BUS W12 Study: Becoming a Change-Maker

 

This week we looked at the meaning and purpose of being in business, and how to become a change-maker. These were concepts that I had not thought about when thinking about the topic of business. To me the point of being in business was to earn money to care for the needs of the people that you cared for.  I had not thought that it could be used to benefit people, other than people in my immediate circle. As I have progressed through this course and others, I have begun to see that one could be used to help people all over the place and still be a financial success. Part of the reading and study material for this week was “What’s a Business For?” by Charles Handy for the Harvard Business Review in December of 2002.

While reading this article I began to see that virtue and integrity were important in running a business. These two virtues are used by business to attract investors, customers, clients, and vendors. They help a company to remain trustworthy in the eyes of many different people. If a company is seen by the employees, and customers, as being trustworthy and virtuous they will feel more like they are part of the company and want to spend their time, energy, and money at or with the company in question.

The way that people react to such business shows that the purpose of a business is not to simply make money or profit. The true purpose of a business is to earn a profit so that something better can be done by the business. Once a company has begun to do more with the profit that it makes than simply stockpiling it for the benefit of those that own, operate, and invest in it the true potential of the business can be realized.

It is an unfortunate truth that some businesses around the world have forgotten why they are in existence. The people running them are solely interested in making more and more money for themselves and often leave their employees, investors and customers behind during their mad grab for wealth. There are ways that this can be corrected. The first method that Handy suggests in found in Germany. “the right of the employees to have half, minus one, of the seats on the supervisory board.” (pg 6, par 2) This one allows for a certain amount of innovation and experimentation while supplying a sense of community and security for the staff members. Having members of their employees sit on supervisor boards can also help the employee build a loyal connection to the company that could help the business through rough times.

The second and most intriguing idea that Handy puts forward is that of dividends being paid to the people that contribute their skills and labor instead of just to those that have supplied the money to start the business in the first place.    

Looking at both of these ideas I feel that maybe they could be used to build and start a business that will allow people to truly feel successful in the business world.

BUS 110: W11 Study: Measuring the Cost

 

This week in my BUS 110 course we found ourselves learning and thinking about how we Measure the cost of money. This does not mean the monetary value of money, the way we make or what we do with it. This means to look at the reasons for making it and how you feel about it in general. Many people put the accumulation of wealth before all else. This makes them feel successful. Others put no stock in the accumulation of it. There are some out there that have learned that true wealth can come from having just enough to care for those that they care for.

For most of my life I had a dim understanding of what money was. I saw it with such simple thoughts as “oh I need it to buy the things I want. If I want to be considered successful, and I need to make much more of it”. I never thought that I would be able to do so much more with it. Never thought that it could propel me into a true sense of being successful. I never thought that there would be rules of guidelines for becoming successful.

Having never thought of money or success in this way I did not drive myself to do more than survive my way through life. I would never have thought about there being rules to being successful. After many years of that kind of life. I have begun to learn that money can make it easier for you to take care of the people that you love or to help your little corner of the world just a little better.

This week for the curse we were to read an article called “Attitude of Money” written by Stephen W. Gibson that introduced me to the following list of rules for success.

Rule 1. Seek the Lord and have hope in him.

Rule 2. Keep the commandments, that includes the temporal ones, tithing and fast offerings.

Rule 3. Think about money and plan how you can become self-reliant.

Rule 4. Take advantage of chances for learning so you will not be ignorant of these matters. Education, as President Hinckley has taught us, is the Key to Opportunity.

Rule 5. Learn the laws upon which the blessings of wealth are predicated.

Rule 6. Do not send away the naked, the hungry, the thirsty or the sick or those who are held captive.

 

I look forward to applying many of these to my life and schooling as I move forward with my plans of the future.

Nice Little Refresher

  

This week in my BUS-110 Introduction to Entrepreneurship, we were to write a report on the interview that we conducted with somebody we looked up to and who we viewed as a success. I had originally meant to complete an interview with my brother-in-law, as he is greatly successful and is still humble about all that he has done in his life. I had to change the person that I interviewed a couple of days before the paper was due to be turned in. I forgot to schedule a day and time that I could talk to him for the project. This in and of itself was a learning point for me, or really more of a reminder. It reminded me that I need to make sure that I remain agile and able to adjust as I go.

The ability to adjust and flex to different situations has been a great aid for me as I have progressed though my life and career. I work in security, and the situations and duties required of me are constantly in flux. Things can go from calm and passive to rough-and-tumble in the blink of an eye. I have always been able to adjust quickly as the situation and demands change. Of late, though, I have been feeling like I have lost a step and, consequently, have lost sight of the dreams that I had.

I was able to schedule my interview with a longtime friend instead, and, while we were talking, she helped me to remember that I can still dream big. I just have to make sure that I have a support system for those dreams. I had lost sight of my dreams and allowed myself to again believe the negative thoughts that got lodged in my head from things people in my life used to tell me. With the help of people like my wife, her family, and my lifelong friends, I can reach for dreams both lifelong and new. My loved ones will always be there to supply any support that I may need.

Times can get rough, and we need little reminders of why we are doing something or why we are chasing the dreams that we have. Our dreams are not always about or for us, they can be about and for the little corner of the world that we live in. One of my dreams is to keep that world around me and my loved ones safe and secure. This may not seem like a big dream to most people, but for those of us with families, it is probably one of the biggest you can find.

Dream your dreams and keep pushing for them.       

BUS 110: W09 Reflection Leadership

 

Leadership (lead·er·ship) is defined as the action of leading a group of people or an organization. In easy words, leadership is about taking risks and challenging the status quo. Leaders motivate others to achieve something new and better.

 

As I sat to write this post, I found it hard to get my thoughts into an order that made sense. For me, the act of being a leader has always come naturally and been easy for me to understand. The teachings this week showed me that I was naturally applying lessons that others had to be taught. I’ve sought to live my life with Courage, Truth, Honor, Fidelity, Discipline, Hospitality, and Self-Reliance. These were taught to me as a part of my spiritual path in life. Each of these concepts are part of a list of virtues that many Heathen (Norse) pagans found to be helpful as they go through life. Each of these concepts builds on the one before and after it. They flow from one to the next in an ever-turning, interwoven circle that can show anybody how to be a true and proper leader.

 

We are taught that we should live our lives with courage and always be willing to do what we need to do to find our true path in life. Things may be scary or worrisome at times, but we need to move forward in life and our courage will carry us through. Once we have begun to live our lives with courage, we have started down the path we were meant to follow. When applied to being a leader, it means that you must have the courage to step forward and take on the role of leadership.

 

Having courage leads us to our truth: the truth of ourselves and what we are meant to be and do in this world. We are taught that we need to act with truth central to our actions and motivations in life. Our actions need to be true to our thoughts. A good leader will use truth to motivate his people to follow him. People respect those who are truthful with them.

 

Next, we are taught that we should have honor in all our dealings. This one freely translates to being in a leadership position. We should always act with honor and show it to those that have chosen to follow us.

 

Our honor leads to our fidelity. We should strive to remain faithful to our employees, supporters, investors, and customers. When we act with fidelity, we show people that we can be trusted to lead with fairness and respect.

 

Once we have been faithful to those around us, we can act with discipline. This can be one of the hardest aspects of being a leader. We must have the ability to remain on the correct path—to always act with truth, courage, and fidelity in all our actions and decisions. If we as a leader bend to use the easy route, we run the risk of losing the faith of those that have been following us.

 

A good leader also needs to learn how and when to be hospitable to those around us. They are the ones that will help us to reach our goals and be successful in our lives. If we do not take care of the people that have been there for us and show them that they are important to us, we will not have them to lead any more. The people that have been there for us also need to see that we allow our new people to come in and work alongside them and us with the same energy that we did to them.

 

Next, we come to self-reliance. This teaches us that we need to be able to act on our own and show our followers that they can do so as well. They need to understand that if they see something that needs to be done or a step they need to take in their or our lives, they should be able to rely on themselves as well as us, as their leader. This does not mean that we are all that we have, it simply means that we are our final fall back.

 

The eighth concept is that of industriousness. This concept teaches that we should always work to improve and finish our tasks. As leaders, we should show people that they can and need to use this concept in their daily lives and actions.

 

The final concept that we are taught is that of perseverance. This one can be deceptively simple. In the easiest way, it means to continue going forward despite failures, hard times, and difficult situations. If we do not keep an eye on our ability to move forward in life, we run the risk of becoming lost and falling backward toward failure.  

 

Each of these nine virtues or concepts can help us to be a good leader and motivate those around us to the best of our and their abilities. Following these nine simple concepts will improve our ability to lead people and move through our lives and business ventures in it. These concepts feed into each other they can feed into us as a whole our lives will improve as we learn how to follow the web of  Courage, Truth, Honor, Fidelity, Discipline, Hospitality, and Self-Reliance.