Devices and applications are critical to improving student outcomes, according to a recent poll of SmartBrief on EdTech readers. And yet technology integration continues to lag at many schools and districts. Only 28% of readers classified their school’s tech integration efforts as "very effective." Educators often cite budget as a reason but admit it’s not the sole, or even primary, culprit. So what is the hold up? We asked SmartBrief on EdTech readers to give us their thoughts on the issue. Educators need more technology training, according to nearly half (49%) of the poll respondents. Putting devices into teachers’ hands is only half the battle—they need frequent training on using these tools properly. Sixty-six percent stated that more professional development for tools and teaching strategies would improve integration efforts at their school or district. Take a look at the findings: Do you think the use of devices and applications is important to driving student outcomes? Yes: 61% No: 39% How effective are the technology integration efforts at your school or district? Very effective: 28% Moderately effective: 50% Not effective at all: 22% What is your school or district’s biggest hurdle to true technology integration? Inadequate bandwidth: 29% Not enough technology training: 49% Lack of tech tools and resources: 22% What would improve technology integration at your school or district? Better relationship with our IT department: 3% More professional development for tools and teaching strategies: 66% Better buy-in from teachers: 24% Better support from administrative leadership: 7% Where is your school in the integration cycle? What’s stalling efforts? Let us know. Drop us a line or leave a comment in the space below. Related Posts: No Related Posts What’s the hold up? originally published by SmartBlogs

Last year at this time I penned an article entitled "The 4 R’s of Summer School." In it, I presented four strategies to help teachers make the most of their summer vacation. While school administrators are typically not "off" from school to the same extent as teachers (there is still plenty of planning, ordering, interviewing and the like that occurs over the summer months), the relaxed days of June, July and August present school leaders with a special opportunity that is unique to this time of year. I like to think of them as a principal’s own set of summertime "R’s." Rest and relax. Without question, the school year can be very demanding. Stressors abound, in the form of instructional oversight, disciplinary matters and staffing and budgetary shortfalls, just to name a few. Principals burn their candles at both ends in order to make it to the finish line. The summer is a time for school leaders to indulge in some much needed and deserved extra rest and relaxation. Ideally, this should include some time away, far from the school and school community. Getting away will you a chance to put school matters out of your mind and recharge. Record (your out of office message). In order to get away in earnest, you have to be able to "disconnect," at least at it relates to school business. Set your email and voicemail to away mode, with an out of office message that lets everyone know your summer schedule and limited availability. You’re not really on vacation if parents and others can reach you and expect a timely response. Review. Summer is a great time to take a step back and reflect upon your professional practice. How did you do this past year in terms of providing strong instructional and organizational leadership? Were you successful in meeting your goals? If not, what stopped you? Resolve and revise. Set new goals over the summer. Also be sure to review your personal mission statement and core values. Much can happen in a year, in terms of shaping your direction and principles. Use these months to make new commitments while also revising your existing purpose and value documents. Reload. No leader can continually give meaningful guidance and direction without being a lifelong learner. Without question, the field of education moves more rapidly and in a greater number of directions than ever before. Principals must be Chief Learning Officers as well as Chief Executive Officers of their schools and do whatever they can to remain ahead of the learning curve. Summer provides many learning opportunities as well as chances to network and learn from peers. Rejoice. As a leader, you have much to be proud of. Over the past year, you guided, directed, cajoled and encouraged others to grow and achieve. Teachers improved in their instruction because of your insight and mentorship. Students learned many new concepts and skills. Other personnel within the building (such as your advancement and development offices) benefited from your guidance, direction and support. By celebrating those successes you will be motivated to achieve even more next year, which is really what school leadership is all about. Naphtali Hoff (@impactfulcoach) served as an educator and school administrator for over 15 years before becoming an executive coach and consultant. Download his free leadership ebook at http://impactfulcoaching.com/freebook. Read his blog at impactfulcoaching.com/blog. If you enjoyed this article, join SmartBrief’s email list for more stories about education. We offer newsletters covering educational leadership, special education and more. Related Posts: The tyranny of the "right" answer How our grading supports inequity, and what we can do about it Redefining smart Linking educational silos Maintaining balance The 6 R’s of a principal’s summer school originally published by SmartBlogs

New data sources, along with artistic product descriptions and a lack of classification standards, have dumped a mound of valuable but hard to interpret data on our doorstep. Now what? We at Food Genius see food and think data. No matter if we’re looking at a menu, a receipt or an elaborate product description from a supplier, we see food terminology and think data. For example, let’s look at three Thai/Asian salads: the Rad Thai Salad from SweetGreen, the Thai Chicken Salad from Panera, and the Premium Asian Salad with Crispy Chicken from McDonald’s. Salads are simple, right? Just greens, vegetables, a protein and dressing. Ah, but we all know life just isn’t that easy. The true insight is in the detail. Between SweetGreen, Panera and McDonald’s, they have more than 30 distinct salads on their core menus. To even begin understanding this from a data standpoint, we need to cluster (or what Food Genius calls "normalize") them by type. In our case, the type is Thai/Asian salads. Now that we have clustered these salads together, we can organize the data. We took a simple approach and focused on ingredient type and we didn’t concern ourselves with preparation methods, health-claims or sensory terms (all of which are important but add complexity). You could keep nuancing this example but even at this level of interpretation, insights start to surface. For instance: Key in on a few of the primary attributes of a salad: greens, vegetables, protein. You’ll immediately notice that Panera and McDonald’s are closely aligned, far more than SweetGreen and Panera. You’ll notice that nuts and seeds are a standard of identity for this salad type, either as a topping or as a dressing flavor. These types of analyses are nothing new. For decades, the approach in gathering this data was to send people running around the country collecting menus. They would then hand-enter the menu data based on some predetermined classification methodology. This method, besides being tedious from a resource standpoint, also leaves you with little control over the data. What if you (a supplier, distributor or operator): Don’t want to look at 5,000 menus but instead 50,000. And you don’t want to see them once a year, but every month? Need to understand POS or receipt data from multiple different sources that have different naming and abbreviation conventions? Have decided to tackle the herculean effort of adopting a new product classification system and need to test and iterate possible structures? As foodservice has become more complex and data continues to become more available, a dynamic (technology-driven) approach to making sense of food data is necessary. Food Genius’s approach is to utilize cloud computing and machine learning algorithms to deliver highly scalable and flexible data-driven business tools. As much as our technology, it’s our methodology for cleaning up the messiness of food data that is at our core. We normalize, organize and classify. (Photos: Food Genius) Normalize - Normalization is grouping. The best way to group is with a bottoms-up approach. Using our salad example, Food Genius begins normalizing by analyzing ingredients and identifying patterns within the ingredients. The common ingredients we’re looking at in our case are greens, toppings and a dressing. So now, we’ve programmed our algorithms to understand we’re looking at salads. We see that the toppings themselves and flavor profile of the dressing are characteristic of an Asian or Thai salad. The saying "Show me, don’t tell me" is brought to mind. Don’t tell me the name of an item, show me what’s in it. Then I can tell you what it is. Organize - As items are normalized, we know we’re looking at all the same ‘types’ of salads, so the organization of the data for these items becomes apparent. In our example, we see two of the three salads have an herb ingredient and all three have a protein. This is fairly easy for the human eye to pick up when looking at three menu items but keep in mind that in the U.S. alone, we have over one million eating establishments that represent tens of millions unique menu items. Classify - Through normalization and organization we have a solid foundation. With classification, we build it up. A classification system, specifically a hierarchical classification system, is what gives the once unstructured data structure. Referencing back to our example, these will be the row headers. A comprehensive classification system is what allows Food Genius to query the data for all salads containing an Asian flavored dressing or all salads that include nut toppings. Accurate classification goes a long way in taking you from data to insight. Food Genius cut its teeth in working with restaurant menu data and it’s still a very critical data set for the foodservice industry to understand. However, what we see in the not too distant future is a tremendous amount of new data becoming available: customer data. With the proliferation of restaurant technologies, from guest analytics to online delivery services, data is now being generated that was previously unobtainable. Jason Felger is CEO of Food Genius. __________________________________________________ If you enjoyed this article, join SmartBrief’s email list for more stories about the food and beverage industry. We offer 14 newsletters covering the industry from restaurants to food manufacturing. Related Posts: Creating the next "it" food: The rise of limited time offerings 5 things you need to know about menu boards Prepared foods report: New consumer behaviors hone in on fresh, healthy and sustainable Brand intimacy: How do food and beverage companies measure up? Digital technology plays a growing role in employee training Solving the messiness of food data originally published by SmartBlogs

Goals drive us as a whole (company, that is) and as individuals. They define what we need to do and how we need to do it. As managers and employees, we all have individual goals tailored to the work that we do and the contributions we make to organizational success. The question is, do those goals make sense? We’ve all heard of the SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, timely) way to set goals. Let’s go beyond the popular goal-setting acronym and take a more in-depth look at four characteristics of a truly smart employee goal: 1. It’s transparent. Company-wide goals aren’t the only goals that should be made public. Employee goals should also be transparent. Bersin’s "Predictions for 2015″ report suggests that high-performing companies make individual work goals public for all to see. Ideally, the whole department — or even office — should be in on it. When more people know about an employee’s goal, the weight of responsibility increases. While making work goals public can add more pressure to employees, it also ensures that their goals are at the forefront of everything they do. And goals that are shared with team members, are later celebrated with team members when met. 2. It ties back to larger company goals. The key to driving business success is to set individual work goals that closely tie with those of the overall organization. And yet, 43 percent of employees in ClearCompany and Dale Carnegie’s "How Leaders Grow Today" survey claimed to be familiar with company goals, but couldn’t list any specifically. The solution? Help employees better understand the company vision. Employers should actively communicate strategic business objectives and update employees on progress and changes as often as possible. Employees who clearly understand the company vision and how their work contributes to overall success will have an easier time setting goals that more accurately align with company goals. 3. It challenges employees. Employees are often told their goals should be achievable and realistic (two core components of SMART goals), but this can lead to goals that are small and void of aspiration. And what is a goal if it doesn’t motivate you to push yourself? While goals should be attainable, they shouldn’t be too easy, as easy goals invite complacency. We need to encourage employees to set goals that are outside of their comfort zone — goals that reach into untapped potential, test individual limits and inspire greatness. After all, who doesn’t like a good challenge? 4. It’s revisited — often. As employees grow and business develops, goals change. Or, at least, they should. Goals need to be reevaluated on a regular basis, in order to keep them aligned with company objectives. The aforementioned Bersin report recommends managers and their employees revisit goals often (even weekly). In a perfect world, you would have time to meet with employees, individually, on a weekly basis to review goal progress. However, that’s much easier said than done. Instead, have employees self-report their goal progress during weekly team meetings and save the formal goal review for quarterly performance check-ins. What do you think? What are some other qualities of a smart employee goal? Share in the comments!   Andre Lavoie is the CEO of ClearCompany, the first talent-alignment platform that bridges the gap between talent management and business strategy by contextualizing employees’ work around a company’s vision and goals. You can connect with him and the ClearCompany team on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Related Posts: After the performance review, what? Build a team of workplace teachers Why performance appraisals fail: A root-cause analysis and alternative 12 questions to help you conduct effective stay interviews When do you let an underperforming employee go? What makes a smart employee goal? originally published by SmartBlogs

Welcome to SmartBrief Education’s original content series about the unique stories of teacherpreneurs. These are the innovative individuals confronting challenges, creating solutions and challenging the traditional definition of "educator." For teachers, the politics surrounding public education sometimes makes it feel more like 1773 than 2015. We can feel marginalized by a system that seems to subject our profession to "test"-ation without adequate representation. And while educators might dream about dumping standardized tests and NCLB paperwork into the Boston harbor, there are far better ways we can advocate for change, like getting involved in productive, meaningful conversations with policymakers. As teacherpreneurs with the Center for Teaching Quality, both of us sought opportunities to meet with state leaders and initiate conversations about education policy. While our roles gave us structured time for this work, the five "trade secrets" we share here can be adapted and used by any teacher who wants to advocate for the profession. Take the lead. The first step might be an email framed as an invitation for a discussion, followed by a phone call. Personal connections and networking often lead to unexpected results. Nancy handed her business card to a U.S. senator on a plane and later was contacted by his top educational advisor. Deidra lived in the same neighborhood as her state representative and invited him to discuss his education policy work with her. In order to establish trust and open communication, each of us held several small group discussions with local politicians, including state representatives and educational advisors. We realized that meetings are more productive in informal settings (coffee shops or local restaurants). And we both asked politicians to join us for solutions-focused conversations about several education concerns, not just those related to salaries and benefits.Remember that certain months are extremely hectic (new campaigns, last-minute budget sessions), so don’t get discouraged if you don’t hear something immediately. The lack of response to an initial email or phone call does not necessarily mean you are being avoided. Keep reaching out. Offer support. Politicians are used to being asked to DO things for their constituents. Set the tone by offering your insight without implying that you expect anything more than open dialogue. Try to be empathetic, imagining how you would respond if parents or administrators seemed only interested in their own agendas, rather than two-way conversations. Acknowledge areas of agreement, then try to steer the conversation to making the public aware of the rationale behind these shared opinions. Consider tweeting about these productive conversations, making sure to let the policymaker know what you plan to share and why. Keep it real. Use your classroom and school as examples of what policies look like in real time. Connect political decision-making with the faces of the teachers and students those choices will impact. Deidra’s state representative shared that he wished he would known more about how an actual school day works before voting on an attendance bill that made sense on paper but created all sorts of problems when implemented. Representatives in North Carolina told Nancy they would appreciate being invited to visit classes, not as a local media event, but as informal observers. Sharing your stories- explaining the implications of a policy on students’ and teachers’ daily lives — can make all the difference when a politician has to vote on the myriad bills coming his or her way. Be professional yet accessible. Our ultimate goal is educating policymakers so they make decisions that improve public education. Don’t bring a soapbox or political agenda to your meeting; it’s the quickest way to shut down productive dialogue. Approach your lawmaker as a fellow community member or parent who shares your desire to improve public education for all students. In this spirit, try to avoid "educationese" and acronyms- terms that most non-teachers do not understand, such as "VAM" (Value Added Model), "PLN" (professional learning network), "summative assessment" or "backwards design." Articulate your vision. Paint a picture of an ongoing relationship, rather than providing input on a single issue. When Deidra met with her representative, she wanted to know where lawmakers got their information on education issues, but she also wanted to share her vision for teachers becoming providers of that information. As a result, her representative asked for her help in forming an advisory committee to meet with him regularly while the legislature was in session. He later admitted this group’s insight was responsible for changing the way he had originally planned to vote. In North Carolina, Nancy is working to set up a "kitchen cabinet" of teacher leaders who want to discuss issues with politicians in a solutions-focused, informal environment. Ultimately, we have to believe that teachers and politicians want the same thing: to improve the educational opportunities and experiences for all students and families. Although our worlds are vastly different, it’s time for us to reach out and start meaningful conversations. Taking the lead, while focusing on collaboration and empathy, is within the realm of the possible for all teachers. And it may provide just the spark needed to fuel revolutionary change in education policy — without the aid of gunpowder, tea or the Boston harbor. Deidra Gammill is National Board Certified CTE teacher from Mississippi. She served as a teacherpreneur for the Center for Teaching Quality during the 2014-15 school year. Nancy Gardner, a renewed National Board Certified English language arts teacher from North Carolina, served as a teacherpreneur for the Center for Teaching Quality during the 2014-15 school year.   Related Posts: Path to innovation: Two teacherpreneurs reflect on the journey Hybrid roles: Making a whole out of two halves How to go from "teacher" to "teacherpreneur" From classroom to boardroom: How to combine your passion for education and innovation "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" Teacherpreneur trade secrets: 5 ways all teachers can advocate for the profession originally published by SmartBlogs

The show "Shark Tank," like much of the media, perpetuates the myth that you have to be aggressive, assertive, even confrontational to advance your career and become a leader; that thoughtfulness, politeness, and the inability to summarize an important idea in less than a minute are crippling diseases; and that the business world is akin to a shark tank where you are likely to be devoured unless you adopt the characteristics of the sharks to survive. Amusing for sure, but as true reality? As Borat would say, "Not so much." Confrontation sounds exciting and climactic. Directly taking on your superiors over a perceived slight or a co-worker over credit stolen can be a strong temptation. The fantasy of doing so and pulling it off is powerful. Hollywood makes billions appealing to this urge, depicting hero after hero speaking big words and standing up to formidable powers. However, in the real world, the one that we work and live in, confrontation is usually a risky and dangerous thing. Unfortunately, confrontation often necessitates stating a position aggressively, defending it and then expecting a resolution. This is tricky territory for almost everybody, as it can lead to intractable positions being taken, fears of showing weakness, unintentional personal comments, and worst of all, the misidentification of motives. Such things, once surfaced, are hard to eliminate. We usually launch into confrontation without knowing all the facts, and we forget that in order to know all the facts we need to see and understand things from the other side. This is especially important for leaders — or more to the point, those who aspire to be leaders. Understanding the limits of confrontation and seeing the other side of any issue are key skills that leaders must master. The best way to see the other side of any issue is to engage rather than confront. The next time an issue bothers you at work, or you feel you have earned something and been denied it, ask questions to better understand the situation. By all means, ask what was considered or what the reasons were behind a decision that affected you. You can even say that you would have liked to see things go in a different direction or in your favor. But avoid being overly aggressive or confrontational. Far better to continue to work at sharing what you have to offer, trusting that someone in a position to advance your career will eventually see and notice your strengths is a much higher percentage play. In the end, businesses must succeed in order to survive. If you cultivate your strengths and share them as widely and as constructively as possible, a person or group running a business or managing a department within a business will see that you can help make their business more successful. They will want you. Or someone senior within your company will see that you are not appreciated where you are, or perhaps are underutilized, and they will look to bring you into their area. However, if you pursue a tack of confrontation, you risk losing all of these possibilities. Engage instead: Ask questions, make suggestions, explain your position and ask (not insist) that the other person consider your view, especially if the other person is your boss. Manifesting such skills will enhance your status as a leader. Those seeking leaders for key positions, as well as those being led, value these qualities as highly as any other. As for those who to you seem to be advancing themselves by methods of active confrontation and continuing to demand more with apparent results, do not always believe what you hear, or think you see. Often what is happening behind the scenes is far different. Remind yourself that it sounds much better and ego supporting for someone to tell you that they received something by putting their foot down or showing that they would not be pushed around. To say they simply laid out accurate and well-supported reasons, and then politely asked for something they thought was fair, does not make for an exciting story. After all, naming a show "Dolphin Tank" would not sound quite as powerful. Keith Danko is the founder of Witherspoon Partners, a leading player in the alternative asset industry. He has over two decades of experience building and managing businesses, most notably restructuring and serving as CEO of ACAM Advisors. He also served as CEO of CQS US and as an executive director of Goldman Sachs, where he built the firm’s international asset-backed securities business. A Duke University graduate with a Harvard MBA, he is the author of "Within Your Grasp," has written extensively on trends and careers in alternative assets, and has authored the white paper "Portable Alpha: An Updated Perspective." If you enjoyed this article, join SmartBrief’s e-mail list for our daily newsletter on being a better, smarter leader. Related Posts: Don’t be afraid of confrontation Dealing with personality stallers — ours and others Enhancing your executive edge Learn to be a conciliator Put your personality into your communications Only the sharks survive? The risks of confrontation originally published by SmartBlogs

SmartBlog on Education’s monthly content award recognizes content written by educators, for educators that inspires readers to engage, innovate and discuss. SmartBrief Education editors and writers sift through thousands of sources each day, reading a variety of content, including blogs and commentaries written by you and your peers. In an effort to recognize some of the innovative voices in the field, we’ve asked our team to nominate their favorite content each month from which we’ll choose two winners for the Editor’s Choice Content Award. These award winners are then in the running for our annual Educators’ Choice Award. Meet this month’s winners: Tricia Ebner for Cleaning House, Center for Teaching Quality Jeff Ylinen for Why it’s critical to pair content with lab for course success, eCampus News June winners: Aaron Brock for History Students Create Children’s Books, Future of History Justin Reich for Can Text Messages and Interventions Nudge Students Through School?, Mind/Shift May winners: Jennifer L. Scheffer for 10 Edtech Tools Teachers Can Use Tomorrow (Literally), Make IT Happen Taylor Meredith for Starting Student Feedback Loops, The Formative Feedback Project Listen to an interview with Taylor on Education Talk Radio. April winners: Sarah Henderson for Laughter and Learning: Humor Boosts Retention, Edutopia Mercer Hall and Patricia A. Russac for Inspiration Plus Creativity Equals Innovative Teaching And Learning, the ASIDE blog Listen to an interview with Mercer and Patricia on Education Talk Radio. March winners: Brad Gustafson for What Do You Burn For?, Adjusting Course Listen to an interview with Brad on Education Talk Radio. Ariel Sacks for Decoding the Common Core: A Teacher’s Perspective, Education Week Listen to an interview with Ariel on Education Talk Radio. February winners: Starr Sackstein for Authentic Student-Led Discussion, Music to My Ears, Education Week Teacher, Work in Progress Listen to an interview with Starr on Education Talk Radio. Andrew P. Marcinek, A Class Full of Geniuses, THE Journal Listen to an interview with Andrew on Education Talk Radio. January winners: Lori Desautels for Energy and Calm: Brain Breaks and Focused-Attention Practices, Edutopia Listen to an interview with Lori on Education Talk Radio. Nancy Barile for 10 Tips for Setting Successful Goals With Students, Education Week Teacher Listen to an interview with Nancy on Education Talk Radio. Meet our 2014 winners and read about our annual Educators’ Choice Content Award. If you enjoyed this article, join SmartBrief’s email list for more stories about education. We offer newsletters covering higher education, educational leadership and more. Related Posts: SmartBrief honors innovative bloggers: Meet this month’s winners Flipping over changes in the classroom It’s time to throw out grades What if all teachers were scholars? Channeling Goldilocks: Trying to get it "just right" SmartBrief honors innovative bloggers: Meet this month’s winners originally published by SmartBlogs

Photo: Flickr user Wally Gobetz Wine lovers may pay more attention to variety, vintage and what color goes with which dish, but some are also giving more thought to where and how the grapes were grown. Sustainable agriculture doesn’t have a fixed definition in the way "organic" has had since federal organic standards were finalized in 2000, but a growing number of consumers are seeking sustainably produced wine, and third-party certification programs are infusing the term with more meaning. The wine industry has been open to collaborating on sustainability issues, perhaps more so than other agricultural sectors that haven’t had to band together as much in the past, said Executive Director Allison Jordan of the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance, an educational program formed by the Wine Institute and the California Association of Winegrape Growers that launched a statewide sustainability certification program in 2010. Last year, the Sonoma County Winegrape Commission committed to becoming the country’s first 100% sustainable wine producing county by 2019. "There are some other agricultural sectors that have developed programs, like the Almond Board in California, for example, but I think for wine some it stems all the way back to prohibition," she said. "The trade association goes back over 85 years, and there’s just the understanding that on certain issues, we really need to cooperate as much as possible. When it comes to best practices, there’s a long history of being willing to share information." Unlike organic which can typically command a premium at retailers and restaurants, sustainable certification isn’t giving producers stronger pricing power. A number of wineries are now paying certified growers a bonus, said Lodi Winegrape Commission Program Director Stuart Spencer, but that hasn’t necessarily translated into higher prices for the wine. Just as wines in general run the gamut from cheap to ultra-pricey, sustainable wines can be found at all the price points, said Jordan. "It’s not necessarily the same in the case of organic wine or wine made with organically grown grapes," Spencer said. "With sustainable, it’s not clear yet whether people will be able to pay more." That said, growers and producers still see financial benefits from sustainable production, in the form of cost savings and enhanced reputation. "Sustainability is part of your story, it can help build brand allegiance," Spencer said. "At the trade level, it can help open doors for you. Many restaurants and retailers are more concerned with the products they’re carrying and selling, and that can help create business opportunities. But in many cases, too, for larger companies, sustainability is more a risk-management tool. They’re more worried about the downside of not being conscious of these issues." In the U.S., sustainable wine certification efforts began in California. "We started our program back around 1991, when our organization was first started," said Spencer. "At the time, it began as an integrated pest management program, and over the years, that evolved into a pretty comprehensive program. Around 2000, we did a self-assessment workbook and let growers score themselves." In 2005, the commission launched the state’s first third-party sustainable certification for vineyards and wineries. The focus is on balancing the environment, the employees and the economics of the operation, he said. "I think in Lodi in particular, there’s a sense of community that’s greater than in other parts of California, so we have been able to accomplish a lot. A lot of our farming families are fourth and fifth generation, so there’s a kind of long-term outlook that helps with a program like this," Spencer said. About 100 sustainably certified Lodi growers were farming about 21,000 acres as of last year, according to Spencer. The program includes about 101 different standards, from pest control to water conservation to financial solvency. Each standard is evaluated and growers are qualify based on their total score along with whether they’ve stayed under a specified threshold for pesticide use over the course of the year. "Our system is a scientific-based system that quantifies the pesticide use in the vineyard. There are five indices we looked at, including acute risk, chronic risk, avian risk, bees and aquatic life. Different pesticides rank higher or lower on the different indices, and a model was developed," Spencer explained. "Wine grapes here in California are relatively benign when it comes to pesticides. The biggest impact comes from sulfur, which is organic and is used as a mildew control tool." Lodi’s program set an example for others, including the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance. Today, the Alliance has certified vineyards that grow grapes on about 17.5% of the state’s 570,000 wine-grape acres, and 87 wineries that produce nearly 66% of the 240 million cases of wine made in the state annually, said Executive Director Jordan. Between this program, Lodi’s program and other third-party certifications, about a quarter of the state’s wine grape growing acreage is certified sustainable, she said. __________________________________________________ If you enjoyed this article, join SmartBrief’s email list for more stories about the food and beverage industry. We offer 14 newsletters covering the industry from restaurants to food manufacturing. Related Posts: Cool beer, wine and cocktail trends to quench summer thirsts How to sell wine to your diners in a recession Drink local: Incorporating the locavore movement into your beverage menu Beverage trends: Consumers gulp down coffee, natural, seasonal and premium 1 winery’s best practices in social media How California’s wineries are leading the U.S. in sustainable wine originally published by SmartBlogs

This post is adapted from "All Hands on Deck:: Navigating Your Team Through Crises, Getting Your Organization Unstuck and Emerging Victorious (Career Press, 2015) by Peter Boni, managing principal, Kedgeway,Inc., and former CEO of Safeguard Scientifics. So here you are, brand new in a role or considering taking one to reposition an organization or department. It has run aground, faces critical issues, and isn’t performing up to its potential. The task is lonely, daunting, complete with skeptical eyes staring at you. Hopeful eyes are staring, too. Can you be the catalyst to lead the organization, department, or team past its current issues? Can you get the ship off the bottom to sail safely once again? If so, where do you start? Before you can hatch a plan, you must ask questions and listen; then ask for help. Ask Questions and Listen; Then Ask for Help Success stories generally start with the practice of fundamentals. Asking questions at the outset is high on your priority list. Stories of failed navigation through difficulty start with the absence of the practice of those fundamentals. Who to Ask Asking a diverse group of people similar questions can lead to superior input based on several points of view. Those viewpoints are likely picked up at varying angles of observation, some hands on and others at 30,000 feet. Whether determining if I should accept a position or what an appropriate game plan would be once I accepted it, my due diligence to hatch a plan always started with asking everyone under the sun for help. Most people who are asked are thrilled to help. They are quite candid about giving their points of view, with details and specific examples to back them up. So, given the wisdom of this strategy, whom do you ask? Insiders: You can find a plethora of people who are knowledgeable about an organization and its issues, problems, opportunities, and more. You’ll find them at the higher echelons as well as from the board of directors to the CEO, executive staff, and senior management. Some are in the middle of the hierarchy, responsible to the higher echelons. Others are first-line supervisors or individual contributors in operational or support rolls. Those close to developing or delivering the value proposition to key constituents have a closer operational view than those at the higher ranks. These insiders all have a point of view. Just ask them—from the receptionist to the board chairman, from the team captain to the water boy, from the janitor to the mayor. I’ve found that many near the bottom of the totem pole have an enormously mature and insightful perspective. Former insiders: Organizations with issues have likely suffered turnover in senior, middle, and/or junior positions. People moved on. They, too, have observations and opinions developed over time and further reflected upon after being on the outside for a spell. Seek out key former insiders and ask them the same questions as you ask current insiders. Recipients of the Value Proposition: A business has customers and perhaps user groups. A government has citizens, special interest groups, party heads, and political supporters. A sports team has fans and support clubs. A higher educational institution has students and parent groups. A healthcare organization has patients, nurses, and doctors. A nonprofit has a targeted constituency. Ask these people the same questions. A lost customer, patient, fan, student, alumni contributor, political supporter (or whomever) left the organization for a reason—maybe for more than one reason. In fact, they may be receiving that value proposition from a competing organization. What an interesting perspective, having seen the good, the bad, and the ugly from the other side of the fence. Ask them. Partners to Provide the Value Proposition: Commercial enterprises have strategic alliances and business partners, vendors, and those who are in distribution. Nonprofit organizations, government organizations, sports teams, healthcare providers, military units, and most organizations have these partners, too. Ask those individuals the same questions. Who dropped out? Or who was asked to drop out? Given their experiences dealing both with the organization and the decision to leave, they have a learned point of view. They also have experience dealing with competitors who delivered that value proposition, albeit a bit differently. Ask them. Competitors Who Deliver That Value Proposition: They could be competing sales or marketing people, factory employees, engineers, or members of the financial or support staff. They could be a different political party, another sports teams, healthcare providers down the street, members of the campaign staff of competing political candidates, or nonprofits that have targeted similar donors to deliver to the same identified social needs. Most organizations face competition when it comes to their value proposition. These competitors have an insiders’ view as well as an outsiders’ view. Ask them. Former competitors may have totally abandoned the field to make their living in another, perhaps aligned, arena. They left for a reason and they have a perspective. Ask them. Outsider Observers in the Know: Industry analysts, lobbyists, journalists, advocates, consultants, and unions all develop a view. They see from afar, but they often have a strategic view that’s further removed from an organization’s day-to-day drama. Ask them. Certain knowledgeable people have left their field to become involved in a different, perhaps aligned, arena. Put them on your list. Ask them, too. Thought Leaders: Some carry more weight and influence than others. Thought leaders could be former or current insiders, outsiders, partners, competitors, or observers. When asking questions and requesting help, find out who they are and put them on your "ask" list. What to Ask In both for-profit and nonprofit settings, the answers to only a few questions have given me the baseline to learn quickly what others discovered over a period of months or even years. Over my four decades of asking these questions, I’m struck by how candid the answers have been and how knowledgeable I become by listening. Question No. 1: If you owned this operation lock, stock, and barrel—or if you were a dictator and could do anything to enable the organization to achieve its potential based on what you know about it and its environment—what handful of things would you do? Question No. 2: What would you have the organization keep doing, start doing, and stop doing to reach its potential and maximize its value proposition? Question No. 3: Who are the thought leaders in this field and in this organization? Identify them and seek them out for a one-on-one discussion. Ask thought leaders for their help. Listen to them. And ask them to participate on your informal advisory panel so you can test the premise of a plan hatched from the exercise in Phase 1. I ask everyone Question No. 3, even if I already know I’m speaking to a thought leader. I’ve always been surprised by how many have been flattered by my asking. They have given me terrific counsel, which made an enormous and immediate difference to the success of my assignment. Related Posts: Why waiting is a new executive’s first task Build a team of workplace teachers Only the sharks survive? The risks of confrontation Teacherpreneur trade secrets: 5 ways all teachers can advocate for the profession What makes a smart employee goal? Who and what to ask before hatching your plan to lead originally published by SmartBlogs

(Photo:Ben Popken) Menu boards are critical to many restaurant and foodservice operations: customers can’t order what they can’t see. And yet, we rarely consider their impact on the bottom line. Does the type of menu board matter — a digital board vs. a chalkboard? Do consumers really want photos? Have calorie counts had an impact? To understand menu boards, Datassential surveyed over 1,500 consumers and 350 operators for our brand new Menu Board Keynote Report. What are the issues both consumers and operators have with menu boards? Which innovations do consumers find most useful? What can operators do to create a menu board that will bump up the check average? Some of the results surprised us. One-third of consumers said they ordered the cheapest item on the board because it was the easiest to find. The same percentage said menu boards are generally placed too high up, making them difficult to read. And only 32% of operators say that every item available is represented on the menu board. Clearly menu boards are having an impact. Here’s a sneak peak at five insights you need to know from this brand new, just-released report: The type of operation impacts if a consumer will look at a menu board. Consumers are over twice as likely to say they look at a menu board at a fast casual restaurant every single time they visit, compared to a convenience store. Menu board engagement varies by the type of consumer, as well — how often they shop at a particular type of operation, or their age group. Millennials are more likely to look at the menu board frequently, confirming that they are most likely to be looking for new favorites or experiences. Digital menu boards are not as common as you think. Though they have received a lot of attention in the industry, only 16% of operators have a digital menu board. Yet digital menu boards can solve many key issues that both consumers and operators have, including incorporating more menu items and item descriptions, allowing for more design flexibility, and making it possible to update the board more often. Operators are missing out on sales opportunities. Nearly 60% of patrons say they look to a menu board for promotions and specials, but only 39% said that information was very easy to find. In fact, there were multiple menu parts that exhibited a gap between customers’ desired information and how easy they are able to find that information. We also uncovered the menu categories that operators are much less likely to include on menu boards, including check-boosting items like desserts, side dishes, and alcoholic beverages — only 1 in 10 operators who serve alcohol said they included alcoholic beverage information on the menu board. Photos are critical. Virtually all patrons consider photos to be important on menu boards, and this was particularly true for Millennials. But consumers also considered photos to be more important for particular categories — 43% said they preferred to see photos for promotions or LTOs. Yet those preferences didn’t always match the menu categories that operators are most likely to show photos for, and many operators may not appreciate the appeal and impact of photos, though this varies by operator type. Operators have issues as well. It’s not just consumers who report challenges with menu boards — four out of five operators said they have some type of issue with their menu board. The most common management issue? Thirty-five percent of operators reported not having enough room for detailed menu descriptions, and 1/3 said it was difficult to organize the board so customers could easily think through an entire order. We also asked operators to report their most common customer complaints regarding menu boards, from incomplete information to difficulty reading boards. This is just a small peek into this one-of-a-kind report. We also looked at why patrons look at menu boards, the impact of calorie counts, and the segments that are more likely to change their menu more often. We asked operators where they found their menu board inspiration, from competitors to trade shows. And we asked consumers to rate menu boards at restaurant and convenience store brands to uncover the "best in class" performers. We also took a deep dive into drive-thru menu boards and the particular issues associated with them. And we found the innovations that consumers most want to see on a menu board — and it’s not necessarily what operators plan on incorporating into their board. While we uncovered a number of challenges for both consumers and operators, many of the issues have clear solutions, and there are certainly opportunities to increase both customer and operator satisfaction. The real question that today’s operators must ask themselves is, "What is the true function of the menu board?" Is it merely to inform patrons of what is available? Should it serve as an educator? Or should it drive up average check sizes? Answering these questions is critical to designing menu boards more effectively in the future, and this report kicks off that discussion. Maeve Webster is the senior director and Mike Kostyo is the publications manager at Datassential, a leading supplier of trends, analysis, and concept testing for the food industry. To purchase the Menu Board Keynote Report mentioned in this article contact Webster at 312-655-0596 or maeve@datassential.com. __________________________________________________ If you enjoyed this article, join SmartBrief’s email list for more stories about the food and beverage industry. We offer 14 newsletters covering the industry from restaurants to food manufacturing. Related Posts: The race is on to become the "Chipotle of pizza" Beverage trends: Consumers gulp down coffee, natural, seasonal and premium Report: What do food industry operators want and how do they buy? Prepared foods report: New consumer behaviors hone in on fresh, healthy and sustainable How Newk’s Eatery sees fast-casual 2.0 5 things you need to know about menu boards originally published by SmartBlogs