4 Ways to Manage a Busy Schedule and Do Great Work

In Chapter 4 of 19 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, innovation strategist Hammans Stallings answers "What Do You Find are the Keys to Managing a Busy Schedule and Getting Things Done?" For Stallings it comes down to setting expectations with others, finding accountability partners, understanding his capacity and setting the right pace, and maintaining empathy with others.

Hammans Stallings is a Senior Strategist at frog design. Previously he worked in strategy at Dell and investment banking at Stephens. He earned an MBA from the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management and a BA in Economics and Psychology from the University of Virginia.

3 Ways to Handle Pressure and Excel in a Creative Director Job

In Chapter 9 of 20 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, creative director and Manifold ad agency co-founder Jason Anello answers "What Does It Mean to Perform Under Pressure in the Work That You Do?" Working in advertising creating experiential marketing events, Anello details the three areas where he needs to handle the pressure.  The first is in pitch meetings. He learns to understand he will never be in control and learns to let go. The second is in coming up with ideas. Here, he learns to set expectations that the ideation process is anything but consistent. The third is executing a marketing event and blending your plans with a need to adapt on the go.

Jason Anello is a founding partner and creative director at Manifold Partners, an award-winning creative advertising agency.  Previously, Anello worked in creative leadership roles at Yahoo!, Ogilvy & Mather, and Digitas.  A passionate foodie and traveler, he runs the Forking Tasty food blog and supper club series.  He earned a BFA from University at Albany.

Phil McKenzie on Why Patience is Key to Small Business Success

In Chapter 11 of 18 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, entrepreneur Phil McKenzie answers "What Problems Are You Trying to Solve to Grow Your Business?"  McKenzie finds impatience is the greatest challenge he faces.  The more he wants to do to grow his business, the more resources he needs.  McKenzie learns to set priorities that align with incremental goals and manage that time constraints that come with things like closing a deal and getting paid on that deal. 

Philip L. McKenzie is the Founder and Global Curator of Influencer Conference, a global content platform that brings together tastemakers in the arts, entrepreneurship, philanthropy and technology to discuss the current and future state of influencer culture. Prior to that, he was Managing Partner of influencer marketing agency FREE DMC and an equities trader at Goldman, Sachs & Co.  He earned an MBA from Duke University and a BBA from Howard University.

Lulu Chen on How Family Relationships Change With Age

In Chapter 2 of 16 in her 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, art director Lulu Chen answers "How Are Your Family Relationships Changing as You Get Older?  Chen learns to appreciate her parents as she gets older.  Now in her 30s, Chen is reminded of her mother's advice to take a moment before making big decisions. 

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: How are your family relationships changing as you get older?

Lulu Chen: I accept them more and I realize all of the little things that they’ve done as parents growing up, they might not have been the perfect parents or the best parents, but they definitely tried. And it took me to become an adult to realize that they did certain things right. Maybe not everything but they did a lot—They tried. You know? And the only thing you can do is be—try your best, you know?

Erik Michielsen: Do you go back and have those conversations with them about “Okay, so thinking back when I was a teenager, when you did this, and I was always fighting you about it, you actually were doing the right thing.”

Lulu Chen: Well, no, it’s more that my tolerance for them has grown and my appreciation for them has grown. And my struggle with my parents were actually more when I was older, you know, not—well, not in the teenager so much because they worked so much, they weren’t even really around. We didn’t really fight. But growing up, just remembering the little nuggets of advice that they used to try and shove down your throat, you know, you didn’t understand it then, you kind of had to make your own mistakes and then now I realize, “Oh, that’s what she meant. Okay.”

Erik Michielsen: What was their advice?

Lulu Chen: I think my mom always tried to tell me to take a moment, you know, I was very headstrong and I would just leap into things, or I would say things, I was very outspoken when I was younger. I guess I still am now but I definitely try and take a moment and think about it before I leap, you know, just to—Yeah, just to be more observant. So, that was a very good one, I think, in general.

Lulu Chen on How Reflecting Helps You Plan for the Future

In Chapter 3 of 16 in her 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, art director Lulu Chen answers "What Role Has Reflection Played in Shaping Your Personal Growth?"  Reflecting helps Chen appreciate what she has today.  It helps make better career plans, especially as she has grown into her 30s. 

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 role has reflection played in shaping your personal growth?

Lulu Chen: I think it’s given me perspective just reflecting back on previous jobs and like life experiences and relationships. It’s—I don’t know. It makes me appreciate what I really have today, and it gives me perspective on what’s really important and what my priorities are. 
I think when I was younger I just kept working so hard but I didn’t necessarily think about the direction, you just think, “Oh, you just work really hard. You just keep doing this, and good things happen,” which generally I—you know, I try to be positive and hope that that’s still true, but sometimes I think you also have to strategize directionally, you know, sort of—kind of plan it out a little bit, and I’ve gotten better at that too as I’ve gotten older.

I think sometimes speaking to some of my friends, my peers, and having them kind of compliment me or point things out, that’s when I reflect back, and I really appreciate it, you know. It’s very hard for me to take compliments sometimes and I also—Yeah, I just forget, you know? I forget to stop and just think about things and, you know—just, you know, keep going.

Lulu Chen on How to Work With Someone Who May Feel Misunderstood

In Chapter 15 of 16 in her 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, art director Lulu Chen answers "How Are You Learning to Work More Effectively With Different Personality Types?'  Chen loves the entertainment and fun that come with working with different personality types.  She finds being understanding and patient with people that may act differently than she does opens the doors to positive working experiences.  She finds it important to give people a chance and get to know them. 

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: How are you learning to work more effectively with different personality types?

Lulu Chen: I love working with different personality types, because it can be quite entertaining. It’s more fun, you know, you never have a boring day. I don’t know—you just go with it. I think I have a very high tolerance and I also think that a lot of times, a lot of people are misunderstood, and they might come across a certain way but, you know, you just have to give them a little bit of time and try and be understanding. I have a good friend who’s very talented and, you know, people just say, “Oh, he’s crazy,” you know. But he’s not really crazy, he just care so much and he’s so passionate so that sometimes, you know, his mood and his approach to things might come across misunderstood but he really is coming from a good place, and has the best heart.

So I think sometimes, you know, that doesn’t always come out the first time you meet somebody or work with somebody. You have to really give people a chance I think. 

Hattie Elliot on Learning to Work With Different Personality Types

In Chapter 18 of 19 in her 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, female entrepreneur Hattie Grace Elliot answers "How Are You Learning to Work More Effectively With Different Personality Types?"  In her work, Elliot constantly meets new people and finds it important to be patient, especially with hardened or shy people, as she works to bring out their best.  Elliot finds it one of the most rewarding challenges of doing her work. 

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 work more effectively with different personality types?

Hattie Elliot: I find dealing with different personality types often almost a challenge, you know, when I deal with people who I find to be, you know, really off putting or cold, it’s like a challenge for me to open them up and to make them feel comfortable and it’s really one of the wonderful awesome things I’ve learned to do in my business is that I’m not shy. I love meeting people. I give, you know, decent first impressions, but the more that I’ve kind of through the years, run my business, and met with people, it’s been very eye opening because I’ve realized that a lot of people that you might meet on the street who seem like they’re very difficult, or might be a little cold, or off putting, or bitter or whatever, it’s just because they’re shy. Or they, you know, take a little while to warm up to you.

So, I’ve learned that so many people maybe 5 years ago, 2 years ago, I might’ve kind of brushed off, that I don’t really do that anymore when I meet people, because I feel like if you actually get to—you know, take the time to get to know people, and you make them feel comfortable, and that’s really what my business is about, is creating these great environments that are conducive to people meeting and connecting. You know, I meet a lot of people who off the bat I love. I meet some people I think, you know, are interesting but, you know, they take a little feeling out, but I’ve just been very humbled and surprised I would say, by how genuinely great and interesting most people are. It just sometimes takes certain things to bring that out. 

Ken Rona on How to Be a More Effective Corporate Manager

In Chapter 14 of 15 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, digital media executive Ken Rona answers "How Are You Learning to Thrive in a Corporate Organizational Structure?"  Rona shares knowledge he has gained from management work experience in large corporate cultures.  He notes how being patient has been fundamental to improving managerial effectiveness and helping him achieve goals. 

Ken Rona is a Vice President at Turner Broadcasting, where he leads teams across advertising sales, big data software development and business strategy.  Rona earned a BA and MA in Political Science from Stony Brook University and a PhD in Behavioral Economics from Duke University.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: How are you learning to thrive inside a corporate organizational structure?

Ken Rona: If I could give someone one piece of advice around that they were gonna go to a large company, a large kind of corporate, kind of very traditional--traditionally structured company, I would say the critical thing is patience. 

So I use this phrase “the market will clear.” Remember what I said about learning? I have like these little kind of small phrases that I like to use, that’s one of them. “The market will clear.” And by that I mean at some point the right thing will happen. And—because I think people when they’re in companies—when they are reliant on other people to do stuff. You know, you say, “Why are they not doing this? Like it is so obvious. They just need to do this thing and the world will be so much better.” 

One of two things happens, if you’re patient, either one, if—and you’re right. That person does it. So you know you were getting yourself nutty for no reason, that it was gonna happen. Or they don’t do it, you are right, they don’t do it, it becomes obvious that you are right, that person gets kind of either, you know, removed in some fashion or another—someone else comes in and they do it. So by that I mean the market, that’s what I mean when the market clears. If you wait the market, you know, the market will get to its equilibrium. The right thing will happen. 

Sometimes that waiting time can be very long. I’ve certainly seen—I have seen in the case of one of the companies I worked for, it was weird. It was wacky. And me and some of the people I worked with were just like we can’t believe this company is a success. And like they’ve gotta have a contraction, they’ve got—it’s just badly run. And I—you know, and I believed that, and I left. A year later I’m like—They’re still doing fine. I’m like, “How could that be? How could they still be doing well?” Another 6 months goes by, the stock falls 60%, the market cleared. So in my experience, if you are patient and you are trying to do the right thing—if you do the right thing and be patient, if you can. There are certainly times where you need urgency. But in general, my counsel is patience. Just be cool.

The Role Patience Plays Making a New Record - Conrad Doucette

In Chapter 15 of 19 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, musician Conrad Doucette answers "What Have You Found Most Fulfilling About Recording Your Most Recent Takka Takka Album?"  Doucette shares how each member of the Takka Takka band is a musician and also has responsibilities outside the band.  In making the AM Landscapes record, Doucette finds it rewarding the band was able to improve as musicians while living normal lives. He notes how the album recording process was spread out over time, which causes you to live with what you recorded and get to know the songs more intimately before finalizing the recordings.  Conrad Doucette is a Brooklyn musician and the drummer for Takka Takka, which released its 3rd studio album, AM Landscapes, in late 2012.  He has performed with Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead, The National, Alina Simone, and many other leading acts.  When not performing music, Doucette is the communications and brand director at music licensing and publishing startup Jingle Punks.  Doucette earned a BA in History from the University of Michigan.

Matt Ruby on How to Break Out of a Comfort Zone

In Chapter 11 of 19 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, standup comedian Matt Ruby answers "What is Your Comfort Zone and What Do You Do To Break Free of Living In It?"  Ruby notes how his comfort zone is actually being in an uncomfortable place.  His life is always about doing new things, moving to new places, trying new stuff, and hanging out with new people.  After performing comedy for over five years, Ruby finds himself trying to stick with things more often and more fully embrace who he has met and what he has done. 

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. 

Garren Katz on What Gets Easier and What Gets Harder

In Chapter 1 of 15 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, business and personal coach Garren Katz answers "What is Getting Easier and What is Getting Harder in Your Life?"  Katz finds himself stressing less and getting more comfortable with the decisions he makes.  As far as what is getting harder, Katz notes a growing challenge in his life is taking on more responsibilities that come with his desire to live better and more fully. 

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

Garren Katz: I would say life, actually, is getting easier. Trusting myself, trusting that whatever decision I choose is going to work out and it’s going to work out well. Not stressing as much about the little things that really don’t matter. The older I get the more clear, the more in focus priorities become. That’s getting easier. What’s getting harder is as I take on more in life, strengthening that inner accountability to be able to execute, you know, playing a bigger game, living a bigger life. I wouldn’t say that’s dauntingly harder, but it is more challenging. It’s a great challenge but that’s getting harder.

Idan Cohen on How Critical Thinking Improves Product Design

In Chapter 12 of 19 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, Boxee co-founder and head of product Idan Cohen answers "What Have Your Experiences Taught You About What Makes a Product Great?"  Cohen talks about the satisfaction that comes from playing with things in everyday life.  He references the importance of critical thinking in the problem solving and design process.  He emphasizes the importance, whether it is with an object or a person, of linking the criticism to a positive development pathway or objective. 

This is Idan Cohen's Year 1 Capture Your Flag interview.  Cohen is co-founder and head of product at Boxee Inc, an online video software company.  Previous to Boxee, Cohen held telecom software innovation and developer roles at Comverse.  He was a Captain in the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) and graduated from Tel Aviv University with a Bachelors of Science degree in Geophysics and Art.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: What have your experiences taught you about what makes a product great?

Idan Cohen: I think that it’s just day-to-day life, when, you know, all day we play with things, and it’s just the feeling and, you know, it’s the frustration that we get through playing with them, or it’s the satisfaction we have after playing with them because they were so convenient or so simple or so beautiful, or so—I don’t know if I had specific experiences that helped me understand that better, but I think that we should all—it’s kind of like—I think that also it’s either you have it or not. There’s people who just get frustrated with things but don’t understand that it’s frustrating them and don’t understand—and don’t think all the time how can they fix that, and there’s these people who eventually end up making things with just, you know—they see the problems all the time, they’re very critical which is a good and bad character to have. 

It’s a little bit tiring to be very critical all the time. And I can be that but then that also teaches you, you know, every time you criticize something, just make sure you also think how can I do that better. And also when you—even if it’s about people and what they do, then if you criticize, just make sure to also figure out with them how that can be improved.

Startup Advice on Using Venture Capital

In Chapter 14 of 19 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, Boxee co-founder and head of product Idan Cohen answers "What is the Role of Venture Capital in Building a Company?"  Cohen shares its relevance as a tool to build things that might not have financial viability from day one.  He notes when it is useful in building products that later can be sold and when it is not a good idea.  Cohen shares concern around success being measured by raising venture capital, rather than creating a successful, profitable company.  He goes on to discuss different markets and technologies outside the Internet domain that would benefit from disruptive innovation and what variation of fundraising or venture tools could be applied there. 

This is Idan Cohen's Year 1 Capture Your Flag interview.  Cohen is co-founder and head of product at Boxee Inc, an online video software company.  Previous to Boxee, Cohen held telecom software innovation and developer roles at Comverse.  He was a Captain in the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) and graduated from Tel Aviv University with a Bachelors of Science degree in Geophysics and Art.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: What’s the role of venture capital in building a company?

Idan Cohen: It’s a tool that was put in place to allow us to actually build things that might not have, you know, financial and business viability from day one. And, so that’s great. It’s an awesome thing, the fact that there’s a mechanism out there where you can, you know, someone can put faith in you because he thinks you have a good vision and an idea and a theme. And he can let you—he can give you that lay to go and build it, for a while, before you need to commit to any real business, because, you know, he understands that it will take time to build the product that you later can sell or you later can monetize but at this point, you can just start out of the blue and make it happen, or maybe there’s a learning process in that product that you need to achieve and you’re not gonna be able to pinpoint the right answer exactly from day one, and it will take a process and he’s willing to be patient with that. So that’s great.

I think that if you look at it, for instance, definitely today, then on one hand, a lot of people measure success by being able to raise venture capital and that’s extremely wrong, in my opinion, it’s just it’s becoming this competition or—people are getting so much credit for being able to raise money, being able to raise money shouldn’t be a lot of—shouldn’t get you a lot of credit. It means that someone out there believed in your vision, it’s great. There’s so many other ideas out there and maybe someone believed in your team and that’s even more important sometimes, or most of the time, but at the end of the day, your ability to deliver on the product and the business is much more important than actually being able to raise money.

I really wish that there were these tools also for other types of businesses, if someone wants to put together a restaurant, there’s no need for him to struggle and definitely in today’s economy, not being able to bring together a quarter of a million dollars to open that restaurant, yes, the numbers are not the same as the internet industry, it’s not gonna explode, it’s not gonna grow as a hockey stick and you’re not gonna be able to monetize it in the millions. But there should be better tools for other types of businesses to get built and established. So I wish that more people would take these tools that maybe—or some variation of them that were invented for venture capital, as we know it today for technology world. And apply it for other types of businesses.

Today we look at venture capital as tightly coupled with technology. Venture capital should be much more tightly coupled with entrepreneurship. So just someone having a good idea and having a good vision and being able to build a good team and go out and build a business, so I love the fact that there’s now, you know, for instance, Elon Musk doing space acts, this is awesome, yes, you know, yeah, it might be a business—a huge business in the billions of dollars just because of the cost of sending rockets into space, but still just someone being able to go out and do that, and I don’t know if he would’ve able if he wasn’t Elon Musk and didn’t have billions himself. But still, just the fact that I think these businesses are starting to see, you know, it’s not pure technology, it’s not internet, it’s not gonna acquire million of users, no, it needs probably like 10 actually that are gonna pay for these missiles. But it’s still gonna work. Same for cars, you know, if it’s from like Tesla or something like that. Just—I would love to see many more people supporting these kind of businesses. Just—or cameras, you know, why is the camera market not ready for disruption? Like why can’t someone build a better camera than what Canon and Nikon has been doing for—Nikon has been doing for 50 years I’m sure someone can. So for instance, now with those Lytro that came from a little bit of a different angle – I would like to see many more businesses like that. 

How Startup Raises First Venture Capital Round - Slava Rubin

In Chapter 5 of 13 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, crowdfunding entrepreneur and IndieGoGo CEO Slava Rubin answers "How Did Your Team Go About Raising Venture Capital?"  Rubin notes the importance of mission alignment and how this plays into goals, milestones, and responsibilities.  He details the transition from being a bootstrap financed startup to taking on convertible debt to deciding on venture financing to build out the team and user experience. 

Slava Rubin returns to CYF for his Year 3 interview.  As CEO and Co-Founder, Rubin has helped transform cause and project fundraising by establishing his company IndieGoGo as a global leader in crowdfunding.  He is also active in philanthropy, starting the Music Against Myeloma annual charity event to fight cancer.  He graduated from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. 

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen: How does your team go about raising venture capital?

Slava Rubin: I think it’s really important that the core team be aligned on knowing what we’re trying to accomplish. What size of a company are we looking to build? How many employees do we wanna have? What kind of revenue are we looking to accomplish? Where do we wanna sit in the competitive landscape and what are we trying to accomplish as a vision? All those things need to be agreed to. Where you’re singing the same song and after that it’s making sure that you know who’s playing what role. You typically don’t wanna have too many people in the process of actually try to raise the money because that can be confusing in terms of coordination and managing the process. So, with us specifically I'm leading up the fundraising process with significant help from the core team.

Erik Michielsen: Was this your first time raising venture capital?

Slava Rubin: Yes. So, we launched in January 2008 and the three founders Eric Shell, Danae Ringelman and myself we boot strapped through 2008. We planned on raising money in the fall of 2008 but then the crash of 2008-2009 happened, which really slowed things down for us. We then raised a small convertible note and followed that with a venture capital round of 1.5 million in March of 2011.

Erik Michielsen: And you used that to build out the team and now are looking at next steps to scale further?

Slava Rubin: Exactly. So, we went from a team of 5 to now a team of 19 and we’re continuing to grow and always looking on how to improve the customer experience.

Courtney Spence on How Fundraising Strategy Shifts as Non-Profit Grows

In Chapter 13 of 19 in her 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, non-profit executive Courtney Spence answers "How Has Organizational Growth Changed How Your Non-Profit Raises Money?"  Spence notes her progressive focus on infrastructure investment from philanthropic donors.  As her vision is progressively enabled by a supportive team and project experience, Spence shifts focus into larger fundraising and alternative revenue sourcing.  Courtney Spence returns to CYF for her Year 3 interview.  As Founder and Executive Director, Spence leads non-profit Students of the World to empower college students to use film, photography, and journalism to tell stories of global issues and the organizations working to address them.  Spence graduated with a BA in History from Duke University.

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen: How has organizational growth changed how your non-profit raises money?

Courtney Spence: So we’re just starting to really run with raising money and investment and it’s still philanthropic dollars but I’m now trying to raise investor dollars, I’m trying to raise money from people that wanna help me invest to my infrastructures so I can scale and I can go do the really big dream that we have. I’m not asking people to fund an organization as its existed for the last 5 years, I’m asking people to invest in where we are now so that we can grow and I think that – that is a very – a much more exciting place to come from when you’re trying to raise money, I think it’s really important to – and I didn’t really ever quite realize this to have that big vision, and have that right team in place, and have that right year one, year three, year five, even though that might change because you know it will, but having those big, you know, year markers and that big vision is really important to raising money, and I think that we are truly moving as an organization from that kind of survival mode to thrive, right, and we’re still very much trying to survive, but what I’m realizing is that as we pushed the ball forward with Students of the World the last few years, it was really still on this track.

And we’re now kind of veering off into something much bigger and greater, and as we do that, our organization grows, and as we do that we need to raise more money, and as we do that, we need to also find alternative sources of revenue, and recognize what do we have to offer this world that is of monetary value, and we believe we have quite a bit. And that’s a shift in thinking for me as well. So I am focusing on fundraising in a way that I have never before – scary.

But I’m also coming from a place of absolute confidence in where we’re going and who we’re going with and what we wanna go do, and that’s something I’ve never had before either, so I think it’s important to – you can’t force an organization to grow, it has to grow with the right time. And as much as I tried to make things happen, 5 years ago, 3 years ago, last year, the timing wasn’t right. And for some reason, the timing was right starting at about September of last year and here we are today, so.

Why to Think Twice Before Killing Your Creative Project

In Chapter 15 of 17 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, leadership philosopher Bijoy Goswami answers "How Do You Evaluate When to Continue a Project and When to Kill It?"  Goswami shares how he has learned to shelve creative projects for periods and, after letting them lie dormant for some time, pick them up and continue his work.  He shares a specific example of how this happened with his play and how it was turned into a short film years later. 

Bijoy Goswami is a writer, teacher, and community leader based in Austin, Texas.  He develops learning models, including MRE, youPlusU, and Bootstrap, to help others live more meaningfully.  Previously, he co-founded Aviri Software after working at Trilogy Software.  Goswami graduated from Stanford University, where he studied Computer Science, Economics, and History. 

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen:  How do you evaluate when to continue a project and when to kill it?

Bijoy Goswami:  So I rarely think I get to kill any project. It’s kind of interesting I find that no project is killed it’s always; it’s just going dormant. It’s like a project that goes into a long hibernated—hibernation and sleep and then just kind of sits there for a while and so when I find is if I have energy for something and somehow it starts to just pick back up again, I'm like oh, this project needs to be taken from wherever it is now to the next step and then it’ll finish that step and then it’s like okay well, there’s nothing else to do right now so let’s put it away.

We had the play festival called Frontera Festival in Austin and we put the play on and then we did it, actually our own performance if it, again, and it was sold out, we had a great time and then we were, we got back together said what do we wanna do next? We don’t really know. We don’t think there’s anything to do next so we just kinda put it away.

A few years later I meet up with another friend Neil who I met on a random basis and he end up putting me as the photographer and put me in a shoot for an ad and he said what are you working on? Well, I'm working on this thing, I had this whole project called—it was “Guru or Disciple? Yes!” This play and I think it would be a great short film and I know you kind of might interested in doing short film and he’s like yeah send that over. Sure enough he picks it up, he’s like, we love it. Let’s make the film.

So, Mystic Cab went from a play to a short film then it sat there for a while and you know, it’s a short, this 25 minute film and actually I've been thinking, okay it’s been a couple of years, it’s been a few years. Now, what’s the next thing for Mystic Cab? So, it’s part of this thing of putting things, you know, back on shelf bringing them back out, putting them back in the shelf and they just keep, they just keep going.

How to Overcome and Learn From Disappointment - James McCormick

In Chapter 9 of 18 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, legal career advisor James McCormick answers "What Role Has Failure Played in Your Career Development?"  McCormick shares how short term failures - typically those that happen in an instance - become longer term positives when reflected upon over time.  He discusses this in context of job search and recruiting as well as in terms of his own college choice, specifically not getting into Northwestern and coming to terms with embracing an alternative, The University of Michigan.  James McCormick is a Partner at Empire Search Partners in New York City.  Previously, he practiced law as an employee benefits and executive compensation attorney for Proskauer Rose and Jones Day.  He earned a JD at Tulane Law School and a BA in History at the University of Michigan. 

Transcription: 

Erik Michielsen:  What role has failure played in your career development?

James McCormick:  Well, it’s interesting because of – because of what I do, so much of the success or failure, and I almost lifted my hands to put them in quotes, but it is really a multi-dimensional project, it involves a lot of individuals playing different roles at different points in time. So it’s not simply helping one individual get a job. Something I’ve learned a lot about in this role has been really experiencing the successes and failures of not only the individuals that we represent but also the clients that come to us for assistance and helping them fill roles. And failures can be seen on one day as just that -- a failure, a failure to get a job, a failure to find the right individual, a failure to execute on an interview, a failure to meet the demands of a particular candidate, and then what’s fascinating is on day 365 or day, you know, whatever, down the road, a failure may be viewed in a very different light. I had a conversation this evening with an individual right before I came to this interview about a role that just about a year and a half ago, he did not get.  And at the time was utterly deflated that he didn’t get it.  And a year and a half later, the way things played out, I think he found himself saying, pretty glad that I didn’t get that job. So failure on day 1 may look very different than failure, you know, a year, a year and a half, two years later.

Erik Michielsen:  And reflecting back on your career and education, you know, what experiences have you had that are – that have taught you lessons?

James McCormick:  That’s a very good question. I would tell you that the first I go to is that when I chose to go to University of Michigan that was not my first choice. It was far from it. I wanted to go to Northwestern more than anything else and I did not get in, and I was crushed, it was really viewed from my perspective as an 18-year-old or 17-year-old, or however old I was at the time, as a complete failure. And in hindsight, boy, I couldn’t have been farther from the mark. My life would be, you know, nowhere near where it is now, you and I wouldn’t be sitting in this chair or at least highly unlikely that we would be and I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything. And I think the fact that I had to go through the experience of failing as I viewed it then, and be mindful of how it resulted is a good example.

How Real Estate Projects Shape into Enjoyable Career

In Chapter 6 of 14 in his 2012 interview, real estate development executive Brett Goldman answers "What Do You Enjoy Most About What You Do in Your Real Estate Career?"  Goldman shares a big picture view of how long-term deals begin adding up and defining his career path. 

Brett Goldman is a Real Estate Acquisitions Director at Triangle Equities in New York City.  He holds a BA in General Studies from the University of Michigan and a Masters in Real Estate Development from the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen:  What do you enjoy most about what you do in your real estate career?

Brett Goldman: I think that I enjoy the successes. Each deal takes a long time. A short deal would be a year, and a long deal is 8 years, a really long deal is 15 years, you know, and I haven't really been involved in a 15-year deal or even an 8-year deal, but there's a lot of build up in each real estate deal. There's so many different parts that need to go into making it successful, so many different to details. Now I kind of delight in the details to some extent and sometimes it takes away from my ability to deal with the bigger picture but I always kind of bring it back to the bigger picture and say, okay, "well, this is what's gonna get it done," but all the little details are always really necessary. So when you've done all the little details and you've put them all into place and when the big picture kind of comes together and none of those details fail and it actually makes it successful, that's a personal success to me.

Erik Michielsen: How do you celebrate success?

Brett Goldman: I think that I just feel good about myself. To some extent, it's like a notch in my belt, that I've done that. And I'd like to do more and more, I’d like to make more and more notches in my belt, thus more and more successful projects and I'm able to shepherd them.

Erik Michielsen: Where do you find validation in your work?

Brett Goldman: Just from that, from the individual successes. As I said, there's a long work up until a success. A success might be a lease signing, it might be a sale, it might be an approval, it might be a completion of a construction project, it might be a financing. But in each of those cases, there's so many different parts that go into them, you know, there's a lot of different parties out there that can be involved. There's a lot of different strings that you need to pull to get everything together, and then when it comes together, whether it's a big success like a sale or even a small success like a financing, which sometimes can be a big success, but either -- in any of those cases, each of those are kind of milestones and that's where I feel that’s success.