So much of the material we studied this week resonated with me on a professional level. I read "Good to Great" for a class a few semesters ago and the review this week was wonderful. The reading and videos this week cause me to look at my current occupation, coworkers, and the work environment from a few different angles. Examples:
Do we have NICE people working in the office?
Are there any egos that could potentially destroy the flow and synergy we have?
Are we Bakers? Eaters? Some of both? Is this getting us where we want to go?
Do we genuinely want to lift others? Help other businesses grow?
Do we look for ways to adapt? Embrace new ideas? Are we looking to take risks (even though the company is run by a bunch of operations guys and accountants)

One of the statements that really made sense to me was that the goal of business is to weld customers to you. What a great analogy. If we aren't skilled welders, if we don't have the right materials, skills, attention to detail etc... the welds we create will never be strong enough to endure the tests that always come through in the normal cycles of business. And we have to be prepared to fix the welds that don't hold and learn from those experiences.

Carly Fiorina shared that we need to always be looking for creativity, new ideas, innovation, and to take risks. These won't work if we haven't set up the foundation of learning how to weld.

The leaders that have been most influential in my life, and those who have inspired change in me the most, are definitely those that motivated by their conviction, sacrificed themselves for a greater cause, and defended freedom and equality.