Kristin Gast

Next post in the series… What my Sorority taught me about: [FILL IN THE BLANK]”

Today, Politics.

Through various collegiate and professional experiences, I have become more and more exposed to (and interested in) politics. Attending college during the 2004 Presidential election (also being the first where I could vote) opened my eyes to the conflicts that arise when political lines are drawn in the sand (or snow). However, I also learned A LOT about politics within the walls of my sorority, and while serving as President of the Panhellenic Council. Note: if you’re not Greek, that means nothing to you. Translation: I was President of the group that governs all sororities on campus.

1. Image is EVERYTHING. A concept that was hard for some to understand, but an important one. When you are out in the community, you are always representing your organization. Whether you like it or not, people will associate you with the group to which you belong or the company that employs you.
2. Uninformed voters hold the power. Unfortunately, there are  significant numbers of individuals who vote on issues about which they are not knowledgeable. Whether this is during a sorority or  Presidential election, these uninformed masses are more difficult to reach and influence, and impossible to predict.
3. Stay on message. Deviating from key points, in any conflict, leaves room for misinterpretation and firestorms that you are not prepared to deal with. Trying to pass a new bill or get elected to a new position depends entirely on well-crafted messages.
4. Don’t take it personal. In business, and in politics, this is a concept that I still struggle with on a daily basis. Whenever you have an opinion, people are going to disagree with it – no matter what. However, to save your sanity (and friendships) personal feelings need to be taken out of the equation. Disagreements and criticisms are (hopefully) based on the issue at hand, and not your personal qualities. As I said, I still have a hard time separating from my work and opinions, but I am working on it.

What would you add? What have you learned about politics throughout your life experiences?

My first in a probable series of “What my Sorority taught me about: [fill in the blank].”

Today, NETWORKING.

The concept of meeting new people, is a frightening one to me. I become increasingly awkward, horrible at small talk and shy when in situations where I don’t know anyone. One of my many professional goals for 2010 is to attend more, and become more comfortable at, networking events.

Being Greek, there are numerous opportunities that require you to mingle with unknown individuals. Through those instances, I have learned many skills that I can translate to professional networking events.

1. Align yourself with leaders in the room. A lot can be learned by observing and interacting with leaders, whether individuals or entire organizations. These influential individuals can help introduce you to new contacts, and provide great feedback and tips.
2. Come prepared. During sorority recruitment, I always had a list of fall-back questions should the conversation start to fade. Once the natural conversation became more difficult, I could resort to my prepared topics to avoid the awkward silences that so often accompany small talk.
3. Listen. Many people at professional networking events are simply there to talk about themselves. To be an effective networker, it is necessary to listen, actually listen, to others. Try and find shared interests, goals and experiences to help drive the conversation.
4. Sell yourself. At social and recruiting events, I often had to sell my sorority experience to others. Explaining what we were about, what made us different and why the other person should care. I have come to realize that this easily translates to networking events. Whether you are looking for a new career or not, practice your “elevator speech” about yourself (and your company) prior to events.
5. Practice your loser face. Throughout my collegiate experience, it was evident that my sorority (and Greek life in general) wasn’t for everyone. Rejection, in some form or another, was inevitable. The same applies in networking events, people are going to move on to new conversations and people. You can’t take it personally, instead, maintain a positive attitude and a healthy sense of humor.

Any other thoughts on networking? As I mentioned, it is a goal of mine to be more comfortable in new situations – so I will gladly accept any ideas and tips. More importantly, if you see someone looking awkward and nervous at the next event you attend, it’s probably me, so please come by and say hello!

As many people know, I am a proud member of my sorority and have no doubt that some of my fondest experiences, relationships and opportunities would not have been available to me without it. I often find myself defending my decision to join a sorority, constantly fighting stereotypes of constant partying. I’m not going to deny that I partied in college, most kids do (whether or not they join a fraternity or sorority). However, being a member of a Greek organization also opened a lot of doors for me, ones that I believe would not have been there without my affiliation. So, this series of posts will work to highlight all the things I learned while in my sorority, especially those that have helped me in the professional world.

I am not exactly sure how many learnings I will be sharing through this WMSTMA series, but I hope I can share some of the things that I learned, while expanding my creativity and writing prowess.

I have about had it with the entire late-night fiasco unfolding on NBC. While this will prove to be a learning opportunity for public relations professionals and teachers, my goal is to make some sense of this muddled situation.

Conan and Leno have made the most of the feud during their monologues and interviews, too frequently bordering on “too far,” especially in Conan’s case.

Unfortunately for NBC, one of the first official responses from NBC executive Dick Ebersol definitely did not go through his PR team:

The executive, Dick Ebersol, chairman of NBC Universal Sports, said the reason for Mr. Leno’s return to NBC’s late-night roster after a short stint in prime time this season was a simple one: disappointing ratings for Conan O’Brien’s “Tonight Show.”

Referring to the pointed jokes made this week by Mr. O’Brien and David Letterman of CBS, Mr. Ebersol said it was “chicken-hearted and gutless to blame a guy you couldn’t beat in the ratings.”

He added that “what this is really all about is an astounding failure by Conan.”

So, my question is: Where do these three parties go from here? Is there a solution that will pacify the Conan-loyalists, NBC executives and Leno’s influential team?

The public nature of Conan’s show cancellation and options for a continued relationship with NBC, combined with the nature of late-night monologues and NBC failing in the ratings across the late-night line up, have made for a volatile situation. And I’m sure ABC, CBS and FOX are loving every minute of it.

I ran across this video this afternoon and wanted to share it:

Organized by Starbucks, the video highlights our ONE global community and the power of music.

From Starbucks:
On December 7th, 2009 at 1:30pm GMT Starbucks invited musicians from all over the world to sing together at the same time to raise awareness for AIDS in Africa. In that one breathtaking moment, musicians from 156 countries played “All You Need is Love” together. Watch now, as musicians from all around the world come together and share a song.

Warning: The beginning of this post is somewhat jumbled and could be frustrating to the reader. The independent thoughts are eventually completed, I promise. Just bear with me.

I am a list-maker by nature. Whether at work, school or home, I find great satisfaction in making lists and subsequently crossing off items upon completion.

Separate, but related: in participating in the Best of 2009 Blog Challenge, I tried to remember all of the highlights of 2009 and I’m sure that I forgot many great memories and moments.

So, to tie these two thoughts together, below is my list of to dos for 2010. Some are minor, while others are goals for the entire year. It is my hope that this list (by being public in nature) will help me stick to these goals. In addition, it provides a great opportunity for me to document some of the year’s achievements, no matter how small.

1. Stop biting my nails. It is a gross, annoying habit that I need to stop. Now.
2. Read  more. Lately, it’s become so easy to come home from work and turn on the TV. However, I need to start reading more books. I used to be such an avid reader and I have lost that as I’ve gotten older. Whether professional or non, I need to start picking up more books. UPDATE: Arik Hanson pointed me to this blog post about reading a book a week for one year. I think I may try it. Thanks for the tip!
3. Take more pictures. Though I have my new camera, I haven’t attempted to use the features that make it so cool. With my recent acquisition of a hand-me-down tripod, I will be testing out shutter speed, along with other aspects of my Nikon.
4. Commit to exercise. I go through spurts of exercising every day, and then not. In 2010, I will make a commitment to life-long behavior change and personal health.
5. Be a tourist in MSP. There are so many amazing things happening in Minneapolis throughout the year and I don’t take advantage of them. So, this means signing up for the City of Lakes Loppet and finally partaking in the artist-designed mini golf at the Walker. I am going to take full advantage of the wonderful city in which I live in 2010. And who knows, maybe I’ll even venture into St. Paul
6. Build and grow relationships. This goal was almost too general for me to include, but it is one of the most important. In both my personal and professional life, I need to be better and fostering relationships. I need to be a better friend (by calling more often and setting up coffee dates) and I need to be better at growing professional relationships that I have developed in the office and online.

So, that’s it. My goals for 2010. Specfic and broad, personal and professional. What are your goals for this new year? Note: I refuse to call these “resolutions,” as I am convinced that word severely hinders accomplishment. Any tips or thoughts on mine?

December 29 Laugh. What was your biggest belly laugh of the year?

Sadly, I am a day late and a dollar short for this post, but I really like this topic.

I am a very lucky person, blessed with amazing friends, family and a great group of co-workers. So, naturally, when prompted to think of my best laugh of 2009, one of my first memories was while at work. So, here’s the story:

One of my co-workers, Bryan Brignac, has an irrational fear of large bodies of water. You might be thinking, well heck, that’s fairly common. However, what makes his fear irrational, is the story from which it stems. During work one afternoon, Bryan proceeded to defend his fear of water with a story he was told as a child.

Down in Lousiana, a young girl was water skiing and having a grand time. Until, however, she lost control of the tow rope and fell into the water – landing into… a nest of water moccasins. She did not survive.

Curious as to what a water moccasin even looks like, we asked Bryan to check out Google. What was the FIRST link that popped up? An urban legend Web site. Clicking on the link, we discovered that this is a popular urban legend from the south and, most importantly, water moccasins do not nest, as they are cannibalistic by nature.

I acknowledge that this story will not appear to be nearly as amusing as it was that day, but the most important piece of this post is a compliment and note of sincere appreciation for the wonderful people with whom I am blessed to work. Whether it be over lunch or in a gathering around the office, I find myself laughing every single day at the stories, mannerisms and jokes of my co-workers.