Finally... What I (L)Earned Last Tuesday

bysarazoldan

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Updated 10 years ago

The Collaboratory Review

I’m finally writing about my experience last Tuesday at The Collaboratory in New York City. It’s given me a lot to think about, so I apologize if my thoughts are a little jumbled and my writing shows that.

In a nutshell, The Collaboratory was a gathering of Jewish entrepreneurs, leaders, social innovators and changes from all across North America (and I think a couple from Israel too).

I arrived at the Marriot by the Brooklyn Bridge at about 8:45, as everyone was eating breakfast. I headed straight to the bathroom to change out of my comfie clothes from my overnight flight and into something a little more respectable. Then I went to check-in. I got my badge and entered the conference room.

Reframing Your Thoughts to Modify Results

The day started with welcomes, introductions and an interactive activity.

Ringle Rae, founder of The Ringel Group, was the first keynote speaker to address us. She spoke about the state of mind that we need to be in in order to be as productive as possible.

The main idea was that I walked away with was the importance of realizing that there’s a chain from the thought process to the active outcome and we have the ability to manipulate that outcome.

That sequence looks like this: Thinking -> Feelings -> Actions -> Results. By changing our thought habits to reframe situations, we can actually better achieve the desired outcome.

The Language of Leaders

After Rae’s lecture we split up into four groups for skills sessions. I was in Rae’s group and her topic was: The Language of Leaders: Using Presence and Communication to Get Results.

There was a lot of group interaction and discussion, which was eye opening and interesting.

My biggest takeaway was the importance of being very specific when making a request. Be sure to mention what the request is, whom it is being addressed to, by when you want it fulfilled and specify the conditions of satisfaction.

While it may seem a bit uncomfortable at first (it may feel like a power play), it’ll end up much more effective in the long run and at the end of the day, all parties involved will appreciate it!

The Opportunity in a Lunch Break

Next came lunch. We picked up our boxed lunches and sat down to eat. I met amazing people and made really great networking connections. It was phenomenal to have so many selfless, giving people in one room; there was so much energy, positivity and encouragement that was being shared. Lunch hour was an invaluable part of the day.

Little Kids Rock :)

Following lunch was a presentation given by Dave Wish of Little Kids Rock. 20 years ago as a first grade teacher in a low income, inner city school, Dave started teaching his students music.

By ‘teaching’, I mean he let them just rock out to whatever songs they wanted in their own expressive ways. When his class became more popular than he could handle, he trained other teachers to do what he was doing and now he trains others to train teachers.

Today, that method of teaching music is called Modern Band and has just been implemented into the public school curriculum by the board of education in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles!

Dave spoke about his journey, his dream, his mission and how it has become so much bigger than he ever could have imagined.

Dave’s presentation in particular meant a lot to me because in a way, our ideas are so similar. I too, am a teacher who was using Project SWAG in my classroom, decided to put it online, got great feedback and now am working on developing that idea. I don’t know where it’ll be 20 years from now, but hearing Dave speak was a great inspiration and form of encouragement.

Comments and Advice

After a quick break came Lightning Round Case Studies. We were divided into groups of 4 where we each had about 12 minutes to discuss our organizations. The first few minutes were given to the individual to explain his organization and ask the rest of the group for suggestions and advice on a particular issue that s/he is struggling with and then was advice giving time from the other members. Each of the 4 took a turn and it was really interesting.

I got to learn in depth about other businesses/organizations and I after a day of learning how to ask the right questions, I was able to input practical advice and suggestions.

While I was initially disappointed with the responses that I got when it was my turn (not because of the lack of enthusiasm but because I didn’t think it was so helpful), I later realized how much food for thought it had really given me.

Time to Ponder...

I know what the core of Project SWAG is and now it is time for me to develop that idea, create a business plan, figure out how to monetize it, etc…

I would really like to get into a mentorship/investment type program for entrepreneurs who are creating change and right now, that’s what I’m working on.

That’s enough rambling for now…

Cheers, Stephanie