Seminars Series: Business for Good
with George Mason University Faculty
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The MEC is proud to introduce a series of webinars given by George Mason University Professors on a range of thought-provoking topics from Sustainability, to Social Entrepreneurship and Business for a Better World!
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Creating Your Personal Elevator Pitch or
Unique Professional Value Statement
Description:
When people ask you what you do, it's easy to simply share your title and hope the conversation continues. What if you had a better way of controlling the narrative that allowed you to come from a place of value and service to your new connection, client, or organization? Most business owners and entrepreneurs understand the importance of an elevator pitch for their company, but what about pitching yourself?
This session will give you a simple three-step formula to help you stop pitching so you can communicate your Unique Professional Value Statement (UPVS) clearly and cleanly while building more meaningful business relationships.
As an increasing percentage of professionals are looking to quit and find more meaningful positions, being able to present yourself succinctly in an impactful manner is becoming increasingly critical.
Objectives:
By the end of this session, participants will:
· Learn how to craft your personal elevator pitch
· Write their own Unique Professional Value Statement (UPVS)
· Identify where they will use their UPVS
· Clarify their ideal community that will resonate with their UPVS
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Speaker Bio: John Neral
John Neral helps mid-career professionals SHOW UP to find a job they love or love the job they have. His professional walk included a 25-year career in education and as a longstanding corporate consultant for Fortune 500 giant Casio America, Inc. John is the author of SHOW UP – Six Strategies to Lead a More Energetic and Impactful Career and Your Mid-Career GPS – Four Steps to Figuring Out What's Next and the host of "The Mid-Career GPS Podcast."
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Business Impact for Good:
Understanding Social Entrepreneurship
Description:
Let’s face it. In our free market economy, “success” in business typically is measured in dollar terms with business owners focusing on how profits and shareholder value can be maximized. In an era of increased awareness of the social and environmental impact of business ventures, however, perhaps other “values” are equally important. Does business have a role to play in creating meaningful social change? Should businesses care about people and the planet in addition to profits? The United Nations and many CEOs and business leaders think the answer to these questions is a resounding YES! If you have an interest in exploring social entrepreneurship and its relevance to you and your business, then this is the workshop for you!
Objectives:
Together, we will explore:
· What social entrepreneurship means and what a triple bottom line is;
· What skills, qualities, or experiences social entrepreneurs can develop to become more effective;
· Why business should care about the UN Sustainable Development Goals;
· What are examples of social enterprises that create innovative responses to social and economic needs.
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Speaker Bio: Dr. Lisa Gring-Pemble
Dr. Lisa Gring-Pemble is the Business for a Better World Center's co-executive director. She is also an associate professor within the Business Foundations Area and co-founder of the Honey Bee Initiative. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of St. Olaf College, she received her M.A. and Ph.D. in rhetoric from the University of Maryland.
Since joining George Mason University in 2000, she has pursued teaching and research around three main areas: 1) global impact and engagement, 2) argumentation, rhetorical criticism, and persuasion, and 3) political communication and public policy. Current research focuses on the role of rhetoric and morality in capitalist markets, the role of language in legislation on equal pay and immigration, and the role of business in addressing sustainable development goals and creating positive impact.
As Co-Executive Director for the Business for a Better World Center, Gring-Pemble supports university-wide initiatives that engage students of all majors in social innovation, social enterprise, and entrepreneurship.
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The Business of Sustainability |
Description:
Sustainability concerns have risen to the top of the list of today's business challenges, and many executives are struggling to understand what it means for their companies and the economy. The number of social and environmental problems facing the world is huge, everything from climate change to boardroom diversity. This session will give you a big picture of the business sustainability challenge as well as a tool that can help you sift through the issues and discover which are strategic for your company.
Key Actionable Insights:
• Learn how sustainability issues arise and become a strategic concern for companies.
• Discover the role businesses typically play in resolving sustainability challenges.
• Apply a simple process to evaluate the strategic importance of sustainability issues for your company.
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Speaker Biography: Dr. Gregory Unruh
Dr. Gregory C. Unruh is the Arison Professor of Values Leadership at George Mason University and an expert on sustainable business strategy. An outspoken advocate of environmental sustainability and climate responsibility, Unruh has served as a technical reviewer for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the group that shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore.
He is the creator of Carbon Lock-in theory, a line of academic research that has received thousands of citations and spurred new lines of climate policy research around the globe. He has been recognized as a strategic partner of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), an initiative dedicated to implementing socially and environmentally responsible business practices globally.
As part of his UNGC commitments, Unruh contributed to the Principles of Responsible Business Education, which he presented to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon at the Palais de Nations in Geneva. Author of numerous best-selling leadership books, he co-founded the Center for Eco-Intelligent Management with the renowned “green” designer William McDonough and has published his research findings in the Harvard Business Review, the MIT Sloan Management Review and Forbes Magazine.
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Business for a Better World:
Social Incubator (SI) and Stakeholder Value Index (SVI)
Description:
What is the role of business? Profit maximization? Creating wealth for owners and shareholders? How about other stakeholders? Who are these other stakeholders? The Business for a Better World Center (B4BW) at the School of Business/GMU is asking these types of questions and seeking answers. This session will share some of our current thoughts and initiatives that might intrigue and inspire you to ask similar questions in your own organizations.
Objectives:
· Explore age-old question of the purpose of a business
· How can business be a positive force in the world?
· What is a social incubator? As defined within B4BW center
· How do you bring equity among various stakeholders? Is an SVI framework workable?
· Where and how to act on such emerging ideas so that you and your business can bring purpose to people, planet and prosperity and address UNSDG’s in your sphere of influence and operations
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Speaker Bio: Professor Rashed Hasan
Professor Hasan is a 30-year veteran in Executive Management with experience in technology startups, general management, strategy consulting, and executive management oversight in operations, finance, organizational development, manufacturing and engineering for major global companies. Prof. Hasan joined in January 2020 the Business for a Better World Center (B4BW) at the School of Business as it’s “Executive in Residence” and is a Professor of Practice in Management.
Prof. Hasan is the Founder and Chairman of Nantuit LLC, a boutique business and technology strategy and software development company, based in Alexandria, VA. He had co-founded and led Sentrana Inc, a data analytics company, for nine years in the role of Board Member, Chief Operating Office, Chief Financial Officer as well as head of technology, client services, organizational development, and administration. He also established and built off-shore software development capabilities and a hospital in Bangladesh. Prior to technology startups, he had spent ten years in strategy and operational consulting for premier management consulting firms such as Booz Allen & Hamilton and Ernst & Young, LLP.
Prof. Hasan has an MBA in finance and operation from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and degrees in Mechanical Engineering (Master’s and Bachelor’s) from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
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From Great Ideas to Global Impact:
A Talk with Andrew Byrnes
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Technology executive, attorney, and investor Andrew Byrnes will discuss the path from developing innovative ideas to achieving broad impact, including key legal issues and business imperatives. This event will be In-Person and Livestreamed.
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Experience What Makes MEC-Fairfax Unique
The Mason Enterprise Center - Fairfax offers a one-week free trial to new clients.
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