H+H+H = Success

The other day I got to thinking about why many students do not succeed in the workplace even after graduating from college or other specialized training, I realized that something crucial must be missing. The longer I thought about this, the clearer the answer came. As a result of this insight into a major problem, the Northern Marianas Trades Institute now has a more secure road to success for its students.

All students at the NMTI are now being taught the three H’s—Head, Heart, and Hand. By combining these three elements a student will become a more rounded and complete student. It works this way.

Whenever we teach a skill, we teach how to use the hands. But we must also teach how to use the head because the head will direct the hands and make the student understand why he is performing any act. However a man needs more than a skill using his hands and head.

He must also feel that what he is doing has merit to himself and to the customer. The heart will remind the worker that he must not only do a job but do it well and with pride. Unless a worker feels, thinks and practices his skills—the three H’s in harmony, he will remain a robot practicing robotic movements.

Look at our own work habits. After many years on the same job, what is our thinking and feeling about what we are doing? Do we think about the value of what we are doing? Do we seek improvements in our work skills or work place? Or are we just going through the movements and go to work daily begrudgingly. The only goal we seem to have is salvation day—“retirement day,” after 20 years at a job we have come to despise.

Look at the word: retirement. It means to withdraw from circulation from one’s position, occupation or view. We put ourselves out to pasture merely to stand as cows complacently chewing their curd. What a sad commentary on our life achievement.

I am writing these comments not to criticize but in the hope that we open our eyes to see that we have greater potentials than we realize. Many times I ask people what books they have read the past year. I get a blank stare. Then I ask how many magazines they read weekly or monthly. Which are they? Again a blank stare. What new vocabulary words have we learned? Then I ask the person what has he or she done to improve his/her work skills or personal skills. Too often I receive a blank stare again.

There was an interesting question asked of me the other day. How many of the almost 5,000 government employees are college graduates? I never thought of that before so I could not answer. But now I am curious. What percentage of government workers are college graduates? Hmmm. Anybody know?

A new program at the NMTI that will start in few weeks is the Adult Education program or GED. This program will allow students to complete their high school studies and receive their high school diploma.

The Northern Marianas College has agreed to send one or more of their instructors to teach the course at NMTI. We are grateful for that. This will enhance the students’ study. To date we have over 25 students enrolled. This is an example of training for a skill and training the head to think. Meanwhile we will also keep stressing the heart for pride and an honest work ethic. We must educate the whole man.

It is obvious that I am a nut about learning. Even at my age I am still studying and curious to know. A long time ago someone said to me that learning means change. When we learn something we change our attitude and or behavior. What have you been learning?

Let me digress a bit and discuss the fear that many businesses have because of the impending approach of federalization. The greatest fear is that we lack the necessary manpower to fill all the positions that will become vacant. This is a myth. Think about the following.

First of all we have almost 5,000 government workers that could be scaled down to about 1,000 people. The remaining 4,000 can easily be absorbed into the local labor force.

We also have over 8,000 people on the food stamp program. At least 4,000 or more can be trained for the labor market. Thus far we have about 8,000 able bodied people. Add to that about another 2,000 young people looking for jobs. Add to that the number that come back from college and split back to the mainland because we shut them out of good jobs that have been given to nonresident workers.

Let’s add up: 4,000+4000+2,000+500=10,500 potential workforce.

Add to that about 600 per year high school graduating students. Thus by 2014, we should have approximately 600 X 5= 3,000 more. This gives us a total of about 13,000 to 14,000 local labor force.

All we have to do is change our attitude toward work and learning a skill and/or a trade. We must also stop thinking that locals are lazy and undependable. They are not. Think of all the money that will stay and circulate in our community. Think of the pride we will feel as we work with our hands. We will also be able to lessen our dependency on handouts from the federal government.

Before you jump up and down and scream at me that our government cannot run with only 1,000 people, I read recently of one county outside Washington, D.C. that has an annual budget of 7 billion dollars and is controlled by one man with several hundred employees. Seven billion dollars! By the way this county is in the top 10 most affluent districts in America.

We have a grandiose budget of about $150 million annually which we are having trouble getting passed. I rest my case. We have become too much a welfare state. Something is wrong. Attitudes! Attitudes! Change them and we change the world.

We are next door to almost 1.5 billion people. We have not learned how to sell to that market. Also the United States needs us desperately as much as we need them. Yet we don’t know how to play our trump ace in the game. Instead we cajole, argue, sue and do other non-productive things.

Look, I am not a guy that thinks he knows it all. However I know that I don’t know. So I seek out people who know better than I do. This way I survive in various kinds of situations. We should be doing the same. Seek out the best minds and trust them to show us the way. This will eliminate the self-interest that plagues us.

It is a crime and a shame on all of us that we cannot solve our basic needs for a comfortable life in one of God’s most beautiful gardens—the CNMI. We don’t know how to supply electricity to our homes and businesses; we have given up trying to bring potable water to our homes; and we have a broken sewerage system.

Did you know that about several weeks ago, the sewerage plant in the southern part of the island broke down and allowed several millions of untreated sewerage water to flow directly into the lagoon? This was all hush-hush except for the fish and the swimmers that knew about it.

It is time to combine the Head + Heart + Hand into our daily life if we are ever to become whole again. Shouting at the top of our lungs: “These are our islands!” solves nothing. I don’t argue with that statement. I merely state that we should be proud of them and cultivate them properly.

Think about this: Are we mentally poor? Or are we temporarily broke? If we are mentally poor, we will always remain poor because we so believe. If we are temporarily broke, then we can remedy the problems and become rich both in economics and in self-pride! Have a great day!