The Integration of Faith and Chicken

While limited to a mere two months, an internship at Chick-fil-A is certainly not without excitement. I had opportunities ranging from working in a Chick-fil-A restaurant for a day, to sleeping on the streets of Chicago with the president of a multi-billion dollar company, to driving an excavator. On top of these, and many, many other extraordinary events, I even worked. Not only did I have the chance to participate in a number of unexpected events, but I also had the chance to do actual work, contributing greatly to a Chick-fil-A information technology project. My experiences at Chick-fil-A can (but should not) be boiled down into these three categories: (1) there are extreme differences between working for professors and working for professionals, (2) if you are introverted, Chick-fil-A culture sucks energy like a banshee sucks the hope of Irish maidens (http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=define%3A+banshee) , and (3) the Taylor bubble is absolutely not limited to Upland.
The stem of the differences between professors and professionals is this: expectations. While these differing expectations can be seen in all professions, there are a few specific to the staff/prof paradigm: the ten percent paradox, the temporal ternary, and the BYOB bifurcation.
First, we will address the ten percent paradox: in academics, the last ten percent of the work (the difference between an A and 100%) is extra and therefore optional; however, in the workplace, this ten percent is completely expected, and therefore a pain in the butt.. a necessary evil.. a very important thing to not forget. Actually, I absolutely understand the importance of the last ten percent; it’s what separates a secure production application from my half thought out hack of a program Throughout the summer, I found it exceptionally difficult to work once I crossed the ten-percent event-horizon. I always wanted to push through into new development, rather than spending extra time making sure that every detail was fully programmed. Still, I would argue that academia in NO WAY encourages you to go that “extra mile,” especially when merely attaining an “A” is good enough. Overcoming the ten percent paradox in academia was a very difficult paradigm shift for me.
Next, a part of the industry world that I did not understand was the temporal ternary. When work is assigned, especially if it is a small, menial thing, one is given at least three times longer than should be expected. For example, if my supervisor were to ask me to send him an email that would take me a half hour to plunk out, I would be given until the end of the day to complete it. This, again, was completely baffling to me, a student, since I am always expected to exact results immediately in course work.
Finally (and most excitingly), as an industry-level worker, you are allowed and expected to BYOB. As a student and student worker, I find that, all to often, I am forced to drink the Kool-Aid that I’ve been handed by my professor. What he says is what I do. If I were to offer my own refreshments in return, I would be asked to re-do work or tweak my thoughts based on a professor’s request. That second “B,” of course, refers to my brain. (Bring Your Own Brain).
I am certainly not trying to be hard on professors here; it’s not their fault. Countless years of schools creating, refining, and impressing assignments have boxed students and their brains into so many corners that point values can even be assigned to the mushy organs. I, myself am a relatively decent 3.61/4.0. The standard of excellence for college graduation and assignment of credit force the hands of professors to do so, but we should find creative ways to avoid boxing students in with menial assignments that teach only one thing at a time -- that which the professor wants the students to learn. This model of learning does not prepare students to “run with it,” like I had got to so many times while working for Chick-fil-A. Creative control as to how to bring an application into fruition is a very freeing and empowering opportunity. When I was told by my co-worker/supervisor Mark Presley to, “Do what you think is best,” because he did not know how to do it, I thought I was going to fall over in my seat; I had my own brain! I could contribute in the way that I thought was best. Empowerment like this encourages deeper learning, because it develops ownership and drive.
Once I adjusted to the differences of work styles between professors and professionals, I had a chance to step back and examine Chick-fil-A culture. There are a few unique things about the way that Chick-fil-A does business that give it such a unique culture: Chick-fil-A staff (1) schedules meetings before composing emails, (2) do their best to stay relevant, and (3) do not compose a Christian company.
“You are one of over three thousand applicants..” At least, that’s what they told us during our final few interviews and conversations with members of the HR department while we were preparing to leave the company. Chick-fil-A Inc is selective to say the least; Mark Miller, director of training and development, informed us that Chick-fil-A always prefers to hire based on high moral standings and obvious strength of moral characteristics. The rest -- individual skills -- are even less important. Skills can easily be taught while morals, work ethic, and character take a life-time to develop: “That’s what your parents are for,” he coyly commented. Upon further reflection on my interactions with the people here at Chick-fil-A, this has become an obvious fact. The people here are wonderful. Too wonderful. Being introverted, by nature, causes me to eventually succumb to the need for personal space and inner reflection; however, culture at Chick-fil-A requires an obsessive, obstinate, and obligatory outward expression of oneself; you must interact with people.
Meetings rule the world of Chick-fil-A. I have not taken the time to go back through my calendar to see how many meetings I attended during the day, but I can recall a number of days where I spent meager minutes at my desk; the entirety of many days was consumed with many meetings. I may have been harsh with my need for introversion -- I was fine. In fact, I greatly enjoyed the chance to interact with, learn from, and share amongst other members of the company. Andrew Stohrer, my “coach” (as Chick-fil-A calls him) for the summer reflected very highly on the matter: “It’s just Chick-fil-A’s way of doing business.” After taking a few minutes to reflect on the culture developed there, the annual income of the company, and the retention rates of its employees, it is clear to all that Chick-fil-A is a successful organization. Dan Cathy, COO and president, indirectly argues for the meetings by claiming that, “[Chick-fil-A] need[s] to stay relevant”. What does he mean by this?
Relevance is one of many keys to Chick-fil-A’s success. Relevance is the act of analyzing and understanding people, interacting with other companies, discussing alternatives, and making changes to the status quo of the business. Many, including Dan (by the end of the summer, he asked that we --the interns-- be on a first-name basis with him), argue that face-to-face meetings encourage discussion, differing opinions, and ultimately a more refined and relevant organization. I would argue that this is the main reason for such a great number of meetings.
Clearly, Chick-fil-A, Inc has a very strong focus on people. All of those people are of quite upstanding moral character. Thus, coming from a place that stresses the integration of faith and learning, we beg to ask the question: is Chick-fil-A a Christian company?

The answer is quite simply this: “No.”

Dan Cathy states clearly that, “It’s not a Christian company.” (http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/at-chick-fil-a-845950.html) He states this citing the fact that a company cannot be a Christian, but the people can. As a result, Truett, Dan, and the Executive Committee have done everything in their power to push the company in the direction of glorifying God. Their corporate purpose, why they are on this planet doing business, resonates the following: “"To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us. To have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chick-fil-A) The result of this carefully planned strategy and intentional community is that there is an integration of Faith and Chicken. It’s certainly true that not everyone that works at Chick-fil-A is a Christian, but a large number of beliefs that Chick-fil-A as a company holds line up with the beliefs of Christians. Does Chick-fil-A hire only Christians? No. Are many people at Chick-fil-A conveniently Christians? Yes. The Christian and Chick-fil-A world views form a serendipitous syzygy.
Not only does Chick-fil-A align well with Christian world views, but it also seems to reflect Taylor University’s culture with a corporate twang. Intentional Community becomes intentional meetings. Floor tables become team tables. Intramural sports become walleyball games. Pick-a-dates become bi-weekly wedding or baby showers. These are just a few of the community-building things that I experienced while working for Chick-fil-A. Throughout all of this, Ashley and I had the opportunity to spend time with four Taylor graduates and their families outside of work. We all got together three times for movies, and once more for dinner.
One of the absolute highlights of the summer truly was our opportunity to interact with members of the Taylor family outside of work. After one movie night, Ashley, myself, and eight Taylor husbands and wives stayed up late sitting in the Vanderwalker’s living room chatting way past our median bedtimes. I remember commenting to Ashley as we drove away that night that, “I love these people.” The experience that I had was that I was truly part of the family. For example, the experience I had was more like I was spending time with family around the Christmas tree than hanging out with long-time friends.

Throughout the entire summer, I had the chance to experience a great deal of events, people, and activities. Having the chance to interact with and learn from professionals instead of professors has taught me much about working in the corporate environment. In addition, I was given the opportunity to experience and learn a little about how to create the Chick-fil-A culture. Finally, the highlight of the summer was learning how large and inviting the Taylor family truly is.

Streets of Chicago

If you've been following me on Twitter or getting the occasional bizarre Facebook update from me about sleeping on the streets of Chicago, I felt like I'd at least give you a little bit of an explanation. It's kinda a funny story, really.

Backstory:

-- I'm doing an internship with Chick-Fil-A's (CFA) information technology department at their international office

-- Dan Cathy, President and CEO of CFA, invited myself and a few other interns to join us to Chicago for a CFA restaurant grand opening

-- Grand Openings are a big deal at CFA

So. T-minus 4 days till takeoff for Chicago, myself and the other interns knew almost nothing about how the trip was supposed to work, and the person that we were supposed to be communicating with about it (the intern supervisor for the summer) was headed out to Florida for the entire week -- she was totally outside of communications. Here's what we knew:

-- Bring a sleeping bag.. if it's raining.

-- If it's not raining.. you won't be able to use it

-- If it's not raining.. you will be sleeping outside

-- if it is raining.. you will be sleeping inside with the sleeping bag that we may or may not be able to fit on the plane

-- If we can't fit it on the plane.. you will be sleeping on concrete

Basically, that's how the progression went. The rules were like this for everything: dress code, arrival times, directions.. You name if. If you are confused, that's what I was going for: that's how we felt, too. Basically, we kept recieving cryptic emails of that nature that really didn't help prepare us whatsoever for the trip.

Don't worry. That was fine. We at least knew where to be and at what time.

On the day that we were leaving, my friend Andrew and I carpooled down to the airport where CFA had their corporate hangar. Yeah. Corporate hangar. How cool is that? Inside of the hangar/office, were contained two corporate jets. After getting some clarification from the on site staff, we boarded the jet. There were nine of us going, and nine spots on the jet. 4 spots in front, 5 spots in back. It was pretty cool: often we'd be sitting there on the jet, glancing around, grinning, and mouthing to each other, "What the crap are we doing here," and "HOLY-cow!" It was during this stage of bewilderment that Dan came over, plopped down on the ground near our feet, and struck up a conversation about our workdays yesterday. That was a little bizarre.

We landed. Drove. Sat in traffic. Drove a few feet. (yes, feet). And Sat in traffic more until we got to the corner of Chicago and Wabash streets where the new CFA was located.

Alright. Now we're starting to get to the streets of Chicago. Sorry about all that detail.

The confusion continued. Because all of the employees were on a mission to make sure that everything was ready to go, they were doing all sorts of training, and really had no information to give us or tasks to assign to us. The night turned into us waiting around to be told what to do. Poor little interns.

Eventually, the first 100 people showed up that would each earn their free CFA sandwiches for a year. Once they did, their mission was to camp out, in front of the restaurant, on the streets of Chicago, all night long. Normally, people would be allowed to bring tents and chill out inside of them, but since we were in the middle of the city, and we couldn't get permits to section off the street, that was not allowed. For anyone. So people just brought chairs and sleeping mats and chilled on the side of the street. In much his own fashion, Dan grabbed his sleeping bag and air mattress, plopped down in the middle of the line, and joined them. (he was out within 10 minutes-- it was crazy impressive.) Myself and a few others decided that it would be an awesome option to join him. We did.

So. Here I am. Laying on a wet, cement sidewalk in the middle of Chicago, staring off into the sky/skyscrapers, and wondering, "What the crap am I doing here?" It was a very weird experience. But it kept getting weirder.

We were accosted by the following people:

..A drunk chick, that was so bewildered by the scene that she proceeded to tell us about how she got hammered because the kid that she was babysitting was very frustrating.

..A gay couple, that was so excited to see a CFA that the less drunk of the two stated that, "I know you guys are Christians, but I rounded that corner and said to ___name here___ Holy f***!, they're putting in a CFA??" (I could barely contain myself because it was so hilarious.)

..A homeless man that was very confused (and so very high) that one of the attending police officers almost had to escort the man away.

..A very, very large woman, that was up so late that she decided that she would take her pet Hedgehog out for a stroll. Yes. Hedgehog.

It was during all this that I managed to find some rest. But, I just wanted to let you know a little bit about my interesting experience on the streets of Chicago.

Living off campus and attending a college that has a strong focus on the coined term "intentional community" is difficult. Something that I've been realizing as I move back into a new semester is that while I am on campus and engaging in said community, I feel as though I belong, as though I am truly engaging. However, as soon as I leave and head back to my own abode, I suddenly feel extremely distant. Don't get me wrong, this is something that's definitely okay with me, but why does the contrast always feel so strong?

I'm an introverted person; yes, my personality is such that I like being around people: I'm not anti-social in the least. But there is a point for which I just need separation, time to recuperate and spend some time just vegetating. One would think that living off-campus would then be perfect for someone with my personality. I can spend time with my friends on campus, and then leave and be alone off campus. Huh.

I kinda wish that I had a dorm room, actually. I love it when people come over to my house to hang out in my room. Having people come over and just play video games or watch TV in my room whenever they want actually sounds like it would be really nice. I can't really explain why. I think what I need is a roommate.

I don't really know where I'm going with all of this. I thought that I would just give myself a chance to vent and hop back into the Blogosphere. You can expect me to make a few more posts in the near future. I have found this session very therapeutic. Thank you very much.

Paul

I had to write a paper for interpersonal communication. I had some interesting thoughts when I sat down to write it, and thought you guys might be interested in reading it. :-)

Paul Nurkkala

Recursive Conversation

In the paper Understanding Composing by Sondra Perl, a professor of Lehman College, she explains how composition occurs as a “recursive process.” (Perl, 1980, 336) This recursive process, she claims, is the basis for all composition. When writing, she says that one will write a little bit, take a step back, look at what they have written, and then keep going based on what they learned. She also points out that writing does not follow the “strict plan-write-revise sequence” that teachers and professors have claimed as holy. (Perl, 1980, 336) In this way, she spends the remainder of the paper describing how recursive process takes place and how it is continually used in composition.

While the ideas behind using recursion to write do not seem to immediately relate to interpersonal communication, if you look at them from the right perspective, it will become clear that interpersonal communication and the practice of recursion are intricately connected.

As we write, we re-read short sections of our papers, study what we have written, and use the information remembered to create a better paper. This process deviates from the traditional linear view of composition: planning, writing, and revising, towards this newer concept: recursive writing. In order to understand how recursive writing relates to interpersonal communication, it is best to have a good idea of what recursive writing actually is.

When I take time to review my writing, it reveals a story. A story not of sitting down, intentionally thinking out a plan, writing an entire essay, and then going back to revise, but instead, I seem to follow a quite different pattern: a pattern of recursion. This process of recursion is defined by Sondra Perl. “In [the linear view of writing's] stead, we have advocated the idea that writing is a recursive process, that throughout the process of writing, writers return to substrands of the overall process, or subroutines (short successions of steps that yield results on which the writer draws in taking the next set of steps); writers use these to keep the process moving forward.” (Perl, 1980, 364) When I write, I simply begin. I sit down and start to write. Through this process, I re-read what I have already written as a basis for what I am about to write by using it as blinders to keep me on the right track.

Obviously recursion is involved in writing, but how is it involved in the spoken word? There are two main ways that recursive writing relates to interpersonal communication: context and collaboration. Context refers to the necessity for conversation to be based on previous or present content involved in the current interaction, and collaboration is the use of each others’ verbal and non-verbal cues to push the conversation forward.

When conversing, one must continually be examining all possible context of the different ideas surrounding the interaction in order to keep the conversation moving. In talks that I have taken part in and trying to decide what to say next, I am continually “recursing” back to the context of what has been said, what has been done, and the actual physical location of the conversation. (ie home, store, class, etc..) I take what I learn from my quick reflection, and prepare my next “tid-bit” of conversation based on the reviewed context.

Much in the same way, two individuals will use context in the feedback they provide for one another. According to Joseph A. DeVito, author of The Interpersonal Communication Book, there are five stages to a conversation: “It’s convenient to divide up conversation into chunks or stages and view each stage as requiring a choice as to what you’ll say and how you’ll say it. Here we divide the sequence into five steps: opening, feedforward, business, feedback, and closing.” (DeVito, 2007, 194) The three steps that lead to feedback certainly require context to be appropriate, but none are as devastatingly involved as the feedback stage. This is because collaboration takes place mostly in the feedback stage of a conversation. “[In the Feedback Stage] you reflect back on the conversation to signal that, as far as you’re concerned, the business is completed.” (DeVito, 2007, 196) In the fourth stage of conversation, we have to be actively listening to what the other person is saying so that we can appropriately nudge, respond, and affirm the person with which we are in conversation. Using recursion back and forth to build on what has already been said greatly benefits the quality of the conversation. While the “business” of the conversation may not always be complete at this point in each conversation, feedback is still necessary to advance further information sharing.

In these two, small examples of recursion in conversational context and collaboration, it is clear that re-examination of what has been said is necessary when talking. Taking context into consideration allows us to communicate in more sensible and accurate ways. Collaborating with the other person during the feedback stage will improve and further conversation.

In review, I believe that, yes, recursive writing is a fantastic angle to view the way that writing works, but in addition, I also believe that recursion has an amazing benefit and use in the world of interpersonal communication through not just the written word, but also the spoken, immediately communicated word. Sondra Perl’s research on the topic of recursion is clearly shown to be true, and can also be intersected with spoken conversation.

Through both the examples and the implications of this idea behind interpersonal communication, it is clear, not only in concept, but in practice that these aspects of conversation are used in my life. Daily I find myself in conversation, and every second of every conversation I review, revise, and “recurse” that which I say. It is with the process of recursion that not only I, but all of us use to accurately and appropriately interpersonally communicate. Bringing light to the ideas behind recursive communication has allowed me to take a step back, look at what I have written, and apply it to the context and collaboration of my life as a communicator.

Bibliography

DeVito, Joseph A. (2007) The interpersonal commuication book. Pearson Education, Inc: Boston, MA

Perl, Songra. (1980). Understanding composition.College

Composition and Communication, 31(4), Retrieved from

http://www.jstor.org/stable/356586

Skiing on Thin Ice

Yes. Skiing.

For those of you who aren't at Taylor University right now, the weather is quite atrocious. Rain is falling form the sky, hitting the ground, and immediately freezing, creating a super thin layer of ice on the ground. Needless to say, this creates a very hap-hazzard environment for those of us that are walking from building to building. Very intense.

I was hanging out in English hall's lobby, playing board games with a few of my friends, when Dan and Cortney, another couple of good friends, walk in from studying in the library. At this point, I didn't have any idea what the weather was like outside, but they were quick to inform me that my walk home was going to be crazy! When they left, I turned, without hesitation to the rest of the group, excitedly announced we must go outside and sled on the ice.

After a few minutes' preparation, we mozied our way to the door and walked outside. At first, it just looked like an average, rainy night. Then I actually tried to walk. My feet hit the pavement, and I nearly collapsed it was so slippery.

Again, for those of you who don't know, I have a very long, very steep, blacktop driveway. It was 100% ice. Oh. My. Gosh. We slipped, skied, and slid down the driveway for a solid 20 minutes waking neighbors in all directions. We didn't necessarily use the sled all that much, because it was much more intense to throw yourself at the driveway and "ski" down the entire thing on your shoes. The blacktop was as slippery as, well, ice. One would pick up speed going all the way down.

It was definitely an awesome bonding experience for me and some friends I haven't gotten to hang out with much! Thanks for entertaining my ridiculous ideas!

*raises eyebrow*

Avatar - Not a critique

Okay, so one of the fabs of the land right now is Avatar. Yes, I realize that I’m a little bit behind on this blog post, but I wanted to explain why I absolutely love this movie. Let me also tell you that it’s officially my favorite movie of all times; I usually don’t fall victim to trendy

movies. I simply love this film. And no, this will not be a review or pushy, overbearing and frustrating critique on the movie, just why I love it.

I’m pretty sure the biggest reason that I love this movie is because of how deeply it reaches into what I’ve grown up on: Sci Fi. Yes, that’s a pretty big genre, but let me divulge a little more information to you. Since I was pretty much born, my parents have shown me EVERY Star Wars movie, EVERY Star Trek movie (and season for that matter), and EVERY other show with some

semblance to either. Because of this up-bringing , I’m fascinated by the ideas behind aliens, planets, space travel, and war and whatnot – all of which is included in Avatar.

In addition to feeding on my desire for Futurist

ic passions, Avatar feeds on my love of Ted Dekker. This author is a Christian drama/mystery writer, for those of you who don’t know, and he wrote one collection called the Circle trilogy. (Recently made to be four) Through this series of stories, Dekker depicts a man, Thomas of Hunter, that slips between two different worlds, one real and one seemingly fake and surreal, and in the end, chooses to live in the unbelievable planet. This story captivated my imagination every time I read it. When Thomas of Hunter was in the fantasy world, he was studying the customs of the people he was with, learning to fight as they did, married one of their own, and became their chivalrous leader. I’d always adored this story, and wanted to see it on film. Avatar was my chance.

A story that I read when I was much younger focused on another aspect of the story behind Avatar (which, yes, does seem shockingly like “Pocahontas in Space”). The series of books was called the “Mars Diaries.” Intended for younger kids, the story was about a disabled boy who was able to use a machine to connect his consciousness to a robot, and control it like he was “super.” This robot was stronger than humans, more capable, and, most importantly freed him from his frail body. With his new, steel bones, the main character was able to help the Colony on Mars overcome some of the difficulties it was facing. This story captured my heart when I was young, so seeing something similar to that portrayed in a film was very captivating to me.

Through the combination of story tweaks and ideas that have been influencing me since I was young, I was deeply pulled by this movie, such to the degree, that, when I left, I felt like a little piece of me was missing – I wasn’t quite complete. This is something I’ve never experienced before, and it was quite dramatic.

Productive Procrastination

It’s Sunday night.

I’ve put off my homework all day long.

I’ve got to get it done.

I sit down, ponder beginning, and turn to my left and my right.

“Huh..” I ponder aloud, “my room is dirty..”

Without hesitation, I stand up and begin cleaning. This goes on for a while. Before I know it, it’s an hour and a half later, and I am still no closer to getting any of my homework done.

Why is this?

Productive Procrastination.

You see, lazy is a good feeling, but when it is accompanied by the feeling of not getting something important (such as homework) done, then negative emotions start sneaking in. Whenever I want to feel lazy, but have something important to be doing, I start cleaning my room. This way I can procrastinate, without the cost of the bad feelings of not doing that one, necessary thing. The feeling of being productive (cleaning my room) fully counters the feeling of procrastination (homework). This is productive procrastination.

I don’t really have more to add than that, but does anyone else suffer from the same problem?