Dr. Frank Buck, author of Get Organized: Time Management for School Leaders, talks about what to get administrators (and what not to give them.) We have an entertaining chat about all the ideas to make this holiday season very special for your administrator.
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Below is an enhanced transcript, modified for your reading pleasure. For guests and hyperlinks to resources, scroll down.
Giveaway Contest
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Enhanced Transcript |
8 Great Gifts for Administrators
Link to show: www.coolcatteacher.com/e197
Vicki: Today weโre talking with my dear friend Dr. Frank Buck. @DrFrankBuck
Weโve had productivity shows. Weโve had shows where we have talked about all kinds of tools and tips. But today, weโre going to talk about EIGHT GREAT GIFTS for Admins.
And one not-so-great gift.
So, Frankโฆ Where do we start in getting a gift for our administrator?
Frank: Well, letโs start with the not-so-great gift.
No: Ties
PLEASE donโt give the principal another Christmas tie. As an elementary principal, I could wear a different Christmas tie every day from Thanksgiving to Christmas and not get them all worn.
Vicki, Iโd actually have to start on Labor Day in order to get them all in. So, no Christmas ties.
Vicki: (laughs)
Yes: Childrenโs Writing and Artwork
Frank: But let me start with my first โDO GIVE,โ and this was something given by the kids in second grade one year. Every child wrote their own chapter book.
Now, it was about the school, and all of the chapters were standardized, but the children wrote their story, they illustrated the story, and Chapter 8 was called the โThe Man in Charge.โ That was me.
And unbeknownst to me, before they bound the books, the teachers took everybodyโs Chapter 8, made a good clear color copy, had the children autograph it, bound it in a book, and gave it to me.
Vicki: Awwwwwwโฆ.
Frank: Right now, those children are about to graduate from high school. But I still have that bound book right in the entranceway.
So, number oneโฆ something that the kids made.
Vicki: I love that! That is so touching! Isnโt it?
Frank: Yeah. Yeah. Thatโs my favorite.
Vicki: Yeah.
Yes: (Delayed) Homemade Baked Goods
Frank: And number twoโฆ to kind of keep in the spirit of things that are made rather than things that are boughtโฆ BAKED GOODS!
A lot of our listeners are great bakers. Pies and cakes.
But give the principal a certificate for one. Donโt give them a cake now, because you and I both know what schools are like in December. Thereโs food EVERYWHERE! The problem is that thereโs not enough flat surfaces to put out all of the food.
But if you go back in March and April, and the cupboards are BARE. So give the certificate, which the principal can then exchange in March or April, for that cake. Theyโll love every morsel of it!
Vicki: They will. And if they give it to you anywayโฆ (laughs)
Yes: A Subscription to a Cool Tech Tool
Frank: So number threeโฆ (laughs)… absolutely, absolutely.
Number threeโฆ If youโre talking to me, weโre going to talk about tech at some point. So number three is a gift of a Premium Evernote Subscription. I canโt talk enough about Evernote. I used the free one for a long time, but it makes all the difference in the world, getting the premium version. Itโs around $70 a year. Maybe we can put a little link in the Shownotes that a teacher can go to to really get the information on how to give a gift subscription of Evernote.
Vicki: Love that. Wellโฆ
Yes: Task Clone to Link Evernote and their Calendar
Frank: Number fourโฆ If the principal maybe already uses Evernote and uses a digital task list, like ToodleDo or Asana or Todoistโฆ any of the major ones.
There is a wonderful service that not enough people know about yet. Itโs called Task Clone. It lets Evernote work together with that digital task list, and itโs only like $15.00 a year. Itโs wonderful!
And the developer e-mailed me yesterday, and said heโs willing to give five free gift subscriptions. So we can talk about maybe how we can award those to five lucky people, and put that in the Shownotes. But it is a wonderful, wonderful service.
Vicki: We will do that give-away! What a way to celebrate!
OK, whatโs our fifth?
Frank: OK. Number five. I would just hope weโd call this, โBetter Tools.โ
Yes: Better (Tool) Accessories
Think about your principal and what they sort of carry around with them all the time.
Like if thereโs that laptop that they always have under their arm, but the sleeve that itโs in is sort of ratty. What about a nice leather sleeve that they would really be proud of?
Or if they use a paper journal, but itโs sort of like a spiral notebook thatโs really ratty? Maybe invest in a nice paper journal, so that when they pull it out, it really looks professional.
And then other people say, โWhere did you get that?โ And they can say, โMy faculty gave that to me.โ
Vicki: Just noticing what they love, you know?
Frank: Absolutely. Absolutely.
Yes: Hobby Helpers
And then number sixโฆ Think about a hobby that the administrator has. Absolutely nothing to do with school. Give them something related to that hobby.
So you might need to call somebody whoโs kind of in that arena to ask them, โWhatโs the latest and greatest thing thatโs come out that the administrator might not yet have. And then get them that.
So thatโs my number six tip.
Vicki: Great! OK, whatโs next?
Yes: Autographed Book by a Favorite Author
Frank: Number seven.
Who is your administratorโs favorite author? Who is that person that theyโre always talking about. Get a book by that person, and get the author to not only autograph it, but write a really nice message that makes it sound like they know your principal. It maybe includes a couple of things that are near and dear to your principalโs heart.
Now I think that the easiest way to do that isโฆ Most of these people speak at conventions. So somehow be able to grab a book from the bookstore, grab the speaker in the hall, and say, โHeyโฆ would you consider autographing the bookโฆโ And have something written out for them so that in just a minute or so, they can do that. Your principal would love it.
And by the way, I would be delighted — not because I am the greatest author in the world, but Iโd be delighted to kick you in a copy of my book, autograph it and write a message just like Iโve said, for some lucky listener.
Vicki: And the book is a great book for helping administrators get organized. And sometimes, authors will, on their website, give you the opportunity to order signed books there, if theyโre still living. So thatโs another place to check.
Yes: Leave a Legacy
OK, whatโs our eighth?
Frank: The eighth and final tipโฆ If your administrator has as much grey hair as I have, and theyโre toward the end of their career, and they have just about everything, then think about a gift that is going to help that principal leave a legacy.
It might beโฆ if thereโ a brick project out there, where you can buy a brick thatโs going to have that principalโs name and the dates that they were principalโฆ Thatโs a good one.
Maybe commission a portrait thatโs going to hang in the school for the rest of eternity.
Name something in the principalโs honor. Something that, when that principal is no longer the principal of that school, thatโs going to let the teachers and the parents and the students for decades to come still remember that person.
So thatโs number eight.
Vicki: My headmaster, that I loved dearly, Graham Loweโฆ We named the gym after him my senior year, when I was on student government. We surprised them! How do you hang a cement thing on the wall and surprise them?
Frank: (laughs)
Vicki: But I remember it too.
When you honor people you care about, itโs a great memory for both of you. What a fitting way to really give a gift.
Name an award after them. Do something special that helps them live on in peopleโs minds and hearts, and celebrate who they are, and what theyโve done.
Frank: (agrees) It helps them leave that legacy.
Vicki: I love it.
Frank: I hope that this gives your listeners some ideas so that we can give a gift thatโs really going to matter.
And itโs not going to be another Christmas tie.
Vicki: No more Christmas ties!
Thank you, Frank!
Transcribed by Kymberli Mulford
Dr. Frank Buck: Bio as submitted
Frank Buck is a veteran school administrator, public speaker, productivity coach, and author of Get Organized!: Time Management for School Leaders. He has spoken to audiences throughout the United States and internationally to help busy professionals achieve total control over their time and the peace of mind that nothing is falling through the cracks.
Blog: Frank Buck Consulting
Twitter: @DrFrankBuck
Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a โsponsored podcast episode.โ The company who sponsored it compensated me via cash payment, gift, or something else of value to include a reference to their product. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will be good for my readers and are from companies I can recommend. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissionโs 16 CFR, Part 255: โGuides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” This company has no impact on the editorial content of the show. |
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1 comment
Loved the administrator gift ideas. I will spread the news. Thanks.