Last month, a group of “volunteers” had to endure a (Hu)Man vs Wild situation in the dangerous grounds of the Brooklyn Botanical Garden.
Don’t let the flowers, birds, and sunshine fool you as only the toughest could come through this. The “volunteers” for this trek were Casey, Frank, Jeff, Meredith, Sal, Rich, and Stephanie with DC documenting their expedition.
Luckily, all 8 employees came back in one pieces even though Sal’s skills to survive were questionable. Best part, no animals were harmed or eaten raw!
Please watch this gripping video shot in a Blair Witch Style.
If you haven’t heard already, FurtherEd was deemed #13 Best Company to Work for in New York! The office is still filled with excitement with this achievement.
It’s EVERY individual in the company that makes coming to work enjoyable, rewarding, and the best day in and day out.
We’re truly honored.
On behalf of FurtherEd, Micah accepts the award for #13 Best Place to Work in NY!!!
INOCENTE is an intensely personal and vibrant coming of age documentary about a young artist’s fierce determination to never surrender to the bleakness of her surroundings.
The challenges are staggering, but the hope in Inocente’s story proves that the hand she has been dealt does not define her, her dreams do.
I hope through the message of my presentation, we can utilize it as motivation in our everyday lives as well as work by incorporating it under FurtherEd’s Core value of “Exuding Optimism”. By carrying these inspirational stories such as Inocente’s, and applying one of these many core values into our daily lives; we can take the company to even further heights while at the same time grow personally within ourselves! :@)
Close on the heels of the inspiring precedent set by Blair, Jeff dove headfirst into Videography 201 via the FurtherEd TV show. When Melissa and Blair’s schedules were such that Micah needed someone else to operate one of the cameras, Jeff took on the job without hesitation – in fact with excitement and good cheer – despite having no real background with videography while at the same time knowing that his work would be broadcasted on television to the largest city in the nation.
He was an avid student, and was completely receptive to feedback when reviewing the footage after the fact. Since then, he’s filmed four additional segments, including two on the same day as a Learn Session that he taught, and has upped his game tremendously where every aspect of the camera is concerned, from composition to movement to lighting. Thanks, Jeff!
Seeking Creative Solutions 2.Joe
Now Known As Detective Joe!
The Case of the Disappearing Bullet Points!
GC Michele went to Dev. 2.Joe with a mystery that no team member was able to solve for a decade: the disappearing bullet points from the bundle description. Michele had tried everything: using bullets from admin, hitting alt and 7 on number pad simultaneously; cutting and pasting from notepad; and each time the bullets appeared on admin but on the live site she only saw a question mark. Desperate to make the bundle page as dynamic as possible for the launch of FurtherEd Real Estate she hired 2.Joe for the case. At first he said “no problem” until he looked at the code… he knew it would be a challenge, but he was up for the challenge.
Donning his super sleuth hat, he tried code after code and still the bullets disappeared or it could only be done through Q/A. Michele had given up and was ready to throw in the towel, but 2.Joe would not quit and finally discovered a secret formula that would allow any team member to add bullets to a bundle description. Now the bullets are on display beautifully on our new real estate site FurtherEd Real Estate Bundle and will add value to all of our bundles descriptions. Dev. 2.Joe solved the case- kudos to his ability to seek a creative solution
Taking Time to Help Others Julie
Mo doesn’t know what core values Julie did not meet in the last month. She has gone out of her way to train and support three new staffers and to teach them to become successful in the last 3-5 weeks.
Julie is constantly working, even when she’s at home she is always thinking of ways she can improve the sales team or her role as their leader. She goes above and beyond her normal duties on a daily basis to make sure she’s doing whatever she can in her power to help this company grow.
Always taking time to help out with a sale and offering tips which helps Mike F, Mo, and Jennifer to constantly grow and improve!
She is selfless, dedicated, always learning and teaching. In short, she has absolutely been godsent.
Exuding Optimism Mo
Yes, she has a tiara. Awesome, right?
The Schnurm has never seen so many yellow sticky notes in his life. Smily faces, notes of encouragement to herself, oranges with faces drawn on them. Whatever the secret is to being optimistic Mo has cracked the code and The Schnurm want in!
From the first moment he met her she has had this positivity that has not wavered for a moment. You see her smiling, laughing, and just having fun on the phone all day. This type of optimism is infectious and it has especially meant a lot to him during the past week.
Thanks Mo for being you! Always has great energy and laugh even when having to do a double wammy of Blitz calls; making 200+ calls!!
Driven to Find a Better Way Maverick Joe
Anyone who works around the Video Production office has surely heard the iPhone alarms going off about once an hour the last few months as reminders to start the rebroadcasts.
NO MORE! Joe worked out a system that allows us to set a schedule where the rebroadcasts run on their own, making the lives of Melissa, Micah and Jeff much easier. Jeff no longer needs to stop mid conversation to start a rebroadcast.
Creative solutions and the better way does not always need to be a brand-new, original idea. Some of the best ideas have come to light by applying scrutiny to the most accepted of conventions and having the bravery to break from the mold. Extra Credits, an incredibly insightful web series about video games, focuses their magnifying glass onto universally accepted methods of educating children. They claim there are “systemic flaws with how we teach kids today” and propose a better–and fun!–way to motivate and educate children: make it like a video game!
Ever played a role-playing game and got hooked on the upwards progress of your character(s)? A child’s (and anyone else’s!) motivation is stronger and more resilient when it is marked by progress and efficiency rather than the fear of failure. Extra Credits proposes: grade like a role playing game. Instead of students struggling every day to maintain an A+ grade and not fall behind, they can start 0 and grow as their education progresses–in points, in levels, in abilities and in knowledge.
This notion of progress could apply to more than just a student’s success in school but also their sense of agency. Many students, especially those from turbulent upbringings, can lose the impression that they are in control of their own choices, decisions and lives. The concepts inherent in games, where your decisions and choices result in tangible outcomes, help impart awareness that a person is in control of his or her own destiny and the choices you make do matter!
These ideas and others are presented in this video in an insightful, practical and entertaining way. A must-see for teachers, students and anyone passionate about education!
The above video went viral a year or two ago all across the internet. It is the final speech from the Charlie Chaplin movie The Great Dictator and it is incredibly moving, especially with all of the superimposed imagery in this particular version.
There are many significant points made in the video, but I think the most important of those is that it’s important to be yourself, and simply to love one another. This speech is an amazing reminder that every day you should be trying not only to improve your own life, but also the lives of those around you. The best thing about working at FurtherEd is that we are given the opportunity to do just that. We work hard every day not just because it’s a job, but to constantly grow and to make the world a better place. We’re not micromanaged or ruled and we are generally given the freedom to work on projects at our own pace and to collaborate with other departments.
Bob Dylan once said, “A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do.” I believe this is something we all get to do here at FurtherEd, and words cannot describe how proud of that I truly am.
One of the many awesome perks of working here at FurtherEd is having free lunches on Thursdays, known happily as Thursday Lunch. I’ve ordered many different cuisines such as Sandwiches, Caribbean, Indian, and Colombian. Recently Thursday Lunches have gotten much more exciting with viewings of our FurtherEd TV shows, hosted by our very own Micah Bochart!
Micah interviews incredible individuals every Sunday, 5:30pm on Channel 25 and then replays it Thursdays. We all get together in the conference room and positively relish the time eating & learning! This leads to interesting and thought-provoking questions and conversations for the rest of the day. Thanks Micah!
There’s no doubt about that ! On Tuesday, April 30th Frank took Micah, Chris, and Julie to Albany for the 2013 Awards Dinner of Best Companies to work for in New York. FurtherEd ranks #13 in New York. Some might see it as unlucky but it’s our Lucky 13 here! It is superb to have our award displayed in our hallway. Congrats to the other fellow winners.
We’re so proud of our company and know we’re number 1 in our hearts!
Frank, Micah (holding award), Chris and Julie beaming proudly!
You’re on a stage, eyes watching & ears listening….GO!
Yesterday, four FurtherEders went to the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis High School for a career day. David C, Malcolm, Jeff, and Trisha each had three different classrooms to speak in front of for 20 minutes each.
Malcolm, Jeff, Trish, & David
David C
- My first impression was that the kids who volunteered to run the event, including escorting the speakers around, answering questions and providing feedback on their school experience, were extremely professional. They, rightfully so, were very proud of their involvement and in certain instances, literally wore their school pride on their sleeves.
In my first class, I allowed them to voluntarily get involved – this strategy lead to a divided class where interested parties participated and others did not. Later on, I identified those that were drifting, got them forcefully engaged and managed to proactively adjust their approach. Upon sharing some complex concepts for career and personal molding, to see children digest, react and respond with thoughtful, insightful questions was a great sign that the message was getting through and perhaps leaving an imprint.
Malcolm
- I provided them with a breakdown of the sales position, and what I do each day. I spoke to them then about the importance of college, and identifying a career path that the students were passionate about. There were three different classes that I presented in front of, and overall they were engaged and interested. I came away with a very positive experience. I was able to speak with a few students one-on-one about different aspects of business. They were genuinely interested in my experience and the career path I chose. It was great to be able to speak to kids who are from varying backgrounds.
Trisha
- My first classroom was a English classroom where I did my trial and error speech about myself and our company. The students, teacher and teachers assistant asked several questions which was really nice and helpful for me, since I was losing my voice for talking for 20 minutes non stop. The second classroom I was escorted to was a class of sophomores who where preparing for college. I gave my little speech and then the questions came flying in about everything under the sun. Some questions where about what is the interview process and how long does it all take, what did I find most challenging about college, can I switch majors, how many interns do we accept, what are the qualifications to internships and many more questions. My last classroom I was escorted to was known as the trouble room but I felt I did the most influence to because they asked questions through out my entire talk and I didn’t even get to say everything I wanted because they wanted to know what really happens outside of high school. I am glad that I was able to part that knowledge to the students at this school and hopefully they will not make the same mistakes I did.
Jeff F - I thought it was an amazing experience and I fealt like I did make a difference, especially with my first and third classes. There were young people that truly did want to gain some knowledge and perspective from what we had to say and I know they were invested by the ones taking notes. The teachers were over the moon that we were there to help out and they showered us with praise and thanks for taking the time to speak to their kids. A lot of them don’t have many adult role models so it was nice to do our best to impart some wisdom on the youth of America.
A proud reminder of their time given to the youths of NYC.
If you guessed the Hippocampus, you are correct!!
Yesterday, eight of us FurtherEdians went to a local bar to participate in Trivia Night. After creating our teams, Team Rocket & Xena Warriors, our brains were sending messages quickly to our hands as we race to get the answers down. 13 teams were competing altogether.
Screams and laughter were heard from Team Rocket as they earn points. Every time my team got an answer right, I made a Xena battle cry naturally. Even though our two teams almost made it to the top 4, we still had a blast hanging out and learning.
Rich, Ryan, Mike F, and I. “Ayiyiiyiyiyiyi!”
Casey, Meredith, Sal, & Steph. “Blast off at the speed of light!”
This past Monday, Jeff R and I had the honor of attending the Big Brothers Big Sisters Sidewalks of NY Award ceremony at the Waldorf Astoria Grand Ballroom. Walking around this swanky building alone made the evening grand. Before dinner, guest were treated with cocktails and appetizers while mingling. I meet some wonderful Bigs who have been in the program for years and loved every minute of it.
CNN’s Soledad O’Brien did a wonderful job hosting the event and sharing her passion for the organization. Verizon(Coporate Award), Tina Lundgren(Community Service Award), and Victor Cruz(Sports Award) were honored with awards based on their charitable works through the years. The presentations by the three pairs of Bigs & Littles were remarkable, funny, and touching.
It was such a pleasure just to be part of this spectacular celebration.
Special Thanks to BBBS, especially Tali & Vanessa!
Click on the pictures for a better view.
To The BBBS Awards Please!
A Big & his Little charming the attendees
People sitting down for the event.
Victor Cruz accepting his award
Not saying it was the part of the night but it was close…
Salman Khan, former Hedge Fund Advisor turned educator, has revolutionized the way we think about Education. His Khan Academy, which is free to sign up and use, has forced us to look at education from a different perspective. His active approach to learning has helped many student grasp mathematical concepts that were once foreign to them. He has gone from tutoring his cousins in New Orleans, to teaching the world in only a matter of years. His out-of-the-box thinking has forced many of us to re-think how we approach our day-to-day lives. Below is a link to Khan’s 2011 TED talk, which is both informative and enlightening.
The most important aspect of the lecture, in my opinion, is how it ties into the core values of FurtherEd. Salman takes the aspects of Actively Learning, Seeking Creative Solutions, and his Drive to Find a Better Way, and turned into a system that helps others. By doing so, he has given hope to children who otherwise would have fallen by the wayside. At FurtherEd we embody these core values, and practice them on a day-to-day basis. I found this lecture definitely emphasized what FurtherEd is all about, teaching others, and learning more!
Can’t you smell it? Spring is in the air! Usually people take this time to do some spring cleaning in their home. However, three co-workers (Lauren, Micah, Trish) and myself decided nature needed it too. This past Saturday, we participated in the New York Cares Spring Day in Cunningham Park, the fourth largest park in Queens.
Volunteers were needed there to rake the leaves and paint benches and tables. Our group didn’t get a chance to show off our Picasso skills but definitely had the fallen leaves something to be scared off. The day threaten to rain but the sun came out instead and shone on a fresher, cleaner park.
Trish Tying The Trash bag Tightly. (say that 5x fast)
“Whistle While Your Work”
Best Time to Answer Movie Trivia
ALL Done! The bags of leaves also doubled as a beanbag chair.
Meredith has been our resident expert in teachem as well as FurtherEd Tech over the last few months. Her ability to execute has made her an invaluable piece of our team, especially in helping to diversify FurtherEd from mandatory continuing education to a more general learning platform.
If you were to ask Meredith any question in the world, she will either know the answer or find it out. Actively learning seems to be her thing!
Seeking Creative Solutions Frank
Frank has been working with Ryan in Customer Support over the past few weeks to broaden and sharpen his skill set to help him grow personally as well as to become a more versatile team member at FurtherEd. Frank has helped Ryan set reasonable goals while still challenging himself, all while providing the support necessary to keep pushing ahead. Without Frank’s input, Ryan’s not sure if he’d be taking the ambitious steps.
This is part of a larger effort to improve the company as a whole, by tailoring individual improvement to each employee. This program is the future of FurtherEd, and couldn’t happen without Frank’s leadership.
Taking Time to Help Others Blair
Where to begin? Not content to stop with a basic mastery of Wirecast, Blair has thrown herself into every aspect of production, including some of its most challenging projects. She was assistant videographer for several TV show tapings, and chief videographer for two, taking on the daunting task of maneuvering the camera between the two guest speakers in such a way that the final composition was always up to broadcast standards, and this is a project that would have required her to come in several hours before her scheduled start time.
She then dived into a task that could intimidate any beginner – Bridge the Gap, which she spent two days filming, including the nothing-to-sneeze at task of panning the camera to track speakers in motion.
And this is just the big stuff. Whether it’s putting mics on speakers in a pinch, preparing images for a webcast, lending her voice talent to an outro for the TV show, or charging batteries when doing so was the one main thing Micah couldn’t get to, Blair has been an indispensable part of keeping the video production machine chugging forward. She is the definition of this Core Value.
Exuding Optimism Malcolm
Malcolm has heard it all from every attorney (the good and the bad) but he has pushed through his first four weeks and started to develop into an awesome salesperson.
He has learned a lot throughout the process, including getting acclimated to FurtherEd, and it is very easy to hear the difference in his voice from his first week.
Malcolm comes in every day with his head held high and with the hope to learn something new to help improve himself. He already has a few sales under his belt and he has many more to come.
Driven to Find a Better Way Richard
Rich seems to be everywhere. In the developers office, in the customer support office, the kitchen; the guy is everywhere.
Call him the scrum master or just plain Rich Hernandez, you could even speak any language and I’m sure Rich would understand what you’re saying.
Rich not only helps in web development project management but he is making our customers say WOW every single day.
For always finding out where we can find free ice cream, here’s to you Rich!
L-R top clockwise: Jeff F, Stephanie, Melissa, Sigalle, Meredith, Jeff R, Joe, Richard, Lauren V, Ann
On March 19th, ten wonderful individuals volunteered to participate in our third Big Brothers Big Sisters’ Youth Development Program. This time, we went to the Brooklyn International High School to speak with high school seniors about life at college and beyond. It was very humbling speaking with all of these enlightened students. Almost all the students were from another country and didn’t have English as their first language. However, that didn’t stop these kids from getting ahead. The program at the school is incredible and helps the students achieve their dreams.
As always, it was a great experience but don’t take my word for it. Here are some feedbacks from our Marketing Coordinator, Meredith & our Web Developer, Joe:
Joe: My expectations that it would be a lot more formal than it was and that many students would be more apathetic to our presence — for that reason I felt nervous. It actually turned out to be the opposite and nearly all of the students were incredibly enthusiastic and grateful. The best part of the program for me was the diversity of the student I had the opportunity to talk to. I loved hearing about their interests and what they believed the future held for them. I learned a lot from how motivated the kids were and I believe a lot of that stems from the conditions and experiences many of them had growing up.
All about helping the kids!
Two students interested in [web] programming approached me as the rest of the students left. They told me they were disappointed that I didn’t get around to their table; they had a lot of questions to ask.
Meredith: I was so surprised by the number of kids who were tentative about going away from home next year, given that all of these kids have already left home to come to the US. I reminded them that they’ve already done the hard part, and that the fun part is finding yourself and enjoying your own independence. Towards the end of the sessions though, I was talking to a bunch of kids and asking where they all want to be next year. One by one they all said they wanted to stay in New York because they didn’t want to go away. When I got to the last girl she said “No way! I want to go to Santa Barbara, it’s WAY too cold here!”
Seeing the kids’ excitement about their futures reminded me to be excited about what I’ve still got ahead of me, even though college is over and I’ve started a career. It was refreshing to see high schoolers who were so forward-thinking. I tried to teach the kids about keeping an open mind to new experiences, that resumes should be kept to ONE page, and that there’s nothing like getting jobs/internships while in college to both boost your resume and help you figure out what you love/don’t love doing.
Thank you Big Brothers Big Sisters for giving the opportunity to help out!
When Blair first started at FurtherEd, she expressed interest in video production, and within the past two weeks she has been training with Melissa on webcasting. Blair jumped in with both feet and has been nothing but determined and positive about the whole experience. She’s also learning very quickly!
Blair now knows the in’s and out’s of Wirecast, how to operate the cameras, and how to control audio. Blair exemplifies actively learning because she stepped outside of her comfort zone to learn a new skill. Great job Blair!
Seeking Creative Solutions Melissa & Micah
Micah and Melissa have shown the patience of saints with the internet situation in their room. We have continuously worked to improve their internet while streaming courses and it has worked to some extent, but we still have not perfected it.
Thanks to their ability to seek creative solutions by wiring computers from an internet port across the room and know when they are on RCN or FIOS, they have saved many customers and employees time.
I (Frank) promise you a logical and non-creative solution is on its way. Thanks for your help!
Taking Time to Help Others Mark
This one is obvious. Debugging is a frustrating and exhausting process. Most developers prefer to create rather than repair. When Agile was on the horizon, we knew we would need someone focused on bugs and, as Dave calls them, “fires” while the rest of the team focused on new features. Mark stepped up to handle bugs and has proven reliable and efficient at this task.
He was also strangely enthusiastic about it. By doing this alone, he allowed the rest of the team to deliver your new admin. Without him in that seat Deb Development’s work would never get done. Ina very short period of time he took on the ruff code that drives FurtherEd and learned it. He can take anything anyone throws at him without having to refer to the veteran developers. He also really enjoys Flavors.
Mark really handled this role great and has been very patient and direct with all fixes. Good work Mark, you are both a scholar and a gentleman.
Exuding Optimism Team Retention
Casey, Stephanie, and Lauren H make up our customer retention team and Sal is glad they do! They each have an incredible personality that radiates through the phone and into the hearts of our customers. Not only are they letting our members know how great FurtherEd is and about our offers, but they are on the front-lines of receiving feedback from our members.
Sal can talk about how awesome they are all day, but he wants to focus on the last day in February: They CRUSHED it. They had 27 sales collectively and had over 200 outbound calls (this was on top of the waves of incoming calls they were handling).
This wasn’t just a freak occurrence; it was a strategically calculated plan by Team Retention.
They worked together to figure out when to send blasts, when to switch lists, and when to follow up on certain leads. They worked hard all of February, staying optimistic throughout, and had an awesome last day of the month!
Driven to Find a Better Way CPE Crew
It is easy to confuse CPE with standing for Continued Persistence & Effort when you see these guys at work. Whether it is putting together a schedule of all-day broadcasting, locking down new faculty partnerships, adding new courses to the CPE catalog, or sharing ideas for improving the website and building the CPE brand, the CPE team is always in drive.
Due to their relentless pursuit of finding a better way, CPE is growing in popularity and is on its rapid rise to shake up the world of continuing education. Soon after that, world domination is in their sights.
Their hard work is setting a great benchmark as we continue to launch and expand into new verticals in the future.
This morning there were three mysterious boxes on the table. As the morning meeting went on, our eyes shifted back from the speakers to the boxes. “What are they?” “Who put them there?” “I need to know!”
Finally, Chris stepped forward and spoke three magic words, “I bought cupcakes!” Those words alone were awesome but what made them more spectacular was that they all had our FurtherEd Logos! The breakfast treats were heavenly and fluffy….YES, breakfast. Please don’t judge.
Chris looking dapper with his bowtie and cupcake offerings!
FurtherEd is filled with a team that communicates daily and, as our core values state, seeks creative solutions. The best way to test FurtherEd’s team was through an activity. The idea was to see how long it would take the team to complete a task. The first task was simple: arrange themselves in order from tallest to shortest. This task took about a minute and thirty seconds. Moving forward, the team was challenged with arranging themselves by age. While it was hectic at first, but the team quickly regained their composure and finished the task in just over a minute. The final task was oriented around seeking creative solutions. This is because there is no definite answer like the previous two tasks. The mission was to arrange themselves by “the color blue”. They quickly arranged themselves starting with blue, fading into purple, and ending with the red and grey colors at the end. The job only took a minute to complete. Overall, the team gradually got faster at the communication involved, sought creative solutions, and worked well together to come to an end result. This describes the team as a whole in their daily routine here at FurtherEd.
This is the story of Richard Turere of Kenya, who at age 11 came up with a highly innovative solution to the problem of marauding lions. As a result, he was first accepted into Brookhouse International School and later appeared on Ted Talks.
As a FurtherEd team member, I consider it critical at this juncture to challenge oneself to define our mission of “personal growth” in a meaningful way. To me, Richard’s story shows that personal growth can function as a complete spectrum, from basic survival to self-actualization. It began with him trying to save his homestead from lions, and led to a state of having the resources to realize a life-long dream of becoming an aircraft engineer – as basic a need, and as lofty a vision, as any. This is personal growth at its best.
Have you ever wonder how your coworkers would answer random questions? Well I have the perfect game for that.
Get a ball, mostly one you used as a child to play kickball or catch. On that ball write as many random questions you can think of. Get all your co-workers into a circle, then toss the ball to one co-worker. When someone catches the ball, they must answer the question where ever their right thumb lands on. The point to this exercise was to get to know more about each other. For example, we learned how some would ward off zombies, what someone’s favorite childhood smell was, and what one person strongly believed in. The answers were unique and interesting.
Getting to know more about our great team members was an awesome and fun start to start conversations.
We work hard so what a better way to start the week than with a massage!
Our guest masseuse kneaded, rubbed, and pounded any tensions or knots anyone had.
Despite protest, unfortunately we had to let her go home but what a relaxing Monday nonetheless.
Meredith was so far away that she didn’t hear me call her at first.
When it comes to art, the ability to draw a straight line seems like a fundamental skill to have with nearly any medium. Phil Hansen can’t draw a straight line. But he can create some fantastic artistic pieces. In this short Ted Talk that I shared with everyone this morning, Hansen shows us that even in imperfection, one can find perfection in the most imperfect of circumstances.
On Thursday, February 21st of the year 2013, the FurtherEd team looked to Chris Kattan and Will Ferrell to illustrate the power of optimism.
In the movie, “A Night at The Roxbury,” two unique brothers are trying to find their way into the ultra-exclusive, Los Angeles club scene.
Unfortunately, the Brothers’ possess neither the looks, nor the vehicle, nor the financial wherewithal to get their names on the elusive, Roxbury club, list!
But fear not. The Brothers recognize their situation, overcome doubt, and eventually rely on positivity, optimism and good fortune. Despite a generous peppering of nearly insurmountable obstacles on their path to “dancin’,” the Brothers repeatedly take time to reassure each other that if they stick to their “guns,” that they will one day not only participate in but own a piece of that “Sweet, Sweet world.”
Eventually, their optimism leads the Brothers to a right-place, right-time situation, where they make the “contacts of a lifetime,” with a top-tier club owner, Mr. Zadir!
The FurtherEd staff watched the evolution of their optimism and, in the final scene, saw how the brothers were rewarded by being appointed managers of “Only the hottest club in town, a la the Roxbury!”
Sure… the brothers lack the skills and resourcefulness of the focused FurtherEd team. However, the situations are certainly parallel. Like the Butabi brothers, FurtherEd sets a goal, identifies the hurdles, and remains optimistic until the goal is achieved. By never wavering in this commitment to optimism, the Butabi’s and we here at Lawline cement our culture and continue to grow, individually and as a team
On Tuesday, the FurtherEd team were rooting for the Brooklyn Nets at the Barclays Center! The Brooklyn Nets were playing against the Milwaukee Bucks, leading most of the game. The match went into overtime but the Nets were able to score the winning shot.
We all had a blast together at this exciting game. If you haven’t been to the Barclays Center, I definitely recommend it.
One Friday, Meredith came into the video production room with a project she was working on. She was making a tutorial video and wanted to use Final Cut to edit it further. Meredith has never used the program before but she faced her task with interest, patience and enthusiasm. She even stayed late to put the finishing touches on it. And the result….the video came out great!
Also for the past month, Meredith has devoted the majority of her time to getting our Susan Davis real estate courses ready for accreditation and testing our new hybrid course center. Every day brought on a new set of bugs and challenges, but nothing was strong enough to affect Meredith’s positive attitude.
She always tackled every situation head on and once she conquered one issue, she would quickly ask for her next assignment. Her optimistic attitude shines through her work product as well as her friendly banter with co-workers and her current neighbors Ben, Alan and most of all Milton.
Seeking Creative Solutions Melissa
While the whole Video Production team deserves this award every month, Fannon must single out Melissa. She routinely goes above and beyond by helping to create questions for faculty members that look to be going short on time, using the screen-share zoom for webcam courses, and expertly zooming in on the TV above a presenter’s head when they spontaneously wanted to point out some specific on a chart.
When we have CPE faculty come in to teach, Melissa has been very helpful making the process run as smooth as possible. This is a team environment and we really kick it into gear when Jeff F get the Skype from Melissa “”They’re already on Slide 19!!”"
Melissa always stays positive and ensures that everything is put back on track and works out in the end. She also excitedly volunteered to help Lauren and Micah to film the new B-Roll for the Valentine’s Day course and starred in the clips!
Taking Time to Help OthersLauren
Lauren has always been our go-to intern in Production for getting important projects done because when you tell her you need her help on something, she immediately gets to work. When Lauren started working full time for us in January we were in the thick of things with the Susan Davis Real Estate courses. Despite her being told that she would be working full time on production of our CLE courses, we told her we needed an extra body on Real Estate and she quickly jumped on board.
She did any task needed no matter how tedious, and became especially good at Michele’s least favorite project of listening to each clip over and over to make sure the ending was natural. In the CLE Department, she takes time to create newsletters explaining the changes in law and then connects them to our courses.
She is also creating a Valentine’s Day course and does every task – no matter how big or small with a smile and always makes you feel confident that the task will get done. Thanks Lauren always being willing to collaborate wherever needed at FurtherEd.
Exuding Optimism Sigalle
There are quite a few steps to remember in the process of booking an attorney to teach a course here. From DC’s experience, increasing his familiarity with each step has not been an entirely flawless process. Because FurtherEd was such a well-oiled machine before he got here, being the cause of a mistake or oversight in processes has the tendency to make DC feel like he’s slowing the group down or not acclimating as quickly as necessary.
Fortunately, he works across the table from Sigalle Barness. Sigalle, in addition to doing her job, has served as a teacher to and a supporter since day one, which mimics her interaction with everyone here. Sigalle has been there to help DC rectify any issues, learn from the process, and move forward without any second-guessing. Of course, in the primary spirit of the award, Sigalle caps every lesson off with strong words of encouragement and reassurance, and by doing so, has helped DC to more quickly feel like a part of rather than an impediment to the company machine.
For every situation we encounter in this room, Sigalle is quick to identify the long term positives and the return on investments, even when those situations are simply, simple instances of learning on the job. Thanks Sigalle.
Driven to Find a Better Way Joe
Scrum anyone? Joe2 gave a presentation that he clearly spent a lot of time putting together on a new management system called Scrum. When preparing a presentation of that depth there is no doubt you are learning more as you do it. As we say teaching is the best form of learning.
This will be the game changer the company was looking for once implemented. He’s been focusing really hard on getting the development team together and improving the efficiency of how things are done around here. We can’t wait to see how our new Scrum process works out once we start moving full speed ahead on it! Joe also came in and quickly concurred FurtherEd tech. He gave us a nice layout of the dashboard and countless hours to perfect the home page. He also took bugs as Todd threw them at him and fixed them quickly with very little questions.
Joe2 is making an incredible impact right out of the gate and could easily be nominated for multiple core values this month for his drive to improve the work flow for the development team, taking considerable time to educate others on how to implement process improvements and for continually learning how to maximize the software we use. Joe thanks for teaching, learning and sharing the secrets of the scrum.
This Valentine’s Day I decided to show a short film entitled “One Step Forward” because it exemplified several of our core values. Initially, I wanted to show the film because of how well the protagonist exuded optimism. After doing a little research, I discovered that the back story behind the making of the movie was actually a perfect exemplar of seeking creative solutions. Instead of simply showing the film as is, I created a teachem course that included the interesting tidbits and facts that I learned about the making of the movie. Watch the film below!
Patrick Hughes was born with a severe physical impairment that left him without sight but he’s never let that stop him from doing what he enjoys. He and his Father a truly inspiration people.
Last Friday morning as NYC prepared for a weekend blizzard, I thought everyone might need a little extra inspiration to get through the day. What better way to wake everyone up in the morning than a good pep talk! This one from Kid President was just right. He reminds us of all the core values – as well as to appreciate the little things and never get up – remember if Michael Jordan had quit, he would have never made Space Jam!
Although tattooing has been around for centuries, modern tattoos artists are constantly adapting the art to incorporate technological developments. The late 90′s gave us the awesome invisible UV tattoo, the early 2000′s brought about ‘semi-permanent’ tattoos (whose legitimacy is still up for debate), and in 2011 tattooing broke through into the digital world with the first ever animated tattoo.
Bonus! The first ever RANDOM tattoo:
If you knew your tattoo would only be visible under blacklight, would fade after a few years, or could be changed with a simple QR code URL switch, would you consider getting one?
Did you know that Mongolia’s capital used to move depending on the season? Or that before Southern Sudan, Kosovo was the country most recently incorporated? And can you name the capitals of either of those countries?
If so, you’re well on your way to passing the quiz I gave last week. My morning presentation, a geography quiz, was a demonstration of learning in action, both for the presenter and the audience.
I focused on the world outside of the U.S., specifically our knowledge of countries and their capitals. Too often, I have found geography or history courses focusing on memorization without ever giving a context or background on why these facts needed to be memorized. Thus, I created a geography quiz where each team had a chance to respond to the question, and if they answered correctly with any of the countries the question applied to, they were then given a chance for a bonus point if they could name the capital of this country. The second team was then given a chance to try to name the other country that answered the question, with a bonus question shot as well. It might sound a little complex in explanation, but the quiz (given below) should make it pretty straight forward. Try it out on your friends and see how many they can answer.
After each round was complete, I gave a brief background on the country or the fact, and then offered a unique or interesting custom native to the country. To me, geography should and can be fun if you start seeing the inhabitants behind the unique name or seemingly strange pronunciations of the capital or language.
I knew very few of the answers before making the quiz, so I expected it to be challenging.
It was. Very much so. Team 1 answered two of the question correctly, but most of the questions went unanswered.
My knowledge of world facts was improved not only in making the course but also in Micah’s correction of two of my questions. One, which named Mongolia as the largest land-locked country in the world, was incorrect, at least by most modern standards. Micah noted that Kazakhstan only borders land and the Caspian Sea, which is considered the largest lake in the world, and is much larger in square mileage than Mongolia.
The third question, which listed Victoria Falls as the largest waterfall in the world, had to do with specificity, which is directly tied to ensuring learning is meaningful. Victoria Falls is neither the tallest nor widest waterfall in the world, and it also does not have the greatest quantity of water flow per time or area. What is true is that it has the largest surface area of water falling i.e. its height and width, when multiplied, result in the greatest value of any waterfall in the world. So, if you were looking at it straight on, you would see more water passing in front of your eyes than any other waterfall in the world (which is still pretty cool, but not the logical conclusion from calling it the “largest”).
Make sure you check any facts before you start reciting them to friends and family, and I hope you enjoy the links to the countries’ customs below.
Lawline Geography Quiz
1. Name one of the only two doubly-landlocked countries
4. Name the country with the highest altitude lake and the largest salt flats or the least densely populated country in the world with a previously nomadic capital
Country: Bolivia Capital: La Paz
Salar de Uyuni (salt flat) and Lake Titicaca (highest altitude lake)
Interesting fact: Salt flats!!!!
Country: Mongolia Capital: Ulan Bator used to move three times a year – a nomadic city!
Ulan Bator is the coldest capital city in the world!
Mongolians spell Ulan Bator – ‘Ulaan Baatar,’ which means ‘Red Hero.’
Here’s our third recap of several awesome morning presentations done since August 2012.
The morning huddles are more than just meetings; it is our morning coffee before our real morning coffee. There are where our minds wake up and get set for the day. We get to experience more than one of our core values every single morning and that in itself is truly a wonderful privilege.
For today’s morning meeting, Jeff showed us a video from the group CDZA, which used New York City street names as musical inspirations. When I first saw the video back in December, I didn’t fully “get” all the references. Some of the songs were unfamiliar to me, and some were familiar songs but I didn’t know who sang them. I decided to create a teachem class using the video so that everybody could fully understand why all the songs were chosen.
In the end, Jeff pointed out that the video makes us truly appreciate the city in which we live and work - there’s inspiration all around us! Watch the video, enjoy, and learn some new music while you’re at it!
Coke Bottles are transforming Manila’s rural areas. These plastic bottles are now being viewed as a green, cheap and sustainable way to light homes. In rural Manila where homes are often built so close to each other that they have no windows or natural light these bottles are a God send. With electricity unaffordable or unavailable for many families they often have to work, do chores, and eat in near darkness. Now there is light! Take a look at this. Absolutely incredible.
Simple solutions can still be creative. Sometimes it is those who are able to fix the vexing problem with simple yet creative solutions. Minds like these truly embody the core value: seeking creative solutions
David (DC) has started Lawline’s newest endeavor; Bridge the Gap Programming for newly admitted attorneys.
Since David has arrived he has learned the nuances of NY CLE requirement, attended every live event (even on the weekend in Newark, NJ) and has a continuous drive to understand the topics needed for our New York Bridge the Gap program. What is even more impressive is his ability to do so in such a manner that directly translates into concise, clear and reliable work while maintaining a humility that is truly inspiring!
At two separate live events, his pointed questions helped resuscitate the programs and the two different presenters reach their time minimums. With David there, Kenny never worried about coming up short. David also applied his active learning skills to the challenging word picture games devised for him by almost 8 year old Max, Michele’s son.
Tim not only supports small businesses, he is really good at making our business larger!
On a regular basis Tim takes what we already have and makes it better. He finishes all of his projects at amazing speeds. With his arrival, the Web Development Team has increased productivity and deployed multiple features that would have never seen the light of day. He has helped the company, mainly the Customer Support Department, in improving searches on admin and changing the sign up page.
One week, a customer left a voicemail on ZS&M phones without leaving his name but only his phone number. If Tim didn’t add the phone search to the admin, it would have been very difficult to find this person. Let’s all pay our dues to Tim to win a seamless lunch because he is a person who supports small businesses!
Joe has earned a new nickname at FurtherEd; The Closer. Why? First, we needed to take a step back and see how busy we have been the past few months in development. We currently have 5 major projects going on at once including:
1) FurtherEd Private Label headed by Todd, 2) New Real Estate Course Center headed by Tim, 3) OnlineCLE.com headed by Seth, 4) New Credit Card Processor headed by Elliot, 5) New Video Saving and Encoding features headed by Joe.
Each one of these takes planning, focus, and execution. Just like a close baseball game, you can play great for 8 straight innings but without a great closer, it becomes a lot difficult to always ensure a win. Joe in the past month has stepped in last minute to help the Todd and the private label get to phase 1 and Tim and Real Estate launch phase 1.
His willingness to help (albeit after a little sarcasm) is always there and makes a big difference. We look forward to seeing his record grow as we continue to build our technology over the next year.
Previous Months’ CV Awards – Taking Time To Help Others
For anyone that does not get to listen to Richard on the phone with customers throughout the day, you are missing out. This guy is having a ball; it’s like he’s actively participating in a Happiness Competition.
He’s so nice to customers, and genuinely engages with them. It’s awesome. The developer room seems to be filled with positive energy every time he is on the phone with a customer. It’s almost as if he is best buddies with every customer he speaks with.
Both Rob and Trisha have been invaluable in their assistance with off hours CS, on top of their day jobs. During the busy end of year flurry, both Rob and Trish made themselves available during crunch time. Rob also traveled down to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to serve as the administrator for our first PA Live Rebroadcast which was a huge success.
While at the event Rob assisted with email tickets, then proceeded to take tickets that night, and the entire next day from 9am-11pm. This led to our COO, Jeff, to ask Rob if he was human. No confirmation yet.
Trisha has continued to stay on top of the off hours schedule and has been a huge help, especially on many of the holidays! Big shout out to both of you!
Previous Months’ CV Awards – Driven To Find A Better Way
This morning, the FurtherEd staff was asked to consider the definition of “Creativity,” a concept that the company prides itself on and has largely driven the company’s success.
Often times, creativity is thought of narrowly, as displays of masterful, artful, or intellectual manipulation of processes as intended to assist in the overcoming of obstacles.
But sometimes, as we learned this morning, creativity merely means looking at a big gap, and finding the courage and wherewithal to jump it.
Three fine examples of “jumping big gaps” as applications of creativity, as we discussed, are:
Building the transcontinental railroad through the Sierra Nevada mountains, when such a passing seemed theoretically impossibly and practically improbable. At the time of its construction, the government would only compensate the railroad’s builders if the track was laid at a small grade (allowing for trains to ascend via steam power). This stipulation required going through the mountain – a seemingly insurmountable hurdle.
BUT… stronger and creative minds prevailed. Armed with nothing but black powder (the powder used in civil war gunfire) the workers began chipping away, stretching fractions of an inch a day! Determined to increase their speed and break through the mountain walls, the workers turned to a new invention, nitroglycerine, and picked up the speed.
As a result of the railroad, and the subsequent growth of the American West, Teddy Roosevelt (a lover of all things Navy) realized that the new territory required defense! The problem? With all the nation’s shipyards located on the Atlantic seaboard, and the path to the pacific requiring circling half the globe, the U.S. would be unable to support two war efforts, which to Teddy (and prior Presidents) was a necessity.
Teddy faced his own “Sierra Nevadas” in the Panamanian Isthmus. What did he do? Armed with only small shovels, he started digging, eventually engineering bigger shovels, and creating the pathway that now supports naval, freight, and tourism transportation.
With the West now developed and protected, FDR’s period of presidency was defined by the growth of the inner-regions. Due to previous, destructive farming practices, the land in between the coasts had been decimated and left nearly unlivable. The term “Dustbowl” is a literal description of the arid, wind-swept region between Canada and Texas that simply could NOT be developed.
Faced with wind… FDR attempted to block the wind. By constructing shelterbelts, FDR managed to literally block the wind from certain farming areas, and stimulate the redevelopment of the region.
So… how does this reflect the FurtherEd culture? Here at FurtherEd, our creative solutions are akin to those of Lincoln, Teddy, and Franklin – we see gaps, and we jump.
No real estate program in a giant, established real estate market? BUILD IT
No presence in the interior U.S. where other companies are thriving? GO THERE
No content for newly admitted attorneys, one of the greatest in size groups of attorneys? CONSTRUCT IT.
For FurtherEd, staying at the forefront requires being modern; being modern requires creativity; creativity, for us, requires blasting tunnels, building shelterbelts and digging canals until we reach the next step, at which point we use those efforts to conquer whatever comes after.
Solve puzzles of course!! Besides loving the typical action games, I also love the Professor Layton series on the Nintendo DS. The games are all about seeking creative solutions for hundreds and hundreds of puzzles.
Yesterday morning, I shared this love of puzzles with my co-workers in a competitive relay race. Team 1 and Team 3 were against Team 2 and Team 4.
There were three puzzles to solve. Team 1 and Team 2 would try the solve the same puzzle faster than each other so that their corresponding team would receive the next puzzle to do it faster than their competitors. Last, it would come back to Team 1 and 2 to solve the last third puzzle.
It was definitely a brain teaser but that didn’t slow them down on bit. It was sooo close at the end but Team 2 and 4 got the win in the nick of time.
Try to Solve the Following Puzzles:
1) When you weren’t looking, someone came by and gobbled up your fish dinner. The three brothers near the scene of this dastardly crime had this to say:
A: “Me? Oh yeah, I ate it. It was good too!”
B: “I saw A eat that fish right up!”
C: “B and I didn’t eat that fish.”
One of these three brothers is lying to you, but which one is it?
2) Somebody ate the butcher’s sausages! Here’s what these four boys have to say:
A: “B ate the sausages!”
B: “D ate them all up!”
C: “I didn’t eat them, no way!”
D: “B’s totally lying!”
Only one of these rascals is telling the truth and all the others are, needless to say, lying. Can you figure out who ate the sausage? Bonus question: Who is telling the truth?
3) Johnny and Thomas are each carrying some apples. If Johnny gave Thomas one apple, the two men would each have the same number of apples. Conversely, if Thomas gave Johnny two apples, Johnny would have three times the number of apples that Thomas would have. So, just how many apples is each of the men holding?
ANSWERS: 1) C 2) C bonus:D 3) Johnny:seven & Thomas: five
Also, if you couldn’t tell, I love food as well!
To start Monday (and the year as a whole) off right. I decided to quiz Lawliners on the happenings of 2012. Being infatuated with pop culture myself, I decided to group together 2012′s biggest moments in a short, fun trivia game! Test your knowledge below with some of the questions!
1. What movie won best picture at the 2012 Oscars?
The Artist
Bonus: Who won best actor, best actress?
Jean Dujardin, Meryl Streep
2. What CW television show ended in December of 2012?
Gossip Girl (R.I.P.)
3. What was the highest grossing movie of 2012?
The Avengers
4. Who was the highest paid (movie) actress of 2012?
Kristin Stewart
5. What was the top selling album of 2012?
Adele — 21
6. Which country won the 2012 Euro Cup?
Spain
Bonus: What was the score?
4-0
7. What was the most “googled” search of 2012?
Whitney Houston (R.I.P.)
2012 was obviously a big year and now we have 2013 to look forward to! Happy New Year!
One important way to further one’s personal growth is to continuously strive to remain challenged in life’s endeavors and, perhaps most importantly, resist the urge to settle into complacency. An individual that implements this mentality has a greater likelihood to identify possibility and opportunity – even in the most unlikely of places.
My morning meeting consisted of a video that is an embodiment of just that – the ability to see beauty and opportunity in something that is not necessarily apparent at first glance. While reading the newspaper one morning, this individual saw a picture of birds on the electric wire. Cutting out the photo – this individual decided to make a song, using the exact location of the birds as notes. A perfect example of what results if we just open our eyes (and ears) a bit wider… Enjoy!
Meredith and Lauren have stepped up in furthering their roles since starting just a few months ago!
Lauren and Meredith’s “can-do” attitudes and work ethic are an invaluable resource to Customer Support and have enabled everyone to be more productive and continue to provide the WOW customer support we strive for. They have done a tremendous job in becoming acclimated to FurtherEd by taking all the information thrown at them from customer and coworkers and producing very positive results in all of their tasks.
Meredith has stepped up in assisting with TeachEm while Lauren has proven there is no attorney who will not buy CLE from her. Not only has their work been something to note, but they are an absolute pleasure to work with.
“Without Lauren and Meredith, we would simply not be able to provide customers with the proper support,” said Chris Deoleo, “They have been invaluable addition to our team here at FurtherEd and our customers have said the same!”
Blair, from Customer Support, has become a CPE genius
As we work to solidify our Continuing Professional Education vertical (for accountants), a slew of new and hard questions have come into the Customer Support Department. Blair has not only volunteered to be the GURU of CPE, but she has taken a lot of personal time to get started in learning the NASBA and QAS rules.
Her new found knowledge has been a boost to everyone in CS, and will definitely help as we continue towards the busy season at the end of December.
After retiring from law, Alan became a high end real estate broker in the Hamptons. His current practice, combined with his 40 years of real estate investing, has made him more knowledgeable than most brokers!
Continuing education in the Real Estate industry is FurtherEd’s next vertical, and to penetrate the market an entirely new course catalog needed to be constructed. FurtherEd hired a speaker from Washington and scheduled course filmings for an entire week.
When we approached Alan about offering his expertise to some of the courses he was more than willing to volunteer his time. The result?
Alan completed three courses with our speaker, Susan Davis, and took the courses to a new level! We could not have done it without him!
Previous Months’ CV Awards – Taking Time To Help Others
One common theme from every interview with candidates seems to be their compliments of Ann as they arrive. Almost all candidates mention their positive interactions and first impressions of the office when Ann greets them and calms their nerves before their meetings.
You would be hard pressed to find her without a smile on her face, and she brings cheer to our office day in and day out. She is also well-versed in office décor to welcome the holidays!
Thank you Ann for all you do for everyone in the office, and thanks for always doing it with a smile!
Rob has been with FurtherEd for nearly two years, and we have still yet to hear him complain or say no so we continue to pile work on his desk.
Seriously though, Rob has been an irreplaceable cog in the CPE wheel. Growing into any new vertical will lead to obstacles, and Rob has been there every step of the way by offering advice, implementing his plans of action, and figuring out the best way to solve individual problems.
Rob has put a spring into the CPE Division’s step, and they owe him big-time for his drive and ingenuity!
Previous Months’ CV Awards – Driven To Find A Better Way
As we know, each month a group of FurtherEd employees are awarded for best exemplifying our core values; Actively Learning, Seeking Creative Solutions, Taking Time to Help Others, Exuding Optimism and Driven to Find a Better Way. With the end of the year approaching, FurtherEd employees voted on our 2012 Core Value winners! It was a close race but all winners were deserving and we are proud to have their creative ideas, blossoming personalities and constant company each workday.
The winners were announced last week at our annual holiday party. As shown in our previous post, it was a beautiful restaurant on the east side, Bocca, perfect for our awards ceremony.
And the winners are …
We are so thankful for our winners this year and look forward to all that our 2013 winners have to offer us!
On 12-12-12, FurtherEd had their Secret Santa exchange, Holiday Party and 2012 FurtherEd Core Values of the Year Awards.
While in the office, everyone dropped off their presents randomly in the conference room. Afterwards, we all had to guess who was our Santa which was a tough one.
After work we headed to Bocca, Stephanie’s favorite restaurant, and had the most wonderful time there. Dinner couldn’t have been more delicious.
What a lucky day for us! Check out the festive pictures.
This past Monday, Jeff R and I had the honor of attending the Big Brothers Big Sisters Sidewalks of NY Award ceremony at the Waldorf Astoria Grand Ballroom. Walking around this swanky building alone made the evening grand. Before dinner, guest were treated with cocktails and appetizers while mingling. I meet some wonderful Bigs who have been in the program for years and loved every minute of it.
