An MBA that is Music to my Ears

This week we had special guest, Dr. Matt Hinsley, Founder and Executive Director, Austin Classical Guitar Society visit our Entrepreneurship and Innovation class.  Matt began the class with what had to be one of the best starts we ever had... a personal concert in classical guitar fashion.

I really appreciated the perspective that Dr. Hinsley had to share, especially regarding his background.  When Dr. Hinsley was in undergraduate school he talked about the many times that people encouraged him to major in something other than classical guitar.  People were talking about how there isn't a viable future in the arts.  Dr. Hinsley then set out to do a dissertation focused on the disconnect between the sustainability of the arts and our culture.  He even pursued an accredited mentor to guide him through the dissertation, who was in full support, but surprised Matt when before he graduated.  This man pleaded that he not continue a career in the arts, and instead put his mind into law school.

After discussing his background, Dr. Hinsley shared about the connectivity of nonprofits in the arts and the value of connecting with community, youth, patrons, and donors.  Each of his perspectives embodied the heart of passion he shared for his service, and he did so in such a polished manner.  One can tell this man is well thought out, as he discussed even the nuances he instructs his staff to never begin an email without a salutation to ensure the value of the message is upheld.

What I took from the night is a glimpse, hopefully, down the road from my own journey.  I believe in pursuing life and the passions you are gifted with.  It would be easier in life to find a viable and sustainable career.  To go with what seems safest in the long term of building a resume and what is guaranteed to provide a sustainable financial future.  This is smart, and has its own rewards, but it's not what holds me.  I didn't pursue my MBA so I could just find the next bigger or better thing.  I did it so I would be well equipped to push the limits.

Dr. Hinsley is a great example of what goals I am aspiring to.  He's not just all heart and following his passions.  He's pursuing the best with smart and calculated moves.  He's strategically embracing and moving his passions forward and to a place where it betters the lives of youth, patrons, donors and the community.  So often it seems that the nonprofit world can contain great people with a passion to do something.  But how they do that something is everything.  We must be calculated.  We must be founded, well rooted, and smart about how we advance the mission of the disenfranchised.

Business school and theory are all great.  It's important to know.  What I appreciate about my experience here, is I'm learning how that all works within the systems we have.  These systems are flawed, often unpredictable.  They are within the confines of human socialization.  I'm thankful to have the educational experience that provides this balanced perspective.

The end is just the beginning

Graduation is now more than a light at the end of a long dark tunnel.  It's technically a month away from two days ago.  Now technically we have two weeks of class required after that, so there's 6 more weeks of MBA as we know it.

This has been a tremendous experience for me, and I am so thankful I decided to take on this additional challenge the last two years.  I've gained remarkable friends through the program, learned far beyond what I ever would have gained in the work place, and have the confidence to know what I can specifically bring to a team.  I've identified my strengths both personally and professionally, and I am eagerly looking for opportunities within my work and volunteering to utilize these skills.

I'm so glad for the experience, but also eager for it to come to a close.  I've been putting together agendas for my capstone team's meetings, and on this last one, I outlined what projects remained that we didn't have completed yet.  There were only like 4 projects left.  We put together a suggested timeline, and I'm hopeful that we will have absolutely everything ready to go and completed by Aug.3rd.

August 3rd is a special date for me... as I've mentioned in a prior post, there's a new development on the way for the Keeter's, due Christmas Day.  I've been very conscious about mentally finishing school out before I really dive into anything baby related.  We've not talked names, we haven't picked out nursery themes, we've been holding for Aug 3rd.  August 3rd is our second sonogram, and supposedly when we find out if we're having a son or daughter.  For me the 4th will not only mark graduation, and the following celebration, but it's when we will share with our families the sex of the baby.  For me this will be such a celebration.  It will be the marker of completing the race.  Of working to put both my husband and me through school, of finalizing a chapter of a successful run at an MBA (currently, still holding onto that 4.0), and the real marker of the beginning of Matt and my next chapter with starting a family.  I'll be learning how to balance who I am as an advocate for community and some one's momma. I'll get to balance thoughts from innovation and entrepreneurship to names and nurseries.  Really, as I finish out school, I get that feeling after you've finished packing and are just about to head out on a big trip.  The tools are there.  Everything's prepared- now it's time to go.  The journey's just beginning.

Grace for the Moment

Tomorrow's class includes a deliverable of a paper to discuss what's next after graduation.  I've been putting it off a little because I have to be honest and say, currently I really don't know.  Through my MBA program I've seen a real transition in my thought process.  I came in as a doer/ postitioner, looking for that next challenge that would lead to the next opportunity.  Throughout the last two years, I've been challenged by the idea, that what I do really flows out of who I am.   This statement I am about to make may not make sense to anybody else, but- who I am is a state of being present, rather that the eye that is always planted in the future.

Throughout my MBA, we've had incredible guest speakers.  The President of American Airlines, Founders of Golfsmith and Founders of Impact Austin.  In each of these sectors, the story that connects each of these individuals was that they were fully present and did what they were currently tasked with to the best of their abilities.  They didn't have their eye on the next promotion or what their company or organization would be in the distant future.  They sought the full allocation and utilization of their current resources.  And it was on that platform that they embraced "what's next".

This last week took a bit of an unexpected turn for me.  I had been serving in a voluntary position for a local organization, and at a recent board meeting I was presented next year's slate of officers.  It was to my surprise that the only name not listed was my own.  As quickly as a chairman can say "all in favor" and the crowd responds "Aye", my involvement was sealed.  I received several calls from other board members and upcoming leadership (I am blessed with such caring and supportive friends).   What appears to have occured is one group was tasked with the 3 year appointments, and another the 1 year appointments.  Individuals in both groups made the assumption that I was on the other's slate.

Immeditately, I was hurt, feeling my involvement or services were no longer needed, and I wasn't given a heads up as a courtesy.  However, over the weekend I've found grace and peace in where God is leading.  I sense change all around me, like David Crowder's song that talks about God's love like a hurricane.  There have been opporutnities recently presenting themselves, such as the conversation I recently had with a Supreme Court Justice.  I have to believe that God knows what I see as opportunities that I would find it near impossible to walk away from, and then help me release those so I can be present and ready in the moment for the next thing He brings to my journey.

So perhaps a starting place for my paper isn't what is in the future so much is taking the time to be present.  To fully invest in the opportunities life presents us, and in those "opportunities" to fully embrace and extend grace.  To know in the moment how we respond to pressure and awkward circumstance, so that in the future we can be better leaders.  To revere the times when life can provide pain or hurt, to know it only deepens our human experience and allows us to connect with others in ways we wouldn't have been able to previously.  And largely, to be at peace with the abiss of the future- the beautiful enigma, which we can try to shape and craft with our skills, tallents or labels of plans.  To sit and rest in the hurricane of what may be, finding grace for the moment.

Advice when it comes to Capstone

We're over half way through in our last semester, and I can't believe there are only 7 more weeks of this MBA journey.  My team is really close to completing our Capstone Deliverable, and I thought I might share some insight from our current perspective.

1.  Consider a Capstone team of atleast 4 members.
While 2 or 3 may do, you still have assignments for class in which you break into your groups for presentations and paper writing.  Smaller teams mean more work.

2.  Consider a Capstone project/deliverable that can flow with outcomes expected in the final semester.  A student from the current 6th semester should be able to provide you a syllabus.  Noting, items may change, it would help to determine what work you will already be expected to do, and see if you can match that up with your outcome or deliverables.

3.  Frontload your semester.  Currently the final semester is a 15 week Innvovation and Entrepreneurship class with 10 weeks of "capstone" sandwiching a 5 week leadership class.  While the Leadership class does have a paper due pretty much every week, it's important to continue working on your capstone project throughout this time.  Its important to manage 3 classes at once, even though only two are currently meeting.  We scheduled calls with our company every other week.  On call off weeks, we put together documents with their added input and documents for them to review for our next call.  This next week should be our final call, already, and we will be finalizing our Deliverable 3, which for our group is the third section break out of the Program Strategic Plan that we are creating.  All that will be left is compiling the paper from our three sections, and finalizing a presentation.

4.  Stay on top of it.  Our group has an established meeting time on Thursday evenings from 6-7:30, and we utilize WebEx to do something similar to a skype call while we can switch to eachother's screen and show documents and agendas.  We also utilize Google Docs for a timeline I set up at the beginning of the semester where I combined the syllabi togther for each class.  Column headings are the weeks of classes, and rows list each class, project mile markers, and each team member's names so they can update their schedules of when they are available or out of town.

5.  Don't get bogged down.  Currently the Capstone project is only a 2 hr credit.  I know this will be changing in the upcoming semesters to a 4 hour credit (sorry future cohorts), but for now, keep this realiziation.  For some companies, this really means they need more than what you can offer.  Keep your scope narrow, so you can do well with what you take on.

If you have any other questions, or are a student working on your Capstone and have additional ideas, please feel free to comment and add on!

New Developments

When I began my MBA I knew I was setting out to test my limits like never before.  I was already providing the single income for my husband and I and supporting him through grad school.  Taking on 6 hours additionally each semester seemed like a mountain... a surmountable challenge, but a challenge none the less.  I knew I was putting myself in the position of pressure cooker, but it's funny how the mind can rationalize things... When it came down to it, the "truth" I bought into was "you can do anything for two years". 

And you really do find, that the uncontrolled variable in life that you can always count on is that time continues.  No matter what you do, two years from now, you will be 2 years older, 2 years of life will have passed, assuming you're alive.  And here I stand, 22 months later.  What I've gained is invaluable, and I've SURVIVED!  I've almost done my two years.

Matt finished his grad program several weeks ago, and has nailed down a contract for this next year.  In August I'll graduate from this MBA Program, Matt will be salaried, and we can count on two incomes again, and the newest developments??? Well I wanted to test my limits once again, and I now find myself navigating papers and group projects with the constant threat of nausea, because our newest little development is due on Christmas Day!  I'll actually find out the sex of the baby the week after my graduation, and plan to do some type of graduation party/ gender reveal in one of the two weekends following graduation.

I'm not going to lie- This has been the biggest challenge through the whole program.  I've been sick for almost 6 weeks straight, and currently get sick 1-2 times a day.  It makes it hard to function at a basic level, and on top of that working through the capstone and all the assignments of this final semester is certainly challenging.  But hopefully, I can continue to give it my best shot, and who knows, I might just make it through this program with my 4.0 intact.

We're 7 weeks through the final 15 weeks.  Only 8 more weeks, and one of those is the Capstone Presentations.  So hard to believe this chapter, no, this book is coming to an end. 

Last night in Leadership-Making a Difference, we took turns looking back over the program and talked about the take aways.. why a personal leadership philosophy is important.  It was like a moment we could all look back and see the value in the journey.  It was a big surreal and really marked, for me, the beginning of the end.  But as I've often noted, one's ending is just another's beginning, and I am so excited about the new journey that lies before me.

Greater Things

Last Friday I had the fortune of presenting to the graduating class of Leadership Round Rock.  This incredible group of people banned together for the sake of others, and as a result, the Texas Baptist Children's Home's central kitchen was completely renovated, with donations totalling over $65,000.

As soon as I arrived at the dinner, I strategically found a chair (nearest to the bathroom, if I'm being honest), and little did I know, it was the head table and I sat across from Supreme Court Justice Dale Wainwright.  Throughout the evening both Justice Wainwright and Mayor Alan McGraw talked of love for the community, and my heart began to grow with this new ache God has put in my heart for my community through my MBA program.  As it came closer to time for me to stand to this group for what was next in the program, I began to pray.  I wanted the words that I said to address the group to be words that were filled with gratitude.  That these astonishing individuals in the room would know to the fullest what would be the impact and beyond of their actions for our great community.

At the close of the night, I went to say goodbye to Justice Wainwright and thank him for his attendance. 

To be honest, he was someone who is going to leave such a lasting impression on me.  For God to have given him such honor, and the man chooses to embrace grace, humility and a witty sense of humor.  Its a great example to aspire to. 

As the clamor of goodbyes rolled around us, Justice Wainwright handed me his card and asked that I call him the next morning related to a commission focused on children and families as they relate to our justice system and cases of abuse and neglect.

I called, and we spoke.  He asked me to check out the website for this particular commission, and if I had interest, he asked me to consider following through with a letter to another of the Justices to pursue a role on that commission.

For now, it's a matter of prayer, but I can't help but see God's hand leading through my MBA to this very moment.  During our call Justice Wainwright discussed several items related to the current Foster Care and Adoptive Systems of Texas.  Thankfully, through my work in my MBA, I had already been doing policy briefings on the Foster Care Redesign, and was able and ready to share with the Justice.

Today, after picking up some lunch, and on my drive back to my office I was struck by a moment.  A moment to realize that at age 28, God is potentially opening some doors that carry the weight of responsibility beyond what one might even think of in a lifetime.  I remembered back to age 5 or 6 when I took God up on his offer to have plans for my little life, and that I would be ready for wherever He called. 

Two songs then came on- Casting Crown's new song "Jesus, Friend of Sinners" and Chris Tomlin's "You're the God of this City."  A couple years ago, on my way to a Mayor's Prayer Breakfast, God gave me the second song to sing over my community.  To strongly believe that "greater things are yet to come, and greater things are still to be done here"... it's as if God is whispering this greater plan to me, and I'm seeking my part.  Then the first song hit in... its a song that brings tears to my eyes each time I hear it, really taking aim at the line that so many Christians have drawn between "us" and "them".

We are all "them."

I thought again of even the chance to serve on this commission at a state level.  The children and families represented through this commission... they are us.  The chance to work hand in hand collaboratively with others from all different perspectives, beliefs and backgrounds is an incredible opportunity.  To rally in our diversity to have a great perspective and potentially a greater solution to the hurts and needs of our families... our children.

There is still much to pray about, but I'm just so thankful for the careful cultivation God has been doing through my education to embrace the greater things that are yet to come, and the greater things that are still to be done here.

Continuous Sustainable Innovation

This blur of a picture happens to be our guest speaker from Entrepreneurship and Innovation this week, Mr. Frank Paul, Co-Founder of Golfsmith.  (My phone's camera make a loud noise right as the picture took, which embarrassed me and thus- the blur).  He was tremendously warm and engaging... really seemed down to earth, which I had a whole new level of respect for after hearing his story about how he and his brother grew this business out of a home basement to what Golfsmith was in 2002 when they sold it.

He took the time to prepare notes and shared with us what it was like to grow a business, as well as some of the humorous stories that accompanied the journey.  It was nice to see a man of his stature take seriously imparting his wisdom to us as students.  Often times, not that it is wrong, speakers come in for a "fireside chat", and while I appreciate the candor that accompanies this style, there's also just something to a person who could do that, but taking anyways the time to show they value and prepared for the group.

One thing that really stood out to me about Mr. Paul was this constant grasp for innovation.  Going from selling your own club, to extending to new product materials like Graphite, to opening large stores when none existed before.  And that seemed to be so much of the case for Golfsmith, looking and seeing the opportunity that didn't seem to exist before.  Someone in the class relayed this idea to Steve Jobs, and how Apple also seemed to sense and create a demand in their own market.  Makes sense, but how do you do it?

Peter Drucker seems to fit right about here.  His ideas for innovation and entrepreneurship stretched beyond being your own business owner.  He was challenging the industries to go where they hadn't gone before.  To look for the unexpected.  To seek true innovation.

In my pre-grad school days, my psychology background would suggest that there is not an original thought, only new combinations of what has been relayed.  How does this fit in with innovation?  How do you maintain a working knowledge of your competitors, keep up, if not stay in front of them, and continually seek the "original thought"... the point of differentiation?

My minds flows to a thousand other questions- what does differentiation look like in nonprofit?  What is true innovation in nonprofit?  How do you stay innovative, when funders can initiatives direct the course of programming?  Are there ways to work with funders to do research on the needs of the community and challenge beyond collaboration- to innovation?

I may not have all the answers, but I feel like questions fit me better than answers anyway...

And with that statement, perhaps I answered my own question about Golfsmith's sustainable innovation... they weren't afraid of not having the answers, and took on the challenge of asking that next question.