Sweet Home Alabama

Leaving in the morning for a consulting/training trip to Auburn University's Montgomery campus. I'm facilitating their SGA training retreat at a 4H camp. Looking forward to helping this member institution.

It's a privilege to serve Student Governments and be trusted to provide them with information, advice, and training. I don't take this responsibility lightly.

In preparation for going, I spoke with two administrators and the SGA president in some depth, to learn about their problems and issues and specifically want they must want to learn, and what they most need to learn.

They asked me to do some "leadership" training, but my specialty is student government and that's what they're getting when they bring me to work with them. I'm Mr. Student Government and that means everything I talk with them about is on how they can improve their Student Government this year.

If everything goes as planned, I'll be home Sunday early morning (1 or 2 a.m.). I plan to drive straight through. It's seven hours there and back. But I've learned that if it would take eight hours to drive, you're better off driving than flying, particularly in my case. There is no cost-efficient airport within minutes of my home, so I have to drive two hours to Orlando, Jacksonville, or Tampa to get more palatable fares. So when I think how long it will take to drive, and wonder if I could save time by flying, I have to build in four hours of driving to any airport, plus another hour or more of "waiting" time. My rule is I drive when it is under 8 hours.

No matter how much you plan, something usually goes wrong...

Just got back from our Midwest conference in Chicago. Overall, a great experience. Largest crowd we've had there. The venue was the most convenient and most attractive yet. Set up was relatively easy. The students were attentive and willing to listen and learn.

Despite these positives, there were some negatives. My flight from Florida was delayed by weather, meaning I didn't get done setting up Friday night until well after midnight. Then the food-service provider didn't provide enough food for either the continental breakfast or the lunch for attendees. We had some hungry and, as a result, unhappy campers, so to speak, and justifiably so.

Despite all of our planning and advance work, there was nothing I could do about the delayed flight. I just sat and waited, trying to catch up on e-mail and phone calls.And on the food front, both ASGA and our host had provided the correct numbers to the caterer. They just didn't deliver on their end.

Of course, the food issue could have led to a black-eye for the conference. But I took responsibility and offered all 240 attendees a $10 off discount toward a future ASGA conference, as an apology. I think, in the end, it was OK.

What this teaches me and reminds me is that so much of our work is outside our control and influence. No matter what we do, no matter how many times we check up, and no matter how much advance planning there is, something usually goes wrong that is outside of our influence. We have no control over the catering, and certainly have no power to change air-traffic control decisions on flights leaving the southeast.

I took both issues pretty much in stride. In the past, I might have blown up and caused a scene. Either I've mellowed as I get older and more experience or I have learned to maintain more of a level head, especially over matters I don't have the power to change.