ReINVENTing Iowa, College of Business & Innovation

PISTONS SOLAR PANNELS AND SCHOOLIN BEARS!

            Today of all days was the roughest to get through. Though I made the wrong choice to stay up a little later then I should I bond very well with my roommate Chad. Then we went to bed and had to suffer the next day. Though I suffered through much I did take some cool things from it. I loved learning about Sauer-Danfoss. My favorite part was the tour. You could tell how high tech they were just by how high tech their tour was. It came to the point where they gave us headsets to hear the tour guide from so he didn’t have to speak over the machinery. Then it showed how they have great computer equipment that had so much sensor technology that they even knew when the person was working on the machine, not including having each assembly piece be lit up when it needed to be added on. This tour was very impressive, and blew me away despite my major need to go pee. Giving a measurable example to how incredible a company could be. Then later at the research park there was a man discussing an incredible new technology involving a simple sheet of solar technology. These sheets can be woven into fabrics giving very vestal ways to gain solar energy. Despite being super tired and having my eyes slip into REM sleep while I was awake I was extremely fascinated by this new research, and learned a lot. I hold on to the piece of plastic they gave us to treasure the greatness, and then we went over the results of our marketing simulation. This gave me a great over view of what I and all the other teams learned. Again one of my favorite parts of the week. Finally we all went to a cubs game to chill. I’ve never seen a base ball game in a stadium, and bonded with Ria learning the ways of the ball park. The coolest part of the night was seeing the crazy dance skills of the guy in the bear costume. I definitely learned to take it a little easier staying up late at night this week, but wouldn’t trade a second of the pain just so I could chill with Chad that night. Finally I’ve started putting the things I’ve learned here into perspective lately, and have really started thinking about what I’m going to do to further my success when I get home.

1. I’m going to quite my job or move to a more satisfying time so I don’t have to be miserable, and can move further towards success.
2. I’m going to put more effort into my job at the movie theatre to learn what I can to start at the bottom of film, and work my way up, because I still love it at the theatre.
3. I’m going to help build my parents up to success because they both want to start business in town, and I’ll give them some of the outlet information I’ve gained here to help them on the road of success.
4. Finally I’m going to start a small wedding video set up with my dad to gain some easy money doing a hobby that I love am good at, and wouldn’t take too much time.

After spending most of the today in Ames, IA, I have learned that there is a great amount of opportunity in this area. We took a tour of Sauer Dafoss, a hydraulics manufacturing company domiciled in Germany. Although they have been downsizing due to the economy, they continue to operate in an efficient and innovative manner. I felt the presentation from Mr. Dan Culhane, Executive Director of Ames Chamber of Commerce, was a very informative viewpoint of the city of Ames. Although a little biased, Dan’s speech acted as a worthy transition to the rest of our day.

Today, we attended multiple panels that were very informative on different markets in Iowa. Although, I didn’t fully understand most of the industries being spoken about I took a deep interest in the similarities it took to run or jump start all the companies. I was amazed how many companies are globally located that are headquartered out of Iowa. I never realized the impact Iowa not only makes on the nation but the world itself. It baffled me that Sauer Danfoss is so large and successful yet I have not heard of them till today.

Today I think I heard more individual speakers than any other day in my life. We spent most of the day in Ames. First, we visited Sauer Danfoss. It was fun to tour a large manufacturing facility and see how a huge mass of people all working together was managed. At Sauer Danfoss, we heard from the Ames mayor Ann Campbell, entrepreneur Vada Grantham, and the director of the Ames chamber of commerce Dan Culhane. It seems that a theme is evolving from many of the speakers. They are adamant about getting out and finding someone that is doing what you want to do so that you can learn from them. I think this is the best advice that I have received while at Leadership Iowa University.

Today started off exciting. We went to Sauer-Danfoss and had the privilege of talking to one of their HR representatives and touring their factory as well. It was really interesting to find out how good of a company they really are. They treat their employees extremely well and although they are going through a hard time with the downturn in the economy they are trying to keep as many people on as they can and trying everything to get people back as well. What really intrigued me was the factory floor because I have never seen it before. It wasn't anything like I was expecting and I think everyone should get a chance to tour one sometime in their life. I also enjoyed Vada Grantham's presentation on entrepreneurship. He gave some really good information and I thought the diagrams that he showed the class was more helpful because it gave us a visual aid to interpret. My favorite part of his presentation was the common traits that all entrepreneurs share including creativeness, decisiveness and persuasiveness. He also gave us some great insights on opportunities that are in Iowa which included renewable energy which I believe to be very important not only in Iowa but all over the world as well. Hopefully Iowa can start catching up in the category or maybe even surpass a lot of the world. Another option he gave us which really surprised me was wine services considering Iowa has never really been recognized as a climate that produces great grapes and great wine. Although with Iowa’s fertile soil and some entrepreneurship that could become a great resource for Iowa. Overall today was exciting and fun and I really enjoyed most of the speakers that graced us with their presence and their wisdom.

Though each day at Leadership Iowa University has been amazing so far, today’s time spent at Sauer-Danfoss was especially exciting for me. Because I’m a very visual person, manufacturing businesses make a lot of sense to me as I can see each step leading to a finished project. Matt Bendler gave us a great overview of the businesses, both its corporate culture and its products and customers. Sauer-Danfoss presented a new marketing challenge because they are only well-known within their own industry. We learned through this challenge, the value of word-of-mouth advertising; Sauer-Danfoss must rely on the goodwill of their customers to spread their name and ensure that no bad things could be said about the company. This is an important lesson for everyone; each day should be considered an interview and you should present yourself as a personal billboard, you never know what will be said about you when you’re not around. After the company overview, we were given a tour of the plant floor. It was amazing to me the in depth measures taken to ensure everyone’s safety, especially the designated pedestrian areas and traffic control. Also exciting for me was their inventory control system; suppliers retain control of inventory through a video monitoring system and Sauer-Danfoss takes on liability only when an item is used.

Today, we travelled to Ames which in itself was a very exciting experience. At Ames, we visited and toured around Sauer-Danfoss which was really amazing. I was able to connect with the manufacturing process because I have worked with six sigma and lean tools – a huge component of Sauer-Danfoss’ operation. We also had Vada Grantham, an entrepreneur and DMACC Instructor, speak to us today. He talked about the skills of success which includes: knowing your strengths and weaknesses, knowing the power is within you, knowing the tools of the trade in that industry, knowing where you are going, and finally, knowing that you are somebody.

I thought that today was a great day for the Leadership University. The tour was interesting because we had an opportunity to see a lot of new technology being used. It was also great to hear the about how the company has been evolving to fit the needs of the times. I thought that the speaker Vada Grantham's talk about innovation and what it took to become a successful entrepreneur was great. I felt like he gave out some great information about how to start your own business and be successful, even in this time of trouble.

I found today to be very enlightening. We met with different entrepreneurs from around the Ames Metro area and also took a tour through the manufacturing plant of Sauer-Danfoss. I believe that I now have a better understanding about what goes into forming a stable business. It takes solid entrepreneurial instincts, innovative ideas, sound operations, human resources, and networking. The most important thing is creating a balance of all aspects that were previously stated.  

It’s amazing that I’ve lived in Ames my entire life and have never been exposed to companies that we encountered today. Sauer Danfoss for one. What an incredible company. First of all, my original perspective toward manufacturing companies encompassed dusty, greasy machines working until days end with little regard to working conditions. On the tour, I learned that Sauer Danfoss prided themselves greatly on their enduring focus on worker safety and factory cleanliness. Most companies are quick to rush OSHA officials in and out of their doors in order to avoid sanctions, but SD embraces the opportunity to consult with them to identify what they could do to make the work environment as safe as possible.

Today’s activities emphasized passion, curiosity, and creativity. I feel that I am on my way to successfully achieving each of these areas in my future career. I am going into audiology, as I have mentioned before. I have grandparents who are Deaf, so I have grown up knowing about hearing loss and the affect audiologists can have on a person’s life. I already have a lot of background in hearing loss, but I feel that the more I learn, the more passionate I will become. I feel very passionate about helping and working with people, and I feel that that well help me in my future aspirations. I am also very curious about how the ear works and about how people’s lives are affected by a hearing loss, but I am also very curious about business and how competing businesses stay afloat and competitive. I am also very creative, and I think that that will help pay off in my field as well. I think that having these things will help me become successful, and it was really neat to see the different aspects of success broken down and discussed.

On this, the third day of leadership camp, we traveled to the city of Ames to visit a manufacturing plant as well as meet quite a few accomplished individuals. My favorite part of the day was probably when Mike Coon, the COO of PowerFilm, a flexible solar panel manufacturing company, was telling us how he got started and how much his company has grown over a relatively short time span. His company's products were fascinating to me. The design and innovation as well as the creativity to make their ideas into reality amazed me.

The next speaker was just as impressive. Alan Bierbaum, who is the Vice President of Technology for Priority 5, had accomplished so much in a not so long time frame. His account of the training he has given to his clients for the technology that his company provides gave us students with great stories as well as good, practical examples for what could happen if we have companies of our own.

After these speakers, the group headed to the DMACC Ames headquarters and was provided the opportunity to listen to a panel of four business professionals recount their challenges, opportunities and share their knowledge. I particularly liked listening to Bob's story of how he is on multiple various boards and committees, giving back to those communities that provided him with chances to succeed while he was younger.

The forecast of the day entailed business and innovation in Iowa. We toured the manufacturing plant, Sauer-Danfoss, and learned about the company’s purpose and strategy. Vada Grantham, a flourishing entrepreneur, educated us in how to be a successful entrepreneur and the opportunities in Iowa to apply his information. We then got to meet the people at the head of those opportunities here in Iowa. The Research Park in Ames, Iowa is a place with exceptional growth and energy that shows in the work they accomplish. The most interesting forger in my opinion was Mike Coon, the COO and research analyst of PowerFilm—the new age solar panel. PowerFilm’s success can be attributed to Mike’s team and their innovation and commitment to their project. Listening to the leaders at the research park, gave me a different view on entrepreneurship. We then met with a panel to listen to them discuss the benefits and happenings in Iowa and what makes Iowa tick. After the discussion, we got to visit with the panel.  While doing so, I found myself making a connection with one of the members of the panel. This showed me how easy it is to meet people and form a line of common interest that can help one in networking. Our simulation teams were then regrouped and we went over our corporation’s financial report from the previous game the day before. We also discussed the positive and negative actions we took as a group. We also learned that our strengths and weaknesses worked well together as we got first place in the post-simulation challenge!

Today was yet another great day. Ames is a town that I have not spent very much time in, but it seems like they have quite a lot of commerce going on there. I was really impressed with Sauer Danfoss. Even in the midst of a wildly declining and turbulent year, the folks at Sauer Danfoss were willing to host us. I was extremely intrigued with their openness to talking about the difficulty in firing some folks recently. They also took us on a tour of their manufacturing facility and I really thought that was cool. The painting robots were awesome in my mind.

Today was a fabulous day, overall! We went to the various places like Sauer Danfoss and Ames Research Center. At the Sauer Danfoss, I really enjoyed the speech by Vada Grantham. He gave amazing tips on how to be stand out from the crowd and be the best entrepreneur. One phrase he used that I really liked was “The Power within you” which ties in with what …said about controlling your destiny. T taught me that you might not get to where you are gong unless you take charge of your life or destiny and actually do something about it. Opportunities will not be offered to you on a silver platter. At the end of his presentation, I took note on some of his quotes he shared with us. Some were very hilarious but others had a positive tone to it which I took to heart like, “Never deprive someone of hope, it might be all they have.” We also got to go on a tour of Sauer Danfoss which was pretty cool to see all of the equipments used. 

Your company is struggling due to the faltering market. If you choose to invest in human resource workshops to improve the morale in the company, turn to page 29. If instead you choose to outsource abroad in pursuit of cheaper labor, flip to page 64.  Hopefully you’re familiar with the concept of “choose your own adventure” books. If not, the idea is simple and rather self-explanatory.  A person, you, begins by reading the story. A few pages in the character, also you, will be asked to choose between two or more choices. That choice then directs you to a different page within the book and launches you on a path based on that decision.

This morning Vada Grantham spoke to us about different traits that successful entrepreneurs posses. Included in these traits were Motivated, Creative, Decisive, and Self-Confident. I think that these traits are not only possessed by entrepreneurs but also by successful business people. As he spoke I began to think about these traits and figuring out if I actually posses what this man thought were the characteristics of an entrepreneur. I thought about the traits that he spoke about in length because I am considering eventually starting my own business in Iowa. I would like to start a chain of Wellness Facilities that are partnered with insurance companies and different area hospitals.    The aim of theses facilities would be not at gaining biceps that are bigger than your head, but rather at preventing illness, increasing quality of life, and rehabilitation. 

We had a jammed-packed entrepreneur schedule today. We left this morning bright and early to head up to Ames and visit the Sauer-Danfoss plant. There we spoke with Matt Bendler from human resources (more on him later), the mayor of Ames, and our first keynote speaker, Vada Grantham. Grantham currently teaches his ways of entrepreneurship at DMACC and spoke to us about how we should become leaders and possibly entrepreneurs. He spoke on the traits that he believes all entrepreneurs need to have; achievement motivated, creative, decisive, energetic, a networker, self-confident and persuasive. For me these traits seem very doable. I need to focus on developing more of a persuasive talent but that is ok for now.