"Growth Leadership For Female Entrepreneurs" Course Project Course Project

PTRBOA003: Growth Leadership for Female Entrepreneurs
The Bank of America Institute for Women’s Entrepreneurship at Cornell
“Growth Leadership for Female Entrepreneurs” Course

Project
Course Project
Developing key areas of growth leadership will enable you to keep your company on
track during the ups and downs of your entrepreneurial journey. This project will help
you build a strong leadership team, shape your company culture, build positive
relationships with stakeholders, and increase your resilience.
Part One: Build a Strong Founding/Leadership Team

Professor Mish described why it’s important to build a strong founding or leadership
team and demonstrated how the strength of your team directly affects the success of
your business. You have already identified some gaps in your current team and
considered what and who you want on your “dream team.” Now, in Part One of the
course project, you will develop questions that will help you identify an ideal candidate
for your dream team and draft a pitch that will convince the right person to join your
team.
Identify Ideal Candidates

Answer the following to develop questions that will help you identify ideal candidates for
your dream team:
1. Choose one of the roles you identified in the “Describe Your Dream Team”
activity. Where might you find someone who fits that role? Who in your personal
and professional network can you reach out to for help in finding candidates?
The one role that I have identified in the “Describe Your Dream Team” activity is
Marketing and Branding Director. I already know “of” the person, but have not made
contact with the person. I have a friend who knows the person and has done work
with the person and she can put me in contact with her.
2. Write two or three questions you could ask a potential candidate for that role to
uncover whether or not he or she has the needed skills and expertise.
1. What is your background as it relates to marketing and branding?
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2. Who are some clients you have worked with before? 3. Do you have a portfolio to
show your work?
3. Write two or three questions you could ask to gauge the candidate’s level of
knowledge about and enthusiasm for the products or services you sell.
1. As a woman entrepreneur, what are some challenges you have faced in business?
2. Have you ever worked with other women-owned businesses?
3. What are some ideas, without thinking too hard, that you can give me to make my
business more appealing to others?
4. Write two or three questions you could ask that candidate to uncover whether
their values match what you are seeking.
1. What are your thoughts about women entrepreneurs, specifically minority women?
2. Have you faced any challenges with your male counterparts competing for work?
3. If so, please share some of your challenges and how you overcame them.
5. Compose a scenario-based question that will help you elicit the information you
would need to make a good hiring decision. Consider what kinds of challenges the
business has already faced that you would want a person in this role to help you
tackle. Describe that scenario in a few sentences so that you are prepared to
share it with candidates and ask them how they would handle such a situation.
Plan Your Pitch
Now draft a short pitch of three minutes or less that you could use to convince the ideal
candidate to join your team. You should be able to clearly articulate:
 your vision for the business
 the specific responsibilities of the role and how the role will contribute to
achieving the vision you have for the business
 the realistic growth projections for the business
 how much autonomy the person will have to do the job for which they are being
hired
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Good afternoon and thank you for taking the time to meet with me. I asked to meet
with you to discuss how we can work together to build my business and hopefully,
yours as well. As you may or may not know, I am a small, woman-owned business. I
have not officially started my business, but plan to within the next 2-3 years. I am
hoping you can come aboard my team and grow with me. My business is a
consulting firm that assists people like you and I; small, minority/woman-owned
businesses. I want to assist women in business by giving them the resources they
need to do business in government contracting. The specific responsibilities you will
have, if you decide to come on board, are to create a marketing/branding campaign
that will appeal to those we will serve. Your expertise will assist me in showing our
customers the value of what my firm has to offer. My projection is to start off small
and only take on the clients that I can realistically handle. In the first 2 years of the
business, I will work alone. Your role will not be as a fulltime position, but on an as
needed basis as I will not likely have the funds to hire you full time. I am not selling
myself short by saying I will not have the funds to bring you on fulltime, I am however
being realistic of what my expectations are as a new business owner. Your
professionalism and ability to work independently will be important. I am relying on
your expertise to get the job done. I am available to discuss ideas and brainstorm, but
you will be expected to work independently and be self-sufficient. I appreciate your
time. Do you have any questions?
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Part Two: Shape Your Culture

Professor Mish described how your company’s mission, vision, and culture are
connected. She also described how values influence company culture. You have
already defined your company values; now you will determine how your values translate
to an ideal culture. Complete the following grid to map your values and ideal culture to
behaviors you and your team can personally commit to in order to manifest the culture
you described in your startup or young business. Then answer the reflection questions
that follow.
How the Value Translates to Specific Behaviors that

Value
an Ideal Culture Support the Culture
Example:
Transparency Management is accessible Management holds weekly
and has an open-door policy. status and Q&A meetings.
Management provides prompt
responses to employee
concerns.
Honesty Honesty is the most important Without honesty, there is no

value in my organization. way that my business will be
successful. Honesty will be
the driving force for my
organization.
Excellence Excellence in every Excellence in our service

transaction delivery.
Responsive Responsive and respectful Everyone will be treated with

respect and will receive the
same service regardless of
their race or gender.
Accountable Accountable to those we serve Accountable for our action.
Answer the following questions, using as much space as you need:
1. What challenges can you foresee in following through with the behaviors you
listed? How will you address these challenges?
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I do not foresee any challenges with following through with the behaviors I have listed.
If a problem should arise, I will face it head on. I will take the necessary steps to
remedy the problem before it gets out of control.
2. How do the behaviors you listed support your company’s mission and vision?
The behaviors I listed support my company’s mission and vision. All of the values I
listed coincide with my mission to help, nurture and assist minority and women-owned
businesses.
3. If your company is already established, in what ways has your ideal culture
already been realized? Where do you need to adjust behaviors to align with the
company’s mission, vision, and ideal culture?
My company is not already established; I am in the beginning planning stage.
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Part Three: Develop Positive Stakeholder Relationships

Professor Mish discussed ways to build strategic relationships with your stakeholders,
including partners, employees, investors, and customers. A key component of
relationship-building is identifying each stakeholder’s values, needs, and goals so you
can show that you care about them. In this part of the course project, you will reflect on
the values, needs, and goals of a specific stakeholder and plan the steps you can take
to lay the foundation for a positive relationship with them or improve your relationship, if
needed.
Instructions
Select a stakeholder other than a customer. You may choose to envision a real or
hypothetical partner, employee, or investor—just be sure that you are well-versed in
their role and needs. When you have someone in mind, answer the questions below.
Then consider what specific behaviors will help you better support your stakeholder,
improve your credibility, and demonstrate your integrity.
Answer the following questions, using as much space as you need:
1. Who is your stakeholder, and what is this person’s stake in the company? In you?
My stakeholder is my mentor. My mentor is there to insure I am on the right the right

track and that I consider more than just what I can’t see. My mentor is invested in me
and my success.
2. What do you believe this person most values?
This person most values me and is only interested in my success.

How do you know? What information or evidence do you have to support your
answer?
I know this because my mentor has been in my life for over 5 years. She has
supported my efforts. She has invested her time and efforts in me and has a reason to
look for a return on her investment in me. Her return on investment is my success.
3. What do you believe this person most needs from your business?
The only thing this person most needs from my business is to be successful.
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answer?
I know this to be true because of my past experiences with my mentor. I trust her and
know that she wants nothing but the best in me. She has never asked me for
anything, but has always been willing to of herself.
4. What do you believe this person’s top goals are for himself/herself and for his/her
business?
answer?
I’m not sure I understand this question. If you are asking what my stakeholder’s top
goal goals are for herself and for her business, I will say success. Success should be
everyone’s top goal because otherwise, why are you in business. The stakeholder
has always been helpful and supportive.
5. Given these assumptions, how well are you succeeding in helping this
stakeholder?
What can you point to that shows that your business is delivering/will deliver to
this stakeholder what he or she most values?
I can point to my willingness to be a better person. I can point to my willingness to do
what is necessary to better myself and that includes enrolling and completing this
certification program.
What can you point to that shows that your business is delivering/will deliver to
this stakeholder what he or she most needs?
I can point to my experience in the area of consulting. I have been actively doing this
type of work in the public sector for 20 years.
What can you point to that shows that your business is helping/will help this
stakeholder achieve one or more of his/her top goals?
My success will be evident. My success will help the stakeholder achieve her top
goal.
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6. Consider what concrete steps you can take to develop a more positive
relationship with your stakeholder. Be specific about what promises you can make
(and keep), as well as behaviors that will support your commitment and
demonstrate your integrity.
… I can make these … and demonstrate integrity

promises… through these behaviors.
To deliver what I can make the promise of Completing this course will
my stakeholder completing this course show my stakeholder that I am
most values… indeed serious about my
business and want to be
successful.
To deliver what I can promise to give of Giving of my time and talent will
my stakeholder myself. deliver what my stakeholder
most needs… needs.
To help my I can promise to see this Being the best I can be will
stakeholder through. demonstrate determination and
achieve his/her tenacity
top goals…
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Part Four: Build Your Personal Resilience

Professor Mish explained how resilient leaders respond to inevitable setbacks, and you
practiced using a powerful method for deciding whether a setback or stressor is worth
paying attention to and considering how you can turn setbacks into learning
opportunities. You will now make an action plan to transform a business-related setback
you have identified into something positive, thereby building your personal resilience.
Complete the grid below.
Setback You Are What is the setback you need to address? I do not see
Facing any setbacks that I need to address. However, if a
setback should arise, I will face it head on. It is easy to
ignore a setback, but that should never happen. I will
address, correct and learn from any and all setbacks.
Opportunities What is this setback teaching you? Setbacks are

Identified designed to teach us lessons. The setback will teach
me to not get comfortable in whatever I am doing.
What is this setback making possible for you now? The

setback will teach me how to adjust and move forward.
It is not a good idea to wallow and become stagnant.
Move on.
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Steps What are the specific actions you (either alone, or

together with others) will take to turn the situation
around? (Note: Before assuming that you alone must
act to change the current situation, please consider with
whom you might partner in this effort. For example, do
you know anyone who has already faced this kind of
challenge and from whom you could seek information
about steps they took?) I have a mentor who is there to
assist me and put me back on the right track. I do not
believe that I can do this alone so assistance from
others will be necessary.
What specific steps could you take (either alone, or

together with others) to avoid or more effectively
address future issues of this type? The steps that I
could take to avoid future issues are to stay aware of
what is going on at all times. There have been times
when I have become complacent and kinda going about
things as if issues would not arise. I have to remain
focused
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Timeline Identify a timeline for implementation.
What will you do in the next few days? What will you
have completed over the next month? Because I have
not faced any setbacks, this question is difficult to
answer.
Measurement/Results How are you going to measure your results or

demonstrate that your efforts have had a positive
impact? If there was a setback, I would demonstrate my
efforts had a positive impact by identifying what the
problem was and take the necessary steps to get back
on my feet. Once I am back to where I need to be, I will
be sure to learn from the fall.
Outline your measurement strategies here.
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"Growth Leadership For Female Entrepreneurs" Course Project Course Project

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PTRBOA003: Growth Leadership for Female Entrepreneurs

The Bank of America Institute for Women’s Entrepreneurship at Cornell

“Growth Leadership for Female Entrepreneurs” Course

Part One: Build a Strong Founding/Leadership Team

Identify Ideal Candidates

1. What is your background as it relates to marketing and branding?

Plan Your Pitch

Part Two: Shape Your Culture

How the Value Translates to Specific Behaviors that

Honesty Honesty is the most important Without honesty, there is no

Excellence Excellence in every Excellence in our service

Responsive Responsive and respectful Everyone will be treated with

Accountable Accountable to those we serve Accountable for our action.

Answer the following questions, using as much space as you need:

My company is not already established; I am in the beginning planning stage.

Part Three: Develop Positive Stakeholder Relationships

Answer the following questions, using as much space as you need:

My stakeholder is my mentor. My mentor is there to insure I am on the right the right

2. What do you believe this person most values?

This person most values me and is only interested in my success.

… I can make these … and demonstrate integrity

Part Four: Build Your Personal Resilience

Complete the grid below.

Opportunities What is this setback teaching you? Setbacks are

What is this setback making possible for you now? The

Steps What are the specific actions you (either alone, or

What specific steps could you take (either alone, or

Timeline Identify a timeline for implementation.

Measurement/Results How are you going to measure your results or

Outline your measurement strategies here.

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