Question: How to Get an Internship (with the YCISL)?

While at the Mock Interviews at Foothill College last week, I noticed a flyer about “How to Get an Internship.” I snapped a photo of the flyer. I have some thoughts to share about what factors were involved in selecting mentor interns for the YCISL program. But first, I will disclose that I got my first internship as a junior undergraduate in college…and it wasn’t as simple as sending an email with a resume attachment. It took a lot of legwork and communication. It worked out great in the end because this was the start of my path to a PhD.

Then there was the hard work (and luck) to get a postdoctoral research position (an internship by form and function) at Stanford University where I was fortunate to build my career of about 30 years. For this opportunity, I mainly credit (a) timing & timeliness which is mostly in the form of luck, and (b) a personality matching click which is difficult to predict. If I had to highlight three specific factors, I would list preparation (resume and past work), good listening and response skills, and authentic interest. But I am just guessing.

I will now reflect on 5 things that I favor when I search for mentor interns for the YCISL program. This list is in the order that the factor runs through my brain…

1. Resume. Stanford students applying for a YCISL internship would upload their resume (and cover letter) onto Stanford’s Career Center Jobs database (currently Handshake). Non-Stanford students (usually high school students) would be asked to email me a resume. I would usually take two quick scans of the resume: first for an overall style to reflect on attentiveness to detail, and second for…
2. Experience, Interests & Activities. I specifically look for hooks with the activities that I have planned for the YCISL program or would make for talking points in an interview. I would especially note engagement in group activities as well as vivid detail.
3. Cover Letter. I look upon the cover letter as an indicator of the ability to collect and communicate thoughts lucidly and to-the-point. Word choice and persuasive language are key. Humility is also appreciated. Usually about one or two applications per season get rejected because of an un-compelling cover letter.
4. Personality. The resume and cover letter can hint at the personality, but it really comes down to the interview. First impression is really important, and this might include dress, eye contact and the first spoken words. Beyond the first impression which usually takes about 1 minute, I try to drive a conversation using the talking points and observe responsiveness and soft skills.
5. Connection. A connection to Stanford University was usually required. That was an easy one for Stanford student applicants, but high school student applicants were often family of colleagues through my Stanford work, or had attended Stanford programs in the past. I used this as a means to make sure Stanford culture was an inherent ingredient of our YCISL mentor staff.

To summarize, there are two parts: the remote pitch with the resume and cover letter, and the in-person pitch with the interview. For me, I was looking for trustworthy and dependable interns with initiative and motivation  so that I could focus on the students in the program. It worked out well.

Idea: Desktop Wallpaper Design Divergent-Convergent Thinking Exercise

I have an idea for a YCISL Divergent-Convergent Thinking Exercise. Along with DCT, this exercise also involves brainstorming, rapid prototyping, fast thinking, design thinking, creativity and eq. We could also add an elevator pitch component with storytelling and your personal story elements.

Overview: In Canva, create a desktop wallpaper. We could assign various scenarios based on purpose and context.

Instructions: Divergent Phase: In Canva, set up a blank desktop wallpaper template. Add your text. Play with the font styles coming up with various prototypes. With the font prototypes, play with various color schemes for the text and monochrome background. As a last step, create versions with background images. Convergent Phase: Identify up to three prototypes that you think resonate the most. The criteria are up to you. Pitch Phase (optional): Design a 90-second elevator pitch around these selected prototypes providing a feature list, a story and an explanation of how it connects to your personal story. Assess the level of creativity, growth and mindfulness involved in this exercise.

I may have a chance to try this exercise out this summer in Sustainability Design Thinking. In the meantime, I will describe my experience reflected by the 9 designs in the gallery above in this wiki entry.

• I started off with a black background to have lower computer screen glare. I also think a black background has a sophisticated vibe.
• I chose three words related to the YCISL and intentionally selected words that rhymed so that they bounce around in the head together. I also feel the expression has a connected 3-step progression so there is an element of active listening (hearing, listening & understanding) involved.
• I actually created 16 prototypes based on font type. The three font types shown in the gallery at the top are Courier Prime, Garamond and Agrandir Thin representing the more common type styles.
• I then made a copy of the set of 16 prototypes and changed the background to white. As I started working on this WordPress entry, I found that I preferred having some contrast between the wiki image and the wiki background, and made another set with an off-white background (#f5f5f5). I feel both the white and off-white background sets work well. Putting a little red, blue or green tint would have been an interesting expansion, but I didn’t do it. That’s because I like to design exercises with sets of 3, and the 3rd step in this exercise is to…
•  Use images for the background. Again, I did actually create 16 prototypes with various backgrounds, and the three shown in the gallery above are just by chance the ones for the three basic font typefaces. Still, I like the variability represented here where the water has a cool and dynamic feel, the orange slices image touches most of our senses, and the scenery background denotes place and time.

Another important note is that even with 16 font typefaces and three variations on the background, there is learning happening in this exercise. Preferences, new ideas and intrinsic motivation are being exposed. So if there is enough time in this exercise to conduct a second DCT cycle, that would be consistent with the way we do the Spaghetti Tower Marshmallow exercise (“Fail Early, Fail Fast”) as part of rapid prototyping.

A Note to Self: About Hard Work

On my way to play some tennis this morning, I came up with an idea for the next YCISL e-book. It’s about Hard Work. The idea springs from Alison Ledgerwood’s 2013 TEDxUCDavis Talk “Getting stuck in the negatives (and how to get unstuck)” which was somewhere along the way re-titled to “A simple trick to improve positive thinking.” In that talk, she says “We literally have to work harder to see the upside of things.” That statement links to another which I do find more resonating which is “It’s all hard work. Nothing comes easily” – spoken by Richard St. John in his 2005 TED Talk “8 Secrets of Success,” but credited to Rupert Murdoch through an interview.

So I think I will work on an e-book with maybe eight examples of creativity and hard work.

1. “We literally have to work harder to see the upside of things.” Alison Ledgerwood. TEDxUCDavis. 2013.
2. “It’s all hard work. Nothing comes easily.” Richard St. John. TED. 2005.
3. “It’s very, very simple to get what you want. But it’s not easy.” Mel Robbins. TEDxSF. 2011.
4. Work = Force x Distance. An equation to describe the Growth Mindset. The YCISL Personal Story & Roadmap.
5. Push. Pull. Center. Mindfulness. Sweat Equity. Stress & Strain. About YCISL EQ.
6. Active Listening. Filters. A YCISL conversational topic.
7. “Must try harder.” Sir Ken Robinson. TED. 2006.
8. Creativity. Fast Thinking. Divergent-Convergent Thinking. Self-Edit. Self-Doubt. The YCISL Creativity Model.

That’s probably enough for the kind of short e-book I have been publishing. Hopefully, I can make it interesting for readers. The structure goes from ideas to concepts to a model.

Looking forward to getting started.

Coursera: How to get a job with no experience

A moment ago, I received an email from Coursera with the Subject line “How to get a job with no experience.” There are 8 steps listed in the email. Let’s see if we can create a similar (and better, more EQ-enabled) list using YCISL ideas.

HOW TO PREPARE TO GET YOUR FIRST JOB – THE YCISL WAY

1. Active Listening. Showing that you can hear, listen and understand may be the most important factor in an interview as well as mentoring for a new hire. Your sense of timing, word choice and expression (facial, hands & body language) reflects on your emotional intelligence and is your chance to earn initial trust.
2. Shared Problem. Sharing a problem closes the distance between you and the person you are talking to in an elevator pitch. Ask about the problem related to the job and discuss how the new hire is expected to solve the problem. How do your interests and skills connect to the problem and solution?
3. Business Card, Mind & Heart. Show an understanding for the job functions (perhaps written in a job description), intelligence requirements, and the intangibles that may make the work fulfilling and meaningful.
4. Opportunity. From personal experience, timing is everything. Demonstrate flexibility and adaptability. Be aware of the timeliness as well as “currents” and “cross-currents.”
5. Team. You must show that you can work with others and contribute as an individual. Do you have group, social and empathy skills? Demonstrate composure and leadership potential.
6. Growth Story. In YCISL, we like to think about Your Personal Story. How would you grow in the job? How does it connect to your past and future? Make sure you are the main character in your story. Do describe the chapter scene at the prospective workplace. Make it interesting for the “reader” using success and happiness, two fundamental positivity features.
7. Intrinsic Motivation. Highlight the many ways you are motivated and self-motivated. What aspects of the job has the potential to make you feel rewarded emotionally and perform well sustainably? Helping people? Learning from others? A balanced work-social life? Flexible work hours? Practice divergent-convergent thinking here.
8. Promise. Show that you can make and keep promises. Be clear on what you are sincerely promising if you are granted the job role. You can echo and resonate the promise in your follow-up (thank you) note as well as when you start your first job.

This is why the YCISL tagline is “Life Lessons in EQ.”

Good luck!

Scientific American: Does Vitamin D Improve Brain Function?

I just watched a YouTube video titled “New US Vit D research” by Dr. John Campbell, and wondered about a possible connection between Vitamin D and the thinking skills in the YCISL program. Could creativity, EQ, growth mindset, mindfulness, positivity & fast thinking be enhanced by Vitamin D (also called “sunshine vitamin” by some)? A Google search led me to the Scientific American article “Does Vitamin D Improve Brain Function?” written by Diane Welland and published November 1, 2009?

The article mentions information-processing speed, cognitive impairment, and cognitive losses – all of which affect our creativity. It does mention one study of “3,100 men aged 40 to 79 in eight different countries across Europe” which sets up a huge knowledge gap open to a YCISL Innovators Toolbox Filling & Crossing Gaps analysis.

This is one of those “Hmmmmmm?” moments. A pause to reason (or imagine) this out. An opportunity to ask “What if…?”

Should we discuss a possible YCISL-Vitamin D link in a Popcorn with Colin? We could explore a youth perspective about Vitamin D as well as a need to improve brain function. Do students notice any brain function performance difference between seasons, between night and day, between indoors vs outdoors, or anything else related to light exposure?

Should we create YCISL projects around Vitamin D healthcare? Besides a physician telling a patient to take Vitamin D supplements, is there anything else that can be done to improve Vitamin D healthcare? Could a person’s Vitamin D be measured without a blood test making it more convenient? Is there any program that could be designed so that people would take Vitamin D supplements consistently? Is there a software app that could change human behavior to improve Vitamin D levels? I imagine there are many possible innovations.

Should we ask YCISL participants about their Vitamin D levels? As part of an EQ-framework, should we assess self-awareness about Vitamin D levels as well as boosting and supplementation? Should we also complete the EQ-framework with a design thinking discussion about resources and how to connect with those resources?

While writing this, I took a Vitamin D3+Vitamin K2 supplement. Let’s see if it worked.

The Straits Times: Dear daughter, sorry we were a bit negative about poly next year

One of my LinkedIn connections had liked a post that came across my feed. That article referred to an article titled “Dear daughter, sorry we were a bit negative about poly next year”  dated March 20, 2023 and written by Jill Lim. Fortunately, an image of the article was included in the LinkedIn article so I could read a slightly blurred version of the article.

Anyway, I wanted to share some perspective on this article because it deals with one of the transitions in education, plus I originally started the YCISL program with students from Singapore Polytechnic.

My 1-sentence summary of the article: This story is about an emotionally-driven change in perspective on the part of parents concerning an educational choice expressed by a daughter in a highly status-conscious society & culture.

Remark #1: There was EQ growth. One of the most common places we can learn and practice EQ is as a family, and such was the case in this instance where the connections in an EQ framework changed. There was the changed awareness about institutional as well as academic field of study options. There were management changes in how the parents perceived their daughter as well as adapted connection to the changed academic landscape in Singapore. A great family unit undergoes EQ growth.

Remark #2: Improve with Divergent-Convergent Thinking. Great parents are leaders who are adept at divergent-convergent thinking to go along with an EQ-based sense of timing and wording. There was an initial fixed mindset that took a little time to flip to a growth mindset. Hopefully, the growth mindset which uses the divergent-convergent method skillfully will become more engrained and a matter of preferred habit. As I like to say, there is a personal story and each is about a journey that can have all kinds of directions. Tie this together using the YCISL Your Personal Story approach, and it would make a lot more sense and be filled with positive hope and dreams instead of regret.

Remark #3: Think Transition. In YCISL terms, the “stage” is mid-Proof. There is no mention of a Proof element in the journey. A Proof element would help support the basis of this story. In GameStorming terms, we are in the Explore phase of the Proof Element where exploration allows for enlightenment in all directions. Eventually, she will reach the Close phase of this Proof element, and transition to the Open phase of the next element, Integration. As parents, making sure this transition goes well is of utmost importance to the “fulfilling education” mentioned in the article’s tagline.

I’ll wrap it up here by re-iterating that this is about a personal story and that the main character person is on a design thinking journey. The parents each have their own personal story. Their daughter has her own personal story too.

Thoughts: A Beginner’s Guide to Design Thinking Project Titles

Design thinking can be applied to creating project titles. Actually, project titles should be created using design thinking. Let’s apply YCISL principles to design thinking project titles.

1. Divergent-Convergent Thinking. We can apply the divergent-convergent thinking method to start. Make a list of all the key words from the project. Next, select only up to 5 of the most important key words. These are the words that most differentiate your project from others. These words will very likely appear in the final project title.
2. Feature List. From the 5 most important key words, mark those on the short list that are also hook words; that is, the two or three words that are most likely to catch attention. These should reflect the primary features of the project. These words will be the initial candidates as subject words (as opposed to object words) in the project title.
3. Elevator Pitch. Using one of the nine components (grab, problem, solution, team, opportunity, competitive advantage, model, promise and ask) that we coach in the YCISL elevator pitch exercise as a theme, form a preliminary project title using the key words making sure to position the hook words as subjects.
4. Storyboarding.  Add filler words to the preliminary project title so that it flows and makes sense. Keep filler words to a minimum. Re-arrange the project title so that the project title has that just right feel.
5. Check for Positivity. Avoid disengagement from focusing on a negative impression in the project title. Phrase for positive language and story.
6. Rapid Prototyping & Iteration. Create at least three project title candidates. Do this by returning to any of the preceding steps.
7. Readiness. Check that the selected project title is both precise and accurate. A precise project title should have a well-defined and focused scope. An accurate project title highlights the most important work and findings in the project. Remove any bits that make the project title imprecise or inaccurate.
8. EQ. When checking for precision and accuracy, consider your intended audience and whether the project title fits their domain. Would they want to find out more about your project from your project title? Does the title demonstrate self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and social management?
9. Final Check. Remember that the project title is going to show up in several situations, and you should make sure it works for each. Situations may include a proposal, a report, a talk, a poster presentation, a video presentation, a newspaper article, a journal publication, on your resume, in web search engine results, in a group discussion, & more. Is your project title amenable and adaptable for the situations you are likely to encounter?

Some of the best models for title creation can be found in TED Talk titles.

Example 1: “Schools Kill Creativity.” The title of the quintessential TED Talk by Sir Ken Robinson. Zero filler words. “Kill” as the hook word. And written as a Problem. There is deep negativity in that hook word and overall statement, and some time (in years) after the video was published, the title was changed to “Do Schools Kill Creativity?” which adds a filler word, changes the theme to a Grab (asking for an opinion), and makes the story less negative. This adaptive change may be the reason why this particular TED Talk continues to be so popular and impactful.

Example 2: “Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator.” This is the title of the TED Talk that most YCISL students tell me that they have watched. Why is that? Let’s analyze it. The title covers the who, where and when of our asking questions design thinking method: Inside -> Where, Mind -> What, and Who -> Master Procrastinator. There is an EQ aspect of awareness and an implied promise of action with regards to this condition. The word “master” suggests a solution as well as a focus on a particular character who is part of an interesting story. The “Master Procrastinator” is the clear subject of this title and the “Mind” is the object. Few filler words. The hook word is “procrastinator” as that highlights something that many of us have personal experience with, if not a habit.

Epilogue. I wrote this article after my latest experience with reviewing project proposals for a science fair. I found that many projects failed OOBE by having project titles that needed improvement. Many chemistry and environmental science project proposals had project titles that over-promised and under-delivered by suggesting an impact outside their actual scope. Then there were computer science and electrical engineering projects that over-stated their depth and rigor. For most of these projects, I had to request that the project proposal include a rationale statement so that it would clarify the scope and purpose for the project idea – which I would then check for alignment with the project title.

Lessons: Synopsys Science & Technology Championship 2023

Last week was the 2023 Synopsys Science & Technology Championship in San Jose, CA. I was invited to volunteer for Grand Prize (High School) judging, Category (Middle School) Judging, and Check-in. It was my first time doing check-in and it was fun being a trainee. I’ve done the judging before. But this time, I was tasked with selecting a project for a Special Award in the Environmental area, and I learned a few things. The following are impressions I got from the project and student I selected for the Special Award, and reflections on what influenced the decision with respect to YCISL ideas.

• “I thought the idea had creative and personally connected origins.” Part of creativity depends on what on what others are doing at this instance in time. I had reviewed many Machine Learning projects and none had problem-solving depth. I also had reviewed numerous environmental sustainability projects that made over-reaching claims and promises. The winning project had a simple creative idea and involved a rigorous scientific approach and process. During the judging interview, I checked that there was a personal interest in the subject which in conversation expanded to similar applications. In YCISL, we have the elevator pitch exercise where students design a creatively persuasive one-on-one discussion.
• “I felt a sense of authentic curiosity and a research question with good scope (not too small, not too big).” Beyond the curiosity that is expected at such an event, an authenticity in the inspiration and motivation helps distinguish the project idea. Then it also helps to frame the idea with a scope that is Goldilocks-“just right” so I don’t wonder why there is such poor alignment between the promise, problem and solution. The winning project had vivid vision that fit the scope and performed actions that made the vision interesting.
• “The project poster was clear and displayed an end to end research study. There was scientific methodology involved that required independent scholarly learning, skill and mastery. The narrative was focused and compelling (I really wanted to know the outcome and where it could lead to).” Poster presentations need to be balanced from end to end for effective storytelling. For me, that includes starting with an idea that has grab, and concludes with a bibliography that gains my trust in the project quality.
• “I did have a 1-on-1 meeting with him at the poster where he presented project highlights…I found his oral presentation presence and delivery to be perhaps the best I saw today (it helped that we were both interested in sports).” For me, there were three opportunities for this project to impress me including the proposal review, the pre-interview poster read, and the interview-based discussion. The most critical one in this case was the poster read. I may not have been as keenly attentive during the interview if the poster hadn’t been so impressive. Still, a successful interview was still required for me to conclude that this project and student researcher was distinctly outstanding and deserving of the Special Award. The student did not rush and, as I recall, practiced active listening.

To wrap up this entry, I am going to list the top three basic dealbreakers that I generally observed at the event:

• Bibliography. A weak or absent bibliography erases credibility.
• Over-promise, Under-deliver. Un-managed expectations reduces believability. Some project titles were not refined enough.
• Science. A scholarly mastery of science at the grade-level or higher needs to be apparent. This is reflected in preparatory, methodology and analysis components.

Thoughts: YCISL-Style Interview Questions

[I “retired” from Stanford in 2022, but I continue to develop the YCISL program. I haven’t posted to this Wiki in months because of the retirement, but I continue to be involved in activities related to YCISL.]

I volunteered as a mock interviewer for a career fair organized by the Sequoia Union High School District. The event will take place in a couple of days. From the information I have received about the event, mock interviewers will (1) need to find an agreeable job scenario to discuss, (b) review the resume together with the student, and (3) engage in Q&A to help the student develop interview skills.

In preparation, I came up with a list of interview questions based on the Life Lessons in EQ-mindset of the YCISL.

1. Can you name one or two work places you would like to get your first job? What role or position would you like to have?
Hopefully, this is a good lead-in question. In a way, it’s a quick divergent-convergent thinking question based on waggle-dance reasoning fast thinking. I might ask what other work places came to mind, but were edited out.

2. Could you recall one or two experiences that have prepared you for such a work scenario?
This question relates to the “A Message to My Past Self” exercise where we reflect on our history including positive influences, decisions & circumstances. This forms our “bibliography” of support & evidence, & initiates our positivity starting point that we learned from Alison Ledgerwood.

3. What would you enjoy contributing to that work place? Can you give an example of where/when you have been a contributor?
Productivity & proactivity are basic expectations of any work situation, and remind me of our Lego exercise, the Spaghetti Tower Marshmallow exercise, the Egg Parachute Drop exercise, Human Knot exercise, and so many more. In YCISL, we look for teamwork, team-building and leadership as the EQ-action elements in developing our growth mindset.

4. What would you do to grow in that work position? Is that consistent with your educational mindset?
A discussion about education is certain to arise in a first job interview. But as Sir Ken Robinson story-told in his epic TEDTalk: “…but if you ask people about their education, they pin you to the wall.” This question would explore the propensity for growth with a growth mindset, but also a balanced understanding that a fixed mindset is sometimes appropriate (and expedient).

5. What traits or habits do you have that make you an outstanding candidate for the role?
This question is a request for the student interviewee’s feature list. We look for 3 soft skills features that will match the preferences & satisfy the needs & requirements. This is about using competitive advantage in the elevator pitch. Compatibility & work quality are also involved.

6. What are your strongest skills? Which weak skill would you most like to improve?
In the early YCISL years, we collaborated with Chris Pohalski on using SkillScan. This exercise lays out the skillset and identifies strengths as well as weaknesses that the person would like to improve upon. This touches on feature list & growth mindset.

7. Do you thrive most working independently or in a team? Explain.
This question relates to our Spaghetti Tower Marshmallow exercise with respect to group interpersonal dynamics. We can also think about the analog-digital model described by Austin Kleon where independent and team work are necessarily interconnected and balanced.

8. Have you worked on a project at school? Were there any challenges? How did they get resolved?
With this question, we can explore the structural approach to problem solving. With the initial response to this question, we can journey through the project experience using (a) the phases of the YCISL Simple Innovation Framework of Brainstorming-Prototyping-Building-Test & Readiness-Rollout, or (b) the Gamestorming framework of Open-Explore-Close.

9. Have you ever experienced a setback? If yes, could you share what you learned from it?
Failures or setbacks are explored in YCISL through our Spaghetti Tower Marshmallow exercise, and the lesson “Fail Early, Fail Fast.” This question would reveal EQ with regards to responding to a setback. Is there ownership? Was there value gained from the setback experience? Was there interest in learning what caused the setback or failure? Was appropriate closed loop-corrective action taken?

10. Imagine yourself in the future at the workplace. Describe the scene.
Of course we need to look at the third stage of our Your Personal Story series: “A Message to My Future Self.” Through this scene setting question, we look at the design thinking details of the potential result of hiring the interviewee. The imagined scene is as much a useful picture for the interviewee as the interviewer.

11. What makes you happy? What motivates you?
Most work places would prefer having a positive environment. We know that a single negative point can trigger a contagion and cause a diversion or distraction. It would be wonderful to learn how intrinsic motivation boosts the interviewee’s state of mind.

12. How do you make decisions? If I ask you to find and choose a location for a meeting at your school, how would you go about making that decision?
We’re making decisions all the time. Sometimes, it’s using fast (creative) thinking and sometimes it’s slow (reasoned) thinking. And sometimes, it might be that “5-second rule” from Mel Robbin’s about not making decisions. Or worse purposely avoiding having to make decisions. For work place decision making, ethics, honesty & trust may become involved.

Well, I hope these question ideas based on my YCISL experience will serve the purpose to educate these high school students in interviewing skills.

Bloomberg: “The New Magic Word for Branding is Collaborations”

Earlier today, a Bloomberg Quicktake: Explained video popped up on my YouTube screen. The title “The New Magic Word for Branding is Collaborations” mentions two words sometimes seen in the YCISL program – branding and collaborations (I also realize I don’t use the word “magic” much).

“…the magic that happens when brands co-mingle fans.”

In this video, Ben Schott talks about how well-known brands team together to create a blend that succeeds in explosive curiosity among existing consumers. He gives several commercial examples. Not that this strategy works every time, but it is a worthwhile simple strategy to apply our creative energy.

How this connects with YCISL:

• Divergent-Convergent Thinking – it would be useful to first use divergent thinking to list all the candidates for the collaboration. Next, a brainstorming technique like the one we use with sticky notes could list combinations and then convergent-ly sort these combinations from normal to crazy (reminder: recall that the point of this exercise is to find unique competitive ideas).
• Feature List – with the “crazy” candidates, primary feature lists would help set up a brand identity that satisfactorily provides RoI to the combining brands. Satisfaction would be based on (a) no negative effect on the original brand, and (b) a sensible fit between the brands that is supportive and associated.
• Fail Early, Fail Fast – Our rapid prototyping approach values weakness detection with low-cost investment of time, money and resources. This is a necessary refining step in the innovation process that challenges our fixed mindset and biases. We need to don our “Chief Detail Officer” cap (credit to Rory Sutherland) and appreciate the subtleties that result in powerful shifts.

Schott presents several good examples of collaborations that I would admit tickle our senses & move our sensibilities. One example that applies to me is his Beachhead category case of “introducing new shampoos to unsuspecting hotel guests.” My exposure to Le Labo Rose 31 Shampoo at some Fairmont Hotels set my high quality level impressions of both brands. I actually also prefer the small bottles associated with hotel amenities so the collaboration itself is a win.

What are the lessons for youth? Perhaps it is being aware of our collaboration mindset (a willingness based on a growth mindset) and the ability to act in a productive collaboration (ref. Mel Robbins’ 5-second rule). Put effort into teamwork and team-building.