Today we were treated to a variety of “where-do-you-fit” seminars. The three biggest questions we were tackling today were: Where do you fit in your network? Where do you fit in communication? Where do you fit in a start-up?

The day started with Jules Pieri of The Daily Grommet telling us how to earn a PhD in networking. The four basic tenets were (1) Don’t be afraid to ask (2) Bring something to the table, (3) Do your homework, and (4) Followup, dammit! She lamented that many people fail on the followup, yet it is something so simple, and it can distinguish you from others.

Up next, Katie Rae treated us to a fun and engaging thought exercise in communication styles disguised as… colors!

Are you RED? BLUE? GREEN? Or YELLOW?

How do you communicate with someone who’s not the same color as you? Katie pulled students up to the front in a fun role-playing and discovery exercise. I’m going to steal some of these techniques for my next class at IE Business School. By learning these different styles with a healthy dose of self-awareness, the majority of the problems faced in companies can be managed more effectively. When you look at why people are fired or quit their jobs, often it is because there’s an underlying issue of communication styles. (Aside: This is something my little company, CATALYTIC, is interested in solving - miscommunication in organizations). Learning to speak all four colors is highly encouraged, and valued!

The day’s final seminar was from none other than Reed Sturtevant who candidly spoke about the business model of Boston Startup School, venture capital, angel investing, business models and ultimately how you can fit into a start-up and what you need to look for when considering working at one.

Also, today I had the opportunity to teach my first sketchnote class. While I have plenty of experience teaching, I hadn’t taught this (nor do I feel very qualified) but it was really fun and I was humbled that about 25% of the class gave up their lunchtime to participate.

As always, click the image for more sketchnote fun!