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June 18, 2013
Categories: Entrepreneurship, Philanthropy Updates
Adam Grant's new book Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success discusses the three categories that we all tend to fall into: Givers, takers, and matchers. Givers try to get everything they can, matchers "match" the level of giving from others, and givers are the rare breed that give to others without expectation of return.
Writing in Forbes magazine, Steve Denning reviews the book. He shows that givers typically represent both the bottom and top rungs of success. Why is that? The key for givers is maintaining their generous spirit while avoiding the pitfalls of being treated like a doormat:
Grant explains in chapter 7 that successful givers employ three strategies:
Sincerity screening: trusting most of the people most of the time: To avoid getting scammed or exploited, successful givers spot counterparts who are takers and fakers. Successful givers need to know who’s likely to manipulate them so that they can protect themselves against people who take advantage of their giving.
Generous tit for tat: adaptable givers who become matchers: Successful givers also avoid falling into the empathy trap. When we empathize at the bargaining table, focusing on our counterparts’ emotions and feelings puts us at risk of giving away too much. But when we engage in perspective taking, considering our counterparts’ thoughts and interests, we’re more likely to find ways to make deals that satisfy our counterparts without sacrificing our own interests. That’s how givers avoid getting burned: they become matchers in their exchanges with takers. It’s wise to start out as a giver, since research shows that trust is hard to build but easy to destroy. But once a counterpart is clearly acting like a taker, it makes sense for givers to flex their reciprocity styles and shift to a matching strategy.
Being willing to negotiate: Instead of assuming that they’re doomed to become doormats, successful givers recognize that their everyday choices shape the results they achieve in competitive, confrontational situations. Although many successful givers start from the default of trusting others’ intentions, they’re also careful to scan their environments to screen for potential takers, always ready to shift from feeling a taker’s emotions to analyzing a taker’s thoughts, and flex from giving unconditionally to a more measured approach of generous tit for tat. And when they feel inclined to back down, successful givers are prepared to draw reserves of assertiveness from their commitments to the people who matter to them.
June 14, 2013
Categories: Education
The state budget passed by the N.C. House on Thursday includes appropriations for school choice, reports The Winston-Salem Journal. The vouchers would allow low-income families to apply for up to $4,200 each year to choose a private school:
The move was praised by voucher supporters, including Parents for Educational Freedom in North Carolina – a group that supports vouchers and charter schools as effective choice options.
"While the legislative process is not over for this program, we are grateful that this major milestone has been achieved,” said Darrell Allison, PEFNC president, in a prepared statement.
The budget now heads to a conference committee where differences with the N.C. Senate version will be resolved.
June 12, 2013
Categories: Entrepreneurship
What does long (or short) distance running have to do with entrepreneurship? Writing in Forbes magazine, Adii Pienaar draws several parallels between the rigors of physical exercise and the life of the entrepreneur:
Last month, I ran a total of 120 kilometers, which included running my personal best on an unexpected half marathon. I spent a lot of time on the road — just me, some music, the sound of my (sometimes ragged) breathing and most importantly, my thoughts.
One of the recurring themes to pop into my head while running in the last month was the similarity between how I was progressing as a runner and how I could potentially apply the same mindset to running my company.
Here’s a list of the things I learned about entrepreneurship from spending time on the road, running ...
Read more here.
June 11, 2013
Categories: Education
PayScale has a new report out ranking return on investment for colleges across the country — in other words, how much bachelor degree holders can expect to get in return for investing in the credential.
Duke University is the only school in the t0p 50, as reported by The Charlotte Business Journal, and Wake Forest University and N.C. State University rank in the top 300.
At Duke, graduates can expect a 30-year net ROI of $1.46 million for the school's 2012 cost of $219,500 for a bachelor's degree. Wake Forest and NCSU graduates can expect a return of $904,100 and $832,600, respectively.
The upfront investment for the school is far less at NCSU, however, costing $78,100 compared to Wake Forest's $216,000.
Rounding out the bottom of the list: Meredith College at a negative $66,200 ROI after a cost of $150,400 to attend.
June 05, 2013
Categories: Public Policy
In his Daily Journal column from Monday, John Locke Foundation President John Hood discusses the rising costs of Medicaid in North Carolina:
During the past year, North Carolinians have heard many things about Obamacare, Medicaid, and health care reform that turned out to be untrue. For example:
• North Carolinians were told that regardless of whether the state set up its own Obamacare exchange or allowed the federal government to do so, state government would have to fund the exchange’s operating costs. This claim was false.
• They were told that unless North Carolina accepted the Medicaid expansion authorized by Obamacare, some 500,000 North Carolinians would be shut out of subsidized health coverage and remain uninsured. This claim was false.
• They were told that if North Carolina took a pass on Medicaid expansion, our tax dollars would just go to subsidize more health care spending in other states. This claim was false.
• They were told that North Carolina’s current contractor, Community Care of North Carolina, is keeping the state’s Medicaid costs low. This claim was false. In reality, North Carolina’s Medicaid costs are the highest in the South and among the highest in the United States.
June 05, 2013
Categories: Education, Philanthropy Updates
Our new Grantee Profile focuses on Asheville School, the South's preeminent co-ed boarding and day school:
To appreciate the good that Western civilization has brought to the world, students must first understand it. And what better way to gain understanding than to read, and study, the classics of Western culture — works ranging from Homer’s Odyssey and Iliad to the Old and New testaments to Dante’s Divine Comedy and Shakespeare’sHamlet.
That principle — the conviction that students best learn about history by studying the literature, art, philosophy, and political thought of the time — is the guiding force behind the stellar humanities program at Asheville School.
Nestled in the majestic Blue Ridge Mountains, Asheville School annually serves 275 students representing 25 states and 13 countries. The average class size is 12 students. One-hundred percent of graduates attend four-year colleges.
“There isn’t a single boarding school below the Mason-Dixon line that has these basic qualities: Academically rigorous, relatively small at just under 300 students, co-ed, with a particularly strong emphasis on character development,” said Arch Montgomery, Asheville School’s headmaster.
“It’s fairly easy to beat a kid up into memorizing a bunch of facts for a test,” he added. “A much more challenging issue is to teach kids in such a way that it influences the way they view life.”
Read more Grantee Profiles here.
June 04, 2013
Categories: Humanitarian
WRAL-TV recently brought attention to the struggle of one homeless mother and her two children in Wake County.
The Raleigh Rescue Mission plays an important role in this story. To learn more about the Mission, check out our grantee profile.
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