Creating Meaningful Change

Structure vs. Communication

Dr. Feinberg says that structure is important in an organization. True, it maybe important but I feel the #1 priority of a company is to have communication, efficiently and effectively. I took an OLS 252 class and the book stated that the number #1 failure of most fortune 500 companies is poor interpersonal (communication). So with that said, a company can have as much structure as it wants to have but without communication it cannot succeed to the level its members would like it to. However, it can also be true the other way around. Poor communication can be because of a lack of structure within the company.

In CSR 309, I believe that the communication within each group is progressively getting better because the more structure that we have (IE. having group leaders) the better the communication as become. The class started off with so much confusion but now it is less confusing and the task is more noticeable than it was in the beginning.

The Leadership Essence Can be Taught....and Caught??

Recently, we did an assignment which was a Living Obituary of a classmate. The instructions on the assignment was to capture the essence of your classmate in the assignment. Since, this is a leadership class I was guessing that we had to capture the "Leadership" essence.

I have found a website that addresses capturing the essence of leadership. It explains that we don't have to necessarily be taught leadership but we can capture/catch the essence of leadership through stories. I felt like this was the best website to explain the Living Obituary assignment.

Below is the website address...

http://www.the-happy-manager.com/leadership-stories.html

The next web address is from the same website; However, it is an example story that they share about an essence of leadership through the story of Thomas Edison

http://www.the-happy-manager.com/essence-of-leadership.html

Retrieved 3/13/09

Your Thoughts vs. Your Friends - What would your friends say about you at your funeral??

Last time in CSR 309 class, I was picked by Dr. Feinberg to do a demonstration. The demonstration was that a friend that I had in class was to go in the hallway while I tell Dr. Feinberg what I think my friend would say about me at my funeral. By the way, my friends name is Amy. While Amy was in the hallway, I listed several things I thought she would say about me such as I'm a good friend, I make my friends better, I'm honest, I'm goofy and outspoken. After I listed the things I thought she would say about me, he then called her back into the classroom. Amy came to the front of the class and he explained to her what was going on. She was to say what she would say about me at my funeral and she had to get at least 3 correct. She said a variety of things about me, however, she got 3 right even though Dr. Feinberg gave her credit for 2. She said that I was honest, I'm a good friend and that we have a lot of inside jokes (which to me implied the goofy aspect). The point of this exercise was to display to the class that what you think your friends would say about you may not always be correct. You should lead your life the way you want to be portrayed so that people speak that way about you. I was thoroughly impressed by the exercise. Maybe I am living the life that I want people to see me as...It was slightly apparent that my friend sees me in those ways that I expressed before she came into the class.

After class I asked my parents how they viewed me. Both of my parents said that they instilled a lot of values in me and I hold true to those values with my honesty and ability to speak up.

As for my professor, Dr. Feinberg, he said that he doesn't remember me even though I have made several attempts to be noticed in the class. I'm not the least bit offended but I am sure that it is hard to keep track of the many students he has each semester.

I feel accomplished to know that I am living some of the part that I think people are perceiving me as.

As I said after our demostration when Dr. Feinberg gave us a reward for participating in the exercise, "its an unbelievable gift", especially to know what I found out after the demonstration.

So you don't want to re-invent yourself =FAILURE

Hello, Hello, Hello

I have been gone for awhile and I would like to apologize. In recent as well as past events, I was in a different class other than CSR 309 and we discussed the failure of Polaroid and their technology. Everyone knows Polaroid was popular for the instant photograph which projected from the camera. Keyword is instant. The instant form of technology advances as we speak (or type). Everyday people want better and more instant forms of technology. The most recent form is digital camera technology. Polaroid failed to familiarize themselves with the new technology and failed from being a leader to bankruptcy. This is a valuable leadership lesson that we have talked about CSR 309 and the book the Leadership Challenge. ALWAYS BE WILLING TO RE-INVENT YOURSELF whether its through technology or through a personal function in your life. If you do not you could lose everything from financial to followers (customers). Below is an article I found that expands on Polaroid's situation further.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/08/AR2008020803598.html