Sept. 21

“It's easier to hold to your principles 100% of the time than it is to hold to them 98% of the time.”

This was my absolute favorite quote from the essay “How Will You Measure Your Life?” by Clayton M. Christensen, which we all read for this week's class. This essay focused a lot on balance of life in and out of work, and how goals and morals in a career should and most likely will affect how relationships are handled outside of that work environment.

The above quote is from the section, “Avoid the 'Marginal Costs' Mistake.” As a Harvard Business School professor, Mr. Christensen relates the lessons in this writing back to business school rules. So the marginal costs section reflected the economic and financial practice of basing decisions in the present on possible future outcomes. But he argues that in life we should not change our principles based on “extenuating circumstances.” Even if I promise myself that I will only budge from my moral center this one time because the situation calls for me to do so, that makes it that much easier for me to do the same thing next time the opportunity rolls around. Mr. Christensen states that once you have drawn the moral boundaries in a place with which you are comfortable, you should stick by those decisions. Extenuating circumstances happen every day, but after you have given in to the temptation to fold even once, each time after that will be even more of a struggle to resist. I agree with this viewpoint wholeheartedly. Later in my life, I want to be able to reflect on my experiences and be proud of the decisions I've made. If I stand by my principles, that is at one area of my history that I will be entirely satisfied with.

Sept. 14

The second time Women in Leadership met we covered a lot of information once again. My favorite part of the evening was hearing from Chasity Kuttrus, an executive coach. This is a career I had never heard of before. An executive coach acts as a kind of advisor for a person in an executive position in his or her career, and Mrs. Kuttrus only consults females. Her job is to give her clients professional advice and help them to plan for their futures, or just to answer questions about general uncertainties they might have about their work lives. It was evident that Mrs. Kuttrus has a lot of passion for her work, and I imagine that would be necessary for such a career. And I can understand why. It would be such a fulfilling way to earn a living to spend each day helping other women continue on the successful track in life, and to see them overcome obstacles.

There was one subject Mrs. Kuttrus touched on that I found to be particularly interesting. This was that although she only works with women who are in the executive positions at their careers, one issue many of her clients come to her with is a lack of self-confidence. I find it to be very telling that even women who have been undeniably successful still are not always entirely self-assured. This is not something I expected to hear at all. It is, however, comforting to know that although so many women sometimes lack feelings of confidence, they have overcome this uncertainty to accomplish great things.

Sept. 7

At our latest Women in Leadership class, we heard from several different speakers. Personally, I most enjoyed the slideshow and speech from Otterbein's archivist Steven Grinch. He presented to us a history of women from Otterbein. It was very interesting to hear about how involved and influential women have been from the beginning at this university. The first two graduates were females and women were included on the faculty from the time the school was established.

I found the entire presentation informative and relevant. It's great to learn from all the women who accomplished so much during and after their time at this school. Especially when their experiences can easily be tied into the subjects we are and will be covering in this particular course. I feel even more driven and ambitious to do well here. I'm also excited to see what the future holds for my Women in Leadership classmates and me at Otterbein University. The fact that we are surrounded by such a rich and vibrant history of success can only bode well for us. There is still so much time for us to decide what we want to do with everything we will learn and what we already know. But if the past experiences of women here at Otterbein are any indicators, we can overcome barriers, no matter how difficult they may seem, in the years to come.