Kenneth Cole: May 2008 Archives

One of the reasons I love this time of year is that it's graduation time - a time when tens of thousands of America's graduates all wear the same shapeless robe with the same funny hat, with the only point of differentiation being what they choose to wear from the ankles down. It's a good season for shoes.

Today's graduates are streaming out of the gates of America's institutions of higher learning confused, uncertain, and stressed under the expectation that they might now have to -- often for the first time in their lives -- provide for themselves.

Since I will not be participating in the tradition of delivering the time honored (and oft-ignored) commencement speech this year, I thought I'd use this space to share, in condensed form, my thoughts for this year's college graduates.

(As I said when our company began offering fragrances for men and women, "Just what the world needs, more of our two scents.")

Today's graduates labor under six myths, and recognizing them to be myths is the most important step towards launching your post-graduation life.

Myth 1 - The myth of entitlement

Most of us believe that the successful completion of a specific task entitles you to advancement. If I do well in seventh grade, I get to go to eighth grade. If I get a good degree, I'll get a good job. If I work hard, I'll get a raise.

Here is the tough news, so I hope you are sitting down: Your tens (maybe hundreds) of thousands of dollars and thousands of hours (never mind the cost of fashionable collegiate attire, or the occasional therapy session) don't entitle you to anything, except for, believe it or not, an interview.

But also remember that even if you are successful in that interview and do get that first job, it likely won't be your last.

Which brings me to myth 2:

Myth 2 - What job you take is crucial because it will define you and your path.

The decision you are about to make regarding your career, is as important as any decision you will likely make in your life.

Wrong, and I say that for two reasons.

First, your job is what you do, its not who you are. Just because I design clothes doesn't make me any less of an activist. Just because I'm a self proclaimed activist doesn't make me any less of a designer. You're in control.

And second, you may want to know that in their first 16 years of work, the average American will switch jobs 9.2 times. That means you're likely to change jobs (and perhaps careers) more often than you change cars.

What is important is that you find something that you can enjoy doing, in that if you do, you will likely do it well, and if you do it well, it will likely be rewarding in every definition of the term.

Myth 3 - The myth that public service has its time and place, and isn't for everyone.

There's a belief that before you can commit yourself to those less fortunate, or the community at large, you have to first accumulate significant resources (intellectual, emotional, and financial.)

I used to believe that one needed to get good grades, to get into a good college, so as to get a good job, so as to make a lot of money, so that I could one day afford to "do unto others..."

The truth is that "learning, earning, returning" can, in fact, happen simultaneously. Providing for ones own needs, as well as those of the community, are not independent paths, but are in fact interconnected and interdependent. To the degree that you are able to marry them together, I assure you, the more gratifying and productive your journey is likely to be.

Myth 4 - You're young and inexperienced and therefore your voice is unlikely to be heard.

This is related to Myth 3.

You can contribute more, earlier in life, because you have a bigger voice than you realize. With blogs and YouTube, one inspired person can be as "heard" as the biggest voice out there. It historically took armies to start wars, as we saw on 9/11, today it takes a handful of individuals. The positive side of that equation is that historically it took an act of government to create an initiative; today one individual with a great idea can start a movement.

Myth 5 - With unemployment surging and corporations laying off employees every day, these are the toughest times to find jobs.

These are difficult economic times, to be sure. But the toughest times often offer the greatest opportunities. When things are going well, corporate America insists that we do the same thing we're doing, just more of it. Only when the business model appears to be flawed do we usually rethink it. If you define yourself and position yourself, as the creative alternative (as my business has often done), then there will always be opportunities for you and likely more of them in a difficult environment.

Myth 6 - The myth that the iGeneration is iSolationist

The "I-Generation" of which you are honorary members, often refers not to your relationship to your iPods, iPhones, and your proclivity to iChat, but instead your isolationist tendencies and your insistence on putting yourselves first. The immediacy with which information is available has put a premium on personalization and speed. But I am not sure knowing or having things first will add (or should I say A.D.D.) up to what you think. I suggest you slow up and enjoy the journey and remember that sometimes it's the second mouse that gets the cheese.

I've heard this time in your lives called a "quarterlife crisis". But it should not be a time of crisis so much as a time of choice. And you have plenty of choices, I'd sum them all up this way: You can change your outfit, or you can outfit change, or both.

Last but not least, although this is not a myth; Richard Avedon once said to me "Don't ever allow yourself to be photographed in an undignified way," because you never know when or where that image might reappear. Hence, inappropriate pictures of yourself from your graduation party (and any other party) on your MySpace or Facebook pages will likely reappear sometime in the regrettable future. So my further unsolicited advice is; have all the fun you want but, whatever you do.......Withhold the evidence.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it (for now).

AIDS Walk New York is this Sunday, May 18th at 9am. We ask that you join us and our families to increase aWEARness for this important cause. This is both an enjoyable and worthwhile experience that KCP has supported for the last 10 years and it has always been a meaningful day. We encourage you to gather family and friends and register with Team Kenneth Cole today here.

We may all walk in different shoes, but we're all moving in the same direction to find a cure.

I look forward to seeing you on Sunday.