Asset Based Thinking

Yesterday in my Creative Thinking class our professor spent the class time discussing Asset Based Thinking and Deficit Based Thinking. He wasn't really describing these thinking concepts in terms of finance or accounting, but more in terms of how people think of themselves.

He described Deficit Based Thinking as knowing of those things that you don't want to do, while Asset Based Thinking (ABT) asks what your strengths and talents are that God has given you and how can you use those with your God-given mighty cause.

Asset Based Thinking takes those things that are personal assets - those gifts, talents, and abilities that God has give you - and considers how they might make your signature presence known. I really enjoyed learning about this concept of signature presence. How do people perceive you? What footmark do you leave in a room? By understanding more of those gifts that God has given you, you can leave a stronger presence.

All of this leads to your mighty cause. Not necessary a vision, but a mighty cause - something that you can begin working on today. Something that drives you, that you're passionate about. So many times I've heard people say they want to do something, make a global impact, do something that leaves them fulfilled, but never start toward that goal. Having a mighty cause forces a person to begin doing something now. If the mighty cause is to change a city, people have to start somewhere. Research needs to be done. You can start in your own city or town. The point of the mighty cause is to start, no matter how small, and begin building a bridge to that bigger cause.

I had never really considered Asset Based Thinking much...I know a lot of what I don't want to do, but to begin thinking towards those areas that I am gifted in and blending them together with a mighty cause can really impact the rest of my life. I hope you will be able to take some time today to think about ABT, your signature presence, and your mighty cause - it could just change your life.

Autumn is Here!

Fall officially began yesterday and it is an exciting time! Fall means cooler weather, brilliant colors, and that Fall Break is just around the corner. To celebrate the coming season, here are some fun photos to get you ready for the season!

The great outdoors may provide an excellent place to study - or a fun study break. However you enjoy the weather and season, know that winter will soon arrive in Tulsa, so enjoy what you can now! :)

Tip of the Week

One of my favorite things about ORU are the people. Whether, students, faculty, staff - the people at ORU are unlike those anywhere else. As a student, I have always appreciated the professors who teach in my classes. Besides getting to know your name and who you are, their offices are always open. I've sat in professors' offices discussing homework assignments, travel excursions, and my future. I've been to professors' homes and attended ORU events where the professors were active in what was taking place.

Getting to know your professors outside of a class setting can be extremely beneficial. Our professors have a wealth of knowledge, expertise, and a network of connections. Don't be afraid to ask professors questions about what assignments you may be working on. Feel free to stop by just to say hello. The professors want to know who you are, what you want to do with your life, and how they can help you achieve your goals. So, the tip of the week, don't be a stranger to your professors. By getting to know them your MBA experience will flourish.

Memories of You

Life as a grad students isn't always about studying. Family is something very important to me and I think probably to most, if not all, of our grad students here. Last week I mentioned that one of my class assignments was to create a poem after constructing a mind map. Later in the evening after the project was assigned, I received a phone call saying that my grandmother may not live too much longer. In an effort to corral my thoughts and feelings, I decided to use my grandmother as the subject of my poem. It's great when a project is assigned that allows you to pour out your thoughts, feelings, and ideas. I have copied the poem below. The name Grandmother doesn't exist in the poem since it was my main topic, but you can definitely picture her. Kind of interesting how you can take a brainstorming business feature like a mind map and create a wonderful piece of work for someone who means a lot to you.

Memories of You

Christmas turkey and tantalizing sugar glazed cookies;
Unending mashed potatoes and overflowing gravy;
Italian lasagna made from scratch and perfectly crunchy garlic bread;
The smell of early morning sizzling bacon and scrambled eggs cooked just so –
These are memories I have of you.

A slight hobble from the kitchen to the recliner;
Twinkling blue eyes glistening with mischief;
A big toothy grin and happy chuckle;
Bobby pins in your hair each night, tightly wound curls each day;
Homespun dresses in floral and polka dot print –
These are memories I have of you.

Happy Birthday renditions each year;
Cards and notes throughout the twelve months;
Celebrations each time someone could visit;
Sending us out with more than what we came with –
These are memories I have of you.

German and Czech history filled with tales of good and bad;
Reflections of Chicago living and growing up in the city;
A blind date with a dashing handsome man and moving to the West;
A house on Marshall Street with a big pine tree reaching to the sky –
These are memories I have of you.

Clothes carrying the natural scent of line dry from flapping in the wind;
Computers nonexistent and cell phones nowhere to be seen;
Washing and drying dishes as a time of fellowship instead of a chore;
Talking around the table preferable over an evening out –
These are memories I have of you.

A tender gentle heart;
Always optimistic;
Heart and head forever turned towards God;
Praying for all family and friends before the sun arose;
Outstretched arms to rich and poor, friend or foe; Joy amidst pain, thankfulness in sorrow,
And unconditional love.
These are memories I have of you…and always will.

My Study Break: A Bit of Photography

When I'm not busy studying, reading, or researching - or if the weather is just so nice I have to take advantage of it - I like to take my camera out and see what I can capture. Over the last several years I have been able to participate in various photography contests and have been successful at some of them. This weekend I will be submitting some photos at Tulsa's State Fair and will find out in a few weeks how they compare to other amateur photographers in the area (I'll make sure to give an update when I find out). It's just a fun thing I like to do when I'm traveling or taking a study break. Maybe one day I'll do a bit more with it other than enter contests, but in the meantime, I hope you will enjoy a few of the photos I put on here!

Tip of the Week: Mind Mapping

As a student, it is always great when classes mix together and relate to each other. This semester I am enrolled in two courses - Creative Thinking and Marketing Management. Different yet definitely related.

In the Marketing Management class, part of our diet of broadening our horizons includes reading a book a week as chosen by our professor. Taking some of my own advice and tips I've been handing out to heart, I am reading ahead and already into the book that's due next week which talks about organization. This book is full of information on how to better organize what you're doing in life so you're not always having to think about or worry about what to do next. There's a section in the book where the author discusses is a tool called Mind Mapping.

Cross over into my Creative Thinking class...we were recently assigned a small project in which we had to develop a mind map and then write a poem about it. Not your typical graduate assignment, but through it I began to enjoy mind mapping. Before this assignment, someone would say the words mind map and I would shudder. Maybe feel a rock in the pit of my stomach. Inwardly groan. I was not a fan. Perhaps I had first been taught mind mapping from a structured point of view in high school instead of just having the freedom to sporadically collect my thoughts through this system.

Through this activity of having to dig within myself and uncover creativity, I am now a beliver in the use of mind maps and see incredible potential in using them. They are messy yet organized. They allow all random thoughts to be collected but still connected to some greater thought. They can be used for huge projects or for the simpliest of tasks.

What I learned through the Mind Map assignment of creating a poem was that each person, whether we originally believed it or not, could indeed construct a poem with deep meaning and a unique way of blending words on paper to share a story. About half of the poems were shared in my Creative Thinking class last night and I was stunned at the what was uncovered. Here were students, who are busy with life, school, work, extracurricular student activities, and family, with amazing pieces of art. And most of them business students - not your typical English writing majors. It made me appreciate creativity more and showed me the benefit of using mind mapping.

Back to Marketing Management...I have a group in my class with a big project we're working on. We recently went through a mind map exercise on ideas for the project and filled up a page with dozens of thoughts. And the great thing about it is that those thoughts are safe on that piece of paper. We don't have to remember to not forget them; we can come back and ponder them when we need to. So my tip of the week...if you have a paper, project, some kind of assignment that may have multiple steps or pieces, try collecting your thoughts through a mind map. You may be surprised at the amount of information and creativity that can pop up through this process.

Puppy Training and Business

It's been said that having a puppy is good training for what it will be like having children. Between the disciplining, rewarding, cleaning, looking after, spending time with, etc., I can see how some of this could be true - especially since my husband and I just adopted a puppy several weeks ago. Puppies are fun, but they can be a bit of work. As I was thinking about training a puppy and all it entails, I realized there are probably some business aspects that I could learn from owning a puppy (because that's just what happens when you're working on a graduate business degree-everything somehow relates to business).

As part of the stipulations for keeping the stray puppy we found (who we named Samson), my husband said he must go through puppy school training, so besides taking graduate business courses, we're also taking puppy school classes. Quite different, but there are some good parallels to be drawn relating to business. For example, one of the first things we learned was to consistently reward good behavior as soon as it is demonstrated. If the puppy is not immediately rewarded, he may not know why he is being rewarded and may not do what he is asked later, or it could even enforce the wrong kind of behavior. From a business perpective, this could be similar to rewarding employees. If an employee is given an award for a job well done, but the action being rewarded was from weeks or months ago, it may not have an effect of motivating good behavior.

Another lesson we had to learn was loose leash walking. Since dogs can be incredibly distracted while on a walk, it is important that they don't lose focus on their owners. So in this activity, we toss out little doggie treats every so often which encourages our puppy to look at us or pay attention to what we're doing. We've seen some pretty good results in the few weeks we have been practicing this. From a business sense, this could be like the employee who is getting distracted on job responsibilities by different aspects, competition, or people. To help the employee get back on track, small rewards, verbal praise, or motivation for following through a company's mission statement or goals could be given to help get that employee's focus back.

As our puppy continues to learn boundaries and what is correct behavior (or behavior to not repete), we will eventually not have to check up on him as much. Just as when a new employee is hired and tasks have to be followed up on or double-checked, eventually he or she will learn the correct and best way of completing their job responsibilities and the manager won't need to wonder or worry if the employee can get the job done right.

In the long run, I know puppy school will be a great learning tool for Samson and hopefully make our lives easier when he is older (and bigger!). And in the meantime, maybe I can continue to glean some other parrallels between business practices and puppy classes. At least for now he is learning good behavior - and being photogenic with the camera!

A Tale of Wal-Mart Woes

Last week my husband and I had to make a trip to the local Wal-Mart during our lunch hour. Since it's right across the street from ORU, I felt we could run in, get what we needed, and get out...all while still having time to eat before heading back to work. Apparently I haven't shopped at Wal-Mart in awhile because things have been moved around.

In an effort to appear maybe more consumer-friendly, Wal-Mart stores have been going through a remodel phase where all their stores have a consistent layout so people can walk into any Wal-Mart across the country and find what they need. Perhaps a good idea, but until the entire embodiment of consumers learn where everything has been relocated, we're in for a bit of frustration.

So here's what I experienced during my first trip to the newly remodeled Wal-Mart:

Problem #1: Photo Kiosk

The first department I needed to visit was the Photography Center. So when we walked in, we headed straight for the electronic section where TVs used to be located...except now that part of the store is filled with home decor products. After wandering around for a bit, we found the Photography Center had taken over the old layaway section. Maybe a good use of space, but there are some issues with their photography printing area. For example, they have a kiosk in the middle of the electronics section where amateur photographers, such as myself, can make prints in minutes. A receipt is printed out after ordering and when I'm ready to retrieve my completed pictures, I can just scan the receipt, and a door opens revealing my prints. The part that I'm not so sure is going to work is that Wal-Mart then expects consumers to have an ethical approach to the payment of goods and take their now completed pictures they have in their hands to the old layaway room in the very back of the building to pay for them separately from their other products or be given an envelope with the price on it.

Problem #2: Unempowered Employees

I took my few pictures to the old layway room and no one was there. I stood around for about 2 minutes wondering when someone would see that I was waiting to pay for something. Several employees walked in and out of the area (since there was an "Employees Only" door in this part of the building). No one said anything. They would look at me and keep walking. After waiting and not being assisted, I went to the lady who was at a register in the electronics section. This employee wasn't aware of how to charge consumers for pictures so she had to call for back-up. Besides trying to help me, she was also having to deal with an irate customer who couldn't believe Wal-Mart's new layout included no processing of film-only digital photos, two customers who wanted to check out at that register, and employees asking her questions she didn't know the answer to. Someone from the Photography Center finally came and escorted me back to the layaway section again...to get an envelope with the price listed. The first time it was done, the price showed I was only paying for one picture. It's a good thing I'm a trustworthy customer and pointed out the error.

Problem #3: Layout

Now after having spent a good 30 minutes in the store trying to figure out how their new Photography Center operates, we had to go find puppy food. In the past, pet supplies were always near the Garden Center. So off to the Garden Center we go. No pet supplies. Just cosmetics and toys. We walked around and finally asked the employee working in the outdoor activity section of the store where dog food could be found (and this section used to be the paint section). Turns out that it's near the dairy section of Wal-Mart. Maybe it's easy for customers to remember to pick up food for Fido when they are gathering milk and eggs, but it's definitely on the most opposite end from where it used to be. I wonder how many people have had to make the lovely trek all the way to the other part of the store.

Problem #4: Inconvenient Lines

Everyone knows Wal-Mart is always busy, so maybe I shouldn't have hoped that the lines would be small since it was after 2pm. Unfortunately, not only were over half of the registers closed, but lines of 5 or 6 people deep with carts overflowing with stuff were standing in these lines. I'm pretty sure any ice cream was completely melted by the time consumers finished payment. My solution to these terrible lines...the Garden Center checkout.

Problem #5: Poor Communication to the Customer

No employees were present at the register in the Garden Center so my husband had to go find someone. As we're checking out, I noticed a sign..."We hope you enjoy our new store layout. Here's a map to better serve you," and sure enough, a map of the new layout was underneath. This actually made me laugh. Really? How is that supposed to help me now? I've already wandered all over the store trying to locate where everything has be located and now I'm being offered a map? Perhaps a better location of this map would be upon entering the store...or at each center in the store...maybe employees could have some on hand if someone asks where a section has now been moved. I walked out of Wal-Mart wondering if this "new and better" layout was really worth all this trouble.

Two days later I had to go grocery shopping. I try to do all of that at the Neighborhood Markets by Wal-Mart so I don't have to be overwhelmed by bigger stores. Unfortunately the new layout design has also been implemented into these smaller stores. As I passed an older couple on my way in, I heard the woman sigh to her husband, "Now we're not going to know where anything is anymore." I completely understand...I couldn't agree more.

These opinions do not necessarily reflect those of Oral Roberts University; they are specific to the author.

Tip of the Week

*Don't wait until the last minute to complete assignments.

I know it seems simple, but I am constantly surprised by the amount of people that wait about one hour before class to begin working on something that they had the entire week to work on. Especially when it deals with numbers. I found through my experience that the more homework you can complete right after class for the next week, the better. That way if you get stuck on something, you have the rest of the week to touch base with the professor, ponder it in the middle of your sleep, and even review with other students (depending on the class of course...sometimes conferring with other students is not allowed). Whatever the case though, it is always best to start right away versus waiting until the day it's due to begin.

Reasons to work on homework the day assignments are given out:

-Less stress (and we could all use some of that)

-More time to think about how to evaluate and solve the problem

-If you get stuck, you have time to consult a professor

-The information is fresh in your head

-No distractions by the trying to meet a deadline

-Time to review what you have done days in advance

-Work ahead on other assignments

-Not as much homework on the weekends (this alone should be motivation enough)

There are plenty of reasons to start your homework on the days assignments are given..hopefully this will be a good motivation to starting that process! Feel free to share any other thoughts or examples on starting assignments early.