Prompt 4: Making Good Decisions

Hi all,

Thanks for this incredible opportunity over the last month. While it has been far from easy and quite intense at times, as Melea said yesterday, not many people are sitting back relaxing when they are changing their lives.

Without further ado, below is my video. Please let me know what you think. I'd love your comments even though the course is officially over. I look forward to seeing your posts as well.

Prompt 3: Constraints (and opportunities)

Through this course, I am continuing to learn tremendously about myself, others, and the power of community. I appreciate the opportunity for your feedback and thoughts on my work, goals, and possible future. 

Our assignment is to first describe our project, then list current constraints (clear, subtle and private) of project. Once clearly described, identify them as external or internal. Second, describe what "more" and "better" looks like. 

I am going to use my Prompt 2 as inspiration. My project idea is to create a team-based wellness program for families with one (or more) family members with health conditions that necessitate behavior change. For example, this could be a program for families whose child has received a pre-diabetes or even type 2 diagnoses. These conditions are growing in prevalence and lifestyle plays a large role in halting or reversing the negative consequences.  

Constraints: 

1) Time (internal and external): The first constraint that comes to mind is the time it will take to create a program that meets the needs of my clients. This means identifying possible clients, identifying their needs in creation of the product, and the piloting, producing, and marketing the product. I've done projects before for my full time job and spent months working with a team through this process. I have experience knowing what it will take to do a good job: many hours, revisions, and hard/focused work. This is an internal constraint because we all have 24 hours. I do have free time that is available to devote to the project. On the other hand, I am limited by the time I can devote to the project given my full time job (see next constraint).

2) Money (internal and external): I am sure I'm not alone in listing money as a constraint. The last few years my husband and I have focused on reducing our personal debt and increasing savings. We have a goal to start a family, purchase a home soon, and want to continue to build our savings and minimize (if not clear) all debt. In my current situation, I have stability: a fair salary, 401K, insurance, nice vacation package. I am not going to leave that and don't want to. I am also continuing to learn from my co-workers and the projects that I work on. As I an advantage, I have lots of interests and my job gives me ample room to satisfy my curiosity and knowledge cravings. To fulfill my money constraints, my project needs to be a side project, at least initially.

3) Extroversion (internal): In previous projects, I've learned the value in working in a team. For this side project, I'm hesitant to work alone. Not because I can't do the work; it's because I like the company, the opportunity to brainstorm, and creating a better product. While working with others does not make things easier or faster, it does create better products. Ideally, I will have at least one other person who is interested in working on this project with me. How do I identify this person? I want to be thoughtful and professional in my pursuit of looking for a business/creative partner(s). 

4) Skills (external and internal): Clearly I do not possess all of the skills needed to make this project and launch a product in this e-commerce driven world. My real lack of skill in some areas and lack of confidence in others makes it scary to start. I am a person who doesn't like to mess up. I want to do a great job and to minimize mistakes. This is part of the reason why creating my own Alt MBA program appealed to me. (Through it, I could spend my time gaining knowledge and skills to then minimize my struggle later.) There are others though who do have skills that I would need. The clear path is to find others who can do these skills. Again, this makes me wonder what is the best way to find these folks? And if I am only going to spend a minimal amount of time increasing my skill base, what do I focus on? Do I work on the recommendations given to me by you in previous posts or pursue other courses, books, mentorships, etc? 

What do "More" and "Better" look like?

More and better look like the opportunity to be creative, innovative, creating useful products that lead to real change and improve quality of life, and personal learning (marketing, business, education, e-commerce). Better looks like challenge, contribution, leadership, relationships, and fulfilling a need.  

This thought process makes me know I don't have to wait to have hours of time to start. If I want to be creative, I can do that. I need to get started. In the past, I've been able to accomplish much more than you would think with setting aside 10 minutes a day to study for the GRE. After 6 months of doing that, I increased my score 20%. (And truthfully I did not spend much more time than 10 minutes a day to study.) 

How can I create time constraints to move me forward on this creative goal? Once I have a proposal or a start of a proposal, I can find the right "home" for it- a department at OHSU, a private company, Kick-starter. 

Thanks for reading and I look forward to your comments. 

Reflective Script: 
As always your comments and thoughtful and hit to the heart of the matter. I almost regret saying that I don't like making mistakes because I feel like that says something about me. It does. I like the Douglas' idea of reframing as experimentation. I've been able to reframe applying for grants and not getting them as still positive experiments. I want to spend the time to think about how I would reframe a business venture that didn't "work" as experimentation. Going back to an initial thought from early in the program was to have a one time event to reduce the stress of feeling like I have a create something so big out of the gates. I also like Susan's idea of the salon. This is something I've been considering for a few months. I was planning on being more casual about it: happy hour with health and wellness folks. Maybe there is a middle ground there. I want to go back and reformulate my goals. This class has helped me really expand my scope, think more creatively, and challenged. And then there are all of the very practical ideas: AJ's suggestion of the Mercy Corps business class, Melea's business coaching ideas. What am I going to do with all of these ideas that are now in my head?

"Begin whatever you're doing by remembering that you are here and you have been given a gift."

Prompt 3: Creating a Movement

Wow Catalyst classmates- my mind has been on overdrive- so stimulated and full of ideas. Thank you for taking the time to read and share your ideas and thoughts with me. I have a feeling that I will end up somewhere quite different than where I began. My previous posts have focused on creating an Alt MBA program, but you have stirred up something in me to consider starting a side business. To be true to this assignment, I will focus on My Why and the other prompts, knowing that I have much more flushing out to do. I likely need to return to the goal setting process again.

My WHY

The theme of my why throughout my career has been to improve health, prevent the unnecessary use of resources (medicine, provider visits, surgeries, etc.), and overall improve the quality of life of those I interact with. As I talked about in my biography, as a personal trainer and health coach I worked with clients directly. As a wellness curriculum developer, I created programs that engaged teams of employees throughout OHSU. Now as a project manager, I work with primary care offices to consider their processes for delivering care to patients and develop policy recommendations for payers to provide additional resources for prevention through the use of community health workers, nurse care managers, or better utilization of office staff. Throughout these positions, my commitment to the above statement remain true. There are many things we can do to be healthier that do not rely on medications.

I feel people have trusted my why, but up to this point, I've been largely a part of someone else's movement. If I continue to speak authentically and communicate well, I believe that people will trust my why. My work has been consistent with my why and I'm insistent that I feel congruence with organizations I work with.

My customers

My previous customers have sought to be healthy and fit and some have had a long way to go. For instance, in my personal training business my target clients were those new to fitness (possibly with significant weight to lose), recovering from injuries, pre- or post-natal women, or seniors. I taught the fundamentals of proper form and exercise planning, every little bit helps, if it hurts- don't do it, and the best exercise is the one you LIKE to do. I am realistic with my clients and myself and know that a strict regimen doesn't work for most people. Most people were coming to me for a lifestyle change and not a crash regimen. I think they wanted to have fun in the process too. Ultimately my clients were looking to feel better, be healthy, and happier.

For example, I would never advocate a strict diet that removes all brownies, cookies and cakes. Desserts are delicious, a wonderful part of celebrating, and something I would never give up myself. Instead, I advocate for more balance and simple habits that lead to overall health. It's not one brownie that will push someone over the edge. It's the day in and day out habits. I've found for myself and others that focusing on eating ample fruits and vegetables throughout the day crowds out the junk. Also, being aware of why I might be reaching for the brownie helps too. Stress management and nutrition are often linked.

It comes down to daily habits and there are proactive things that we can do to set ourselves up for success.

As we discussed in my small group, there may be a business opportunity to create a wellness program geared towards families. Through talking to my co-workers, I know it is very challenging for working mothers to take care of themselves and nationally there is a growing number of children with type 2 diabetes and obesity. With the rise in obesity, type 2 diabetes which used to be called adult onset diabetes, now can affects young children.

There are many things that can be done- from national policies, workplace or school programs- to improve health. An outlet could also be the family unit, a natural team. My program would work to educate families on the basics of health and wellness, with awareness that knowledge is a small part of the equation. Motivation and behavior change are the secret sauce that get us moving and that's what I would weave throughout my program. The focus would be on daily habits and simple, proactive steps families could take. While the program could start out generally, it could be tailored to programs for families who have a child with type 1 or type 2 diabetes or other chronic conditions. There would be an educational component to teach the families about the mechanisms of the condition and steps families can take to support the child with the condition.

Lastly, people don't want to be alone- they want a community. Despite social media, people seem lonelier than ever. In the past, many people relied on their church, sat on their front porch (actually knew their neighbors), and didn't have electronic communication as an option.

With my program, it could be beneficial to explore having monthly family-oriented health and wellness events. Families could meet others going through the program, be social, and do healthy activities. We all need support and it's more fun to go through the journey with others.

I look forward to your thoughts.
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Reflective Script: 

Thank you for your thoughts. I continue to be super impressed with you all and the resources/talents you share. I know in this day and age that a technical approach will be necessary. Enlisting the help of instructional designers, graphic designers, web designers, and experts (MDs) will be necessary to transition from concepts to a viable product. As mentioned by Suzi early on, these are areas that I think I would outsource, but I also don't want to be clueless about them either. I thoroughly appreciate Susan's book recommendation. 

Celine hit on one of my big conundrums: I would want those who can least afford my products to have access. While the private sector doesn't generally work this way, I think creativity could be applied to the way the business is organized so that the program could be available to those in need. Could my business have a partnership with JDRF or American Diabetes Association? Could it donate a percentage of the books/curriculum to those who can't afford to buy them? Give them to libraries? This part gets me fired up because I like the creativity. 

I have research and relationship building to do before creating a curriculum or program for any of the three groups I mentioned in my post above (families with a child who is at risk for developing diabetes, or families with a child with type 1 or type 2 diabetes.) I need to learn more about what these families want and if there is a true need for this product. I would need to talk to families in these circumstances before getting started. In the public health world, this is the needs assessment portion. Laurie's comment of speaking to JDRF is spot on. I would also want an endocrinologist to review my work to make sure it is scientifically sound. This research and relationship building would help me answer Douglas' questions regarding the true needs of my group. I can guess how they feel but I won't really know unless I ask. 


Clearly there are many things to figure out and it appeals to have others to partner with. If I am going to create a side business or side project, I like the idea of working in a team. That's a possibility to explore.

My Alt MBA Plan

As outlined in my previous post, here is my growing plan. I will update as I go throughout the Catalyst course. Specifically, I would like my classmates feedback here: 1) What should I include in my Assessment? What books, entrepreneurs, or courses, do you recommend? I am excited to see what you recommend.

2016 schedule:
Term 1: July-September
Break and Term 1 assessment (what to modify for term 2?): October 1-15
Term 2: October 15-December 15
Break: December 15-30
Term 3: January-March
Break: April 1-15
Term 4: April 15-June 15
Finals: final report, post-assessment, graduation

Final Deliverables:
- Pre and post assessment
- Notes and 1 page summary/take away from each book I read (minimum 6)
- Completion of courses
- Expanded network of health and wellness professionals
- 12 meetings with entrepreneurs/health professionals
- Continue blog with book summaries and posts regarding meeting with entrepreneurs- what I learned from them, thoughts that I can use, advice, next steps: my blog is part of my accountability
- Final report/take aways/next steps

My Alt MBA Plan- fine details

May 2016
- Send invite for quarterly health and wellness networking group happy hour
- Research and create pre-assessment
- Research courses for first term from July- September
        - Places to research: Lynda.com (free resource through OHSU), OHSU courses for employees,  
          PUGS, general Internet search
- Pick two books for term 1

June 2016
- Complete assessment and set up initial meetings
- Continue research and sign up for courses, buy books and supplies
- Investigate mentors and set up meetings to find a good fit
- Complete health and wellness happy hour: __________

July 2016
- Complete meeting with _____________
- Write post regarding meeting with entrepreneur/wellness professional
- Read book: ____________
- Complete one page book summary blog post
- If applicable, start course: _____________

My Alt Mba: Creating the education I want and need for a fraction of the cost (1)

The key idea I keep thinking about is being at a crossroads. The idea came up in conversation with my supervisor yesterday. I openly told her that I feel like I'm at a crossroads of academic and program-driven work. She asked me to spend twenty minutes telling her what I am interested in. In the end she said, "You seem more passionate about the business-oriented work." It's compelling how others can sometimes see what is difficult for us to see.

What I didn't explain further to my supervisor is that I have a curiosity and continued attraction to own a business. I am self-motivated and do not worry about waking up and not having someone tell me what to do. On the contrary, I would love the freedom to pursue ideas, be more creative in my work, and build more relationships without worry of bureaucracy or stepping on toes.

The goal that I want to pursue through this Catalyst class is to use my current position plus outside resources to prepare myself to be a future business-owner- now. My idea is to use this class to create my own alternate MBA- a personally created and curated program to fill my skill gaps, build relationships, and fine-tune my business concept, while continuing to build my personal and family savings.

Two primary conditions to this program:

1) I will not go into major debt for this process. I will spend no more than $5,000 for this "program". My resources could include in-person or online courses, conferences, meetings with friends and acquaintances, or books.

2) I will not use my studies as a shield to hide behind. I will continue to pursue new, challenging projects and explore areas I am interested in. I will not use the pursuit of more education as an excuse for not striving for my goals.

I will use the month of May 2016 to create my curriculum while taking the Catalyst course. The program will run from July 2016-July 2017. The assessment period and investigation of resources and classes will take place between May and June 2016.

Some components I will create in May and June:

1) A pre-assessment: What skills are needed for entrepreneurship? The primary areas that come to mind include marketing, financial, managerial, communications (social media and promotional), and strategic planning. I will assess myself and think about my skill gaps. I will ask at least one person to assess me objectively and help me think about areas where I may need to build skills.

2) I will investigate free or low cost education courses to build my skills. I will determine the timing of these courses, and how I would fit these commitments into my schedule.

In addition to my course work, I will also meet with an entrepreneur either in-person or virtually at least once a month. I will use these meetings to learn about skills I may need, business lines I may pursue, and pros or cons of different models, such as franchising. I will intentionally meet with a wide range of entrepreneurs and employees of companies with leadership responsibilities. Some ideas include: owners of gyms or wellness centers, franchise owners, or leaders of health organizations.

I will also identify at least one mentor who can help me consider my career path and provide feedback throughout the one-year course.

I will measure success based on progress after the pre-assessment and completion of the courses or individually led training opportunities.

I am excited about this opportunity because:

1) It would engage me in my current position to learn from my co-workers and current and potential projects (grant writing/contract preparation).

2) This course would build my skills and knowledge. I truly enjoy learning and this would feed my curiosity.

3) I think it's possible to gain the skills I want and need without spending a fortune. 

Obstacles that I will need to overcome:

1) The cost. Even though it will be a fraction of the cost of a traditional program, I don't want the cost to hold me back.

2) Other activities could distract me. Summer is coming up and I don't want to be distracted from pursuing this goal. Because I am not required to do this, I will need to maintain my personal motivation to keep going. 

3) Individuals to meet with. (I am less worried about this as I have a good network already and confidence that others will suggest people I should meet with too.)

Now Catalyst classmates, I am ready for your ideas. Where are the holes in my plan? Do you have suggestions? Thanks for reading.

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Reflective Script:
Wow Catalyst classmates! Thank you for giving me so much to think about and challenge me. I feel like I'm in a bit of a conundrum. A couple of you have given me a big idea to think about: starting a small business now. A lot of resistance comes up with this idea: what business would I start? what competitive advantage/new idea/gap would I fill? what about my free time? My weekends and evenings are open for fun and free time so there is part of me that hesitates to give that up. I know that I am not in a position to hang up my shingle and my day job. I feel strongly that running a small business (at least at this point) would be on the side. I do have one idea but I would want to vet it. I also wonder if I want to do something bigger or different. In the past when I had my own business working as a personal trainer, my income was limited to the hours I worked and my schedule was dependent on when clients wanted to meet with me. While I really like direct service, I would like to come up with an idea that is less dependent on me delivering all of the services. 

So for now, what's next? I still think there is value of preparation, saving money, and building my skills in preparation for a business down the line. I also see the value of getting out there and starting a side project. I am interested in meeting others that could be interested in working together. Maybe there are people here in this class? 

Sweet Home: From Alabama to Oregon

I am happy to begin this class with you on Wednesday and excited about what we will learn and how we will grow. In this post, I will tell you about my journey so far and what I hope to explore in the Catalyst course.

The Rocket City

I was born and raised in Huntsville, Alabama, and the oldest in a family of three children. Throughout my childhood I swam, played soccer, rode my bike, and sang in multiple choirs. Beginning at age 4, I sang in the church choir. For high school I attended a magnet arts school where I sang in concert choir, show choir, performed as a soloist and participated in musical theater productions. Singing was a huge part of my early life.

Matthew, Meredith and me
1994

The Nation's Capital

I moved to North Carolina for my senior year of high school when my mom remarried. After graduating high school, I attended the George Washington University in Washington, DC. Despite it not being too far geographically from Alabama or North Carolina, I found the culture at the school quite different than what I was used to. As I sought to figure out where I fit, I quickly chose the business administration major for its practicality and I thought it would please my family and others. Throughout my college years, I was "very serious"- I was an honors student, always had a part-time job and various internships (from a venture capital company to a food insecurity non-profit.) If I regret anything during that time, it would be that I didn't have more fun.

After college my first job was working for an import/export company called Beijing Trade Exchange. There I was a project manager who helped American companies produce their products in China and import them to the U.S. for sale here. While I was challenged in that position, I felt unfulfilled and dissatisfied that my daily efforts were focused on producing items like industrial rain jackets for food processing or cheap bean bags that would be sold at K-mart. Six months into that job I began exploring for the first time what I was interested in doing with my life. I thought about the primary aspect of my job at Beijing Trade Exchange that I liked: working with my clients. I then thought about my favorite hobby and interest: health and fitness. I decided to become a personal trainer. I began saving money, took a certification course, and found a mentorship program. One year after graduating from college, I was free-lancing as a personal trainer for a small, women-owned gym in Washington, DC.

Roses in my neighborhood

The Rose City- Twice

After six years of living in Washington, D.C., however, I was ready for a change. I loved D.C.'s diversity, cultural opportunities, and architecture, but its expense, the "rat race", and the relative difficulty to pursue outdoor activities drew me to Portland, Oregon. I sent ten letters, had ten informational interviews, was offered two positions, and ultimately accepted a position as Fitness Director for the Portland YWCA gym in downtown Portland. There I ran the group fitness program and trained primarily senior adults and those new to fitness. I also began taking science pre-requisite classes at Portland State University in the hope of going to physical therapy school.

After deep consideration, I ultimately decided not to go to physical therapy school. My family (and a few long stories) brought me back to D.C., where I worked for the George Washington University. As an excellent benefit, GW paid for my Master of Public Health degree. In my third and final year of the program, I took a graduate teaching assistant position at the campus wellness center so that I could finish up my degree more quickly. Nearly three years to the day from when I returned to D.C., I moved back to Portland. Even before I had a job, I shipped my things to Portland and knew I would figure it out.

My first job after graduate school was a part time health coach position and working as a personal trainer. It was a challenging time and I wasn't paying my bills. Almost at the point of wanting to return to D.C. where I felt my job prospects would be better, I was offered a position at OHSU in the department of Health Promotion and Sports Medicine (HPSM). That same week I met the man who would become my husband, Connor. (That was a really good week.)

I spent three years at HPSM, primarily as a wellness curriculum writer. I built skills in writing, program development, and basic graphic design and layout. For the past year I have worked for Oregon Rural Practice-based Research Network, a division within OHSU, as a project manager. My current project is wrapping up. It has involved working with four primary care offices in Umatilla County, Oregon on care management and care coordination. The end result of the project will be a policy report to the insurance company funder and the local coordinated care organization (CCO) advisory group regarding recommendations for care coordination in the region.

View of Mt. Hood when flying to Pendleton from Portland for work
Summer 2015

I thoroughly enjoy my life here in Portland. My free time is often filled with hiking, riding my bike, Portland's wonderful food scene (as well as wine and beer), and traveling with my husband to both see our family and the world. I also sing in the choir at First Unitarian church.

I feel I'm at a cross roads of the next career step for me. I have explored academic, program management, and entrepreneurial work. I look forward to considering my career and education aspirations through our meetings and with you all.

Maggie and Connor
Falls Creek Falls, WA
April 30, 2016