YOUNGSTOWN Exec has ideas on readying students

Resistence to change is education's biggest 'bottleneck,' the speaker said.
THE VINDICATOR, YOUNGSTOWN
By CYNTHIA VINARSKY
VINDICATOR BUSINESS WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Gary Nelson Conley has had a hand in several big-name development projects, including Cleveland's Jacobs Field and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. His Cincinnati company has helped more than 200 businesses reduce waste and increase profits.
Now he's lending his expertise to a group of community leaders bent on reviving the Mahoning Valley's economy.
Conley, president of TechSolve Inc., met with local educators, development experts and business executives at Youngstown State University on Wednesday to discuss the university's role in furthering economic development in the region.
TechSolve started as a business consultant for small and midsize industrial companies, helping them to implement lean manufacturing methods and offering business development training. About $5 million of its $7.5 million annual budget comes from companies that pay for its business consulting services.
More recently, Conley said, the company has forged relationships with 17 Cincinnati-area public school districts, most in inner-city neighborhoods, to help improve the educational process.
Representatives from the districts are working with TechSolve to implement blueprints for change, and they're also interacting with other participating districts to share ideas.
Using business principles
Conley said the educational partnerships have shown him that some of the same principles used to help businesses improve efficiency can transfer to the classroom.
In manufacturing, he explained, problem solvers look for the one bottleneck that is holding up a process and work to solve it. In education, Conley maintains, that bottleneck is a reluctance to embrace change.
"In my opinion, it's not that schools don't know what businesses' needs are," he said. "The problem is, they don't know how to get it done. We believe we can use some of the same techniques used in manufacturing."
For example, Conley argued that about a third of the school day is wasted with a typical, seven-period school day. Students spend about 15 minutes of each period moving into the classroom, finding a seat, getting out their papers and books; he favors longer class periods and less frequent class changes to allow more time for learning.
When businesses are surveyed about what they want from a university, Conley said, they consistently cite as their top priority the need for students who have had plenty of practical work experience, followed by the opportunity for business leaders to interact with professors.
"What this drives home is that the biggest impact the university can have on the business community is the students," he said. "Keep your eye on the students."
vinarsky@vindy.com