Just Say "Bugs"

cc licensed by Flickr, shared by GogDog

In the movie “Big”, Tom Hanks stars as Josh, a 13-year old boy who makes a wish that he was “big”, and overnight grows into an adult. The problem, of course, is that he is a regular 13-year old inside an adult body. He gets a job with a toy development company while he tries to figure out how to reverse his wish. Josh attends a toy development meeting, and Paul, a veteran team member, pitches the idea of creating a transformer toy: a building that turns into a robot. Josh challenges that idea, and instead suggests that they make a robot that turns into a bug. That suggestion ignites the imagination of the group, and Paul watches helplessly as his building idea fizzles, saying, “This doesn’t happen. You don’t just come to a meeting and say “bugs.”

Today we held our first Student Affairs Technology Committee meeting, of which I am the chair. My qualifications for holding this position are twofold:

1. I have an interest in expanding technology use within the division.

2. Nobody else would do it.

My technology skills are average at best. I don’t really know how to “talk tech.” I have tweeted a total of 134 times since 2008. Yet I was responsible for running a tech meeting, with people far more tech-savvy than myself.

I was stressing.

I arrived at the meeting and soon all committee members were there. I started by bringing up a recent tech survey that we had conducted, and said, “What do you think about [here you can insert any tech topic that is at the forefront of your division—personnel, social media use, tech support, etc.]”

The room exploded with energy. The discussion was lively, relevant, and productive. And the best part? All I had to do was start the discussion. Sometimes you don’t really need to be an expert. Sometimes all you need to say is “bugs.”