If one ever wants to experience something that is truly “right” with America, they need only attend an International Career Development Conference and competitive event, organized by an amazing organization known as DECA. (http://www.deca.org/) DECA is an international association of high school and college students studying marketing, management and entrepreneurship in business, finance, hospitality. Recently, for the third time in as many years, I had the privilege of participating as a judge and mentor at this annual event.
As was the case in previous years, the conference was packed -- nearly 17,000 high school students from all over North America and around the world, focused on educating themselves in the world of business. They were hungry for information on everything from how to network and create the ideal business plan; to accessing capital and learning about different models for growing an organization or concept. In all cases, these are students that are determined to never be dependent on a paycheck, but rather, on how to focus their energy on the creation of wealth and legacy. It is truly awe inspiring, to see this up and coming generation of future business leaders who are all so far ahead of their years. It’s also comforting to know that the next generation of franchising professionals, will take this beloved business model to even greater heights.
Each year when I participate in this event, it’s really an honor to contribute to the future success of these students’ careers. If my input hits home with just one of them, I know I will have made a huge difference. That’s why I begin each of my mentoring sessions with something of a confession. I tell these kids how lucky I am to be where I am today, in my career and in life. I go on to tell them that I never completed my formal education, but got really lucky along the way. I admonish them to not do as I did and leave their futures to chance. “If a single one of you doesn’t finish college, I promise that these words will come back and haunt you. Don’t leave your future to lady luck.” I hope and believe that my experiences will inspire these kids to not waste 15 or more years of their lives as I did, before figuring out what it is that they’re destined for. In my heart of hearts, I don’t believe that any of them will.
They are already light years ahead of most. I mean, in the Senior Management Institute Mentoring Program alone, there were 500 or more of these incredible kids. They were all wearing their DECA branded blue blazers, khaki skirts or trousers, kerchiefs or ties at 10:00am. on a Sunday morning. They were focused, attentive and asking all kinds of thoughtful questions of the 40-50 mentors, all members of DECA’s National Advisory Board. Their questions were about networking, business and success in general. There’s simply no way that I believe that any of these kids would ever quit on themselves.
During one of my roundtable sessions, I had one student raise his hand and say that he was confused. “My first session mentor said that you have to have passion for whatever you do, but the next session leader said that you shouldn’t just go for passion. Which one was right?”
My reply was both. Passion is important, but it’s not the only ingredient. With a puzzled look on his face, he said, “I still don’t get it.” I asked him to tell me three things that he is passionate about.
He said, Lacrosse, going to ball games and spending Friday nights with his “lady.” The table giggled.
“Look, you have passion for all three, but could you do any one of these things full time? “Of course not,” he replied. I told him that passion is but an ingredient in whatever it is that he might decide to do, but it is just one ingredient. No recipe is built around a single ingredient. Certain of these ingredients are fundamental or essential to the recipe, but they are not exclusive. Once you have passion for something, it can help drive your success, but you must also rely on your other skills to turn that passion into a recipe for success.”
He got it.
Participating in DECA’s ICDC is exhausting, but well worth the commitment. I ended the conference by judging the final round of business plans for the Entrepreneurship Franchising competition. There were 17 finalists, all of whom had 20-30 minutes each, to present and defend their business plans for a franchised business that they wanted to bring to their area. They utilized PowerPoint or stand-up flipcharts, along with projections and business plans, as I played the role of the banker, determining the validity of the financing that they sought, for these proposed plans. I saw plans for automotive, food and service franchises. Some were good, others were great.
Later that evening, I had the privilege of awarding the scholarships and honors for the Entrepreneurship Franchising category, standing on stage at the Georgia Dome with the Top 10 Finalists and presenting honors to the Top 3. What a rush, facing an audience of more than 17,000, awarding the honors to these kids. I invited each of these finalists to let me hear from them as they move on to college and the business world beyond. I told them that if they’d e-mail me within 24 hours, they’d have the opportunity to have a mentor for life. If not, I’d just leave them at the conclusion of this night, with best wishes on a going forward basis. I wanted to put some pressure on them to maintain contact and have the opportunity to continue a dialogue with me beyond this moment in time.
I am once again honored, to have had the opportunity to participate in such a rewarding event as this and truly hope that I have made a difference in some of these young kids’ lives. I have seen a glimpse of the future, and let me tell you something that you’ll never see on your prime time news, “it's all good.”
Pictured is (from left) me, with Mayor Mallory and Miriam Brewer, Director of Diversity for IFA.
Open for business in Cincy
Meeting Mayor Mark Mallory in Cincinnati
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