decision making

Sometimes decisions just don't work out as planned. For those of you that watched the Patriots-Colts game last night, you know what I mean. Bill Belichek, the coach of the Patriots, made a decision to go for a 4th and 2, from the Colts 28 yard line, with only 2 minutes left in the game, and the Pats were winning.

Crazy call? Bad decision? Hindsight says yes it was. However, it is a decision that Belichek made earlier in the year, and many times in the past, and it turned out to be a good one. However, last night, the Colts defense held. Colts scored four plays later and won the game.

Today, the Monday morning quarterbacks are feasting on Belichek. This will probably go on for a few days, and then will be replaced by someone else's bad decision.

If you step back, Belichek's decision was based upon accumulated knowledge and insight from years of coaching, days of planning for this game, gameday performance, and instinct. He used all the tools in front of him to make the decision in a 2-3 minute timeframe. When you think about it, it's only a game. There will be another one next week. And one play does not win or lose a game.

Coaches, managers, CEO's, etc. are all faced with decision-making opportunities many times a day. Some of them have much higher profiles and are watched very closely. Others, just trickle by without anyone noticing. Occassionally, they come back to bite.

Being prepared to make decisons is paramount to making a good decision. Belichek was certainly prepared last night, but it still turned out badly for his team.

The message here today is to always be prepared. You never know when you are going to be called upon to make that game-changing decision.

Mike Kearns

veterans at MCC

Veterans Day 2009 is now past. Towns all across America celebrated the roles of the dedicated men and women who are serving, and have served in our nation's armed forces. The college has experienced significant growth in the number of students that are veterans, and we expect that to continue.

MCC had previously assigned the responsibility of servicing our veteran students to Brian Zoll in the Registrar's Office. His job as Assistant Registrar is fully demanding, and yet he ably serviced the growing number of vets. Recognizing that he could not continue in that role, we created a new position, the Veteran Services Coordinator.

Eric Corder, a vet himself and current college employee, was hired in that position. Eric's responsibilities include the servicing of each veteran's account at the college and recruiting and advising vets.

The account servicing reponsibities are demanding and require monthly monitoring of student status and compliance with GI Bill benefits. The slightest of changes in status can cause significant differences in eligibility for benefits; which is why it is so important that the student and college are in close, continuous communication.

Eric's other role is to spread the word to all vets that they are eligible for benefits from the GI Bills. The vets are entitiled to receive benefits throughout their lifetime and that is the message the college is communicating. Vet's family members, spouses and children, are also eligible for benefits; their accounts are also serviced by Eric.

If you know a vet who has questions, Eric is the man to talk to!

Mike Kearns

a busy week

This week was very busy. I travelled to Phoenix on Tuesday to meet with representatives from ASU to talk about partnering with them for bachelor degree program offerings at MCC. The same day, the community college presidents met in separate meeting with the Governor, her Chief of Staff, and representatives from a task force working on P-20 Council plans.

The Governor's Office seems to be well-grounded in the reality of the state's economy. They don't mince words, they don't sugar-coat the current situation, and are trying to be very transparent in sharing information about the economy and state budget. It looks like 2 more lean revenue years are ahead for the state, which will force reductions in state expenditures; and, that is no surprise and not new information.

On Wednesday and Thursday, I had meetings with the local school superintendants where we discussed partnerships and assisting each other. Thursday's meeting included discussions with our 3 locally elected state representatives and senator.

It's very interesting to view the differences of perspectives, having been with the Governor days earlier. Politics and idealogies are the hallmark of governing, and they are what stimulate discussion and argument; however, at the end of the day, compromise is the name of the game.

It looks like a special session of the legislature may be coming soon where we'll see how much compromise will occur. I did detect an air of optimism as each politician expressed their views; one certainty is that they each realize how important it is to adopt a state budget for this year.

Mike Kearns