Organizations that thrive in the so-called Information Age will be those who understand that the best thing they have to offer people is not information, but interaction–real face-to-face interaction.

The industrialized model we inherited is built on information dissemination. It culminated in the ultimate information disseminating machine: the internet. So now what? Organizations that insist on disseminating information will go the way of the encyclopedia. They will be dinosaurs.

Organizations that thrive will do what the internet can never do. They will substitute dissemination for dialogue, information for interaction. The internet can never replicate the dynamic that takes place in a room full of people who are sharing ideas.

Make the transition. The world no longer needs you to be a reservoir of information. We need you to become something far more valuable.

Author of The Teen Age: 40 Reflections on Relating With Teens, Andrew F. Robinson, M.Ed is the founder of People Change People and creator of Epic Training. He provides coalitions and organizations with breakaway, uncommonly powerful approaches to working with teens. We had the privilege of interviewing Andrew to get his insights on reaching teens.

EBB: What needs to change in environments where adults work with teens (schools, programs) to make relationships stronger and healthier?

AFR: Few things are nearer to my heart than this question and few things grieve me more than what I see happening under the auspices of education. If, like Rip Van Winkle, I could fall asleep for twenty years, here’s what I would long to see when I awoke:

1. Schools employing interactive, relationship-based approaches that engage and captivate teens at a personal level.

2. Teachers who fuel the learning process by enflaming a student’s natural curiosity.

3. Learning environments that have shed teach-to-the-test tactics in favor of unbounded creativity, divergent thinking, and regard for human ingenuity.

If our country is serious about transforming education, these three ingredients must be at the heart of the transformation process.

EBB: Given all the risks and dangers presented to teens, what can educators and parents do to help teens make better choices?

AFR: Commit to finding points of entry into the relationship. This takes determination on the part of the adult. Study teens and you’ll discover these entry points. But you have to be intently focused and committed, like when you lock yourself out of your house. You check every door and window to see if one is unlocked. The same is true with teens.

I introduce groups to the following three phases to help them strengthen their positive influence in the life of teens—C.P.R.

1. Crystallize your message— Sharpen your focus to the essentials

2. Personalize your methods— Increase relevance and meaning for teens as they take ownership

3. Relationalize your approach and build trust with students— Teens will connect with your message as they connect with the messenger.

EBB: What do educators and parents need to know about the adolescent brain?

AFR: Can you imagine hosting Thanksgiving while remodeling your kitchen? You could get the job done, but it wouldn’t be pretty. A similar remodeling process is underway between the ears of every 12-25 year-old. Functions like logical, forward thinking and impulse control don’t perform as well as they will in adulthood. I devote several sections of my book to this remodeling process and what we can do about it.

Continue reading on Examiner.com: Interview with the author of The Teen Age: 40 Reflections on Relating With Teens – Los Angeles Parenting Teens | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/parenting-teens-in-los-angeles/relating-with-teens-interview-with-the-author-of-the-teen-age-40-reflections-o#ixzz1ES7JQOHz

When we are transparent with others we offer others the gift of knowing us honestly. This does not mean they’ll like what they see. Too often, usually out of fear, we offer in the place of our true self an apparition; a look-alike stand-in. It’s important to remember that sometimes, when situations and relationships have proven unsafe, we do well to protect ourselves rather than risk transparency. Such self-protection can be essential for survival and sanity. But in relationships among those we trust and among those we serve, transparency is an ingredient we must not omit.

Pleasant listening! Questions? Send me an email: andrew@peoplechangepeople.com.

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