Now Stuff

EDUCATION

Consulting for Community Wellbeing Planning.  Masters in Business Administration 699, Masters in Computer Information Systems 699.

This consulting course is unique. It explores the cutting edge of the science of Wellbeing and it’s applications in business – a topic that is increasing in both visibility and importance to business.  Just last year, the eminent economist, John Helliwell, said “The confluence of wellbeing and sustainability are today’s major currents of human thought.”  At a Wellbeing conference, Dr. Deepak Chopra said that Wellbeing may be the most important movement of our lifetime. Though related topics such as positive psychology and Behavioral Economics have been a topic of enquiry for years, few if any universities have offered graduate students the opportunity to study and practice Wellbeing, as defined by Gallup in 2010, in business.

The foundation for the course is the theory that if business strategies, benefit programs and processes first and foremost maximize wellbeing for their employees then the wellbeing of the organization will also be maximized.

Most organizations, particularly corporations, have employee satisfaction programs.  But those programs have as their primary purpose to improve business metrics in areas such as productivity, turnover, customer satisfaction, employee engagement, employee empowerment, customer loyalty, innovation, etc.

Using a Wellbeing process and framework for selecting improvement projects in any of the above mentioned areas will likely result in a different mix of projects; i.e., initiatives identified by employees and chosen through a Wellbeing framework of supporting employees’ social, community, physical, career, and financial wellbeing.  That mix of projects could be very different from those selected with the primary intention of directly furthering business success.

The final project is the course highlight.  Each student team will work with a client during the semester: a company, a town, a nonprofit, or any organization.  Using a combination of well-established methodologies and practical approaches, students will prepare and present a proposal for “Wellbeing Strategy and High-level Execution Plan” for their client organizations. The course will be offered in the spring semester of 2011.

Update November 23, 2010:  Class content is ready to go.  The spring semester starts in March, 2011.  I have met with faculties in Business and Information Systems to solicit their help in recruiting the best students to take the class.  Bulletin board type blasts will begin in January, 2011. For the first offering I want face to face students.  Most Bellevue students are online so the population from which to draw is reduced.

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A Wellbeing Cluster.

A “Cluster” at Bellevue University is defined as 3 subject matter related courses taught by one subject matter expert in one semester.  This results in 9 credit hours and is a popular option for students.

Three courses for the Wellbeing Cluster are as follows:

• Foundations of Personal Wellbeing
• Foundations of Community Wellbeing
• Financial Wellbeing

All 5 Wellbeing elements – Social, Community, Financial, Career, and Physical – will be covered in the first two courses.  Financial Wellbeing is given a one course status due to the current dire need in this area as documented by numerous studies.  Content of each course is still being determined and administrative approvals have not yet been obtained.  It is thought that the best College for this Cluster is Arts & Sciences.

Wellbeing has established itself as an entire field in contrast to subject matter topics such as Behavioral Economics, Positive Psychology, Life Satisfaction, and Sustainability.  Those subject matter topics would however be touched upon in the Cluster.

Update November 23, 2010:  A Cluster is 3 courses for 9 credit hours.  The 3 topics have been identified.

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A Bachelor of Arts Degree in Wellbeing Management.

To be clear, this idea at this time is at a concept stage.

The field of Wellbeing is approaching (or is already at) a ground swell point, and it’s reasonable to expect BA Degrees in Wellbeing to be introduced at various Universities at some point in the near future.

Many would argue that the best college degree today is that in Liberal Arts.  There is ample evidence to support that argument based upon the positions of success and levels of accomplishment attained by many Liberal Arts graduates.  This is usually explained by graduates having a well rounded education giving them the flexibility to a wide variety of work opportunities. A BA in Wellbeing Management has many of the same attributes as a degree in Liberal Arts.  But a BA in Wellbeing Management is more contemporary and aligned with real life.  It prepares students to be collaborators, followers and leaders  in the new America described in section C.1.

Majors in Wellbeing Management could have minors or concentrations in many areas,  which highlights the breadth and applicability of the field.  Example minors or concentrations could be marketing, finance, human resources, management, planning, counseling, psychology, ecology, environmental engineering, social services, public health, economics, family services, public administration, clinical psychology, communication, or organizational development.  This long list might seem like a laundry list, but a strong case can be made for each of them as a suitable as a minor with a major in Wellbeing Management.

Update November 23, 2010:  This is moving along faster than expected. The 36 credit hours for a major will consist of 4 clusters each with 9 credit hours.  See the Cluster offering for more description.  The content of the 4 clusters has been identified.  One of the four clusters is the cluster that is stand alone.

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OUTREACH

Financial Education with Nebraska’s Carnegie Libraries: Extending the Mission 100 Years Later.

Between 1883 and 1919, Andrew Carnegie spent $40 million building libraries across America, 69 of them in Nebraska. Carnegie’s intent was to use his vast wealth to inspire and assist Americans who were anxious to improve themselves through the power of education.

In the spirit of Andrew Carnegie, Bellevue University would work with Carnegie library sites in Nebraska to provide tools for those who want to learn how to improve their financial wellbeing.  Lack of financial wellbeing has created a state of dire emergency for many Americans.  Sixty-one percent of Americans report having serious financial problems, 70% live paycheck to paycheck, and half are well below a level of income required for financial security.

After what is expected to be a successful pilot test and proof of concept with a selected group of libraries, this project will seek funding for extension to more Nebraska libraries.  The model along with supporting procedures, materials and results, will be published for other states to adopt as they wish.

The project somewhat resembles the one currently underway (started in 2010) in New York City, in which 87 libraries launched the nation’s largest project for community financial literacy.  The NYC project relies upon local volunteers to provide personal mentoring and tutoring, as will the Nebraska project.

Bellevue University will provide the following at no cost to the Libraries:

• Professional marketing materials.
• The no-cost version of the Green Pig©  online software, which is tailored for personal money management that library patrons can use at home or at the library,
• Training for library staff and volunteers, who will then train and tutor workshop participants and  continue to serve as coaches/mentors/tutors after the training.
• A live Bellevue University help-line during normal business hours, as well as a 24/7 website.

The Bellevue University library itself is expected to also participate in this project to make these services available to all University students, staff, and faculty.  University students would serve as volunteers to provide the ongoing mentoring rather than library staff and external volunteers.  This will provide valuable learning experiences for students.

Update November 23, 2010:  This project is rolling along really well.  I have 8 eastern Nebraska libraries on board as well as Bellevue University’s library.  We have a game plan.  The Universities marketing department has promised the following by the end of January, 2011 – a 5+  minute video describing the project which will be on the projects web site and You Tube; work with radio, TV and Newspapers for announcements, stories and interviews;  flier’s and posters for each library; and arrangements with Chamber of Commerce’s, Rotary Clubs, and Kiwanis Clubs to give presentations.  The marketing campaign will be launched in February and library events kicked off in March.

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Financial Wellbeing Webinars.

Bellevue University as a leader in multimedia design, development and delivery has superb facilities including those required for Webinar design and development.  Publically available webinars via the Internet will be designed and developed for the following topics:

• The Psychology of Money
• Budgeting/Spending Plans
• Financial Goal Setting
• Banking Services
• Retirement Planning and Building Savings
• Debt Management
• Resources for Low Income Families
• Guide to the Green Pig© Software
• Guide to the Planners Lab© Software

Update November 23, 2010: I have finished preparing The Psychology of Money course; Ernest White from the American Bank in Omaha has agreed to do a video on Banking Services; Jason Christo from Met Life has agreed to do Retirement and Building Savings; Tina Gray has agreed to do Resources for Low Income Families; and Kimberly Weifling has agreed to do Financial Goal Setting.

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Wellbeing Education and Counseling Through and With Libraries.

There are five wellbeing elements: financial, physical, career, social, and community.  All are important and interrelated.  Each affects the other. Extending the Carnegie financial Wellbeing library project into all elements of Wellbeing is an obvious next step.  It is appropriate to begin with financial as it is the one most families are lacking and thus suffering from.  Establishing a successful track record in such an easy to measure area will build credibility and relationships that will be useful in extending the program to the other four areas.

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Campus Center for Wellbeing Ideas, Education, and Counseling.

This is an extension of the previous 3 initiatives.  This would be a campus physical facility providing ideas and counseling for all of the five wellbeing elements: social, community, financial, physical, and career.  Each of the elements will be supported with planning and counseling.  For example, financial support often involves financial planning with trained financial coaches alongside financial therapy with trained clinical psychologists.  The same applies to the other four wellbeing elements.

As is the case for most efforts designed to change deeply rooted and habitual behaviors, ongoing support groups are vital.  Proven examples range from Weight Watchers to Debtors Anonymous. A similar model of operation would be followed by the Center.

The Center would expect to integrate with related functions which already exist on campus such as career counseling and physical wellness counseling. The Center would provide services for no cost to students, staff and faculty.

This Center would operate like a nonprofit corporation within Bellevue University.  Thus, for students involved it will provide social entrepreneurship experiences.

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City Wellbeing, Happiness and Life Satisfaction.

This initiative is at an early and conceptual stage.

“Happiness” and “Life Satisfaction” are often used synonymously with Wellbeing.  The city of Victoria in Canada has undertaken a major effort to establish itself as a city known for its “happiness”. In 2008, Victoria happiness advocates, led by Michael Pennock, a creator of the Bhutan happiness survey, brought together a partnership to launch a Happiness City campaign.  The Victoria partnership included the City Council, the University of Victoria, the United Way, the Victoria Foundation, the Vancouver Island Health Authority, and the provincial Ministry of Healthy Living and Sport.   Vancouver used the Bhutan happiness survey to gather subjective data from its residents.  The resulting data is publically available.

In October, 2010, the city of Victoria  conducted a second survey and will do so on a bi-annual basis to attempt to ascertain the effectiveness of actions taken to improve wellbeing.

Now the city of Seattle is organizing to implement a program identical to that in Victoria.  They have a goal to include other cities as collaborators.  The leader of the Seattle project is John DeGraaf a personal friend.  He is enthusiastic about a Midwestern city possibly becoming one of the collaborating cities.

Recently Dr. Raymond Yeh from the Buddhist Monastery City of Ten Thousand Buddha’s in California contributed this post at www.wholelifewellbeing.org.

“While visiting coffee shops in Vancouver a couple of weeks ago, two things caught my attention: a poster for a seminar called Life: Beyond Happiness, and a new weekly column on the pursuit, science, and business of happiness in Vancouver’s popular newspaper, The Globe and Mail. I wonder whether these items, spotted on two consecutive days, are part of a growing fad toward instant happiness, meant to offer a glimpse of hope in an age of high insecurity? Or perhaps they are just part of the basic mentality that makes Vancouver one of the most civilized cities that I have visited?”

Obviously, Vancouver’s happiness project is getting positive and effective buzz.

Update November 23, 2010:  This is developing faster than might have been expected.  My friend John DeGraaf is one of the leaders of the Seattle project.  The attention and response he is getting from around the country is remarkable.  That includes many, many speeches about the project.  I’m discussing with the Seattle people how I might take responsibility for the projects web site design and development, the data base for the internet survey that is a key in the happiness project, and interactive charts to present data.  It is quite clear that this is a hot project and could roll across America pretty fast. It would be great to be able to contribute to the success of that.

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A Wellbeing blog at www.wholelifewellbeing.org.

This blog has a stable of influential Wellbeing contributors who post blogs on a scheduled basis.  Also, anyone can post their own stories in the “story section” at anytime.  Of course, comments are encouraged at any time.  The first annual Whole Life Gathering is planned for August, 2011 in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

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OUTREACH, INNOVATION AND SOCIAL ENTERPRENEURSHIP

Community Innovation and Problem Solving.

Regardless of one’s political views, it is obvious that most Americans need to start thinking of the government as a partner vs. as a provider.  America must return to community innovation, problem solving, and sustainability.  It is also clear that humans are most satisfied with life when they are a contributing part of a community/family.  Given the current state of America this means massive behavior changes.  It means that individuals and communities stop blaming others for their deficiencies, stop feeling sorry for themselves, take responsibility for their choices, and begin solving their own problems.  Surely this might be with the help of the government as a partner creating an environment that supports their transformation, but with individuals not being dependent upon and waiting for the government to solve their problems for them.

The United States of America had such a spirit from its beginnings, and this spirit continued well into the 20th century.  One example is the communities of farmers who solved their own community problems as a collaboration among families.   A community of farmers was a self sufficient and sustainable group of families that shared and supported each other. They banded together to help each other at harvest time.  They found ways to get a sick neighbor to medical attention in severe winter snow storms.  They were a community that worked together and solved their own problems without dependence upon outsiders, including the government.

This community innovation and problem solving initiative would piggy back on the financial wellbeing project with libraries in the sense that each library and its patrons are a community.  It also piggybacks on the course described in section A.a. since the same idea gathering and evaluation processes will be followed.

The financial wellbeing project with libraries will involve internet technology as will this initiative. A social network internet software service will be designed for community collaboration, idea sharing, problem solving and innovation.  This software will combine elements of blogs, discussion boards, surveys, and group decision support systems and will be provided free as a social entrepreneurial endeavor.

The data from the software would be archived and available for sharing openly with other communities.  This is a grass roots, non-political, non-government dependent process towards defining community self dependency and ultimately community harmony and happiness.  This is the United States of America of the future.

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SOFTWARE SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Money Management Software – the Green Pig©.

Personal money management can be thought of as depending upon the proverbial three legged stool.  One leg is education; one leg is continued mentoring; and the other leg is software to support good money management practices.  Without all three the stool collapses.

There are several money management software packages available for the desk-top and on the Internet.  Many are free.  Few, if any, have been designed for non-sophisticated computer users who may have never used a money management system.  The Green Pig © software was designed and created to fill that void.  The software is available at no cost.  Ease of use, intuitiveness, and enjoyment were guiding principles in the design, and yet the software is sophisticated and powerful.

The software has two versions:  one version for the beginner and one is for the more advanced user, including small businesses.  They are both upward and downward compatible.

Update November 23, 2010:  The vesion for the slightly more advanced use is up and available at www.greenpigsoftware.org or www.greenpigsoftware.com.   The “beginner” version I’m calling EasyGreenPig and as soon as I  transfer the domain it will be at www.easygreenpig.org or www.easygreenpig.com.

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Modeling Software for Financial Planning – the Planners Lab©.

In addition to the Green Pig software this initiative makes the Planners Lab© software available for no cost.  The Planners Lab software is for more advanced financial planning, and family members with the ability to learn and use this software can use it to create and maintain long term financial plans.   The software works with plain English assumptions described in terms of 5th grade level algebra.  Highly intuitive drag and drop sensitivity analysis lets the user instantly visualize answers to their “What If?” scenario questions.

Update November 23, 2010:  This software is getting a lot of national attention.  It is used in classes around the world.  I get anywhere from 5 to 30 downloads every day.  To download the address is www.plannerslab.com.

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APPLIED ACADEMIC RESEARCH

Graduate Student Research.

The new field of Wellbeing opens many opportunities for graduate student academic research.  Although the field itself has been emerging for about five years, most research has been in other countries and most has been related to public policy.   The new frontier is Wellbeing research and practice is in the business world.   The field is highly transdiciplinary.  Graduate students in Psychology, Communication, Information Systems, Economics, Public Administration, Sociology, and colleges and departments related to Regional Planning, Ecology and Family Studies are candidates for Masters Theses and Ph.D. dissertation topics in Wellbeing.

One example of applied research is the need for a metric(s) to quantify return on wellbeing (ROW).  Standard metrics such as Return on Investment (ROI), Breakeven Analysis, Net Present Value (NPV), and Internal Rate of Return (IRR) do not satisfy this need.  There is a need for metrics to quantify benefits of a more “human” kind.  If initiatives are to be modeled and adapted to achieve an optimal mix for optimal results, such a quantitative measure(s) is required.  The need was clearly emphasized at an October, 2010 meeting of the Policy Center, University of Iowa.  Much of the conference dealt with metrics for quantifying Wellbeing benefits.

Bellevue University is not a research institution and also cannot receive government funding.  Thus, Dr. Wagner will be partnering with researchers at other Universities.

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PUBLICATIONS

Family Financial Wellbeing Booklet.

A 75 page booklet entitled “Family Financial Wellbeing” is being written primarily for participants in the library financial literacy programs.  It will also be available to download from the Institutes web site at no cost.  It is not the typical financial planning/literacy book.  Its emphasis is from the perspective of Wellbeing and on how a family can practice good project management principles as done in project teams in corporations in order to enhance wellbeing. Also emphasized is the importance of relationships, communication, and collaboration among family members.  The booklet also includes templates, assessment and other tools to help family members to clearly define and achieve their goals for their financial futures.

Update November 22, 2010: I have completed my part of the book which ends up with about 50 pages.  Kimbely Weifling is doing the chapter on Goal Setting and Stewart Levine is doing the Chapter on Family, Collaboration, Cooperation and Communication.  This will be ready before the library project launches in March.

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DIRECTOR

The Institutes Director, Dr. Gerald Wagner, joined Bellevue University in May, 2010.  Prior to that he was at the Peter Kiewit Institute, University of Nebraska, Omaha.  There as a Distinguished Research Fellow he founded and directed the Bachelor of Science degree in IT Innovation and directed the One Innovation Place internship program.  He is one the Gallup Organizations Senior Scientists. He moved to Omaha from Austin, Texas.  In Austin he was Head of the Operations Research program in the College of Engineering.  It was there that he started his long entrepreneurial career including starting a company that became one of the top 10 software companies.  He was honored by the International Engineering Society for his contributions for Austin becoming a center of technology.  He was the Nebraska State Technology Professor of the year in 2008.
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