In 1999, Chris Moore and Ed Gotgart met for the first time to address a common problem both were experiencing, a problem that made it very difficult for either of their respective organizations to achieve their full potential. The symptoms of the problem they shared were people with poor communication skills, habitual tardiness, behavior that fell below expectations, lack of initiative in problem solving, and poor productivity. However, what makes this story interesting is that they both were working in very different fields. Chris was an employer in the private sector and Ed was running two public charter schools. Chris was dealing with employee issues and Ed was addressing student behavior problems.
Despite the fact that these organizations were very different from each other, they shared the same problem, which was that their respective constituents did not possess the basic skills and attributes needed to succeed in their job, whether it was as an employee or as a student. Chris and Ed determined that a significant gap existed between the level of workplace skills needed to succeed and the actual level of workplace skills that the employees or students possessed. The conclusion was simple. If young people are taught how to acquire and apply these workplace skills starting in elementary school, then they will be properly positioned to maximize their educational experience and meet the needs of employers.