Integrating business, community, and non-profits for a better society.

 
testing
posted by Jesse P Luna at 5:32 PM

 
Component Distributors - CDI
posted by Jesse P Luna at 1:55 PM

 
Today is the last day of classes for my MBA program but I'm sure it's not the last day in my formal education career.

I had a tough realization yesterday. I spent a good deal of the class wondering what I could do to make sure that my team members had the best attitude possible towards the unorthodox class structure that I forgot to do some fundamental things. First, I forgot to "set the agenda" for the group and have an initial discussion about the structure of our team and how they wanted to function. There's a touchy feely part to that but there is also a strong operations aspect to that. We never created a system for decision making, group responsibilities, and we never decided as a group if we really wanted to "buy in" to the concept of their being a hierarchy in the group and in the class.

Without knowing if my team members were buying into the whole team leader thing, I did not do some of the things needed to build a strong team. I think I intended to have this type of organizing meeting but we had one team member that was unable to meet for a while so by the time we met we were pressured to focus only on trying to prepare the deliverable.

As a result of this lack of group organizational planning, we were constantly being reactive which put more pressure on us and which made it more difficult for us to have as much fun as we could have.

I think the greatest leader ever to live was Jesus Christ becuase he was a transformational leader of the utmost kind but the other leader I really look up to is Ernest Shackleton. Shackelton tried to lead a team to victory in the qwest to reach the south pole but instead ended up trying to keep his expedition team from dying after being landlocked and losing their ship. Even though his team faced some of the most inhospitable conditions on earth for months, he did not lose a single man (they were all men) and when they found the men they were in the best of spirits, as though they had just come back from summer camp. Now that's leadership and I failed to do some of the things needed to make a tough situation pleasant. Maybe I set the bar too high but I don't think I did the best job I could have.
posted by Jesse P Luna at 5:10 AM

 
Today was quite brutal. I am a very patient person but today I decided that Job-like patience would not get the job done. We had a lot of work to do and I had just finished a 4 hour group meeting for another class.

Just about every group member was totally tired of the class and was very reluctant to focus our positive efforts on getting the job at hand done. And we had a lot to do.

I bared down and painfully mapped out every single thing we had to accomplish then started making sure everyone knew exactly what they needed to do. One of our team members just about lost his cool and I had to quickly steer him back to the work at hand.

Interestingly enough, driving people back on the right track while being assertive and leading the discussion is something that happened because I was tired and wanted to get this over with. And, *not* being assertive and driving enough was something my team members mentioned as an improvement area on my 2 + 2 evaluations.

One thing I've noticed is that because I have the title of team leader, they really did expect me to lead everthing and to be the task master. In a lot of ways, people were waiting for me to initiate everything and to be the one person who knew what was going on. I sort of expected this after signing up for the team leader position but was still interested to see that team members really did alter their usual roles.

But, when we had accomplished all the necessary tasks and assigned all To Do's, I felt great because we are now one big step closer to fininshing the class in good form and everyone feels like they know what they need to do to finish their work.
posted by Jesse P Luna at 9:55 PM

 
We had a manager's meeting yesterday and we started to vent about the work load and the disenchantment of our team members. The disenchantment is not about wanting to learn but about dealing with the class structure.

I brought up in the meeting a point about how the current class structure is bringing about some of the negative aspects of a hierarchical organization. The instructors are the "upper management" and the team leaders are the "middle managers."

What seems to be happening is that the upper management is trying to get information about all team members but they are using the middle managers to retrieve some of this information. The upper management are able to hear from individuals on Blackboard so this aspect of the class has become very important because it is the main way for non-middle managers to be heard by upper management.

The big issue here is that this is not common in graduate level courses so there is a disconnect between expectations, norms, and the class structure.

Of course these types of situations also happen in "the real world" so there are lessons to be learned. Unfortunately, I think that for a lot of class mates the lessons learned are becoming blurred as they struggle to make it to the end of the term.
posted by Jesse P Luna at 7:39 AM

 
My optimism and positive thinking are rapidly waning. After receiving our last Field Study grade (which was low) I started taking an introspective look at my leadership and management style. But after speaking to another classmate, he helped put things into perspective. I thought was I was letting my group down by not being a fantastic leader but I'm finding that a lot of people don't really care. There are a lot of people put of by the class structure and are very unhappy in general.

I could leave things at that and just sit back and say that there is nothing I can do to make things better but this kind of situation happens in work settings all the time. Upper management is relying on middle management to keep the "fire going" but all the while the workers are waiting for knowledge, wisdom, and motivation from the upper management. They want to know what the big picture is all about and they want direction.
posted by Jesse P Luna at 9:21 PM

 

posted by Jesse P Luna at 10:43 AM

 
Well, we got back our Field Study Part I grades and we did poorly. As team leader, I feel as though the poor grade is a reflection of the standards that were set (or not set).

Maybe it's a stress coping technique but I always start by setting very low group expectations. For example, if we have a first group assignment due then I consider it a success if 1) everyone participates at least a little 2) the completed product is in decent shape 3) the product is turned in on time. This is definitely a bare bones approach but if all those things happen then the foundation is there to grow upon. If all these things do not happen then that means that something is going seriously wrong or that there is an extraordinary situation going on -- team member is overcommitted at work or by family stuff or another class.

Once the base is set, then people in the group learn to trust each other and learn each other's styles. People start to say "OK, I'd better focus on this assignment or on this class more" and start to get committed. At this point people start to recognize that it is in everyone's best interests for everyone to be involved and to do the best job possible. Right now, my group still needs to get here. I'm a positive thinker so I hope we will be able to get here at our next meeting.

The next step can take one of two directions. The first direction is for the group to hum along and to complete assignments effectively, for everyone to contribute at their highest personal levels and to work together to get things done. This is what happened last quarter in one of my classes and we produced an extremely high performing product.

The other possible direction is the one I am personally more interested in and has the ability to change the world. That is where people come together and decide that they really want to be a part of a team that really does something and you take the risk to make it happen. This is where communication goes from being trasactional ("here's my paper, did you do your part") to becoming transformational. In a trasformational situation, people are really committed to making something work and are willing to really take risks. Maybe the risk is giving feedback or opening up to the group and being truthful. I've been fortunate enough to be a part of a lot of team like this -mostly because I seek them out - and this is what I live for and my favorite part of working with other people. In this kind of situation it is still possible to fail at the end goal but there are other victories and lessons to be learned.
This level can be extremely "messy" but it is the greatest stuff.

posted by Jesse P Luna at 6:24 AM

 
This past Saturday I went in for a performance appraisal of my group leadership skills. The instructors had a lot of positive things to say so that was nice to hear. The main thing to do now is to help our class group slide into 5th gear. We are now working together more efficiently but we are not a super high performing team yet.

My main goal for the group is to build leadership within the group so that anyone one could lead if necessary. Some managers and leaders are afraid to do that but it is necessary to build a really strong team and in a business, important for succession management.
posted by Jesse P Luna at 5:59 AM

 
Our group is really humming along now. Our Field Study project is in full swing and we have a very nice document to turn in today. We've been able to have quick meetings in class during break, have very efficient meetings during the week and have really improved the way we communicate via email.

After completing the Field Study portion due today, I really feel everyone else is becoming more active and 100% behind the team. This was probably the most efficient team deliverable I've ever had a Daniels. Hopefully more good things are to come.
posted by Jesse P Luna at 2:53 PM

 
Well our presentation is now over and I'm exhausted. We were able to go out there and give 110% percent. We didn't try to do things like other groups. We have a lot of strong individuals in the groups so we may have seemed to have gone in different directions but we were really just trying to create different experiences that would stick in people's heads.

This attempt at trying to be a more transformative presence is very tiring. We did a skit, we did standard power point presentatons, we had total group discussion and we led active small group discussions and an interesting group debate.

One of our negative feedback items (one to grow on) was that we didn't allow students to debate enough. That doesn't sound as much like a criticism as a desire for more of what we were offering.

Even though we could have done a lot of things better, I think that the energy and the personality that we brought to the classroom were innovative, different, and memorable. Let's face it, we usually only remember extreme and different experiences. That's why we can't remember what we ate for lunch 3 days ago.
posted by Jesse P Luna at 10:04 PM

 
Tomorrow is our group's presentation and i am quite tired. We had a meeting after work then scurried home to finish up our presentation and grading criteria tool.

The team has really started coming together now. We're starting to learn each other's styles and starting to put forth our best sides. Today we had a team member take on more of a leadership role in the group after trying to be low-key in previous meetings.

One skill I have been trying to work on is being more proactive and not being afraid to challenge the process. Challenging the process is difficult because there is a fine line between that and insisting people do things your way.

Tomorrow's presentation should be fun and informative. We're all trying to have a good time with it and there were more smiles than frowns as we worked to put it together.
posted by Jesse P Luna at 11:25 PM

 
Our High Performance Management team had a group meeting yesterday to prepare for a presentation we're doing this Thursday.

One issue that came up was the structure of the class, or lack thereof. Some students have a tough time dealing with ambiguous situations. I usually see opportunity when I see ambiguity. If there is no form or no structure then one has the chance to create one's own meaning and structure.

This brings up an interesting point about the role of the instructor in a class. Is it their role to lead all discussions and provide all content? Are students vessels that are filled in each class by the proprietary knowledge and wisdom of the instructor? Or are students active participants in their own education and learning process and the instructor is just a facilitator? Or is there a middle ground?

Now, if we change the situation and relate this to the work place instead of to college, the answers may start to shift. Do we work in ambiguous work situations, do we have unclear structures, are we often forced to struggle with these situations and make the best of them? Of course we do.
posted by Jesse P Luna at 5:09 AM

 
Last Quarter at DU

Finally after two long years, the end is right around the corner. Two more classes to go and I will have my second Master's degree and most importantly, will have finished this round of training.

This term I am taking a strategy course and also a high performance management class where I am a team leader. For these last few weeks I will try to chronicle my leadership experiences -- the victories and the defeats.

Stay tuned.


posted by Jesse P Luna at 4:46 PM

 
Cathedrals


Last Thursday I had a chance to hear Bill Shore, founder of Share Our Strength (SOS, http://www.strength.org/), talk about the new wave in giving--revenue generating non-profits.


I was very impressed by Shore's commitment to ending hunger and homelessness and particularly like the analogy by which he guides his career. Working for a cause like Share Our Strength is like building a cathedral, it takes many years and will probably not be completed in your lifetime.


One of the main concepts he addressed was that of running a non-profit like a business to provide the opportunity for replication and/or expansion. His analysis of the non-profit arena is creative and provides results. But, I believe that when you start using business terms to talk about non-profits you also take on some of the baggage of businesses. Language is one thing that changes. People served, clients now turn into customers and the good that is done is now categorized as an asset, something that can be saved to print out on an annual report. This creates a distance between the program and the clients. When Bill Shore quantified the success of SOS, he always did so by saying that SOS had collected or earned over $100 million. While this is a fantastic and commendable accomplishment, it does not tell us about the clients. I want to know how many mouths were fed. I want to know how many homes were provided.


From my experience in non-profits (which started when I was in high school), there is a transference process that occurs somewhere in the service process. That tranformation is love. The whole evening Bill Shore spoke he never spoke about specific clients, only about himself and his family. This is kind of like Julia Roberts snubbing Erin Brokovich at the Academy Awards. This makes me think that he is too far from the clients and is missing out on the opportunity to make a difference on a personal level.


But I am going to be fair and ready Shore's book and then maybe I'll update these thoughts.

The Cathedral Within: Transforming Your...
posted by Jesse P Luna at 7:08 AM

 
Daniels degree valued
in post-scandal big business


Good article on Daniels College of Business's emerging niche market--Ethics.

http://www.du.edu/news/release/sPostScandal.html


posted by Jesse P Luna at 1:39 PM

 
Step Right Up

All corporations have a responsibility to their employees and to their communities. Oh my God, did I say that out loud?


Why are we so afraid to say that we think Big Businesses should not only treat people right and give back? Are we afraid someone is going to make fun of us and say that we are going to be horrible business people because we care about things like pollution, mass layoffs, and corporate corruption?


Just yesterday we were in class talking about companies, deciding whether or not to set up operations in countries with serious human rights issues and no one really made the argument that it is ethically wrong. I sensed that there were several people that felt that way but felt that they had to respond with a "business" answer.


I personally did not bring up the ethical issue but I do believe that the moral imperative is more important than the business imperative.
posted by Jesse P Luna at 4:32 PM