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Todd Young (IN-9) is co-chair of the bipartisan Government Efficiency Caucus within the U.S. House of Representatives. Rep. Young can be reached at Andrew.terp@mail.house.gov.

Todd Young

Fall 2014 - The Public Manager

The Cost of Underperforming―Driving Government to Success

Todd Cummings is the COO of ELB Learning. Previously, Todd worked as the co-founder of Impact Solutions Corp., a learning solutions firm providing consulting and training for organizations across the globe. He worked for four years in the Middle East, first as a consultant and then General Manager for a regional niche consulting firm focused on organizational change and development inside multi-national organizations. Through his experience consulting, building, and then delivering interventions to individuals at all levels inside of organizations, Todd developed a strong international sense of training needs and successes. Todd has a dual Master’s degree from the University of Utah in Political Science and Public Administration as well as a BA from Brigham Young University.

Todd Cummings

Todd Dewett is president of TVA, Inc., where he is a coach, recovering management professor, and consultant. He also is the author of The Little Black Book of Leadership. Recent clients include: Booz Allen Hamilton, State Farm, JM Smucker, Medtronic, TGI Fridays, Standard Register, Cox Media, NCR, Sogeti, Emerson, RustOleum, and many more. His unique brand of energetic leadership knowledge has resulted in quotes in the New York Times, BusinessWeek, Forbes, CNN, Investors Business Daily, USA Today, and hundreds of other outlets. After beginning his career with Andersen Consulting and Ernst & Young, he has since consulted with, trained, spoken to, or coached thousands of professionals around the world. Visit his website at drdewett.com. linkedin.com/in/dewett youtube.com/dzuko123 facebook.com/todd.dewett twitter.com/fuel4leaders

Todd Dewett

How do you successfully obtain your dream job when your current position does not properly reflect your skill set?This was my exact situation two years ago: I was struggling to find a path to my ideal career using the work experience I already had. Here are three quotes that demonstrate how I was able to find my way. Each quote promotes a mindset that will help you build a sound career foundation. “Do what you have to do, in order to do what you want to do.”—Denzel Washington, The Great DebatersThis concept is similar to having to take one course before you are allowed to take another. Ensure that you research the prerequisites for whatever you want to do and complete those tasks first (educational courses, certifications, work experience, outreach, and so forth). Additionally, don’t resist taking on responsibilities you initially may not find beneficial. For instance, before I became a trainer, I was working as an eligibility clerk. I was given tedious assignments such as consolidating registration forms or making appointment reminder calls to patients, work I thought was more suitable for interns or volunteer staff. However, later I realized that the experience helped increase my customer service and curriculum-building skills. Thus, it is important to view every job as an opportunity to optimize your skills and not as a setback.“Wise men make more opportunities than they find.”—Sir Francis BaconTime and time again I was turned down for positions that I felt were more in line with what I wanted to do. I began to feel stuck and frustrated, but I learned that I had to create the opportunities I wanted instead of trying to find ones that already existed. So, I contacted the organizational learning and effectiveness (OLE) department at my company and asked if they had any open positions. They told me they didn’t, so I asked if I could volunteer in their department to gain experience. Although they said the volunteer position would be unpaid, I happily pursued the opportunity. I volunteered in the OLE department for four months, gaining experience in facilitating new employee orientation, designing and coordinating workshops, developing standard works, and deploying employee engagement surveys. I was able to network with people who had the job titles and knowledge I wanted; as a result, I was referred to a group facilitation skills workshop that became a vital addition to my resume.Be confident and resourceful when establishing a career foundation. Remember, the only limits that exist are the ones you create.“For a cup brimful of sweet water cannot spill even one drop of bitter water, however suddenly jolted.”_—_Amy Carmichael, IfIn the midst of trying to find the job that’s right for you, your patience and politeness will be tested. Learn to persevere and remain humble despite life’s trials and tribulations. When you feel angry, uninspired, or defeated, ask yourself:How will being rude to my co-workers or customers benefit me?How will being lazy at work because it’s “not what I want to do” positively contribute to my work ethic?How will being cynical allow me to approach challenging situations objectively?Try to envision what your triumphant testimony will look like once you have successfully accomplished your goals. Don’t let spiteful co-workers, irate customers, unorganized work environments, or an unsupportive manager deter you from growing professionally. Consistency and patience are key, and you may even enjoy the journey if you smile along the way!According to R.M. Frischmann in Online Personal Brand: Skill Set, Aura, and Identity, “Transferable skills are the ones that can be used across subjects and disciplines. Technical skills are related to a specific discipline.” You must work passionately to obtain the technical skills you need to be hired for the position you want. But equally important, you must identify which skills you currently possess that are transferable. There’s strength in being proactive; do what’s necessary, create a path if there isn’t one, and remember that a smile is your greatest accessory.ATD young professionals are encouraged to get involved and submit content to ATD blogs. Find out more about how you can share your content and ideas. Attending the ATD 2015 International Conference & Exposition? View a list of events and activities for young professionals.

3 Inspirational Quotes to Help You Achieve Your Dream Job

The pace of innovation is rapidly accelerating, and artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to redefine how we work, learn, and connect with technology in surprising ways. From empowering new roles and fostering inclusivity, AI is on the brink of reshaping entire industries. As the year comes to a close, CYPHER Learning shares its predictions for how AI will continue to evolve in 2025. 1. A news-worthy blunder courtesy of AI oversightA Fortune 500 leader will deliver a high-profile keynote containing uncorroborated passages produced by generative AI—and regret it. Someone somewhere is going to embarrass themselves in 2025—probably someone we’ve all heard of, too—by inadvertently relaying plagiarized or inaccurate AI-generated content. Content sent up to the executive suite, unproofed, by a team that ought to know better. AI’s role is best governed by an 80-20 rule: Let it handle 80 percent of routine and tedious tasks, but human oversight is essential for the remaining 20 percent, which includes fact-checking, editing, and managing content. Left to its own devices, AI is still young and imperfect enough to mess up. It’s hard to imagine a time when it—and we—won’t need human overseers. While AI has sparked fears of workforce disruption, especially in creative fields, the reality is that it empowers talented professionals—writers, teachers, designers—by taking on routine work, allowing them to focus on the creative and strategic judgment that will be even more valuable in the years to come.2. Prompt engineering will no longer be crucial2024 conventional wisdom: mastering AI requires mastering prompt engineering. 2025: never mind. Not long ago, we were told that to use AI effectively, users would need to master complex prompt design. But this idea is quickly proving outdated. Generative AI is increasingly embedded as a user-friendly, intuitive feature in everyday applications, and soon, any app without AI will seem behind the curve. The belief that specialized skills are required for AI is fading, which is a positive shift since this notion could have limited AI’s potential and widened existing digital divides. Just as previous tech revolutions succeeded by being accessible to all, AI is evolving to understand natural language, user intent, and behavior, allowing a broader range of people to harness its power. Far from deepening digital divides, AI is poised to bridge them as it continues to develop.3. AI breaks into the C-suiteWe’ll see the emergence of a new, immediately vital C-suite position: CAO. Meet the Chief AI Officer (CAO). Much like CIOs and CISOs before them, who spent years pushing for a voice in corporate strategy, CAOs will now take a leading role as AI becomes central to modern business—bringing both vast potential and unique risks. Unlike past oversights that delayed cybersecurity’s rise to a top corporate priority, the importance of AI won’t be overlooked. The CAO will provide broad oversight across technical and ethical domains, integrating AI into key processes like product design, security, and communications. Not every task will need AI, though, and a high-ranking officer will be essential to set boundaries and make strategic decisions. As AI rapidly evolves, organizations will rely on the CAO to establish guidelines to ensure that AI is used responsibly, aligning with corporate goals rather than posing risks.4. AI-enhanced customer service for allUser satisfaction with retail customer service channels will do something incredible: go up. Customer-service horror stories about incoherent chat agents or frustrating voice recognition systems may soon be history. By 2025, generative AI and AI-driven analytics are set to transform automated customer service, creating friendlier, more efficient customer interactions. Imagine a voice agent that truly understands your request—whether it’s for a flight change or a prescription refill—rather than just parroting account details. Even better, advantages like these won’t be limited to massive corporations and Fortune 500 companies. Small businesses can join in, using AI to create high-quality, personalized customer service with less effort, reduced costs, and wider reach. If there’s any downside to all this, it’s that consumer expectations for responsive, intelligent service will rise, with companies that fail to catch the AI wave risking being left in the dust.5. Personalized workplace development displaces old-school trainingPersonalized workplace development will become the new standard, displacing old-school, one-size-fits-all training. With hang-onto-your-hat speed, personalized training is accelerating rapidly, becoming more feasible both economically and logistically for large enterprises with thousands of employees. Modern learning platforms, powered by conscientiously deployed AI, drive this shift, allowing companies to provide dynamic, on-demand upskilling tailored to individual needs. By 2025, we’ll see bite-sized lessons seamlessly fitting into unique workflows, empowering companies to reduce worker-error rates, boost competitiveness, and turn workplace development from a cost center into a value-generating engine. The outdated, linear training approaches—often disruptive and off-target—will be replaced by a hybrid model, blending still-relevant traditional coursework with rich, interactive experiences. As AI enables companies to create targeted, context-appropriate training regimes for everyone, employee satisfaction will grow, turning previously tedious tasks into engaging, job-relevant learning opportunities.How can you leverage AI going into 2025?As AI continues to evolve in 2025, its potential to boost productivity, streamline customer experiences, and drive innovation will only grow. By embracing AI thoughtfully—focusing on responsible use, clear oversight, and leveraging its strengths for routine tasks—users can maximize its benefits while minimizing risks. Whether you’re a leader looking to integrate AI into strategic initiatives or a professional aiming to enhance daily workflows, now is the time to explore how AI can elevate your future. 

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