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OSU Extension

College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences

CFAES

Communiqué July 3, 2012

Recovery from Storms Hitting Ohio

--Keith Smith, associate vice president, Agricultural Administration and director, OSU Extension

I know many offices and individual employees have lost power or water, and have had trees or other damage to clean up after the recent storms. The damage is widespread, and some areas of our state are not predicted to have power for more than a week. I hope your office and/or personal recovery process goes well, and I commend your commitment to Extension as we all recover from the damages and inconveniences. I encourage your continued professionalism as community leaders who remain focused on "Empowerment through Education" as cleanup efforts continue; and I appreciate the leadership that you provide the citizens of Ohio as we get through this difficult time.

Deliver Results - Behavior #6 of High-Trust Leaders

-Keith Smith, associate vice president, Agricultural Administration and director, OSU Extension

In the Speed of Trust, Stephen M.R. Covey says delivering results gives you instant credibility and instant trust. When we “Deliver Results,” we move from those behaviors that are based primarily on character to those based primarily on competence. He says this behavior grows out of the principles of responsibility, accountability, and performance. The opposite of Deliver Results is performing poorly or failing to deliver. What we don’t want to do is deliver activities instead of results. Don't mistake activity for achievement.

Have you ever encountered a person who is long on talk, but short on delivering? They make all kinds of promises and have a fantastic presentation, but when it comes down to it, they either never deliver or fall short of what they promise. We all prefer the type that does not overhype and will consistently deliver results, says Covey.

Deliver Results is how you convert cynics. It’s how you establish trust quickly in a new relationship. It’s how you gain flexibility and choices, says Covey.

We must take time up front to establish clarity around what was expected. What some people consider as “good” or even “great” results might be only “mediocre” to others. The next time you plan to Deliver Results, make sure you thoroughly understand the expectation. Don’t assume that just because you deliver what you think are good results, you’re going to hit the mark. If you really want to build trust, you should know what “results” mean to the person to whom you are delivering.

Covey says that once you make a commitment to Deliver Results, ask yourself if the commitment is realistic. To overpromise and underdeliver will damage trust in the relationship. With customers or our coworkers, try to anticipate needs in advance and deliver before the requests even come. Anticipating needs will give an added dividend to the deposit in one's trust account.

Let’s all strive to establish a track record of results by getting the right things done and making things happen. Don’t overpromise and underdeliver. Don’t make excuses for not delivering.

“We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing while others judge us by what we have already done." – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Director's Internal Advisory Committee

The Director’s Internal Advisory Committee met on June 29. We started with updates about the attendees' programs and activities throughout the state. This ranged from participating in searches for a new regional director to the national community development meeting (of which, 18 percent of the conference presentations, two of the 15 poster sessions, and one of the 12 workshops were from Ohio).

The committee then reviewed the positive programs occuring throughout the state. Items discussed included: fairs and camps; the new diversity competition; hack a thons -- which should create apps; volunteerism; stories for our annual report; small farm college; sheep schools; ServSafe; farmers' markets; 4-H Olympics; and an update from the Strategic Planning Committee. We congratulated Nate Arnett on receiving a distinguished staff award for the University. 

We talked about federal, state and county budgets. Keith asked for feedback about the current structure in our organization. He appreciated the comments. We also talked about the performance process and the new Research in View (RIV) reporting system and some of the struggles people are having with RIV. 

Our next meeting is scheduled for September 28. Keith encouraged the group to talk with colleagues about what was discussed at this meeting and ask for input for the September meeting.

CFAES Crisis Response Plan

The updated crisis response communication plan for the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences is now available online.

Animal Sciences Seminar - August 8

A seminar on "Meatless Mondays...and other fairy-tales" will be offered on August 8 from 2-3pm by Dr. Jude Capper at room 103 Kottman Hall. Dr. Capper has travelled extensively nationally and internationally to discuss livestock production and its environmental implications. More information is attached.

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National Outreach Scholarship Conference October 1-3 -- Registration is Now Open

Registration is open for the National Outreach Scholarship Conference (NOSC), which will be hosted by University of Alabama. The 2012 theme is: Partner. Inspire. Change. Three tracks will explore:

  • Voice of the Community Partner
  • Voice of the Faculty and Staff
  • Voice of the Students

“NOSC’s goal is to work collaboratively to build strong university-community partnerships anchored in the rigor of scholarship and designed to help build community capacity.” More information about the conference, pre-conference workshops, and potential attendees is available online.

Personnel Update - April to June 2012

The OSU Extension personnel update for April - June 2012 is attached.

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