Sociology. Psychology. Theology. Literature. Philosophy.

These are noble pursuits of education and thinking and all contribute to our understanding of people and the systems they create. These fields of study help us understand the how and why of the way things are, each from its own perspective.

Sometimes liberal arts degrees have a bad reputation for college students trying to figure out what they want their major field of study should be. Usually this reason is because these degrees don’t necessarily have direct job skills that can be applied immediately in the work force. Perhaps for some employers this isn’t a problem since they might have a training program or other skill development program and hire more for “fit” and “aptitude” and “attitude” than a specific skillset.

The advantage of a liberal arts education is the thought process that goes in to teaching students how to notice things. If someone were not tought or encouraged as a child to consider more than what’s right in front of them, then it’s likely not something they’d do or even be conscious of doing. A liberal arts education encourages students to consider more than the immediate circumstances of a situation. What is the greater whole? What else is happening? What are others doing? How are things similar and different? How do the pieces fit together?

My personal study of sociology and theology has given me a better understanding of the differences of people and the ways they organize and believe, but also the similarities that make us all the same. In sociology, there are numerous avenues of specialization, but when focusing on government and social organizations, it’s interesting to consider our current political climate and the voting season. I’m in no way an expert, but my liberal arts education has been an asset in terms of having a foundation knowledge to try to understand why things change and evolve they way they have.

Ultimately, it all comes down to people. What is their experience? What are their feelings? What do they believe? Have they been tought to think for themselves? How do they interact with others?

In sales and marketing, these are the questions we should be asking in order to acheive our professional goals. If it’s all about people, we can be more successful when we know the hows and whys of people. It’s been fun to reflect on these ideas during the forced shutdown of a pandemic. It’ll be interesting to see where things continue to evolve.

Go Forth.