One of the (three) new jobs I got with the ITI about six weeks ago is the editor-in-chief of the ITI Academy.
This is a global platform which penetrates 100 countries and 36 sections, providing implant education on a global scale.
It's been in existence for 10 to 15 years and has been added to and added to over time, that now needs to be completely redesigned for a modern world of competitive online education.
As part of this process, I need to build and direct a team of 26 people (plus additional outside influences) to bring about the changes to make this one of the best online education platforms for implant dentistry in the world in the next five years.
No big deal, ay!
Another of the jobs that I currently have at the moment is to reinvent and redesign the West Bridgford Colts Mustangs football team and its merger with the West Bridgford Colts Rebels football team.
Tim, the football genius related to the Mustangs and who came on board about 18 months ago, coaches the Saturday Rebels team and assistant coaches the Sunday Mustangs team.
We've decided that the best thing we can do is push these squads together, train on the same night for two hours instead of one, and then utilise the players across both to help with injuries and suspensions and boys going out on a Saturday night to get drunk because they're now nearly 16.
And so we have to build a team, put people in the correct positions in the right places, motivate them and help manage them through improved performance and to the goals and aspirations that they have moving forward.
Boys football will finish in three years because they'll all turn 18 and move on to university or work or something else, and it will be gone.
And so, the ITI Academy project is to build a team over the next three years, and the Mustangs/Rebels project is to build a team over the next three years.
What are the differences?
I'm looking at it from where I am.
The only difference is the subject matter.
The motivations are the same, and the influences are the same, and really, the overriding goals are the same.
The only thing we have to do is instil a culture in each place so that people are empowered and inspired to be the best they can be and to enjoy their work as they go forward, knowing that there will be an end point when we'll all be finished.
If we can see the world like this, it helps us navigate the difficult problems which have all been navigated by other people before.
As I was writing this piece and wondering how I could cross reference the similarities between the two, I turned up to my notice board in the practice where I'd pinned the values of the ITI as they're currently listed on the website before I had my interview, and so I could talk about them and make sure they were aligned to mine.
The values of the ITI, as stated, are as follows: integrity, excellence, collaboration, social responsibility, good stewardship and agility.
I wonder if they should just be the values that we adopt for the Mustangs and the Rebels.
I don't want my boys shouting at referees, and I don't want them cheating.
I want them to be the best that they can possibly be.
I want them to be close and integrated and help the people who work around them within the team, all of whom come from very different social backgrounds.
I want them to look after the stuff that we have and the team and the reputation of the club.
I want them to be able to adapt to situations that are unexpected and difficult because that will prepare them for the rest of their life.
Integrity, excellence, collaboration, social responsibility, good stewardship and agility.
So many things cross over with so many similarities; it's hard to believe.
Blog Post Number - 3477
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