Week 14       

        This semester has been filled with great lessons and advice from spiritual leaders and successful businessmen. What I have learned from the two is the importance of balance in all things. The family should always come first and be at the forefront of our life. Work will always remain and we can come back to it the next day. Also, to focus on work when we are at work and the family when we are with the family. In addition, keep a journal to track our daily progress so we can look back to realize patterns and successes and failures. This will help us to continue to make progress and keep a positive trend.

My last bit of advice for someone wanting to begin the entrepreneur journey would be to make your dream a reality. Start a plan of action and get advice from friends and family. Next, find a mentor to help you through the process of every step and to be there when things get hard.  Also, align yourself with those already in the business and see how you could potentially do it better. In addition, ask them questions pertaining to how they would handle certain situations guided by their experience.

My words of advice, direction, or caution I would you give someone if I had only one chance to give my own last lecture would be to remain faithful in everything you do and success will continually be with you. If we can align our-selves with the Lord and keep His commandments then we will prosper in the land; however, that does not mean we will not have trials nor failed prospects. It means that we will have the blessings we need to continue in our journey towards perfection and exaltation and the experience to help and uplift others.

Week 13

       What I have found to be most important int his week's readings was the importance of being a leader and learning from your failures. When we understand what it means to have lives in our hands (employees) then we will make better business decisions and calculated risk assessments.  Reading about Randy Hankins and his failed company has led me to rethink the way I look at the day to day operations and the importance of decision making.  Randy's thoughts on leadership were," a leader is someone who creates something from nothing." This could be getting others around you to support an idea or concept or solving an industry problem that has existed.  In addition, a leader will eventually be able to take a step back and listen to other ideas.  Also, a leader possesses magnetism like charisma which is an emotional element.  A good leader also has far more than just a vision he sees an endpoint and opportunities that exist before others do. 

Learning from our failures can be our greatest asset if we allow it to be.  For starters, we need to understand the dynamics of decision making and the balance between the two. If we can all learn from our mistakes, then they will never have to be repeated nor feel burdened by them.  Having a mentor will help in this process to navigate us through the resilient times.  In addition to that, failures are what you have learned not to do and thus we can turn them into what to-dos. Keeping a focus on the positivity will keep an equilibrium and strengthen the focal point for the planned vision.

These two important lessons have solidified what I have known to be true through my personal business experience and action. If we allow our experiences to help is grow, we can move along the path towards being our best selves.

           

Week 12

       

         In this week’s lesson, I have gained some new insights into the importance of helping others when in the time of need. Also, the real reason as to why one should go into business and the significance of being honest in reporting sales.  

After reading the article What’s A Business For by Charles Handy, I have realized how important virtue and integrity are so important to the economy. If we fail to report actual earnings honestly then it can have a negative impact on the business and those that work for the company.  This effect can cause job loss and hurt the local economy and the integrity of the company in the future; however, this does happen often as they report higher earnings to raise their stock portfolio.

The real justification for the existence of business is to make a profit so it can be used to do something better according to Charles Handy.  This has become a moral issue and one should not posses all the profits for himself without helping others. This also reminds me of the story about Tom Monaghan of Domino’s Pizza. He was buying every toy he could and had a home that was excessively large and realized one day that he really had not lived and was wasting his resources. He began to raise money for charities and help those around him.

Charles Handy gave two examples of how businesses can create better cooperate behavior and democracy to improve current culture in the publics' eyes. The contribution ethic is one where we can contribute to society and improve the world around us. In addition, to creating new technologies and products and improving new service businesses.

I believe that Mr. Handy has made some great points on how we can help those less fortunate to become successful.  Helping those around us is a Christ-like attribute and when shared with others it truly changes the world and helps it become a brighter place.  

Week 11

Some of the lessons covered in this week’s learning were impactful and inspired me the think deeply about the exchange between time and currency. Money and the responsibility of it and the trade-off necessary to earn it. Why do we put a value on time and how do we measure it?  These are some of the things I think about often and how it affects the way we live and the attitude towards our potential.

My attitude towards money and the responsibility to handle it comes from my grandfather who was raised during the great depression. We were reminded often to use every morsel of substance we had and wasting was not an option. He worked hard for his family and always had side jobs to bring in extra when he was not at the fire station. Even though he was gone many nights, he would always come home to see his family when needed.

How do we measure the value of money against time? This is a thought that has led me to a greater understanding of the importance of the family.  Often I ask my children what is one thig we are given that we can never be given back? The answer is time... When we acknowledge this we can see how time and money can be valued and the responsibility to handle it carefully. The balance between the two is crucial to have a successful life and endure many challenges.

Family is our most important asset that our Heavenly Father has given us. We must give care and love to those whom we have been given charge of.  As we do this, it will be manifested through generations of our descendants. When we establish a pattern of investing time as apposed to wasting we will impower our children and our children’s to practice the same value in their homes and families.

Week 10

       What I found to be most significant in this week’s learning was the necessity of planning and action. We all have dreams and in order to achieve them, we must have these two crucial steps to be part of the process. To dream big is a key motivator to accomplish the life long goals of an entrepreneur and see the success of our endeavors. With all great things in life and spiritually they both followed these two important footsteps.

 We often find ourselves in challenging positions and wonder why or how we got there. Also, we can greatly miss the point of contact with a potential lead or sale with a client. Planning should be at the forefront of everyday life and business opportunity. While in the process of planning it’s important to complete the activities in phases.  This will rule out missed opportunities and be a constant guide and keep you focused on what’s important.

The next part of the procedure is to implement action. Taking action can be a difficult motion of the operation. The word action is a verb and it requires movement in the proceedings.  If we lack this component or do so lacking any real intention then we will be failures before the business operates.  At times we can become hesitant in the action process by our fears and doubts; however, we can call upon the Lord and ask for strength and direction to help us complete the motions. When we exercise faith then we will be shown the way through the Spirit and personal revelation.

To dream big is not to accept the status quo and settle for second best, its to make you dream a reality. Also, a dream is just a dream if planning and action are not put into place and acted upon.

             

Week 9

  I find my self pondering the things that I’ve learned over this week in class. One of the things that stood out to me the most was what Guy Kawasaki said about trust.  He began to explain that you need to trust your clients and they will have trust in you.  Meaning, it’s imperative to give the customer a product and let them try it out with them knowing that it can be returned with no problems. It has been stated by large companies that the most successful businesses have the best return policies. This also builds a great report and a lifetime customer that will continue to buy your products or use your services.

This brings me to another point I want to make about success in a company.  The people we hire make all the difference in the atmosphere and the overall structure and building blocks of its foundation. Getting the right people in the right place and having a solid culture brings about a positive formation securing the fundamentals and principles of operating a business. Though this can be time-consuming, being tenacious will contribute to the reward of it all coming together.

Being a leader is a major responsibility that requires someone to have empathy as well as strength. It’s been stated that you can be taught how to be a leader; however, I strongly disagree with that statement due to my experience working with them.  Generally speaking, I call them the term “Manager” and regard them as not being a leader.  Managers don’t listen to employees, show favoritism to non-producers that kiss up. In addition, they like to operate the company with a stronghold micro-manage everything and chase all the good employees away.  A real leader listens and is compassionate and can make decisions while being neutral.  People don’t leave companies to chase a better option they leave because of poor cultures.  

Week 8

When cornered with obstacles (and we will be continually) what’s the best way to overcome them and still remain on top of situations.  Also, what are some of the ways we can combat the things In the future? While pursuing our careers and having an active life with family how does one prepare themselves with setbacks?

One of my greatest lessons came to me when I had equipment break down and I was not able to meet my obligation for one week. I was not prepared for this type of occurrence and injunction. At that time I had five-hundred and fifty customers and they all were demanding service. This lesson we covered this week has reminded me of the time I was not prepared. The lingering question was, could this happen again, will I be able to turn this situation positive and will I lose my customer base for this pending problem.

My solution to the occurrence was needing to be prepared and establish a system for quick repairs and analysis. The machines had many moving parts so I would look at schematics and breakdown everything. I’d take the time learning the names of the parts and their respective purpose and how to identify it failed. There was a lot of time reading and studying and searching and buying parts.

This allowed me to take control of the problem by being proactive and I was able to understand the workings of the engine, hydraulics and wheel motors. In addition, I brought tools with me so I could work on the equipment in the field and continue with production. Having parts on hand allowed for quick fixes and the complex ones gave me the opportunity to have the necessary parts on hand without the delay of days from ordering.  Also, this allowed me to have a balanced life with my family and being proactive with my time.