North Dakota State University Celebrates 'The Year of the HOW'

FARGO, N.D., Oct. 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- North Dakota State University (NDSU) announced today a campus-wide celebration of "The Year of the HOW," a partnership that has been designed to inspire change in the university's approach to organizational citizenship, develop inspirational leaders among its students, and elevate the daily behavior of administrators, faculty, and staff.

The NDSU College of Business' Legacy Program has been collaborating with NDSU Thought Leader of the Year and LRN CEO Dov Seidman to design and launch a certification program for students that gives them the tools to apply Seidman's HOW philosophy and principles in an active, thriving university setting.  The students in NDSU College of Business'  Legacy Program, an undergraduate professional development program focused on team leadership, collaborated to bring "The Year of the HOW" to life. 

"This effort would have not been possible without the generous SU Impact grant provided by the NDSU Development Foundation.  Without that initial grant, all of this would have remained a dream," said Tim Peterson, Associate Dean of the College of Business.

The seminars and certification program were designed around the HOW philosophy, with Dr. Peterson and a team of Seidman's colleagues led by Dr. Doug LePelley. During the past year, more than 700 students have taken seminars that instruct them on how to bring the HOW worldview into their behavior. The series of three seminars focused on a set of principles that are centered on the elevated role that inspirational leadership and behavior play in our personal and business lives. The students have also read Seidman's book to deepen their insight into the philosophy. More than 70 of them have completed all three seminars, and written reflection papers, earning a Certificate in HOW. Going forward, the team will continue to offer seminars and additional resource materials, with an aspiration to implement the program university-wide and at other universities.

Seidman is visiting Fargo on Wednesday and Thursday to make personal appearances with Dr. Peterson on campus and across the community, endorsing the university's extraordinary commitment. He will be giving speeches and more informal talks at the Chamber of Commerce, with a large event at the NDSU Festival Hall throughout the week, and at other local events.

The HOW philosophy, detailed in Seidman's book, "HOW: Why How We Do Anything Means Everything," maintains that the flood of information, unprecedented transparency, increasing interconnectedness, and our global interdependence are dramatically reshaping today's world, the world of business, and our lives. We are in the Era of Behavior, and the rules of the game have fundamentally changed. It is no longer what you do that matters most and sets you apart from others, but how you do what you do. In order to achieve a sustainability advantage and enduring success, organizations and their employees must now embrace HOW, the new frontier of conduct. LRN's HOW Report has shown the link between corporate cultures guided by values and the desired outcomes for organizations, such as innovation and financial performance.

The implications for North Dakota State University are clear and compelling.  Students can tap into moral authority and lead in new ways. They can exhibit leadership behaviors and inspire others in every sphere of their lives, whether in class, online, or even at a party. They can build careers of significance, where they seek employment at institutions whose values match their own.

"The program is relatively new, but even since its inception, both our staff and students have witnessed significant changes," said Dr. Peterson. "These changes have reinforced the critical importance and understanding of principled behavior in the real-world of business.  I have been inspired by the students' desire to examine their values and align them with action."  

"We are thrilled to be collaborating with NDSU on 'The Year of the HOW' initiative," said Seidman. "This is a meaningful step in our journey to inspire change in business schools as we better prepare students to succeed in a highly competitive global economy."

NDSU has approximately 15,000 undergraduate students enrolled full time and is one of the few institutions that have achieved business accreditation from AACSB International – The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. Fewer than 5 percent of business schools have earned this distinguished hallmark of excellence in management education, the highest standard of achievement for business schools worldwide.

About NDSU: North Dakota State University is distinctive as a student-focused, land-grant research university, ranked by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education among the top 108 public and private universities in the country. NDSU is in the elite category of "Research Universities/Very High Research Activity," with several programs ranked in the Top 100 by the National Science Foundation. NDSU is fully accredited as an institution by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools.

About Dov Seidman and LRN: DOV SEIDMAN's career has focused on how companies and their people can operate in both principled and profitable ways. That's the inspiration behind his book, "HOW: Why HOW We Do Anything Means Everything," recently expanded and including a foreword from President Bill Clinton.  Dov is the founder and CEO of LRN. Since 1994, LRN has helped to shape winning organizational cultures inspired by sustainable values in hundreds of companies with over 20 million people working in over 100 countries. Fortune called Dov the "hottest advisor on the corporate virtue circuit" and Economic Times named him a "Top 60 Global Thinker of the Last Decade." He is a Harvard Law School graduate with bachelor's and master's degrees in moral philosophy from UCLA and a graduate degree in philosophy, politics, and economics from Oxford University.

Since 1994, LRN has helped over 20 million people at more than 700 companies worldwide simultaneously navigate complex legal and regulatory environments and foster ethical cultures. LRN's combination of practical tools, education, and strategic advice helps companies translate their values into concrete corporate practices and leadership behaviors that create sustainable competitive advantage. In partnership with LRN, companies need not choose between living principles and maximizing profits, or between enhancing reputation and growing revenue: all are a product of principled performance. LRN works with organizations in more than 100 countries and has offices in Los Angeles, New York, London, and Mumbai.

For more information, you can find Dov on Twitter @DovSeidman, or email him at dov.seidman@lrn.com. You can also visit www.LRN.com, find us on Twitter @LRN, or call: 800 529 6366 or 646 862 2040

SOURCE NDSU