Monthly Archives: November 2013

Focusing On My Skills

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For the past 3 months of the MBA program I have been consciously reflecting on what my strongest skills are.  We are given so many team projects through the program and with each of these opportunities, I ask myself what value I am adding to the a team and where my strengths lie.  Here are what I am identifying as my strongest skills:

1)    Organization and Time Management

This is by far my biggest strength.  I am really REALLY organized and exercise excellent time management skills.  I organize my icalendar by colour and then block out each day with how much time I allot for each project, assignment, etc.  It really helps me stay on track and I notice others in the program come to me to determine what deliverables are coming up and what they need to focus on.

2)    Creativity

This one just comes naturally to me, having a background in design and fashion.  I try to infuse creativity into everything I do and create.  I am proving to be the go-to for style advice, design work, branding, marketing, and presentations.  I have also been helping several classmates with their creativity project ideas and execution.

3)    Writing

I am really discovering myself as a writer recently.  I am having the time of my life writing my food blog!  I also really enjoy writing these e-portfolio posts as well as projects and cases.  I find writing flows easily and naturally for me and I have been getting great feedback from profs and collegues about my personal voice.  I have also been helping some of the international students with editing their projects and letters.

4)    Leadership

More and more I am noticing my leadership skills are developing throughout the MBA program.  I think that my style focuses on empowering and engaging those around me through inspiration, motivation, positivity, creativity, and healthy discussion.  I also focus on always demonstrating my core values of honesty, integrity, and approachability when working with others.

5)    Idea Generation

Throughout the program, I am learning that idea generation is a HUGE skill of mine.  I thrive in brainstorming, idea generation, and inspiration sessions.  I am very much looking forward to continuing to develop this skill throughout the Innovation and Entrepreneurship track.

6)    Teamwork

When reflecting on my group projects and also my past 12 years of work experience, I have realized that I can work with anyone and everyone.  I focus on being approachable, respectful, helpful, and collaborative.  Knock on wood, but I have yet to find someone that I can’t work with :).

7)    Presentations

In all groups I am the presentation builder.  I have a great eye for colour, design, layout, type etc.  I ensure that my presentations look esthetically pleasing and visually exciting.

8)    Consumer Behavior

This one hasn’t been developed through school yet ( I am taking this class next term) but has come from my work experience as a Designer and Colourist .  I am very skilled in knowing exactly what my customer wants even if she don’t know it yet. I have a proven track record of delivering the right product assortment to address all of her wants and needs.

 

Professional Direction Artifact

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Since starting the MBA program two months ago, I have completed a lot of research on and attended several networking activities within the retail industry. Through research and events, two trending concepts keep coming up for me again and again. Firstly, the game changer, of ecommerce and secondly sustainability.

Ecommerce and online retail spaces have only really taken off in the last five years of so. Everyone I speak with is talking to the fact that ecommerce is immensely changing the way in which people shop and how retailers do business. Traditional brick and mortar businesses are reworking their overall strategies as sales in their newly launched online platforms are quickly surpassing their actual stores. What’s most interesting to me is that, despite Canada’s immense digital penetration, we are very much a lager with online shopping. The next three to five years will be interesting for us as we follow in the footsteps of our American neighbors and develop and grow this business. Not only can we learn from them what’s right to do in building this business, but also what mistakes to avoid. I think there is a lot of opportunity in ecommerce and because it is so new, I think it offers a great niche that I can cater to upon graduation. While in school, I hope to explore this further by selecting classes that focus on this topic either at Sauder or during my exchange to Europe.

Sustainability, while not as game changing as ecommerce, is another trending concept touching the retail industry. The retail industry, traditionally, is not very sustainable and now companies are placing a higher and higher importance on becoming more eco-friendly. The biggest focuses are being put on reducing carbon footprints and water wastage. Again, I feel that this is another niche that I can potentially leverage to differentiate myself from other MBA’s applying for the same roles in my industry. I will also explore this topic further in the electives that I select during school.

Finally, with my long-term goal of starting my own interior and lifestyle branded boutique, I feel that specializing in both of these topics during my MBA will really help ensure the future success of my business.