Lesson #5: People Want to Help You Pursue Your Dreams

Karen Quintos is passionate about empowering women

"Keep in Touch" - That was the name of the business idea I submitted to the Dell Social Innovation Challenge in undergrad. My idea didn't go far, but I liked the concept of using my entrepreneurial tendencies for social innovation and it got me thinking that I could be a philanthropreneur. Aspiring to build a career that supported startup owners, I became active in the entrepreneurial scene; I loved going to Pitch Nights and Startup Weekend.

Eventually, I let that passion die down to gain more stability in my life. At some point I accepted that I would just get my MS and Mrs. then either work or not work while raising kids and then maybe I could start thinking about solving problems and helping entrepreneurs.

But on the second day of my internship, I met Dell's Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Karen Quintos. A few days later, I heard that Karen was in Istanbul for the Dell Women's Entrepreneur Network (DWEN) conference. I had no idea that Dell was committed to empowering women and entrepreneurship. Suddenly that dormant passion woke up and I realized how lucky I was to work for a company that not only maintains its entrepreneurial spirit, but pays it forward. I'm even more lucky to have had the opportunity to ask Karen a few questions about her experience with DWEN and the launch of the Empowering Women Challenge.

"The women who are part of our DWEN community are truly inspiring to me, and their stories are largely why I am passionate about what I do. As we've developed relationships with these business owners and through research we've commissioned, we've learned that their challenges are centered around a few key issues: access to technology, capital, networks and education/training." Karen then described how Dell is addressing those issues:

• Technology -  "With Dell's support, women business leaders are implementing solutions - from Cloud, to Virtualization to social media - to scale more quickly and reach their goals." When I first started my internship at Dell, I was overwhelmed by the wide portfolio of solutions Dell offers, but now I can actually envision who is benefiting from Dell's technology expertise.
• Capital - "Our findings tell us that even though only five percent of venture capital goes to women-owned businesses, businesses with a higher proportion of women leaders outperform the average, making it a smart decision to invest in women-owned businesses." Wow! I'll have to keep that in mind! Plus, did you know about funding opportunities through Dell Ventures and Dell Innovators' Credit Fund?
• Network - "DWEN also provides women entrepreneurs and business owners access to a network of like-minded, successful people to share ideas, mentor each other and build important business connections." I can only imagine the optimistic energy at DWEN! Check out the video below to see what she means:

• Education - "Through our "Powering the Possible" initiative, Dell's partnerships with organizations like Girl Scouts help girls develop STEM skills and a passion for technology." I agree with Karen that it's important to educate kids and encourage them to develop passions. It's why I support educational events like Lemonade Day. 

At the end of the successful conference, Dell announced the launch of its new social innovation competition: the Empowering Women Challenge. "Dell was founded by a young entrepreneur - Michael Dell - when he was in college at the University of Texas. So we know that great ideas can start in a dorm room," explained Karen. Women have faced a myriad of challenges throughout history, but now Dell wants young social innovators to submit ideas that will reduce those barriers to success. Be sure to submit your idea!

Then the last thing I asked Karen was about her thoughts on having it all. I look up to women like her; it gives me hope to see women who take care of their family, have a great career and still manage to do things bigger than themselves. She called it 'work-life harmony.' "Harmony involves establishing a clear set of priorities that you stick with over time enabling you to harmonize your personal life with your work life." She added that Dell's culture makes this harmony possible.

There's a lot I've learned about Dell's culture in Round Rock: it's casual, open, entrepreneurial and understanding. It's supportive and optimistic. It's a company that empowers you to do more.

When I started this blog, I wrote about how I found sweet solace in Dell's culture and some thought I wrote that too soon. Later, I wrote about having it all, but I mainly wrote from the perspective as a future wife/mom. Now that I'm near the end of my internship, I've realized that Dell has rekindled the pursuit of a dream. And that's what Dell does. Its culture, its purpose is solely about powering the possible, enabling you - an employee, a customer, an entrepreneur, a student, a young kid - to do more. I came here looking for a career in corporate, but I'm leaving here with a reignited passion for paying it forward to the next generation. Perhaps we can't have it all, but Dell and inspiring women like Karen Quintos want to help you have your dreams.

#dellinterns13

Day in the Life - Buzzfeed Style

I try to wake up around 5:15 am, well more like 5:30 am, actually 5:45 am... 

Then I go to the gym ready to look like this 

but I honestly look like this

I get to work around 7:45 am and it's like

So, I create a task list and start knocking things out

But, I usually find out I need help from someone

So I go to my awesome buddy/mentor, Jane, and she's like

After that, it's time to dash to lunch!

And if lunch is free, then it's like 

If some team put leftovers from a catered lunch in the breakroom, then it's like

Throughout the day, I visit other interns. They've made this internship so much better than I expected!

Occasionally, the interns have a speaker session or event and I go in all 

But, if I got really good interaction from the speaker or did really well at the event, I feel

Then it's back to work

Quickly insert a meeting with my supervisor who is always calm and supportive

Then comes the worst feeling of the day: when you finish your afternoon snack and dinner is so far away

But by the end of the day, you feel

And then it's time to go home!

But, last night Dell's University Relations hosted a live karaoke event at the Chicago House and we had a great time! Turns out they recruited some great talent. Check out this video of fellow intern Muchadei Zvoma from Northwestern.

**all GIFs were taken from How Do I Put This Gently? and What Should We Call Me Grad School **

The 3 Most Influential Classes

"Why am I taking this class? I'm never going to use this." 

I've heard and said that plenty of times all throughout school. It's hard to see the ROI of most of the classes we take; all of those essays, tests and all-nighters don't seem worth it when you supposedly "put things into perspective." But every now and then during my internship I've had to go back in my mental file cabinet to pull something out from high school, undergrad and grad school. After 8 weeks at Dell, I noticed that I kept using tidbits from the same three classes, so I've deemed them "The Most Influential Classes."

High School: Donna Parker's English Classes 

I've been told I'm a good writer, but I stay humble by reminding myself, "It's still not good enough for DParker." Nearly six years later, I'm still afraid of her beady little eyes looking for mistakes in my writing. Nevertheless, she trained me to always write a good thesis statement, prepare an outline, and start each sentence with a different word. She set a good foundation for business writing, which somehow gave me the confidence to write this blog; it's because of her that writing became a puzzle to solve. I still abuse commas and cringe at the mention of Eudora Welty, but I owe my 'good writing' to Ms. Donna Parker.

Undergrad at LSU: The Entrepreneurship Fellows 

The curriculum in business school gave me the tools I needed to do my job, but the Entrepreneurship Fellows prepared me to be a business professional. The Fellows are a select group of students who are provided with the social network and knowledge to quickly contribute to the region's economic development. Being exposed to business leaders taught me the power of networking; it's easy to be lazy and therefore forgotten, but putting effort into being memorable can be rewarding. At every speaker session at Dell I've asked a question but only after first thanking the speaker because this class not only taught me to be engaged, but also to show respect and gratitude. Through the Fellows I met many admirable people who are now my friends and mentors and they motivate me to never settle for mediocrity in my business career. A huge shoutout to Jarett Rodriguez and Jill Roshto for launching this program!

Grad School at Texas A&M: Project Management 

The graduate-level marketing curriculum at Texas A&M is brilliant and I have repeatedly applied what I've learned towards my project.  However, the class that had the highest ROI was MGT 658: Project Management with Dr. Victoria Buenger. Management of your own time and ability is mostly intuitive, but effectively managing others' time and responsibilities is a skill that gets better over time with the support of formal training. We not only discussed Gantt charts and schedules, but conflict resolution and best practices. I've progressed from putting a to-do list on sticky notes to timelines and reports. It seemed like an "easy A" class, but I worked really hard for my A and I started my internship with the confidence to do my best because I had the tools to prove my value.

Runner-ups were:
Marketing Research helped me identify which method(s) to use for my project
Marketing Strategy put me in the right mindset to think like a marketing manager
Consumer Behavior is just awesome and everyone should take it!


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Let's Talk About This: Personal Brand

What do you live by?

Let's talk about having a personal brand.

"Crafting your story 'til it makes sense"

I first heard about personal branding from Tommy Karam at LSU and I honestly thought it was a silly idea. I wasn't a company or a saleswoman, so I didn't want to be branded. But when I bombed the "So tell me about yourself..." question during an interview, I realized that having a personal brand could actually provide some guidance.

What Mr. Karam teaches athletes is also helpful for aspiring students who want to stand out. Just like football players, students have to find a way to stay relevant and favorable to get a better chance of being 'drafted' by a company. However, just like Dell, it takes a lot of research to define your brand and it will evolve over time.

My personal brand has changed from "267 Watts of Bright Ideas" in undergrad to what I currently use: "Strategic Storyteller." Both ideas were actually a result of somebody else telling me I was good at something. After doing well in a pitch contest, a friend said I had bright ideas; I used that to motivate me to continue producing 'bright ideas.' Then a few years later, I was volunteering at a math conference and I spent an entire night sharing stories with high school students. They always asked for 'another story' and before I left, a few them told me that I was a good storyteller.

I had a mini Sharpie ready to fill this in at networking events

I'm writing this to politely nudge you to work on your personal brand. Ever since I defined my personal brand, I've felt I had a better understanding of my strengths and weaknesses and my value proposition. It also keeps me focused on my reputation; I can't claim to be a strategic storyteller and then not tell effective stories. But let's keep talking about this. Do you have a personal brand or statement that you live by?

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Lesson #4: Prepare a Strong Defense, Win with a Great Offense

Give employees the power to do more with social media

It's been fascinating growing up with social media as it transformed from something cool in high school to a valuable business tool today. Let's see: I've been on Facebook for seven years, Twitter and LinkedIn for three years and I've managed social media for at least four entities.

At first I thought managing social media for an organization or company would be fun and easy, but I soon learned how hard it is to manage your online presence. In previous jobs, I've hit walls with leaders who assumed social media was a waste of time, which prevented any real interaction with participants. On the flip side, I've observed trolling and hijacking as well as negative comments from workers. I'm rather risk-averse, so I understand why some companies avoid social media, but Michael Dell told Business Week, "...you can be a better company by listening and being involved in that [online] conversation." Under his lead, Dell actually invests in educating and empowering its employees to listen and engage in valuable conversations with its customers and community.

Sean Carey at his best! 

I recently joined other Marketing MBA Interns in a day-long social media training seminar hosted by SMaC University, Dell's in-house social media training group. Thousands of Dell's employees have gone through this training and are out there blogging, tweeting and sharing unified messages about Dell. This is a vast improvement from the 300+ messaging or branding elements you could find about Dell just a few years ago. Within one day, we learned why it's important to be on social media, how we should listen to our customers and the community, how we can join in the conversation and how to best represent Dell as well as our own personal brand.

I got to update my email signature! High Five!

In this way, Dell spends more time actually doing more for its customers than reacting to crises. Dell has a 125-member team to respond to any issues customers are facing (@DellCares on Twitter), but it also has over 9,000 employees trained and ready to listen and talk with you, which includes Michael Dell who is actually quite active on social media. It's no surprise that Dell was named the Top Social Brand in 2011 and its Social Media Listening Command Center has received numerous awards.

I used to spend so much time worrying about how to respond to negativity and attacks instead of building a lively community and I always felt that some sort of company-wide training could help prevent them. Now Dell has taught me that investing in educating and empowering employees will prepare you for bad times, but enable you to do so many more good things.

So, Lesson #4: Prepare a strong defense, but win with a great offense. 

PS - A huge thanks to the SMaC U team for a great session! 

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