#mason sbdc

[norwegianheart]

Skape helps small businesses in Rogaland. The SBDC of the Stavanger area.

[norwegianheart]

"A Ph.D. student at George Mason University will be spending this year in Norway as a grantee of the prestigious US Fulbright award.

Mona Anita Olsen served as the assistant director of the Mason Small Business Development Center and is currently a Ph.D. candidate at Mason with a focus in instructional technology, entrepreneurship and apprenticeship.

The goal of the program, as described by the Fulbright website, is to promote “cultural exchange” between the United States and other nations. The prestigious Fulbright award has been granted to many notable candidates including former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, Nobel Prize recipient Joseph Stiglitz and Mason’s own President Cabrera...."

[norwegianheart]

Judo up the cloud with sparkle--my lessons from Mason SBDC.

As I was looking to through my to-do list, I came across my notes from when I left Mason SBDC earlier this summer. I jotted down the 24 lessons that I learned from my experience working with entrepreneurs in Northern Virginia from the past four years. What I initially caught my attention was the amount of colors, themes, and ideas that came across on the paper--so much growth, so many interesting people, and one concept to sum up my experience at Mason SBDC--varied intellectualism. I had drawn these lessons out on various rocks, shells, and pieces of wood for my former boss. Sometimes I wish I had photographed them to remember them all.

These 24 lessons are part of my Norwegian Heart and I know they will impact my path while completing my PhD here in Norway.

1) Trouble will always build, know when to NFN (no follow-up needed).

2) Find the core, know the motivations of others.

3) Proceed with caution when you hear, "this is my newest invention."

4) Use the hierarchy to your advantage.

5) Innovation is cyclical (there is a structure to innovation).

6) Know the boundaries.

7) Innovate outside the core. 

8) Experiment and then excel.

9) Time matters in an engagement.

10) Protect the pie (your portion of the bigger picture).

11) Listen, ask, THEN talk.

12) Structure is a rock foundation.

13) Cloud it UP (leverage the cloud for systems).

14) I find energy in the ramp-up.

15) Results make it.

16) Judo it (there is always another way to approach the situation).

17) Draw it (visuals usually help people digest concepts faster).

18) SPOT it out (just like a SWOT analysis), so you know where you are and where you are going.

19) Look for sparkle (number one characteristic for a successful team player).

20) Avoid the bear (playing under the radar sometimes makes sense).

21) Grammar police are everywhere (you can learn a lot from them too!).

22) Me thinks a lot (most entrepreneurs do...).

23) Molly is cool (all assistants play a valuable role in any environment).

24) Know your exit.