Author Archives: me129395

1. Create written content with high skim value. No matter whether you are writing an email, a white paper, a project proposal, or a marketing plan. Executives’ time is valuable and writing a story will only make your document get lost in the shuffle. Try to write in a direct manner, ‘cut through the fat’ of passive tenses; use bold, bullet points, underlining, and italics. Anything that is essential for your boss to read should be easily found and understood.

Also, understand when something should be written in an email versus discussed on the phone or in a meeting. If there are a lot of decisions to be made with a lot of factors that could play out, a meeting might be more appropriate to be able to explain specific situation.

2. Employees need target goals, they need to feel like their opinion matters, and they need to be motivated to come to work everyday. As a manager or a colleague, or both, do not underestimate the power of casual, seemingly meaningless conversation. People need to feel like you genuinely care about them and that they’re more than just a deliverable. Take time to get to know the people you work with and determine the best ways to communicate with them. Empower people by requiring that their opinions are heard. Know when to be the provocateur, critic, learning advocate, and innovation coach as these are all vital communications styles at different times.

3. If you use ums, ahs, you-knows, likes, etc., you lose credibility before people even listen to the content of the information you’re attempting to share. If there is one thing you, and all of us, should be conscious of and working to mitigate it’s the use of these vicious filler words that we have picked up throughout our lives. When we pause to collect our thoughts, it feels like there’s a lot of dead space in a conversation, but that brief moment actually creates a stronger, more structured demeanor and makes people want to listen more. Practice makes perfect, it will not come overnight but we must start somewhere.

We first had a meeting to discuss and brainstorm on an idea that seemed viable and interesting. Our previous blog posts where we developed social entrepreneurship ideas became our baseline for discussion, as we’d all already put thought into the process through this outlet. We determined that the Mobile Market idea was the most tangible and provided a large pool of research to work within. We then shared our annotated bibliography research, created an outline for the paper and presentation, and delegated particular sections.

Using Google docs, we each built out our sections of the paper and had a meeting to discuss once complete. We then each read the paper throughout to ensure cohesiveness, although we are aware we are being graded individually, we do not want to duplicate information or provide contradicting information.

For the presentation, roles were assigned based on the information that each member contributed to the paper. This makes intuitive sense because this is what we have the most comprehensive understanding about. The presentation is shorter and more straightforward than our paper. We want our audience to see that we care about the project and that it’s a viable and essential utilization or resources. We have included a few graphs and charts to convey that we’ve done quantitative research and have strong forecasting and money management skills. We’ll also use statistics from credible sources that we feel will highlight the macro-level problems faced in low-income neighborhoods relating to food availability.

The leadership style we will try to inspire is one of a meaning maker. Our project should really stimulate a sense of community. If there is buy-in from key community members, the neighborhoods should really take to this initiative. This sense of inclusion is one that the Mobile Market will look to inspire with its nutrition lessons, cooking lessons, and subsidized fresh food. We also want our audience to feel this camaraderie.

I would develop a system to get affordable and fresh produce to low-income families.  The food system in America is perpetuating the obesity and health problems in America.  If people do not have enough money to live on, it is only logical that they would purchase inexpensive, easy to cook, pre-packaged meals high in carbohydrates.  However, these meals also carry the most sugar and sodium content and do not provide the nutrients that our bodies need to be healthy.

I would therefore establish a ‘mobile farmers market’, such as a prefabricated school bus that could take these healthy foods to neighborhoods where local grocery stores or neighborhood corner stores were insufficient.  The food would be subsidized so it becomes the affordable and logical choice for locals.  I would also provide basic recipes and teach cooking classes to educate people on how to cook fresh produce in their everyday lives.

On a micro level, the social entrepreneur project would benefit individual, low-income communities.  Locals would grow accustom to the farmers market’s regular weekly attendance and do their grocery shopping accordingly.  They would also be able to teach their children about healthy eating habits.  On a macro level, if this program were successful in a target city, for example, New York City, it could expand nationally.  If this project could contribute to reducing the amount of obesity in these urban areas, it could have drastically positive effects on our healthcare system as a prevention mechanism.

I think donors would find this idea strong and easily digestible.  It does not have a complex business model, it does not necessitate massive amounts of start up costs, and it has the potential to create a big shift in people’s mindset and health.  Michelle Obama’s ‘Lets Move’ campaign has done a lot to publicize health issues, especially in kids and school systems in the recent years.  I therefore also believe that there are federal grants that would contribute to funding the project.  I would develop short promotional videos and a website to increase exposure to the project and I would attend conferences related to health and education.  I would then write a significant amount of grant proposals.

We both looked comfortable and did a good job at body language and eye contact.  I have tried to work on ‘scanning’ the room in the past and can tell the difference in my application depending on how nervous I am.  The transition from Carla to me was good, but my transition back to her could have been more logical.  I also think some media (a 30 second clip of some kind) would have been a nice addition to the presentation.  This might have drawn in listeners and possibly added a little humor with the right clip.

It’s nice to have so few people in our class to get more ‘air time’ presenting and more time to focus on our own presentation vices.  For example, I have trouble with pause, which is apparent in the speed at which I present and the amount of fillers I use.  I need to work on using pause to engage listeners.  It will allow the audience to digest what I’m saying and allow me to collect my thoughts and ensure I’m on the right track.  I am working on speaking slower, which is apparent in this video.  However, when I speak slower, I also have a tendency to lose my emotion or energy for the particular topic.

There were also a few items that I had intended to speak about in the presentation but I forgot and never looked at my note cards to trigger the thoughts.  I believe Carla mentioned this as something she needs to work on as well.  My hand gestures are also a nuisance.  I use them too often and for no reason; they are a distraction.  Lastly, we both could have moved around a little more to engage the audience but we both recognized the constraint of the camera for this strategy.

Overall, I think that Carla and I gave a solid presentation.  The structure of the presentation flowed nicely; we had a clear introduction, section breakdown and conclusion/wrap up.  This made it easy to follow by repeating the main points multiple times in different ways.  It is advantageous that both of us have had experience with meaning maker leaders.  We were able to draw from our own experiences and relate them to the book’s definitions and anecdotes.  I believe the examples we used and the questions we asked to the audience were relevant and thought provoking.

My leadership style is very similar to that of a Trust Builder, as described in ‘The Leader as a Communicator’ book.  I prefer to be on the same level as people and tend to believe that people on the bottom of a businesses hierarchy have just as good of ideas, if not better ideas, than those at the top.  They are the ones responsible for the day-to-day operations and have a better understanding of things that are and are not working effectively.   If leaders don’t address colleagues as equals, an atmosphere of fear will be created and those with ideas will be hesitant to share them.  I have worked in environments like this; they are truly toxic as they stifle people’s confidence, job satisfaction, and productivity.

I also want to work in an environment that fosters constructive feedback.  The above atmosphere does not allow for constructive criticism.  People tend to understand if a supervisor they like and respect criticizes their work (they feel their must be a logical reason) but feel angry if somebody criticizes their work that they view as an opponent.  Personally, I like getting constructive feedback and intend to give it as well.  Simple and direct honesty is a corporate culture I would promote.

I also prefer informality in the office, why should people pretend to be somebody their not just because they’re at work?  I believe this is inhibitive.  However, if people want to dress up to express themselves, of course this would be acceptable and of course there are times when wearing a suit will be required.

I will also lead by example.  My father owned furniture stores while I was growing up and always admired the fact that he worked longer hours than his employees.  He showed commitment and integrity and, because of this, his employees were extremely loyal to him and worked harder because of it.  I will be the same.  If there is a tight deadline and my team is staying late to finish it, I will stay with them and be visible and available.  This also created a sense of community, much like a meaning maker strives to achieve.

Working in teams is always an excellent challenge.  Everybody has diverse styles of working and you have to determine, sometimes by trial and error, which working styles are the most effective for each particular team/teammate.  Strong communication is essential on school and work teams.  I’ve learned that the critical first step for all group projects is an introductory meeting.  The meeting basically sets ground rules, determines/delegates specific tasks and deadlines, and sets the next meeting time.  Digital communication is a blessing and curse.  It can lead to misunderstandings but it also increases efficiency.  There must be a balance between emails and phone/in-person discussions because in-person communication tends to cultivate ideas and reduce redundancies/miscommunications.