6th Edition
This is the 6th edition of SpaceFold a newsletter with resources, best practices, and thought leadership to help the journey of founders and emerging professionals.
Welcome
It's me, Julius Alejandro, your residential entrepreneur, strategist, and educator, and I decided to start a newsletter called SpaceFold. What's the meaning behind the name, SpaceFold? I'm a big sci-fi nerd! It comes from the faster-than-light travel you watch in sci-fi shows. For example, traveling from Earth to Mars would take about seven months. Theoretically, you can fold closer the literal space between Earth and Mars so that it would be instantaneous.
Founders
Know your team, and leverage their talent.
You brought folks with specialized skills like marketing, finance, sales, etc., to help grow your startup. Congratulations, you formed your Avengers. But, like the movie, the heroes spent 2/3 from being a group with their individual efforts to becoming a team with a common goal of stopping Loki and saving the city and the world...or this Earth in the multiverse. How do you skip a large part of your movie to get to the cool feature where the heroes save the day? Leverage soft skills: personal attributes that enable someone to interact effectively with others in a workplace or social environment.
A LinkedIn article states 89% of bad hires need more soft skills. For every team I led, I always made it mandatory to do a temperament test. It can be in the form of the Myers-Briggs test, which is well known. Other tests include Gallup's Clifton StrengthsFinder and a psychology-based Pearson-Marr Archetype Indicator (PMAI). So how to implement it?
Have a mandatory retreat for ALL teams. Either dedicated to team building and/or strategic goals. I make it part of my strategic goals.
Choose a test method (e.g., Myers-Briggs) and have your team do the test and send you the results before the retreat.
As the founder, you look over your team's results, which gives you an understanding and awareness of your team and the potential dynamics.
At the retreat, you give an overview of the test, in this example, Myers-Briggs. Then have individuals grouped based on their result types.
You have an activity that would have the group play into their strengths.
You close it by having people comment and for you to tie it all in on the importance of being aware of each others' temperament when working together.
For the entire time of this process, you, as the leader of your startup, imagine being on the balcony observing the dance floor of your team. You watch the patterns of behavior, how everyone interacts, and which personalities have strong vibes with each other and who don't. How is the flow of the dance? Smooth or rough to watch?
Passion to Career
Let’s stay in touch…
You made great contacts in a networking event or previous employment, and they say, "Let's stay in touch." you know it's unlikely you'll regularly see them in person, yet, you know that contact might have a future opportunity for your career and projects. Stay on their radar. How so?
Schedule a quarterly to twice-a-year update on how you're doing in your career journey. The updates allow a point in time for feedback on your career with any questions or directions.
If they are living in the same region, schedule coffee. Suppose they're from somewhere else, either via video chat or email.
With a peer in the same trajectory, you can help each other. At the same time, someone more seasoned can provide guidance and potential job opportunities. This shows consistency in authenticity in developing meaningful connections and displays your grit and ambition.
What’s Happening…
The core of your passion
It feels so good to go back to the core of my passion for conducting leadership programs. It's been two years since I facilitated a leadership program and seven years since I created a leadership entity. The Community Strategist program is the first program of the Razor School. The goal of the Community Strategist program is community development to address a social issue. Now, it's in a virtual environment that gives access to more folks outside San Diego. There are still learning curves on my part in tightening the curriculum, learning outcomes, and deliverables. I'm waiting for the cohort feedback to get a deeper insight into improving the program.
Community Strategist Cohort 1:
Sean Nguyen - Amplify the mission of San Diego API Coalition
Angela Marie Subido - Way to Unionize Jolibee in National City
Miki Holmes - What is a regional protocol for foster youth that are AWOL
Rylie Jennings - Amplify the mission of San Diego Tech Hub
Jesus Martin Gallegos-Muñoz - Develop violence interrupter programs in the South Bay
At Razor School, our virtual cohort programs blend cutting-edge expertise with an interactive learning environment, empowering you to lead, market, and communicate with the utmost impact and effectiveness. Join us and be part of a transformative journey toward professional excellence.
Organizational Leadership
Unlock your leadership potential with our virtual cohort-driven workshops. Join a community of like-minded individuals, engage in interactive sessions, and acquire practical leadership skills to propel your career and impact your organization.
Marketing & Branding Creation
Elevate your brand presence with our virtual marketing and branding program. Collaborate with a dynamic cohort, learn from industry experts, and develop strategies to create a compelling brand identity that resonates with your target audience.
Pitch Development
Master the art of persuasive communication in our virtual pitch development cohort. Refine your pitching skills, receive personalized feedback, and confidently deliver compelling presentations that win over clients, investors, and stakeholders.
Community Strategist
Become a catalyst for positive change with our virtual Community Strategists cohort. Dive into the Razor Framework for community development, collaborate with fellow changemakers, and devise innovative solutions that uplift and empower communities, impacting the world around us.
Emerging Professional Cohort
Empower your career growth with our virtual cohort program designed exclusively for young adults early in their professional journey. Discover your strengths, set meaningful career goals, and gain invaluable insights from experienced mentors, setting the stage for a prosperous and fulfilling career ahead.