Ideas Neil Tambe Ideas Neil Tambe

Hire ME: An examination and evaluation of the human capital transformations to recruit Generation Y into government service and retain them once they’re there

This was my undergraduate honors thesis submitted to the Program in Organizational Studies. My thesis adviser was Professor Lynn Wooten from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.

This was my undergraduate honors thesis submitted to the Program in Organizational Studies. My thesis adviser was Professor Lynn Wooten from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.

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Leading Boldly Neil Tambe Leading Boldly Neil Tambe

Finding Courage in the Michigan Daily's Newsroom

OVERVIEW

When I arrived on campus as an undergrad at the University of Michigan, I wanted to do something different than the student government activities I had always participated in during high school. After a few days thought, I decided to become a news reporter for the school paper, The Michigan Daily, and showed up to the newsroom in pursuit of that job. As it happens, that experience of being a reporter was one of the most interesting and enthralling of my life. I covered many stories in many places and practiced my writing skills, but more than anything being a reporter helped me become a better person and better leader.

SKILLS AND AND INSIGHTS GAINED 

Pushing Back on Authority – The first story I wrote covered a Fortune 50 Industrial Products company who was accused of polluting a Mid-Michigan river with a dangerous chemical – dioxin. After I wrote the story, a PR exec at the company demanded that I make revisions to the story because in his view it was inaccurate. My editors disagreed. As a result, I called the PR exec and was forced to defend my reporting and in the end I assuaged the PR exec and my editors by convincing both that a limited number of revisions was appropriate. I had to push back on both parties – the PR exec and my editors – to ensure my article reflected the truth.

Learning in the Field – I once wrote a story on the economic impact on local Coca-Cola bottlers after the University suspended the sale of Coke products. I had written a good story, but my editors insisted that I get a comment from a Coca-Cola representative. I rebuffed, saying that I had tried calling the company for comment several times, to no avail. My editor then insisted that I go to a nearby Coke bottling site to get a comment. I reluctantly went, even though I was nervous about going into the field and I was worried about meeting my deadline. I went with a photographer and had a fantastic conversation with a truck driver from the company. As it turns out, getting out of the newsroom was exactly what the story needed. 

Courage – When I was an undergrad, the school’s Theatre Department presented a performance of The Laramie Project – a play that describes the story of Matthew Shephard, a teenage boy from Laramie, Wyoming who was killed in a brutal hate crime because he was gay. The Westboro Baptist Church (WBC), a cult notorious for rallying against gay people, protested the school’s performance. As the reporter assigned to the story, I had to interview people from WBC, something I was terrified to do because of their reputation and my personal beliefs. In addition to calling them on the phone, I interviewed several protest and counter-protest groups for the story on the day of the performance, weaving in and out of picket lines and human chains. It was the first time I had to get over sincere fear to get the story.

IMPACT AND LESSONS LEARNED

I reflect on my time as a newspaper reporter and believe it to be one of the most developmental (and exciting) experiences I’ve ever had. Of course, it made me a better writer, but more than that it taught me how to push my own boundaries further. Now, I’m much more prone to do things that I’ve never attempted before because I regularly forced myself into uncomfortable situations as a reporter.

There’s a moment of nausea and anxiety I feel when I’m about to do something I’m afraid of. Being a reporter taught me how to get over that fear and push forward. It’s a skill I’ve found invaluable as a management consultant, blogger, public servant, and pursuer of intimate relationships.

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Making Things Happen Neil Tambe Making Things Happen Neil Tambe

Learning Business By (Trying To) Launch A Startup

OVERVIEW

In my last semester of business school, I decided to register for the pilot of an intensive leadership development course called, “Ross Leaders Academy.” This course integrated executive coaching, reflective learning, and a practicum in launching a business using the lean startup method. To learn the lean startup method, our team of 4 met every two weeks with a demanding pair of experienced coaches, who we were to treat as our company’s “Board of Directors.” Most of the time, it felt like we were swimming with sharks.

SKILLS AND AND INSIGHTS GAINED 

Communicating Precisely – In the RLA pilot class, we had to give presentations every two weeks to our lean startup “board of directors.” For the first presentation, I represented my team as our “CEO.” Not knowing what to expect, I stepped up to the front of the room to share the progress we had made. After no more than 90 seconds, our coaches interrupted me and asked me piercing questions. I did my best, but our coaches rightly pointed out that I couldn’t answer specific questions simply or without using meaningless jargon. I was certainly rattled by the experience of presenting to them, the business equivalent of a firing squad, but in the end I now have a better understanding about what “communicating precisely” really means.

“I don’t know anything” – Our first exercise as a team was to interview 20 customers in two weeks and use the data we gathered to refine a business model canvas. In the first two weeks, I thought I had done good interviews and the day before our presentation we met as a team to develop our week’s presentation. When trying to articulate a value proposition, I had a stark realization that I thought I understood our customers’ most plaguing problems, but I really didn’t. In business school, however, you’re treated like you know everything so eventually you start believing it, at least a little. Talking to real people about real problems helped to remind me how much I can learn from others and that I shouldn’t become infatuated with my own cleverness, whether it’s substantiated or merely perceived. 

Building Rapport Rapidly – When starting to interview potential customers, I knew that it would be difficult to get interviewees to trust me enough to tell me anything valuable in a 30 minute session. As a result, I experimented to build rapport quickly. As it turns out, it’s not so difficult. All I did was be honest, as simple questions, listen (and laugh) sincerely, and have accommodating body language, just like we learned in our first integrative learning session. If you are a friendly, respectful curious listener, people open right up.

IMPACT AND LESSONS LEARNED

To be honest, this experience of trying to launch a lean startup was very frustrating to me – in no small part because of our coaches’ high standards and brash demeanor. But I’m all the better for it because I now have a better idea of what excellence looks like. I now have a better idea of what it takes to persuade a hostile audience. I now respect the challenge and responsibility of truly solving someone else’s problem. And even though we “failed” to launch a company, I now feel more confident in my ability to do something as difficult as creating a new business.

It certainly wasn’t pleasant to swim with sharks, so to speak, but I’m now much better for it.

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