Courtney Spence on Learning to Do More With Less

In Chapter 5 of 20 in her 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, nonprofit CEO Courtney Spence answers "How Are You Learning to Do More With Less?" Spence shares how having a new responsibility of raising a girl in kindergarten has shifted budget toward her schooling and away from eating out at restaurants. Spence also finds she does more with less at work by graphing resource commitments to projects.

Courtney Spence is founder and CEO of Students of the World, a nonprofit empowering a diverse network of student and emerging filmmakers to apply storytelling skills in purposeful work. She is also the Founder and CEO of CSpence group, a creative agency building millennial-focused content and programs for brands. Spence earned a BA from Duke University. 

Courtney Spence on Listening to Needs First and Teaching Second

In Chapter 10 of 20 in her 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, nonprofit CEO Courtney Spence answers "How Are You Becoming a Better Teacher?" As a company leader and as a parent, Spence finds becoming a better teacher is about listening first and teaching second. In a world where everyone has an opinion and listening seems to get harder to do, she finds it is more important than ever to prioritize.

Courtney Spence is founder and CEO of Students of the World, a nonprofit empowering a diverse network of student and emerging filmmakers to apply storytelling skills in purposeful work. She is also the Founder and CEO of CSpence group, a creative agency building millennial-focused content and programs for brands. Spence earned a BA from Duke University. 

Courtney Spence on Why Managing Email Gets Harder as You Get Older

In Chapter 13 of 20 in her 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, nonprofit CEO Courtney Spence answers "What Skills Are You Working on Right Now to Become Better at Your Job?" Spence is challenged by staying organized and maintaining correspondence each day. Specifically, she feels overwhelmed by the daily demands of her email inbox and managing the increasing demands on her time as she gets older. Spence finds zero inbox or inbox zero advice is not for her and looks for alternative ways to manage her communication in and out of her inbox.

Courtney Spence is founder and CEO of Students of the World, a nonprofit empowering a diverse network of student and emerging filmmakers to apply storytelling skills in purposeful work. She is also the Founder and CEO of CSpence group, a creative agency building millennial-focused content and programs for brands. Spence earned a BA from Duke University. 

Courtney Spence on How to Tailor a Growth Plan That Fits Your Business

In Chapter 14 of 20 in her 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, nonprofit CEO Courtney Spence answers "As Executive Director, How Do You Decide What Time Horizon to Focus on in Work?" Spence shares how working in a fast-changing creative space requires her to keep time horizons short for business planning. She notes how it benefits her organization to stay nimble and quick to adapt to changing technology such as website platforms. She also finds this nimble approach feeds into helping her evolve her business model to embrace higher value projects to support employee salaries and benefits.

Courtney Spence is founder and CEO of Students of the World, a nonprofit empowering a diverse network of student and emerging filmmakers to apply storytelling skills in purposeful work. She is also the Founder and CEO of CSpence group, a creative agency building millennial-focused content and programs for brands. Spence earned a BA from Duke University. 

Courtney Spence on How to Make Negotiation Less Stressful

In Chapter 17 of 20 in her 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, nonprofit CEO Courtney Spence answers "What Role Do Negotiation Skills Play in Your Work?" Spence shares how, like confrontation, she traditionally does not enjoy negotiating. To make negotiating less stressful, she tries to bring in trusted teammates for the negotiation. Additionally, she finds it helpful to keep your higher purpose in mind so as to not get lost in the details during the negotiation process.

Courtney Spence is founder and CEO of Students of the World, a nonprofit empowering a diverse network of student and emerging filmmakers to apply storytelling skills in purposeful work. She is also the Founder and CEO of CSpence group, a creative agency building millennial-focused content and programs for brands. Spence earned a BA from Duke University. 

Marketing Advice on Finding the Right Event to Promote Your Product

In Chapter 8 of 16 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, Randall Metting answers "What Factors Help You Determine Where to Direct Your Marketing Resources?" Metting shares his process for finding the best events to promote and market his product, Dulce Vida tequila. He and his team assess a variety of factors, from cost to competition to human resources to audience size, to narrow event options to those with highest impact potential.

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. 

Matt Ruby on Why to Work Hard to Be the Best at What You Do

In Chapter 1 of 19 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, standup comedian and Vooza founder Matt Ruby answers "Where Did You Learn Your Work Ethic?" Ruby shares that his comedy work has taught him to work hard so you can be proud of your work. Working hard gives you a chance to be the best you can be and also avoid embarrassment by being the worst. He learns to be mindful of where to apply this approach in his life and to set priorities accordingly.

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. 

Matt Ruby on Building Team Chemistry Filming a Comedy Series

In Chapter 12 of 19 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, standup comedian and Vooza founder Matt Ruby answers "How Are You Learning to Work More Collaboratively With Different Personality Types?" Ruby finds it critical to build teams that believe in the project and have a willingness to be open and experimental on the film shoot. From the cast to the director to the cameraman and sound engineer, Ruby sees this shared value as a non-negotiable when filming, no matter how different a film team may be.

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. 

Matt Ruby on Handling Work Pressures of Making People Happy

In Chapter 15 of 19 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, standup comedian and Vooza founder Matt Ruby answers "What Does It Mean to Perform Under Pressure in the Work That You Do?" For Ruby, work pressures from writing and producing a web series comes down to making people happy. This encompasses both client relationships and keeping them happy with the branded content and product placement advertising he creates as well as audience relationships and keeping them consistently entertained.

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 Why Meaningful Work is More Than Accomplishments

In Chapter 13 of 16 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, Internet entrepreneur Anatole Faykin answers "How Are Your Personal Experiences Shaping Your Professional Aspirations?" Now mid-career and having experience working at corporations and starting companies all over the world, Faykin realizes aspirations are less about accomplishments and more about doing meaningful work.

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 What Gets Easier and What Gets Harder

In Chapter 2 of 20 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, management consultant Michael Olsen answers "What is Getting Easier and What is Getting Harder in Your Life?" Olsen shares how developing daily habits has made his life easier by making him more productive. Specifically, making daily checklists allows Olsen to do things easily that once were hard. As for what is getting harder, he finds making the transition from his 20s into his 30s presents some big challenges, including decisions around committing to a career path and starting a family.

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 Choosing a Career in Health Care Management

In Chapter 3 of 20 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, management consultant Michael Olsen answers "When are You at Your Best?" Olsen finds he is at his best when working on something important that directly impacts people he serves. He finds working in health care a more direct way to help people than, for instance, working in finance or insurance, and consequently earns his MPH MBA degree and commits to health care management consulting.

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 Striking a Balance Volunteering and Making a Living

In Chapter 10 of 20 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, management consultant Michael Olsen answers "How Has Volunteering Impacted Your Learning and Development?" Olsen learns early the importance and reward of volunteering his skills and time. Now in his 30s, he gains a pragmatic point of view on life that he first needs to make a living to support himself and his family. While this may mean Olsen volunteers less in the short term, it also pushes him into a health care career helping others so long term, through work and volunteering, he can make a difference.

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. 

3 Ways to Build Management Consulting Project Manager Skills

In Chapter 11 of 23 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, business strategist Bryan Law answers "What Core Skills Did You Learn Working on Management Consulting Projects?" Growing into a project manager role working in management consulting, Law finds three areas on which to focus. First, he learns what to prioritize in order to run a client project efficiently. Second, Law makes sure to build a strong relationship with the client that goes beyond the project. Third, he builds a team dynamic around inclusion and trust to do his best to make the project work as rewarding for team member professional development as possible.

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. 

Bryan Law on What Marriage Teaches About Teamwork

In Chapter 21 of 23 in his 2014 Capture Your Flag interview, business strategist Bryan Law answers "What Has Marriage Taught You About Teamwork?" As newlyweds, Law and his wife learn that marriage is about making decisions that are best for the couple. He finds making collective decisions with his wife brings a better perspective into thinking about problems and, ultimately, leads to better decisions.

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 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.