I have started a new blog about my travels and business adventures abroad. I am currently in Cairo, Egypt about to start working at the Ashoka office here. I should be here for about the next ten weeks before continuing on my travels. School starts back up on August 29 so its a race to see how far I get.
http://thegraduatedcashew.tumblr.com/
-Dale Williams
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
"Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so."
What book has had the greatest impact on your life philosophy?
As I put More Than Money down, having finished reading it, pondering my life choices past, present, and future I am left with this question: is there a piece of literature that has affected the way that I feel about the world? Oddly enough, and without thinking, I realize that I do have such a book. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (no really!) has taught me a great many things. My favorite lesson equates to the two words that are printed in a most friendly manner on the back cover, “Don’t Panic.” With all of the travelling I have done, I was able to identify with this book’s story: the plight of the poor Arthur Dent, the quick wit of Ford Prefect, and the many zany characters in which they encounter reducing the galaxy down to a most silly scale. Despite all the loss, there is discovery, not of the meaning of life, which consequently is 42, but that of the journey and the humanoids that consequently accompanies you for it. There is the discovery of love, friendship, and consequence culminating in a friendly lunch at the end of the universe.
This is my life philosophy compacted down into a tiny nutshell if I had to pick one. In a world where nothing else matters but my ability to see it and live it along with my trusty travel towel and hitchhiker’s guide, there is no better way.
"This planet has — or rather had — a problem, which was this: most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much all of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movement of small green pieces of paper, which was odd because on the whole it wasn't the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy."
-Douglas Adams
As I put More Than Money down, having finished reading it, pondering my life choices past, present, and future I am left with this question: is there a piece of literature that has affected the way that I feel about the world? Oddly enough, and without thinking, I realize that I do have such a book. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (no really!) has taught me a great many things. My favorite lesson equates to the two words that are printed in a most friendly manner on the back cover, “Don’t Panic.” With all of the travelling I have done, I was able to identify with this book’s story: the plight of the poor Arthur Dent, the quick wit of Ford Prefect, and the many zany characters in which they encounter reducing the galaxy down to a most silly scale. Despite all the loss, there is discovery, not of the meaning of life, which consequently is 42, but that of the journey and the humanoids that consequently accompanies you for it. There is the discovery of love, friendship, and consequence culminating in a friendly lunch at the end of the universe.
This is my life philosophy compacted down into a tiny nutshell if I had to pick one. In a world where nothing else matters but my ability to see it and live it along with my trusty travel towel and hitchhiker’s guide, there is no better way.
"This planet has — or rather had — a problem, which was this: most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much all of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movement of small green pieces of paper, which was odd because on the whole it wasn't the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy."
-Douglas Adams
Monday, November 8, 2010
Here and Now vs. There and Later
What would your ideal work community look like?
My ideal workplace would be somewhere that I feel comfortable working freely with dedicated and talented people towards a common goal. This grand place would be somewhere that I could grow as a person and as a businessman perpetuating my personal and professional goals as I am able. This would truly be an ideal place that I could call “work.”
How does the concept of Ubuntu apply to your career and your destiny plan? Give details of three specific instances.
“I am because we are.”
I read this phrase and think I can understand it. Even thinking basically considering this saying, business for me is the study of exchange between people. Providing some service or product from one to another is the basic concept that I am talking about. From this perspective, I cannot fathom a world any other way. As business people, we facilitate this exchange through negotiation and relationships identifying needs and trends in order to maneuver a positive outcome for everyone involved in the transaction.
I believe that without this form of thinking, viewing consumers as cattle or merchants as product pushers, we lose sight of the true purpose of what we are here to be doing. That purpose, of course, is creating a better situation for everyone including the consumer, who needs or wants something, and the merchant who has the resources to provide for that emptiness.
As Taddy Blecher said, “It’s not by looking only after yourself that you work for the good of everybody. It’s by looking after everybody that you ultimately create the basis of wealth for yourself.” By creating positive relationships and community, our study of exchange can evolve through these established networks. This idea combining concepts such as globalization and economies of scale is the first step towards incorporating the world into something more than it is through business but one where goods and services are merely the byproduct of these relationships that enrich us all.
My goals for my career are lofty, proud, and complex. I want to be able to travel and learn about the world through culture and tradition while exploring and observing everything around me. I want to be able to solve problems and troubleshoot conflict in order to create positive outcomes that benefit people. It is through these broad goals that I hope to guide myself through my career and develop meaningful relations along the way. This is how I perceive Ubuntu and its application not only in the “here and now” but also in “there and later.”
My ideal workplace would be somewhere that I feel comfortable working freely with dedicated and talented people towards a common goal. This grand place would be somewhere that I could grow as a person and as a businessman perpetuating my personal and professional goals as I am able. This would truly be an ideal place that I could call “work.”
How does the concept of Ubuntu apply to your career and your destiny plan? Give details of three specific instances.
“I am because we are.”
I read this phrase and think I can understand it. Even thinking basically considering this saying, business for me is the study of exchange between people. Providing some service or product from one to another is the basic concept that I am talking about. From this perspective, I cannot fathom a world any other way. As business people, we facilitate this exchange through negotiation and relationships identifying needs and trends in order to maneuver a positive outcome for everyone involved in the transaction.
I believe that without this form of thinking, viewing consumers as cattle or merchants as product pushers, we lose sight of the true purpose of what we are here to be doing. That purpose, of course, is creating a better situation for everyone including the consumer, who needs or wants something, and the merchant who has the resources to provide for that emptiness.
As Taddy Blecher said, “It’s not by looking only after yourself that you work for the good of everybody. It’s by looking after everybody that you ultimately create the basis of wealth for yourself.” By creating positive relationships and community, our study of exchange can evolve through these established networks. This idea combining concepts such as globalization and economies of scale is the first step towards incorporating the world into something more than it is through business but one where goods and services are merely the byproduct of these relationships that enrich us all.
My goals for my career are lofty, proud, and complex. I want to be able to travel and learn about the world through culture and tradition while exploring and observing everything around me. I want to be able to solve problems and troubleshoot conflict in order to create positive outcomes that benefit people. It is through these broad goals that I hope to guide myself through my career and develop meaningful relations along the way. This is how I perceive Ubuntu and its application not only in the “here and now” but also in “there and later.”
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Work Focused
Reflect on your daily conversations, primarily at work. What values and life perspectives do they reflect? Are you more of a consumer or citizen?
I don’t usually have conversations at work that reflect anything other than the work at hand. My perspective and my values can be better interpreted through my actions at work in handling sensitive situations and solving problems. I like to think that those events allow me to be more of a citizen than a consumer utilizing my own experiences to benefit the employees and the company.
How do you think about and measure your impact?
As in the book, I would rather choose to have and develop a deeper connection with fewer people than spreading my message too thin over too many people. I like to think that my interactions with the employees at work and my classmates here at school have been meaningful and through those relations, everyone will benefit in the future.
I don’t usually have conversations at work that reflect anything other than the work at hand. My perspective and my values can be better interpreted through my actions at work in handling sensitive situations and solving problems. I like to think that those events allow me to be more of a citizen than a consumer utilizing my own experiences to benefit the employees and the company.
How do you think about and measure your impact?
As in the book, I would rather choose to have and develop a deeper connection with fewer people than spreading my message too thin over too many people. I like to think that my interactions with the employees at work and my classmates here at school have been meaningful and through those relations, everyone will benefit in the future.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Surprises? Yes, please.
Along your destiny path, what are the things you can control and the things you can’t? How will you deal with what you can’t control?
If there is anything that I have learned, there is nothing that I can definitely always control except for one thing. That one item of control would be my response to whatever challenges come my way. I enjoy thinking on the fly and solving problems as they arise because the world is unpredictable and thinking one can control anything else is just thinking.
My best weapon for dealing with the uncontrollable is my flexibility. I like to think that unforeseen things are around every corner along my destiny path. Between my current position and that of the future and my goals lays a minefield of variables. It then becomes my responsibility to associate the most accurate coefficients accordingly to arrive closest to what will allow me to achieve my goals and the future that will provide me with the most happiness.
Are you living a deferred life plan? Explain. / Does Kenny Moore’s “holy indifference” apply to you or not? Explain your answer. What can you learn from Moore’s perspective?
I chose to answer both of these questions together because I feel that they are connected for me. I don’t think that I’m living a deferred life plan but at the same time I think that I’m not living according to any one life plan either. Yes, I am currently in a graduate program to earn an even higher degree but my motivation for doing so is more because I enjoy learning and advancing my knowledge in the field of business. I chose this field because it is so broad. Everything has an aspect of business: every science, product, service, venture, project, or basic exchange contains elements of business where my education and interest can play a role. So really, I’m just playing life by ear taking the opportunities I’m given and even trying to make my own when I really want to.
To follow up, I like to live life. I’ve said this before and you’ll read it again. I love life. “Holy indifference” applies to me in a loose sense of the phrase. In the process of living, I have faced risk. In fact, I have had near death experiences and I do feel that those times have broadened my perspective in regards to life and time and what I’m doing with them. As far as Moore’s perspective, there is everything to learn from it. It applies across the board because it a valuable lesson in time and how fleeting it can be. Also, it’s a different perspective than my own so there is always that element to learn from, from the views of someone who has been places that I have not, seen things, heard things, and lived where I have not. These experiences are not lost on me and I like to think that I appreciate them wholeheartedly.
If there is anything that I have learned, there is nothing that I can definitely always control except for one thing. That one item of control would be my response to whatever challenges come my way. I enjoy thinking on the fly and solving problems as they arise because the world is unpredictable and thinking one can control anything else is just thinking.
My best weapon for dealing with the uncontrollable is my flexibility. I like to think that unforeseen things are around every corner along my destiny path. Between my current position and that of the future and my goals lays a minefield of variables. It then becomes my responsibility to associate the most accurate coefficients accordingly to arrive closest to what will allow me to achieve my goals and the future that will provide me with the most happiness.
Are you living a deferred life plan? Explain. / Does Kenny Moore’s “holy indifference” apply to you or not? Explain your answer. What can you learn from Moore’s perspective?
I chose to answer both of these questions together because I feel that they are connected for me. I don’t think that I’m living a deferred life plan but at the same time I think that I’m not living according to any one life plan either. Yes, I am currently in a graduate program to earn an even higher degree but my motivation for doing so is more because I enjoy learning and advancing my knowledge in the field of business. I chose this field because it is so broad. Everything has an aspect of business: every science, product, service, venture, project, or basic exchange contains elements of business where my education and interest can play a role. So really, I’m just playing life by ear taking the opportunities I’m given and even trying to make my own when I really want to.
To follow up, I like to live life. I’ve said this before and you’ll read it again. I love life. “Holy indifference” applies to me in a loose sense of the phrase. In the process of living, I have faced risk. In fact, I have had near death experiences and I do feel that those times have broadened my perspective in regards to life and time and what I’m doing with them. As far as Moore’s perspective, there is everything to learn from it. It applies across the board because it a valuable lesson in time and how fleeting it can be. Also, it’s a different perspective than my own so there is always that element to learn from, from the views of someone who has been places that I have not, seen things, heard things, and lived where I have not. These experiences are not lost on me and I like to think that I appreciate them wholeheartedly.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Building Boxes and Stepping Outside Them
What do you see as your biggest strengths? How do they support your passion and future success?
My strengths are varied and I find that that helps me the most. I like to look at a situation from varying perceptions in order to fully understand and evaluate the current conditions. Problem solving is something that I derive pleasure from. It’s something that provides a sense of accomplishment after meeting a challenge. This was one of the main principles involved when I decided to try for my MBA. I wanted a better understanding of the business persuasion in order to fully “see” problems as they were occurring or solutions as quickly as possible in a given business. This element will define my future success depending on the connections I make and my passions that drives me.
How can you turn your values into value? How do your values make you more valuable to your company?
My values and what I cherish in life as far as principles and standards encourage me to live the way that I want to live. Aligning those facets of my life with a company or cause is going to naturally be a challenge but one I know is worth it due to my resistance to compromising those ideals. In order to transform these values into value, I think that they help define who I am in character providing myself with a tenacity and drive that sets me apart, if only a little. My value added is what I can bring to the table for a company be it looking for innovative new methods or reaffirming strategies that are tried and true. I like to think outside of the box while also maintaining strong ties to those elements of a company that create the “box,” for how else am I supposed to gauge those boundaries?
My strengths are varied and I find that that helps me the most. I like to look at a situation from varying perceptions in order to fully understand and evaluate the current conditions. Problem solving is something that I derive pleasure from. It’s something that provides a sense of accomplishment after meeting a challenge. This was one of the main principles involved when I decided to try for my MBA. I wanted a better understanding of the business persuasion in order to fully “see” problems as they were occurring or solutions as quickly as possible in a given business. This element will define my future success depending on the connections I make and my passions that drives me.
How can you turn your values into value? How do your values make you more valuable to your company?
My values and what I cherish in life as far as principles and standards encourage me to live the way that I want to live. Aligning those facets of my life with a company or cause is going to naturally be a challenge but one I know is worth it due to my resistance to compromising those ideals. In order to transform these values into value, I think that they help define who I am in character providing myself with a tenacity and drive that sets me apart, if only a little. My value added is what I can bring to the table for a company be it looking for innovative new methods or reaffirming strategies that are tried and true. I like to think outside of the box while also maintaining strong ties to those elements of a company that create the “box,” for how else am I supposed to gauge those boundaries?
Monday, October 11, 2010
The Opportunity Cost of More Money
What are you willing to give up to make more money?
I think that this question would be better if worded, “What are you willing to prioritize over money?” I like to think that I would hold dear my family, friends, and self in most cases before money. Defining “within reason” becomes the real question. What is the price of all of these people and experiences? I don’t think that a price can be put on merely one event. It’s when that one event turns into a pattern that illustrates what will be sacrificed for an amount of money.
I’d like to think that opportunity in any sense is okay to take advantage of and that my opportunity costs personally aren’t too high. It’s when those costs become completely sunk that a line has been crossed. Determining “within reason” is a constant battle with compromise and need as opposed to want.
How might you shrink the demands of your career yet have more impact?
I think that there was once an economist who said specialization is the way. In this context, focusing on a narrow path of specialization for a career intensifies the gratification that is received. Being completely spread out has always been a fear of mine. To look at a week and wonder why I had to be at three opposite points in the state for whatever reason boggles my mind. Being spread too thin and not being able to perform my tasks appropriately because of it is the worst scenario for me.
To shrink these demands on my career would probably be pretty easy given the time to think about it. Could I hire someone at minimum wage to run misc. errands while my time is spent elsewhere? Or I could outsource several aspects of what I do focusing on just a few things. Impact becomes the real question though. It all depends.
I think that this question would be better if worded, “What are you willing to prioritize over money?” I like to think that I would hold dear my family, friends, and self in most cases before money. Defining “within reason” becomes the real question. What is the price of all of these people and experiences? I don’t think that a price can be put on merely one event. It’s when that one event turns into a pattern that illustrates what will be sacrificed for an amount of money.
I’d like to think that opportunity in any sense is okay to take advantage of and that my opportunity costs personally aren’t too high. It’s when those costs become completely sunk that a line has been crossed. Determining “within reason” is a constant battle with compromise and need as opposed to want.
How might you shrink the demands of your career yet have more impact?
I think that there was once an economist who said specialization is the way. In this context, focusing on a narrow path of specialization for a career intensifies the gratification that is received. Being completely spread out has always been a fear of mine. To look at a week and wonder why I had to be at three opposite points in the state for whatever reason boggles my mind. Being spread too thin and not being able to perform my tasks appropriately because of it is the worst scenario for me.
To shrink these demands on my career would probably be pretty easy given the time to think about it. Could I hire someone at minimum wage to run misc. errands while my time is spent elsewhere? Or I could outsource several aspects of what I do focusing on just a few things. Impact becomes the real question though. It all depends.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)