A Steady Upward Course...

As I was sitting today I was thinking back to a rather famous speech that was given here at BYU-Idaho by Henry B. Eyring, former president of the school before back in the 1970's that was asked to come and speak and here. Due to the religious nature of the school he spoke very moving words, words that come from a man with a vision for this school. Because of my job I have sat in meetings with some of the "higher ups" at the school and have been able to catch a glimpse of the vision of the school and where it is, and where it will be in the future. There are grand plans for this University. This is truly a great place to attend school. As a soon to be graduate I can say that the things that Henry Eyring says is true. I have been taught to be efficient, to be industrious with very little, and to lead instead of follow. I'll tell you what (and I am getting good at this due to the fact that I am applying for jobs right now) Give me limited resources, give me a short amount of time, and give me unfavorable market conditions...and I say no problem, because for 4 years I have been trained to be efficient with little resources, to use time wisely, and to make things happen despite the conditions of whatever industry you work in. I can do these because of BYU-Idaho. Read on for a few excerpts from the speech or click here for the full manuscript:

"The people who serve here have found a way to make changes—great and rapid changes—that will enhance, not replace, the best of what the school has always been. Because of that, I can with confidence make you a promise. When you return in some distant future, you will find great innovation has become commonplace, and yet, amidst all the changes, the school will have retained and enriched the basic characteristics that blessed your life.

"There is a responsibility to be prudent in the management of the resources, and there are places where we need to improve. If there is an example of 'use it up, wear it out, make do, or do without,' we are that place. If we ever lost that, we would be in trouble. So we need to be careful what we ask for.

"From that example, I make a prophesy. Now listen carefully. From that example they—you—will become life‐long teachers in their families, in the Church, and in their work, and they will bless others wherever they go by what they have learned about innovating with scarce resources and treating all they have as if it were the Lord's.

"You can imagine the joy of an employer or a Church leader when such a graduate arrives. The graduates will be at personal peace by having kept the commandments. They will be natural leaders who know how to teach and how to learn. They will have the power to innovate and improve without requiring more of what money can buy. Those graduates of BYU‐Idaho will become—and this is a prophesy that I am prepared to make and make solemnly—those graduates of BYU‐Idaho will become legendary for their capacity to build the people around them and to add value wherever they serve.


"We will have a spiritual outpouring, because of your faith and the faith of the faculty and those who lead here, that will lead us to be legendary in terms of our capacity to teach and to learn and in our capacity to innovate without needing the resources that others have to have in order to be the remarkable contributors you're going to be. And that's going to follow you everywhere you go. I hope I live long enough to someday meet some employer who employed one of you and says, "Where did that come from? I've never had such a person. Why people just flock around that person. And they want to follow. They don't have to be led; they're seeking to go where that person wants to go. And they come up with new ideas. I don't know where that comes from. They seem to find a better way, and the budget doesn't go up. I can't understand it." And I'll smile and say, "Well, come with me to Rexburg." And I may not be able to show it to you, and I may not be able to prove it to you, but you'll feel it. There will be a spirit here, I so testify, because of the love of God for all of His faithful children. And those blessings will be poured out here in rich abundance."

Come visit Rexburg, and see how we are changing to the world of business and education through disruptive innovation. You won't regret it.