First Day of Classes at the Donald Gordon Conference Centre

I arrived here yesterday afternoon.  It was a glorious day and I imagined I was driving along the scenic route in a convertible with my sunglasses on and the wind going through my hair.

Two of my classmates arrived at the same time, and after refreshing ourselves, we went for what was supposed to be a "10 minute walk" to a pub... but it really took us close to an hour.  Part of the extra time was because I brought the camera and took a few pictures along the way.  I enjoyed a glass of Pinot Noir from a Prince Edward County winery.  Light and tasty.  Perfect for a patio.

Our walk back was considerably shorter, largely due to using a GPS app on my friend's iPhone.  About 30 minutes later, we were back at school... in time for dinner!  A little time was spent at the pub, and then I headed back to my room to do some reading.

Today, I was up at 6am.  I went on a walk with a girl from a Toronto team and one of the Fit to Lead coordinators.  A quick shower, quick breakfast, and the next thing you knew, class started.

We did the beer game in Operations.  That was fun.  My team got the next to worst results.  It was a good ice breaker, though.

Lunch went by in a flash.

Then we started Global Business Strategy.  I think the best thing I learned from that class today was:

 ‎"Have strong opinions, but be weakly connected to them." ~ Douglas Reid

Then there was group work, readings, the network being down until Tuesday so we have to go to the business office to print stuff... Somewhere in there, I squeezed in hitting a bucket of balls at the driving range and eating dinner.

Well...  off to do a bit more reading.  I have boot camp in the morning.

This is post 100

A little food for thought from Jill Kean Hutchison:

Attitude = our thoughts, feelings and actions.... perhaps you can produce the results you want with a negative attitude in the very short term - but long term, sustainable results, no way!

Attitude is also the alignment of our actions with our inner beliefs. True motivation comes when we are aligned within ourselves and to the business or organisation we spend most time working in. When we see the fruits of our labour coming through the actions that align with where we really want to be - that is when we get really fired up to do even more!  

Also - great alignment within companies happens most when each leader is aligned within themselves. They can then carry the mission and objectives of the company down throughout the organisation - because they believe in it!

Need to Aim Higher

"The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting 
our aim too high and falling short, but in setting 
our aim too low and achieving our mark."
— Michelangelo

Stuck

"You are not stuck where you are unless you decide to be."

 -Dr. Wayne Dyer

I feel stuck today.  I need a boost.  I need to get my momentum going.  Because I know I can conquer the world.  I just need to figure out where I am going and get moving in that direction.  

Where am I going?  Am I going to be a start-up queen with a classmate?  Am I going to be a lecturer extraordinare, helping build the minds of today's youth?  Am I going to be a self-employed consultant?  Will I be a perpetual student, like my mother used to call me?  I don't know.

Which one makes me feel passionate?  They all do, in their own ways.  The lecturer is the one that I want the most... right now.  I love the idea of continuing my education.  (I have a number of programs bookmarked for future pondering.)  I could do both of them.  To get my DBA, I'll need an organization to work in as my "lab" for my research.  That's where the start-up comes in handy.  AHHHHH!

Why do I feel stuck today?  I feel a little overwhelmed with the task ahead of me.  I've been working on this MBA, but I don't really feel that I know how to set up a comprehensive business strategy... at least not yet.  And that's my task for today.

I feel like an impostor.  That's it.  I don't feel like I have the credentials.  And that is why I feel stuck today.

Pursuing an Educational Career? Part Two

I am one step closer to my known yet previously unacknowledged goal of pursuing an educational career.  Every time I think about it, I get all tingly inside.

The University of Guelph has a campus in Kemptville - not far from where one of my former high school friends now lives.  The key areas of study are agriculture, equestrian, and nutrition (which goes with agriculture).  They took out a large ad in our free local paper.  The free local paper that I usually take and toss into the recycling bin the minute it comes into the house.  Instead of tossing it 9 or 10 days ago, I flipped through it.  I can't remember the motivation.  Possibly, I was looking for something to do with the kids for Canada Day, even though I knew we were doing the local Barrhaven activities at Clark Field.  Anyway, there it was.  U of Guelph was looking for a lecturer who could cover business management and marketing.  The successful candidate needs to have an MBA.

I had school two days later and mentioned the opportunity to the one person I knew would be excited for me.  And she was.  And I was grateful.

Then...  The director of the Ottawa EMBA program came in.  He is also my respected accounting professor.  I asked him if he would be a reference for me.  His response was an overwhelming "yes"!  When I mentioned that you needed to have an MBA, he said that I had "an almost completed MBA" which really changes the focus, doesn't it?  (It's also like how my focus has changed from "10 months into it" to "6 months left"...)

I then asked two other professors (my HR prof and my Marketing prof) to be references and they both agreed.  Much like my experience while in the HR class, my HR prof was quick to respond with encouragement and excitement for me.  The Marketing prof wasn't quite as enthusiastic, but he'll be a reference, too.

Then, I contacted my Queen's career coach.  I need to understand what the difference was between a "letter of interest" and a cover letter.  It turns out that they are the same.  She kindly offered to review my application before I sent it in.  Well, she said I "nailed it" and to let her know when my interview will be taking place.  That added to my confidence and I emailed my application to UofG.

The level of support I was getting from Queen's was incredible.

Now I wait.

And I wait.

I guess the HR person doesn't work weekends.

They want the successful candidate to start August 16th for a 9-month contract.  I think they'll be moving quickly since that is only 5 weeks away.

If You're Looking for Me, I'm at the Library

I am in a state of overwhelm.  I don't know how it got to this, but I have 4 assignments and one exam due over the next week.  Urgh.  I'll be chiseling away at the two versions of a case study that I have to do this morning.  Yes, two versions.  One is the team email brief, one is the individual email brief.  I am not a fan of doing both as it makes me question the fuzzy line of academic dishonesty.  I mean...  How can you put your heart and soul into the team document and then do it all over again as an individual paper?  I struggled with this two papers ago and could not get past it.  Now, when I have no choice, I am stuck in the same situation.  I wasn't supposed to be the lead on this one though.  In a high performing team, you adapt.  Like when a team member who was supposed to be lead has a baby, you step up from your role as second and become the lead.  That doesn't mean I have to like it.

On Being Successful

Successful Women’s Secret

by JANE POWELL on JULY 9, 2010

‘I will be successful, no matter what.’

This is the mantra that successful women live by.

They know the secret of success is to believe in themselves and believe in the possibilities. They succeed because they have created a vision for themselves and have taken responsibility for their own future. They refuse to feel like victims or waste time blaming others.

When faced with a challenge, they don’t give up. They persevere. They believe they can do whatever it takes to get the job done. They have made peace with the fact that it won’t be an easy road and failure may come their way. Instead of giving up, they learn from their failures and keep forging ahead.

This can be your mantra. You are a capable woman and there is no reason you can’t use your power of belief to succeed.

Believe in yourself!

©Jane Powell

One of my Many Goals

My last yoga class at Queen's is coming up.  This is the last one.  Really.  Not like last time.  This time, we're out of the classroom so much that there is no reasonable excuse to offer it.  Unless there is a yoga class while we're in Kingston.

Anyway, I digress.

Since starting yoga, I have found that my flexibility has increased.  For example, I can do the arm-part of eagle pose.  http://yoga.about.com/od/yogaposes/a/eagle.htm  When I mentioned it to the guys, they thought it was funny until they realized all but one could not wrap their arms around each other to have the palms facing.    That prompted some spastic behaviour and then they started talking about our original measurements for Fit to Lead.

One of the FtL tests was to do the stretch where you clasp your hands behind your back with one arm coming over it's shoulder, the other one coming up from below.  I don't remember how far away I was from doing it, but I know I have a report in a sealed envelope hiding away just waiting to tell me the answer.  For today's update, it looks like I am a few inches away from being successful.  So that's my goal.  I want to be able to touch my hands behind my back.  Easier said than done.  Wish me flexibility!