Skip to main content

Week #9

I can't believe another week has come and gone. This week we were able to learn more about leadership and how to be a good leader. I think that this is key to being an entrepreneur. If you are going to start a business that is successful, you are going to need to use the skills you have to lead others because you cannot do it alone. From being able to secure financing, to helping people that work with and for you to see your vision and figure out how to execute it, you need to have good leadership skills. That can come in many different formats.

Elder Bednar reminded us that we have to make sure that we are being a good leader in ways that I think echo what we should do in our business lives as well as our spiritual ones. The fact that you can be a powerful leader and that people can have confidence in you, without having a huge ego is key. Elder Bednar taught that real leaders are humble and teachable. I think that this type of leader is great in the working world and not just the church world. If you are willing to be humble and listen to your customers, you can make changes before problems get out of control. You can develop the kind of relationships with clients where they see value in what you do and return for your goods or services.

I also enjoyed getting some ideas from classmates about the entrepreneur interview. I think that there were a lot of interesting ideas. Some people were a lot more direct in interviewing someone the the same type of careers that they want to have, and other people had more general questions. I got one idea that was fitting for my interview. It was to ask about partnerships. I had not thought about that before. The entrepreneur I am interviewing has several businesses. One he has a partner and the rest he does not. I was not even thinking about this aspect and added some questions about that to mine as well. Mainly about disadvantages and advantages of having a partner and how to find the right kind of people to pair up with.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Week #6

I feel like this week we really started digging into some of the strategies of being a good entrepreneur. I thought that there were some great action items that I could take from the readings to apply to my entrepreneurial ideas and really start heading in a good direction. One of the things that I liked about this week was the idea that you need to do your background work but then you also need to start somewhere. I also was impressed with the idea that you likely will need to make peace with the notion of raising funds for your business. I do not know why this was such an eye opener for me, but it really was. It always seems like people just bring these successes to life and I have never really thought about the fact that securing funds is just a part of it. When I think back on all of the success stories from other people, most had to secure funding before they could get their ideas off the ground. Another key component with this is the fact that you have to have skin in the game as...
Post a Comment
Read more

Week #5

Skill, Character or Luck? Those were some serious things to ponder about this week. I liked that there was a focus on the fact that it probably takes a little of each thing, but it mostly takes a lot of focused work and direction. One of the parts of the course that had the most impact on me this week was the short video clip by Randy Komisar. He talked about how becoming hyper focused on what we are passionate about and what is the ultimate mark we want to leave on life can be paralyzing. This was something that I have felt. When you try and narrow that focus down to one point, it can make you quit before you start. I like the advice to marry your opportunities with your passions, and look toward the horizon. This seems like much better advice. You really can only look back and make sense of your career path in the rear view and not the windshield. One of the other great points this week was from Dan Freidberg when he was talking about how entrepreneurs typically don't make mil...
Post a Comment
Read more

Week #11

This week was a great reminder about how we have to make sure we pay attention to the most important things. I think that in our quest to realize our dreams, our life can become a nightmare. This is something I have seen repeatedly. When I was 18, I had the opportunity to live in the Silicon Valley at the height of the .com boom. I lived in a very rich area with many extremely well educated and extremely wealthy people. I got a first-hand view of the fact that money cannot buy happiness. Luckily the family I worked for had a lot of experience with money and the pitfalls it can bring, so they were not facing the challenges that many others were facing. For someone who had grown up in farming communities in Idaho, I always thought that the answer to life's problems was money. I am ever thankful for the opportunity I had to learn otherwise so I could set my priorities.  There are times when we all have to face difficult decisions between work and family. I think that it can be a ch...
Post a Comment
Read more