that idea still drives
people forward today.
If we settle on this idea that change is the only constant, we can
use this as the motivation to
move forward. I can remember working at a major company in
my 20s. It was a good job where
I worked on electronics equipment. Translation: I played with
broken stereos, TVs, cameras,
and camcorders, and did my best to make sure they were
working when I shipped them back to
the customers.
I was paid well—even though I had no real background in
electronics repair—but I dedicated
myself to learning. When a piece of equipment came in that I
had never seen before, I sat down
next to our senior technicians and watched as they took it apart,

identified the problems, and
corrected them. I was smart enough to recognize what I did not
know and self-aware. The only
way to improve was to find people who could show me the way
and soak up everything I could.
I did well. In fact, I did this so well that within a few short
years I worked my way to the highest
technician level and was moved around the shop to work
wherever there was a heavy
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workload. My agility made me a key team member and helped
me pay my increasing school
bills. I wouldn’t be where I am today if I had not used my skills
and interacted with the change
all around me.
Going from unskilled to top tech level in a few short years is a
good way to showcase how to
address the changing world, but it’s not the only story. Dealing
with change was at the heart of
each moment in that journey. I had to change my knowledge

level. I had to change my outlook
and recognize where I needed to learn and who could teach me.
I had to change the way my
manager viewed me (beginning as unknowledgeable and
becoming the go-to guy). Change,
change, change.
OVERVIEW – SECOND POINT
What we will do now is talk about how each of you interacts
with change. I have shared my
outlook, mostly leaning on what Heraclitus said a long, long
time ago. What do you know about
change? How do you deal with it? More importantly, how will
you deal with change next time
you encounter it? [4:02]
These are the basic questions I used to help think of the role
change plays in my life. They
conveniently will help you do the same. When I think through
these questions, my mind goes
right to recent experience with the 10 skills taught in Strayer
gen ed courses—skills that
employers are looking for because people that have these skills
succeed. Communication.
Problem solving. Agility. Self and social awareness.
Technology. Initiative. Productivity. Results
driven. Relationship building. Innovation.
Like many people, I had different experience levels with
different skills. Some of these skills, I
came in with a really strong idea of what it meant. Other skills,
I didn’t have quite the same
grasp. What I did learn is that each of these skills developed
over time. Stepping back, I realize

that these all revolve around the same thing: change.
KEY EXAMPLE
Agility is how well you can adapt to an ever-changing world.
Innovation is looking at new ways
to address barriers or ways of doing things. Problem solving is
changing a situation to fix
something that is going wrong.
We started with an ancient philosopher, journeyed to the recent
past and experience with the
10 skills, and now we move to the final part of my philosophy
of change.
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For most of us, change is not a light switch. We don’t just flip it
and something inside of
ourselves magically changes the world around us. The last part
of my philosophy of change
comes courtesy of Margaret Atwood. Many people will know
her for the Hulu series The
Handmaid’s Tale and this quote comes from her book of the

same name:
“Nothing changes instantaneously: in a gradually heating
bathtub you’d be boiled to death
before you knew it.”
When the world around us gets more dangerous, we often do not
recognize it. When the signs
surround us that change is coming, we may not pay enough
attention. What I encourage
everyone to do, though, is to have a plan, or at least an idea, of
how they want to respond to
change and the person they need to be when change pops up in
your life.
CLOSING
Change surrounds each of us—at home, at work, at school,
sometimes just driving home after a
long day. If we have a philosophy about how we deal with
change, it can take a little of the sting
out of change and make change something you actually look for
in your life.
I cannot tell you what change is coming. What I can say is you
have two options: be ready or
ignore it. Only one of these options will pay off.

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