Pervasively Business

I almost wish my parents weren’t educators.

Sure, I’d have to give up Mom’s utterly tireless dedication to my childhood upbringing, her encouragement of curiosity and play,  her focus on teaching me to write and her outstanding patience…

And I’d probably have to do without Dad’s dry wit, hopeless determination to teach me math, and assurances that, in fact, pursuing a career in science or teaching would be a worthless idea. He loves to teach, no mistake about it, but he attempted to dissuade me from taking the same path.

But I say all of this to lament the fact that I was never brought up with a sense for business. No entrepreneurial spirit. I hadn’t the slightest concept of how business functions until about six months ago.

It’s everywhere. It applies to how sports teams are run, how universities and churches operate; how I manage and live my life. If I go back to school (and I imagine I will) I will take a whole new perspective on how to graduate as a very accomplished individual. If I have children (and that takes a bit more imagination) I will take intentional opportunities to kindle the sort of business spirit I never experienced as a kid. Plus, of course, a sense of fun to go with it :)

Leveraging Social Media

When I hear the idea of “leveraging” social media as part of a marketing strategy, I mentally cringe. That idea shows a complete misunderstanding of the whole point.

Ask yourself: would you like to be leveraged? Probably not. You probably would prefer not to be a means to an end. What’s in it for you? You probably don’t want to be a revenue spike or another tool in the marketing arsenal.

At least, that’s the way I look at it. Maybe it’s part of being Gen Y, but I think people want to be valued as more than a consumer.

Cheaters in Business School

Very interesting read in Georgetown University’s The Hoya:  Business students are more likely to cheat. It is suggested that a ‘bottom line mentality’ may be the root cause, but I’m not necessarily convinced… Maybe it’s a general disregard for the things ethical people hold in high regard.

Several people are quoted in the article with other ideas, so I recommend reading it.