We’ve all heard the saying before. That a team working together can accomplish a lot more than the sum of its individual capabilities. Well that’s definitely true here at Kellogg for orientation, where everything we’ve done so far has been in teams. One example is our section’s involvement in Kellogg’s section competition, where we compete all week against all the other sections in a series of events. Another example is the section showcase, where we’re working together to create a ten minute skit to put on in front of the school. So far, I’ve found the team activities fun as they’ve not only provided a unique venue for collaboration but also for getting to know my classmates and having interesting discussions to foster close ties before school begins.
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Being the top executive today in any organization is a demanding job. In times past, most organizations were based on the hierarchical business model. At the helm of the ship were the managers with the most tenure that made all the decisions, and at the bottom were employees who sat behind and did what they were asked to do. But today’s leaders have a more nuanced task. Today, organizations are flatter than ever before, job titles are broader, and the lines of authority have become blurred, especially in professional services firms. Similarly, the ability to scale technology and capacity to work with a diverse team is critical. So the question is, what skills do you need to maneuver all those factors and lead your organization to success in the future.
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Have you ever saved a file at work, just to return the next day to find out that it looked different than it did the day before? I have. And I bet you have too. Did you think that someone else changed your file, either purposefully or mistakenly, and that your real work was compromised as a result? Or instead did you assume that it was your fault and that you must have done something wrong? It’s often the case in these situations that a manager will come up to you and to address the mistakes. In such cases, you can either defend yourself and ensure that your boss understood that the mistakes were not your. Or you can agree to fix the work that you’ve, often never actually resolving the misunderstanding that actually happened. In my experience, most people have been in both situations before and often they find it hard to manage this conflict.
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About two weeks ago, only days after beginning my new job at Vedder Price, I had the special privilege of having lunch with the Chairman of our firm. In addition to making a good contact at the firm, and eventually making my way onto a couple of his interesting projects, I also had the thrill of seeing first-hand how a top lawyer and revered leader in Chicago navigated his way to the top and what his thoughts were regarding the future.
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I’ve been giving a lot of presentations recently. A few weeks ago, I posted here on my website about my presentation at Latino Legacy Weekend, and I even wrote a post about my preparation beforehand. Just this weekend, I sat on a panel and discussed leadership and entrepreneurship. A week or two before that, I presented as part of a group at a networking conference in New York City. And in addition to all of this, I’ve had a couple of small presentations for work, and have another one coming up soon for class. And through all of these presentations, I’ve come to learn a couple of things.
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What’s the right time to start thinking about your kid’s college education? It’s the age old question that every parent thinks about. Some parents don’t think too much about it until high school when college is just a few years away. Others start sooner. They give their kids tutors and putting them in honors and AP courses in middle school or in junior high. And they do what they can to ensure that they get every opportunity to make it to college. And another group, goes even further. They push their kids are far as possible as early as possible, and they negotiate the world of education as early as kindergarten, in hopes that they can negotiate their kids academic future all the way to the top. But which one of these is really the best approach?
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Every year, thousands of people start at new jobs. Senior leaders and managers transition from one firm to another. MBAs and JDs graduate and jumpstart their careers at businesses and law firms. And students head out to start new summer internships looking to secure offers for the next year. And all of them are thinking the exact same thing. How can I succeed in my new position? Even in a typical year, that question is difficult, because starting all over again is tough. But today, in an era where the markets are still uncertain and firms are still recovering from the economic blow of 2008, that difficulty is magnified. And as the sole summer associate at my law firm this year, I had to ponder that exact same question when I started three weeks ago.
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Business students in all the top MBA programs experience what’s called the herd mentality during recruiting season. And although many fantasize about risking it all to become the next great entrepreneur, in the end most still head to corporate America for a safer job and a guaranteed pay check. But every now and then there are exceptions. Mavericks that lead with energy and idealism. Leaders optimistic that with passion and hard work, they can build their own empires. And I have the great pleasure of knowing one of them. And just this past Friday, I spent the evening at Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary of Art (MCA) with leading entrepreneur Alyssa Rapp at an event put on by her internet start-up company Bottlenotes.
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Have you ever sat at home, waiting by the phone for a call, but found that the call never came? Or what about waiting by the computer for an email, but no messages ever made their way to your Inbox? I have. In fact, many of us have. And it’s especially common after seminars and conferences, where people pass out their business cards but never hear back from the people they gave them to. Sounds disappointing, right? Well, wouldn’t it be even more disappointing if you found out that in a majority of those cases, the person on the other side was also disappointed that you didn’t reach out to them?
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Passion. Storytelling. Leadership
. Those are a few of the adjectives that were brought up today when the panels, guests, and speakers talked about changing the game for latino professionals in America today. And they quickly caught everyone’s attention, not only to keep us engaged in the panels today but also to help Latino Legacy Weekend pull off its second act this weekend.
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We’ve all heard the saying before. That a team working together can accomplish a lot more than the sum of its individual capabilities. Well that’s definitely true here at Kellogg for orientation, where everything we’ve done so far has been in teams. One example is our section’s involvement in Kellogg’s section competition, where we compete all week against all the other sections in a series of events. Another example is the section showcase, where we’re working together to create a ten minute skit to put on in front of the school. So far, I’ve found the team activities fun as they’ve not only provided a unique venue for collaboration but also for getting to know my classmates and having interesting discussions to foster close ties before school begins.
