A Scotsman named Robert Burns is credited with authoring a poem in the 1780s that many still use to bid farewell to an old year as a new one is welcomed. The poem (now folk song) is called Auld Lang Syne. With cocktail glasses and beer mugs hoisted high, more than one person may have tripped over the words in a moment of revelry. As they say back home, “If you don’t know the words, hum along.” In some occupations and locales, namely executive directors who grew up in southern Minnesota, humming leads to sniffling, and then crocodile tears.

All good stuff, but what does Auld Lang Syne mean? Google and Wiki say the translation to English results in ‘Old Long Ago’ making the poem about love and friendship in times gone by. And what about the cup of kindness found in the chorus? Well, it’s a longstanding tradition to raise a glass in friendship, health, or to a deed well done.

From that explanation, Auld Lang Syne makes much more sense, and we are left with this:

Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind?

Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and auld lang syne!

For auld lang syne, my dear, for auld lang syne.

We’ll take a cup o’ kindness yet, for auld lang syne.

(Humming and Sniffling) For the sake of old times, farewell 2017.

Happy New Year.

An occasional stop on the LinkedIn website sometimes yields kernels of truth.

Young adults, say 15-years of age and older, are a curious group. Some fail to see big opportunities ahead, especially given the shrinking workforce. Opportunities are abundant. Mark Twain may have framed it best when he wrote, “Youth is wasted on the young.” There are exceptions to this, and over-achievers earn their place in a special category.

In the event the younger generation subscribes to an urban legend about shortcuts to success, the “code” has been cracked. The “code” is borrowed from several LinkedIn colleagues. Explanations in parenthesis are intended to help the younger generation clarify the intended meaning.

Ten Things That Require Zero Talent
Be on Time
Good Work Ethic
Good Body Language
Energy (High not Low)
Attitude (a Good One)
Passion (Beyond Electronic Devices)
Be Coachable
Doing Extra
Be Prepared
Smile

Young adults, take it from here.

A guy around the St. Croix Valley sports a zip-up UCLA sweatshirt, or hoodie, if you’re part of the younger generation. He claims it belonged to Bill Walton, a former UCLA player who measured six feet, eleven inches during his basketball days. Given their size difference, Mr. Walton must have worn the hoodie in middle school. The local UCLA imposter says he wears it in homage to a guy named John Wooden.

Mr. Wooden was a legendary basketball coach at UCLA from 1949-75. He guided the Bruins to ten national championships over a twelve-year period, including seven straight (1966-67 season to 1972-73). He earned a nickname, Wizard of Westwood, from the Westwood neighborhood near ULCA’s campus in Los Angles.

Wooden is also known for short, common sense messages to players he later transformed into his Pyramid of Success. The messages had as much application off the basketball court as they did on it. Wooden adapted his Pyramid to the corporate world, and when he left coaching, he was in high demand as a business speaker.

Like any pyramid, Wooden’s starts with a strong foundation. He used industriousness, friendship, cooperation, loyalty, and enthusiasm as his base. No truer building blocks were ever fabricated. Faith and patience run up and down the pyramid. The top of Wooden’s pyramid is what he called competitive greatness – “having a real love for the hard battle knowing it offers the opportunity to be at your best when your best is required.” Successful business owners need not be great athletes to appreciate that quip.

Wooden found greatness in coaching basketball, but his Pyramid of Success endures with even greater lessons. Mr. Wooden passed in 2010, but there’s still a website at coachwooden.dot where more can be learned.

Coach Wooden, still the Wiz.