Class article activity

Article 1 - "What makes a great employee?" from Jan. 19, 2011 on Blake Mycoskie's blog

The article that I brought into class the other day was a blog post from the man who created TOMS shoes, Blake Mycoskie. He has gone on to write his own book as well as his own optical program one-for-one in other countries as well. However, in this employee, he gave a little anecdote of what he did when he started the company.

Rather than hiring employees with experience for his new business, Mycoskie looked for people interested who had the least amount of experience. His reasoning was that people with lesser experience would not have preconceived notions of what the right way to do certain tasks are. Therefore, he takes the risk of giving the inexperienced a change. What he expects out of these workers -unpaid interns actually - is passion and creativity.

It's as simple as that. I think that in society today, people have finally realized how different people are. More importantly though, society is not static, so we cannot assume that a certain model is going to be applicable for all people at all times. In order to be successful, a leader would have to recognize how society is always changing. They don't necessarily have to be the ones to know what to do, but rather be the one to recognize the change and find people to stay ahead of the curve.

Personally, I don't think that I am always good at thinking about what the next big thing is. However, I can think of the questions to push people outside of the box and look at the big picture. I guess in this context, I do better at being on the balcony and looking towards the future.

Article 2 - "5 Leadership and Life Lessons from John Wooden" by Kevin Eikenberry

This article was Eddie's that he shared with me in our "speed dating" activity. The article takes some of John Wooden's famous quotes and puts them into the context of leadership. The quotes are the following:

"Move, Move, Move!"/"Earn the right to be proud and confident."/"Ability may get you to the top. But character will keep you there."/"You can do more by being good than any other way."/"It's what you learn after you know it all that counts."

Being an athlete (and after playing basketball for eight years), these quotes are very relatable. I can see them in the context of sports. For me, sometimes it's easier to see my relationships in terms of a team. My friends and family are my teammates and ideally, I want to work well with all of them in order to "win" or have peace. Therefore, I have to remember how to work hard and be a good person. These lessons do not have to apply just to sports or to being a leader, but just being human. I think it's a good way to keep perspective and remain humble.