Linchpin Report
And Elevator Pitch
Jan-Ryder Hilton
PRWR 621: Business
Writing
Dr. Harvey
Lillywhite
Towson
University
November 11, 2013
Tame the
Lizard Brain
Seth Godin suggests in his novel Linchpin that people basically fight
with themselves when they think. "There are two, not one, voices in our
head . . ." (Godin 2010, 111) . So, when making
important decisions, we essentially negotiate with both positive and negative
thoughts. The cerebrum, the newest and most sophisticated part of the brain, grants
us our ability to work out problems artistically. This advanced organ is the
source of our creative and positive thoughts. It's the part we root for - the
part we want to win! The other part is the Limbic System, which is the source
for fear, anger, and revenge. Godin calls this second part the "lizard
brain." The "lizard" is less sophisticated than our creative
mind. It's scared. It causes us to freeze or retreat from our artistic ideas when
we should move forward. The lizard cannot deal with uncertainty. Unfortunately,
the lizard has one important thing - control. It exists closest to the brain
stem - likely generating our first instincts. Therefore, the lizard often wins.
Our cerebrum is the underdog in this relationship (Godin 2010,
Ch. 7) .
Taming the lizard is about growing
up. I wish I had read Linchpin years
ago when working for AT&T and Progressive. Those were hard times for me. I
am a bright communicator and an effective problem solver. I am also an idea
person. I know how to get projects started. I know how to do the, "job
that's not getting done" (Godin 2010, 34) . But I have
struggled with the perception of my own worth. I have feared those in authority.
Uncertainty over acceptance of my ideas has caused me much grief over the
years. Adults, professionals, successful people, all find ways to conquer their
paranoia and harness the lizard.
I see the effects of the lizard's
take-over in my job as adjunct instructor for the Community College of
Baltimore County. Too many of my students fail to show for class, miss
assignments, score low on tests, and get lost in the course. They come to me asking
obvious questions, telling banal excuses, and looking worried. I can almost see
the impression of a cold-blooded green-skinned lizard in them, resembling something
like the GEICO gecko with a bad hangover. My answers for them are always the same
"Don't miss any more classes. Make up the work you missed. It's all right
there in the syllabus."
I wonder, "Are they really
worried about failing the course, or are they worried about what I will think
of them if they fail the course?" Successful students don't ask if they
can make up missed work (when it's clearly written on the syllabus that they
can). They make up the missed work, inform the instructor that it's been submitted,
and move on the next assignment.
I appreciate Godin's metaphor of
the lizard as the part of our minds that we need to conquer. I enjoy
visualizing the source for fear, anger, uncertainty, and paranoia as a skittish
reptile. The concept of the lizard brain allows one to approach negative
thoughts objectively. This is a both an effective and mature thing to do. In
any situation, where important decisions need to be made, if you notice the
lizard getting loose, you need to grab that thing, and put it back in the
aquarium. Let the cerebrum go to work. You got this!
Board Game
Man
Playing board games was a big part
of my childhood. My family loved to get together to play Monopoly, Clue, Pictionary, and many others. Game nights
inspired my imagination. And it was at any early age when I developed my
greatest skill - making my own board games. With only poster board, markers,
scissors, and Scotch tape, I created 2D worlds where everyone played following
my design. Contrary to popular skepticism, I made up the rules as we went along
only to improve the game, not to cheat. In fact, I did not care so much about
winning at my own game. Actually, I preferred to lose. What I wanted most was
for the game to come to life and for everyone to have fun and say, "Wow!
This is a great game Jan!"
Years later, Board Game Man would
take on another challenge - becoming a fantasy football commissioner. My first
fantasy football league was established in 2001. Since then I have served as the
chief guy for making the NFL season more fun for my friends. For us, fantasy
football is football, and we wouldn't want to experience the NFL season without
it.
Godin's idea of
"shipping" relates to my experience as commissioner. "The only
purpose of starting is to finish . . ." (Godin 2010, 103) . "Finishing"
is important when setting up a league. There are many intangibles in fantasy
football. I wasn’t exactly sure what I was doing my first time. But I didn't
let my inexperience stop me. I shipped. I set up the league, recruited team
owners, and we played fantasy football! Each season, I learned how to improve the
league, waited, and made the necessary changes for the following season. "Shipping"
is about overcoming the fear that a project may not be perfect, fighting off
the temptation of resistance, and moving forward. Today, my league has 14 team
owners, each striving to become champion. I have come in first place 3 times in
the past 13 seasons (Godin 2010,
Ch. 7) .
Board Game
Man as a Technical Writer
One of my recent successful
projects came from a correlation of my job as teacher's assistant for
University of Maryland University College's Cybersecurity program and as a student
taking Creating Online Help. For my final project, I chose to rewrite the
instructions for connecting to UMUC's Virtual Computing Lab (VCL). The current
instructions needed to be overhauled. This meant that I would rewrite the new
set of instructions from the ground up. It was a big project, and it was a
success! I earned a B+ on the project and subsequent report. Then I gave the
new instructions to my colleague at UMUC.
"In the Linchpin economy, the
winners are once again the artists who give gifts. . . . the givers are the
ones who earn our respect and attention" (Godin 2010,
151) .
So I gave UMUC my gift of the new instructions, titled: Connecting
to the VCL. I was certainly going to issue these instructions to the
students in my classes. And I thought other TAs in the department might find
the new instructions useful as well. I had no idea how popular my project would
be. As it turns out, UMUC adopted Connecting
to the VCL for the whole Cybersecurity department. I received positive
recognition from senior faculty and a pay raise in the following semester. "Gifts
don't demand immediate payment, but they have always included social demands
within the tribe" (Godin 2010, 164) .
Online
Courses are Like Board Games
The focus of my next career move lies within my position as adjunct
instructor. I've recently been promoted to teach courses online at CCBC. And
I'm also working towards landing a full-time instructor position at a different
college. I feel online courses are a lot like games, and not too different from
a fantasy football league. In preparing a course, one works out the intangibles
- sets the learning objectives, creates assignments, sets the assessment forms,
and "ships" the course. I'm excited to do it, and I'm willing to
prepare a course from the ground up without additional pay. My quasi position
as instructional designer will provide me with a platform to work on my art.
I have many other artistic ideas for my career. I'd like to work my way
into the field of fantasy football, which I have begun with my blog - The Commissioner's Corner.
I've also though about publishing my own book or game of some kind. I decided
to use my position as an instructor to establish myself into these other areas.
"Transferring your passion to your job is far easier than finding a job
that happens to match your passion" (Godin 2010, 201) . Truth is - I'm a
pretty good college instructor. I'll be an even better instructional designer.
How about an online class about fantasy football for actual college credits?
Wouldn't that be interesting?
Pitch for
the Fantasy Football Course
I'm Jan-Ryder Hilton. I am a
college instructor, instructional designer, and fantasy football commissioner. I
am an effective project starter and a determined project finisher.
Please allow me to tell you about a
great idea I have for a new type of college course.
Now more than ever, colleges offer
dynamic programs of study that fit today's job market. I believe we can improve
upon this and offer something that no other college has.
I have an idea for a writing and
research course that's based on fantasy football. Students will learn: creative
writing, journalism, statistical analysis, debating techniques, and, of course,
fantasy football!
Sports journalism, alone, is a
hundred million dollar industry. The rest of the industry surrounding sports, including
fantasy sports, generates billions. Students yearn to get into this exciting
field. My new fantasy football course will hand-off to those who want to run
the ball in this direction.
I have the course outline and
syllabus for you to review, and I can start teaching the course as early as
next semester! Let's be the first college in the country to offer: Writing for
Fantasy Football.
Works
Cited
Godin, Seth. Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?
New York: Penguin Group, 2010.
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