Day Seminar with Seth Godin

Paul Quigley, a senior double-majoring in business management and film, and who participated in the College of Business (CoB)’s Professional Coaching Clinic (PCC) course, applied and was accepted into an intensive seminar for college students given by bestselling author and entrepreneur Seth Godin, in New York.

Twenty students were invited to participate between July 30 and August 1. Godin described this event as “perfect for full-time college students who are interested in pushing themselves, connecting with others on the same journey, and perhaps for those who are looking for a chance to see how much they can learn and do in 72 hours.”

The application process was quick, but rigorous. Quigley played to his strengths and submitted a thoughtful one minute required video that can be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G39WIdwchxk.

Quigley had participated in the PCC with instructor Tammy Machowicz Olsztyn, who connected him with this opportunity. Godin posted the seminar on his blog and Machowicz Olsztyn, a subscriber, forwarded Quigley the link on a Tuesday, with the deadline that Friday. Quigley jumped at the opportunity. “I felt like it was an opportunity I needed to try for and believed I could do it,” he said.

Godin describes “linchpins,” also the title of one of his books, as the people who “invent, lead (regardless of title), connect others, make things happen, and create order out of chaos. They figure out what to do when there’s no rulebook. They delight and challenge their customers and peers. They love their work, pour their best selves into it, and turn each day into a kind of art.” Machowicz Olsztyn described Quigley as embodying the definition of a linchpin and that he would be a great fit for the seminar.

“Paul is an artist, not because he is a double-major in film and business, he is an artist in relationships and in making connection. People value connections and businesses grow and succeed by mastering this kind of art. Other attributes Paul shares with many of the students we coach in the PCC are that he is a forward thinker, a risk taker, and a contributor with great desire to create and produce value in the workplace,” Machowicz Olsztyn said.

Quigley described Godin as a very casual lecturer. The structure of the workshop began with an overview and conversations leading to project work. Godin had the students talk to him about ideas and or projects they would like to bring to fruition within the next six months. From those conversations with the students, he would interject lecture information as it pertained to the different topics at hand.

Students developed hypothetical or real plans and presented them to the rest of the group. Each day, students spent about six hours with Godin and another four to ten hours working on their own time. All the students were able to speak with Godin one-on-one and network amongst themselves.

“He has amazing knowledge, wisdom, and insight to the many complexities facing our world, yet he has a way of boiling them down to tangible levels that inspire hope and faith,” Quigley recalled. “Making a difference in this world starts with the individual.”

Godin’s goals for the workshop were to help students understand basic storytelling, the realities of marketing online, the new economics of the connection economy, spreadsheet analysis, advanced communication and bootstrapping skills.

In Godin’s words, “I think college is the perfect place to stop getting A’s and start making a ruckus, as it’s a lot harder to shift gears later. I know that it was a transformative moment in my career and I’d like to help share some of that thinking.”

Quigley said he took a lot away from just three days. “I walked away believing that every moment in life provides opportunity, and that these moments are part of the process of creating my personal art; art defined as the use of gifts and passions towards the creation of something that is shared with others. I was inspired to consider personal fears, and take note on how they hold me back from being the person I am meant to be professionally and personally. Also, never underestimate the power of networking! Relationship building is worth the investment.”

The CoB’s goal is to educate students in business and to equip them with the skills to challenge themselves to grow personally and professionally. Professional programs, like the PCC, help our students succeed after graduation and foster self-confidence and educational excellence.