I got this quote in my weekly dose of inspiration via the Ripples email yesterday:
"There can be no happiness if the things we believe in are different from the things we do."
-Freya Madeleine Stark
And I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. Stark gets right to the heart of the matter, right to the heart of why we do the things we do, of why people choose to pursue careers that impact the greater good, perhaps of why some people spend entire lifetimes unhappily whittling away at jobs that are unfulfilling and meaningless. If your daily life is not in line with your values, can you ever truly be happy? Goodness - it seems so simple, right? To live out our values in our everyday lives. To believe wholeheartedly in what we are doing each day.
In view of my career as a business student right now, I find this philosophy to be very relevant. As business leaders of the future, we'll need to make sure that our values are injected into everything that we do. When values are not present, it makes it so easy to be part of the business ideas of the past where profits reign supreme and people & the environment finish last. We'll need to operate our personal lives and our companies on the same plane. I see responsible business practices being all about values, all about producing products and services that can have positive and meaningful impacts on stakeholders' lives.
Sometimes I get these quotes in my email and research the quoted person, only to find out that they weren't really all that inspirational in their actual lives and this supposedly wonderful quotation on the meaning of life was really just a snippet taken out of context. Freya came through for me on this one, though. She genuinely and profoundly pursued meaning in her life. She picked up in her early thirties to travel the world, to write, to live out her dreams - she did this in the 1930's, a time when it was unheard of for a woman to be traveling alone around the world. Her biography is entitled "Passionate Nomad". Google her.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Reusable bags are in style ...
But it seems that those who dictate the style world, namely the fashion industry, aren't nearly concerned as the grocery store business is about the environmental effects of hundreds of thousands of plastic shopping bags leaving the malls in the hands of patrons each day. As I was walking around Boston last weekend in a pretty serious shopping district, I noticed the distinct lack of reusable shopping bags and the distinct abundance of multiple bags from multiple stores in the hands of nearly each passerby.
Though it's nearly the norm to bring your own bags to the grocery store these days, the shopping mall seems to be a completely different story. People just aren't doing it yet. I suspect that one of the reasons that it hasn't caught on is that people like to carry around lots of bags from lots of stores - it's a sign of the treasure amassed that day. It was a good shopping day, the plentiful handles wrapped around their hands are reminding. Even the legendary San Francisco plastic bag ban seems to focus only on grocery store bags.
This seems to be the next logical step in the world of reusable bags. The fashion industry is masterful at getting people to want to buy the things that they make. I'm amazed that no one has yet created the perfect reusable, yet fashionable, shopping bag. The possibilities are endless - receipt pouches so you don't lose one, bags made just for carrying shoe boxes, etc...
Though it's nearly the norm to bring your own bags to the grocery store these days, the shopping mall seems to be a completely different story. People just aren't doing it yet. I suspect that one of the reasons that it hasn't caught on is that people like to carry around lots of bags from lots of stores - it's a sign of the treasure amassed that day. It was a good shopping day, the plentiful handles wrapped around their hands are reminding. Even the legendary San Francisco plastic bag ban seems to focus only on grocery store bags.
This seems to be the next logical step in the world of reusable bags. The fashion industry is masterful at getting people to want to buy the things that they make. I'm amazed that no one has yet created the perfect reusable, yet fashionable, shopping bag. The possibilities are endless - receipt pouches so you don't lose one, bags made just for carrying shoe boxes, etc...
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
VISTA Impact & Beyond!
I'm incredibly excited about the possibility that all of the new service legislation moving through right now holds both nationally and globally. You may be wondering about the impact of some of the existing programs and why upgrading and expanding them can create great social change. I'd like to share with you the AmeriCorps*VISTA annual report, which highlights projects from each of the 52 United States: Overcoming Poverty, Building Capacity.
(If this link takes you to the Vista Campus website, simply login as a guest to see the report.)
I'm particularly proud to share this report, as the project that I was a VISTA member and leader in for the last two years, the Children & Youth Project of NW PA, is the featured project in Pennsylvania.
Read it over, and I hope you'll be inspired to raise your voice in favor of the Serve America Act and the GIVE Act. It's the right time to expand national service in our country - I get chills imagining the potential that will be unleashed with the support of this legislation!
My AmeriCorps experience is such a large part of the reason that I'm studying what I am right now and aspire to work for social change in the future. Not only will this legislation impact those being served by the expansion of programs and those who commit to service during their terms of service, but I venture to predict a large increase in the number of people entering social impact fields as a result of their term of service. It's life-changing to be a part of a national service movement, and as service opportunities expand, the potential for creating a critical mass of people concerned with the future of our world also expands.
(If this link takes you to the Vista Campus website, simply login as a guest to see the report.)
I'm particularly proud to share this report, as the project that I was a VISTA member and leader in for the last two years, the Children & Youth Project of NW PA, is the featured project in Pennsylvania.
Read it over, and I hope you'll be inspired to raise your voice in favor of the Serve America Act and the GIVE Act. It's the right time to expand national service in our country - I get chills imagining the potential that will be unleashed with the support of this legislation!
My AmeriCorps experience is such a large part of the reason that I'm studying what I am right now and aspire to work for social change in the future. Not only will this legislation impact those being served by the expansion of programs and those who commit to service during their terms of service, but I venture to predict a large increase in the number of people entering social impact fields as a result of their term of service. It's life-changing to be a part of a national service movement, and as service opportunities expand, the potential for creating a critical mass of people concerned with the future of our world also expands.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Time to Retrain B-Schools?
This article appeared in the NY Times earlier this week, questioning the role of the business school training, that many employed in the finance world received, in leading to our current financial crisis: Is it Time to Retrain B-schools?
It's a great read if you're thinking about attending business school. Some of the criticisms the article mentions is that B-schools are too narrowly focused on analyzing problems using numbers and technical knowledge without consideration for real world complexities. The article ends with a quote saying that business schools are good at producing managers, but not necessarily leaders.
This sentiment resonated with me because we discussed the difference between a manager and a leader within at least two weeks of beginning our program at Heller. My program is interested in producing leaders, which is something that they are very clear about. The article also mentioned the Aspen Institute study - I'd recommend checking out their "Beyond Grey Pinstripes" rankings for a list of business schools that are the best at integrating social and environmental topics into their B-school curriculum.
Some people may think that we are not "hard core" enough at Heller because we don't crunch numbers all day, figuring out how to maximize shareholder value. My response is that we are learning the skills that our world is going to need to be improved from this day forward. Things are not going to be the same in the business and finance world for a long time - we're learning leadership skills that will give us the ability to create purpose, solve complex organizational and social problems, and fulfill missions. We are certainly learning a little something about numbers along the way, but the real value of our education comes from our preparation to be social change leaders in the incredibly complex, sometimes very scary real world.
It's a great read if you're thinking about attending business school. Some of the criticisms the article mentions is that B-schools are too narrowly focused on analyzing problems using numbers and technical knowledge without consideration for real world complexities. The article ends with a quote saying that business schools are good at producing managers, but not necessarily leaders.
This sentiment resonated with me because we discussed the difference between a manager and a leader within at least two weeks of beginning our program at Heller. My program is interested in producing leaders, which is something that they are very clear about. The article also mentioned the Aspen Institute study - I'd recommend checking out their "Beyond Grey Pinstripes" rankings for a list of business schools that are the best at integrating social and environmental topics into their B-school curriculum.
Some people may think that we are not "hard core" enough at Heller because we don't crunch numbers all day, figuring out how to maximize shareholder value. My response is that we are learning the skills that our world is going to need to be improved from this day forward. Things are not going to be the same in the business and finance world for a long time - we're learning leadership skills that will give us the ability to create purpose, solve complex organizational and social problems, and fulfill missions. We are certainly learning a little something about numbers along the way, but the real value of our education comes from our preparation to be social change leaders in the incredibly complex, sometimes very scary real world.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
How did I get here?
You may be wondering how I ever ended up choosing the Heller MBA as opposed to the many other public/social service degrees out there. Now that I'm halfway through my second semester, I should probably share this information with you!
As a senior undergraduate, I applied and was accepted to graduate programs in Higher Education Administration and Student Affairs. My friends and mentors told me to take some time off from school and get some experience because I would be burned out after four years of intense academic work. Though I was reluctant to do this, I ended up taking their advice.
After graduating, I worked as an AmeriCorps*VISTA member in the Center for Experiential Learning at Allegheny College, my alma mater. I buckled down and got situated in my new role on Allegheny’s campus, working with students to plan service events, running a tutoring program in local elementary schools and functioning as part of the college’s student affairs staff. About a month into my year of service, I realized that I was indeed quite burned out from my undergraduate experience. I was incredibly grateful to not be trudging through a graduate program at that point in my life.
The middle of my year of service came and went, and I was in no position to apply for admission to graduate school again for the upcoming fall semester. I was feeling unsure of my original desire to obtain a degree in higher education and wanted more time to find my focus. In light of this development, I stayed on with AmeriCorps*VISTA for another year, progressing to the position of a VISTA Leader. I wanted to gain more experience in the administrative and management aspects of VISTA than I had in my first year of service.
I knew at this point that I loved the work I was doing, but I wasn’t sure that higher education administration was a field I wanted to study in depth at the graduate level. I knew that I loved the students, their idealism to create change, and the community that I had built in small-town Meadville. I knew that I wanted to study ways in which to bring all of those things together more effectively and to use the resources that a community has to create change. I also knew that I had enjoyed my undergraduate major in Economics and somehow wanted to incorporate those skills into my next field of study.
I narrowed my interests to the fields of community development, nonprofit management or business. After further examination of several degree programs in each of these areas, I decided that a business degree would allow me to gain the management and technical skills that I was interested in, as well as experience in leadership and organizational behavior. I looked specifically for programs that had coursework or a concentration in community development or socially responsible business. I also examined the list of schools that match the AmeriCorps education award.
This list is precisely how I found Brandeis’ Heller School. When I looked at the website for this program and saw that Heller’s motto is “Managing for a Social Mission”, I was hooked! This seemed like the perfect fit for my interests and ambitions. I would be surrounded by people with diverse work and educational experiences, yet who all shared a common interest in social justice and mission-oriented work. My initial impressions were quite accurate, and here I am today - happily pursuing an MBA at Heller, meeting incredibly inspiring people and learning many of the skills that will help me to do the work that I want upon graduating.
As a senior undergraduate, I applied and was accepted to graduate programs in Higher Education Administration and Student Affairs. My friends and mentors told me to take some time off from school and get some experience because I would be burned out after four years of intense academic work. Though I was reluctant to do this, I ended up taking their advice.
After graduating, I worked as an AmeriCorps*VISTA member in the Center for Experiential Learning at Allegheny College, my alma mater. I buckled down and got situated in my new role on Allegheny’s campus, working with students to plan service events, running a tutoring program in local elementary schools and functioning as part of the college’s student affairs staff. About a month into my year of service, I realized that I was indeed quite burned out from my undergraduate experience. I was incredibly grateful to not be trudging through a graduate program at that point in my life.
The middle of my year of service came and went, and I was in no position to apply for admission to graduate school again for the upcoming fall semester. I was feeling unsure of my original desire to obtain a degree in higher education and wanted more time to find my focus. In light of this development, I stayed on with AmeriCorps*VISTA for another year, progressing to the position of a VISTA Leader. I wanted to gain more experience in the administrative and management aspects of VISTA than I had in my first year of service.
I knew at this point that I loved the work I was doing, but I wasn’t sure that higher education administration was a field I wanted to study in depth at the graduate level. I knew that I loved the students, their idealism to create change, and the community that I had built in small-town Meadville. I knew that I wanted to study ways in which to bring all of those things together more effectively and to use the resources that a community has to create change. I also knew that I had enjoyed my undergraduate major in Economics and somehow wanted to incorporate those skills into my next field of study.
I narrowed my interests to the fields of community development, nonprofit management or business. After further examination of several degree programs in each of these areas, I decided that a business degree would allow me to gain the management and technical skills that I was interested in, as well as experience in leadership and organizational behavior. I looked specifically for programs that had coursework or a concentration in community development or socially responsible business. I also examined the list of schools that match the AmeriCorps education award.
This list is precisely how I found Brandeis’ Heller School. When I looked at the website for this program and saw that Heller’s motto is “Managing for a Social Mission”, I was hooked! This seemed like the perfect fit for my interests and ambitions. I would be surrounded by people with diverse work and educational experiences, yet who all shared a common interest in social justice and mission-oriented work. My initial impressions were quite accurate, and here I am today - happily pursuing an MBA at Heller, meeting incredibly inspiring people and learning many of the skills that will help me to do the work that I want upon graduating.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Co-Sponsor the Serve America Act!
As an AmeriCorps*VISTA alum who believes in the power of national service, this is something near to my heart. The Serve America Act has the potential to drastically expand the national service movement. Now you can be part of the change by co-sponsoring the legislation. Check it out here: http://www.bethechangeaction.org/servicenation/take_action/cosponsor
In my opinion, it's a crucial time for important programs like this to expand!
Backtrack: BCCJ & Harvard Social Enterprise Conference
Let's back it up a week or two - a little late is better than never, right? I had the opportunity to participate in two great events in the past few weeks: a networking breakfast with BCCJ and the Harvard Social Enterprise Conference. Combining them into one week made for a fabulous reminder of all of the exciting, high-impact stuff going on out there and the reason that I'm studying in grad school right now.
Starting with BCCJ - it stands for the Boston Center for Community and Justice. Their mission is to develop a diverse community of socially responsible leaders that advances social justice throughout Greater Boston. The speaker for this particular networking breakfast talked about "Business Strategies for the Age of Conscious Capitalism". He was a marketing professor from Bentley College and did a great job of explaining why this is the time to change things to make business more sustainable. One particular statement that resonated with me was that profits should be the outcome of doing the right thing, not the driver. This seems like a highly plausible strategy, given the recent statistics that I've seen where the companies who are part of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index have consistently outperformed companies who are not. So, maybe we should be thinking about how to be a good, conscious business generating positive returns for society and then our profits will follow? No more of this profit vs. social responsibility talk.
Another great piece of the BCCJ breakfast was the networking component. We had a chance for a good deal of discussion around our table before and after the presenter. I met some wonderfully intelligent people who are working for social justice and responsible business in their daily lives, and it was great to connect with this community. BCCJ does several interesting events and programs throughout the year - they are definitely a group of people that I want to stay connected with.
Reinforcing the fire that was ignited at the BCCJ breakfast, the Harvard Social Enterprise Conference fell just a few days later. Hosted by students at HBS and Harvard's Kennedy School, this conference was one of the best $40 purchases of my entire graduate school career (and I'm not just saying that because the goodie bag was fabulous, though it really was - an entire box of Newman's Own cereal and a bag of Dancing Deer cookies?! Yes, please.) The format of the breakout sessions was all panels so that there was a great deal of audience participation and time for questions. It was fun to get a chance to interact with the great minds on the panels in this way.
I attended a session on human capital in education where we heard from panelists from the New Teacher Project, a start-up charter school in NYC and two other education organizations. I've been reminded of my interest in education and year of service programs this semester and think this is a field that I may be interested in working in someday. There are so many innovative education-focused social enterprises out there to study and create change through.
I also attended sessions on social investing and food & social change. Food issues are another of my interests that have recently been reignited. We make choices everyday about the food that we will consume, and those choices pack so much punch. Behind every bite of food there is a story about how it was created - how were the workers treated who picked or packaged it, how many pesticides were used that potentially may damage the earth, what sorts of artificial and unhealthy chemicals are we being exposed to? I think food is another area where it is possible to create great change and I was inspired by the panelists that I heard - particularly, the Executive Director of Slowfood USA and an exec from Newman's Own.
Overall, the past few weeks have been exciting and formative as I continue to learn about what's already going on to create social change, what new problems and challenges are continually popping up and ways that I might want to work in these fields upon graduation. Here's to learning a little something new every single day!
Starting with BCCJ - it stands for the Boston Center for Community and Justice. Their mission is to develop a diverse community of socially responsible leaders that advances social justice throughout Greater Boston. The speaker for this particular networking breakfast talked about "Business Strategies for the Age of Conscious Capitalism". He was a marketing professor from Bentley College and did a great job of explaining why this is the time to change things to make business more sustainable. One particular statement that resonated with me was that profits should be the outcome of doing the right thing, not the driver. This seems like a highly plausible strategy, given the recent statistics that I've seen where the companies who are part of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index have consistently outperformed companies who are not. So, maybe we should be thinking about how to be a good, conscious business generating positive returns for society and then our profits will follow? No more of this profit vs. social responsibility talk.
Another great piece of the BCCJ breakfast was the networking component. We had a chance for a good deal of discussion around our table before and after the presenter. I met some wonderfully intelligent people who are working for social justice and responsible business in their daily lives, and it was great to connect with this community. BCCJ does several interesting events and programs throughout the year - they are definitely a group of people that I want to stay connected with.
Reinforcing the fire that was ignited at the BCCJ breakfast, the Harvard Social Enterprise Conference fell just a few days later. Hosted by students at HBS and Harvard's Kennedy School, this conference was one of the best $40 purchases of my entire graduate school career (and I'm not just saying that because the goodie bag was fabulous, though it really was - an entire box of Newman's Own cereal and a bag of Dancing Deer cookies?! Yes, please.) The format of the breakout sessions was all panels so that there was a great deal of audience participation and time for questions. It was fun to get a chance to interact with the great minds on the panels in this way.
I attended a session on human capital in education where we heard from panelists from the New Teacher Project, a start-up charter school in NYC and two other education organizations. I've been reminded of my interest in education and year of service programs this semester and think this is a field that I may be interested in working in someday. There are so many innovative education-focused social enterprises out there to study and create change through.
I also attended sessions on social investing and food & social change. Food issues are another of my interests that have recently been reignited. We make choices everyday about the food that we will consume, and those choices pack so much punch. Behind every bite of food there is a story about how it was created - how were the workers treated who picked or packaged it, how many pesticides were used that potentially may damage the earth, what sorts of artificial and unhealthy chemicals are we being exposed to? I think food is another area where it is possible to create great change and I was inspired by the panelists that I heard - particularly, the Executive Director of Slowfood USA and an exec from Newman's Own.
Overall, the past few weeks have been exciting and formative as I continue to learn about what's already going on to create social change, what new problems and challenges are continually popping up and ways that I might want to work in these fields upon graduation. Here's to learning a little something new every single day!
Friday, March 6, 2009
Clean-tech is hiring!
All hope for job seekers is not lost.
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2009/03/06/renewable_job_market/
A bright spot in the midst of recession: Clean-tech jobs are still hiring in Boston, even as other parts of the economy continue to struggle. Hopefully the growth in this sector will continue!
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2009/03/06/renewable_job_market/
A bright spot in the midst of recession: Clean-tech jobs are still hiring in Boston, even as other parts of the economy continue to struggle. Hopefully the growth in this sector will continue!
Monday, March 2, 2009
Whirlwind!
The past two weeks have been quite eventful - there's so many exciting things that I want to share with you from my recent experiences. I've been to NYC on my service trip, participated in a great networking breakfast hosted by BCCJ and attended the Harvard Social Enterprise Conference yesterday. Those are just the highlights!
God's Love We Deliver, the organization we partnered with in NYC, was phenomenal. One of the most striking things about the organization was that we were told on the first day that although this is a nonprofit, it is run like a company. Throughout the week, I heard employees referring to GLWD as their company or the company.
The organization seemed very efficient and well-run, from what I could learn in a few days working there. The employees were happy and committed - mostly everyone I met had been there for several years. It seems to me a perfect example of our Net Impact motto of using business tools for good. In this case, GLWD seems to have taken some of the best practices from the private sector and implemented them successfully in their nonprofit organization.
Not only was I impressed with the operations of the organization, but the employees and other volunteers were inspirational and the service they provided was high quality and high impact. We spend hours chopping and cooking fresh vegetables. I saw the chefs making their own sauces and baking desserts from scratch. If I remember correctly, something like 29% of GLWD's clients have special dietary needs, which are accommodated on a daily basis. The scale of the operation happening down in GLWD's kitchens and the amount of customization that takes place is more than impressive.
And last but not least, my Brandeis group was great! They were a fun group of students to work with for the week, and all of them impressed me in some way at some point during the trip. Their idealism and enthusiasm was contagious. This trip was a great refresher and a reminder of why all of the work I'm doing in my classes is important: so that I can take the skills and knowledge that I'm gaining and apply them in organizations as remarkable as GLWD so that they can continue to innovate and serve the people who rely on them each day.
More on the other exciting, inspiring events of the past week later!
God's Love We Deliver, the organization we partnered with in NYC, was phenomenal. One of the most striking things about the organization was that we were told on the first day that although this is a nonprofit, it is run like a company. Throughout the week, I heard employees referring to GLWD as their company or the company.
The organization seemed very efficient and well-run, from what I could learn in a few days working there. The employees were happy and committed - mostly everyone I met had been there for several years. It seems to me a perfect example of our Net Impact motto of using business tools for good. In this case, GLWD seems to have taken some of the best practices from the private sector and implemented them successfully in their nonprofit organization.
Not only was I impressed with the operations of the organization, but the employees and other volunteers were inspirational and the service they provided was high quality and high impact. We spend hours chopping and cooking fresh vegetables. I saw the chefs making their own sauces and baking desserts from scratch. If I remember correctly, something like 29% of GLWD's clients have special dietary needs, which are accommodated on a daily basis. The scale of the operation happening down in GLWD's kitchens and the amount of customization that takes place is more than impressive.
And last but not least, my Brandeis group was great! They were a fun group of students to work with for the week, and all of them impressed me in some way at some point during the trip. Their idealism and enthusiasm was contagious. This trip was a great refresher and a reminder of why all of the work I'm doing in my classes is important: so that I can take the skills and knowledge that I'm gaining and apply them in organizations as remarkable as GLWD so that they can continue to innovate and serve the people who rely on them each day.
More on the other exciting, inspiring events of the past week later!
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