Blog

What’s a rally point? It’s the common ground an organization stands on, the one destination that everyone in the organization wants to reach. A powerful rally point brings people together—even people with different priorities and agendas—in support of a common goal. In the military, during a mission a rally point is an actual physical locationRead More

Who remembers choosing their career track in high school? I love what I do, but I’ve realized something about this particular track. It’s not the independently wealthy track I would have chosen; in fact, I apparently ended up in the work-really-hard-the-rest-of-your-life track. How did that happen?! Maybe you feel the same! Do you remember pickingRead More

Congratulations to Laura Hofer of Salem-Keizer Public Schools on being chosen as our latest Wade Award winner! Ms. Hofer was nominated by coworker Nichole Spearman-Eskelsen for this award, which is bestowed on those professionals who are recognized by their peers for consistently showcasing the qualities of a Wade: Exuding passion for what they do SharingRead More

“What business are you in?” When I ask my clients this question, they usually respond with “education” or “workforce development.” But is that really correct? I would argue that education or workforce development is not their business but rather the service they offer. The true business they’re in is much bigger than that. In reality,Read More

The following is an excerpt from chapter one of my new book, Answering Why: Unleashing Passion, Purpose, and Performance in Younger Generations. Answering Why releases in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook nationwide on September 18, 2018 and is available for preorder now. Visit MarkCPerna.com to find out more and read the full introductory chapter. A fewRead More

Every class, every program, every pathway has a story. Whether we realize it or not, there is an unspoken narrative and expectation underlying the concepts and lessons we’re teaching. That narrative is what we communicate about the value and relevance of our subject, whether it’s a technical field or a traditional academic discipline. The narrativeRead More

In this series, we will be looking at several foundational realities of career-focused education in today’s rapidly changing economy. Today’s blog is about the third reality: why career education is for everyone. Let’s say you are a pretty good student just starting high school. None of the career-focused programs offered at your high school orRead More

In this series, we will be looking at several foundational realities of career-focused education in today’s rapidly changing economy. Today’s blog is about the second reality: why career education improves academic performance. Career-focused education has long been considered a distinctly non-academic pathway, and it’s too bad. Multiple studies clearly indicate that participating in a career-focusedRead More