Robert Pearl Starks

Robert Pearl Starks

Location: phoenix, arizona

About me

As Vice President of Product Development, I lead cross-functional teams of designers, developers, QA testers and product stakeholders to develop, launch, and improve products customers need and love. 

Previously, I've worked in a variety of leadership roles in education / learning & professional development. Through my experience, I've become accustomed to working across departmental silos and with various stakeholders (executives, end-users, faculty, staff, students / learners, alumni, parents, regulatory agencies, partners and employers) to facilitate collaboration and advance common goals. In my previous roles, I've advocated for student needs and driven organizational change that helped educators do their best work, students thrive in their careers, and employers connect with quality talent.

Despite different contexts, a common theme in my career journey has been to do work that contributes to a mission which improves people's lives. It's also always been important for me to work with an organization whose values align with my own. I'm a listener, empathizer, customer advocate, servant leader, and lifelong learner. I'm never satisfied with status quo, I constantly strive for "better," and I'm driven by genuine curiosity to solve complex problems.

“Work to become; not to acquire.” -Elbert Hubbard

Interests

social media, career development, training, higher education, web 2.0/3.0, career services, leadership, marketing

Skills

social media, marketing, training, consulting, management, strategic planning

Activity

Social Score: What is it and How did We Get Here?

There are approximately 239 million U.S. internet users representing 75.6% of the total U.S. population.  By the end of 2012, 2/3 of web users will use social networks according to the 2012 U.S. Digital Media Usage report from eMarketer.  As the social web has empowered people with the ability to publish their opinions and thoughts on anything and everything, we have seen an explosion in user generated content being published and redistributed across social networks.  With massive amounts of data and sophisticated methods of data analysis, we are now… >>>

Jennifer , Many people are diving into social media and describing their activities vs. their strategies. For instance, someone may say that they are using social media to post blogs, promote events, and skip trace graduates. These are activities vs. strategies. The struggle you describe is normal. Hopefully, you will begin asking yourself some important questions after this training. If you're going to leverage a social media strategy as one component of an overall department-wide strategy, in what ways will you leverage it? How will you establish a long-term, goal-driven strategy and what tactics will make sense for that strategy?… >>>

Discussion Comment

Jennifer , Any training you would like to provide to Student Support Services would depend on your goals. I'm not familiar with what is specifically meant by "Career Services training" as this is very broad. Additionally, my suggestion would be to first establish your department's goals and how social media will specifically play a role which will then provide insight on how others can support you in those goals through social media. As an example, one may find that other departments may see social media as a waste of time which means training would first start with helping others understand… >>>

Discussion Comment
Kathy, What differentiates the individuals who do fill out paperwork and those who do not? Do you have any insight you can provide to the rest of the group based on your experience and observations? You'll always have grads who are just not responsive. Social media isn't a silver bullet. However, what strategies could you incorporate because of social media that you couldn't otherwise? Robert Starks Jr.

Hello Kathy, I think the struggle you describe is a small portion of the struggle most people have in adapting to this new medium for human interaction and shared human experience. I imagine the conversations were similar with every other technological advancement in the past. Did people say the telephone was impersonal to face-to-face conversation? What do you think was said about email? Yet, today, organizations conduct business via email. People break up with eachoter via text messages! People are getting married having met eachother playing online games! This is the story of history and we are living through the… >>>

The "C" Word

Language shapes the way people think.  If you believe this premise, what thoughts come to mind when you hear the word, “compliance?”  More importantly, what attitudes, behaviors, and institutional cultures take shape when compliance is the word used to frame behavioral expectations?  The “C” word, compliance, has a negative undertone meaning to obey, typically in a subservient manner and when compliance is raised as a training topic, it is typically framed as a matter of understanding rules and the consequences of violation. 

This poses a challenge for private postsecondary leaders who need all employees to understand the… >>>

Jennifer , Thank you for sharing the current tools you use in your career center and what you hope to learn. I'd be curious to learn more about how you are using Facebook, LinkedIn, and your blog. What is the strategy behind each platform? This would help provide more insight to me and others to perhaps have better discussion/dialogue and suggestions on what new techniques and strategies to implement that align with your objectives. Could you elaborate? Thanks. Robert Starks Jr.
Jennifer , Thanks for sharing how you handle this. Robert Starks Jr.

APSCU CEO Steve Gunderson on the government tightening federal funding and adding stricter regulation for veterans, minority and older students at for-profit colleges

Discussion Comment

Kelly, You are the first participant to raise the idea of measuring the effectiveness of helping students engineer their PLN with intent and purpose. I think the idea of being the architects of our own learning networks and using social media as a means to do this presents tremendous opportunity for students to enhance their professional development and networking strategies. I am excited to hear that you plan on measuring this. You can even get your students/graduates off to a great start by suggesting who you think they should consider for their PLNs. I am curious, will you be designing… >>>

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