At BYU, there are speakers who present weekly devotionals at the Marriott Center.  I have tried to attend as many as possible, but have missed my fair share as well.  A few weeks ago I was intrigued by a speaker who had come from another school, was not a Mormon, and was a poet.  So I went to the devotional…

Dr. Marilyn Chandler McEntyre spoke about “The Beholden Eye”.   Her message was delivered as she shared her poetry, which describes paintings of Vermeer's women and religious paintings by Rembrandt.  I listened to her speech and it made me reflect:  How do I view the everyday situations that I am able to participate in?  Do I see situations fully; do I take opportunities to reflect?

Dr. McEntyre saw poetry as an opportunity for reflection and prayer.  Despite the challenges of the MBA program, I find opportunities at BYU, moments of stillness for quiet reflection and prayer.

After seven years of working everyday my ability to see things in a new light had diminished.  One of the great blessings for me of being here at school, on this campus, is the opportunity to behold ideas, art, and the beauty that surrounds.  Beholding is to deeply reflect upon what the situation, art, or speech, is inviting, requiring, what it allows and disallows.  Beholding allows insight into self which enriches relationships now and in the future.

For more about Dr. Marilyn Chandler McEntyre visit: http://www.westmont.edu/_academics/pages/departments/english/Pages/mcentyre.html

Another great class this semester is our Leadership class.  We are looking at several very good models of leadership and have really been digging deep in the class to help uncover what our own leadership strengths are.  One book to read is by Twyla Tharp “The Creative Habit: Learn it and use it for Life”.  Creativity is important in many areas of life, even business.

I still can’t say enough about how fun this program has been.  My fellow students really are amazing and we have great teachers.  It is a wonderful place to be.  I am still looking for a human resources or organizational behavior internship, as the semester moves forward I hope to secure something for the summer.  Happy Belated Groundhogs Day!

Until Later,

Justin

Well this is going to be short so I can get back to my studies, but before I do, I wanted to mention that we had a great speaker in our marketing class today.  Dave Rockwood of Pacific Rim Consulting spoke and it was a very engaging lecture on things to consider when working and doing business overseas.  Take Care and good luck on finals.

One group project we are doing is for our finance class.  We are analyzing financial statements, forecasting, and getting insights into some of the business complications and capital budgeting issues involved.  This is challenging for me, but I am learning a lot and am defiantly making progress.

One of the assignments my group is working on is for our HR class.  We interviewed a change agent with in a bakery and are seeing how the change models we have studied are applied to situation in real life; what was done well and what could be improved.  We have also done a lot of case studies in the program evaluating different HR principles.

Today we met as an Organizational Behavior / Human Resources track and discussed internships and some of the many opportunities that are present.  2^nd year students shared many of the insights they have gained from the process they have been through when looking for their internship and jobs. Last week I was able to go to lunch with a few other students with a recruiter from Ford.  The company is going through a lot of changes to say the least and is looking for innovative talent.  These are great opportunities.

Friday we had an executive from Wal-mart speak to our MBA class.  He spoke about understanding reactions to change, the steps of change management, and being a champion of change.  Here are few thoughts:

The same change can bring about anger, shock, or excitement in different people.  Understanding how others will feel about changes will help you be able to relate to others and manage the change process.  By seeing the change from another point of view you can improve the probability of success and build a greater understanding of why the change needs to happen.

Being a Change Agent:

1.               Find one of two ideas that will have the greatest impact - don't waste time battling for insignificant change when the greater impact can be had with other change efforts.

2.               Create a clear vision - change must be communicated simply and effectively and should be able to be explained by others.

3.               Identify people who can help - get the key decision makers on board, CEO, division leaders, etc.

4.               Eliminate Barriers - remove barriers that fight or block change. For example, there may be someone so invested in the old process that they will constantly fight and complain about a new way of doing things.

5.               Be the Champion of Change - don't allow yourself to get stuck in the day to day; remember to put your efforts into activities that will impact and lead change.

A piece of advice as we go out into the world: "Be humble a lot was accomplished before you were born" - the point was that we can go out and make great contributions, but we need to remember that a lot of good has been done by those who have already been there.