Bryan Law on Learning Languages in International Business Consulting

In Chapter 10 of 23 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, business strategist Bryan Law answers "As a Non-Native Speaker, How Did You Overcome Language Barriers Working in Brazil?" Working as a management consultant, Law is staffed on a Brazil project and, as a non-native speaker, learns Portuguese when he finds the work is done in native language and not English. As an international consultant, the experience teaches him the importance of engaging clients in their native languages as best as possible. This helps him on future projects, including one working with the Mozambique government.

Bryan Law is a Principal in the Global Business Strategy Group at Google and a board member at Angola University. Previously, he was a manager at Monitor, management consulting firm. He has worked in consulting roles at Watson Wyatt and Mercer. He earned an MBA from the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Business and a BA from Georgetown University. 

How International Work Experience Benefits Your Career

In Chapter 13 of 23 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, business strategist Bryan Law answers "How Has International Work Experience Contributed to Your Professional Development?" Working internationally in Dubai, Brazil, Mozambique, South Africa, and India teaches Law to appreciate the differences amongst people. In his international work, Law looks to understand where people are coming from as it pertains to beliefs, motives and rationale.

Bryan Law is a Principal in the Global Business Strategy Group at Google and a board member at Angola University. Previously, he was a manager at Monitor, management consulting firm. He has worked in consulting roles at Watson Wyatt and Mercer. He earned an MBA from the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Business and a BA from Georgetown University. 

Bryan Law on Building Team Trust Working in Consulting

In Chapter 15 of 23 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, business strategist Bryan Law answers "How Do You Establish Trust When Building Relationships?" Working abroad in Dubai, Law learns the importance of spending time getting to know your clients and your project team personally and professionally before conducting business. He finds it helps to sit down with new team member and share backgrounds and goals. The time spent creates a personal connection that adds to the professional relationship. Law finds spending time taking an interest in his project team members and clients ultimately helps him to better help them develop and achieve work goal success.

Bryan Law is a Principal in the Global Business Strategy Group at Google and a board member at Angola University. Previously, he was a manager at Monitor, management consulting firm. He has worked in consulting roles at Watson Wyatt and Mercer. He earned an MBA from the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Business and a BA from Georgetown University. 

Learning to Teach by Raising Grade School Kids

In Chapter 6 of 16 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, product management executive Ramsey Pryor answers "How Are You Becoming a Better Teacher?  Raising a daughter in 3rd grade and a son in kindergarten, Pryor finds he is becoming a teacher for the first time in his life. As he and his wife teach the children Greek language, they learn teaching is about both communicating the lesson clearly and keeping the kids engaged for sustained periods of time.

Ramsey Pryor is a product management executive at IBM focused on cloud-based collaboration and security software products. Previously he was VP Product Marketing at Outblaze, acquired by IBM. Pryor earned an MBA from IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain and a BA in Economics and Spanish from Northwestern University. 

How to Give Better Advice When People Ask You For Help

In Chapter 11 of 16 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, product management executive Ramsey Pryor answers "How Have You Learned to Give Better Advice When People Ask You for Help?" With time, Pryor learns to give less prescriptive advice. He learns from his children to give advice is more to be a sounding board and help others make a decision rather than to make a decision for others.

Ramsey Pryor is a product management executive at IBM focused on cloud-based collaboration and security software products. Previously he was VP Product Marketing at Outblaze, acquired by IBM. Pryor earned an MBA from IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain and a BA in Economics and Spanish from Northwestern University.  

Why to Major in Broadcast Journalism

In Chapter 5 of 22 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, education technology entrepreneur Adam Geller answers "Why Did You Choose to Major in Journalism and Mass Communication in College?" In college at UNC, Geller chooses to major in broadcast journalism. He minors in chemistry to round out his skills of focusing on business, science and medical journalism. He finds studying journalism helped him be a better learner and more effective communicator.

Adam Geller is founder and CEO of Edthena, a video platform enabling online teacher coaching, peer review, and group learning. He is a recent Education Ventures fellow at the Kauffman Foundation and the founder of Teach For Us, a network connecting Teach for America corps members and alumni. He earned a BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a MA from the University of Missouri-Saint Louis.

How to Use a Journalism Degree to Teach Middle School

In Chapter 9 of 22 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, education technology entrepreneur Adam Geller answers "Where Has Your Journalism Work Experience Been Most Useful in Your Education Career?" Geller finds his journalism degree is most useful on a day-to-day basis as a teacher. He finds the daily test of clearly communicating what he knows so his students can absorb the lessons similar to journalist work articulating information so an audience can internalize the information. As a science teacher, journalist training also helps Geller tailor teaching to learning styles to best engage students.

Adam Geller is founder and CEO of Edthena, a video platform enabling online teacher coaching, peer review, and group learning. He is a recent Education Ventures fellow at the Kauffman Foundation and the founder of Teach For Us, a network connecting Teach for America corps members and alumni. He earned a BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a MA from the University of Missouri-Saint Louis.

Geoff Hamm on How Reflection Builds Business Development Skills

In Chapter 2 of 20 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, mobile business executive Geoff Hamm answers "What Role Has Reflection Played in Shaping Your Personal Growth?" Relationships are fundamental to Hamm's work in business development and sales. He uses reflection techniques to learn from his actions as a professional and as a parent as he gains experience. He visits an executive coach multiple times annually for coaching and unbiased feedback.

Geoff Hamm is a business development executive and VP Strategic Alliances at mobile marketing platform start-up Applovin in San Francisco, CA. Previous to Applovin, Hamm held senior sales management positions at Tapjoy, Scribd, Electronic Arts, Yahoo!, Orbitz, IAC and Excite where he built deep relationships with advertisers and brands. Hamm graduated from the University of Illinois.

Two Job Skills You Need to Be a Better Executive Leader

In Chapter 13 of 20 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, mobile business executive Geoff Hamm answers "What Skills Are You Working on Right Now to Become Better at Your Job?" As an executive team member, Hamm focuses on honing two core job skills, patience and communication, both written and verbal. He benefits from learning from a very transparent founder who exposes him to operational aspects fundamental to running a business.

Geoff Hamm is a business development executive and VP Strategic Alliances at mobile marketing platform start-up Applovin in San Francisco, CA. Previous to Applovin, Hamm held senior sales management positions at Tapjoy, Scribd, Electronic Arts, Yahoo!, Orbitz, IAC and Excite where he built deep relationships with advertisers and brands. Hamm graduated from the University of Illinois.

How to Develop and Retain Your Best Salespeople

In Chapter 14 of 20 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, mobile business executive Geoff Hamm answers "What Has Your Experience Taught You About Developing and Retaining Your Best Sales People?" Hamm sees developing and retaining top sales performers as a top sales leader responsibility. He does this by setting career path expectations and listening to employees so they feel heard. As a leader, he uses a style focused more on coaching than high-touch managing to give salespeople room to work while also setting executive team expectations why this is critical to sales success.

Geoff Hamm is a business development executive and VP Strategic Alliances at mobile marketing platform start-up Applovin in San Francisco, CA. Previous to Applovin, Hamm held senior sales management positions at Tapjoy, Scribd, Electronic Arts, Yahoo!, Orbitz, IAC and Excite where he built deep relationships with advertisers and brands. Hamm graduated from the University of Illinois.

A Question to Ask Your Child Each Day After School

In Chapter 19 of 22 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, elementary charter school network CEO Preston Smith answers "How is Your Parenting Approach Evolving as Your Children Grow From Infants into Toddlers?" With a 3-year old and a 5-year old both now in school, Smith learns ways to engage his kids after the school day. Getting advice from a cohort member from his Aspen Institute Pahara fellowship, Smith asks not "What did you learn today?" but rather "What questions did you ask in school?"

Preston Smith is co-founder and CEO of Rocketship Education, the highest performing low-income school system in California. After graduating the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Smith joined Teach for America. After three years teaching 1st Grade, he founded a district school in San Jose and became its principal. Smith was selected as a member of the 2010 class of Aspen Institute New Schools Fellows. 

Preston Smith on Being Present for Your Kids When Traveling for Work

In Chapter 20 of 22 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, elementary charter school network CEO Preston Smith answers "What Does It Mean for You to Be Engaged in Your Children's Education?" As CEO of a growing company, Smith is challenged by time-consuming work commitments, from traveling to meetings to doing an executive MBA, as he works to be a present parent at home to his two young kids. He learns to make sure he has touch points with his kids when traveling and have some kind of presence at school events such as games or dances even if he is not there physically. To ensure he has time at home, he blocks out Friday nights and Monday nights for family time.

Preston Smith is co-founder and CEO of Rocketship Education, the highest performing low-income school system in California. After graduating the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Smith joined Teach for America. After three years teaching 1st Grade, he founded a district school in San Jose and became its principal. Smith was selected as a member of the 2010 class of Aspen Institute New Schools Fellows. 

Louise Langheier on Two Ways to Give Better Career Advice

In Chapter 7 of 21 in her 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, social entrepreneur Louise Langheier answers "How Have You Learned to Give Better Advice When People Ask You For Help?" Langheier shares two ways she has learned to give better advice. The first is honing in on the specific question the person seeking advice is really trying to answer. The second is appreciating the learning experience that comes with being asked to give advice.

Louise Davis Langheier is founder and CEO of Peer Health Exchange, a non-profit that trains college students to teach health education in public high schools. Louise was selected as a member of the 2011 class of Aspen Entrepreneurial Education Fellows, and was named an Ashoka Fellow in 2012. She graduated from Yale University. 

Louise Langheier on What Marriage Teaches About Teamwork

In Chapter 19 of 21 in her 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, social entrepreneur Louise Langheier answers "What Has Marriage Taught You About Teamwork?" Langheier shares that teamwork comes with getting to a mutual understanding what each person wants out of relationship to best give and receive support.

Louise Davis Langheier is founder and CEO of Peer Health Exchange, a non-profit that trains college students to teach health education in public high schools. Louise was selected as a member of the 2011 class of Aspen Entrepreneurial Education Fellows, and was named an Ashoka Fellow in 2012. She graduated from Yale University. 

Mark Graham on Making Child Care Choices After Maternity Leave Ends

In Chapter 4 of 15 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, media executive Mark Graham answers "What Have Been Your Challenges Starting a Family in a Dual-Income Household?" As he and his wife return to work after having a baby, Graham notes the importance of having short-term and long-term goal planning conversations with his spouse. This includes meeting with a financial planner to think through child care considerations and what is the best balance as he and his wife pursue their professional ambitions.

Mark Graham is currently a managing editor at MTV Networks. 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. 

Mark Graham on Marketing Editorial Content to Social Media Audiences

In Chapter 10 of 15 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, media executive Mark Graham answers "How Are Social Media Short Videos Like Vine and Instagram and gifs Becoming More Relevant to the Work That You Do and the Content That You Produce?" Graham shares how social media platforms offer varying user experiences and those users have expectations on how to interact with content. As a result, Graham learns to use pull marketing to develop editorial content that connects with social audiences on their respective terms across Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter, Vine, etc. and build audience relationships.

Mark Graham is currently a managing editor at MTV Networks. 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. 

Mark Graham on Leading by Teaching in a Manager Job Role

In Chapter 15 of 15 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, media executive Mark Graham answers "How Are You Becoming a Better Teacher?" Graham shares how in a role that requires him to produce content and manage a team that produces content, he finds identifying teaching moments key to building productive bonds with this team. A big part of this is learning to be a better listener to understand different points of view specific to team members.

Mark Graham is currently a managing editor at MTV Networks. 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. 

Conrad Doucette on Improving Creative Direction Communication

In Chapter 15 of 17 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, musician and digital strategist Conrad Doucette answers "How Are You Learning to Communicate More Effectively?" He finds communication is trial-and-error and learn as you go. In his work both giving creative direction and receiving creative direction, he finds a more open communication style built on trust and positivity works best.

Conrad Doucette is a Brooklyn musician and the drummer for the band Takka Takka. 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.