Motivating the Middle: Fighting Apathy in College Student Organizations

Before reading this book, I never thought of the groups I belong to in this way. I would've thought that the people you need to focus on in an organization would be the bottom third who are causing the problems or need extra help. However, this book taught me that we should not focus on those whom we do not have a great chance of helping, but focus on the middle third and elevating them to improve the overall quality of the group. I will use the information I learned in this book in the groups I am apart of on my college campus, as well as in my future work environments. It is important to the overall success of an organization to focus on the middle group that genuinely wants to do more but may not have all of the time or energy to devote, rather than focus on those who are already putting all they have in or aren't devoting any time or energy.

"Motivating the Middle: Fighting Apathy in College Student Organizations" is a MUST read for the busy college student leaders as well as the staff, faculty, and/or alumni members who advise any student organization on a college campus. I literally just picked up this book, and was able to read from cover to cover in just under an hour. This is perfect for students and others who compartmentalize their day in hour commmitments! Taking an hour to read this book certainly has the potential to change the dynamic of how student leaders can lead and motivate peers, and how advisors can advise their student leaders within student organizations. T.J. Sullivan has not just written a book, but has created a "field guide" on fighting student apathy and motivating the middle third of a student organization's membership. He has created practical steps that can be taken on immediately to apply to an entire student organization from top to bottom. For me, the discussion section of this book after reading it in entirety will be the section that I will return to many times throughout the career that lies ahead of me in advising students on college campuses. Thank you, T.J. Sullivan for applying the lessons that you have learned from working with college student leaders, advising college student organizations, presenting at colleges, and working with an amazing team of professionals that confront and challenge college students to take on the issues that are relevant to them and their student organizations. BOOM!!! Goes the DYNAMITE!!!

Mr. Sullivan's text was a great read. I really enjoyed how informative this book was. It provided me with a new outlook on leadership and how organizations operate. I liked how Mr. Sullivan was honest in his approach on how to make an organization better. He stated that instead of focusing on the "bottom third" you should tackle new ways to get the "middle third" involved. I learned that I fall into the middle third category, which provided insight into how I approach my classes and work. This text has allowed me to gain valuable knowledge on how to push myself to the top third with the help of the top third people in my organizations, classes, clubs. I just thing that really stood out to me. Mr. Sullivan stated that we should altogether ignore the "bottom third" because they won't change in their ways. I found this comment to be quite harsh and a little hypocritical. In the text Mr. Sullivan stated that at times the "top third" people can sometimes fall to the "bottom third". If this can happen then how can the "bottom third" not progress to be in the "middle or top third?"

I enjoyed this book, especially the part about middle third strategies. The part about top thirds on the concert committee having the same ideas year after year and nothing changing until you ask middle third members for their opinions on the concerts and who they want to see. This is relatable to my organization because we have some people that are in the top third that are stuck in their old ways and it is affecting the organization's progression and not allowing us to move with time's advancements, such as marketing and brand initiatives changing at the university but our branch still staying the same and using old methods of reaching the middle third. I am going to try to use surveys and other data to find how the middle third could be more motivated to come to our performances and events.

I wish all non-fiction books were as elegantly straightforward as this. Based on years of working with student leaders, TJ Sullivan presents a diagnosis and cure for a common ailment on campus. His diagnosis indicates that student group members vary in their reasons for joining, but student leaders often act as if all members were (or should be) like them. Leaders are puzzled and frustrated when followers don't respond as expected to initiatives. The cure is for leaders to design initiatives that respond to the actual, rather than perceived, needs of the "middle members." Equally important, leaders must let go of their frustrations with the "bottom third," simply holding them to minimum acceptable standards. TJ illustrates both diagnosis and cure with concrete examples from campus life. Like other reviewers, I came away with a dozen ideas I can act on right away with the organization I lead (a service learning program at a university medical center). Indeed, although this book is written with student organizations in mind, its lessons apply to small and large organizations beyond campus. One logistical note - contrary to the first Amazon listing I found, this book is available as a Kindle ebook, you just have to search for it separately. Disclosure: TJ is a professional colleague through my involvement with Campuspeak, the educational service bureau he runs. I am biased in favor of the quality of his work! I also recommend his student leadership blog at [...]

Great content but i originally anticipated a more developed piece of writing. I would reccomend it any day but an E-book may be more practical.