Secretary Of Agriculture Lucas Lentsch visits with Directional Motivation founder, Russ Hovendick, about employment opportunities in South Dakota, upcoming projects, as well as his path to becoming secretary. Lucas brings a unique background of experience to the position which includes: farming, food manufacturing, military and also being a small business owner.
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As an Olympic Gold Medalist, I am asked frequently about my motivation, drive, and commitment towards excellence. What does it take to achieve beyond what you think is imaginable? How did you manage all of the hard work it took to get there?
First, I want to say that I believe the following principles apply to many circumstances – athletics, career, job search, etc. A few of my thoughts on this:
Goal Setting:
To start, I believe strongly in goal setting. What do you want to accomplish or be? Once you have that established you can then decide how you are going to get there. In order to have an unwavering motivation, I think it is essential to set small goals that are measurable and achievable. You need to feel like you are making progress in order to stay committed. These goals cannot be so difficult to achieve that you lose hope but must be challenging enough to make sure you are working hard and committing yourself towards your ultimate goal. Read More →
Standing at the starting gate of a summer long overdue, (considering the winter most of us have had,) already a few picnics and barbeques into June’s extended sunny days, and just a few days away from a long weekend of cold drinks and fireworks, it’s tempting to fall into our tried and proven, comfortable routines. We move through our schedules towards the next “check in the box,” and we forget I fear that ambition and sense of wonder which caused us to request a tour of duty within the armed forces. We have a job, and it’s meeting the needs for now, so we settle, we accept, and we start to think that perhaps the most accomplished days in our lives may be behind us. We look for that feeling of achievement like we once had, only to find a world of supervisors who do not seem to understand our past success. We find a world full of cubicles and digital deadlines, and we may become disheartened.
Have you ever had these thoughts? Sir Frances Bacon once stated; “The tragedy of life is what dies inside a man while he is yet alive.” Can you relate to that? If you can, if I just explained in detail your feelings, have you settled? Do you want more? If so, how hard are you willing to work for it?
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Kristy Jackson
It is with great pleasure that I write my first blog article! Over the years, I’ve worked in higher education and business, always with a focus on either career planning or organizational development. Simply put, I love to help people “see and seize” opportunities that will help them grow.
I currently work for the local educational co-op, which means that my clients are school districts. While I work on a variety of projects, one area that has caught the attention of parents recently is our internship programming. Over the past five years, we’ve placed hundreds of high-school aged students into internships at local businesses and non-profit organizations for the handful of school districts that use this service. It is a great way for students to ‘sample’ a career field, prior to investing time and money at college.
What to do if your school does not have a formal internship program?
As internships have gained in popularity, I’ve received several phone calls from parents who are seeking guidance as they are attempting to arrange internships for their own teens. Each student is different, but I’ve found that most teens appreciate help with:
As you help your teen to plan their approach, be sure to prepare them for scenarios that might arise during their initial phone conversation with a business. Being prepared to schedule an interview, to leave a message, or to handle a ‘turn-down’ are all equally important, and this will make your teen feel more confident.
If your teen is looking for additional support in arranging an internship, remember that your school counselor is often a great place to start. There are also supportive resources available online, including the Directional Motivation website. Their ‘Know Your Strengths’ worksheet provides a clear, easy way for teens to identify personal strengths that they can contribute during an internship. It can be found online at: http://directionalmotivation.com/worksheets.php#intwkst
Readers: chime in! What other kinds of support would help your child’s career development efforts?
This is a guest blog post written by Kristy Jackson, manager of the Career Link program at EDEC in Sioux Falls, SD. She serves on a variety of non-profit boards that support the career development efforts of students.
June is national Dairy month. Our friends at Foremost Farms USA celebrated this occasion by hosting a leadership conference with Wisconsin Future Farmers of America. Agriculture is the backbone of America and Foremost Farms believes that many of the future leaders within the agriculture community will result from the nurturing efforts of the Future Farmers of America organization. Directional Motivation salutes both of these organizations for carrying the banner for today’s agriculture.
On Tuesday, April 8th Russ had the privilege of addressing the HRAM (Human Resource Managers of the Midwest) conference in Omaha, NE. The theme of the conference centered on discovering the value of our military veteran community. Organizations quickly learned the unique talents that transitioning veterans bring to the table and the benefit that they can bring to the companies that hire them. It was fun to play an active part in making a difference for our veterans. Thank you to the HRAM group for the opportunity to highlight our veterans!
Other speakers at the event included: Teri Clark, Bonnie Bessler, Chad Storlie, Tianna Robinson, and Evan Downey
Russ Hovendick & Tianna Robinson
Russ Hovendick speaking at the HRAM conference in Omaha.
Chad Storlie
Teri Clark
Bonnie Bessler
Evan Downey
Secretary of the South Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs Larry Zimmerman speaks about Veteran issues both nationally and within the state of South Dakota. Larry discusses the objectives and recent developments of Operation RAV and his efforts to personally reach every veteran in South Dakota. Larry also hails the efforts of the Directional Motivation team to impact the lives of veterans and their families. For veteran resources including the book ” Deployment to Employment: A guide for military veterans transitioning to civilian employment” visit www.directionalmotivation.com/books.php
For more information on south Dakota Veteran Affairs visit http://vetaffairs.sd.gov/
Marine veteran Varick discusses the challenges of finding employment upon returning from military deployment. Varick gives his perspective and advice to other veterans facing the same challenges. Interview with Directional Motivation and KELO radio host Bill Zortman from It’s your business!
By Chad Storlie
Networking skills are one of the well recognized skill sets that will make the difference in finding a job, advancing a career, and learning new skills to improve your professional development. The challenge for military veterans transitioning into a new career is how to network. Everyone realizes that networking is important – the question is how do you network in an effective manner? How do you create a networking plan?
Below is a step-by-step plan employing military skill sets that have been adapted to create a successful and personal career networking plan.
10 Steps for a Military to Civilian Career Networking Action Plan
1. What do I Want to Do, Learn, Or Achieve Through Networking – Your Goal? Brainstorm what your purpose and goals are for networking. Are you seeking employment, a closer connection with a hiring manager, or do you want to learn a new skill, such as sales? Knowing what you want to achieve through networking is vital.
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By Michael E. Echols, Vice President of Strategic Initiatives, Bellevue University
Our nation’s veterans are in the news, with individuals deployed for duty coming home and struggling to find traction in the civilian workforce. According to labor statistics, veterans have higher unemployment rates than the general population. They may also be underemployed — languishing in positions that don’t take advantage of the very skills most businesses say they need most today.
In fact, the 2012 PwC 15th Annual CEO Survey reports that more than half of the more than 1,250 company leaders polled cited a lack of key skills among veterans as a major challenge for their organizations. Only 30 percent said they are confident they will have access to the talent they need over the next three years.
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