How to Help Teachers Better Understand Students - Diana Wilmot

In Chapter 7 of 9, educator Diana Wilmot attends University of California Berkeley for a masters and doctorate degree in educational measurement and evaluation program. As a psychometrician, she applies her cognititve science education to assessment, improving how teachers teach. Her passion is not only to create sharper students, it is also to help teachers better understand students. Wilmot's college education, studying mathematical methods and social sciences at Northwestern University, provides early immersion into interdisciplinary work linking math to policy. Her Ph. D Berkeley work incorporates education policy programming and assessment into this focus, opening doors to understanding how algebra can be better taught to students.

How Mother's Passing Recommits Daughter to Live Fully - Louise Davis

In Chapter 10 of 20 in her 2009 Capture Your Flag interview, Louise Davis shares how her mother's passing in 2005 recommitted her to make the most of every day. Davis, now co-founder and executive director of Peer Health Exchange, does so by embracing friends, family, and life passions to make a positive impact in her lifetime.

How Non-Profit Can Improve High School Health Education - Louise Davis

In Chapter 20 of 20, Peer Health Exchange Executive Director Louise Davis discusses what her organization can do to help create a national, standardized high school health education system for teenagers.

Tricia Regan on Finding Wealth and Fulfillment

In Chapter 2 of 17 in her 2009 Capture Your Flag interview, filmmaker Tricia Regan talks about changing lives through film, one personal connection at a time, creates a feeling of wealth and fulfillment that far outweighs any feeling of sacrifice. An immersion into documentary filmmaking is an immersion into pushing boundaries and making choices. For "Autism: The Musical" director Tricia Regan, this does not mean sacrifice when meaningful results remain possibilities.

How Bruce Springsteen Influenced Filmmaker's Style - Tricia Regan

In Chapter 13 of 17 in her 2009 Capture Your Flag interview, filmmaker Tricia Regan shares how she finds beauty in Bruce Springsteen's approach to embracing a consistent style across a body of work inspires her own efforts. Knowing what you do and doing it well serves as a constant reminder Regan uses to stay focused on telling a good story that moves and inspires others.

Joe Stump on How Solving Tech Problems Helps Make the World Smaller

In Chapter 13 of 16 of his 2009 Capture Your Flag interview, entrepreneur and programmer Joe Stump defines his technologist role as solving problems to make the world smaller through making technology as accessible to people as possible. Stump aims to lower Internet user technology barriers to entry. He provides examples from eNotes, specifically getting people accessible, easy-to-use study materials to elevate classroom performance, to Digg, getting people information they want so they may share and discuss with others.

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen:  How do you take your passion for building virtual skyscrapers as a programmer and map that to a deeper life purpose?

Joe Stump:  I feel very strongly that technology has changed humanity for the better.  The world is becoming smaller, and that is a great thing, and technology is making that happen at a pace that we would have never been able to achieve without it.  My purpose as a technologist and as a programmer is to facilitate that as much as I can and to make technologies as accessible as I can.  As an engineer, I look at the world and see problems that need to be solved…and I think that is core to being a guy – they say men are fixers. 

My passion is technology and the great thing about that is technology is something that, right now, and has traditionally a high barrier to entry, and I like lowering those barriers to entry.  At Digg, it was about getting people the information that they want and allowing them to share it and discuss it as easy as possible.  At e-notes it was about getting people the materials that they needed to get As in class and making it as accessible and easy to use as possible.

How to Break Cultural Stereotypes by Traveling World - Rachel Lehmann-Haupt

In Chapter 8 of 11, "In Her Own Sweet Time" author Rachel Lehmann-Haupt compares foreign travel to reading a great novel and discusses her own book's impact on changing cultural perceptions and breaking stereotypes.  Lehmann-Haupt's immersive foreign travel experiences visiting different cultures fuel creativity, reduce bias, and broaden cultural curiosity in her life.  

Simon Sinek on How to Set Life Goals to Leave a Personal Legacy to Society

In Chapter 9 of 16 of his 2009 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, "Start With Why" author and inspirational speaker Simon Sinek offers his take on age, measuring estimated time left as a platform to make a positive difference and maximize lifetime impact. Sinek argues why this is worth considering among so many life goal, legacy, and inspirational frameworks. Simon Sinek is a trained ethnographer who applies his curiosity around why people do what they do to teach leaders and companies how to inspire people. He is the author of "Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action". Sinek holds a BA degree in cultural anthropology from Brandeis University.

Transcript

Erik Michielsen: When you think about your longer term goals and how your age relates to those longer term goals, you have a very different perspective than most.

Simon Sinek: Right.  When we start counting our age, we count up.  It has this built in assumption that it is never going to end.  It just goes up, up, up.  There are statistical realities that you are going to die.  You are going to die at some statistically average age.  If I live stay in good shape and eat will I'll probably live to around 85.  I will be a productive member of society until I'm about 75 or 80.  So I don't report my age at 35, I report it as 45.  I have 45 years left to do something good in this world.  I have 45 years left to achieve what I need to get done in this world.  So I very much count down.  It might sound depressing but it is reality.  The inspiration is that it gives me a kick in the ass.  

Simon Sinek on How Verbs are Useful When Setting Measurable Goals

In Chapter 10 of 16 of his 2009 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, "Start With Why" author Simon Sinek shares why he uses verbs, not nouns, to create stronger, more measurable life goals and personal values. Sinek builds on this by sharing his own "take an unconventional perspective", "keep it simple", "share", "silver line it", and "make long term progress". Simon Sinek is a trained ethnographer who applies his curiosity around why people do what they do to teach leaders and companies how to inspire people. He is the author of "Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action". Sinek holds a BA degree in cultural anthropology from Brandeis University.

Transcript

Erik Michielsen: In describing your values you prefer to use verbs over nouns.  Why is this the case and what verbs do you use to describe yourself?

Simon Sinek: Values have to be verbs.  It is not that I like them to be verbs.  The reason is that values are things you do.  Values are things you live by.  You cannot "do" nouns.  You can only "do" verbs.  If you look at organizations you see that they have their corporate values on the wall and it says, "innovation, respect, honesty."  

Erik Michielsen:  Nice posters. 

Simon Sinek:  Beautiful posters.  If you have to write honesty on the wall you have bigger problems.  You can't do innovation.  You can't walk into someone's office and say "from now on please, a little more innovation."   You can say look at the world from a different perspective instead of innovation.  Instead of honesty you can say "do the right thing."  You can hold people accountable to that, you can build measurements around that.  When someone says "where you honest?" and you reply "well, yeah, but it was more profitable", you can sneak around it, whereas when someone says "did you do the right thing?" it is a higher standard.  You have to have verbs if you want to do them.  My values are "take an unconventional perspective", "keep it simple", "share".  I believe in sharing everything, sharing ideas, sharing experiences, "silver line it".  What I mean by that is I find the silver lining in every cloud.  The goal is not to fix the things that are broken.  The goal is to amplify the things that work.  And ultimately one of the long-term goals is "make long term progress."  Because it is a stated value and stated way of operating, and it is a verb, I focus on measuring the long term value I can create in the world and not just the short term gains. 

What Makes Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Relationships Last - Phil McKenzie

In Chapter 9 of 13, Howard University graduate Phil McKenzie recounts building Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity relationships and how the bonds remain relevant 16-years after graduation.  Phil McKenzie graduated from Howard University and earned an MBA from the Duke University Fuqua School of Business.  Before starting FREE DMC and the Influencer Conference, McKenzie worked for eight years in sales and trading at Goldman Sachs.

How Consistent Wine Style Offsets Vintage Variability - Patty Green

In Chapter 6 of 7, Oregon winemaker Patricia Green shares how she keeps her consistent style amidst  vintage variance. This seamless approach not only provides her wines a marketing and branding platform, but also in creates a unified team and partner culture that works together as a family.

How Richard Sommer Started Oregon Wine Industry in 1961 - Patty Green

In Chapter 4 of 7, Willamette Valley winemaker Patty Green discusses her mentor, Richard Sommer, an Oregon winemaking visionary, pioneer, and Hillcrest Vineyard founder.  Sommer provided then-novice winemaker Green non-traditional mentoring and support during her late-80s Hillcrest tenure. Sommer, who passed away the afternoon of this interview, filmed July 28th, 2009, influenced many by helping others, embracing nature, and building Oregon's wine vinifera - Old World wine grape focus - from nothing starting with a 1961 Umpqua Valley planting.

How Winemaker Builds Loyal Employee and Farmer Bonds - Patty Green

In Chapter 3 of 7, Oregon winemaker Patty Green finds full overlap between her professional and personal pursuits.  As a result, employee accountability and fit become even more important. She highlights the importance of relationships and how this played into all Torii Mor employees following her to Patricia Green Cellars along with her farming partners.