Making a list of what skills are needed to succeed seems to be a hot topic these days. The University of Notre Dame Mendoza College of Business joined the parade recently by publishing their “6 Critical Management Skills Every Business Leader Must Master.” Click HERE to access the article.

It’s no major discovery, to be sure, and the article in which the list of skills is presented is short and provides no background or source from which the skills were derived or prioritized.

But that’s not the point.

The University of Notre Dame is commended for recognizing that fundamental SKILLS are necessary for success – not just a head stuffed with facts and figures and competency in performing well by choosing “a, b, c, d, etc.”  on standardized tests.

It’s important to be able to DO things – not just to KNOW things.

Simple in concept, isn’t it?

But it’s disheartening to know that we have understood the importance of critical skills development since publication of “A Nation At Risk; The Imperative for Educational Reform” way back in April of 1983. Regarding the status of eduction in the United States at the time, the authors wrote, “If an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the mediocre educational performance that exists today, we might well have viewed it as an act of war.”

While the article published by the University of Notre Dame doesn’t deal directly at education in general, it does acknowledge that SKILLS have an important role in success.

Thank you, Notre Dame!