MSLD 635_May 2019

In addition to his dream to create a company that would contribute to history, Steve Jobs and his team wanted to create a product built from the heart (Petrenko, 2012). In his conversations with his team, Steve noted that the most important part of their business was to build a company in which customers could feel and experience the organization’s care and passion (Petrenko, 2012). Steve Jobs and his team were major innovators who were willing to leave their jobs to launch their own company (Petrenko, 2012). The NeXT team was excited to discuss marketing strategies to sell their products to college students, and more than anything else, reiteration of the team’s vision was essential to their existence (Petrenko, 2012). NeXT team members were not afraid to openly disagree and challenge one another, yet, their challenges were not personal attacks; they challenged ideas for the good of the mission. Although NeXT team members were excited to start the company, many members were concern...

Upon analyzing the results of the marshmallow challenge, Tom Wujec (2010) shared that groups of kindergartners performed better than business students. Wujec (2010) noted that  kindergartners performed better because they did not spend time creating the best plan, and they were not quietly vying for power. Wujec (2010) also noted that business students are trained to find the single right plan; however, the kindergartners build multiple prototypes, while keeping the marshmallow on top of the structure ( Wujec , 2010).  Based on what I know of children and adults, I am not surprised by the results, nor do I disagree with Wujec’s kindergartner-performance theory. While adults tend to think inside of the box, especially business leaders, children think freely. Also, the kindergartners’ focus was on building the tower, not on who is in charge of delegation and execution. CEO’s with an executive assistant may perform better because the executive assistant may be ...

Recently, a colleague talked about issues and changes needed within her department; she then followed up with the statement, “it’s not my job”.   In previous conversations with this colleague, she discussed updates that could be made within her department, and she was eager to initiate change; therefore, I was shocked when she made an excuse regarding her work culture. I have spoken with this person about innovative ideas, worldview changes, moving beyond status quo, etc. Therefore, when I heard her say that she was not going to promote change because it was not her job, I was discouraged; I did not expect to hear that kind of comment from her. While I understand that she has frustrations with her department, I expected her to have an attitude of change and idea-implementation. I did not expect her to easily abandon ideas of change with such a limiting statement. For several years, I was a part of a volunteer organization that I really enjoyed; however, the organization was d...

Marcia Blenko (2010) noted that decision effectiveness positively connects with employee engagement and financial performance in an organization. I think that employee engagement is related to decision effectiveness because engaged employees feel connected to the changes happening within the organization. Also, when employees are engaged in the decision-making process, they may identify important information that leaders may not have considered. When leaders reach out to employees during the decision-making process, they give a voice to those working closely within the organization. When employees are heard, they may feel more connected to the change process and mission of the organization. Decision-making is challenging no matter the circumstance; however, decision-making is even more challenging when there are hindrances impacting the process. For example, with the growing complexity of companies, it is hard to decipher how decisions work and who makes the decisions (Blenk...

Why do you think the talk is titled 21st Century Enlightenment? Matthew Taylor (2010) noted that 21 st Century Enlightenment calls for us to see past simplistic ideas of freedom, justice, and progress. I believe that Taylor is challenging us to reconnect to a concrete understanding of who we are as self-aware, autonomous human beings (Taylor, 2010). I also believe that Taylor calls his talk 21 st Century Enlightenment to stress the need we have to focus on who we are politically, philosophically, and spiritually, while fostering empathic capacity (Taylor, 2010). Taylor (2010) stated that empathy is just as important as education; perhaps the idea of empathy over knowledge is 21 st Century Enlightenment. What does Matthew Taylor mean when he says "to live differently, you have to think differently"? Taylor (2010) stated that conscious thought is only a part of what drives our behavior; when we understand, we are better able to exercise control and distinguish our...