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You Didn't Graduate From College -- So What? Own It, Celebrate And Soar

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This article is more than 9 years old.

We believe most entrepreneurs, if given the choice, would opt for a grand wildlife expedition over a sterile, academic classroom to learn the secrets to success in business.

Entrepreneurs learn by doing (failing and succeeding), not by reading books or sitting in classrooms, and they love a bit of good-hearted adventure thrown in for good measure.  Mark Twain said, “I never let school interfere with my education,” and a lot of entrepreneurs agreed with him and skipped the academic route.

Sir Richard Branson did not graduate from college, nor did Walter Elias Disney, Michael Dell, Mark E. Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Larry Ellison, and the list goes on.

Ten U.S. presidents have served without earning at least a bachelor’s degree, including George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

There’s something to be learned from entrepreneurs who graduate from the school of hard knocks and hard work.  If you are not a college graduate you are in good company and should never feel like you are less in any way.  Approximately 68 percent of Americans ages 25 and older do not have a bachelor’s degree.

At our company, Fishbowl, graduating from college is a personal choice but never a prerequisite for a job.

Many of our employees attend college and work at the same time.  Some choose to attend the life experience route.   It makes little difference to us.  It is also interesting to note that many of our employees who graduated from college now work in fields far removed from their degrees.

A lot of companies put too many roadblocks in the way for talented people to apply.  We suggest they remove “college degree required to apply” from most job postings. The business world is missing out on a lot of great candidates by judging talent and people by a piece of paper.

We believe in giving everyone from all walks of life a fair shot to interview and demonstrate what they can bring to the table.

Hire People, Not Resumes

We take into consideration the whole human being when interviewing new candidates.  We seek out diversity, generosity of spirit, compassion, a can-do attitude, a willingness to learn, and a sense of humor.  We enjoy working with people who are humble, have a self-motivating disposition, and who can demonstrate how they accepted accountability for their failures.  Everybody fails from time to time.  What is important to us is how we learn from the failure.  Not graduating from college should never be considered a failure.

There are fields of work in the world that require degrees, but we believe that for many entrepreneurial positions it is an option, not a necessity.  Why build a wall or create barriers to entry when it is not necessary?

The secret ingredient in our manufacturing and warehouse management software is that our products are built and supported by everyday people who were plumbers, electricians, carpenters, and a variety of other interesting trades, some of whom did not or have not yet graduated from college.

Life Is The Ultimate Teacher - You Can Learn From Everything

We believe that companies can learn a great deal about success just by observing, respecting, and appreciating the natural order of everything inside and outside of the academic classroom.

Recently, we were enlightened about geese just by taking a walk outside our building.   Call us crazy (a lot of people do), but we have committed to adding the following practices listed below at our company and skipping on adding big data and time-consuming reports, advanced and automated sales tools, or bringing in external gurus to motivate and inspire our team.

If “fish” can learn to soar so can you with or without a degree.  “The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn’t interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting,” said Steve Jobs.

Geese are great team players and they provide interesting examples for creating lasting entrepreneurial organizations.

Have you ever watched a flock of geese?   Eagles are cool and majestic, but never underestimate a determined flock of geese that have their minds set on traveling several thousand miles from Canada to Mexico and back.  We can learn a great deal from them.

Here are a few secrets to success that carry no tuition, inflated book fees, or student loans, and we are pretty sure none of the geese mentioned have obtained academic degrees:

Geese fly in a V formation to help each other travel farther and accomplish more.

Geese are masters at conserving energy.  They increase their flying range as much as 71 percent by flying in a “V” formation. The flapping of one’s wings provides an automatic drift to the immediate follower goose.

We can learn a great deal about aerodynamics from geese.   They flap their wings to gain energy and can then fly fluid with the flock. When the lead gets tired he/she is not pummeled, but allowed to rest and grow strong again by falling back into the V-shape formation.

It is interesting to note that each bird flies slightly above the bird in front of him, resulting in a reduction of wind resistance. The birds take turns being in the front, falling back when they get tired. In this way, the geese can fly for a long time before they must stop for rest.

By applying this practice, it becomes simple to keep track of every bird in the group (no extensive spreadsheets or analytics required). Flying in formation may assist with the communication and coordination within the group.

While flying, the group honks to encourage those in front to maintain speed.  Geese are the ultimate team players. They work together, and in doing so, they achieve feats that wouldn’t be remotely possible if they didn’t cooperate.

Geese Are Superior at Conflict Resolution

If geese have a scuffle they don’t over-analyze, write a report, or file a complaint with a higher division.  They shake it off!  Literally they flap their wings and do a little dance and get over it.  They were “shaking it off” long before Taylor Swift’s hit song.  This young, amazing beautiful woman...Taylor.  She's got it going on.  Every Monday in the Bowl....we shake it off!

Geese Know There Is No Such Thing as a Golden Egg

A natural egg protects life until it’s ready to emerge.  A very large, heavy egg isn’t alive.  A goose would have none of that.  Really, can you imagine giving birth to a large golden egg? We can trust our gut instinct and internal navigational systems as much as we do academic accolades.

Hard work produces gold.  Thomas Edison who was home-schooled, and went to work on the railroad when he was 12 said “Our schools are not teaching students to think. It is astonishing how many young people have difficulty in putting their brains definitely and systematically to work…”

Geese Leave No One Behind

If a goose becomes sick or gets shot, generally two members of the team escort the broken one from the sky and stay with him until he heals or dies. That is nobility at its finest. Afterwards, they form another formation or join the previous group.  Birds of a feather really do flock together and we believe it is the same with great companies. Entrepreneurs with common interests will organically seek one another out.

Geese Can Shake a Tail Feather!

Geese are affectionate with other geese in their group, or gaggle, most of the time.

Every fearless (degreed or not) entrepreneur must be willing to dance!  Get out on the floor. A goose knows it’s a goose and does not yearn to be something else. It’s like they say, “I’m here to have people enjoy me.”

Fishbowl often celebrates “Shake a Tail Feather” Fridays.  Everyone meets in one of our large rooms at 10 a.m. and we dance for 15 minutes.   We enjoy the company of one another, the chance to move and laugh which fulfilling many of the prerequisites listed above for working at our company.

What We Can Learn from the Mother of All Gooses

No story of geese would be complete without mentioning Mother Goose and the art of creating fairy tales.  Humans spend half their lives sorting through truth, fact, and fiction.

One piece of fiction is that having a degree opens or closes doors.  What if you dropped that story and got about the business of living and soaring like Richard Branson?  John D. Rockefeller Sr., billionaire founder of Standard Oil, didn’t let not having a degree slow him down.  The founder of Hallmark, Joyce C. Hall, began selling greeting cards at the age of 18 and never attended college.

So you didn’t graduate from college… so what… that doesn’t mean you weren’t born to soar!

Don’t let anything in life ruffle your feathers! That includes people, jobs or pieces of paper that hold you down from flying.

Entrepreneurs are a breed all their own; unique and remarkable in their own right.  Mark Zuckerberg said, “What would you do if you weren’t afraid?” and Walt Disney said, “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.”  Next time you order a cheeseburger from McDonald’s, remember that billionaire Ray Kroc, founder of McDonald’s, never graduated from college, either.

Additional reporting for this article provided by Mary Michelle Scott, Fishbowl President. For additional resources: www.fishbowlinventory.com/vip