8/31
After a first class of going over the syllabus, we have finally made it back from the summer into a learning environment, and we started off rolling. The night before class, we were given the short notice that we would have to prepare an elevator speech to do in front of the class. The fact that it was such short notice was great because that is the way elevator pitches should be. You can never prepare or predict when you are going to run into someone important that you will have to give your elevator pitch to. You have to be ready at any time of any day to present.
I decided to go into mine unprepared on purpose in order to really simulate what it would be like to have to give a speech on the spot. I had to perform first as well which helped keep me on my toes. I stood in front of the class and stared into the camera as I gave my speech. I personally think it started very strong with a very clear theme of me being a leader and a team player, but as I approached the end, I could not think of a strong conclusion. I ended up stumbling on my words for a weak ending, which is definitely something I would like to fix in the future.
After everyone completed their speeches, we talked about this idea that born talent does not exist. People are good at things because they practice. It can’t just be any old practice but rather deliberate practice. This is when you practice something over and over again with the intention of critiquing yourself or getting coached to improve. My personal opinion is that this is true. Anyone can do anything they put their mind; however, I believe some people do have an easier time learning skills due to a born aptitude. For example, if you take many young students who have all been taught the same amount of math and have practiced reasonably similar amounts, there will still be some stand out students and some that have trouble keeping up. Granted it’s impossible they all have the same amount of deliberate practice, but it is possible and frequently happens that some people do not have to work nearly as hard at things and still develop more skill than others.
Finally, we discussed Google and other companies such as IBM, Intel, and GE who place a strong emphasis on the development of managers and workers. Google made 8 bullet point ranking of the most important things it takes to be a good manager and found things like being a good coach and empowering the team members to be important. After that discovery, they train their managers to possess these qualities, so they can grow as workers and as a team.
I decided to go into mine unprepared on purpose in order to really simulate what it would be like to have to give a speech on the spot. I had to perform first as well which helped keep me on my toes. I stood in front of the class and stared into the camera as I gave my speech. I personally think it started very strong with a very clear theme of me being a leader and a team player, but as I approached the end, I could not think of a strong conclusion. I ended up stumbling on my words for a weak ending, which is definitely something I would like to fix in the future.
After everyone completed their speeches, we talked about this idea that born talent does not exist. People are good at things because they practice. It can’t just be any old practice but rather deliberate practice. This is when you practice something over and over again with the intention of critiquing yourself or getting coached to improve. My personal opinion is that this is true. Anyone can do anything they put their mind; however, I believe some people do have an easier time learning skills due to a born aptitude. For example, if you take many young students who have all been taught the same amount of math and have practiced reasonably similar amounts, there will still be some stand out students and some that have trouble keeping up. Granted it’s impossible they all have the same amount of deliberate practice, but it is possible and frequently happens that some people do not have to work nearly as hard at things and still develop more skill than others.
Finally, we discussed Google and other companies such as IBM, Intel, and GE who place a strong emphasis on the development of managers and workers. Google made 8 bullet point ranking of the most important things it takes to be a good manager and found things like being a good coach and empowering the team members to be important. After that discovery, they train their managers to possess these qualities, so they can grow as workers and as a team.
9/7
To start out class today, we played a theatre game that is a great exercise for learning to public speak or continue conversations. The name of the game is “Yes and,” which explains the only rule of the game. Someone will say a statement, and their partner will have to agree with the statement by saying, “yes and,” followed by another statement pertaining to the first. Although it sounds easy and useless, it actually ends up being quite challenging, and as I have learned in life, anything that is challenging is a learning experience.
People have a tendency to want to disagree, use negatives, or say the word “but;” however, this word and the following disagreeing statement put a halt on conversations. It is even more of a detrimental word when used in presentations because of the negative connotations and unprofessional situations it can cause. The game, “Yes and,” helped us to warm up to the idea of never disagreeing with anything anyone says, which is what you want to do in conversations with strangers and with clients. |
The big idea that most of the class was centered around was the idea of a “Better Tomorrow” message. This concept can be applied to everything from PowerPoint presentations to elevator speeches. There should always be one big takeaway that people get from listening to something you have to say because that is what they will remember you by. Without this message, they either won’t remember you, or they will remember you for an unpleasant reason. Providing this message in something like an elevator speech helps people cling on to the fact that you exist and you provide value in some way, shape, or form. For example, my elevator speech puts an emphasis that I like working both as a leader and in a team, so people will remember me as Matthew, the team player.
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9/12
The class was spent entirely focusing on improving our elevator speeches. There is not too much to say about new things I learned about new material, but rather, I got a chance to critique myself and others to improve my presenting ability and the pitch as a whole.
For the most part, the pitches were good. Some things I have learned from other peoples’ pitches are to watch the tone of voice so you can come off as confident and passionate. We also discussed someone in the class having a pitch that contained an anecdote on a touchy topic, and while in most instances it would not be great to include, it is important to remember that audience is important. You have to know who you are performing to, and how statements will be received. As far as my own pitch went, the main issue is that I was too focused on my Better Tomorrow message. We were taught to have one memorable topic in our pitch, so I did, which is apparently not exactly what we were supposed to do. I accept statements very literally, so when revising my elevator pitch, I have to be sure to include more about myself. |
9/14
Today in class we learned about the all influential Dale Carnegie. He was one of the first and best to create a course on interpersonal skills and self-help. His system has completely changed many peoples’ lives, and given people the courage and abilities to do things they never had before. For example, we heard about an anecdote from a girl who was too shy to even produce noise in front of a group of people, let alone present. After reading Dale Carnegies book, How to Win Friends and Influence People, and attending his seminars, she was able to overcome her fear and present to people she has never even met before.
His programs teaches soft skills to many people, including the famous Warren Buffet, about how to connect with people through simple tasks like remembering names, and how to be more confident in presentations, public speaking, and your own life. His program was so well made, that in tens and tens of years, it has hardly changed at all. He was a self-help guru that made rules and tricks that have stuck in a changing culture. A huge takeaway I got from this class is that self-help is an absolutely enormous business that I can totally imagine myself in. I am extremely confident in my ability to help others become their best selves. In fact, in talking to people in my day to day life, I often feel like a motivational speaker or life coach. It makes me imagine why I haven’t already tried to enter this market, but this is absolutely a career I could see myself in. I would love to get paid a lot of money for doing something that I already do, and to have the ability to reach out and positively impact hundreds of people would be a blessing in my life. |
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9/19
Technology, Entertainment, and Design. If you told me those words, I would assume you are just talking about industries and think nothing of it; however, if you asked me about TED, I could talk all about my love for the company. Today in class, we discussed TED Talks, but before I start, I would like to point out how important branding is. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design, but hearing those words does not bring up the image of TED to me. TED became popular using an acronym, so that is what people know it for. This same idea can be applied to people like myself. It is important to brand myself for what I would like to be known for because no one will recognize me as anything else.
Now that the tangent is over, in class today, we discussed what makes a top twenty TED talk. First thing is that you must be able to be understood by everyone. Newspapers write at an eighth grade level, so that everyone can read them. During a TED Talk, you must speak slowly, clearly, and simply. Simple does not mean dumb. Simple implies that you can take a concept that might be very complicated and explain it in a way that is easy to be understood. Something I have learned from my work at the challenge course is that your communication is only as good as how your audience perceives it. You must be able to relay a message in the most concise way to get your point across in and way that is understandable to your audience.
Now that the tangent is over, in class today, we discussed what makes a top twenty TED talk. First thing is that you must be able to be understood by everyone. Newspapers write at an eighth grade level, so that everyone can read them. During a TED Talk, you must speak slowly, clearly, and simply. Simple does not mean dumb. Simple implies that you can take a concept that might be very complicated and explain it in a way that is easy to be understood. Something I have learned from my work at the challenge course is that your communication is only as good as how your audience perceives it. You must be able to relay a message in the most concise way to get your point across in and way that is understandable to your audience.
When employers look for fresh hires out of college, the first thing I would assume they would look for is job skills. For example, an accounting firm would look for some who has the highest notch accounting skills. While this is true that the hard skills are important to finding a job, the real thing employers look for out of college are oral communication skills and critical thinking. Things that people don’t typically learn too much about during college is what employers actually want, so in my own time, it is important for me to develop these skills.
Another thing we discussed in class today is the difference between fixed and fluid intelligence. People who have this mindset of fixed intelligence focus way too hard on being book smart. They tend to take fewer risks because they have such a focus on judging their self-worth on the scores they get on tests. Someone who believes more in fluid intelligence ends up becoming more successful. They know that their abilities can’t be measured on paper, and they don’t let failing something stop them. What is important to take away from this is that a fear of failure stops people from being their best. All it takes to succeed is perseverance and persistence.
Finally we discussed other things that it takes to be successful. In the changing environments of businesses today, adaptability is key. You have to be self-aware of your own weaknesses and strengths in order to fill those gaps. In order to do these things, you have to set small achievable goals that will help propel you to the next level.
Another thing we discussed in class today is the difference between fixed and fluid intelligence. People who have this mindset of fixed intelligence focus way too hard on being book smart. They tend to take fewer risks because they have such a focus on judging their self-worth on the scores they get on tests. Someone who believes more in fluid intelligence ends up becoming more successful. They know that their abilities can’t be measured on paper, and they don’t let failing something stop them. What is important to take away from this is that a fear of failure stops people from being their best. All it takes to succeed is perseverance and persistence.
Finally we discussed other things that it takes to be successful. In the changing environments of businesses today, adaptability is key. You have to be self-aware of your own weaknesses and strengths in order to fill those gaps. In order to do these things, you have to set small achievable goals that will help propel you to the next level.
Before any sports practice or physical activity, warming up is important, but it is no difference in the communication world. You need to get your brain juices flowing and get the jitters out. Today’s class started with a game called “What are you doing?” Like many theatre games, the point is to practice quick thinking on your toes while incorporating large exaggerated body movements. I have found playing these games before class actually warms me up and prepares me to speak more confidently without jitters.
The next thing we did is practice our elevator speeches. I changed the content of mine to focus on more than just my better tomorrow message, but I believe it still sounded confident and competent. Performing it in front of an employer might be a different story, though, so I am tasked with performing my elevator every day to practice.
Finally, we practiced breaking down some TED Talks and other talks by famous people to see what we could learn from other peoples’ mistakes and successes. With any performance, no matter what you say, you want to be concise and confident. Whether you are funny or serious depends on your topic and style, but confidence is everything when delivering a powerful talk.
The next thing we did is practice our elevator speeches. I changed the content of mine to focus on more than just my better tomorrow message, but I believe it still sounded confident and competent. Performing it in front of an employer might be a different story, though, so I am tasked with performing my elevator every day to practice.
Finally, we practiced breaking down some TED Talks and other talks by famous people to see what we could learn from other peoples’ mistakes and successes. With any performance, no matter what you say, you want to be concise and confident. Whether you are funny or serious depends on your topic and style, but confidence is everything when delivering a powerful talk.
10/3
How do you stay productive in your life? How do you keep employees productive in your country? Money and extrinsic factors can only keep people working up to a certain point. The key to any sort of productivity is intrinsic motivation. What people want in their work is autonomy, mastery, and purpose. People need to feel that they have some control over what they are doing: autonomy. People want to feel that they are gaining skill at a certain task: mastery. Finally, people want to feel that they are making a difference in people’s lives or accomplishing something that they want to accomplish: purpose. It is these three things that motivate people, not money.
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People love working for Mary Kay because they have mastered the balance between the two kinds of motivation. By selling more, they can earn more money, but for a lot of people, it is more than the commission they are paid. The women who work here are people who like to feel as though they own their own business. They can see their own progress and how much skill they are gaining while running the business hand and hand with the cash flow. The people who work here love being their own boss in a business where they sell something they love to other women, which can make others feel good as well. This has created an extremely successful business model for them, and it will work other places as well.
Another company we looked at is called Fish. They have their own set of principles to make work enjoyable for people: play, make their day, be there, and choose your attitude. They understand that by having a good time at work and being happy, people are more willing to commit themselves to work. When you have a job that is engaging, it is easier to have employees actively engaged at work. Their philosophy also includes making others’ days and being there for people which helps others who are having an attitude problem to be brought up to the level of all the other workers.
From these examples, I have learned a lot about what it takes to make workers successful. They want intrinsic motivators. Employees want something that will engage them not for the money, but because they want to work. By making work enjoyable, challenging, and personal, you can squeeze higher productivity margins out of workers.
Another company we looked at is called Fish. They have their own set of principles to make work enjoyable for people: play, make their day, be there, and choose your attitude. They understand that by having a good time at work and being happy, people are more willing to commit themselves to work. When you have a job that is engaging, it is easier to have employees actively engaged at work. Their philosophy also includes making others’ days and being there for people which helps others who are having an attitude problem to be brought up to the level of all the other workers.
From these examples, I have learned a lot about what it takes to make workers successful. They want intrinsic motivators. Employees want something that will engage them not for the money, but because they want to work. By making work enjoyable, challenging, and personal, you can squeeze higher productivity margins out of workers.
Our world runs on stories. It is estimated that every 2-3 minutes in a conversation, someone starts a new story. It is a way for people to hear about your past and learn about you. Stories are a great way of communicating with others because they can be entertaining, heart-felt, frightening, and any number of other things.
Stories are not just good for meeting strangers as friends. Stories are also great in the business setting. When interviewing with someone, almost everything you will tell them will be a story. It is a way for them to assess your past and learn what kind of person you are. They can learn if you are the right fit for their company culture by listening to your past. Another way stories can be used in business is to motivate or teach employees. For example, Nike keeps a waffle iron in their headquarters because the company all started with the founder making rubber soles out of a waffle iron. People remember the story when they see the iron, and it motivates them from how far they have come and reinforces the company’s value principles.
The most important things about a story in the workplace setting is that they are both profound and shareable. Profound means that there should be some big takeaway from the story. Something really profound should change your life in some way or another forever because of the experience. Other people should be able to learn from that message as well, which ties into the fact that the story must be shareable. You must have a story that is okay to tell other people so that neither you nor the other person feels extremely uncomfortable. A good way to tell is if you ask yourself if you would be okay with the interviewer sharing that story with an entire class of people who don’t know you. If it is fine, then you should be okay.
Mastering the art of storytelling will be extremely useful to me both in making relationships and working in the future. I have to practice telling stories to keep people engaged and entertained with as few questions as possible. You have to not let people wander anything because it will detract from your final message. The final message also has to be delivered powerfully so people remember it. I hope I can implement this in my future.
Stories are not just good for meeting strangers as friends. Stories are also great in the business setting. When interviewing with someone, almost everything you will tell them will be a story. It is a way for them to assess your past and learn what kind of person you are. They can learn if you are the right fit for their company culture by listening to your past. Another way stories can be used in business is to motivate or teach employees. For example, Nike keeps a waffle iron in their headquarters because the company all started with the founder making rubber soles out of a waffle iron. People remember the story when they see the iron, and it motivates them from how far they have come and reinforces the company’s value principles.
The most important things about a story in the workplace setting is that they are both profound and shareable. Profound means that there should be some big takeaway from the story. Something really profound should change your life in some way or another forever because of the experience. Other people should be able to learn from that message as well, which ties into the fact that the story must be shareable. You must have a story that is okay to tell other people so that neither you nor the other person feels extremely uncomfortable. A good way to tell is if you ask yourself if you would be okay with the interviewer sharing that story with an entire class of people who don’t know you. If it is fine, then you should be okay.
Mastering the art of storytelling will be extremely useful to me both in making relationships and working in the future. I have to practice telling stories to keep people engaged and entertained with as few questions as possible. You have to not let people wander anything because it will detract from your final message. The final message also has to be delivered powerfully so people remember it. I hope I can implement this in my future.
This class was less learning and more doing. We practiced and polished our elevator speeches, and learned a couple quick tips. The first tip is repetition, which all the marketing majors would know. To sell a product, including yourself, you have to be repetitious. If you don’t constantly repeat your main points, people will forget, and the point of an elevator speech is for people to remember you.
The next point is to have a shorter Better Tomorrow message. With a long message, it makes it harder for people to remember. Not only that, but it also makes it hard for the listener to focus in on the main point that they should remember. A long message leaves some interpretation up to them, but you want everything to be straight forward.
A tip that really resonates with me is to not use the word unique. People love to think of themselves highly and try to talk themselves up, but in my eyes, the truth is, very few people are unique. In the eyes of an employer, they probably also believe that same thing. They hear tons and tons of people try to differentiate themselves every day, and they probably hear the same things over and over again. Ira told us to use a replacement word like different or creative, which I disagree with because I feel that everyone is also telling employers they are creative. Since everyone says it, it has no meaning. You have to show it to an employer, but in your short elevator speech, there is no time to prove it. I would say the best thing is to bring up past experiences and what you got out of them rather than buzz words with a lack of support. Sorry for being so realistically harsh. I think I’ll end today’s class here.
The next point is to have a shorter Better Tomorrow message. With a long message, it makes it harder for people to remember. Not only that, but it also makes it hard for the listener to focus in on the main point that they should remember. A long message leaves some interpretation up to them, but you want everything to be straight forward.
A tip that really resonates with me is to not use the word unique. People love to think of themselves highly and try to talk themselves up, but in my eyes, the truth is, very few people are unique. In the eyes of an employer, they probably also believe that same thing. They hear tons and tons of people try to differentiate themselves every day, and they probably hear the same things over and over again. Ira told us to use a replacement word like different or creative, which I disagree with because I feel that everyone is also telling employers they are creative. Since everyone says it, it has no meaning. You have to show it to an employer, but in your short elevator speech, there is no time to prove it. I would say the best thing is to bring up past experiences and what you got out of them rather than buzz words with a lack of support. Sorry for being so realistically harsh. I think I’ll end today’s class here.
10/12
Today’s class was all about change, but first things first, let me start with some real talk. “Accountants will hate their jobs.” Dr. Wellman coming in strong with the words of wisdom. It is 100% true though; accounting sucks. It is not a profession for me. Keep me away from accounting.
The bulk of class was all about change and how to get people to change, which was taught in a way that I love. It was all about nutrition and saving people from diseases through diet change. The sad truth is, when people hear they are going to die, it will motivate them out of fear. Motivation with the foundation of fear is very temporary and works less than 10% of the time. Given the options change or die, regardless of what people say they will do, the reality is that 9/10 choose die.
It’s hard for people to change the basic way we learn from a young age. You change only when there is a glaring thing wrong: an insurmountable obstacle, and you take steps to change. The only way survive in the literal sense and the business sense is to foresee issues and change before it’s too late. It’s also often better to change as fast as possible as opposed to what people usually think because you get to see the benefits come quickly. Seeing benefits is the real thing that motivates people. People don’t care about not dying; people care about living with higher quality. Slow gradual changes don’t show you the benefits all at one time, so it is often less motivating.
This is important to recognize when leading a group or company, especially the HR department. There are always these big questions of how to motivate people and induce changes in the work world. It’s all about positive reinforcements to find intrinsic motivations. More money will only do so much for someone, and a fear of losing their job doesn’t actually make people work harder. A fear of losing their job makes people start looking at other options. As a leader trying to induce change, it is important to remember that people want positive, intrinsic motivators to change.
At the end of class, we watched a goofy animation of business men and mice eating cheese in a maze to symbolize those who change and those who stick around the same spot hoping their old ways will still work. We were told to ask ourselves which character we align with, and although many people will go straight for the mice who foresaw the need to change just because it is the better answer, I believe I do actually foresee and make changes. For instance, the dying people who needed these dietary changes late in life when they got sick obviously were not proactive; however, me, a teen who many would consider the epitome of health, decided to go on the diet the doctor suggested to his patients even though nothing was currently wrong with my body. I’m constantly researching topics and trying to find the best way for myself to live even when nothing is currently wrong, so I believe I do embody the mice of change.
The bulk of class was all about change and how to get people to change, which was taught in a way that I love. It was all about nutrition and saving people from diseases through diet change. The sad truth is, when people hear they are going to die, it will motivate them out of fear. Motivation with the foundation of fear is very temporary and works less than 10% of the time. Given the options change or die, regardless of what people say they will do, the reality is that 9/10 choose die.
It’s hard for people to change the basic way we learn from a young age. You change only when there is a glaring thing wrong: an insurmountable obstacle, and you take steps to change. The only way survive in the literal sense and the business sense is to foresee issues and change before it’s too late. It’s also often better to change as fast as possible as opposed to what people usually think because you get to see the benefits come quickly. Seeing benefits is the real thing that motivates people. People don’t care about not dying; people care about living with higher quality. Slow gradual changes don’t show you the benefits all at one time, so it is often less motivating.
This is important to recognize when leading a group or company, especially the HR department. There are always these big questions of how to motivate people and induce changes in the work world. It’s all about positive reinforcements to find intrinsic motivations. More money will only do so much for someone, and a fear of losing their job doesn’t actually make people work harder. A fear of losing their job makes people start looking at other options. As a leader trying to induce change, it is important to remember that people want positive, intrinsic motivators to change.
At the end of class, we watched a goofy animation of business men and mice eating cheese in a maze to symbolize those who change and those who stick around the same spot hoping their old ways will still work. We were told to ask ourselves which character we align with, and although many people will go straight for the mice who foresaw the need to change just because it is the better answer, I believe I do actually foresee and make changes. For instance, the dying people who needed these dietary changes late in life when they got sick obviously were not proactive; however, me, a teen who many would consider the epitome of health, decided to go on the diet the doctor suggested to his patients even though nothing was currently wrong with my body. I’m constantly researching topics and trying to find the best way for myself to live even when nothing is currently wrong, so I believe I do embody the mice of change.
10/17
Today was another day of practice. This time we got to practice storytelling, so unfortunately there is not too much to talk about. There is one thing I did not touch on for last week: the cycle of change.
The cycle starts with change being introduced to people where they will reach the problem of not understanding the change. They might lack the info necessary to know why the change was needed, or they might be confused about what the change is. This is the easiest step to overcome in the process because it can often be fixed by facts and information.
The cycle starts with change being introduced to people where they will reach the problem of not understanding the change. They might lack the info necessary to know why the change was needed, or they might be confused about what the change is. This is the easiest step to overcome in the process because it can often be fixed by facts and information.
The second step in the cycle is peoples’ reactions to the change. They might have negative feelings towards the new way of doing things and be resistant because they don’t like it. Another issue at this step is people could be afraid: afraid to fail, afraid of a new way of doing things, afraid of the lack of consistency. This is a bit harder to overcome because people live in what some people call “frames.” Frames are formed by our perceptions and have nothing to do with facts. Peoples’ beliefs are harder to overcome when they don’t listen to factual evidence, which is where positive reinforcements come into play. You must convince people to want to change.
Finally, the biggest issue is trust. Trust is not easy to come by and can unfortunately be easily lost. If you are trying to lead a change in an institution where no one trusts you, there is a whopping 0% chance you are going to succeed because no one wants to listen to you. This brings everything to a screeching halt, and often requires either a change in management, team members, or a business counselor to come in to ease the process.
Finally, the biggest issue is trust. Trust is not easy to come by and can unfortunately be easily lost. If you are trying to lead a change in an institution where no one trusts you, there is a whopping 0% chance you are going to succeed because no one wants to listen to you. This brings everything to a screeching halt, and often requires either a change in management, team members, or a business counselor to come in to ease the process.
10/19
Changing comes in steps. It is a never ending cycle. The world around us is constantly changing, so we have to be constantly changing. In the cycle of change the steps go: time to move on, in the dark, see the challenge, get started, roll out, results, and then back to a time where you need to move on. People need to recognize the need to change, figure out what the problem is, figure out how to overcome that problem, then implement a plan. It is obviously easier said than done, but this is the cycle any person or company must go through to change with their environment.
We also spoke about tipping point leadership, which says that when top level management calls for change, it rarely happens. Top level management is speaking to such a large group, and it is easy to push off the need to change when you are not directly a major player. The changes need to happen from a group to group or even person to person basis. The people are the foundation of the company, and changing the foundation makes it much easier to change the structure on top of the foundation.
One case study of a top level manager who successfully incites change in his workers is Bill Braton of the LAPD. He understands that to create change you need to overcome 4 different hurdles: the cognitive, political, motivation, and resource hurdle. He made the New York police force one of the most successful in the country, so he was hired as the chief of LA to fix one of the least supported and successful forces. In LA, he had 9,000 policemen, only a fourth of what he had in NY. The people in LA neighborhoods hated the police corruption. Policemen hated getting complaints from citizens, which are required to be reviewed, so they would turn their head to some more minor issues to avoid complaints.
With all these issues, Braton was still able to turn around the police force by forcing change from a policy and individual level. He gave speeches to all the groups of policemen and made it clear that racial profiling and police brutality would immediately result in a loss of job. He also spoke to groups of citizens. These two actions helped fix the trust between citizens and policemen. He also spoke to every policeman individually to hear their thoughts and grievances of the system, which helped him implement helpful and successful policy changes. Finally, he turned the police force digital, so they could cover larger areas and use their resources more efficiently where they were needed. Because of his focus on trust, knowledge, and collaboration, he was able to effectively turn around the police force.
We also spoke about tipping point leadership, which says that when top level management calls for change, it rarely happens. Top level management is speaking to such a large group, and it is easy to push off the need to change when you are not directly a major player. The changes need to happen from a group to group or even person to person basis. The people are the foundation of the company, and changing the foundation makes it much easier to change the structure on top of the foundation.
One case study of a top level manager who successfully incites change in his workers is Bill Braton of the LAPD. He understands that to create change you need to overcome 4 different hurdles: the cognitive, political, motivation, and resource hurdle. He made the New York police force one of the most successful in the country, so he was hired as the chief of LA to fix one of the least supported and successful forces. In LA, he had 9,000 policemen, only a fourth of what he had in NY. The people in LA neighborhoods hated the police corruption. Policemen hated getting complaints from citizens, which are required to be reviewed, so they would turn their head to some more minor issues to avoid complaints.
With all these issues, Braton was still able to turn around the police force by forcing change from a policy and individual level. He gave speeches to all the groups of policemen and made it clear that racial profiling and police brutality would immediately result in a loss of job. He also spoke to groups of citizens. These two actions helped fix the trust between citizens and policemen. He also spoke to every policeman individually to hear their thoughts and grievances of the system, which helped him implement helpful and successful policy changes. Finally, he turned the police force digital, so they could cover larger areas and use their resources more efficiently where they were needed. Because of his focus on trust, knowledge, and collaboration, he was able to effectively turn around the police force.
10/24
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Today’s class was mainly focused on establishing a topic and understanding for our TED talks. There is not too much to say about this class, so I decided to write more about the end of last class for this class date because we talked about charisma, which I find really relates to speaking in a TED.
Charisma is defined as the ability to persuade others. It can be achieved in many ways, but many charismatic people have a few signature ways to convince others. Some strategies are to ask rhetorical questions, set enormously high goals, and to contrast using metaphors in similes. Rhetorical questions are strong because it forces people to have an inner dialogue and questions their own ways of thinking. It opens the minds of the listeners for convincing. The next is high goals, which Steve Jobs was amazing at. He was very charismatic in what people described as a reality distortion field. He would give people impossible goals and look them in the eyes. People would eventually give in and somehow produce way more than what they thought they were capable of. The third is to contrast using similes and metaphors. This method is effective because it causes people to draw parallels to subjects they know better. It can reveal flaws in their old ways of thinking and help others understand more, which convinces people to listen to your side. |
Obviously there are way more than these three strategies, but knowing there are strategies shows that people can learn to be charismatic. Usually people think you are born with it, but since there are definitive ways that it works, you can practice the methods and become charismatic yourself. Olivia Fox gave a talk on this saying that you have to learn behaviors of presence, power, and warmth. You must have a presence that owns the room while staying authentic. Everything is in the body language, so practicing body language will help you practice being charismatic.
10/26
The dream team is not actually a dream team. What does that mean? Putting all the best people on one team rarely makes the greatest team because it takes far more than just skill for an effective team. Other major components of a team include accountability, diversity, respect, and training. Two of the most important things for teams though are trust between team members and leadership. Leadership should be rotational based on who has the most knowledge of the subject at hand, and trust just has to be present. Trust is so important that without the cooperation and teamwork caused by trust, teams are completely incapable of being effective.
Some of the biggest things that destroy teams include differing objectives between members and the good of the group, bad attitudes, clashing personalities, and one person trying to dominate the team. Although diversity is a benefit of teams, when you bring personalities that are too diverse, a lot of friction is created in the team which can hinder success. Sometimes the problem can lie solely in one toxic person with a bad attitude or someone who tries to completely takeover. In these cases, it is best to just get rid of that person. There are also a lot of myths about teams. People think teams are the cure all, when really, they are just another effective tool at solving problems. Some jobs are better left to a single person sometimes; decisions are made faster that way. Another thing people believe is that group members have to like each other and be compatible. Usually people would think people who don’t like each other would cause too much friction, but in reality, team members only have to trust each other and be decent humans, even if they don’t like one another. A good case study for teams is the miracle on ice US hockey team. They did not have all the best players, but the coach made himself an enemy during practice. The players banded together and suffered and bonded. They had such strong trust and teamwork that they beat the Russians who were far “better” than them in the finals of the Olympics. They were the underdogs, and they came out on top because a team is not just a sum of the individuals. A team is the sum of individuals and bonds between them that create a total that is greater than just a group of individuals. |
11/2
Everyone has a mission, and BSE is no exception to this. During class today, we put together the greatest mission statement of all time. Everyone had to write their own and share as a class, and some of the most common themes were making a community where people can be exposed to real world business and learn how to succeed in the ever competitive and globalizing world market.
After completing our work on the mission statement, we went back to talking about teams and why many teams fall short of their full potential. This typically happens when group members cannot handle asymmetries or information effectively. Obviously asymmetries lead to inefficiencies because team members don’t get along, but the more interesting topic is how teams process information. There are two types of information among groups: shared information and unique information. Shared info is something that everyone has access to and typically is what teams talk about most of the time because everyone has something to contribute, but the more important to team success is unique information. Unique information is something that only one group member has that other people don’t know, and it is up to this group member to relay that information to the rest of the group to use effectively. When group members do not share their unique information at all, there is essentially no point in having a group, because you are working with the same amount of information that everyone had individually to begin with.
The end of class was used to show the beginning of the Everest simulation, which will take place in a different section. Essentially what is, is a complicated team situation where everyone has different team goals, and we are trying to climb to the top of Mount Everest. It will end up putting our newfound knowledge to the test to see if we can overcome the issue of shared information and get to an efficient group dynamic.
After completing our work on the mission statement, we went back to talking about teams and why many teams fall short of their full potential. This typically happens when group members cannot handle asymmetries or information effectively. Obviously asymmetries lead to inefficiencies because team members don’t get along, but the more interesting topic is how teams process information. There are two types of information among groups: shared information and unique information. Shared info is something that everyone has access to and typically is what teams talk about most of the time because everyone has something to contribute, but the more important to team success is unique information. Unique information is something that only one group member has that other people don’t know, and it is up to this group member to relay that information to the rest of the group to use effectively. When group members do not share their unique information at all, there is essentially no point in having a group, because you are working with the same amount of information that everyone had individually to begin with.
The end of class was used to show the beginning of the Everest simulation, which will take place in a different section. Essentially what is, is a complicated team situation where everyone has different team goals, and we are trying to climb to the top of Mount Everest. It will end up putting our newfound knowledge to the test to see if we can overcome the issue of shared information and get to an efficient group dynamic.
11/14
We discussed the TED talks in class today. On the whole, they ended up being very good. Some overarching advice Ira had for us was that we should be more confident, use more eye contact, focus on the words we are saying, and use less uhms. He said on the whole, our call to actions tended to be very strong, and he was very impressed with how well everyone did.
I know for myself personally, I had issues with speaking a lot faster than I did in practice. I was worried in practice that I might go over, but when it came time to present and the adrenaline hit me, I ended up going about 30 seconds or so faster. This also comes with forgetting a few of the minor details I wanted to say during the talk. On the whole, I thought it went fine, though. A tip I have for myself in the future is to try to emulate the presentation as much as possible when practicing. I always practiced facing my slides, and it ended up being a bit uncomfortable presenting with my back to them on presentation day. |
The other topic we discussed today is another bit about teams and goals. We spoke a bit about unique information again, but I feel I have already beat that topic to death in other parts of this paper. The unique information from this class, though (see what I did there?), was the difference in goals between the organization, group, and individual. When there is a breakdown, each of these three typically has their own reason for falling: system complexity, shared information, and cognitive issues, respectively.
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