Sometimes help comes when you least expect it or aren’t even looking for it. Such was the case twice recently, when my niece and nephew asked me for help on school projects.

My niece is finishing her first year at Southern Illinois University, and my nephew is graduating from DePaul. Both had classes that ended with them doing projects about various aspects of business.

My niece Sam’s project was about relationships within business. It involved some introspection on my part about how I handled myself and responded to others. It made me focus on emotions and reactions.

My nephew Matt’s project was about information flow within my business. He analyzed the way my business developed, received and processed information. Both projects made me review my business practices, but from two separate ends.

I found it interesting that the projects arose simultaneously, with one being pretty subjective and the other being mostly objective. Sam and Matt each gave me their opinions and suggestions. I have to admit, each had valid points.

I was happy to be exposed to such a fresh view of things from two people who previously had only the basic knowledge of my work. You do things for so long and they become so routine that you forget to step back for a quick review sometimes. It’s not that I have been doing many things badly. It’s just that a new set of eyes helped open my eyes to a couple of different ways of handling some things. I don’t yet know what grades they got on their projects. I am glad to have helped them. I am also grateful for their fresh views.

— John Wroblewski, distribution specialist