These two classes have led me to two conclusions. One is that I have to guide my formal education in the direction of technical training, and balance that with a wide variety of formal business education. This leads me to believe that I really will be in school for the rest of my life, but I have no problem with that because hey, life is a learning experience anyways.
On the farm:
To begin with formal plans are in the works, the farm is now bigger than it has ever been, and the coming season is approaching very fast. I see many kinks that need to be worked out in the gap between now and opening day. Many problems are going to pop up that I need to be prepared for but I will put my tool boxes to work when they do arrive. Many projects are lined up and awaiting completion. No formal methods for the completion of these tasks are laid out, but I have my intuition, and my judgment to help me make the decisions that I have to, and get help where it is needed.
Projects:
-Transplanting of seedlings from plugs into sell-able merchandise.
-The preparation of the store front for sale.
-The prepartion of the #3 green house for mass move from #1
-The move.
-The Building of display tables.
-The building/painting of signs
-The making of labels for perennials.
-Labeling Perenials
-Constant updating of Spread sheet list of plants.
-all by April 1st
Thats just the begining. So anyways I gotta get to work.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Evaluation
I didn't have any expectations for the two classes. I did go into them with the notion that I was going to integrate the knowledge that I gained from them into my life, which is work, my father owns his own business and its a farm. I live right across the street and work is everyday, and when ever its necessary. I also wanted to take the most out of the class as I could.
I have learned a few helpful tools, I have read use full information and found ways to access information that I was unable to in the past. I have learned a lot about myself, and see myself and people in a different light now. For example marketing opened my eyes up to the fact that our societies' citizens are just consumer's, being fed by the overpowered money making machines of the world(large for profit corporations.) I have put these tools to use in my own life and in work. My work is where I applied most of what I learned in marketing. The biggest thing that set in was that its an organized set of tools. Education is like building a big mental tool box that your gonna have for the rest of your life, and each tool box is gonna have a purpose. The reason marketing is so easy to apply to the work I am doing is because the organization I'm in is the simplest kind. It consisits of two people. My father and myself. We have little to no marketing skill, or any tools in the tool box for that matter.
So the Marketing class ended I received passing marks, and moved onto management. As a note Marketing was 12 day course and I felt more involved in the class than I had in previous post highschool classes. Management is now almost half over there is one week left before the mid-term break and I am recieving passing marks.
Organization, organization, organization I can't say it enough. Time management has always been something people people emphasize is very important. I didn't apply it when I was younger and grads show in high school. But running the better part of an operation for a business has forced me to get into the habit of using time management. If you need a place to start, I suggest you get a watch and thats not a joke.
Organization, and how to apply it are the two biggest lessons I have learned in these courses. There is more to it than just that, for example now I have the basis to start building a comprehensive business plan, and marketing plan, and from there I can only grow.
I have learned a few helpful tools, I have read use full information and found ways to access information that I was unable to in the past. I have learned a lot about myself, and see myself and people in a different light now. For example marketing opened my eyes up to the fact that our societies' citizens are just consumer's, being fed by the overpowered money making machines of the world(large for profit corporations.) I have put these tools to use in my own life and in work. My work is where I applied most of what I learned in marketing. The biggest thing that set in was that its an organized set of tools. Education is like building a big mental tool box that your gonna have for the rest of your life, and each tool box is gonna have a purpose. The reason marketing is so easy to apply to the work I am doing is because the organization I'm in is the simplest kind. It consisits of two people. My father and myself. We have little to no marketing skill, or any tools in the tool box for that matter.
So the Marketing class ended I received passing marks, and moved onto management. As a note Marketing was 12 day course and I felt more involved in the class than I had in previous post highschool classes. Management is now almost half over there is one week left before the mid-term break and I am recieving passing marks.
Organization, organization, organization I can't say it enough. Time management has always been something people people emphasize is very important. I didn't apply it when I was younger and grads show in high school. But running the better part of an operation for a business has forced me to get into the habit of using time management. If you need a place to start, I suggest you get a watch and thats not a joke.
Organization, and how to apply it are the two biggest lessons I have learned in these courses. There is more to it than just that, for example now I have the basis to start building a comprehensive business plan, and marketing plan, and from there I can only grow.
An Evaluation, and Future Expectations
So its the first week of march, 67 days after Christmas(The day after I stopped selling christmas trees). I spent an average of 12 hours a day selling Christmas trees for 28 days. Some days I put in 14, 15, 16 hour days. Granted I wanted too and I was going to reap all the benefits of the work. I did everything from the book keeping to the building of the display and signs, to tying the tree on the customers car. To make a long story short, I worked my butt off for the better part of, the coldest part of winter while heating a 5,000 square foot green house and managing to manage my time, be an accountant, a marketer, a business man, a laborer, a sales man, and me. And to top it off right in the middle of it I managed to stick my fingers in a fan and get them mangled, good thing I heal fast.
Anyways after all that, I decided it was finally time to go back to school. I said to myself, alright I have had enough of this "hard" work. Anyone who works in most blue collar, or trade will tell you that it is hard on your body. So I asked myself what type of knowledge will I be able to add and apply to what I am doing. Just so happens that the force of nature, some might call it god, put my best friend in front of me, who already had that figured out. He had found two classes that he wanted to take, Principles of Marketing and Management. So I started my formal education again. This time I have been a little more successful than before. Which leads me to the point of this blog, which is to evaluate how much I have learned and How I have applied it to my work, my life. I also want to include future expectations, goals, objectives, and plans.
Anyways after all that, I decided it was finally time to go back to school. I said to myself, alright I have had enough of this "hard" work. Anyone who works in most blue collar, or trade will tell you that it is hard on your body. So I asked myself what type of knowledge will I be able to add and apply to what I am doing. Just so happens that the force of nature, some might call it god, put my best friend in front of me, who already had that figured out. He had found two classes that he wanted to take, Principles of Marketing and Management. So I started my formal education again. This time I have been a little more successful than before. Which leads me to the point of this blog, which is to evaluate how much I have learned and How I have applied it to my work, my life. I also want to include future expectations, goals, objectives, and plans.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
5 Tips From Philp Schoonover in the WSJ
This comes out of the Wall Street Journal. The Monday, February 11th 2008 edition, on the Front page of Market Place section is an article entitled "Can Circuit City Survive Boss's Cure?" The article is about a man by the name of Philip Schoonover who took over as chief executive in 2006. He has made some major changes to the company including a $200 million annual budget cut, and layoffs of 3000 employees. The company he says is headed for a long progress turn around, but is still reporting losses, and talk on Wall Street wonders if the company will actually be able to get itself back on its feet. On page B3 the article continues and Schoonover gives 5 Tips for Managing in a Turnaround. "#1: Listen to employees. The best strategies come from the bottom up, not the top down. #2: Refresh management. Different stages of the a turnaround require different skill sets. 3#: Embrace your heritage. Play to and upgrade your company's historic strengths. #4: Protect the future. A CEO must make decisions that protect the company after a turnaround. #5: Stay the course. There will be bumps along the way; stay focused on the big picture." (from the WSJ, pg B3 from the cover of the Market Place section. Monday February 11th 2008)
I think these are great tips. I think that even in other situation, not turnarounds, these tips can be useful. If you play to your companies historic strengths all the time your bound to build those strengths even stronger. Same with any of these tips, Ford during the Hybrid SUV development even played out one of these, "refresh management, by bringing in Mary Ann Wright.
Jonathan Fairbank
I think these are great tips. I think that even in other situation, not turnarounds, these tips can be useful. If you play to your companies historic strengths all the time your bound to build those strengths even stronger. Same with any of these tips, Ford during the Hybrid SUV development even played out one of these, "refresh management, by bringing in Mary Ann Wright.
Jonathan Fairbank
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Experience; the Effective and Efficient Teacher
The books says that some where between 50 and 80% of all the knowledge gained by an accomplished manager comes from experience. I truly think there is no other way to learn how to be a manager. Especially one that is effective, and efficient manager. I believe this applies to the ability to handle ethical and social responsibilities. Like i have said before, "As a person you can not expect to understand a situation fully, unless you are part of the situation and also have a little hind sight pertaining to that situation. Which is probably close to the definition of experience. I could then apply this to the law makers, and government authorities. The people that we elect to government, must be experience in real world business, and relationships, and live as part of society. Instead in America we are in love with the career politicians, that say the have 35 years of experience in gov, or 20 years in congress, or 8 years as president, and 3 terms as mayor. That means to me, yes they know how to work politics, they know how to follow the procedures of holding office, and doing the duties of those positions. The questions you have to ask yourselves, is not "do they know how to work in and with government, and other officials", but instead ask yourself what experience out side of gov't do they bring to improve to processes, and make what already exists more effective and/or more efficient.
Social responsibility applies to all citizens, young and old. I believe that we are all slacking, not doing our part, we need to step up and do 110% and be selfless. It is not just up to government officials, and CEOs of large companies. These are the people that help society to organize, plan, and develop to the processes in which
we a citizens of the world uphold our civic duties.
Thank you Jon
Social responsibility applies to all citizens, young and old. I believe that we are all slacking, not doing our part, we need to step up and do 110% and be selfless. It is not just up to government officials, and CEOs of large companies. These are the people that help society to organize, plan, and develop to the processes in which
we a citizens of the world uphold our civic duties.
Thank you Jon
Sunday, January 27, 2008
World Economics.
www.weforum.com , www.smartmoney.com
http://www.weforum.org/en/media/Latest%20Press%20Releases/PR_closing_270108
http://www.weforum.org/en/media/Latest%20Press%20Releases/PR_closing_270108
Why is our Country's Management Not Fired?
Why do we have such incompitent management running the country I love so very much. It has come to my attention recently that almost everyone in politics these days has made it a career. I have heard from many sources that the founding fathers said that it is UN-American to be a career politician. The knowlegde that you are suppose to bring to the government doesn't come from being in the government, it is supose to come from running a company, or managing a company, or starting a company, or being a doctor. Mainly what I'm saying is that we have got it backwards. As a politician or a manager of the people's republic, you must bring with you that 80 percent of realworld knowledge that almost all CEOs, and managers of large or small corporations, say comes from the school of hard knocks OR real world experience. Not from their cushy office in a building that hard working Americans payed for, built, and maintain so that other hard working trust worthy Americans can bring their two cents and help everyone else out. No we don't do it that way anymore, we let tyrants and dictators live out their dreams and don't hold them to the same standards that we would hold eachother. Some how we have lost sight of what the founding fathers of the United States of America had in mind when the wrote that document that bound us all together, and gave us guidlines to keep ourselves safe, proud, and Free. The Management system of the United States of America has gone astray, and it is up to "we the people" to start doing our job. We are the owners, we pay these people, we have the power to say "your fired" just like Donald. If we are only going to exert our power to impeach, i like to call it the power of political review, when a president is having an affair, we damn well better do it when he is suspected of having an affair of a different nature, an affair with his own greed and that of the others who run our country.
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