English: NAVAL AIR FACILITY ATSUGI, Japan (Jan. 9, 2010) Capt. Eric Gardner, right, commanding officer of Naval Air Facility Atsugi, buys boxes of Girl Scout cookies from Girl Scouts at the base commissary. The Girl Scouts of Troop 73 sell cookies to the Atsugi community once a year. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Steven Khor/Released) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
It is Girl Scout Cookie Season once again in North Carolina. It’s the time of year when my daughters go bonkers selling cookies, along with thousands of other girls across the state. What is important about the program isn’t just the cookies (although those are tasty too) but the multitude of lessons that the girls learn while they are out there selling cookies.
Did you know that the girls learn about sales, marketing, budgeting, leadership, planning, and taking “no” for an answer? They learn math skills. For example, if a customer buys one box of cookies and hands them a $5 bill, they have to be able to quickly and accurately make change. If a customer says no, they learn to ask if they’d like to make a donation to Operation Cookie Drop instead – Perhaps turning a “no” into a “yes”. And if the customer still says no? Well, then they learn to accept rejection, and that it’s not personal.
The girls get to learn many different skills that set them up for leadership positions later in life. According to Girl Scouts of the USA, 69% of current female U.S. senators are Girl Scout alums, and every female secretary of state in American history was a Girl Scout or Girl Guide — Madeleine Albright, Condoleezza Rice and Hillary Clinton. The organisation’s own research also reports that a large majority of women business owners are alums.
So, when a girl comes up to you and asks whether you’d like to buy some Girl Scout Cookies, keep in mind that she is working on developing some great life skills.
Would you like to buy some Girl Scout Cookies?
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