Reflecting on Exhibiting at NASPA Strategies 2017
Coming from an entrepreneur's mindset, I wanted to share a few things that I learned with you.
I sat in on a session about Campus Prevention Efforts that was headlined by Joshua Fegley from SUNY Brockport. He started his session with a bullet pointed list:
- Why do you do what you do?
- Where would you like to be?
- What do you want to be doing that you're not already doing?
- Where are you currently?
I can share the additional three pages of notes I took, but I want to focus on these questions. Joshua channeled Simon Sinek (he's a leadership expert that focuses on why) who just happens to be one of my favorite speakers and authors.
Joshua and Simon both start with asking "why." If we ourselves don't understand why we're doing what we do, how can we expect anyone else to understand what we're doing, or for that matter, do what we're asking them to do. The bullet points then go on to talk about your "where."
I have found that if you do not not have a destination, you will never get there. In the earliest days of designing our first line of Consent Condoms™, I knew that I wanted to reach out to every campus with this educational conversation starter. Before embarking on my mission to reach out to schools across the nation, I clearly stated why I wanted to launch Consent Condoms™ (to start a conversation on college campuses about consent) and what I hoped to accomplish (increased awareness for my company as a provider of tools that can inform, educate, and engage).
Clearly stating my goals nearly three years ago has allowed me to work with hundreds of universities around the world to start a conversation about consent. Just last night, we received an order of 2,000 Consent Condoms™ from The Australian National University.
I'm sure you already know "why" you do what you do and what your goals are, but it always helps to take a minute and reflect back as to what inspired you to get started in this field and what you hope to accomplish in your current position.