PAcree

In the book Fish Sticks by Lundin, the author explores that although change in any program is difficult, the hardest part of leadership is keeping the energy going after the initial excitement begins to fade. The natural tendency is to return to the old ways of doing things when the stress and day to day hard work hits us. I identify with one character in the story who states "When things get stressful I sometimes forget about the possibilities and simply put my head down and plow ahead." The character loses focus in the reality of work. The sushi chef in the story was a successful chef because she recognized that although quality sushi was important, the quality of the experience made the difference between her restaurant and others who also had quality sushi. Part of the success is attributed to the "vision" created by each of the team-mebers and a series of "vision moments" that keep the vision in focus. Teaching is full of stressful moments and hard work. The challenge is to create a vision, stay focused on the vision, and to enhance the quality education with quality experiences.(pages 1-37)