Leader Garden-Helping firms Cultivate and Grow their Leaders

I had the pleasure of speaking to an audience this past week of leaders from the Oak Ridge, Tennessee and Huntsville, Alabama communities.  I was the keynote speaker for a conference that discussed the future of their workforces as well as how STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) could be encouraged and emphasized at all age levels.  You can download and view this presentation by clicking on this link.

My presentation helped set the stage for some lively and meaningful dialogue that afternoon.  Our country has a severe problem in that we do not produce enough engineers and scientists to meet the demand that does currently exist as well as what will exist in the future.  The result of this gap is that our country will continue to fall behind many of the economies in other parts of the world, especially in India, China and Singapore.  Not only do we not produce enough of this type of talent, but we also have such restrictive immigration policies that it prevents many with Masters and Doctoral degrees from remaining in this country after they receive their degrees.

I cannot address all the solutions in this post today, but I will suggest just one that will make a difference.  The first thing that we need to do is to find ways to better educate our young people about what STEM careers are.  Consider this;  when you think of the words scientist or engineer, what do you see?  I suspect you think of someone with a pocket protector or someone who is a “geek”.

This stereotype is the first thing that needs to be addressed.  Modern culture and media do not glorify the benefits of the scientist or engineer in nearly the same positive light that we do the artist or the lawyer.  Don’t get me wrong.  I do not have anything against any career, but there are vital needs for science and engineering graduates for roles that exist now as well as in our future.

Do your kids and friends a favor today.  Find an engineer or scientist and thank him/her.  You might even find something nice to say about what they bring to the world.  If we thought of engineers in the same manner that we think of star athletes, such as Tim Tebow, the world would be a much different place.  The next thing you could consider is to take your children and their friends to a science museum or something comparable.

Our future is dependent on your encouragement!