Check out my interview in the Council for Advancement and Support of Education's CURRENTS April 2010 issue:
CASE - Communications Is from Mars, Admissions Is from Venus
Monday, March 29, 2010
Friday, March 26, 2010
Time management
I have not posted in 18 days! Where did the time go? Do you ever feel like that at the end of the work day? I know I do!
Every morning when I get in, I make a "To Do" list for the day...I'm known for my lists. I do these lists for a variety of reasons:
Now, if I can only find the perfect balance of time management in my out-of-work life. From planning a wedding to selling a house to buying a car to volunteering to helping friends plan their weddings and baby showers, I don't know which way is up...and my head can't seem to find the pillow early enough each night, so the entire cycle starts over the next morning...
Every morning when I get in, I make a "To Do" list for the day...I'm known for my lists. I do these lists for a variety of reasons:
- I have a lot to do.
- On any given day, 10 different issues will come up that I need to attend to immediately...thus pushing everything else to the back burner.
- I do not have a great attention span.
Now, if I can only find the perfect balance of time management in my out-of-work life. From planning a wedding to selling a house to buying a car to volunteering to helping friends plan their weddings and baby showers, I don't know which way is up...and my head can't seem to find the pillow early enough each night, so the entire cycle starts over the next morning...
Monday, March 8, 2010
Networking
I was always the shy one...the one who stood behind her mom when she was five years old. The one who would never break the ice with someone new by going up to them and saying, "Hi! I'm Amanda...what's your name?" However, over the years, I've had to learn to become more aggressive in my actions--I work in PR, after all!
I have a few good girlfriends who are masterful at networking. I'd go with them to social and/or professional events and watch them work the room like it was their favorite hobby. After months of watching them, I realized that there was really nothing to be scared of...all I was doing was introducing myself to people...not asking them to marry me!
In order to get over my fear (I'm not even exactly sure what my fear was) of networking, I forced myself to attend at least one professional event each week--whether it was a Chamber of Commerce meeting, a meeting of one of the professional organizations I belong to or a young professionals group meeting, I made it a point to get out of my comfort zone and to attend a meeting where I usually didn't know anyone. My goal at each event was to strike up a conversation with at least one new person and to not leave until I did.
A great thing happened: I met many new people and all of a sudden, I could walk into a room full of people I didn't know and leave with several contacts--and it was a natural feeling! This has served me well in my position with Cleary and I strive to continue my networking "experiment" each week.
Click here for a great article called, "How To Network: For Introverts."
I have a few good girlfriends who are masterful at networking. I'd go with them to social and/or professional events and watch them work the room like it was their favorite hobby. After months of watching them, I realized that there was really nothing to be scared of...all I was doing was introducing myself to people...not asking them to marry me!
In order to get over my fear (I'm not even exactly sure what my fear was) of networking, I forced myself to attend at least one professional event each week--whether it was a Chamber of Commerce meeting, a meeting of one of the professional organizations I belong to or a young professionals group meeting, I made it a point to get out of my comfort zone and to attend a meeting where I usually didn't know anyone. My goal at each event was to strike up a conversation with at least one new person and to not leave until I did.
A great thing happened: I met many new people and all of a sudden, I could walk into a room full of people I didn't know and leave with several contacts--and it was a natural feeling! This has served me well in my position with Cleary and I strive to continue my networking "experiment" each week.
Click here for a great article called, "How To Network: For Introverts."
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Not too bad with numbers for a writer...
Okay, I lied in a previous post. The truth is out: I love budgets. Why? Well first of all, I like to set a goal and work backwards from it...I feel my life is a whole lot easier when I know what the end outcome is supposed to be. Whether it is at work, or at home, I need to know what my cut-off point is. Secondly, I like numbers. Surprise, surprise, my first major choice was going to be accounting (but I was much more drawn to communications) and I actually worked as a managerial and financial accounting tutor throughout college. Who knew?
That being said, I struggled with my budget forecasting this week. Since I've only been here five months, I haven't gotten into the swing of things, so-to-speak, in terms of budgeting for next year's LEC and LL programs. But, I did my best, so we shall see.
Now onto my systems portfolio questions...I have a bunch of these to do and I am trying to learn the systems process at the same time. I am hoping that the next time around, these will be easier for me to do.
Also on tap today: Tiffany, my student worker, started today and I am thrilled! I can certainly use the extra help. She will be blogging as well, so I will let you know when her blog is up and running. I was also pretty busy getting things set for our micro-business incubator opening. What is a micro-business incubator? Stay tuned because I will explain it all in my next post.
That being said, I struggled with my budget forecasting this week. Since I've only been here five months, I haven't gotten into the swing of things, so-to-speak, in terms of budgeting for next year's LEC and LL programs. But, I did my best, so we shall see.
Now onto my systems portfolio questions...I have a bunch of these to do and I am trying to learn the systems process at the same time. I am hoping that the next time around, these will be easier for me to do.
Also on tap today: Tiffany, my student worker, started today and I am thrilled! I can certainly use the extra help. She will be blogging as well, so I will let you know when her blog is up and running. I was also pretty busy getting things set for our micro-business incubator opening. What is a micro-business incubator? Stay tuned because I will explain it all in my next post.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Leadership Livingston
On Friday, I attended my monthly Leadership Livingston program. Leadership Livingston is a series of sessions designed to expand the community leadership potential existing in Livingston County. The program was initiated by Cleary and the Brighton and Howell Chambers of Commerce in 1992 and modeled after similar leadership development programs operating successfully across the country. It is designed to bring together individuals with diverse backgrounds and experience who have demonstrated a talent for and a commitment to leadership.
This year's program started up in September and runs through May. Each month, we learn about a different sector of the community, about leadership and about strategic planning. I have loved every minute of LL so far and Friday's session (Economic & Business) was no exception.
We started out at St. Joseph Mercy Livingston Hospital in Howell where Mike Markel discussed recent and upcoming changes to health care in the county. His presentation was followed by Mary Ellen Aria who owns Aria Booksellers, LLC and Kim Dane of Tanger Outlet Mall who spoke about small business and corporations, respectively. After their presentation, we were introduced to Gary McCrire who is the Genoa Township Supervisor. I actually never knew what a township supervisor did, but I do now! Gary was very open and friendly and it was interesting learning about the ins and outs of running a township.
We then heard from Kevin Schingeck of Keller Williams and Danielle Boote of US Bank who gave us a very thorough overview of the real estate and mortgage situations in the county, as well as a forecast for the future. I found this presentation particularly interesting because my fiance and I are looking to possibly buy a house (after mine sells!) in the area.
After lunch at Tomato Bros. (yum!), we headed over to Datapak Services Corporation which, to be honest, I didn't even know existed...but what a place! According to their website: Datapak Services Corporation is a leading marketing and order fulfillment solutions company, offering technology-driven services to its customers for over 20 years. A turnkey, fully integrated operation, Datapak processes orders and provides critical campaign reports all in real-time. The facility itself is extremely impressive and there, we met with Frank Kinney, the CFO, who talked about how the business started and about the 2006 move to their new headquarters in Howell. He also gave us a little tour of the main floor of their warehouse and I have to say, you could eat off of their floors it was so clean. Very impressive.
While at Datapak, we also heard from Pat Convery of the Howell Area Chamber of Commerce and Jeff Doyle of Rescue LLC who spoke about the county's economy and what they are doing to bring more business to Howell. They were followed by Barb Barden of the Livingston County Conventions & Visitors Bureau who certainly sold me on this area! My fiance and I are both from small towns and we want to raise our family in that same type of small town atmosphere...where we can bring our kids to local festivals, programs, etc. It seems as if we have it all in Livingston County!
Unfortunately because of my physical therapy schedule, I had to miss the last presentor, Mark Cryderman, a renewal energy advocate. Mark is also an adjunct faculty in Cleary's M.B.A. in Green Business Strategy and he has helped me out with a press release in the past. It's nice to put a name to a face.
All-in-all, I really feel as if I get a lot out of the Leadership Livingston program...however, I am always exhausted after such a full day!
This year's program started up in September and runs through May. Each month, we learn about a different sector of the community, about leadership and about strategic planning. I have loved every minute of LL so far and Friday's session (Economic & Business) was no exception.
We started out at St. Joseph Mercy Livingston Hospital in Howell where Mike Markel discussed recent and upcoming changes to health care in the county. His presentation was followed by Mary Ellen Aria who owns Aria Booksellers, LLC and Kim Dane of Tanger Outlet Mall who spoke about small business and corporations, respectively. After their presentation, we were introduced to Gary McCrire who is the Genoa Township Supervisor. I actually never knew what a township supervisor did, but I do now! Gary was very open and friendly and it was interesting learning about the ins and outs of running a township.
We then heard from Kevin Schingeck of Keller Williams and Danielle Boote of US Bank who gave us a very thorough overview of the real estate and mortgage situations in the county, as well as a forecast for the future. I found this presentation particularly interesting because my fiance and I are looking to possibly buy a house (after mine sells!) in the area.
After lunch at Tomato Bros. (yum!), we headed over to Datapak Services Corporation which, to be honest, I didn't even know existed...but what a place! According to their website: Datapak Services Corporation is a leading marketing and order fulfillment solutions company, offering technology-driven services to its customers for over 20 years. A turnkey, fully integrated operation, Datapak processes orders and provides critical campaign reports all in real-time. The facility itself is extremely impressive and there, we met with Frank Kinney, the CFO, who talked about how the business started and about the 2006 move to their new headquarters in Howell. He also gave us a little tour of the main floor of their warehouse and I have to say, you could eat off of their floors it was so clean. Very impressive.
While at Datapak, we also heard from Pat Convery of the Howell Area Chamber of Commerce and Jeff Doyle of Rescue LLC who spoke about the county's economy and what they are doing to bring more business to Howell. They were followed by Barb Barden of the Livingston County Conventions & Visitors Bureau who certainly sold me on this area! My fiance and I are both from small towns and we want to raise our family in that same type of small town atmosphere...where we can bring our kids to local festivals, programs, etc. It seems as if we have it all in Livingston County!
Unfortunately because of my physical therapy schedule, I had to miss the last presentor, Mark Cryderman, a renewal energy advocate. Mark is also an adjunct faculty in Cleary's M.B.A. in Green Business Strategy and he has helped me out with a press release in the past. It's nice to put a name to a face.
All-in-all, I really feel as if I get a lot out of the Leadership Livingston program...however, I am always exhausted after such a full day!
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Social media...
is the topic of the day. I was recently appointed to the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) Joint Task Force in Best Practices in Social Media (say that five times fast!). There are 11 of us from universities in both the U.S. and the U.K. and we had our first virtual meeting today.
As we try to figure out which areas we should concentrate on first, it's amazing to see the varying levels that each member institution is at in regards to social media. Obviously there are schools that are leaders in social media and have been for years...others don't even know where to start because their institutions can't agree on which department should oversee it. Others are so far advanced that they are creating their own iPhone apps...FB is a thing of the past to them. One of our co-chairs just started a new position at a prestigious university and he has to have one of the most forward-thinking, cool titles I have ever heard of: senior director of social media strategy.
Which leads me to this: how many of you work for organizations who have an actual social media strategy in place? How many organizations actually follow it? I would be very interested in hearing responses, regardless if you are an institution of higher education or not. Off to a WebEx on "Engaging Social Media"...we'll see what I will have to report after that.
As we try to figure out which areas we should concentrate on first, it's amazing to see the varying levels that each member institution is at in regards to social media. Obviously there are schools that are leaders in social media and have been for years...others don't even know where to start because their institutions can't agree on which department should oversee it. Others are so far advanced that they are creating their own iPhone apps...FB is a thing of the past to them. One of our co-chairs just started a new position at a prestigious university and he has to have one of the most forward-thinking, cool titles I have ever heard of: senior director of social media strategy.
Which leads me to this: how many of you work for organizations who have an actual social media strategy in place? How many organizations actually follow it? I would be very interested in hearing responses, regardless if you are an institution of higher education or not. Off to a WebEx on "Engaging Social Media"...we'll see what I will have to report after that.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Online learning
I pretty much spent all of yesterday doing a new employee orientation online. It took me all day because I've come to realize that I am not a very good online learner...I had to keep re-reading everything. BUT, I have to say, I at least retained most of the information which is more than I can say about those boring lecture classes I took at my college years and years ago. I guess there is still hope for me in terms of taking an online MBA at Cleary!
Last year, I earned a certificate in online learning which was taught 100% online. Back in 2003/04, I taught online marketing and PR courses using dial-up internet (nothing better than getting kicked offline while you are hosting a chat session), but I had never actually taken a 'real' course online. The certificate program was a new experience for me and I found myself obsessed with checking the message boards, re-reading postings, getting assignments done ahead of time...needless to say, it was a lot of work! But again, like my experience yesterday, I found that I retained almost everything I learned and although it was a somewhat exhausting experience trying to figure out how to do a group PowerPoint presentation in an internet-based classroom, it was a great experience learning from my classmates who were not only from different states, but from around the world.
Are you thinking about taking some online courses? If so, check out these links:
Last year, I earned a certificate in online learning which was taught 100% online. Back in 2003/04, I taught online marketing and PR courses using dial-up internet (nothing better than getting kicked offline while you are hosting a chat session), but I had never actually taken a 'real' course online. The certificate program was a new experience for me and I found myself obsessed with checking the message boards, re-reading postings, getting assignments done ahead of time...needless to say, it was a lot of work! But again, like my experience yesterday, I found that I retained almost everything I learned and although it was a somewhat exhausting experience trying to figure out how to do a group PowerPoint presentation in an internet-based classroom, it was a great experience learning from my classmates who were not only from different states, but from around the world.
Are you thinking about taking some online courses? If so, check out these links:
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