"Launching Leaders"
This week, we are again reading from the book "Launching Leaders." Chapters 4-6 helped me get closer to knowing how to achieve my dreams of becoming a successful entrepreneur.
The first chapter, "Charting Your Course," was about charting your course to success through 3 phases. The phases are:
- Creating alignment
- Chart your course
- Fly the course
What stood out to me from Chapter 1 was the idea of taking the time to fine-tune your direction daily and check if you are still aligned with God.
Chapter 2, "The Formula," was about the following steps of a formula that helps move you beyond the ordinary and become extraordinary. The formula is to:
- Get up early
- Work hard
- Get your education
- Find your oil
- Make your mark
- Give back
What stood out to me was the importance of giving back and its ties to the commandment of serving others.
Chapter 3, "Beware of a Double Life," was about living a congruent life where you do not separate your faith from work. I found this idea quite interesting, and upon reflection, I realized that I had never consulted with God while in the working world. If I had lived my life congruently, I may have felt a greater sense of peace and satisfaction from my work. In the future, I want to be a person who does not live a double life, and any business I start will need to reflect my values and be a faithful endeavor.
Videos and Assignments
The videos we watched all emphasized how important it is to stick to your values in business. You should be guided by God, honesty, good values, and the hope of creating something that makes a difference.
The first video is called "Making a Living and a Life" by Elder Lynn G. Robbins. His talk explores the impact of motives in the workplace, drawing from the narrative of Adam and Eve. It highlights the shift in challenges humanity faces as they multiply and introduces a model categorizing individuals and businesses into A, B, C, D, and F levels based on their motives. A-level individuals prioritize a love of God and their fellowmen, while lower levels succumb to the love of money, resulting in compromised integrity and societal harm. Elder Robbins emphasizes the importance of aligning one's motives with principles of honesty, integrity, and service to achieve an "A" grade academically and in life.
The next video was an excellent devotional, "True Blue Through and Through," by Sheri L. Dew, the CEO of Deseret Book. In her devotional, she emphasizes the crucial role of integrity in personal and spiritual development. She illustrates that integrity is more than honesty; it's a foundational virtue impacting one's happiness, relationships, and ability to fulfill life's missions. Using examples from religious leaders and personal anecdotes, she underscored that integrity involves being true to oneself, others, and God, and it warns against the consequences of minor breaches in integrity. She suggests that maintaining integrity involves constant effort and faith, emphasizing that challenges to integrity are opportunities for growth and strength. Sister Dew also highlights the importance of standing up for one's beliefs and keeping commitments, portraying integrity as a lifelong pursuit essential for building trust in all relationships.
Next was a video by Frank Levinson. In his speech, he shares his experience about the importance of being ethical in business. He discusses choosing between two employees: one loyal but with issues and another smart but dishonest. Levinson highlights that being ethical helps create a better workplace and attract the best people. He highlighted the interplay between personal values and professional decisions and how business ethical dilemmas are often not to going to be clear-cut.
In the fourth video, Frank Levinson shares his insights on the top 10 essentials for starting a business. He emphasizes the importance of practicality, customer focus, innovation, and resourcefulness. Levinson advises on maintaining a lean budget, valuing customer relationships over elaborate setups, and the significance of having a supportive family and a reliable business partner.
The top 10 must-haves for a startup, according to Levinson, are:
- Comfortable, cheap furniture
- A visible sign for your business
- Operating with too little money
- Common sense in business operations
- No need for extravagant setups like CFOs or VPs in early stages
- A prideful attitude akin to that of a 'fat baby'
- A supportive family
- Riding the wave of existing standards and customer needs
- Continual generation of great ideas
- Sales focus and a great business partner.
In the following video, Jan Newman discusses the risks and responsibilities involved in business, particularly when accepting an investment. He describes his experience investing personal funds in his startup after a downturn, emphasizing the importance of having 'skin in the game.' Newman highlights the value of commitment and honesty in business, warning against dishonest practices and underscoring the need for alignment and integrity among team members.
In the sixth video, "Acton Hero Ken Zolot," Ken reflects on how his traits like curiosity, rule-breaking, and restlessness, initially seen as hindrances, became valuable assets in his entrepreneurial journey. He emphasizes the importance of accountability and human connection in business and the need to regularly question the market relevance and customer appeal of one's venture. Zolot advises aspiring entrepreneurs to balance rule-breaking innovation with empathy and responsiveness to market feedback, highlighting the thin line between visionary commitment and delusion.
In the last video, based on Chapter 7 of "Launching Leaders," Jim Ritchie discusses the same formula for success, which combines advice from oil tycoon J. Paul Getty and church leader David B. Haight. Getty's formula includes getting up early, working hard, and finding one's "oil" (a unique product or service). Haight's counsel adds getting an education, making a mark in one's field, and preparing to serve others. Ritchie testifies to the effectiveness of this combined approach through his own experience, emphasizing the fulfillment found in serving and giving back after achieving success. This formula illustrates the balance between personal ambition, hard work, and the importance of contributing to the broader community.
One of the assignments this week was to create a document listing the things we would never do in business and the things we will always do in business. I have attached the assignment here so that I can look at it again and again when laying out the format for my businesses.
We also analyzed a case study about Magdalena Yesil. I found it to be quite interesting and thoroughly enjoyed reading it. One of the assignments was to discuss what we found meaningful from the case. I wrote the following post:
"One of the things I found to be meaningful from the Magdalena Yasil case was how she came to the US not knowing much about her field or where she was going and rose above any perceived obstacles. She not only attained her original goal of going to college and getting a job right away but gained knowledge in several other specialties like marketing and, eventually, e-commerce, which you wouldn’t necessarily expect from an engineer. This shows that you may not always have a direct path to your destination. But that life can take you in directions you don’t always expect. How she was able to roll with it and adapt was amazing. What I also found interesting was that on her journey to her current situation, she did not appear to have any setbacks, which is very fortunate, and she can now be in a position where she has options. That fortune allowed her to make very tactical and wise decisions that propelled her to become an investor. What is meaningful is the idea that you don't necessarily have to experience setbacks to improve yourself. You can use your inner drive, set new goals, and always look to innovate. She also advanced and jumped from company to company, quickly gaining knowledge and important relationships along the way. This new knowledge and new relationships would allow her to advance to her next endeavor. I found this to be most impressive and meaningful in that you can use your experiences and partnerships as a way to rise up and accomplish your goals. You do not have to be satisfied with the status quo but can desire to be greater and advance yourself beyond your original plans."
A reply I received was from a classmate Dallin, where he asked if I had any thoughts or suggestions on how to remain ambitious or productive while we are thriving and seemingly "killing it" in our respective field? To which my reply was:
"Thank you for your comment! Yes! I questioned if my statement and observation made sense so I'm so glad that you understood! Indeed, people often use setbacks and disappointments to innovate and come up with new ideas. But this doesn't always have to be the case. Even when you are "killing it" as you said, you can have a mindset for always improving. You can see your success as just a step towards an ultimate goal you have for your business. This is why it's SO important to always have goals. Without them, you may over time become accustomed to or even apathetic and without enthusiasm. Use your success as a waypoint toward your biggest goals. Maybe it's to eventually sell that very successful business and launch another. I hope this helps to motivate you to set lofty goals for your business. Dream big! - Nicolette"
I also wrote a paper answering five assigned questions from the instructor about the Magdalena Yasil case. You can find my paper here.
Reflection
This week's coursework reminded me of an old idea about making an app. The app would bring people together when they're having a hard time and need someone to talk to. This idea connects with my values, and I think it might be part of what God wants me to do. It made me think about my old idea in a new light. Imagine an app that helps people connect when they're struggling, creating a community for meaningful talks. This concept aligns with my values of caring for others and the need for human connection. It's not just a business idea; it's a way to impact people's lives positively. This app may be a way to live out my values and what God wants me to do.
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