The tone of C4E associates has taken a palpable turn since the beginning of second quarter. For the first time this year I am part of a group for which I feel all members are equally excited and dedicated to the class. Everyone wants to succeed and we all understand that to succeed as a group we must support one another as well as critique each other. So far, we have rigorously dove into the two projects laid out before us. For the Storefront project, we have a coherent idea in the works that would bring a unique attraction to the neighborhood surrounding Route 9. We plan to turn this storefront into a Crafts shop of sorts, where kids and their families can come in and use our facility to create art. This art would include domains like soaps, candles or paintings. Within this group I am playing on the bench, for lack of a better term, as I do not have a distinct role and am instead filling in wherever there are holes in our group flow. So far I have done a bit of editing on each members written submissions pertaining to this project as well as idea generation. But the majority of my effort thus far lies in the $200 project.
I have taken this non-descript role in our storefront project so that I could free up my class time to go all-out in being the group leader for our $200 project. This leadership experience has been pretty different from any I've had before purely because each student is putting in their 100%. Usually, group projects for school do not have a designated leader, and not everyone is fully on board or checked-in. So, in the frenzy of trying to put together a coherent project, some kids will slack off, and others will have to rise to the occasion and plug the holes in the sinking ship and then shovel out all of the water. But with this group everyone is eager to do well, so as a leader I am doing less of the nudging to get things done, and more of the directing and then taking my hands of the wheel. So far, my members have been very receptive to both direction and feedback, and it is great seeing them be creative and efficient with the tasks I give them.For our project we have recently placed our $200 investment into an order of water bottles donning the school’s new official logo of a spartan. We both came up with the idea and placed the order within the span of 12 hours to get a Cyber Monday deal from the online retailer. That night, I had the unique experience of managing the group in a group chat while participating in a CHEX Steering Committee meeting. During the meeting, in which we were ironing out the details to upcoming event pivotal to the program’s future, I was having a back-and-forth with my members about the best design and the best price and amount of bottles to buy. I could only communicate through text while I had one member at home finishing his edit of the design and the other negotiating with the website for the best deal. It was hectic but also fun, and it gave me a taste of the kind of multi-tasking entrepreneurs must do on a daily basis. I’m looking forward to what this project has in store for me in the future.
Often creating the right team--and getting a team where everyone is working well together--makes everything possible. Team creation in high school is tough since people often want to work with their friends and are hesitant to move away from students who aren't pulling their weight. In the real world, people are fired (or not hired), and this helps.
ReplyDeleteI like your $200 idea, but I'm wondering if people will be willing to buy the bottles. Lots of places currently give out water bottles for free, and people are now into buying expensive but durable water bottles. What's your niche market? Be thinking about how you can convince students that they NEED these bottles. What kinds of promotions might you do to encourage buying? Where might you advertise? Have a solid plan in place so that you can hit the ground running once the bottles arrive.