A non-profit organization named i.c.stars works with inner-city young adults who have a high school diploma or a GED, and the discipline and desire to start a new career that will change their lives and benefit their communities. The process starts with an intensive four month course of project and team-based learning and full immersion teaching as a way to impart a set of IT skills that enable participants to get entry-level jobs as business analysts, project managers, web designers and system developers.

The organization started in Chicago in 1999 and they have created a curriculum and learning process that produces impressive results. For those who make it through the process, i.c.stars has no problem placing them. Alumni are working at companies such as Allstate, CNA, Exelon, Microsoft, and PepsiCo. Participants who had an average annual income of $11,600 before the program are earning $34,000 – 60,000 annually a year after graduating. Now the i.c.stars challenge is to take the next step and scale up the program to accommodate more participants and maybe even take it to other cities.

They’ve developed a loyal base of supporters (companies and IT professionals) and they invited us to come to their offices in downtown Chicago for a working lunch and brainstorming session to get our collective wisdom. For the brainstorming, they divided us into three groups of about 15 people each and rotated us through three different meeting rooms to talk about things they should STOP, things they should START, and things they should CONTINUE.

My group started out in the STOP room; the facilitator had us start with a round of introductions and then we launched into the issues. Candidates for the i.c.stars program are selected for experience in overcoming adversity and the program works them hard once they get in; so we said stop doing friendly mock interviews at the end of the program as they prepare participants for job interviews. At least one mock interview ought to be real tough; give ‘em a strong taste of what they can run into so they won’t be surprised when it happens.

We also said to stop the data silos; we need more communication between the board of directors, the various committees, and the folks running and teaching the program. Someone said it sounded like a web portal was needed; a single place where people could get all the information they needed.

One member of my group whose company specializes in open source development suggested appropriate open source technology for the portal. Another member, a gentleman from an impressive IT vendor, suggested his company might be able to provide a portal using their proprietary technology; a lady from a distinguished consulting firm suggested we use a rigorous process for selecting the right technology whatever it might be.

When our time was up, we were told our next destination was the START room. Walking down the hall, I noticed a poster on the wall; it said, “Memories of our lives, of our works and our deeds, will continue on in others.”

The START room was on a different floor and we chatted as we waited for the elevator. The gentleman from the impressive IT vendor reviewed the benefits of using his company’s products for the proposed web portal; the open source developer looked at him but didn't say a word. In the spirit of preserving our collective camaraderie, the lady from the distinguished consulting firm made a bid to change the subject; she said, “I’m from the East Coast and I never dreamed I’d wind up in the Midwest…”

Her intensions were good, but being that the rest of

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