Rough Draft for Digital Story

Below are the notes that I have that I'll be using for my digital story. I haven't had the chance to coordinate with the people and figure out the set-up for interviews, so that will be one of the next steps. I also will be tying in concepts from Arendt once I have my story down.

Notes on Famous Business Leaders

Jeff Weiner

- We sometimes act, or don’t act, out of fear. We’re fearful over what people will think. We’re fearful of the morale hit. We’re fearful of the unknown. So we all just look away.

- So you say, “I’m  going all in with you. Here is where I’ve observed the gap exists between your current performance and what we need from you. And I’m going to be transparent with you all the way. And if that doesn’t work out, we’re going to figure out another role for you, and if that doesn’t make sense, I’ll do everything I can to make sure you’re successful elsewhere.”

- You have to trsut your instincts, you have to trust your values, and you have to say “I believe this is right, equitable, and fair – or its not.”

- When confronted by his CFO/general counsel “You realize some things have to change (IPO)?” I said “No, it’s not going to change. We’re going to play up to who we aspire to be and not play down to the lowest common denominator out of fear of what might happen. As soon as you do that, it’s done”

- Trust equals consistency over time

- No one has ever made himself great by showing how small someone else is

Richard Branson

- Trust your gut. You can always teach someone skills required for a job, but you can’t teach them to adapt their personality to your corporate culture

- You only live once and it’s important to spend your life doing something you enjoy and really interests you and you’ll be pleased spending your life doing

- If you have a great idea, go for it

- Don’t do a profession because you think you’re going to make a lot of money in it. It’s going to be horribly dull

- You want people who passionately believe in what you want to do, and surround yourself with those kinds of people

- I like to enjoy what I do. I like to create things I’m proud of. I like to surround myself with great people. And I give those people a lot of freedom to create great things

Warren Buffett

- Money and success don’t change people; they merely amplify what is already there

- Worthless people live only to eat and drink. People of worth eat and drink only to live

- Provided plenty of emotional support – but little financial support – to Peter Buffett

- Assumption is an easy life of money and privilege. But really the support, the privilege, comes from having two parents that said and believed that I could do anything. That support came in the form of love and nurturing and respect for us finding our way, falling down, figuring out how to get up ourselves

than the current person in the role (hates firing)

- Buffett made clear to his family that there’d be no handouts. He paid for school tuition and nothing more. Futon for when Nicole moved off-campus “You know what the rules are: school expenses only”

- It didn’t matter how big our house weas; it mattered that there was love in it

Interview Questions

Interviewees: Howard Lio, Kit Skjeie, and Jack Koval

1. What are some traits that you believe are necessary to be a good leader

2. What are some of the challenges you’ve seen both in the business school and at your previous jobs in terms of ethics?

3. Do you believe the corporate structure is set up to properly encourage people to do what’s right?

4. Has your character or integrity ever been questioned, and how would you handle a situation like that?

5. Do you believe your experience would be different if it were a non-business context?

Video Project Outline- Deion Love

The community that I will be focusing on for the sake of this project is being of the Black community at a predominately-white institution such as Emory University. I have found it hard to adapt to this “white space” without entirely changing my true identity. The transition from predominately-black schools to this institution was a major adjustment because it was all so unfamiliar. I found myself trying much harder to make friends and configuring to others’ standards. The environment has improved for me because I was able to find a group of friends who were inviting and unbiased. I was also able to evaluate my purpose on this campus and have become more content with my Emory experience. It has been a journey with coping with my identity affirmation. I have gone through a lot of development processes at Emory, in terms of my ambitions, physical appearance, and personality. However, I can say that every change has made a better and stronger me.

            By analyzing how this community has been an integral piece of my Emory experience, I am able to show a new dynamic that will bring awareness to the pressures of black students in “white spaces”. I believe that delving in to how minorities view the institutions they are apart of helps university administration understand how they should attract students to their universities and specifically what improvements can be made to improve minorities’ campus adaptability. This project not only reflects my experience, but an overarching experience that minorities have at Emory.

            The video will consist of interviews of black students to understand the pressures they face at this institution. The interviewees will be asked a series of questions to encourage thought-provoking and sincere responses. White interviewees will also be interviewed to observe the “white perspective” of the Emory experience for Black students. By utilizing this approach, I will be able to view the idea of “white privilege” and its effects on the students’ psyches concerning the Black experience. Following the interviews, I will also be giving a story of my first-year experience at Emory and how it has difficult for me to adapt to this new community and environment. To add more depth to my story, I will provide “a day in the life” segment to show more of the factors that affect my experience.

            My overall goal for this project is to create an outlet for black students and bring awareness to our experiences. We are pressured everyday to either be someone we are not or be someone we dislike. The pressure sometimes becomes unbearable and that affects how we perform as students of the university. Hopefully, this video encourages others to be more understanding and be conscious of how their actions can directly affect the lives or experiences of others.