Randall Metting on Improving Focus at Work to Get Better at Your Job

In Chapter 16 of 16 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, Randall Metting answers "What Skills Are You Working on Right Now to Get Better at Your Job?" Working as a marketing manager, Metting finds sharpening focus is job skill he is working on right now. For him it comes down to taking a pause to reflect and not rush through job to job. He finds taking extra time to slow down and think through his work makes him more productive and improves the quality of his work.

Randall Metting is a brand development and marketing manager at Dulce Vida Spirits in Austin, Texas. Over 17 years, he has built brands in spirits, luxury real estate and lifestyle, music, and sports industries. He has been a radio personality at KGSR Radio and a marketer at a hyperlocal startup acquired by NBC Universal. Metting earned a BA in Advertising from the University of Florida and started his career at The Coca-Cola Company. 

Hattie Elliot on Learning Work Ethic Studying Least Favorite Classes

In Chapter 2 of 15 in her 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, entrepreneur Hattie Elliot answers "Where Did You Learn Your Work Ethic?" As a creative child, Elliot has a difficult time with science and math in school. She learns a work ethic by studying hard to do well in these subjects that do not come naturally to her. Elliot uses this approach later in life an entrepreneur, investing time to learn hard subjects like budgeting and financing that also do not come easy but, once learned, help her be a better business owner.

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.

Hattie Elliot on How to Give Better Advice When Asked for Help

In Chapter 4 of 15 in her 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, entrepreneur Hattie Elliot answers "How Have You Learned to Give Better Advice When People Ask You for Help?" As someone who connects people for a living, Elliot learns the most important part of giving advice is to underpromise and overdeliver. This helps to ensure she is able to meet expectations when making promises. She also learns to refine her willingness to help others to focus on a smaller group of close friends and family.

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.

Hattie Elliot on Testing a Destination Event Company Business Model

In Chapter 8 of 15 in her 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, entrepreneur Hattie Elliot answers "What Has Been Your Approach to Testing and Iterating Your Company's Business Model?" Running a membership-based destination event business, Elliot learns to focus her energies more after taking on an outside investor. The investor pushes her to be more accountable to the profit and loss statement of the business and to manage the metric levers, including member acquisition and retention, to make her business successful.

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.

Hattie Elliot on Learning Financial Planning Skills for Small Business

In Chapter 13 of 15 in her 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, entrepreneur Hattie Elliot answers "What Skills are You Working on Right Now to Become Better at Your Job?" Elliot shares that after many years focusing on event planning and outsourcing financial planning, she now is spending more time learning budgeting and financial planning to better manage her small business finances. This helps her stay organized, maintain bottom line visibility on company performance, and be a better steward of investor financing she has received.

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.

Matt Ruby on How to Improve a Web Series Business Model

In Chapter 19 of 19 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, standup comedian and Vooza founder Matt Ruby answers "How is Your Company Business Model Evolving as You Gain Experience?" Ruby finds he is evolving his business model by simplifying it. He reduces the number of options he offers potential clients so when writing a one-page proposal, it is even more clear what the client gets and how much it costs. As the company grows, Ruby and his team experiment with viewer subscription options to complement advertiser revenue streams.

Matt Ruby is a standup comedian based in New York City. He also founded Vooza, on online comic strip web series that makes fun of tech startup culture. As an actor, director, writer and producer, Ruby leads the creative direction for the team. Before his comedy career, Matt was employee #1 at 37Signals. He graduated from Northwestern University. 

Anatole Faykin on the Benefit of Listening More and Talking Less

In Chapter 3 of 16 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, Internet entrepreneur Anatole Faykin answers "How Do You Establish Trust When Building New Relationships?" Faykin shares how by listening more and talking less, he is able to pay better attention to others and demonstrate respect for what they have to say. Doing so helps him connect with others and build trust. 

Anatole Faykin is an Internet entrepreneur and digital marketer exploring new career options. A passionate world traveler and problem solver, Faykin plans to return to graduate school to earn a biosciences masters degree. Previously, Faykin has started multiple companies, including Tuanpin, a Shanghai startup he sold in 2011. He holds an MBA from NYU and a BS in computer science and biology from the California Institute of Technology.

Michael Olsen on Improving Management Consultant Job Skills

In Chapter 13 of 20 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, management consultant Michael Olsen answers "What Skills Are You Working on Right Now to Become Better at Your Job?" As an Accenture management consultant, Olsen focuses on improving effective communication skills and creating repeatable processes to perform work tasks.

Michael Olsen is a management consultant at Accenture. Previous to Accenture, Olsen earned dual MBA and MPH degrees at Emory University in Atlanta. Olsen earned a BA in symbolic systems from Stanford University and spent the next five years founding an IT consulting company, Redwood Strategies. 

Michael Olsen on Establishing a Career After Business School

In Chapter 19 of 20 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, management consultant Michael Olsen answers "How Are You Learning to Apply Your Passions in New Ways?" As a new MBA / MPH graduate starting a job at Accenture, Olsen finds that the most important thing for him to do at this stage in his life is to focus on his management consulting work. Over time, as he builds experience and gains security, he looks to think more about cultivating his passions.

Michael Olsen is a management consultant at Accenture. Previous to Accenture, Olsen earned dual MBA and MPH degrees at Emory University in Atlanta. Olsen earned a BA in symbolic systems from Stanford University and spent the next five years founding an IT consulting company, Redwood Strategies. 

Rachel Lehmann-Haupt on How Motherhood Changes You

In Chapter 3 of 17 in her 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, author and small business owner Rachel Lehmann-Haupt answers "How Has Becoming a Mother Put Your Life in a New Perspective?" Lehmann-Haupt shares how becoming a mother has motivated her to reorganize her life and has made her more ambitious in her career. Motherhood pushes Lehmann-Haupt to be more responsible and shift life focus from herself to her child.

Rachel Lehmann-Haupt is a writer, editor and multimedia content strategist. She is the owner of StoryMade, a storytelling studio that creates new media content solutions for businesses. Previously, she was a founding editor and multimedia producer at TED Books, designing TED Talk content for tablet computers. She is the author of "In Her Own Sweet Time", published in 2009. Lehmann-Haupt earned a BA from Kenyon College and a Masters in Journalism from UC-Berkeley. 

How Getting Married Changes Your Priorities

In Chapter 22 of 23 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, business strategist Bryan Law answers "How Are Your Personal Priorities Changing As You Get Older?" After getting married, Law finds he is more selective about what he is and is not willing to do. He focuses more on the type of work he enjoys that will give him opportunities to create impact in his work and maintain a work-life balance.

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. 

Adam Geller on Finding Work That Brings Out Your Passion

In Chapter 2 of 22 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, education technology entrepreneur Adam Geller answers "When Are You At Your Best?" Geller finds he is at his best when he is passionate about the work he is doing. He feels it when he is excited about the problem he is working to solve. He does not mind staying late at work as long as he believes in the work he is doing.

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 the Kauffman Foundation Prepares Entrepreneurs

In Chapter 10 of 22 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, education technology entrepreneur Adam Geller answers "How Did Your Kauffman Foundation Fellowship Help Prepare You to Become an Entrepreneur?" Geller finds his Kauffman Foundation Fellowship program gave him time and space to jumpstart his business. Leaving teaching to start an education technology company, the Kauffman Fellowship allows Geller to go from part-time focus on the project to full-time while honing his product and business model.

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.

Preston Smith on Measuring Success Managing Charter Schools

In Chapter 16 of 22 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, elementary charter school network CEO Preston Smith answers "How Do You Define and Measure Success in What You Do?" As CEO running a network of K-5 charter schools, Smith defines and measures success using a number of qualitative and quantitative inputs, from student learning outcomes to teacher satisfaction surveys to parent participation analysis. These help Smith work toward a goal of waking up every day knowing he is doing everything he can to build great schools full of happy employees and achieving students.

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 Being a More Creative and Open Leader

In Chapter 6 of 21 in her 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, social entrepreneur Louise Langheier answers "How Are Your Personal Experiences Shaping Your Professional Aspirations?" Langheier shares how those around her have taught her to be more open-minded and creative. Over time, she also learns to embrace uncertainty and be more comfortable knowing discipline and focus still do not mean you can control your future.

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 Setting Time Horizon Goals in a CEO Job

In Chapter 16 of 21 in her 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, social entrepreneur Louise Langheier answers "As CEO, How Do You Decide What Time Horizon to Focus on in Your Work?" Langheier shares how much of her strategic planning goals are dependent on the phase of impact the company is in at the time. She also notes how she is proactively trying to delegate shorter term planning to team members while she looks at possibilities associated with longer term time horizons. She does this by creating an entrepreneurial organizational culture that rewards being creative and taking responsibility.

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 How Having a Baby Puts Life Balance in Perspective

In Chapter 3 of 15 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, media executive Mark Graham answers "How Has Becoming a Father Put Your Life in a New Perspective?" Three months after having a baby, Graham shares how having a son has given him a new appreciation for finding balance in his life. From being a husband to being a father to having a career, Graham sees the importance of being present where you are to be devoted and successful.

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.