T
|
he all-encompassing
question of why do we start blogs? For me, and I believe for many, we hope to
give back to the world some of the accumulated knowledge that we have gained
over the course of our lives. Clearly we all have something to say, and I, for
one, do not want to miss out on the action.
The
title of my new blog "Social Dynamics for the Future" represents my
personal passion-how and why people act. That is, whether it's at work, home,
at a party, in the super market, or simply walking down the street, we all--us
humans-- act in various ways based upon our chemical make up and our social
habituation or training throughout life. The classic nature versus nurture
reality that forms us all into social beings interests me. But, more
importantly, it's what we do with these social tools that really intrigues me.
Through this blog, I hope to explore social dynamics through personal anecdotes
and my professional knowledge.
So
a little about who I am: I grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in a middle
class family. I have two siblings-a twin sister and a little brother-and, yes,
I have a cat. I attended the University of Pittsburgh for Philosophy and Political
Science. And no, beyond common conception, these degrees are highly useful.
Philosophy
for one nurtured my insatiable need to question everything I come in contact
with, while my study of Political Science developed my understanding of the
world's political, economic, and social realities. The most tangible evidence
of my college education is my thesis which you can check out here: Ben's Thesis. But ultimately, college
taught me one thing above all-to think.
Beyond
college, I became a phone canvasser for Clean Water Action and then ventured
into the political realm. Perhaps it was my youthful altruism that forced me to
work for the public good, but there was also a practical explanation for my
career choice.
Specifically,
I discovered, while in college, that I have a special talent for fundraising.
That is, I am good at convincing people to give money to various causes. As a
result, I was given the chance, at a young age, to lead others by teaching them
to fund raise. Eventually, I was leading entire campaigns and fundraising
teams,which included the chance to reach out to influential business leaders
and community heads to organize their support for whatever organization I was
working for at the time.
Through
these opportunities, it became very clear to me that the majority of business
interactions are mediated by social nuance and politics. In other words, I
realized that the need to become a professional communicator was pressing if I
were to succeed in business as well as life in general. So, the number one
reason that I was able to accomplish such success was because of my
interpersonal communication skills in the business environment.
Currently,
I work with Donor Development Strategies (DDS), a national field organizing
firm that specializes in individual face to face conversations. In other words,
DDS helps Public Television affiliates across the country fund raise and
acquire new members (Detroit Public Television, Twin Cities Public Television,
and Rocky Mountain Public Television to name a few). As an aside, for those of
you who do not know, PBS is the number on educational media program on
television and the number one in public trust. Furthermore, for many PBS affiliates
around 50% of the funding comes from individual viewers. So donate today!
Currently,
I work as the National Director of Expansion and Training and teach Directors
and teams around the country how to fund raise successfully. In practice, my
professional focus is on building and sustaining successful teams. Small and
large group social dynamics are key here. Furthermore, I train individuals how
to engage the PBS donor base effectively through the study of interpersonal
social dynamic skills. I hope to bring some of the knowledge that I impart to
my teams to this blog for all of you.
In
my free time, I love sports. Currently I am a Jiu Jitsu fanatic. I also play
guitar and have recently delved into iOS and Android app creation. In fact, I
am in the process of forming my first LLC and trade marking my first app's
name! Needless to say, I am very busy.
With
all of this said, I am truly excited to start this blog and to give back to the
world some of the lessons I have learned. I hope that I will in some way
positively impact others to take action to better themselves. Happy reading.
Best,
Benjamin
Reed
Check
out my second post titled:
No comments:
Post a Comment