June 9, 2025 • 45 mins
George Couros, author of "The Innovator's Mindset," shares his journey from reluctant teacher to educational innovator and how exceptional leadership transformed his perspective on education. He explores how creating environments where both adults and students can thrive leads to better educational outcomes while preparing communities to navigate an uncertain future.
• Originally from a small Canadian town where community shaped his educational philosophy
• Found his passion for education through an exceptional principal who gave teachers ownership
• Focuses on developing all learners in an organization, not just students
• COVID provided opportunity to rethink priorities and approaches to education
• Teaches his children skills he never learned, preparing them for challenges he can't predict
• Believes in the importance of modeling lifelong learning for students
• Emphasizes engagement comes from seeing purpose, not just making learning "fun"
• Identifies three competitive edges: the "sponge factor" (willingness to learn), taking action on feedback, and personal connection
• Strives to make every interaction the best part of someone's day
Make it your goal to be the kind of person who brings out the best in others. When you focus on being present, continuously learning, and building genuine connections, you create opportunities for yourself and those around you.
Learn more at MyTexasFFA.org
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to the Growing Our Future podcast.
In this show, the Texas FFAFoundation will take on a
journey of exploration intoagricultural science, education,
leadership development andinsights from subject matter
experts and sponsors who providethe fuel to make dreams come
true.
Here's your host, AaronAlejandro.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Well, good morning, good afternoon, good evening or
whenever you may be tuning in tothe Growing Our Future podcast,
listen number one.
We appreciate the opportunityto have this technology platform
to be able to bring incredibleguests on to share insights,
experiences, expertise.
You know, I tell people ifagriculture has taught me
(00:52):
anything, if agriculture hastaught me one thing, it's that
if you want to know what thefuture is, grow it.
Well, how do you grow it?
You got to plant the rightseeds.
That's why guests are soimportant, because they share
things with us that could becomethe seeds of greatness.
So with that, george, I'm goingto tell you where I met George
(01:12):
here in just a second.
But, george, would you justbring us a quick introduction of
who you are, and then we'regoing to start talking about
what we're here to talk about.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
Yeah, and thanks, aaron.
When we met you were one of themost positive people I've ever
met in my life and so I was like, when you asked me, I'm like,
of course I'm gonna do this foryou, so I'm glad to to be on
here.
Uh, my name is George Kroos.
I'm originally from a verysmall town in Canada and I think
about that quite a lot becauseI was in a very small community.
I actually had to call lastweek for vaccination records,
(01:41):
which is not easy to get becausewe're basically going through
the immigration process here inthe United States and it was
like a good reminder of like howimportant community is, because
they're like we know your dadand it was like just kind of a
beautiful thing.
It's really shaped a lot of myviews on education is how
important it is really to buildcommunity.
I know you had Dr Terry on hererecently and I know that's he's
(02:05):
a huge advocate for that aswell and building.
You know really incrediblethings there in forney isd with
the community.
But you know I actually trainedto become kindergarten teacher.
It's the only grade I've nevertaught taught grade one to 12,
vice principal, principal,worked central office and then
I've written several books.
Uh, the one obviously most wellknown is probably the
innovators mindset, and texasspecifically, really, uh,
gravitated toward it, and notbecause it was really good I
(02:26):
don't want that credit but justbecause they started doing
districts of innovation at thesame time.
The innovation mindset came outand it shows you how much
timing really matters, because Ithink a lot of them are like
let's just read this guy's book.
So I've done a lot of work inTexas over the years, but I've
had the privilege to you know,write several books and, yeah,
and just connect with incredibleeducators all over the world.
(02:47):
And, like yourself, and thatthat, to me, is really when you
talked about the importance ofgrowth, it's not something that
I think we have to reserve onlyfor our students, but do we do
that ourselves?
And even before we got on hereyou said you know you've watched
my interviews, you've seen mydevelopment over time and I
pride myself on.
I am an avid learner and thatis my number one focus in the
(03:08):
realm of education.
I don't tell anyone how toteach, but I really focus on how
do I learn and what are some ofthe lessons I can share through
that process with others.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Number one.
All this is great.
I think everybody sees quicklywhy I wanted to interview George
.
So here's the funny thing.
I mean, I've had the pleasureof speaking coast to coast.
The only state I've not been inis Alaska, but everywhere you
go it's kind of funny because Iremember one time I sat by
myself in a room of 4,000 at atable up front and these two
twins walked by and they said ohlook, there's the keynote
(03:39):
speaker.
And they looked at me and theysaid I hope you're good and I
said I hope so too.
Well, I come into an event I'mat this event with Dr Terry,
this Designing the Future ofPublic Education at the OC in
Forney and I just come in andfind a seat at the table.
Little did I know I was sittingdown next to the keynote
speaker, and so I get to talkinto George and I'm just
(04:07):
intrigued, as we started talkingabout AI and applications of
information and how we channelthat through educators and the
importance of that to studentsand to communities, and so I
just wanted to share thebackstory of how we found George
and his wisdom and, through ourcommon friend, dr Terry, and I
think you're going to see as wego through this, why I was so
intrigued by what he had to say.
(04:28):
But, george, I start everypodcast off.
Every one starts off the sameway and you get the same
question that everybody elsegets, and that is today, george,
what are you grateful for?
What are you grateful for today, grateful for?
Speaker 3 (04:43):
What are you grateful for today?
Well, you know, I'm reallygrateful for, honestly, the
health that I have, and it'sbeen a journey for me because, I
was probably pretty unhealthy.
And then COVID happened and then, weirdly enough, I basically
got my health in check duringthat time and even though right
before I talked to you, I, youknow, was sweating profusely on
(05:04):
a Stairmaster and I always askwhy am I even doing this while
I'm doing it?
But then I just go back thenext day, and I think the reason
why I say that specifically isbecause the precipice for me
really getting my health inorder and I think for years I
wanted to do it, but I was likeI just want to look better.
I was like that didn't reallypull me, but I really realized
(05:27):
how important it was that mykids had a dad as long as
possible.
And so I think about that, howgrateful I am that I got my
health in order, because it'snot only that I get more time
with my kids, I feel like I getbetter time with them Because,
honestly, if you know anythingabout me, my kids are my
everything.
So that is really the driver.
(05:50):
And I think the reason why Ishared that specifically is
because I think a lot of timeswhen we take time for ourselves,
we see it as a selfish act,whereas I think it can be a
really selfless act if you'refocused on why you're doing in
the first place.
So that was really kind of the.
The push for me was I want mykids not only to like have a dad
as long as possible, but also adad that's totally engaged as
much as possible, but also be agood model for them too, cause I
(06:10):
know how important you knowhealth and wellness is.
You can't really do great stuffunless you you do have that in
check.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
Well, number one, I just want to say I commend you.
I agree with you, my youngestnow.
I've got two grandchildren.
I've got four kids.
My youngest just graduatedFriday and I guess something
that you just said that wasreally special to me is you know
, I lost my dad when I was 10years old and I got into a lot
(06:37):
of trouble and I got sent to aboy's ranch and I was lucky.
I got a second chance at lifeMost recently this last
Thanksgiving.
I was 58 years old and Iremember I looked at my kids and
we're blessing the food and Isaid look around.
And they're like what I said Ijust want you all to look around
.
And they're like what are welooking at, dad?
(06:57):
I said just look around.
And so they looked around and Isaid you've got a family.
I said I'm 58 years old and Isaid I cannot remember a single
Thanksgiving because we were toopoor.
I can't remember a time thatour families got together
because we didn't have the meansand I said I want y'all to look
around and look at the blessingthat you have, because you have
(07:18):
something that sometimes Idon't ever want you to take it
for granted.
I want you to appreciate it andthe fact that you're that aware
of how intentional you areabout being a father,
congratulations.
And your kids are lucky.
And, uh, I don't know if theytell you that every day, but you
are.
They are in your planting seedsof greatness.
Trust me, you're planting seedsof greatness that are going to
(07:40):
be harvested.
Okay, so we're at this seminarand I'm a note taker Anybody
that knows me, I'm old school,right, I'm still pen and paper
and I'm sitting there and Georgesays something and I just start
writing it down.
I said I got to write this down, genius.
He said somebody somewhere isdoing the same thing that you
say can't, you can't do.
I said I've got to write thatdown.
(08:03):
That is classic.
So the point is, here's agentleman who was an educator,
an administrator, and now he'spouring into others and I really
want to kind of unpack that,george, and talk a little bit
about that.
I want to talk about why it'simportant and why you attack it
with this innovation and passionthat you do, if you don't mind.
(08:24):
So kind of walk us through that.
You gave us a little briefoverview, but kind of walk us
through.
You know, why did you choose tobecome an educator.
And then why did you make thatnext step to the administrative
side?
And then, what led you to wantto take on this role of
consulting and encouraging at ahigher level?
Speaker 3 (08:43):
Well, yeah, and interestingly enough, I think a
lot of times when you havesomeone in the field of
education who's as passionate asI am about it and the people
that I work with, they'll have astory of basically, you know,
when they were kids, they knewthey wanted to be a teacher,
right, like something.
That is not my story at all.
I went to university my parentsare both immigrants to Canada,
(09:03):
from Greece and they said youhave to go to university, like
there was that was it?
There was no discussion and Ididn't know what I wanted to do
and so I went and, you know,spent a lot of money, you know,
on a degree that nevermaterialized.
And then I actually said, youknow, I might as well go into
teaching, like it was never apassion for me.
And weirdly weirdly enough, Iremember it was probably my
(09:24):
second job my principal whohired me said, you know, because
they were like it was such adifferent time, they were
fighting for teachers, like itwas really hard for them to get
there, which is the opposite ofwhat's going on right now.
But he said to me he goes.
I kind of feel you're morepassionate about coaching
basketball than you are teaching.
I'm like you're not wrong, likethat was.
I was like that was just a goodway to get into coaching and so
(09:48):
I probably, you know, like Iwas okay as a teacher, you know,
at the beginning of my career.
I feel I'm very comfortablespeaking in front of people.
Kids relate to me very well, soI feel like I kind of had that
going for me and I I knew aboutprobably about seven years in I
don't know if I want to do thisanymore and I basically left one
(10:08):
school, went to another school,had an incredible principal who
totally changed my viewpoint oneducation and her name was
Kelly Wilkins.
I think about her all the timeand think that I I always feel
really special because it's likeshe brought something out of me
and you feel like I'm the onlyone she ever did that to.
But she did that to so manypeople and so many people went
(10:29):
on to really great opportunitiesbecause of her leadership and
that really inspired me toreally rethink how I you know my
passion for education, what Iwanted to do, and it shows you
how much a great leader you knowcan have an impact, and it
shows you how much a greatleader you know can have an
impact.
So I think one of the thingsthat is really important to me
is I do what Kelly did for mefor as many people as possible,
(10:52):
and so that's not just studentsbut it's staff as well.
And you'll see, like, when Iwas there and one of the things
I kept talking about is reallykind of focusing on learners not
students, but learners, anybodywilling to grow in an
organization because I think alot of times we focus really
what on the students need, butyou got to focus on the adults,
because if you get the adults ofthe need, they're way better
equipped to help the students.
(11:13):
I think that's kind of why itshaped into what I was and she
really, you know, she gave usyou know, not just myself but
all the teachers on staff like alot of ownership over that
school and it was a hugeresponsibility.
But then you also wanted to doreally well, because your
fingerprints are all over thesolutions, so I know that she
(11:34):
knew that was really important.
She hired me.
When she hired me which isreally interesting because it's
not a normal practice they theyput a job application for a
middle school teacher, not for agrade seven science teacher,
not for a grade nine, you know,math teacher.
It just said middle school andher mentality was let's find the
(11:55):
best person we can, and then wecan shuffle things around, not
just look for a very specificrole to fill, because we could
probably move somebody in theschool already who might want to
do the role.
And so that was her mentalityof how she hired she always
looked for the best personpossible and then she would
shape roles around them, and sothat was basically her.
She saw something in me, shesaw a need for the school and
(12:19):
she saw how I fit it and thenbasically we just kind of said,
okay, okay, what are you goingto teach?
Was the after the fact.
So it was really interesting,cause I think a lot of times we
maybe push away some reallygreat people because we're so
very specific when it reallyjust takes, you know, a little
adjusting to, and that that wasreally, you know, that's
something that really kind ofstuck with me.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
Let me tell you something you just said another
one.
See, I knew we were going toconnect, george.
I've got a real simplephilosophy, and everybody that
knows me knows it goes like thisIf you want to be the best,
train with the best, so find thebest people that you can and
hang out with those people when,whatever it may be, because
you're going to pick somethingyou don't possess.
And the reason that we focus onI'm going to tell you about
(13:06):
something that we do with ourteachers the reason we focus in
on our teachers is because ofthat very thing If we can give
them something that they canshare with us.
You know, I tell people to R2A2everything.
I don't know if you've everheard that before.
I tell them to R2A2.
So when I was sitting therelistening to you the other day
speaking, guess what I had?
I had my paper down there and Iwas R2A2.
And here it is Recognize,relate, assimilate and apply.
(13:28):
So listen and recognize whatthey say, relate to it.
How does that relate to who Iam, where I'm at?
Can I take part of that in andmake it part of myself?
And then can I apply that?
And I think that's the beauty ofwhat you're doing is, you know
you are stretching teachers andadministrators' minds.
You're challenging them, andI'm glad you are, because if we
(13:51):
don't, we're liable to get stuckin a rut, and we know what a
rut is, what's a grave with theends kicked out.
The bottom line is is we've gotto compete for the future, our
kids.
We've got to compete for minds.
That's another thing that I'mreal big about, administrators
and educators, is if you're notwilling to compete, then don't
be upset when somebody else wins.
You either compete for minds orsomebody else will and you may
(14:13):
not like what game they'replaying.
So when you talk about Ms Wilkesand Kelly and being the best
and making sure, you know it'skind of like good to great.
Get the right people on the busand then get them in the right
seats and then empower them,encourage them, equip them.
You know I picked up on it theother day and I just want to
share this with you.
I thought one of the mostencouraging things that you said
(14:36):
throughout your message was theimportance of creating a
positive, engaging and learningculture.
Yeah, and I don't know if thatis specific to what you talk
about.
I'm just telling you that was amajor takeaway for me.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
Yeah, that is something that I really focus on
and I think a lot of timespeople when they hear positive
or engaging, they don'tnecessarily think that it's
difficult or strenuous, or youknow, like I said this morning,
i'm'm hating what I'm doing, butI know the benefits of it too.
(15:13):
But I I know the I know theresults of it too, like, I'll
give you an example.
This is why I really focus onlearners.
Last, I think it was about ayear and a half ago, uh, my
daughter kalia, I think she justturned uh six or seven around
that age, and I wanted her toplay the piano and I knew she'd
be interested.
I knew she really liked music.
But to get her going, I wantedto learn it myself.
(15:35):
And so I'm 49 when I'm learningit.
She's seven, so we're goingthrough the same things.
And I remember I took piano forabout three months as a kid and
I hated it.
And the reason I hated it wasbecause I grew up with two older
brothers and I listened to thepolice depeche mode, like really
(15:56):
, you know 80s quintessentialrock bands love it and.
But I'm going to piano learninghow to play mary had a little
land.
It's not cutting it for me,right?
I'm not into kids music.
I'm into what my brotherslisten to.
So, knowing this, we are reallybig into like musicals, la la
land you know barbie moviethings like this.
So I'm learning these littleriffs from the movie and then
(16:19):
I'm teaching her and she's allexcited about it and she sees
kind of the long term and she'llit's.
You know I'm not teaching herthe most complex riffs of it,
but she sees that howinteresting it is because that's
what she likes that she's morewilling to do the hard stuff,
the practice, the theory behindit.
But if you just start doing thepractice in theory but you don't
(16:41):
see the long-term results, so Ithink a lot of times we get
this mixed up that theengagement is all about kids
just having fun and no, it'sactually kids seeing the purpose
, seeing the purpose long term,that they're willing to do the
stuff that's really really hardto get to.
The stuff is really good.
Our family model is you do notget the good stuff unless you're
willing to do the hard stuff.
That is what I say to my kidsall the time it is.
(17:02):
You know, like I said, somedays they're not really happy
about me as their dad.
But they know, know, long-termright, that's a benefit because
that's how you do it.
But they have to see, they haveto get glimpses of the good
stuff.
We can't just like promise thisas it doesn't exist.
You know, like learning to thatI think that's really kind of
shamey, because I'm way more inthe piano now because I can, you
(17:23):
know, I can learn all the songsI wanted to learn as a kid,
because I'll just go intoYouTube and someone's teaching
you how to play and I'll pick itup too, right, and so she's
more willing to do that.
And every single morning I goin the routine, I get up before
everyone in the family and theywake up to me practicing the
piano.
That's what I do every singleday and it's good for me because
it shows me like, hey,repetition is really good you
know, routine is really good andso as much as I talk about
(17:46):
innovation, the innovation comesout of being so good at your
stuff that you can actually,kind of you know, maneuver it
and and do different things withit.
You can't, like you don't,become a a great improvisational
jazz musician until you knowthe basics inside out.
But that's where the innovationcomes.
Later is when you know thestuff so well that you can
actually start to riff indifferent ways.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
Well, number one I love the piano and I don't play
the piano, but I'm a big BruceSpringsteen in the E Street band
, professor Roy Benton.
When you see Roy Benton playthe piano you're like that's
rock and roll, you got to have alittle piano, it's rock and
roll Application.
You said something there withapplication.
You know one of the things ourorganization gives 2.3 million
(18:31):
in scholarships every year inthe state of Texas.
Somebody said that we give morescholarships in Texas than UIL.
But you said something that Ihave found that our sponsors
really gravitate to, and Iremember one time a sponsor
asked me.
He said Aaron, he goes, what isit that you think y'all do
that's different than everybodyelse?
He said doesn't fine arts teachspeech and debate?
Doesn't band and choir teachensemble?
(18:53):
He said doesn't sports teachteamwork?
He said what is it you thinky'all do that nobody else does.
And you're probably like me, Ilike good questions, and that
was a good question.
And I told him.
I said well, I think there's acouple of things.
And I told him I said well, Ithink there's a couple of things
.
I said you know, there's a lotof people that argue we need to
get back to the basics the threeR's, reading, writing,
arithmetic.
If we get back to the basics,we put this country back on
(19:16):
track.
Well, okay, before I took myjob that I'm in now, I used to
work with truant offenders, bootcamp kids, and I worked in a
prison.
Everybody that I worked withcould read, write and do math at
some functional level.
But I tell people you're rightabout the three R's.
It's not reading, writing,arithmetic, I would argue, it's
respect, responsibility andresiliency.
If we could teach a kid torespect themselves, their fellow
(19:38):
man, be responsible forthemselves, their families,
their communities, and learn toget up when you've been knocked
down, because not everybody'sgoing to get a trophy.
And I said I think we do thatpretty good.
I said, but here's what I thinkseparates us from everybody
else.
And you just said it.
I said you know, I rememberthere was a blizzard blowing in
on the Texas panhandle and Iremember my dorm parent handing
(20:00):
me a sledgehammer and asking meto drive five miles to bust the
water.
Trough for the horses, and justlike your kids, george, I
didn't want to do it.
And trough for the horses, andjust like your kids, george, I
didn't want to do it.
And I said I don't want to.
Mr Chandler, it's a blizzard.
I got lost.
It feels like a razor cut inyour skin and I'll never forget
it.
He said darling, do you getthirsty when those horses, like
(20:20):
those horses when it's cold?
I said, yes, sir, I get thirstywhen it's cold.
And he said you think thosehorses might get thirsty too?
I said, yes, sir, I drove fivemiles that day and I busted the
water trough for the horses.
But I look at donors and I tellthem I'll tell you what
separates our kids fromeverybody else.
Because in our world if wedon't do our job, something dies
.
Now, when you talk about that,application of success begets
(20:45):
success.
And if we can give that youngperson the tools to be
encouraged, equipped andempowered to have a moment of
success and train that learningtool where they want to keep
exploring, that because successbegets success, you've got to
believe you're planting someseeds of greatness there that
others can grow from that otherscan grow from.
Speaker 3 (21:11):
Yeah, that is a big thing for me, and the work that
I'm doing with Forney and withschools all over the world is,
first of all, a lot of timeswhen we discuss success in
schools, we have defined it forour students, and you could say
you're successful.
I could say I'm successful, butwe might have totally different
definitions.
So we know, as adults, successis different to everybody what
(21:35):
that looks like, what that means.
Some people it's money, somepeople it's jobs, some people
it's like family, some it's likea variation of all those things
.
So I think part of the role ofeducation is to actually help
kids determine what does successlook like to them and what
would that be Like?
(21:55):
Where do you find that purpose?
And then helping them definethat path for themselves and
then figure out what are thethings there too, because you
know I'm not really interestedin someone else's definition of
success for me, and so why woulda kid be interested in that too
, right?
So if I can help define it, youknow, going back to Kelly, if I
see my fingerprints on theendpoints, I'm more likely to do
(22:19):
the hard work, and that'ssomething that you know is
really important to me, not as adad, but, you know, as an
education, and again, not juststudents.
That should be community as well, right?
What does that actually looklike?
How do we get to this point?
How do we define that success?
One of the things I reallyappreciate about Forney is a lot
of the solutions they havecreated to really make community
(22:39):
want to be there is.
They ask the community whatwould make you want to be there?
And then they created it.
And so you know who the biggestadvocates are for schools in
Forney the community, becausethey see they're not going to
advocate against something theybuilt.
Speaker 2 (22:55):
Sure, no-transcript space from florida.
(23:19):
So you know, back when they didthe teacher in space program,
every state got to pick ateacher and the lady that was
from florida was ag scienceteacher.
Her name was Susan Forte andSusan was actually Krista
McCullough's partner in theSpace Shuttle program.
And one of my favorite quotesfrom Krista was she said I touch
the future, I teach, trying todo, and then I think about what
(23:42):
we do through our program and welike to say around, we have a
program, a leadership programfor the kids, and we say the
essence of leadership is toplant trees under whose shade
you may never sit.
And we want people to be verypurposeful in trying to find
(24:03):
ways to plant seeds in theircommunity, in their homes, in
their organization, wherever itmay be, to grow strong trees
that someday somebody gets tosit under the shade and enjoy.
And I hear you doing that notonly in your home, by the way,
george.
I hear you doing that whenyou're very passionate about it.
When you look at what Kelly didfor you you're very intentional
(24:25):
about that of how you'reapproaching your consulting jobs
or speaking jobs.
I think you see the value onthe other end of this if it's
done right.
Speaker 3 (24:37):
Yeah, and the interesting thing about me is
that I think a lot of peoplethat do the work that I do and I
shouldn't say you know like Iguess I shouldn't say a lot you
know some.
Their process is how do wecreate something where you're
going to continuously need me tocome in and help you?
mine is how do I actually getyou to realize how much you
(24:57):
don't need me and kind of like,move away from this because the
emphasis on education?
I remember like I talked alittle bit about ai and you know
things are happening.
My focus is not teaching kidsand schools how to deal with AI.
My focus is how do you teachcommunities to figure out?
(25:17):
No matter what comes your way,you'll be able to figure it out.
That's the process, right, andthat's my mentality.
I'm not.
I'm not.
A lot of people ask me likewhat do you see as the future of
education?
Like what's going to be in thenext five, ten years?
And my answer is the same todayas it was 10 years ago, as
it'll be 10 years from now.
I have no clue, and neither doyou.
Nobody knows, right what I doknow is, no matter what comes
(25:38):
our way, I'll be able to figureit out, and that's what I'm
trying to instill in kids andtry and still and staff that you
will be able to figure out yourown solutions.
That's really about thatempowerment in what you're doing
, because long term I can't tellmy kids, hey, 10 years from now
, this is what you have toconsider.
What I can't teach my kids, youneed to be able to learn right
now, because if you do that,anything that comes your way
(25:58):
you'll be able to figure it out.
That's the process, right?
There's things I teach my kidsright now about, like finances,
stocks, investing that myparents never had a conversation
with me, not because theydidn't think it was important,
but because they didn't know,because they didn't have access
to the information that we do.
And so a lot of times my kidsare just like why are you
telling us this?
I'm like you'll figure it out.
You'll understand why I'mtelling you this now, but
(26:21):
they're getting more and moreinterested because it's like hey
, here of this stuff, here's howyou figure out some of these
things, because I probably won'tbe around to see how well they
do with it, you know at somepoint.
But my gift is and I think thisis really what my parents
instilled in me you know, my dadpassed away a little over a
decade ago my parents instilledin me a work ethic and a
(26:41):
willingness to deal with nochange, no matter what comes my
way.
And that's that's what I'mtrying to teach because, like
you know, you think about someof the things we complain about
with technology my parents wouldhave loved to have, and they
dealt with change in such anadmirable way that it's not that
difficult for me, because I sawwhat my family did for me to be
able to have the opportunitiesI do have today.
Speaker 2 (27:03):
Has your past ever crossed with a guy named Dale
Alexander?
Speaker 3 (27:07):
No, I don't know who that is, so you're going to love
this one.
Speaker 2 (27:10):
I tell you he's been on the podcast.
As a matter of fact, he's theonly guest I've ever had that we
had to do two podcasts.
Dale Alexander he wrote a bookfor his daughter.
His daughter told him he'dwrite the book.
It's called the Talk AboutMoney, and the state of Georgia
actually purchases his book andgives it to every graduating
senior.
And it's a very simplephilosophy of how you, from your
(27:32):
very first paycheck, how tomanage your finances, and it's
an incredible story.
But anyway, for another daysitting here, you reminded me
too, especially when COVID hit.
You know, we're big Zig Ziglarfans around our shop and I love
a lot of Zig's philosophies andone of those was, he said,
expect the best, prepare for theworst and then capitalize on
(27:54):
what comes.
And the reason I think that's agreat philosophy is exactly
what you just said.
I don't think anybody saw COVIDcoming, but guess what?
What do we have to do?
We all had to pivot.
I love that word pivot, don'tyou?
We had to pivot, we had toadjust, we had to make changes
in our routines and our habitsand our behaviors to accommodate
a point in time.
And, to your point, we don'tknow what the geopolitical
(28:18):
landscape is going to look like,what the domestic economics is
going to look like, what thecurrent state of education, what
technology is going to do tothat.
The bottom line is we've got totrain our kids to be aware, to
be adaptable and, like you saidI mean you've said it time and
again just be a learner, just bewilling to be coachable.
Speaker 3 (28:38):
Yeah, it's funny.
When COVID happened, I rememberit was like I was all I was
doing was traveling, speakingbefore Right.
And then I remember one day, uhevent is canceled and then
cancel, cancel, cancel, cancel.
First day thinking, oh my God,what am I going to do?
(29:02):
And then I remember the next daythinking listen, if I can't
figure this out and I'm theinnovation guy, then what does
that say about me?
So then I just totally shiftedthe way I thought about stuff
and a lot of the things that Istarted doing.
Then I continue on in in whatI'm doing and, like I said, it
took me.
It took me a little while, like, hey, you know, um, I realized,
(29:24):
as I mentioned before, a lot ofthe travel kind of caused some
of the health issues because ofhow I was traveling.
I'm like, hey, I gotta like, ifI ever go back out, I gotta
have some new routines and thinkabout things differently.
And I always say that COVIDreally it impacted everybody in
totally different ways and lotof people went through different
things.
I looked at some of thehardships that we went through,
(29:46):
but I also looked at some of thethings that have reshifted my
thinking and how do I bring thatforward?
Because every situation is anopportunity for growth, whether
it's a good situation or a badsituation.
One of the things I always getconcerned about is that people
who find success becomecomfortable because they're like
hey, this worked.
Like you know, they basicallyblockbuster themselves right,
(30:09):
like, hey, what worked yesterdaywill work tomorrow, and it's
like, no, you've got tocontinuously reevaluate and so
you can learn from failure asmuch as you can from success.
And what do you do kind ofmoving forward.
So I think that's a reallyimportant aspect is, how do you
(30:31):
instill that in your kids that,hey I was just saying this to my
wife I don't ever get caught upin criticism and I don't ever
get caught up in praise, becauseyou can't say, hey, ignore the
haters, but just listen topeople who love you.
It's right, you have to be ableto evaluate yourself and figure
out your own pathway forward.
Don't get caught up on eitherside.
Right, you have to be able toevaluate yourself and figure out
your own pathway forward.
Don't get caught up on eitherside of it.
You have to that you are alwaysstuck with you and you have to
figure out how do youcontinuously get better and
(30:53):
improve.
So that's something I really tryto model, especially like I
actually was listening to amarathon runner on a run and she
basically said like she's oneof the most competitive,
successful marathoners in ushistory and she's like look, I
never competed against anyoneelse.
I always looked at myself.
I never got caught up in whatelse someone else is doing,
(31:13):
because I would say, like, howdo I push myself to basically
the break.
And that's how she foundsuccess.
She was never caught up in whatothers were saying or doing.
She, she did what she knew.
She had the capabilities to doit.
So it was beautiful.
And as I'm like dying in theFlorida heat on a run she's
saying this, I'm like I betterpick it up.
Speaker 2 (31:31):
Well, I mean, that's it, though we're always in
competition with our own bestself, and I love that analogy.
Irving Berlin you know, I lovewhat Irving Berlin said.
He said the toughest thingabout success is that you got to
keep on being a success.
And you know, you've got to beintentional about that.
And then another guy I don'tknow if your paths have ever
crossed, but I hope that theywill is a guy named Dan Owolabi.
(31:53):
Dan Owolabi is out of WorcesterOhio and he's probably got one
of the most powerful educationaltestimonies that I've ever
heard.
But you know, he always says ifyou live by the praise of those
around you, then you'll die bythe critics around you.
You know, and that's.
It's like you're saying, my job.
I mean, I'm mostly yes, I'mblessed to work with students,
(32:16):
I'm blessed to work witheducators, but my role is a
development officer.
So I'm working with a lot ofthe corporate folks and I tell
the young people and I tell theteachers, if I've ever taken
away one word from all thecorporate people I work with,
that word is next.
It doesn't matter if they have asuccess, what's next.
It doesn't matter if they havea setback, it's what's next.
Their whole focus is forward,it's not backward and like John
(32:40):
Maxwell said he said, if youhave a success, do an autopsy on
it and move on.
Find out why it was a success,but then move on Because the
opportunities are what lie ahead, and I love that that is a
consistency in your messaging isthat encouragement to always be
forward looking?
The other thing that you said,george and, by the way, this is
(33:04):
why I love this podcast I tellpeople just listen to what they
say, bring people on and justlisten to what they say.
You've said two things that arereally important.
Number one you have been veryclear to be in the present, to
be in the moment.
You've never not acknowledgedthat importance, but at the same
(33:26):
time you said be a learner soyou can be ready for what's next
.
Speaker 3 (33:33):
Yeah, that to me is probably the biggest lesson I've
had over the last few years.
Is that you really want, if youput your best effort into what
you're doing, whatever that is,that pays off in the future
right but if you are and this isadvice I give to people right,
so someone is.
I remember when I was anassistant principal I did not
(33:53):
want to go in school leadership.
It was not my interest and Igot an assistant principalship,
like basically on a, on a whim,I applied for a job and I don't
think anyone else applied for itbecause it was in July and all
the good people were taken, so Iso I don't think they had many
applicants, so they just took meand basically within two days
(34:14):
I'm like I want to be aprincipal one day and I was
blessed.
I had a really great principal.
His name is Archie Lilico andhis mentality was that he wasn't
trying to make you the bestsense of principle, he was
training you to eventually leada school on your own and he knew
that was something, and so heput me in positions that I was
probably not ready for in mymind.
(34:36):
But he knew he'd have to helplevel me up and I remember a
principal position came up and Ididn't.
I really wanted the job, but Ididn't.
I really wanted the job, but Ididn't want to go to the place
that I was asked being going andhe said to me like what is the
worst thing that would happen ifyou didn't take that job?
You'd actually end up beinghere at the school you love as
(34:58):
an assistant principal.
It's not the worst thing.
And I remember thinking aboutthat because I was like what if
I don't take this job?
It's not the worst thing.
And I remember thinking aboutthat because I was like what if
I don't take this job?
It's going to like everyopportunity is going to.
You know, I'm going to lose allthese opportunities in the
future.
And so I turned it down and Isaid my focus is, if I do the
best at being an assistantprincipal right now and I really
(35:21):
focus on nailing this, theprincipal opportunity will come.
There's no way they wouldn'tactually hire me.
But if I'm so focused onbecoming a principal that I
forget the people that I'mcaring for here, that's when I
start losing opportunities.
And that's always my, my adviceto people you know looking for
leadership roles just be whereyou are, do the best that you
can, and if you really take careof the people that are in front
(35:44):
of you, the opportunities willcome your way.
That's me.
But if you're so focused on thefuture that you don't pay
attention to the present.
That's where you loseopportunities.
Speaker 2 (35:55):
Man, there again you're bringing back some Zig.
What did Zig always say?
If you help enough other peopleget what they want, you'll get
what you want.
You've shared a lot here andwe're going to start kind of
winding this down because, again, we try to keep these within a
classroom structure.
But one of the things that Ithink I like to share with young
people is I always ask them Isaid, how many high schools are
(36:19):
in Texas?
And they always, you know,somebody will yell out a lot and
I'm like, yeah, there's a lot.
I said there's actually over3,000 high schools in the state
of Texas.
I said how many of those highschools this year are going to
have a graduating class?
And they're like, well, I guessall of them.
I said that's right, thinkabout that.
Every one of them are going tobe out looking for a job, a
(36:39):
scholarship or an opportunity.
And so I ask the kids what'syour competitive edge?
What is it that separates youfrom your peers that when you
start looking for a job, ascholarship or an opportunity,
that kind of sets you apart.
And I think that when teachershave an opportunity to hear your
presentations, when you havethat opportunity to recognize,
relate, assimilate and applyinformation, you begin to create
(37:00):
a competitive edge.
Information, you begin tocreate a competitive edge.
And so, when I think about whatyou do for students and
educators, my question to you isthis if you could give those
folks three competitive edges,three skill sets, what would you
tell them?
Hey, try these.
Speaker 3 (37:17):
Yeah, well, the first one that you kind of alluded to
is what I call the spongefactor, right?
So when I looked at hiringteachers I know this is like
kind of a strange way to look atit I would look at if you had a
teacher who their ability wasabove and beyond anyone else's,
(37:41):
I wouldn't necessarily take them.
I would only take them if Iknew they had a willingness to
still learn and grow.
Because if I had someone who isat a little bit lower level,
who is like craving learning,craving mentorship, eventually
they would surpass that person.
Plus, they are modeling totheir kids what they're
expecting of them tocontinuously learn.
So I'm always looking for thatsponge factor, that willingness
to learn, and I take that into.
(38:04):
I used to ref basketball at areally high level and the kind
of.
The second point is do youactually take action on feedback
?
Do you do something with it?
So when I used to ref, theywould.
When you do college games,you'd have someone sitting in
the stands watching you, soyou'd get evaluated and
(38:24):
basically they bring you in athalftime very short 10 minutes
and they would rip you to pieces, not because they hated you,
because they only have 10minutes they're not going to
make you feel good aboutyourself.
They're like we need you to fixthis.
Do this, do this different?
Whatever, the ones thatactually moved up the quickest
in the ranks of refereeing arethe ones who tried what was
(38:44):
suggested in the second half.
They didn't like.
Sit and think about it and itdoesn't mean that you did that
forever, but at least you triedto see.
Does this work for me?
Does this actually work?
So a lot of times when you'relike, if you're looking at this,
most of my accomplishmentsaren't from overthinking,
they're from under thinking.
(39:05):
When I mean by that, it is Iimplement action right away and
I figure it out along the way.
And I think a lot of times thatpeople think too much about
stuff that they talk themselvesout of really great ideas,
whereas, like, start the ideaand make it great, that
willingness to be a sponge, totake action from feedback.
But I think, especially in atime with technology, it is that
(39:25):
personal connection is the mostthing.
You are you relatable, right?
Like I?
I look at everything like thatI pay for.
You know, in services and Iknow this is more of a medical
term is is bedside manner, right?
Do you do I feel like I'mlistened to?
Do I feel like you're listeningto what I'm saying?
(39:46):
Do you make me feel appreciatedas someone in this space and
when you're having all thecontent, all the information in
the world, being the smartestperson that no one can relate to
doesn't necessarily bring outany great ideas.
It is that connection thatreally, really matters.
So, like I know, when you sawme here and I probably talked a
little bit of my kids, talk alittle bit about my family, and
(40:06):
you kind of mentioned thisearlier what you're trying to do
is get people to see themselvesin your story, right, but it's
also I'm trying to build rapportwith people like, hey, I'm not,
I'm not some brilliant academic, I'm a, I'm a dad trying to
figure stuff out.
Because a lot of people arelike you know what I'm, I don't
really know what I'm doingeither sometimes, so they start
seeing themselves in the picture, right, I think that
(40:28):
relatability really can separateyou in a totally different way
and it's in everything that youdo, right, like one of the
things I tell my kids, doing atask is not good enough for me.
It is your attitude when you dothe task.
If you are grumbling the entiretime, I've asked you to do
(40:48):
something.
Do you think I would want towork with you?
Right, it is like you put yourbest foot forward.
You really make that connectionand those opportunities will
come.
Like everything that I do,whether I hate it or not, I try
to treat everyone around me asbest as possible.
One of my own personal mantrasis the best interaction every
(41:08):
person you interact with has inthat day.
Now I fail more than I succeed,but that is something that's
like hey, if I have like aone-minute interaction with
somebody that I've never metbefore, my hope is that it was
so good they remember it therest of the day.
It leads them to something andif you can do that no matter
your role, no matter if you'redoing a job or not that really
you know we'll get you to stickout to people in a totally
(41:30):
different way.
Speaker 2 (41:32):
So I'm a big believer in um R and D.
You know what R and D is, I'msure.
Speaker 3 (41:38):
I know, I know you got different definitions.
Speaker 2 (41:40):
Yeah, most people call it research and development
.
I sometimes refer to it as ripoff and duplicate.
So I just want you to know thatwas absolutely, george,
brilliant.
I love that.
I'm going to tell you thatright there.
All three sponge factor takeaction, personal connection,
(42:02):
relatability.
But what a genuine andincredible comment to say let me
be that person that person isencouraged by for the rest of
the day.
Wow, that is powerful.
Thank you so much for sharingthat.
Speaker 3 (42:19):
I try that.
Speaker 2 (42:20):
I'm telling you.
Speaker 3 (42:21):
I try that as much as possible.
I feel more than I really thinkabout.
Speaker 2 (42:26):
Yeah, really good, all right, well, listen, I
really appreciate your timeagain.
We try to package thesepodcasts so that they can be
used in a classroom and I thinkwe try to do it in a way where
both the educator and thestudent can find some value in
the time that we spend together.
But every guest gets one lastfun question, so you get one
(42:48):
last fun question.
Here it is Tell me what is thebest concert you've ever been to
.
Speaker 3 (42:55):
Oh, the best concert.
Well, I've been to several.
I am probably.
It's kind of interestingbecause they're so different.
Probably one of my favoriteconcerts ever was Coldplay and
Coldplay, yeah, gigantic,unbelievable arena show.
I know they don't even doarenas, they're too big.
Now they do stadiums.
(43:16):
It's just like an amazing thingand it felt so personal and
like I actually talked aboutthis.
And then probably my other oneis the avid brothers.
They're like uh, kind of,they're not as well known,
probably one of my favoritebands ever but they do smaller
venues and it's actually likejust interesting to think about
the contrast of how differentthose concerts are.
(43:37):
One feels so intimate andpersonal.
The other one is so over thetop and it kind of reminds you
whatever you have in front ofyou, just make the best out of
it, because Coldplay does theseincredible stadiums, ava
Brothers do these small concertsand they just seem to be the
perfect fit in each one and itjust gives me energy every time
(43:58):
I see both of these bands.
Speaker 2 (44:00):
Love it and, by the way you can imagine, with almost
80 episodes I've heard thespectrum of concerts.
Anyway, thanks so much forsharing.
Hey, everybody, thank you forstopping by.
I mean, we always talk aboutthe fact that the only thing you
can do with time is spend it.
So the fact that you sharedsome of your time with us, the
fact that we brought on anincredible guest who shared some
(44:22):
seeds of greatness that we canplant and put in place not only
in our lives, in our families'lives, in our classrooms, in our
communities, in our state andcountry, that's a win for
everybody involved.
The fact that we've now beenchallenged I love it to be that
voice of encouragement todaythat the people that we
(44:42):
encounter take it away and sayI'm glad I ran into George today
, my day is going to be betterbecause of it.
Until we meet again, if youwill do me a favor, go out and
do something great for somebodyelse.
You're going to feel good aboutit.
You're going to make this worlda better place to live, work
and raise our families.
So, until our next episode ofthe Growing Our Future podcast,
(45:04):
we'll see you down the road andremember if you want to know
what the future is, grow it.
Thanks so much for joining us.
Speaker 1 (45:15):
We hope you've enjoyed this episode of the
Growing Our Future podcast.
This show is sponsored by theTexas FFA Foundation, whose
mission is to strengthenagricultural science education
so students can develop theirpotential for personal growth,
career success and leadership ina global marketplace.
Learn more at mytexasffaorg.
Welcome to the Growing Our Future podcast.
In this show, the Texas FFAFoundation will take on a
journey of exploration intoagricultural science, education,
leadership development andinsights from subject matter
experts and sponsors who providethe fuel to make dreams come
true.
Here's your host, AaronAlejandro.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Well, good morning, good afternoon, good evening or
whenever you may be tuning in tothe Growing Our Future podcast,
listen number one.
We appreciate the opportunityto have this technology platform
to be able to bring incredibleguests on to share insights,
experiences, expertise.
You know, I tell people ifagriculture has taught me
(00:52):
anything, if agriculture hastaught me one thing, it's that
if you want to know what thefuture is, grow it.
Well, how do you grow it?
You got to plant the rightseeds.
That's why guests are soimportant, because they share
things with us that could becomethe seeds of greatness.
So with that, george, I'm goingto tell you where I met George
(01:12):
here in just a second.
But, george, would you justbring us a quick introduction of
who you are, and then we'regoing to start talking about
what we're here to talk about.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
Yeah, and thanks, aaron.
When we met you were one of themost positive people I've ever
met in my life and so I was like, when you asked me, I'm like,
of course I'm gonna do this foryou, so I'm glad to to be on
here.
Uh, my name is George Kroos.
I'm originally from a verysmall town in Canada and I think
about that quite a lot becauseI was in a very small community.
I actually had to call lastweek for vaccination records,
(01:41):
which is not easy to get becausewe're basically going through
the immigration process here inthe United States and it was
like a good reminder of like howimportant community is, because
they're like we know your dadand it was like just kind of a
beautiful thing.
It's really shaped a lot of myviews on education is how
important it is really to buildcommunity.
I know you had Dr Terry on hererecently and I know that's he's
(02:05):
a huge advocate for that aswell and building.
You know really incrediblethings there in forney isd with
the community.
But you know I actually trainedto become kindergarten teacher.
It's the only grade I've nevertaught taught grade one to 12,
vice principal, principal,worked central office and then
I've written several books.
Uh, the one obviously most wellknown is probably the
innovators mindset, and texasspecifically, really, uh,
gravitated toward it, and notbecause it was really good I
(02:26):
don't want that credit but justbecause they started doing
districts of innovation at thesame time.
The innovation mindset came outand it shows you how much
timing really matters, because Ithink a lot of them are like
let's just read this guy's book.
So I've done a lot of work inTexas over the years, but I've
had the privilege to you know,write several books and, yeah,
and just connect with incredibleeducators all over the world.
(02:47):
And, like yourself, and thatthat, to me, is really when you
talked about the importance ofgrowth, it's not something that
I think we have to reserve onlyfor our students, but do we do
that ourselves?
And even before we got on hereyou said you know you've watched
my interviews, you've seen mydevelopment over time and I
pride myself on.
I am an avid learner and thatis my number one focus in the
(03:08):
realm of education.
I don't tell anyone how toteach, but I really focus on how
do I learn and what are some ofthe lessons I can share through
that process with others.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Number one.
All this is great.
I think everybody sees quicklywhy I wanted to interview George
.
So here's the funny thing.
I mean, I've had the pleasureof speaking coast to coast.
The only state I've not been inis Alaska, but everywhere you
go it's kind of funny because Iremember one time I sat by
myself in a room of 4,000 at atable up front and these two
twins walked by and they said ohlook, there's the keynote
(03:39):
speaker.
And they looked at me and theysaid I hope you're good and I
said I hope so too.
Well, I come into an event I'mat this event with Dr Terry,
this Designing the Future ofPublic Education at the OC in
Forney and I just come in andfind a seat at the table.
Little did I know I was sittingdown next to the keynote
speaker, and so I get to talkinto George and I'm just
(04:07):
intrigued, as we started talkingabout AI and applications of
information and how we channelthat through educators and the
importance of that to studentsand to communities, and so I
just wanted to share thebackstory of how we found George
and his wisdom and, through ourcommon friend, dr Terry, and I
think you're going to see as wego through this, why I was so
intrigued by what he had to say.
(04:28):
But, george, I start everypodcast off.
Every one starts off the sameway and you get the same
question that everybody elsegets, and that is today, george,
what are you grateful for?
What are you grateful for today, grateful for?
Speaker 3 (04:43):
What are you grateful for today?
Well, you know, I'm reallygrateful for, honestly, the
health that I have, and it'sbeen a journey for me because, I
was probably pretty unhealthy.
And then COVID happened and then, weirdly enough, I basically
got my health in check duringthat time and even though right
before I talked to you, I, youknow, was sweating profusely on
(05:04):
a Stairmaster and I always askwhy am I even doing this while
I'm doing it?
But then I just go back thenext day, and I think the reason
why I say that specifically isbecause the precipice for me
really getting my health inorder and I think for years I
wanted to do it, but I was likeI just want to look better.
I was like that didn't reallypull me, but I really realized
(05:27):
how important it was that mykids had a dad as long as
possible.
And so I think about that, howgrateful I am that I got my
health in order, because it'snot only that I get more time
with my kids, I feel like I getbetter time with them Because,
honestly, if you know anythingabout me, my kids are my
everything.
So that is really the driver.
(05:50):
And I think the reason why Ishared that specifically is
because I think a lot of timeswhen we take time for ourselves,
we see it as a selfish act,whereas I think it can be a
really selfless act if you'refocused on why you're doing in
the first place.
So that was really kind of the.
The push for me was I want mykids not only to like have a dad
as long as possible, but also adad that's totally engaged as
much as possible, but also be agood model for them too, cause I
(06:10):
know how important you knowhealth and wellness is.
You can't really do great stuffunless you you do have that in
check.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
Well, number one, I just want to say I commend you.
I agree with you, my youngestnow.
I've got two grandchildren.
I've got four kids.
My youngest just graduatedFriday and I guess something
that you just said that wasreally special to me is you know
, I lost my dad when I was 10years old and I got into a lot
(06:37):
of trouble and I got sent to aboy's ranch and I was lucky.
I got a second chance at lifeMost recently this last
Thanksgiving.
I was 58 years old and Iremember I looked at my kids and
we're blessing the food and Isaid look around.
And they're like what I said Ijust want you all to look around
.
And they're like what are welooking at, dad?
(06:57):
I said just look around.
And so they looked around and Isaid you've got a family.
I said I'm 58 years old and Isaid I cannot remember a single
Thanksgiving because we were toopoor.
I can't remember a time thatour families got together
because we didn't have the meansand I said I want y'all to look
around and look at the blessingthat you have, because you have
(07:18):
something that sometimes Idon't ever want you to take it
for granted.
I want you to appreciate it andthe fact that you're that aware
of how intentional you areabout being a father,
congratulations.
And your kids are lucky.
And, uh, I don't know if theytell you that every day, but you
are.
They are in your planting seedsof greatness.
Trust me, you're planting seedsof greatness that are going to
(07:40):
be harvested.
Okay, so we're at this seminarand I'm a note taker Anybody
that knows me, I'm old school,right, I'm still pen and paper
and I'm sitting there and Georgesays something and I just start
writing it down.
I said I got to write this down, genius.
He said somebody somewhere isdoing the same thing that you
say can't, you can't do.
I said I've got to write thatdown.
(08:03):
That is classic.
So the point is, here's agentleman who was an educator,
an administrator, and now he'spouring into others and I really
want to kind of unpack that,george, and talk a little bit
about that.
I want to talk about why it'simportant and why you attack it
with this innovation and passionthat you do, if you don't mind.
(08:24):
So kind of walk us through that.
You gave us a little briefoverview, but kind of walk us
through.
You know, why did you choose tobecome an educator.
And then why did you make thatnext step to the administrative
side?
And then, what led you to wantto take on this role of
consulting and encouraging at ahigher level?
Speaker 3 (08:43):
Well, yeah, and interestingly enough, I think a
lot of times when you havesomeone in the field of
education who's as passionate asI am about it and the people
that I work with, they'll have astory of basically, you know,
when they were kids, they knewthey wanted to be a teacher,
right, like something.
That is not my story at all.
I went to university my parentsare both immigrants to Canada,
(09:03):
from Greece and they said youhave to go to university, like
there was that was it?
There was no discussion and Ididn't know what I wanted to do
and so I went and, you know,spent a lot of money, you know,
on a degree that nevermaterialized.
And then I actually said, youknow, I might as well go into
teaching, like it was never apassion for me.
And weirdly weirdly enough, Iremember it was probably my
(09:24):
second job my principal whohired me said, you know, because
they were like it was such adifferent time, they were
fighting for teachers, like itwas really hard for them to get
there, which is the opposite ofwhat's going on right now.
But he said to me he goes.
I kind of feel you're morepassionate about coaching
basketball than you are teaching.
I'm like you're not wrong, likethat was.
I was like that was just a goodway to get into coaching and so
(09:48):
I probably, you know, like Iwas okay as a teacher, you know,
at the beginning of my career.
I feel I'm very comfortablespeaking in front of people.
Kids relate to me very well, soI feel like I kind of had that
going for me and I I knew aboutprobably about seven years in I
don't know if I want to do thisanymore and I basically left one
(10:08):
school, went to another school,had an incredible principal who
totally changed my viewpoint oneducation and her name was
Kelly Wilkins.
I think about her all the timeand think that I I always feel
really special because it's likeshe brought something out of me
and you feel like I'm the onlyone she ever did that to.
But she did that to so manypeople and so many people went
(10:29):
on to really great opportunitiesbecause of her leadership and
that really inspired me toreally rethink how I you know my
passion for education, what Iwanted to do, and it shows you
how much a great leader you knowcan have an impact, and it
shows you how much a greatleader you know can have an
impact.
So I think one of the thingsthat is really important to me
is I do what Kelly did for mefor as many people as possible,
(10:52):
and so that's not just studentsbut it's staff as well.
And you'll see, like, when Iwas there and one of the things
I kept talking about is reallykind of focusing on learners not
students, but learners, anybodywilling to grow in an
organization because I think alot of times we focus really
what on the students need, butyou got to focus on the adults,
because if you get the adults ofthe need, they're way better
equipped to help the students.
(11:13):
I think that's kind of why itshaped into what I was and she
really, you know, she gave usyou know, not just myself but
all the teachers on staff like alot of ownership over that
school and it was a hugeresponsibility.
But then you also wanted to doreally well, because your
fingerprints are all over thesolutions, so I know that she
(11:34):
knew that was really important.
She hired me.
When she hired me which isreally interesting because it's
not a normal practice they theyput a job application for a
middle school teacher, not for agrade seven science teacher,
not for a grade nine, you know,math teacher.
It just said middle school andher mentality was let's find the
(11:55):
best person we can, and then wecan shuffle things around, not
just look for a very specificrole to fill, because we could
probably move somebody in theschool already who might want to
do the role.
And so that was her mentalityof how she hired she always
looked for the best personpossible and then she would
shape roles around them, and sothat was basically her.
She saw something in me, shesaw a need for the school and
(12:19):
she saw how I fit it and thenbasically we just kind of said,
okay, okay, what are you goingto teach?
Was the after the fact.
So it was really interesting,cause I think a lot of times we
maybe push away some reallygreat people because we're so
very specific when it reallyjust takes, you know, a little
adjusting to, and that that wasreally, you know, that's
something that really kind ofstuck with me.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
Let me tell you something you just said another
one.
See, I knew we were going toconnect, george.
I've got a real simplephilosophy, and everybody that
knows me knows it goes like thisIf you want to be the best,
train with the best, so find thebest people that you can and
hang out with those people when,whatever it may be, because
you're going to pick somethingyou don't possess.
And the reason that we focus onI'm going to tell you about
(13:06):
something that we do with ourteachers the reason we focus in
on our teachers is because ofthat very thing If we can give
them something that they canshare with us.
You know, I tell people to R2A2everything.
I don't know if you've everheard that before.
I tell them to R2A2.
So when I was sitting therelistening to you the other day
speaking, guess what I had?
I had my paper down there and Iwas R2A2.
And here it is Recognize,relate, assimilate and apply.
(13:28):
So listen and recognize whatthey say, relate to it.
How does that relate to who Iam, where I'm at?
Can I take part of that in andmake it part of myself?
And then can I apply that?
And I think that's the beauty ofwhat you're doing is, you know
you are stretching teachers andadministrators' minds.
You're challenging them, andI'm glad you are, because if we
(13:51):
don't, we're liable to get stuckin a rut, and we know what a
rut is, what's a grave with theends kicked out.
The bottom line is is we've gotto compete for the future, our
kids.
We've got to compete for minds.
That's another thing that I'mreal big about, administrators
and educators, is if you're notwilling to compete, then don't
be upset when somebody else wins.
You either compete for minds orsomebody else will and you may
(14:13):
not like what game they'replaying.
So when you talk about Ms Wilkesand Kelly and being the best
and making sure, you know it'skind of like good to great.
Get the right people on the busand then get them in the right
seats and then empower them,encourage them, equip them.
You know I picked up on it theother day and I just want to
share this with you.
I thought one of the mostencouraging things that you said
(14:36):
throughout your message was theimportance of creating a
positive, engaging and learningculture.
Yeah, and I don't know if thatis specific to what you talk
about.
I'm just telling you that was amajor takeaway for me.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
Yeah, that is something that I really focus on
and I think a lot of timespeople when they hear positive
or engaging, they don'tnecessarily think that it's
difficult or strenuous, or youknow, like I said this morning,
i'm'm hating what I'm doing, butI know the benefits of it too.
(15:13):
But I I know the I know theresults of it too, like, I'll
give you an example.
This is why I really focus onlearners.
Last, I think it was about ayear and a half ago, uh, my
daughter kalia, I think she justturned uh six or seven around
that age, and I wanted her toplay the piano and I knew she'd
be interested.
I knew she really liked music.
But to get her going, I wantedto learn it myself.
(15:35):
And so I'm 49 when I'm learningit.
She's seven, so we're goingthrough the same things.
And I remember I took piano forabout three months as a kid and
I hated it.
And the reason I hated it wasbecause I grew up with two older
brothers and I listened to thepolice depeche mode, like really
(15:56):
, you know 80s quintessentialrock bands love it and.
But I'm going to piano learninghow to play mary had a little
land.
It's not cutting it for me,right?
I'm not into kids music.
I'm into what my brotherslisten to.
So, knowing this, we are reallybig into like musicals, la la
land you know barbie moviethings like this.
So I'm learning these littleriffs from the movie and then
(16:19):
I'm teaching her and she's allexcited about it and she sees
kind of the long term and she'llit's.
You know I'm not teaching herthe most complex riffs of it,
but she sees that howinteresting it is because that's
what she likes that she's morewilling to do the hard stuff,
the practice, the theory behindit.
But if you just start doing thepractice in theory but you don't
(16:41):
see the long-term results, so Ithink a lot of times we get
this mixed up that theengagement is all about kids
just having fun and no, it'sactually kids seeing the purpose
, seeing the purpose long term,that they're willing to do the
stuff that's really really hardto get to.
The stuff is really good.
Our family model is you do notget the good stuff unless you're
willing to do the hard stuff.
That is what I say to my kidsall the time it is.
(17:02):
You know, like I said, somedays they're not really happy
about me as their dad.
But they know, know, long-termright, that's a benefit because
that's how you do it.
But they have to see, they haveto get glimpses of the good
stuff.
We can't just like promise thisas it doesn't exist.
You know, like learning to thatI think that's really kind of
shamey, because I'm way more inthe piano now because I can, you
(17:23):
know, I can learn all the songsI wanted to learn as a kid,
because I'll just go intoYouTube and someone's teaching
you how to play and I'll pick itup too, right, and so she's
more willing to do that.
And every single morning I goin the routine, I get up before
everyone in the family and theywake up to me practicing the
piano.
That's what I do every singleday and it's good for me because
it shows me like, hey,repetition is really good you
know, routine is really good andso as much as I talk about
(17:46):
innovation, the innovation comesout of being so good at your
stuff that you can actually,kind of you know, maneuver it
and and do different things withit.
You can't, like you don't,become a a great improvisational
jazz musician until you knowthe basics inside out.
But that's where the innovationcomes.
Later is when you know thestuff so well that you can
actually start to riff indifferent ways.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
Well, number one I love the piano and I don't play
the piano, but I'm a big BruceSpringsteen in the E Street band
, professor Roy Benton.
When you see Roy Benton playthe piano you're like that's
rock and roll, you got to have alittle piano, it's rock and
roll Application.
You said something there withapplication.
You know one of the things ourorganization gives 2.3 million
(18:31):
in scholarships every year inthe state of Texas.
Somebody said that we give morescholarships in Texas than UIL.
But you said something that Ihave found that our sponsors
really gravitate to, and Iremember one time a sponsor
asked me.
He said Aaron, he goes, what isit that you think y'all do
that's different than everybodyelse?
He said doesn't fine arts teachspeech and debate?
Doesn't band and choir teachensemble?
(18:53):
He said doesn't sports teachteamwork?
He said what is it you thinky'all do that nobody else does.
And you're probably like me, Ilike good questions, and that
was a good question.
And I told him.
I said well, I think there's acouple of things.
And I told him I said well, Ithink there's a couple of things
.
I said you know, there's a lotof people that argue we need to
get back to the basics the threeR's, reading, writing,
arithmetic.
If we get back to the basics,we put this country back on
(19:16):
track.
Well, okay, before I took myjob that I'm in now, I used to
work with truant offenders, bootcamp kids, and I worked in a
prison.
Everybody that I worked withcould read, write and do math at
some functional level.
But I tell people you're rightabout the three R's.
It's not reading, writing,arithmetic, I would argue, it's
respect, responsibility andresiliency.
If we could teach a kid torespect themselves, their fellow
(19:38):
man, be responsible forthemselves, their families,
their communities, and learn toget up when you've been knocked
down, because not everybody'sgoing to get a trophy.
And I said I think we do thatpretty good.
I said, but here's what I thinkseparates us from everybody
else.
And you just said it.
I said you know, I rememberthere was a blizzard blowing in
on the Texas panhandle and Iremember my dorm parent handing
(20:00):
me a sledgehammer and asking meto drive five miles to bust the
water.
Trough for the horses, and justlike your kids, george, I
didn't want to do it.
And trough for the horses, andjust like your kids, george, I
didn't want to do it.
And I said I don't want to.
Mr Chandler, it's a blizzard.
I got lost.
It feels like a razor cut inyour skin and I'll never forget
it.
He said darling, do you getthirsty when those horses, like
(20:20):
those horses when it's cold?
I said, yes, sir, I get thirstywhen it's cold.
And he said you think thosehorses might get thirsty too?
I said, yes, sir, I drove fivemiles that day and I busted the
water trough for the horses.
But I look at donors and I tellthem I'll tell you what
separates our kids fromeverybody else.
Because in our world if wedon't do our job, something dies
.
Now, when you talk about that,application of success begets
(20:45):
success.
And if we can give that youngperson the tools to be
encouraged, equipped andempowered to have a moment of
success and train that learningtool where they want to keep
exploring, that because successbegets success, you've got to
believe you're planting someseeds of greatness there that
others can grow from that otherscan grow from.
Speaker 3 (21:11):
Yeah, that is a big thing for me, and the work that
I'm doing with Forney and withschools all over the world is,
first of all, a lot of timeswhen we discuss success in
schools, we have defined it forour students, and you could say
you're successful.
I could say I'm successful, butwe might have totally different
definitions.
So we know, as adults, successis different to everybody what
(21:35):
that looks like, what that means.
Some people it's money, somepeople it's jobs, some people
it's like family, some it's likea variation of all those things
.
So I think part of the role ofeducation is to actually help
kids determine what does successlook like to them and what
would that be Like?
(21:55):
Where do you find that purpose?
And then helping them definethat path for themselves and
then figure out what are thethings there too, because you
know I'm not really interestedin someone else's definition of
success for me, and so why woulda kid be interested in that too
, right?
So if I can help define it, youknow, going back to Kelly, if I
see my fingerprints on theendpoints, I'm more likely to do
(22:19):
the hard work, and that'ssomething that you know is
really important to me, not as adad, but, you know, as an
education, and again, not juststudents.
That should be community as well, right?
What does that actually looklike?
How do we get to this point?
How do we define that success?
One of the things I reallyappreciate about Forney is a lot
of the solutions they havecreated to really make community
(22:39):
want to be there is.
They ask the community whatwould make you want to be there?
And then they created it.
And so you know who the biggestadvocates are for schools in
Forney the community, becausethey see they're not going to
advocate against something theybuilt.
Speaker 2 (22:55):
Sure, no-transcript space from florida.
(23:19):
So you know, back when they didthe teacher in space program,
every state got to pick ateacher and the lady that was
from florida was ag scienceteacher.
Her name was Susan Forte andSusan was actually Krista
McCullough's partner in theSpace Shuttle program.
And one of my favorite quotesfrom Krista was she said I touch
the future, I teach, trying todo, and then I think about what
(23:42):
we do through our program and welike to say around, we have a
program, a leadership programfor the kids, and we say the
essence of leadership is toplant trees under whose shade
you may never sit.
And we want people to be verypurposeful in trying to find
(24:03):
ways to plant seeds in theircommunity, in their homes, in
their organization, wherever itmay be, to grow strong trees
that someday somebody gets tosit under the shade and enjoy.
And I hear you doing that notonly in your home, by the way,
george.
I hear you doing that whenyou're very passionate about it.
When you look at what Kelly didfor you you're very intentional
(24:25):
about that of how you'reapproaching your consulting jobs
or speaking jobs.
I think you see the value onthe other end of this if it's
done right.
Speaker 3 (24:37):
Yeah, and the interesting thing about me is
that I think a lot of peoplethat do the work that I do and I
shouldn't say you know like Iguess I shouldn't say a lot you
know some.
Their process is how do wecreate something where you're
going to continuously need me tocome in and help you?
mine is how do I actually getyou to realize how much you
(24:57):
don't need me and kind of like,move away from this because the
emphasis on education?
I remember like I talked alittle bit about ai and you know
things are happening.
My focus is not teaching kidsand schools how to deal with AI.
My focus is how do you teachcommunities to figure out?
(25:17):
No matter what comes your way,you'll be able to figure it out.
That's the process, right, andthat's my mentality.
I'm not.
I'm not.
A lot of people ask me likewhat do you see as the future of
education?
Like what's going to be in thenext five, ten years?
And my answer is the same todayas it was 10 years ago, as
it'll be 10 years from now.
I have no clue, and neither doyou.
Nobody knows, right what I doknow is, no matter what comes
(25:38):
our way, I'll be able to figureit out, and that's what I'm
trying to instill in kids andtry and still and staff that you
will be able to figure out yourown solutions.
That's really about thatempowerment in what you're doing
, because long term I can't tellmy kids, hey, 10 years from now
, this is what you have toconsider.
What I can't teach my kids, youneed to be able to learn right
now, because if you do that,anything that comes your way
(25:58):
you'll be able to figure it out.
That's the process, right?
There's things I teach my kidsright now about, like finances,
stocks, investing that myparents never had a conversation
with me, not because theydidn't think it was important,
but because they didn't know,because they didn't have access
to the information that we do.
And so a lot of times my kidsare just like why are you
telling us this?
I'm like you'll figure it out.
You'll understand why I'mtelling you this now, but
(26:21):
they're getting more and moreinterested because it's like hey
, here of this stuff, here's howyou figure out some of these
things, because I probably won'tbe around to see how well they
do with it, you know at somepoint.
But my gift is and I think thisis really what my parents
instilled in me you know, my dadpassed away a little over a
decade ago my parents instilledin me a work ethic and a
(26:41):
willingness to deal with nochange, no matter what comes my
way.
And that's that's what I'mtrying to teach because, like
you know, you think about someof the things we complain about
with technology my parents wouldhave loved to have, and they
dealt with change in such anadmirable way that it's not that
difficult for me, because I sawwhat my family did for me to be
able to have the opportunitiesI do have today.
Speaker 2 (27:03):
Has your past ever crossed with a guy named Dale
Alexander?
Speaker 3 (27:07):
No, I don't know who that is, so you're going to love
this one.
Speaker 2 (27:10):
I tell you he's been on the podcast.
As a matter of fact, he's theonly guest I've ever had that we
had to do two podcasts.
Dale Alexander he wrote a bookfor his daughter.
His daughter told him he'dwrite the book.
It's called the Talk AboutMoney, and the state of Georgia
actually purchases his book andgives it to every graduating
senior.
And it's a very simplephilosophy of how you, from your
(27:32):
very first paycheck, how tomanage your finances, and it's
an incredible story.
But anyway, for another daysitting here, you reminded me
too, especially when COVID hit.
You know, we're big Zig Ziglarfans around our shop and I love
a lot of Zig's philosophies andone of those was, he said,
expect the best, prepare for theworst and then capitalize on
(27:54):
what comes.
And the reason I think that's agreat philosophy is exactly
what you just said.
I don't think anybody saw COVIDcoming, but guess what?
What do we have to do?
We all had to pivot.
I love that word pivot, don'tyou?
We had to pivot, we had toadjust, we had to make changes
in our routines and our habitsand our behaviors to accommodate
a point in time.
And, to your point, we don'tknow what the geopolitical
(28:18):
landscape is going to look like,what the domestic economics is
going to look like, what thecurrent state of education, what
technology is going to do tothat.
The bottom line is we've got totrain our kids to be aware, to
be adaptable and, like you saidI mean you've said it time and
again just be a learner, just bewilling to be coachable.
Speaker 3 (28:38):
Yeah, it's funny.
When COVID happened, I rememberit was like I was all I was
doing was traveling, speakingbefore Right.
And then I remember one day, uhevent is canceled and then
cancel, cancel, cancel, cancel.
First day thinking, oh my God,what am I going to do?
(29:02):
And then I remember the next daythinking listen, if I can't
figure this out and I'm theinnovation guy, then what does
that say about me?
So then I just totally shiftedthe way I thought about stuff
and a lot of the things that Istarted doing.
Then I continue on in in whatI'm doing and, like I said, it
took me.
It took me a little while, like, hey, you know, um, I realized,
(29:24):
as I mentioned before, a lot ofthe travel kind of caused some
of the health issues because ofhow I was traveling.
I'm like, hey, I gotta like, ifI ever go back out, I gotta
have some new routines and thinkabout things differently.
And I always say that COVIDreally it impacted everybody in
totally different ways and lotof people went through different
things.
I looked at some of thehardships that we went through,
(29:46):
but I also looked at some of thethings that have reshifted my
thinking and how do I bring thatforward?
Because every situation is anopportunity for growth, whether
it's a good situation or a badsituation.
One of the things I always getconcerned about is that people
who find success becomecomfortable because they're like
hey, this worked.
Like you know, they basicallyblockbuster themselves right,
(30:09):
like, hey, what worked yesterdaywill work tomorrow, and it's
like, no, you've got tocontinuously reevaluate and so
you can learn from failure asmuch as you can from success.
And what do you do kind ofmoving forward.
So I think that's a reallyimportant aspect is, how do you
(30:31):
instill that in your kids that,hey I was just saying this to my
wife I don't ever get caught upin criticism and I don't ever
get caught up in praise, becauseyou can't say, hey, ignore the
haters, but just listen topeople who love you.
It's right, you have to be ableto evaluate yourself and figure
out your own pathway forward.
Don't get caught up on eitherside.
Right, you have to be able toevaluate yourself and figure out
your own pathway forward.
Don't get caught up on eitherside of it.
You have to that you are alwaysstuck with you and you have to
figure out how do youcontinuously get better and
(30:53):
improve.
So that's something I really tryto model, especially like I
actually was listening to amarathon runner on a run and she
basically said like she's oneof the most competitive,
successful marathoners in ushistory and she's like look, I
never competed against anyoneelse.
I always looked at myself.
I never got caught up in whatelse someone else is doing,
(31:13):
because I would say, like, howdo I push myself to basically
the break.
And that's how she foundsuccess.
She was never caught up in whatothers were saying or doing.
She, she did what she knew.
She had the capabilities to doit.
So it was beautiful.
And as I'm like dying in theFlorida heat on a run she's
saying this, I'm like I betterpick it up.
Speaker 2 (31:31):
Well, I mean, that's it, though we're always in
competition with our own bestself, and I love that analogy.
Irving Berlin you know, I lovewhat Irving Berlin said.
He said the toughest thingabout success is that you got to
keep on being a success.
And you know, you've got to beintentional about that.
And then another guy I don'tknow if your paths have ever
crossed, but I hope that theywill is a guy named Dan Owolabi.
(31:53):
Dan Owolabi is out of WorcesterOhio and he's probably got one
of the most powerful educationaltestimonies that I've ever
heard.
But you know, he always says ifyou live by the praise of those
around you, then you'll die bythe critics around you.
You know, and that's.
It's like you're saying, my job.
I mean, I'm mostly yes, I'mblessed to work with students,
(32:16):
I'm blessed to work witheducators, but my role is a
development officer.
So I'm working with a lot ofthe corporate folks and I tell
the young people and I tell theteachers, if I've ever taken
away one word from all thecorporate people I work with,
that word is next.
It doesn't matter if they have asuccess, what's next.
It doesn't matter if they havea setback, it's what's next.
Their whole focus is forward,it's not backward and like John
(32:40):
Maxwell said he said, if youhave a success, do an autopsy on
it and move on.
Find out why it was a success,but then move on Because the
opportunities are what lie ahead, and I love that that is a
consistency in your messaging isthat encouragement to always be
forward looking?
The other thing that you said,george and, by the way, this is
(33:04):
why I love this podcast I tellpeople just listen to what they
say, bring people on and justlisten to what they say.
You've said two things that arereally important.
Number one you have been veryclear to be in the present, to
be in the moment.
You've never not acknowledgedthat importance, but at the same
(33:26):
time you said be a learner soyou can be ready for what's next
.
Speaker 3 (33:33):
Yeah, that to me is probably the biggest lesson I've
had over the last few years.
Is that you really want, if youput your best effort into what
you're doing, whatever that is,that pays off in the future
right but if you are and this isadvice I give to people right,
so someone is.
I remember when I was anassistant principal I did not
(33:53):
want to go in school leadership.
It was not my interest and Igot an assistant principalship,
like basically on a, on a whim,I applied for a job and I don't
think anyone else applied for itbecause it was in July and all
the good people were taken, so Iso I don't think they had many
applicants, so they just took meand basically within two days
(34:14):
I'm like I want to be aprincipal one day and I was
blessed.
I had a really great principal.
His name is Archie Lilico andhis mentality was that he wasn't
trying to make you the bestsense of principle, he was
training you to eventually leada school on your own and he knew
that was something, and so heput me in positions that I was
probably not ready for in mymind.
(34:36):
But he knew he'd have to helplevel me up and I remember a
principal position came up and Ididn't.
I really wanted the job, but Ididn't.
I really wanted the job, but Ididn't want to go to the place
that I was asked being going andhe said to me like what is the
worst thing that would happen ifyou didn't take that job?
You'd actually end up beinghere at the school you love as
(34:58):
an assistant principal.
It's not the worst thing.
And I remember thinking aboutthat because I was like what if
I don't take this job?
It's not the worst thing.
And I remember thinking aboutthat because I was like what if
I don't take this job?
It's going to like everyopportunity is going to.
You know, I'm going to lose allthese opportunities in the
future.
And so I turned it down and Isaid my focus is, if I do the
best at being an assistantprincipal right now and I really
(35:21):
focus on nailing this, theprincipal opportunity will come.
There's no way they wouldn'tactually hire me.
But if I'm so focused onbecoming a principal that I
forget the people that I'mcaring for here, that's when I
start losing opportunities.
And that's always my, my adviceto people you know looking for
leadership roles just be whereyou are, do the best that you
can, and if you really take careof the people that are in front
(35:44):
of you, the opportunities willcome your way.
That's me.
But if you're so focused on thefuture that you don't pay
attention to the present.
That's where you loseopportunities.
Speaker 2 (35:55):
Man, there again you're bringing back some Zig.
What did Zig always say?
If you help enough other peopleget what they want, you'll get
what you want.
You've shared a lot here andwe're going to start kind of
winding this down because, again, we try to keep these within a
classroom structure.
But one of the things that Ithink I like to share with young
people is I always ask them Isaid, how many high schools are
(36:19):
in Texas?
And they always, you know,somebody will yell out a lot and
I'm like, yeah, there's a lot.
I said there's actually over3,000 high schools in the state
of Texas.
I said how many of those highschools this year are going to
have a graduating class?
And they're like, well, I guessall of them.
I said that's right, thinkabout that.
Every one of them are going tobe out looking for a job, a
(36:39):
scholarship or an opportunity.
And so I ask the kids what'syour competitive edge?
What is it that separates youfrom your peers that when you
start looking for a job, ascholarship or an opportunity,
that kind of sets you apart.
And I think that when teachershave an opportunity to hear your
presentations, when you havethat opportunity to recognize,
relate, assimilate and applyinformation, you begin to create
(37:00):
a competitive edge.
Information, you begin tocreate a competitive edge.
And so, when I think about whatyou do for students and
educators, my question to you isthis if you could give those
folks three competitive edges,three skill sets, what would you
tell them?
Hey, try these.
Speaker 3 (37:17):
Yeah, well, the first one that you kind of alluded to
is what I call the spongefactor, right?
So when I looked at hiringteachers I know this is like
kind of a strange way to look atit I would look at if you had a
teacher who their ability wasabove and beyond anyone else's,
(37:41):
I wouldn't necessarily take them.
I would only take them if Iknew they had a willingness to
still learn and grow.
Because if I had someone who isat a little bit lower level,
who is like craving learning,craving mentorship, eventually
they would surpass that person.
Plus, they are modeling totheir kids what they're
expecting of them tocontinuously learn.
So I'm always looking for thatsponge factor, that willingness
to learn, and I take that into.
(38:04):
I used to ref basketball at areally high level and the kind
of.
The second point is do youactually take action on feedback
?
Do you do something with it?
So when I used to ref, theywould.
When you do college games,you'd have someone sitting in
the stands watching you, soyou'd get evaluated and
(38:24):
basically they bring you in athalftime very short 10 minutes
and they would rip you to pieces, not because they hated you,
because they only have 10minutes they're not going to
make you feel good aboutyourself.
They're like we need you to fixthis.
Do this, do this different?
Whatever, the ones thatactually moved up the quickest
in the ranks of refereeing arethe ones who tried what was
(38:44):
suggested in the second half.
They didn't like.
Sit and think about it and itdoesn't mean that you did that
forever, but at least you triedto see.
Does this work for me?
Does this actually work?
So a lot of times when you'relike, if you're looking at this,
most of my accomplishmentsaren't from overthinking,
they're from under thinking.
(39:05):
When I mean by that, it is Iimplement action right away and
I figure it out along the way.
And I think a lot of times thatpeople think too much about
stuff that they talk themselvesout of really great ideas,
whereas, like, start the ideaand make it great, that
willingness to be a sponge, totake action from feedback.
But I think, especially in atime with technology, it is that
(39:25):
personal connection is the mostthing.
You are you relatable, right?
Like I?
I look at everything like thatI pay for.
You know, in services and Iknow this is more of a medical
term is is bedside manner, right?
Do you do I feel like I'mlistened to?
Do I feel like you're listeningto what I'm saying?
(39:46):
Do you make me feel appreciatedas someone in this space and
when you're having all thecontent, all the information in
the world, being the smartestperson that no one can relate to
doesn't necessarily bring outany great ideas.
It is that connection thatreally, really matters.
So, like I know, when you sawme here and I probably talked a
little bit of my kids, talk alittle bit about my family, and
(40:06):
you kind of mentioned thisearlier what you're trying to do
is get people to see themselvesin your story, right, but it's
also I'm trying to build rapportwith people like, hey, I'm not,
I'm not some brilliant academic, I'm a, I'm a dad trying to
figure stuff out.
Because a lot of people arelike you know what I'm, I don't
really know what I'm doingeither sometimes, so they start
seeing themselves in the picture, right, I think that
(40:28):
relatability really can separateyou in a totally different way
and it's in everything that youdo, right, like one of the
things I tell my kids, doing atask is not good enough for me.
It is your attitude when you dothe task.
If you are grumbling the entiretime, I've asked you to do
(40:48):
something.
Do you think I would want towork with you?
Right, it is like you put yourbest foot forward.
You really make that connectionand those opportunities will
come.
Like everything that I do,whether I hate it or not, I try
to treat everyone around me asbest as possible.
One of my own personal mantrasis the best interaction every
(41:08):
person you interact with has inthat day.
Now I fail more than I succeed,but that is something that's
like hey, if I have like aone-minute interaction with
somebody that I've never metbefore, my hope is that it was
so good they remember it therest of the day.
It leads them to something andif you can do that no matter
your role, no matter if you'redoing a job or not that really
you know we'll get you to stickout to people in a totally
(41:30):
different way.
Speaker 2 (41:32):
So I'm a big believer in um R and D.
You know what R and D is, I'msure.
Speaker 3 (41:38):
I know, I know you got different definitions.
Speaker 2 (41:40):
Yeah, most people call it research and development
.
I sometimes refer to it as ripoff and duplicate.
So I just want you to know thatwas absolutely, george,
brilliant.
I love that.
I'm going to tell you thatright there.
All three sponge factor takeaction, personal connection,
(42:02):
relatability.
But what a genuine andincredible comment to say let me
be that person that person isencouraged by for the rest of
the day.
Wow, that is powerful.
Thank you so much for sharingthat.
Speaker 3 (42:19):
I try that.
Speaker 2 (42:20):
I'm telling you.
Speaker 3 (42:21):
I try that as much as possible.
I feel more than I really thinkabout.
Speaker 2 (42:26):
Yeah, really good, all right, well, listen, I
really appreciate your timeagain.
We try to package thesepodcasts so that they can be
used in a classroom and I thinkwe try to do it in a way where
both the educator and thestudent can find some value in
the time that we spend together.
But every guest gets one lastfun question, so you get one
(42:48):
last fun question.
Here it is Tell me what is thebest concert you've ever been to
.
Speaker 3 (42:55):
Oh, the best concert.
Well, I've been to several.
I am probably.
It's kind of interestingbecause they're so different.
Probably one of my favoriteconcerts ever was Coldplay and
Coldplay, yeah, gigantic,unbelievable arena show.
I know they don't even doarenas, they're too big.
Now they do stadiums.
(43:16):
It's just like an amazing thingand it felt so personal and
like I actually talked aboutthis.
And then probably my other oneis the avid brothers.
They're like uh, kind of,they're not as well known,
probably one of my favoritebands ever but they do smaller
venues and it's actually likejust interesting to think about
the contrast of how differentthose concerts are.
(43:37):
One feels so intimate andpersonal.
The other one is so over thetop and it kind of reminds you
whatever you have in front ofyou, just make the best out of
it, because Coldplay does theseincredible stadiums, ava
Brothers do these small concertsand they just seem to be the
perfect fit in each one and itjust gives me energy every time
(43:58):
I see both of these bands.
Speaker 2 (44:00):
Love it and, by the way you can imagine, with almost
80 episodes I've heard thespectrum of concerts.
Anyway, thanks so much forsharing.
Hey, everybody, thank you forstopping by.
I mean, we always talk aboutthe fact that the only thing you
can do with time is spend it.
So the fact that you sharedsome of your time with us, the
fact that we brought on anincredible guest who shared some
(44:22):
seeds of greatness that we canplant and put in place not only
in our lives, in our families'lives, in our classrooms, in our
communities, in our state andcountry, that's a win for
everybody involved.
The fact that we've now beenchallenged I love it to be that
voice of encouragement todaythat the people that we
(44:42):
encounter take it away and sayI'm glad I ran into George today
, my day is going to be betterbecause of it.
Until we meet again, if youwill do me a favor, go out and
do something great for somebodyelse.
You're going to feel good aboutit.
You're going to make this worlda better place to live, work
and raise our families.
So, until our next episode ofthe Growing Our Future podcast,
(45:04):
we'll see you down the road andremember if you want to know
what the future is, grow it.
Thanks so much for joining us.
Speaker 1 (45:15):
We hope you've enjoyed this episode of the
Growing Our Future podcast.
This show is sponsored by theTexas FFA Foundation, whose
mission is to strengthenagricultural science education
so students can develop theirpotential for personal growth,
career success and leadership ina global marketplace.
Learn more at mytexasffaorg.
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