This week, our discussion with Kim Purvis meant a lot to me. She talked about leaders and the different leadership styles that it takes to successfully work with different personality types. I really agree with her statement that as a leader, you should never ask someone else to do something you are not willing to do yourself. This really made me think about the business people from our community that we see almost every day in CEO. For the most part, they come into our class looking and acting very polished and ready to speak about their successes. They often tell us about the number of people that their jobs allow them to lead, and how they once started in those same lower level positions. It is so important to remember that dedication and humility have to be paired in order to grow, whether that growth occurs on a personal or work related level. Moving on, Kim told us that it is necessary to think and find facts before you act or speak, and this was probably the idea that I personally related to the most. Because I believe in my values so passionately, my sense of right and wrong are very distinct. I guess I would say that my life does not really include a lot of grey areas, and I have found that that can be a weakness for me sometimes. It is really easy for me to call people out on the wrong decisions they have made, and even when I know I am right, I still need to be able to support my opinions. Finally, Kim touched on the definition of integrity. This is a word that is often used by adults, but I do not feel that many people actually know what it means. Kim defined integrity as having actions that match the values that you say you possess. Immediately, I thought of working with the young girls that I teach at dance. If there is one thing that I have learned about kids, it is that they are never afraid to call you out for anything. Because kids are so perceptive, I have been forced to become so, so accountable for all of my actions. Anything and everything I say and do seems to become permanently ingrained in their minds, and that is part of the reason I love kids so much. My favorite thing in the world is to be a person with enough integrity that parents want me to be a role model for their children

11/19/2017

I think anyone that has ever met me could probably guess that I know absolutely nothing about cars or tires, nor have I ever previously cared to. This coupled with the fact that I am also terrible at driving to unfamiliar locations, didn’t exactly leave me excited for our visit to Moore Tires on Wednesday morning. Don’t get me wrong, I am always happy to learn about new things and I am keeping a completely open mind about all of these businesses, but I just wasn’t having the greatest of mornings. As soon as I heard Jeff Moore’s presentation, my opinion really changed. Actually, it started to change almost the minute I stepped into the door of his Rock Falls location. I had never expected a business of this sort to be so inviting and customer-friendly. Even though I have always wanted to attend college, I am a firm believer that college is not a good fit for everyone, so I was really impressed with Jeff’s honesty about the way he got his start. Unlike many successful people nowadays, he was happy to share that he grew his company without much initial money and no degree. Instead, he talked about work ethic and the necessity of building relationships. Perhaps the most impressive piece of our visit was the way he asked us to critique his business and took every single thing we said into consideration. I have the utmost respect for people that can stay as humble as he is. Throughout the rest of my week, I started to look more closely at the details of all of the business I drive past on my way to and from school and dance. I couldn’t stop thinking that if all of those business owners were willing to accept feedback and criticism the way that Jeff was, they would be opening their companies up to so much more potential for growth. Business shouldn’t be about pride, but rather the continuous goal to improve.

09/10/2017