Why I Decided go Back to School for a Master’s: 8 months later...

My journey back to school and across the world to Milan has flown by! 8 months ago I hopped on a plane with my girlfriend, next stop, Milan. When we met we both talked about getting a Master’s or MBA. She was about to graduate with a Degree in Design, and I had just bought a town home and was working in B2B Sales and Marketing for almost 5 years. What changed?

ME. I had always thought about it and I wanted to travel the world. This provided the opportunity for us to do it together. Since moving here, the question more than any other that I have been asked….. “Why Milan?” 

When you think about schools and education, yes most logically would be to go to a good school in the USA. But what people don't account for is the experience.Milan provided the perfect mix of design, business, fashion, and opportunity. And I wanted to study in a truly multi-cultural environment. And I wanted to challenge myself in a country that I couldn’t speak in. I also wanted to get a different view of business, marketing, and running a business. Now 8 months later I can tell you that the experiences have been worth it.

I truly have learned a lot about myself, as well as have a better idea of what is important to me. As a sales guy I always craved more support and materials that would help me sell. Now I am passionate about working in Content and Digital Marketing providing communication that does just that. I love managing social profiles, interacting with customers, and creating content for a brand. I have had the fortunate opportunity to obtain an internship with an Italian Startup called Beast Technologies. I am managing all the Content and Digital Media for the company as well as managing high level partnerships with affiliates, clients, and sponsors across the enterprise. 

Outside of this good fortune I had the chance to study for 2 weeks in the amazing city of Barcelona, Spain at one of the best Business Schools called eada Business School. What an amazing experience it was. Between experiences with partner companies like Nielsen, IBM, OTB, and Universal McCann, to studying in Spain, as well the friendships created, experiences say it best. 

My Business Innovation Design Team @ eada in Barcelona

As I am now officially done with classes and now working on completing my final project I can say that the experiences to this point have been amazing, but not without struggles. But those struggles have turned into learning experiences. Living in Italy is a challenge, but nothing great comes easy. 

IM4 Team in Barcelona

My Grad School Adventure: Football (American) in Italy

Football (American) in Italy:

When you hear the word football or futbol in Italy, everyone starts discussing the Champions League, or Juventus, Inter, or Milan. To me growing up in the United States, it meant Football, the hard hitting, action packed sport that I have played since I was 5 years old.

When wanting to specify, you have to say American Football, most people never knew there was such a thing as the Italian Football League or IFL. The IFL consists of 12 teams split into 2 divisions the North and the South.

North:

Milano Seamen

Milano Rhinos

Parma Panthers

Bolzano Giants

Torino Jaguars

Bergamo Lions

South:

Roma Grizzles

Lazio Marines

Ferrara Aquile

Ancona Dolphins

Bologna Warriors

Firenze Guelfi

There was a book written by John Grisham called “Playing for Pizza”, which I read over a year ago on a flight from Des Moines to Nashville. It was my first exposure to what football in Italy was all about. When I made the decision to move to Milano to attend Graduate School at MIP, I just knew I needed to be involved and find out more. I have played football for years and my last game was August 2015 as I finished up my career with a Semi Professional Team called the Des Moines Blaze (desmoinesblaze.com) where over 5 seasons we went 56-2, 5 league titles, and held the honor of National Champions twice. I was a 5-year starter, 5 time All-League, 4-year Captain, and 3-time Pro Bowl selection. I wasn’t sure what the situation would like once I arrived but I knew that if I couldn’t play then I wanted to coach. I contacted the 2 teams in Milano and within half hour, I heard back from the 2 time back to back current IFL Super Bowl Champions the Milano Seamen. Unfortunately, I was unable to play due to the rules of only allowing 2 import players (which they already had) and having troubles getting an Italian passport being 3^rd generation.

Thus my transition from Player to Coach has begun, and what an interesting mix of emotions and feelings it has been. I still get to practice with team and pad up and hit people which I love to do, but making the transition from player to coach has been a struggle. How do you make that transition from what you have done with passion for over 20 years?

The transition has not gotten any easier but it has been a wonderful experience full of emotions and experiences. One of the reasons I wanted to be involved in this experience is I wanted to continue being around the game I love, but I also wanted to transfer my knowledge and experience to help others from a culture where this sport is not mainstream and help them learn and grow. It also has allowed me to really ingrain myself in the city and learn many of the Italian cultures. Using the game as a way to break down communication barriers I am able to learn and improve my Italian skills while helping guys improve and learn English. I can tell you that many of these guys have taught me more than I feel that I have been able to give back to them.

It is a beautiful thing how sport can defy boundaries, cultures, race, etc and bring people together with a love and a passion for a game. The ability to bond together and achieve a goal, and be a part of something bigger than themselves. Sport, Football, provides many life lessons about how to work in a team, how to lead, how to follow, and how doing your job or not doing your job affects others. The bonds formed from playing sport are strong and stand the test of time. I have had the honor of being a part of the Milano Seamen organization for 6 months now and we have started the season 1-1 and have a long season ahead of us. I look forward to continuing to improve my skills as a coach, help mentor others to grow and learn, as well as improve my leadership and Italian skills. The ability to improve my life skills, forge new friendships, and be involved in the game I love is an amazing experience and has allowed me to divulge deeper into the Italian culture and the city of Milano!

Check out the Milano Seamen at www.seamen.it, or using #SeamenMilano on all social media. 

All Photo Credit: Dario Fumagalli 

Grad School Adventures: Tips for Stimulating Creativity, Leadership, Perspective, and Innovation: Be Curious!

Tips for Stimulating Creativity, Leadership, Perspective, and Innovation: Be Curious!

 

As I was looking at material for another post that I was writing, I kept coming across articles on with titles like “50 Things That Make You an Entrepreneur Without Thinking” or “20 Things Successful CEO’s do Daily” , etc. I am sure many of you have seen and read these articles. There were many common and awesome tips and I thought about, how many of these do I do, and can I apply to being a Master’s Student. So I decided to create a list of 10 things that Master’s Students can do daily that will help balance life and stimulate Creativity, Leadership, Perspective, and Innovation.

1)   Read Daily:

•  Even just 5 minutes a day, know what is going on in your markets, and the world

2)   Network:

•  Always be growing your network, you never know who you will meet and what they can do for you either personally or professionally

3) Weed out Negativity

•  Life is too short to be surrounded by negativity, strive to surround yourself with positivity. Surround yourself with people who will help you grow, inspire, challenge you to be the best version of you.

4) Exercise physically

•  This is the best form of stress relief and will take your mind off the million to-do list you have to do, take 15-30 minutes daily, whether its yoga, running, or weights, find time away from school.

5) Talk with strangers

•  You never know who you might meet, and how you or they will affect each others lives

6) Go out and be social

•  Part of balancing life as a student is to enjoy time with friends and live a little. Nothing will re-energize you like a good meal and conversation with friends and classmates

7) Be Curious and Learn from everyone

•  Everyone in your class brings something new to the table, be curious, find something that you can learn from everyone you meet and talk to

8) Forget the idea of perfection

•  No one or thing is perfect, know your strengths and weaknesses and always work to improve, and know that sometimes mistakes will be made. Handle them with poise and learn from them.

9) Live your Personal Brand

•  Incorporate your brand values in your everyday life.

10) Never Stop Learning

•  Whether a new skill, technology, game, or method; always be a student of the game. Continuing to learn will always help you gain perspective and grow.

When studying in a Graduate Course, you are exposed to amazing sources of information, use them, enjoy them, make the most of the situation. You are preparing and molding your personal brand to take out into the world, and you just never know where you creativity will be sparked and lead you. Why are you not making the most of it?! 

Grad School Adventures: Content is Key in Building your Personal Brand:

“Content is King”- Bill Gates, 1999

How many times have we heard this?

In today’s fast moving society, we always hear content is king, but what exactly does that mean?

Seth Godin, a Marketing Guru, (look up his TEDtalks), said that “Content Marketing is the only marketing we have left.”

In Marketing, Content has to do with the what, why, and how of your product or service you are selling. It is a way to promote and market your product online to “differentiate”, another key marketing term. You can read all kinds of articles and blogs on content in terms of business.

But what about the Content that YOU share. With our digital community we are always using social networks to like, share, post, discuss, promote, rave, rant, etc. But how is it affecting your brand positively or negatively? Do you share the same content across platforms, or do you differentiate based on platforms?

I believe that we as Marketing and Business professionals should read, watch, and post content weekly. We are in the ‘Content’ business, we are the passionate and excited people that love “innovation” and new products. So why not talk about it? It is extremely important to read what is going on in not only business, but sports, current events, etc. to truly understanding what is happening in the markets all around the world. There is no longer a concept of Marketing to the Masses, people want the “experience” and we have to give it to them.

Start by challenging yourself to read 3-5 articles daily and share 1 piece of content a week. If you just read a great article about a new campaign that excites you tweet it.  Did you just watch a great TEDtalk? Share it. Did you earn an award for a great presentation or portfolio? Is it on your LinkedIn? It should be. Competition is the world is HIGH for new graduates, how do you differentiate yourself from the competition to potential employers if you have little to no experience? You can create a portfolio of content, when they look you up on social media, they should see that you are talking about relevant topics. They should see your work, this gives them a glimpse of your skills and long term potential.

As you continue to become more confident in sharing content, take the next step and write about it. Share your voice with the world, whether you decide to start a blog, use Facebook, or publish a post on LinkedIn, try it. Start connecting and talking with the world. If you truly want to work in this industry you have to be competent across markets and understand what is happening.

Challenge yourself to be bold and daring, start reading, sharing, and posting!