Educating Professionals For Success - A Lifelong Process

What is the difference between education and training?

Education develops the faculties and powers of (a person) by teaching, instruction, or schooling; to qualify by instruction or training for a particular calling, practice, etc. It focuses on the individual and his or her ability to make a contribution.*

Training gives the discipline and instruction, drill, practice, etc., designed to impart proficiency or efficiency. It focuses on a specific, finite task.*

Let's take a closer look at how education builds from one level to the next:

Pre-school: provides a good foundation in personal, social and emotional development, knowledge and creativity that enables individuals to become more confident and able and ready to learn much more as the years go by.

Elementary School: achieves the best possible intellectual, moral, social, and physical development of the individual while developing the potential of each person and to preparing them for the responsibilities and fulfillment of adulthood.

Middle School: introduces a broader range of exploratory courses and activities in order to assist young adolescents to discover and develop their interests and abilities through teacher-adviser programs, extracurricular activities, and core curriculum.

High School: prepares students for a meaningful life; to be a good citizen, economically self-sufficient and respectful of themselves and others; to ensure that all students leave ready for college, jobs and/or civic involvement.

College/University: takes middle school and high school imparted knowledge to the next level, prepares individuals to specialize in a particular field and empowers the student with life skills that enable him to contribute positively to society.

Post-graduate Study: provides advanced learning in specialized disciplines, an in-depth understanding such that the student becomes something of an expert in the topic of study; prepares students for today's diverse careers in the public and private sector, or for continued study.

Education should never stop, yet, in the automotive industry the focus has shifted to training, and minimal training at best. New hires are typically given collateral, a video, an office tour and introductions, shown their desk, phone and order pad, and expected to jump in.

To augment this, sales trainers are continually advocating new techniques, workshops and seminars, all designed to provide quick fixes that will jump start sales. At APB we call that "flash in the pan" training. In reality, these fixes simply offer a brief burst in sales that dies out just as fast. In fact, when analyzed over a two month period these bursts only move business from the following month and into the current month; the two-month average stays the same. It seems like everyone is always looking for something new without having mastered the basics. Until 100% of the customers coming in get a demo no one will have earned the right to "try something new."

The bottom line is that retail teams in automotive dealerships don't need training to succeed; they need education, an ongoing process of growth that builds on previous lessons and provides structure, but that never ends.

Professional education is a lifelong process that should be facilitated by every dealer and embraced by every employee, from manager to greeter. Every day something new emerges that requires learning and has applications for our business. Today we have YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, eBay, an "app for that" and on and on. People can get virtually anything, anytime, anywhere. When individuals stop learning they stop growing and in our business, if they stop growing they quickly will be left behind.

In today's market, ongoing education is an investment not an expense. No longer can a dealer capture a good share of the market simply by having a quality product. Dealers need to find ways to separate their operations from their competition. Good service and properly trained people certainly are on the top of anybody's list of ways to get that done.

At the "pre-school" level, professionals are generally new to the industry and require training in the basics including:

• Introduction - hours of operation, technology and tools available, PDA, CRM, etc.
• Sales orientation (product / service training)
• Sales administration - resources at your disposal
• Dealership culture and guiding principles
• Job description - not selling, but helping customers select the exact car that fits their needs
• The processes unique to the dealership including the methods used to greet and capture important data from every customer
• How to ensure that each customer understands that the dealership is the single destination for all their transportation needs

As employees advance, their progress should be monitored against clearly established and communicated goals. If challenges arise, they should be viewed as indications of the need for additional education in that particular area that can complement ongoing education. More advanced programs allow individuals to hone their skills or concentrate on specific areas. These may include:

• Key Account Management
• Customer Service Excellence Training
• Sales Training
• Telephone Sales Training
• Sales Management Training
• Prospecting
• Customer Relationship Management Training
• Negotiation Skills Training

As a manager, it's important to quickly gain an understanding of what level each employee is at, from "elementary to post-graduate," and to provide educational opportunities that build on each employee's existing knowledge.

APB takes a customer centered approach, realizing that it is the customer's perception that must rank high in any successful and enduring Sales and Service approach. Just as important is the collection of meaningful data that provides the basis for analysis and interpretation for any improvement plan.

The "Red Carpet Treatment" or treating the customer right must always be the basis for the Sales and Service process. When sales and customer satisfaction go down, it is often because the dealership tried something new and forgot the basics. A consistent process helps dealerships keep to the fundamentals and establishes measurements to identify ways to improve.

Education is also essential for the leaders of a dealership, those that have learned the importance of providing the resources needed to get the job done; those who choose to concentrate on becoming all that they can be - not on trying to beat their competition. They must become personally involved and demonstrate the value in ways that their people can understand. Managers must demonstrate by example the lessons taught to every employee and set the tone that everyone can follow. When they do, they are supported by an army of well-educated staff that executes on the lessons they've learned.

Ongoing education represents an opportunity to grow people, profit and performance. A dealership's investment shouldn't be in the brick and mortar, but in its people. Buildings don't sell cars, people do and until that is realized they will always be a step behind. Dealers today aren't money broke, they are people broke.

Using Continuing Education Loans to Help Reach Your Career Goals

If you feel like you're stuck in a dead-end job, continuing education may be the answer. The high costs associated with advanced training and education, however, prevent many people from seeking the additional education they might need in order to improve their earning power or move into a more desirable field. But with the help of continuing education loans, many working individuals find that they are able to pursue the advanced training or degrees they need to finally achieve their career goals.
Adults seek to further their educations for a variety of reasons. Some are simply finishing their degree programs. Others are looking to enrich their lives with continued learning. Still others are interested in mapping out an entirely new career path. There are even benefits to pursuing continued education if you're already working in your chosen field. An advanced degree or additional training may put you in a better position for advancement within your own company or may provide you with more leverage when negotiating for a raise.
Opportunities for adults to pursue continued education are everywhere. From night classes to correspondence courses to online degree programs, a variety of options are available to working individuals. Unfortunately, however, pursuing an advanced degree or vocational training in a new area can be an expensive proposition. Online degree programs may help you reduce your costs by eliminating the need for textbooks and transportation, but the credit hours themselves may be just as expensive as they would be at a regular 4-year college. Most people can help to make their costs manageable, however, with the help of continuing education loans.
Available from a variety of sources, continuing education loans exist to help adults manage the costs associated with the pursuit of continued education. Many private lenders offer continuing education loans; and, assuming that you have a good credit history, approval rates for these loans are generally high.
When you apply for a continuing education loan, your lender will let you know how much money you will be able to borrow. This amount may cover a portion of your school fees or you may qualify for the entire cost of your degree program (including books, equipment and other requirements). Some lenders will also allow you to choose whether to begin payments while you're still in school or to defer your payments until you've completed your program. By choosing to defer your payments until you're finished with school, you may be able to reduce the amount of time you're currently working, helping you to finish your degree more quickly.
As your new degree begins to open new career doors, it is hoped that the costs associated with a continuing education loan will be far outweighed by your improved earning potential. By helping you to manage the costs associated with furthering your education, continuing education loans may ultimately mean the difference between staying in your current job and finally pursuing the career path you've always dreamed about.

Raising the Bar on Excellence Through Education

"I will continue to strive towards greater challenges."
Education can be seen as a great challenge, but what it provides you is even more rewarding in the long haul. Education will help give you the fundamentals needed to have all the success you can possibly dream of in life.
The ability to understand, comprehend, problem solve, and research anything on your own stands for a self sufficiency that empowers you to always "know that you know". This is the correct answer to any challenge life may present. Education in its simplest form means you never have to take someone else's word on anything.
The subject of education can be looked at in many positive ways. You have probably thought of many of these situations yourself. However, there is one view of education which some people do not think about. It can make all of the difference in the world in your life.
When you put a little careful thought into it, it is easy to see the significance of education. When you see how strongly education relates to excellence, it will be enough motivation to do your very best.
Whatever you learn, there is always more to learn. The key which makes learning one of the most positive aspects of your life is that education will not only enable you with a good foundation, it will also help you to build on it.
For every door which opens from learning, another open door is not very far ahead. The more education you seek, the closer you will be to a new door. Each new door symbolizes new and greater opportunities, dreams, goals, and success.
There is no reason for you to make-do on the least amount of education that is required of you. You have a far greater potential than you may realize, and education is the way for you to reach your highest potential. All you really need to do is to believe that you can achieve. When you focus on education, you will step closer and closer to your goals. When you focus on education, you will not stop until you have attained them.
When education is an important part of your life, you will see many new goals unfolding in front of you; even if you may not have been able to see them before. Education will show you new doors and become the primary key to opening them. You do not need to settle for less than the very best when you realize that learning will show you potential that you did not even know you had.
If excellence seems like a faraway dream, you now have the answer to making it come true. You can strive for the very best, and education will get you there.

The Best Education For Managers

Crisis in management education
There is no consistency today in the way we educate managers. Larger organizations tend to have more comprehensive programs. If we look at the business results of the past year it will show that these programs have not been very successful. In the US over 99.9% of all organizations have less than 500 workers. Many of these organizations have little to non-existent management education. There is a great opportunity now to improve. Most of the big companies use the traditional approach. Their managers are given a combination of classroom education, role plays, and outside experts with their theories. In many cases there is little follow up and measurement around the results of the education.
What does the BEST management education look like?
The BEST management education consists of a combination of classroom discussions and real life practice. While some background theory is important, it is better to have discussions around management practices and different approaches. The problem with traditional management education is that it is standardized and designed to fit all employees at once. For example, a new manager is having attendance issues with an employee. The traditional advice is to warn the employee that his behavior will lead to punishment if not corrected. Then managers are given exercises in class to try their skills at giving tough messages to make believe employees. Managers learn the right way and the wrong way and the training is complete. Unfortunately correcting human behavior is more complex.
Management is both an art and a science
Socrates had it right when he said asking questions was the best strategy to lead people to where you wanted them to go. Management education should be focused around discussing many possible solutions and strategies that might be different for each situation. Most HR policies tend to use the same rules for all people but people are different and have many different issues and managers must learn how to approach each person in a unique way. I had an employee once who was always late.
My peer manager suggested this person was lazy and I should punish him. I took a different approach. I sat down with this person and showed empathy. After asking many questions, I discovered this person was caring for ailing parents at home and his life was just overwhelming. We worked out a new schedule which allowed this person to come to work a little later in the morning. This gave him time to take care of his parents until a nurse arrived. As a result, his productivity soared and he was never absent again. Under a strict set of policies this person would never have been given a second chance.
Invest the time to educate mission, values AND behaviors
Did you ever notice families with well behaved children who just seemed to know what to do at all time? They were very independent and almost seemed too mature for their age? This was a result of good parenting which I suspect was a combination of paying a lot of attention to the goals of the family, values, and what was expected. At work adults are just like children but with bigger bodies. All adults require care, opportunities to thrive, and strong and open communications.
Empty organizational mission
Many organizations invest the time to place charts around the building describing what the organization stands for. Missing are the charts reflecting organizational values and expected behaviors. Best manager education invests time getting people to do more than just memorize the organizational mission. Best manager educational programs discuss why the organizational mission is important and what the organizations' values are. For example, if the organization says serving the customer is the most important value, there are countless definitions and examples of what this means. Finally, people are clearly given examples of what behaviors are expected to support the mission and values. In the above example, people are told that they are expected to make decisions at the lowest possible level using creativity when solving customer problems. This BEST manager education makes work come alive for people.
Measure for development not for rewards and silly contests
The best way to destroy management education is to surround the activities with rewards and silly games. For example, I can remember one program which gave tests and the managers who scored the highest were given dinner coupons. I can remember another program which gave out candy and movie tickets in class for participation. The BEST management education activities are open to all employees and have follow up opportunities after class to manage!
Everyone can benefit from management education
Many organizations only offer their management education activities to their star performers, emerging leaders, and other equally silly and useless categories. First, the BEST system gives opportunities to all people to go through management education. The BEST management education figures out a way and then process to enable all people to manage right after the education. In some cases, people will directly lead others. In other cases, people will lead projects. For the majority of people they will be allowed to manage their own work free from micro-management, limited decision making ability, and free from the threat of punishment AND the promise of reward.
The BEST management education is a creative and inspiring process not an event. Just one look at the collapse of the US economy in 2009 is alarming enough to know that the past management practices at a global level have led us down a path of destruction and reduced quality of life. Now is the time for new management models and practices. It starts with new ways of education and what it means to be a BEST manager!
Craig Nathanson

The Demise of Public Education

From time to time during my tenure in public education, I would receive emails or documents on theories or notions about what might be wrong with American education. Each new idea usually was accompanied with the perfect solution for our educational crisis. Each few years seems to hatch a new and bullet-proof plan to fix public education. Most notably, for example, has been the Federal Government's "No Child Left Behind" Project.
Most recently, in response to "No Child Left Behind", I received an email from a good teacher and friend of mine, who shared the "Blueberry Story". Essentially this metaphorical account, unlike industry and businesses akin to ice cream manufacturing plants, stresses that educational institutions cannot send back a bad batch of blueberries. The schools have to take all the kids along with all their limitations, disabilities and dysfunctional family situations. And they have to meet the harsh standards of "No Child Left Behind" with that "batch" of kids. No sending them back.
I responded that I liked the story, but I felt the problems in public education were much worse than just having to work with a diverse group of students with all their problems and distractions. I offered to share my views on American public education if she cared to listen. She emailed back that she would like to hear my take on that. So, the following rant is my spin on what is wrong with our schools today.
The demise of public education has been carefully and systematically orchestrated since WWII by a small group of extremely powerful men who control our government. These individuals are not necessarily those who make our laws, but rather those who, loyal to their own globalist agendas, lurk behind the scenes to bribe, coerce, lobby, and or even threaten our governmental officials in the Senate or House of Representatives. They are backed by trillions of dollars of money, much of it scammed from the American taxpayers through the Federal Reserve Banking System. Their power is enormous and their presence is ubiquitous. Presidents Andrew Jackson, Lincoln, Garfield, T. Roosevelt, Eisenhower, and Kennedy all tried to warn us of their ominous and dark presence. In fact, in 1963, President Kennedy announced that he was aware of a secret plot by the world elite to enslave every man, woman, and child in America. And he vowed to expose this plan. He was assassinated a week later in Dallas.
If we have awakened from the stupor of TV, video games and sports, we can clearly see from alternative news outlets, that we are moving steadily towards a world government, the treasonous dream of corrupt elite like David Rockefeller, and cabals like The Council on Foreign Relations, The Trilateral Commission, and The Bilderberg Group, which incidentally is meeting in secret, with police protection and under media blackout, this week, (June, 09), in Athens Greece to plan the next phase toward world domination. The swine flu hoax, monetary manipulation of the stock market, forced inoculations, control of the food supply, and other "conspiracies" designed to scare the hell out of the public, cripple the U.S. economy, and render us into third world status are all pieces of their masterful mosaic of world control. Historically, however, the paramount nemesis blocking their globalist plot to enslave mankind has been a Constitutional Republic called the United States of America, the last stronghold of democratic ideals, free speech, and the best educational system in the world. Our nation has served as the beacon for liberty around the planet and a thorn in the side for the forces of tyranny.
Key to the demise of the United States has been a plan to destroy true education of our youth. The "globalist" thugs, originally acting through David Rockefeller and the Department of Education have purposefully attempted to undermine, water down, compromise, and render our educational system second rate though a gradual dumbing down of kids and expectations for once high standards. As a result, kids now learn to work for the "collective whole" instead of individualism. Academic achievement among kids is not valued nearly as much as athletic prowess. In fact, high achievers are now nerds and snobs in the eyes of many of the more accepted mediocre students. Children are taught to get along, be cool, and not question authority. Competition has been reduced to working in groups where the best kid often does the project and all the kids get the same grade. Grading has been gelded for the rising numbers of students with "special needs" who get special treatment and easier tests. Often "special needs" mean they have an attitude or emotional problem, or they are among the increasing numbers of Asperger's children. Many students are on medication, which usually means they have special needs. This adds a tremendous burden on classroom teachers, who must adhere to each student's IEP or 504 Plan, with depleting help from classroom aides due to Federal cuts to education. Discipline has weakened in public schools due to threats of legal suits from parents. The teacher is guilty until proven innocent is now the status quo. This trend, however, has been evolving for 40 years. It is no accident that we are on overload with kids with ADHD, kids with Asperger's Syndrome, Oppositional-Defiant children, or a cadre of other childhood DSM-IV diagnoses, mainly because of the drug companies push for more vaccines, misuse of prescription medication, and the government's effort to fluoridate our water supply. As a result of the dissolving home life, kids turn to gangs, and families become dysfunctional families. Add single parent and broken homes, disenchanted youth who are turned off to education but turned on the 100 channel TV, video games, cell phones, rap music, drugs, and sex, and you have a dream fulfilled for those who seek world domination in the wake of a fallen educational system.
Yet, there is a glimmer of hope from a few who stand against this scheme to undermine education. On November 14, 2008 Ron Paul said in a New York Times interview: "First, the Constitution does not authorize the Department of Education, and the founders never envisioned the federal government dictating those education policies. Second, it is a huge bureaucracy that squanders our money. We send billions of dollars to Washington and get back less than we sent. The money would be much better off left in states and local communities rather than being squandered in Washington. Finally, I think that the smallest level of government possible best performs education. Teachers, parents, and local community leaders should be making decisions about exactly how our children should be taught, not Washington bureaucrats. The Department of Education has given us No Child Left Behind, massive unfunded mandates, indoctrination, and in some cases, forced medication of our children with psychotropic drugs. We should get rid of all of that and get those choices back in the hands of the people." This is a tall order for a country that has been slipping into ignorance for a long time. But, there is always hope in our future if we can awaken our youth to rise up and demand to know the truth about their country.
Yes, the "Blueberry Story" says a lot. We can't ship them back. We have to somehow address the problem, but we first must fight a few more enemies such as denial, ignorance, and apathy - rampant and pervasive. Our world ranking in education certainly is evidence of that. We certainly have a long row to hoe.

New York Works Hard to Keep to Keep Education Funded

Though states across the nation have been suffering from budget cuts and loss of funding, New York is doing its best to keep its school art programs alive. In 2009, New York City schools surpassed previous years in arts classes available, and more students enrolled in these classes, according to the Department of Education.
Despite the number of art classes currently offered in New York City schools, the district has dedicated a smaller portion of their budget to art education, reducing the expenditure on the necessary supplies by 63%. The ability to maintain a lively arts program regardless of the budget cuts becomes more necessary every year, as New York can expect almost $200 million dollar cuts in the future, as reported by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg in the annual study of arts education.
New York has fostered pride in their schools by assigning grades to schools in the district that meet expectations, earn positive reviews from students and parents and assign budgets wisely. Grades are based on testimonials from students, parents and teachers and a variety of other elements. The grades are posted on the school's website, and principals are judged according to the success of their school and the efficiency of their work. Mayor Bloomberg approved the controversial rating system, arguing that the ratings maintain credibility.
Despite the growth of the arts programs, more than half of New York principals are claiming budget cuts as an impediment to a more vibrant arts program. Less than half of middle schools meet state standards for arts education and only 8% of elementary schools are reaching expectations. However, this still represents an improvement, as the previous percentage for elementary schools was only 4%.
Budget cuts are growing by the year. There will be a two and a half percent cut his year, and twice as much the next year. Educators and administrators need to fight to keep their programs strong. Some economists have suggested putting aside money for the arts in particular, as the current policy of allowing principals to choose the levels of funding has failed. Many schools ignore their arts program in favor of tested subjects, like English and math.
Reaching across the map, in the last year, more than half of American states have announced that they will be slashing budget allowances for education. Maine has reduced funding per student by approximately $140, as has Florida. Maryland, Massachusetts and Nevada are limiting their gifted and talented student programs, which will stop music education. These states are also expanding their budget cuts this year with even further proposals. Colorado and Idaho are reducing overall funds to public schools, meaning that districts will be cutting funding to arts education.
California, like New York, is looking at huge education cuts in the upcoming year. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed over four billion dollars in educational cuts to a state that has already been limiting funding to its schools. Administrators are expecting the limits on class sizes to be done away with, block scheduling forbidden, and sweeping job losses. Arts programs in Californian schools are as good as forgotten.

A Few Words on Educators in Career Transition

Educators are people with Intestinal Fortitude

. They are people with courage and perseverance to stand up in front of a group and speak to them with authority; not everyone can do that. Persistence, too, is a quality that is characteristic of Educators. They learn early in their profession that it is important not give up on people, but instead set clear goals and make every ounce of their energy available to others in order to help them reach those goals. Educators are also extraordinarily perceptive, trained to listen, to be sensitive to the reactions of others, and to gain feedback as to whether or not their message gets through. If the cliché is true that 90% of the problems of most businesses could be solved by better communication, then people with those skills would be in demand ... and they are! You can find them leading programs within businesses and as public relations specialists and "change agents".
Here are some other perspectives on Educators:

Educators are disciplined organizers who must learn early on in their careers to manage their time and that of others, wisely. Although their classroom hours may be structured for them, all that they do in the preparation and creation of new approaches and the monitoring, et al is performed in an unsupervised environment. This means that they have to set the structure themselves, on their own time, and maintain the discipline required to keep at it. Have you ever known an Educator who does not have strong scheduling, planning, time management and administrative skills? Just to be minimally effective requires careful planning as to course content, materials to be used, pace of learning, plus the optimum mix of role playing, testing, lecturing, drill, and more - very similar to project managers in business and industry.

Educators ARE project managers - and good ones too! They HAVE to be in order to get through the day, week and year. They are normally assigned duties beyond the classroom: Parent and teacher meetings; conferences; professional development workshops; associations meetings; coursework; and presiding over one or more student activities. It is left up to them to provide the organizational structure, goals, milestones for progress, and they are the final authority on matters that might be in dispute. At the same time, they have to understand group dynamics, build consensus, and enlist/enroll others to contribute so that they get the most out of the raw enthusiasm and talent that their students can bring to an activity. Too, it is they who see that things get done and the objectives are met, day-by-day, hour-by-hour, and minute-by-minute.

If an Educator fails to function well as an expert project manager and leader, the evidence is glaring and staring them in the face. A poor newspaper article, a yearbook that doesn't come out on time, a junior prom that flops, an art show with unfinished projects, an archaeology club with no field trips... lack of results has immediate and harsh consequences. When you think about it, time after time and year after year, Educators as a group do turn in outstanding performances in these many roles they are asked to fill.

Educators are also creative professionals. They continually find new and refreshing ways to present material and make it interesting. They are adept at thinking on their feet, solving problems, taking on new challenges and managing "surprises" such as the audience that looks for inconsistencies in an attempt to trip them up if can - it makes news.

Educators are Public Relations, Communications and Community Affairs professionals as they are regularly involved with group and individual sessions with parents/providers/administrators/unions/board members... Often different aspects of the community are touched by Educators' activities, thus tactful and carefully thought-out communications is a must. This has become especially critical in recent years as schools have been asked to take over more and more of the roles formerly filled by families and the community. For those who are creative and/or thrive on new challenges, it's a jolt of adrenalin every day.

Educators are Counselors and Consultants. They are expected to provide the psychological and emotional support that many of their students AND families require. They also counsel and consult with each other. This requires the qualities of a good listener, advanced communications skills, a person who gets beyond the symptoms to the causes, a perceptive person who is supportive, compassionate and bold ... all these come to the foreground in the Educators who function as counselor and consultant. And finally...

Educators are trainers, motivators and coaches too. They take bodies of information and then design and implement procedures to make sure that audiences (clients, classes, teams) absorb that information. But they do more: They teach people to think for themselves and to develop the skills they need to learn on their own. This creative group of leaders, public relations professionals, program managers and trainers instill a desire in their listeners to take an interest in the subject matter and to work hard at mastering it. When you consider that they do not always have a willing audience, and that the subject matter is not always of the greatest interest to the audience, their motivating feats can be appreciated more fully! They are what's more, the ideal trainer.

Many formal Educators are General Managers who have started and run small businesses during the summer. It makes little difference whether it is a concession stand at the shore, a landscaping or house painting company, part ownership in a local restaurant; a summer camp, a basketball clinic or running tours for students. In any of these businesses, they learn what it means to meet a payroll and what cash flow and generating revenue are all about; and they learn to deal with the pressures involved in making a profit. They understand the importance of systems to control operations, costs and quality, and tat of good customer service ... and "selling" too. They oversee operations, plan direction, serve as spokespersons, train and organize, recruit and motivate, and more. They know how to "act in the moment" and make adjustments when things aren't going as planned. These Educators also understand logistics and supply chain and many other aspects fundamental to running a business. In general, they can do almost anything good managers of successful small to mid-size businesses can do, and accordingly, for all the Educators who have run or helped others run businesses, there are tens of thousands of potential employers, and that include just about every small and medium-sized business in the U.S.

There you have it ... just a few words on Educators! Hopes this helps someone.