Through the annual ABET assessment process, Computer Information Systems faculty in the College of Business at a regional institution were able to diagnose problems regarding students not satisfying our program's Student Outcomes. Often, the impediments to student success were not technical in nature and prompted faculty to consider non-technical solutions. A framework for the interaction and interdependency of the technical and non-technical skills, termed the "Blue and Green Curve" is presented that describes balancing emphasis on the technical curriculum (Blue Curve) and professional and personal management skills (Green Curve) that have the potential to accelerate students' acquisition of technical skills. The framework prescribes a foundation of effective habits to establish early in a student's academic career. Guided by this framework, changes to a freshman-level programming fundamentals course in the CIS program are described. Pedagogical tools with assignments and rubrics that support the curriculum changes are shared. These changes, among others factors, may have contributed to a 10% increase in the freshman persistence rate over a two semester period.