Motivated Innovation

Although my career after graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) was going fine, I felt stuck in my career and life development. I felt like a plant whose roots had outgrown its original pot; in order to grow and thrive, I needed a new pot and/or new ground. I needed more space and a change of scenery in order to reach my full potential.  During my undergraduate studies, I had talked with several professors and business professionals and had thought about pursuing additional educational opportunities. I learned more about an MBA degree, a business PhD degree, and other opportunities in other fields. Sticking with business seemed the way to go, so I spent a year studying on and off for the GMAT as I continued to research MBA and PhD/DBA programs. The hard work paid off as my GMAT score gave me the opportunity to return to school full-time. I chose the MBA route as it seemed to be a strong credential to add to my strong work ethic and full-tim

Earlier this month, I read an article on LinkedIn by Mark Stevens about job interviews . For those of you unfamiliar with Mark, he is an established marketing guru who built his business up in a bootstrap manner. That is remarkable! However, I strongly disagree with his stance in this article. Some say he was "trolling" just to receive online responses. If this is true, he succeeded. Here are 3 lessons I share with readers: 1. Understand the role and power of HR From my career experience, HR has become well-connected with other departments in an organization. HR representatives are included with both strategic planning and tactical daily operations. While some reps do not have personal experience in roles in which they are hiring for, they do have open communication with those in the department and have at least a baseline understanding of their hiring needs. They are not outsiders--they are "in the know" and know both what is going on within the company and

*formerly posted on "Welcome, International Students!" blog Recently, a memorable key chain broke off from my car keys. It was a key chain that my parents bought for me as a little boy at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. It said "RICH" (which some of my friends, classmates, and relatives have called me over the years). Looking back, what I remember most from that day was a moment with my oldest brother (who has since passed away). I remember getting really hungry, so my brother agreed to take me over to the restaurant area to buy some food. In front of us in line were an older brother and a younger brother. I think they were the same exact ages as my brother and me. They were born in one of the countries in the Middle Eastern/North African area of the world. They were wearing clothing that was traditional from their country, including headdresses of some sort. We talked for a bit with the brothers. It was funny how much we were just like them. I

Recently, I had the opportunity to visit the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. This was my second visit to the hall of fame (my first visit was back in 2004). I saw displays from numerous musicians and musical artists. Some of my favorite displays included: Elvis Presley's military uniform One of Michael Jackson's Grammy Awards from the music video/short film "Thriller" Clothing and jewelry from Run-D.M.C. A Pearl Jam Rock n' Jock Softball Uniform Gear from the Beastie Boys' music video "Intergalactic" Each of these items stood out for one reason or another. Each was distinctly recognizable. However, the display that most caught my attention was this quote from Billy Joel: One simple quote. "If you are not doing what you love, you are wasting your time." So simple yet so thought-provoking. 'Oh, these musicians, they must love life--they get to do what they love to do all th