The best part of being part of a college campus is the atmosphere. It’s more than the pretty buildings and array of talented people I encounter that makes me feel energized – what I enjoy the most is the great sharing of ideas! I haven’t felt this energized in quite a while. Although I am only in my third week of classes, I have heard a number of business concepts that I believe are worth sharing. Here are some points to ponder courtesy of my MBA program:
- Being a manager means being a steward of resources.
- Being a leader means you need to become comfortable coping with ambiguity.
- Don’t buy into the idea of focusing only on strengths. To stay competitive, it is important to also focus on improving weaker areas, too.
- Technology will continue to significantly alter our work environments and staffing needs. How can you differentiate your abilities from what a computer or a machine can offer?
- Reality is a myth. Every person’s reality is different because we each frame the world differently. Values, culture, religion and personality are just some of the variables that affect how we each frame the world.
- Furthermore, the world is complex and problems are rarely one-sided. What affects one part of an organization or situation is intricately related to other factors affecting that same organization. Consider, also, that organizational resources tend to be finite, meaning it is important to (see number 7)…
- Think systematically, opposed to just considering how situations affect one person, department or region.
- Meanwhile, when using statistics, we are making decisions under risk. Using statistics means that we do not have ALL of the information, so the correct question to ask when using statistics is, “How far from the truth are we?”
- Although nobody likes to fail, we have to. That’s how we learn. And when it comes to learning (see number 10)…
- Do you remember how we were told to take “neat notes” back in grade school? Don’t! The brain so complex and ideas are so interconnected that we can improve our creativity and retention by incorporating colors, shapes, pictures and words into our notes. This can encourage “consilience,” which is a “jumping together of knowledge.” Innovation, anyone?
