Blog for this weekend

In the last chapter, I was intrigued by how Bryant describes the different ways in which CEO’S run their businesses/companies/firms. I felt I had to write about this, it relates to our English class. I remember at the beginning of the year you told us it was a new class, and you were starting something new just like we were. It was like a new business starting out. There were unanswered questions, drafted plans, and confused students. But, the thing that helped it run smoothly were the two teachers (the CEO’S), and that is because I’m sure there was a list of goals set in stone for all the students that had to be accomplished by a certain deadline.

Bryant discusses the steps that one should take after they have written out their list of “measurable goals” (57). He interviews a CEO’S about how they take their set goals a step further. I found their methods both interesting and organized, but I disagreed with both of them. The first CEO, David Sacks, creator of yammer, went as far as developing his own acronym!! He explains MORPH is his own system, and this is what it stands for. M: mission, O:  objectives, R: results, P: people, and How. “How as in, “How did you do by the end of the quarter” (59). After that everyone must use this exact method when coming up with their goals. I disagree with this because what if this method doesn’t work for people. What if it confuses them? What if they have their own system? This is why I disagree. I actually think it is immature and a little demanding for this CEO, to force everyone to use his own system. The real world is all about developing what works for one as a person, and people are supposed to have freedom. David Sacks system defeats the whole purpose of that.

The next CEO, Geoff Vuelta developed a very complex system where he evaluates his employees over 100 hundred days. He explains the reasoning behind it: … everyone wants to be led. they want to know two things. They want to know what they should be doing, and they want to know that what they’re doing is important. And you must, therefore, set up an environment in which they totally trust that” (61). I agree with this idea, people want to feel organized and like they have a purpose, but I don’t agree with when he takes his method further. 100 days is way too long to meet with one’s employees and it seems like it drags on the goals for too long. Also, the goals must be reported to everyone who holds a high position at the company, but he explains anyone’s goal can be altered. Even if it’s altered to help them, it defeats the purpose of self advocating. This type of system to me feels like it isn’t about advocating for one’s self. Instead, they are listening to the orders of other people instead of doing what is actually meaningful to them.

I was surprised that I disagreed with such successful business man and how my views about businesses and creating a plan for a company really differ.

Quick and Nimble: Third Blog Post

What is a simple plan? Well, in the next chapter of Bryant's "Quick and Nimble" he shares CEO'S experience with the idea of a simple plan and what it means for different business today. Bryant starts off with an interview that he had with Jet Blue’s CEO, David Barger. Barger says immediately how important and essential it is to have a clear idea of the direction your company is headed in. Barger explains, many companies when they first start out get ahead of themselves, and look at the big picture. They forget to take a step back and remind themselves of the goals they want to accomplish, and what steps they will need to accomplish those goals. I could not agree more with Bryant.

I have even had experience with this so-called “simple plan” in our class. When we started our senior projects I was unclear and a little bit confused on exactly what I was doing. Yes I knew that I was taking pictures of residents for ID Cards and a residential book, but I did not know the process, and how I would accomplish this goal. When I saw the documents that we had to write up I began to feel anxious, because I did not have a simple plan. It felt that this idea I had, was thrown all over the place, and I did not have a clear starting point, middle point, or ending point. Luckily, the documents had questions specifically geared to help me. Otherwise, without a simple plan, the process would have been out of control and disorganized. Simple plan’s shape business and goals and without them one could be a mess. “You have to be able to simplify things that are complex. At the end of the day, if the thirteen thousand people on the front lines don’t understand what you’re trying to do, forget it. You don’t stand a chance of making it work”- David Barker (34). This is one of my favorite quotes from this chapter, because it is spot on. A business can't go anywhere without a clear focus, and most importantly it won’t go anywhere if people don’t know what that clear focus is. Bryant explains, in large companies many people have different goals and it can be exhausting and frustrating trying to get everyone on the same page. He says, some people have different visions for the company, or believes it serves, and different values than the CEO’S etc. Fortunately he says this can all be avoided. It can all be avoided if a CEO develops a simple plan and or mission when starting the company. If everyone is aware of the simple plan and mission it’s simple.

I know I had trouble making my senior project seem “simple.” I even thought it was complex. I am fortunate that Lindsey and I were able to work together and develop a simple plan that allowed us to tackle our project, without too many difficulties.

I am starting to really get into this book, I can relate to mostly everything it talks about, and I like reading about the different feedback the CEO’s give!!

Quick and Nimble: Second Blog Post

In my last blog post, I wrote about culture and what it means to a company. Bryant continues to expand on this idea, and today I will blog about different types of culture in companies. Culture can be good and bad, according to Bryant, and the people he has interviewed. The boss and its managers determine the culture of a company. If they have a good attitude and are positive and excited about work that will transfer over to the employees.

Marjorie Kaplan, president of animal planet and Science cable networks believes to create a good culture one must hold on to that rush of energy that start up companies have, and must bring their best self to work everyday. “I want people to feel brave about their ideas. It’s really about saying, Bring your best self. Bring your best self everyday to work. Bring your best self to the conversation. Bring your best self to the presentation. And we will give you something back” (21).  I think this quote perfectly describes the culture of a well-run company/business. I can relate to the idea of bringing your best self. I do it everyday when I come to school especially in this class! When working with other people in groups, I know how important it is to stay positive and bring fourth your best self. From experience when working in groups at C4E, if a classmate was negative and didn’t have a positive attitude they weren’t bringing forth their best selves. I could sense it and it rubbed off on me. I have learned that even if I am not having the best day, I have to stick it up. Working in the real world, and in C4E is all about connections and people. Your group mates are not going to respect you if you come in with a negative attitude everyday. You have to be easy going and you have to be ready to work. I believe C4E has developed a good culture as a firm. I can see everyday you and Ms. Stevens bring your best self! I always feel that I am in an organized and comforting environment because the heads of the firm have created that!

Bryant explains the employees of a company have to be excited about going to work, and have to be excited about sharing new ideas, but it can only be done if the head of the company has this positive attitude. He gives many examples of why companies don’t work and why their culture is bad. It was very interesting for me to read this, because I constantly hear my Dad complaining about his colleagues and every single situation Bryant explains here, my Dad has once spoken about. One typical scenario I thought was accurate and true, and that I can relate to is emailing people and hiding behind a computer screen. Bryant believes this kills face-to-face culture. “Colleagues communicate mostly by e-mail, huddling all day long in cubicles and offices behind their monitors instead of face to face. When they gather for meetings they pay more attention to their smartphones and iPads than to one another” (25). This is how my whole generation is. It is easier to hide behind a computer screen than to talk to people face to face. A lot of communicating for my senior project is done behind a computer screen. For example, all of the planning I do with Hebrew Senior Life is over email. It’s always different when I have to talk to Gale face to face. I feel that I have to be more formal and I don't have as much time to gather my thoughts. I disagree with Bryant that this type of culture is bad, because you can’t change it. Yes, I understand it can lead to miscommunication, but then people should be more careful over email!

So how do you create a good culture for your company? Of course, everyone will have different ideas about what makes a company have a “good culture”, but here is what people have to say. Bryant writes  “Real innovation happens when all employees bring their best selves to work every fay and freely share new ideas to help the team, knowing that they will be encouraged and rewarded for doing so” (26). I think this culture that Bryant describes at C4E! Everyone is encouraged to bring new ideas to the table and people share freely.

Now that I know how the culture of a company works, I will pay attention to the culture of the first company I work for! Maybe I will be able to sense a negative culture before other people, thanks to Bryant!!

Quick and Nimble: First Blog Post

I have chosen to blog about the book titled "Quick and Nimble" (lessons from leading CEOS) on how to create a culture of innovation), written by Adam Bryant the author of a New York Times best seller: The corner office. In this book he has selected more than 200 interviews from different CEO'S and highlights what they believe drives a successful company. The interviews he offers give useful insights and strategies for creating a business based off of culture and innovation. 

The first chapter in the book is titled "Why Culture Matters" this chapter provides insight from CEOS of companies and why culture is so important to them when running a business. I have read many different philosophies about culture in this chapter but Stephen I. Sadove’s sticks out to me the most.

Before, I talk about Sadove’s philosophy it is important to understand why the author believes culture is an essential part of any business. Bryant believes, “Culture is the X factor that will determine who wins in the long run.” I had to think about what this quote/idea meant to me. I never thought about culture in terms of businesses and companies. It never occurred to me that culture could be such a large part of a company’s success. To me, culture was always about people and their lifestyles, and what type of culture us as humans in 2015 live in. I realized I knew what culture was, but I didn’t have a clear definition in my mind. I still didn't understand how culture could be such a big part of a business. Because of this, I looked up the definition of culture, it is defined as: “the arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively.” Now the idea that culture runs a company made sense to me. 

Sadove says, “I have a very simple model to run a company. It starts with leadership at the top, which drives a culture. Culture drives innovation and whatever else you’re trying to drive within a company. And then that drives results” (11). I had to read this quote a few times to understand it. I still have not fully accepted that one of the main parts of a company’s success is its culture. However, I put away all my questions and judgements aside, and tried to see how culture can be important from another person’s point of view.

After I was more open to understanding Sadove’s perspective it all made sense to me. He emphasizes people are too concerned about the bottom line of a company. They are fixated on how to make money and don’t take time to master the art of leadership, and most companies are too obsessed with numbers. “…it’s the people, the leadership, the culture, and the ideas that are ultimately driving the numbers and the results" (10).

I enjoy all the different insights I am learning from successful CEO’S and I am excited to blog about this book next week!

Work I have Completed

This past week in class, everyone has been focused about our upcoming presentation. On Monday or Tuesday we divided each slide up and we are almost done with the presentation. I am doing the third slide titles “Details of Business.” At the beginning, I was unsure about what details of the business meant, but now I understand what is meant by it. Each day in class, we have edited the power point and have been making progress.

I turned in the 360 Evaluation about my group members and was fair to everyone. When I looked back at all the work my group had done, I realized it was distributed pretty evenly and did not have any major complaints to make about anyone. I can confidently say my group was very productive together. Everyone was willing to do work and there were no slackers. In the past, I have been in groups where usually one person just does all the work. This has happened basically in every class, but I am very proud to say it did not happen in my group at all. Sure, some people did a little more work, but there was not one group member who dominated or took control completely. We have continued to make progress on the PowerPoint and plan to work together as a group to have the best presentation possible.

Working on my speech, has been a bit challenging considering my slide is a little bit more vague than others, but I am not concerned about delivering a good speech. So far, I have summarized all the other slides, and covered what we plan to spend on treats and other expenses. This way, the audience can get a good picture of our doggy day care. I also want to make sure my team seems professional. The more professional we are, the better we look to the audience. I believe my group has made a lot of progress with the doggy daycare and I am confident that our audience will see that as well.

Final Blog Post- Book

For my final blog post, I have chosen to write about a strategy that I read a few weeks ago, but it has really stood out to me. It is called, "Always Follow Up."

The author starts off with a story about a friend of his, who is a member of one of the largest and most successful angel investor organizations in the United States. This friend offers advice to Johnson about entrepreneurship and investment strategies. He shares a story with him about a company he was interested in giving a loan to, but the CEO of the company disappeared and could not be reached. Johnson did not understand how someone could ignore such an offer, but he goes on to explain why. He states, "Those who master the art of following up are more successful than those who do not, yet so many entrepreneurs overlook and underestimate this simple rule." He says the number one reason entrepreneurs are afraid to follow up is the fear of rejection. 

I can relate to being afraid of rejection, and I have been afraid of rejection in the past as well. I have learned overtime, that it does not matter what the result of a situation is. Instead, of being concerned about what may happen, it is often better to take action and wonder what will happen. A similar situation happened to me where I was afraid of rejection. Quarter one I worked with the non-profit Organization Hebrew Senior Life. Our job as a team, was to come up with an idea that could help the organization and make things easier for them. After my first meeting with them, it seemed they were a large organization and had everything under control. My team and I were able to come up with an identification system for the residents. At the beginning, I was afraid to share this idea with the staff at Hebrew Senior Life. I thought our idea was not complex enough, and I wasn’t very confident in it. I realized it did not matter. A few days after the meeting, I emailed Laura and told her about the idea my group had come up with. It’s better to follow up and go after success and get negative feedback, then to do nothing at all. In fact, Laura had a lot of positive feedback about our idea. In the end, I was relieved I took the chance and emailed Laura and sharing a rough idea. There is always room for improvement and people feedback is always helpful. We continued to email each other back and forth throughout the time I worked with her, and in the end all worked out well. 

Since this situation, I have followed up with teachers more and just been more proactive about things. I will continue to read The Entrepreneur Mind and apply these strategies to my every day life.

Work I completed 1/5-1/9

During this week, I have completed many tasks essential to our projects. My group has been focusing on extensively revising business parts 1-6. We have all been working together very effectively and have given each other constructive feedback. Each day in class, productive work was done. My group was very motivated to turn in the best work to Dave Gladstone. I know that we all wanted to look professional and legitimate as we are starting to become entrepreneurs. It has been very comforting knowing that I can rely on my team members to complete tasks. At the beginning of this project, I anticipated there would be some issues with this, but so far so good! I was also an active member in the group this week. For Storefront parts 4-6 I completed part six. I was willing to revise it, and I knew I had my group members to help me if it got challenging along the way. For example, part six was quite a challenge for me, and I did not feel that I would give a good explanation of how all the numbers made sense in relation to each other. Thankfully, Sales agreed to help me out. It is great to work together as a time. I worked with Samantha helping her revise part 5 and gave Sales feedback on his write up for part 6, and also edited it and made some finishing touches. I oversaw the group and made sure everyone handed in documents on time. However, I knew that would not be a problem.
Our Doggy daycare is coming along and we are working on generating the best type of Doggy Daycare there is. We have been coming up with ideas and ways to improve what we have come up with so far. I have been in contact with Pat Maloney, a worker at Town Hall who informed me about the different costs and things we needed to start our doggy daycare. We were in touch over email and I contacted him about the kennel application, certificacy of occupancy, and the application for holding animals. He emailed me back with all the necessary documents. Since, he emailed me on Friday I haven't had the chance to show my group members yet. This will be done first thing Monday morning.

We have also been very proactive selling socks. Jack has done a good job contacting his friends and reaching out to people who want to buy them. As of Friday we had two pairs left, and I am pushing my group to order more. I am confident that we could sell a lot more at sporting events and during lunches. However, I do think we would need to drop the price. Most people don't want to spend $12 on a pair of socks. My goal for this week, will be to push my group to order more socks. I will make sure they feel confident about the product. I am also willing to buy a pair myself to help out, and my sister even said she wanted a pair!! I am proud of the work my group has completed this week.