Trust and Leadership

 

In my learning this week I read a portion of a paper that was called, A Message to Garcia. A big takeaway from this paper was the idea that,” if you want to be entrusted with important tasks, you have to get the job done.” People will gain trust in you when they see that you are not all talk and no action. The application story was very interesting. Here is the story:

 “It was 1899. President William McKinley needed to deliver an urgent message to General Calixto Garcia, the leader of the insurgents in America’s war against Spain. But Garcia was lost somewhere deep inside the mountain vastness of Cuba. “There’s a fellow by the name of Rowan who will find Garcia if anyone can,” someone told the president. So McKinley summoned Colonel Andrew Rowan. Rowan took McKinley’s letter, “sealed it in an oil-skin pouch, strapped it over his heart, in four days landed by night off the coast of Cuba from an open boat, disappeared into the jungle and in three weeks came out on the other side of the island, having traversed a hostile country on foot, and delivered his letter to Garcia.”

Getting the job done without being told what to do step by step is a quality that is lacking in today’s society. With the invention of the internet, we are always looking to google or YouTube to teach us or walk us through our next task. The new technology is not the problem in my eyes. If Garcia had GPS on his phone, I am sure he would have used it to traverse the mountains in Cuba. I believe that we need to use our brain along with the technology to “get the job done.”

Another assignment was to watch a video featuring Guy Kawasaki. It was titled, Aspects of Building Trust. Three key points are:

1.     Trust others, then they trust you

·       If you first trust people to do the right thing, they will trust you in return. He equated this to 3 business that have trusted people. Because of this trust in people, they are well trusted by consumers which drives return customers. You as a person or company have to trust in your customers to do the right thing.

2.     Bakers VS. Eaters

·       Eaters see the world as I have to get all that I can. Anything you have takes away from what I have. “I need to get as much of the pie as possible.”

·       Bakers see the world as shareable. “The world is an opportunity to make more pies and bigger pies. Trustworthy people are bakers not eaters.”

3.     Default to yes

·        This line of thinking causes you to ask yourself, “How can I help that person?”  Which is in contrast of the normal thinking, “How can that person help me?” By learning to help others you will be trusting in people and helping them will in the end, help you.

Overcoming Challenges

 

This week I read several rousing talks about overcoming challenges. 

    Brother and Sister Holland spoke to the students of BYU in the winter of 1983. They both spoke about not faltering amid challenges. I was inspired to “hang in there” during hard times. Brother Holland recounted the story of the building of the Salt Lake City temple. The saints were faced with the possibility of war, yet again. They feared the Government soldiers would take over the area. So, they filled in the foundation that had taken them nine years to dig. This had to be devastating to the people. Once the threat of war was over, they had to start the tremendous task of digging the foundation again. This example of overcoming challenges helps me understand that I can be like the saints by doing hard things.

    The Acton Hero this week was: David Carrington. He had some great advice for overcoming challenges. He taught:

1.Come up with solutions that no one else is thinking.

2. Don’t take advantage of other people’s tragedies.

3. Challenges force us to reassess. We can look at our lives and see if we are living with balance.

4. Business should not run your life, instead your life should be running the business.

5. Don’t get so wrapped up in business that you forget why you are in business. Don’t accept customers or clients you don’t really want to do business with.

6. If you understand who you are and what your brand is, and consistently execute that brand, you will be successful.

    I like how simple and straightforward this advice is. It is something that you can implement into your everyday life in many areas not just business.

    I saved the best for last! I love the video, Good Things to Come.(link is below to full video) It is a story of learning patience and perseverance. Putting your pride aside and choosing to do hard things. Sometimes we forget that everyone has hard times. How we respond to these challenges builds our character. I do have faith like Brother Holland, "Don't you quit! You keep walking.You keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead. Some blessings come soon. Some come late, and some don't come till Heaven. But for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come. It will be alright in the end. Trust God, and believe in good things to come." 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsXFuG3XkRs 

Exploring the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (By Stephen Covey)and What Habit Has the Most Meaning to ME!

 

• Which of the 7 habits has the most meaning for you?

  I can see value in all of the habits. I think that it is really hard to narrow myself down to the one most important habit. It Covey felt that there was one habit that stood out more than the rest than maybe it would have been the 1 habit of highly effective people. This is not the case. Each of the habits seem to build upon each other like this picture describes. starting with a foundation and then building and growing into an effective person. If I had to choose which habit, I am the weakest at I would choose the habit #5. I think as humans we are looking to be understood first and then we might be willing to try to understand. I think that I could have the greatest personal growth if I implement Habit #5 into my life. I believe that trying to understand others first would decrease anger between those that see things in a different way than I do. Covey explained, “Most people don’t listen with an intent to understand - they listen with the intent to reply. They are either speaking or preparing to speak. They see others through the lens of their own autobiographies. The key to understanding another person is empathetic listening – really trying to understand everything (including the nonverbal signals) the other person is communicating. You listen for feeling and for meaning, for behavior and other signals. You are totally focused on the other person’s point of view, not projecting your own life’s story into their words.” I can see myself in every word that Covey describes. This is why I think that for me personally, the largest growth would come from implementing this habit into my life.  

• Why will the 7 habits help you fill your life with passion and purpose as you seek to achieve both a private and public victory?

I think that the 7 habits help you to look at life with an ability to see the good that life has to offer both privately and publicly.  In the summary we read this week it stated, "The 7 habits provide an incremental, sequential, integrated approach to the development of personal effectiveness moving us progressively from dependence (on others) to independence (take care of ourselves) to interdependence (looking after others and combining strengths)." Building a personality with these 7 habits in mind will change the way you look and interact with those around you. This will enable a person to be a pillar in the community. People will want to be around you because of these 7 habits. You will be able to help others to develop these skills into their lives which will continue the cycle of improvement within the community you live. This could eventually grow into a nation of effective people. As you grow you will have passion in your life to go after the lifestyle you desire. You will be able to do this also with a sense of purpose as you have learned to begin with the end in mind and put first things first. Learning to listen to others and progress with synergy. Finally, every day you need to take time to sharpen the saw, or take care of you by exercising and feeding yourself spiritually and physically. 

Tips to Becoming a Successful Entrepreneur

 

This week the class received a lot of good advice from successful entrepreneurs. I gained the most knowledge from three speakers. 

They were: 

1. Steve Blank-- The Entrepreneur and Family

2. Jan Newman-- Loyalty to God and family

3.Wences Casares-- Three lessons about what it means to be an entrepreneur

Steve Blank made the biggest impression on me this week. The basic idea I took away from his talk was that you should make rules or start-ups will take over your life. Each person needs to set boundaries that make sense for them during the start-up of the new business. I like that Blank focused his responses on keeping the family together during the busy time of a start-up. His suggested 3 guides to help maintain family life:

1. Set a dinner time.

    This allows you to be home with the family. By eating together every night you     will be able to stay connected with each family members life.

2. Weekends with your kids.

    This is important so that your kids understand that they are as important to you        as your company. "Love to a child is spelled T-I-M-E" said, Dieter F.                        Uchtdorf. Spend time with your children on a regular basis. 

3. Put your kids to bed.

    Taking time to be with your children will be something that you will never             regret. They are only young once and time won't wait on you. Enjoy the special     bedtime routines while they are little. 

Jan Newman also talked about family but included God into his conversation. I think that one of the most important things I took away from his talk was to not let my busy life pull me away from my church responsibilities. Newman said, "always take your church callings." By accepting calling you are being loyal to the promises you made at baptism. You are increasing your level of integrity. By doing this you are increasing your loyalty to your family as well. Being a good example to your friends and family be keeping your promises is a legacy that should be important. 

Finally, Wences Casares had three lessons that he shared. I really liked his comments but can only relate to two of the three. 

1. Entrepreneurship is a lifestyle.

    I don't really relate to this lesson, but I am working on implementing it in my            life. I am not a natural born entrepreneur but learning. 

2. Time is the most valuable asset.

    Take the time to look at your life, not in the short-term 2 to 5 years but in the        long-term of 20 to 30 years. What do you want to do for the long-term? 

3. Stick with something for a long time. 

    Here he is talking about sticking with your vision or company. Don't sell your        company too early or too fast. Let the company grow with you. You might have     another great vision that others might miss. Stick with your original dream             before jumping ship.     

When you marry all of these lessons, I found that each one of them is encouraging you to stay true to yourself. Be true to your family. Be true to your religion. Be true to your entrepreneurial spirit. It might be hard, and you might get lost but by setting guides and sticking to them you will have a better chance of keeping all 3 of these important aspects in balance--Family-Religion-Company 

   

A Hero's Journey

 What were my takeaways from the video, "A Hero's Journey"

https://video.byui.edu/media/122201_02_Large/0_7ghlpqpk/26923962

(I have looked all over and cannot find the last name of the person in this video. I did find out that his first name is Jeff because he references writing a letter to himself and says, "dear Jeff." )

In this video he talks about "living every moment of your life like it matters, because it does." This means that we should look at set back and struggles or adventures as lesson we can learn. The important lessons change who we are, making us better people. 

Another piece of advice was to find ten role models. This seems like a huge number of people to me. However, this week in class I had an assignment to choose 6 people to be on my "board table of life."  This was an interesting assignment. I could choose any person, living or dead, to participate as a member. I choose close family and some noted professionals. I could see that even those people would have gaps in knowledge. I didn't choose a lawyer and looking back that would have been a great person to have on the team.  

The guides from Jeff about role models were:

Ask them about

1. Their triumphs 

2. Their regrets 

3. Lessons they wished they had learned earlier. 

Who to seek out

1. Three people your same age

2. Three people who were age 45-60

3. at least three people over 60

These interviews lead to some very powerful insights. The oldest group always said basically the same thing to the students. The most important questions in life were: 

1. Have I contributed something meaningful?

2. Am I a good person?

3. Who did I love and who loved me?

These three questions have lingered with me this week as I have pondered my life. I can see that these three questions can guide me in how I interact and respond with those around me. I can take everyday situations and chose to respond after I think about these questions. I can reshape my answers to help me reshape myself into the person I want to be.  

How Will You Measure Your Life?

How will you measure your life? This is a question that is best thought about in the early stages of your life IF you plan on achieving your goals. 

                        What type of person do you want to become? 

If you know what kind of person you want to become you can create steppingstones to become that person. These steppingstones will guide you on your journey to becoming. Each step can transform you into your future self. We take this journey every day, but do we walk with purpose? By reflecting on how you will measure your life you will be able to decide what steps you want to take and put them in order so you can reach your final destination with the fewest missteps. 

This week we read a talk by Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin titled Little Things Are Important.  (link to the talk is below) Brother Wirthlin teaches us that me must care for three relationships in this life.  These are:

1. Our relationship with self. -- We must take care of our bodies and minds. Are we getting the sleep and exercise we need to take on our everyday life? Are we fueling our bodies properly? How can we expect to our bodies to perform at a high level if we are not taking care of our body?     

2. Our relationship with others. -- Caring and serving others teaches us and helps us to grow. I love this quote in the talk, "God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs. Therefore, it is vital that we serve each other in the kingdom” (“Small Acts of Service,” Tambuli, December 1976). 

3. Our relationship with God. -- By improving ourselves every day we are showing God that we love Him. Trying to be our best self is a gift to God. Choosing to be a little better and avoid sin, one little step at a time will lead to becoming a person that can stand before God.

So, how will I measure my life? I will decide where I want to be at the end of my life. I will set up a long-term goal and follow that with many short-term goals to help me reach my potential. When I look back on my life, I want to say that I measured up to the person I dreamed I could become. 

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/liahona/1988/06/little-things-are-important?lang=eng

Honesty in Business

     Lessons Learned: 

This week in my Business 110 class we read and listened to several speakers. The topic that was being addressed was honesty in business. I particularly liked the address by Sister Sheri Dew: True Blue: Through and Through. Sister Dew defined integrity as simply being true. Being true and honest is another way of expressing the virtue of integrity. Dew imparted a 7-step plan that guides your actions to keep you within the ethical guiderails of integrity it is:

    1. Decide today, once and for all, that you will be worthy of trust.

    2. Have faith the Lord can and will will help you, and then diligently seek     His help.

    3. Make covenants and keep them.

    4. Stand up for what you believe.

    5. Expect your integrity to be challenged

    6. Don't give up.

    7. Covenant-or perhaps I should say, renew your covenant- with our             Father and His Son to do what you came here to do. For doing what           we agreed to do pre-mortally is the ultimate expression of our integrity. 

Sister Dew invited each of us to enroll in Integrity 101. This would be a way to inventory how we are doing in regards to having and maintaining our personal integrity. These are the steps to enroll  in this personal integrity course:

    1. Take inventory of your integrity. Do you have cracks? Be honest with yourself.

    2. For the next 30 days take time every night to assess how you did that day.

    3. As you become more aware of your strengths and weaknesses, turn to the Savior more frequently and with increasing fervor. 

To be a better society we have to first look within. I think that this talk helps me to look within and choose to have more integrity in my life. I want to be surrounded by people in my personal and professional life that prize the virtue of integrity. 

Reference & Categorization of Notes and Tools:

https://www2.byui.edu/Presentations/Transcripts/Devotionals/2004_03_16_Dew.htm