How to Perform Under Pressure and Meet Work Goals - Andrew Epstein

In Chapter 13 of 23 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, charter school CFO Andrew Epstein answers "What Does It Mean to Perform Under Pressure in the Work That You Do?"  Epstein finds performing under pressure means working toward and meeting longer-term deadlines while also managing day-to-day operations with his team.  He finds it is important to ask for help when it is needed. 

Andrew Epstein is CFO of the Ascend Learning Charter School Network.  Previously, Epstein was a finance executive at Democracy Prep Public Schools and an operations executive at Universal Music Group's Island Def Jam Records.  He is a former Teach for America corps member and middle-school science teacher.  He holds a BA from the University of Michigan and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Andrew Epstein on How Family Relationships Change With Age

In Chapter 20 of 23 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, charter school CFO Andrew Epstein answers "How are Your Family Relationships Changing as You Get Older?"  Epstein finds his family relationships are becoming more intimate and deep.  The social interactions are more meaningful and the relationships are more supportive.  As an uncle to a nephew and two nieces, Epstein also shares how being around children are an increasingly important part of the time he spends with family. 

Andrew Epstein is CFO of the Ascend Learning Charter School Network.  Previously, Epstein was a finance executive at Democracy Prep Public Schools and an operations executive at Universal Music Group's Island Def Jam Records.  He is a former Teach for America corps member and middle-school science teacher.  He holds a BA from the University of Michigan and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Lulu Chen on Learning Art Director Skills for Fashion Photo Shoots

In Chapter 12 of 16 in her 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, art director Lulu Chen answers "What Has Taking Direction as a Stylist Taught You About Giving Direction as an Art Director?"  Working on-set as a fashion stylist, Chen gets to work with a variety of talented art directors and creative directors.  She learns how approach and prepare for jobs as well as how to motivate teams and stay organized in deadline-driven environments. 

Lulu Chen is a photo art director working in retail e-commerce in New York City.  Previously, Chen worked as a freelance stylist for leading fashion catalogs and magazines.  She earned a BFA in design and art history from the University of Michigan.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: What has taking direction as a stylist taught you about giving direction as an art director?

Lulu Chen: Well, I was lucky enough to work with a lot of different art directors. And if I had been an art director coming up the ranks, just as an art director, I think I would’ve been limited to how many different approaches and different people that I could’ve worked with, so I was very lucky and I worked with a lot of really talented art directors and creative directors. And what I learned from them is some really great ways on prepping jobs, how their approach was, how they communicate, and then not to sound negative but also what not to do. So, you know, all the things to do and strive for, and then some of the things that maybe, you know, I should try not to do.

So my take away from that is that organization is really helpful. And sometimes it’s hard because you’re wearing the creative hat, but you really have to get things done in a timely manner, you know, there’s always deadlines. And there’s a lot of money at stake, you know, photo shoots are expensive, you have to get certain things done in a day or two days, and it’s a lot of pressure, to see how other people handle that, to see how people communicate well—actually, how they also motivated and inspired their teams, was really nice to see. So I did learn a lot as a stylist. I was able to observe.

Erik Michielsen: And so now you’re on the other side of the fence.

Lulu Chen: Oh, definitely. I definitely try and keep all those things in mind, you know, all the things that worked for me, or that I really appreciated, and I try and do that as well. But it’s funny because a lot of people tell me that I’m so nice, and—which you’d think is a compliment but sometimes I am like, “Did they not think it’s genuine?” Because I like someone speaking to me in a certain way so I’m going to try and speak to everyone else in that tone, you know. But that doesn’t mean that I’m not gonna be able to get my job done, you know. But I think it’s always nicer to talk to people in a nice way, right? Yeah, it’s like I don’t have—I don’t wanna go there unless I really have to.

Hattie Elliot on Finding Healthier Ways to Manage a Busy Schedule

In Chapter 17 of 19 in her 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, female entrepreneur Hattie Grace Elliot answers "How Are You Learning to Better Manage Your Time and Your Commitments?"  Elliot emphasizes making her appointments on time and, as her schedule gets busier, she learns the importance of not overcommitting to a point where she gets run down and sick.  As a small business owner, Elliot realizes she needs to stay healthy to do her work well.  Hattie Grace Elliot is the founder and CEO of The Grace List, a social networking company that creates destination events and experiences to forge lasting personal and professional connections across its young professional members. Elliot graduated from the University of Cape Town in South Africa, where she studied economics, philosophy, and politics.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: How are you learning to better manage your time and commitments?

Hattie Elliot: You know, being true to your word is very important, so if I say that I’m gonna be, you know, meet a client or a friend or my mom for coffee at 10:00, if I’m not there, you better believe like I’m in the E.R. on a stretcher. Like—or, you know, swimming with the fishes, like it just doesn’t happen. However, I think my issue is, I can sometimes be overly hard and overly commit myself, so in terms of time allocation, I don’t always allocate enough time just to kind of downtime, to relax, to myself, because I take all these other commitments so seriously, you know, kind of really passionate about all the things that I’m involved in and I’m involved in a lot, so as I’ve, you know, I would say the last couple of years, I’ve come to the conclusion that, no, I’m not superwoman, I’m only—I can do a lot, but I’m like, only one person, and especially, you know, being responsible for my own business, paying my own rent, having responsibilities to my family, friends, clients, just keeping the people who work for me that if I let myself get run down, sick, I overwork myself, then I’ve got nothing.

Mark Graham on What Gets Easier and What Gets Harder

In Chapter 5 of 17 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, digital media executive Mark Graham answers "What is Getting Easier and What is Getting Harder in Your Life?"  Graham notes that since his last Capture Your Flag interview, he was promoted from senior editor to managing editor.  With the promotion, Graham faces new responsibilities that are pushing him to break out of old habits.  Now three years into working at VH1, Graham finds he has a handle on how to work efficiently inside a large organization.  Mark Graham is currently a managing editor at VH1, an MTV Networks company. Previously Graham worked in editing and writing roles at New York Magazine and Gawker Media.  He graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.A. in English.  

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: What is getting easier and what is getting harder in your life?

Mark Graham: I’ll start with the harder part. I’ll take part B first. I’ve—since my last interview here, Capture Your Flag, this is Year 3. In the last year, I got a promotion. I went from being a senior editor at VH1 to a managing editor at VH1. So one of the challenges and things that’s getting harder in my life is now that I have more people reporting up through me, staying on top of things and being organized is something that’s -- really I’m trying to learn a lot about. I’ve always been sort of a last-minute Louie kind of a fellow, you know, I really appreciate the pressure of deadlines and things like that, and so consequently I tend to do lots of things sort of at the last minute when it’s the 11th hour and the heat is on, like Glenn Frey used to say. 

So I’m learning to try to get more organized in my life and my approach, and so consequently dealing with personal responsibilities and professional responsibilities, and managing a team of people, that’s something that I’m—it’s a new challenge in my life and something I’m looking to get better at. 

What’s getting easier is I’m at little, about 3 years into my job at VH1 right now, so I’ve got a better grasp on how our organization operates, how people interface within the organization, how different departments work together, how to get the most out of different groups and to be able to communicate efficiently, and by having some time and some experience in the organization, I feel like I’ve got a better sense of things and there’s not as much learning process involved, it’s more about honing and refining rather than learning all of the steps. 

Mark Graham: How to Pitch and Execute a Music Marketing Campaign

In Chapter 16 of 17 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, digital media executive Mark Graham answers "How Have You Learned to Adapt When Things Have Not Worked Out as Planned?"  Graham notes the importance of timing, especially in the context of working across resources in a corporate media company.  By understanding timing, he learns not to get frustrated and to use perseverance to bring resources together to get a project off the ground.  He shares the story of a concept he came up with at VH1, "Song of the Summer", made initially as a trial, with Katy Perry accepting the award for her song "Last Friday Night", and the how we was able to transition the program into a six-figure plus marketing campaign concept adopted formally into VH1 programming. 

Mark Graham is currently a managing editor at VH1, an MTV Networks company. Previously Graham worked in editing and writing roles at New York Magazine and Gawker Media.  He graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.A. in English.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielse: How have you learned to adapt when things have not worked out as planned?

Mark Graham: Things always work out as planned. No. Things don’t always work out as you plan them to. I think that more than anything else, at least for me, is learning not to get frustrated when things don’t necessarily work out. Sometimes you have great ideas and it’s just not the right time. The thing that I’m sort of learning the most about corporate life right now in this particular organization is the importance of timing. Really sort of having a keen understanding of different groups, where they’re at in certain processes, like for us to get big projects green-lit, which means that we can get budget and resources allocated to be able to tackle things, both from a staffing perspective, from a technology IT perspective, all the different pieces that you need to sort of coalesce to get a project off the ground. Timing is really, really important. 

And so making sure that, you know, I sort of keep a close eye on different people in our organization and keep in close contact with them to understand where they’re at in their timeframes, like for example, last summer I had an idea for a program called Song of the Summer, which would sort of track in a way that other places hadn’t done before, which song is the most popular song of that particular summertime, every summer has its song of the year, at barbecues, at parties, blasting out of car windows, and there are different places that track these things, there are your Billboards of the world, there are YouTubes of the world, there are Spotifys where people stream music, there are iTunes where people buy music. No one had really thought to put all of those pieces together into one sort of composite place. You know, different audiences consume music in different places and so there hadn’t really been a consensus of something like that and admittedly it’s sort of frivolous, but I think something that also people find interesting. 

So last year I put this idea together, we weren’t able to sell it but I did it anyway, I ran it through our entire summer, we ultimately ended up crowning Katy Perry’s Last Friday Night as the best song of last summer. We were able to get her to accept a trophy, do all this cool stuff, which was great, which ultimately became sort of our marketing materials, if you will, to be able to present this to an advertiser this year. And we were able to attach it to an advertiser this year, sell it for a nice 6-figure sales number and it became something that you know funded a lot of profit into our department. So, you know, last year, it didn’t—that particular project didn’t go my way but I sort of persevered, pushed through it, made sure during our couple of sales periods that, you know, our sales team knew that this idea existed, that we had proven success with it in the past and really sort of helping to frame it in a way for a certain couple of advertisers that we were really pushing it to in ways that made sense for them and their brand and really being able to come together. So things don’t always go your way but when you have an idea that you think is good, and that you can ultimately I think would resonate with people, understanding when to re-push things through, just because someone says no once doesn’t mean that that means no forever. So that’s sort of a way that I deal with things that—one example of something that didn’t go my way before, but ultimately ended up going the way and benefited our whole organization.

Anatole Faykin: How to Turn Your Bad Habits Into Strengths

In Chapter 10 of 12 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, entrepreneur Anatole Faykin answers "How Are You Learning to Better Manage Your Time and Commitments?"  Faykin notes he is not improving how he manages his time and commitments.  He finds it more important to having the freedom to get things done and using creativity and flexibility to meet deadlines and project goals.  He notes "bad habits die hard" and that changing your style is not always better than learning to work within your style. 

Anatole Faykin is an entrepreneur currently working on a new startup as part of the Startup Chile incubator program in Santiago, Chile.  Previously, Faykin founded Tuanpin, a Shanghai, China-based daily deals site he grew to 25 employees and sold in the fall of 2011. He has worked for British Telecom in London, Intel in Shanghai, American Express in New York, and Oracle in San Francisco as well as several startups. He holds an MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business and a BS in computer science and biology from the California Institute of Technology.

Matt Ruby on How Personal Priorities Change With Age

In Chapter 8 of 19 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, standup comedian Matt Ruby answers "How Are Your Personal Priorities Changing as You Get Older?"  Ruby notes how personal connections are becoming more important to him as he gets older.  Also, he notes how before he wanted to experience a lot of little things and now he prefers to do big things while getting things done with his work.  He talks about how mortality is a motivator and Matt Ruby is a standup comedian and comedy writer based in New York City.  He produces a video comic strip at Vooza.com, co-produces the weekly show "Hot Soup", co-hosts the monthly show "We're All Friends Here", and writes a comedy blog "Sandpaper Suit".  Ruby graduated from Northwestern University. 

Matt Ruby on How to Use Deadlines to Achieve Writing Goals

In Chapter 10 of 19 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, standup comedian Matt Ruby answers "How Are You Learning to Better Manage Your Time and Commitments?"  Ruby acknowledges he spends too much time responding to other people - for example using social media - that doing his own thing.  To be more productive, Ruby uses deadlines to achieve his writing and comedy performance goals. 

Matt Ruby is a standup comedian and comedy writer based in New York City.  He co-produces the weekly show "Hot Soup", co-hosts the monthly show "We're All Friends Here", and manages a comedy blog "Sandpaper Suit".  Ruby graduated from Northwestern University. 

Matt Ruby: How to Film a Web Comedy Series on a Budget

In Chapter 18 of 19 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, standup comedian Matt Ruby answers "What Has Filming a Web Comedy Series Taught You About Doing More With Less?"   Ruby talks about the importance of communicating a vision to onboard a talented team to work within budget constraints.  He notes the more you have to prove a concept, for example showing them a script, the better chance you can onboard them.  Ruby notes the importance of setting managable and realistic timeframes given the sacrifices team and crew may be making.  Lastly, Ruby notes the benefit of having budget constraints and working cheaply.  Matt Ruby is a standup comedian and comedy writer based in New York City.  He co-produces the weekly show "Hot Soup", co-hosts the monthly show "We're All Friends Here", and manages a comedy blog "Sandpaper Suit".  Ruby graduated from Northwestern University. 

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: What has filming a web comedy series taught you about doing more with less?

Matt Ruby: The biggest thing is trying to work with other people and trying to, you know, like, especially if you’re getting people to work for cheap, or free, or you know, like less than they would normally get for doing something, I think you have to kind of give them a vision for why they should wanna do—like, they should be excited for the project, you know, should be making something cool, funny, fresh, something that they wanna be part of, something that if they’re not getting paid anything or a lot right now, maybe down the road could turn into something. 

Thinking about what are their desires or goals and like how can you meet them or how can you guys meet halfway, I think it helps too, to take stuff as far as you can on your own before you bring other people in like if you’ve got scripts to show people, that’s way better than if you just have an idea for a script, and if you’ve actually shot something already, and you have that to show, that’s gonna be even better than a script, so like the more you can kind of prove the concept to people the more I think likely you are be able to get them onboard for, maybe, you know, not what their normal rate is, sort of thing. 

I think also you know you need to realize that there’s a limited window on that, you can’t just keep, you know, milking people, you know people just don’t have the time or the energy, the resources necessarily to donate, you know, all the time, so, you know, like hopefully, you know, you can have something that evolves into something bigger that does have a budget that’s more substantial. 

Also I just think people spend way too much on everything all the time. Like I’m mean, I’m a cheap bastard, so like I just sort of apply, you know, if I’m working on something, a project I conduct it the same way I do my normal life which is like I don’t spend money if I don’t have to, so like if I can use cheap props or film somewhere cheap, or you know, just I think people—when people are spending other people’s money, they spend it in a way different way than when they’re spending their own, so I think it’s just, you know, try to, you know, try to be a cheap bastard, even when you’re working on stuff—I don’t know, I just think—I think having those constraints even when you start out, like knowing, okay, we need to do this all in one location, or with these 3 actors or it needs to be 60 seconds or less, or whatever your limitations are, and be like, okay, well, that’s what it’s gotta be, so now fit into that, you know, box or perimeters, and make it work. 

And you know I think that can—that can actually—you know if you embrace that, it can actually kind of encourage creativity or take you to an interesting place as opposed to being like well, no, I need, you know, 5 locations, and dozens of extras and you know a budget of you know all this money and all that stuff. Whereas like, is that really making it funnier or better? You know I think that’s probably the bigger question is like, okay, well, if this is a little rough around the edges or you know, kind of cutting some corners here or there, is that the thing that’s really gonna make it not as good or is it just gonna make it not as polished? And I don’t always care about polish, like some rough edges are alright for me. Sometimes that’s what makes it interesting.

How to Stop Being Busy and Better Manage Time Commitments

In Chapter 12 of 15 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, business and personal coach Garren Katz answers "How Are You Learning to Better Manage Your Time and Commitments?"  Katz shares how he has worked to change his behavior over time.  He finds himself in an "always busy" mode focused on minutiae and avoiding what was important.  He learns to clear out the busy work and focus on priorities that provide the greatest benefit for his energy. 

Garren Katz is a business and personal coach based in State College, PA and advises his national client base on small business management, entrepreneurship, relationships, and personal finances.  He is also an active angel investor in several business ventures.  He earned his BA from Western Michigan University. 

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: How are you learning to better manage your time and commitments? 

Garren Katz: That’s making the assumption that I am learning to manage my time and commitments better. I would say I used to make myself extremely busy, which I never realized what I was, in essence, doing, was doing a fantastic job of avoiding, avoiding what truly is important, or what I deem is important, the priority that I’ve made it. When you clear out the busy-ness and it’s amazing when you actually look at how you spend your time or when I would look—speaking specifically for myself, how I would spend my time, a great deal of my time was spent working on things that really weren’t significant, just busy work, you know, the difference between, you know, being in action and being active. I’m more focused now on what my priorities are and that’s made making time commitments actually much easier because I’m taking on less. 

Erik Michielsen: And what were those priorities before and what are those priorities now?

Garren Katz: The priorities before were, you know, the squeaky hinge, whatever happened to be in front of me, that’s what I would take on, or whatever popped into my head. Now, taking a moment and pausing, and really thinking: what is the benefit of this action? Is this necessary? Could my time be better spent dedicated to something else? Whether it’s a 5-minute project or a week-long activity, where would I benefit the most—where would my partner and I benefit the most? Where should my energy go? That’s how—that’s the decision making process I go through now— not always, of course, but that’s what I go through now whereas before it was whatever the flavor of the week was, whatever the flavor of the moment was, chasing as opposed to really having a focus.

Stacie Bloom on What Gets Easier and What Gets Harder

In Chapter 4 of 18 in her 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, Neuroscience Institute Executive Director Stacie Grossman Bloom answers "What is Getting Easier and What is Getting Harder in Your Life?"  Bloom notes it is more about how things are changing rather than what is getting easier or harder.  She notes her three children are getting older, which presents new approaches to raising them.  As the children get older, raising them does not get easier; rather it is more about their needs changing.  She notes her job change and the additional responsibility and accountability that come with her work. 

Stacie Grossman Bloom is Executive Director for the Neuroscience Institute at the NYU Langone Medical Center.  Previously, she was VP and Scientific Director at the New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS) and, before that, held editorial roles at the Journal of Clinical Investigation and Nature Medicine.  She earned her BA in chemistry and psychology from the University of Delaware, her PhD in Neurobiology and Cell Biology at Georgetown University and did post-doctoral training in Paul Greengard's Nobel Laboratory of Molecular & Cellular Neuroscience at Rockefeller University.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen:  What is getting easier and what is getting harder in your life?

Stacie Grossman Bloom: I wouldn’t say that things are necessarily getting harder and easier so much as they’re changing. I think my children are getting older, that’s a little easier in some ways but harder in other ways. I’ve changed jobs. I would say that this new job that I have comes with a higher level of responsibility. I would say that there’s just more accountability in this position that I have currently. And that I feel that burden or that weight on me more than I did in my previous work. 

Erik Michielsen:  And how about the children, like when you talk about getting them older and making it easier but also harder, what do you mean?

Stacie Grossman Bloom:  You know, when they’re babies, they have specific needs, and it’s hard to raise children. It’s hard to take care of babies. You know, it’s hard to know why they’re crying, or changing diapers all the time, and you think it will get easier as they get older because they’ll become more self-sufficient but the truth is they have other needs, they need you for other things. They’re more interested in pursuing different activities. It becomes this situation where, you know, one wants to take a swim class, one wants to take a soccer class, one wants to take a music class and suddenly you become one of those parents who are really running all over the place on the weekends, doing all of these things that you could never have imagined when they were 6 months old.

Stacie Bloom on How Problem Solving Skills Improve Your Life

In Chapter 14 of 18 in her 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, Neuroscience Institute Executive Director Stacie Grossman Bloom answers "How Are You Applying Your Problem Solving Skills in Your New Role?"  Bloom notes how problem solving is the skill she uses from her PhD studies more than any other.  She uses the skills to manager her life, clearly delineating the problem and putting a plan in action to solve it, across her work and raising her three kids at home. 

Stacie Grossman Bloom is Executive Director for the Neuroscience Institute at the NYU Langone Medical Center.  Previously, she was VP and Scientific Director at the New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS) and, before that, held editorial roles at the Journal of Clinical Investigation and Nature Medicine.  She earned her BA in chemistry and psychology from the University of Delaware, her PhD in Neurobiology and Cell Biology at Georgetown University and did post-doctoral training in Paul Greengard's Nobel Laboratory of Molecular & Cellular Neuroscience at Rockefeller University. 

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen:  How are you applying your problem solving skills in your new role?

Stacie Grossman Bloom:  I am a problem solver. I mean I feel like people who are trained as scientists are problem solvers. That’s what your training gives you, besides from your scientific knowledge, the ability to navigate a problem and figure out how to solve it independently. I think that that’s the one skill from having a PhD that I use more than anything else, and I use it at work, I use it at home, I use it with my children, I use it as a working mother. I definitely think that I apply problem-solving skills to—maybe a little bit too much I think. My husband would complain about it a little bit. But I do think that I can very clearly delineate the problem and put a plan in action to solve it. 

Erik Michielsen:  How are you applying your problem solving skills in new ways?

Stacie Grossman Bloom:  I would say that my life is more complicated and busier than it probably ever has been before. My job is pretty intense. I have 3 kids at home. There’s a lot to manage. And I would say that I use my problem solving skills to manage my life. I’m a really organized person. I sort of start each day with a plan of attack, a plan of action. And having good problem solving skills and the ability to stay organized just help me do all of these things that I sort of need to get done.

When to Hire An Assistant and Get Your Life Back - Richard Moross

In Chapter 13 of 17 in his 2012 interview, London entrepreneur and Moo.com CEO Richard Moross answers "How Are You Learning to Better Manage Your Time and Commitments?"  Overwhelmed with work, Moross learns first to recognize and admit he has a problem and then, second, to do something about it.  He takes steps to hire an assistant and delegate responsibility, even things he feels he does better than anyone else such as managing his travel.  Moross is founder and CEO of Moo.com and a leader in the London startup scene.  Before starting Moo.com, an award-winning online print business, Moross was a strategist at Imagination, the world's largest independent design company.  He graduated from the University of Sussex, where he majored in philosophy and politics.

What Makes a Strong Project Manager - Hammans Stallings

In Chapter 17 of 22 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, innovation strategist Hammans Stallings answers "What Makes a Good Project Manager?"  Stallings looks for the ability to create space between the client or organizational setting and the project team.  This separation helps the team work through the problems.  Secondly, Stallings notes the importance of applying tension using time and deadlines to make sure the team stays on track and engaged throughout the project.  This is Hammans Stallings' Year 2 CYF interview.  Stallings is currently a Senior Strategist at frog design.  Previously he worked in business strategy at Dell and investment banking at Stephens.  He earned an MBA from the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management, a MS in Technology Commercialization from the University of Texas McCombs School of Business and a BA in Economics and Psychology from the University of Virginia. 

How to Better Manage Time and Commitments - Matt Curtis

In Chapter 11 of 18 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, public affairs and communications strategist Matt Curtis answers "How Are You Learning to Better Manage Your Time and Commitments?"  Curtis shares why using a notebook has been so helpful writing out his "To Do" items and how he works through these each day.  He shares why he favors using his notebook and not his cell phone or computer.  Matt Curtis is the director of government relations at HomeAway Inc. Previously he was communications director for Austin mayors Lee Leffingwell and Will Wynn.  In 2011, Curtis won "Austinite of the Year" in the Austin Under 40 Awards.  He earned his bachelor's degree in radio, television and film from the University of North Texas.

Finding Personal Best by Being Present in the Moment - Ken Biberaj

In Chapter 8 of 21 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, New York City Council candidate and public relations executive Ken Biberaj answers "When Are You At Your Best?"  Biberaj notes that inside his full schedule, from morning runs to afternoon business meetings to weekend campaign meetings, he tries to be present in the moment.  Additionally, he finds doing multiple things helps him set priorities and focus on the task or meeting at hand.  Ken Biberaj is currently a 2013 Candidate for New York City Council for the West Side of Manhattan.  He is also a public relations executive for the Russian Tea Room restaurant at One Fifty Fifty Seven Corporation, a family business focused on real estate development, investment sales and retail leasing.  Previously he was Florida Research Director for the Kerry-Edwards for President Campaign. He holds a JD from New York Law School, a Masters in Public Policy (MPP) from Harvard University Kennedy School of Government, and a BA in Political Science from American University. 

How to Manage a Busy Schedule and Get Things Done - Ken Biberaj

In Chapter 10 of 21 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, New York City Council candidate and public relations executive Ken Biberaj answers "What Do You Find Are the Keys to Managing a Busy Schedule and Getting Things Done?"  Biberaj shares the approach he uses to map, prioritize, and manage obligations across his personal and professional endeavors.  Ken Biberaj is currently a 2013 Candidate for New York City Council for the West Side of Manhattan.  He is also a public relations executive for the Russian Tea Room restaurant at One Fifty Fifty Seven Corporation, a family business focused on real estate development, investment sales and retail leasing.  Previously he was Florida Research Director for the Kerry-Edwards for President Campaign. He holds a JD from New York Law School, a Masters in Public Policy (MPP) from Harvard University Kennedy School of Government, and a BA in Political Science from American University.