Remembering Your Good Works

Though your beginning was small,

your latter will be greater…

(Job 8:7)

Our college advisor used to remind my sorority sisters to “remember from whence you came.” I gave Dr. Clark credit for this nugget of wisdom until I read a James Baldwin inspirational quote: Know from whence you came. If you know whence you came, there are absolutely no limitations to where you can go!

Bishop Jakes has a sermon about saving the scraps. The story is taken from the miracle of feeding 5000 and collecting the twelve scrap baskets of leftover bread and fish (Mark 6:42-52). The morale of the sermon is that the scraps are not to be eaten on the boat, but to remind you that when you are in the middle of a storm, of what your God can do, as evidenced by the previous miracles. It took me a moment to understand this message, or to slow down to remember some previous times He made a way for me go and grow. Every step in life has a purpose and requires you to go through The Process.

I have been in business for myself for three years now. The other day, I saw an old check stub from my days in corporate America. I had a momentary thought that maybe it would be easier to just go back to working for someone else. However, I remembered the leftover scraps of imbalance in my purpose of being a good wife and mom and in fulfilling my purposed work. Then I remembered how far we have come in three years. Yes, we are small today, but because of God’s grace, we have made remarkable progress and have accomplished more others gave us credit for being able to achieve. I stand on the promise that eye has not seen, nor ear heard, what God has prepared for them that love Him. By remembering from whence I came, I have the confidence to wait patiently and go through The Process.

I have a box that I call my treasure chest where I keep pictures and small mementos of my life’s journey. All of the memories are not happy, but they are keepsakes that remind me that even with life’s obstacles, I'M STILL HERE, so I am victorious. Someone once asked me why I hold on to some thoughts and trinkets from the past and the answer is simple: when I get to a place in my present when life feels heavy, I can go to my treasure chest and pull out a past reminder of something that I thought was the best, or even the worst, and remember from whence I came and know that my latter will be greater on my journey to good works.

I have a treasure chest of remarkable gems that I go to when I need inspiration for the work I am purposed to do. What do you use to remember how far you have come on your journey toward fulfilling your purposed work? Feel free to comment, or, send me an email at latanyua.robinson@gmail.com. If you like this post and want to catch up on some of my previous discussions, please visit the full Purposed Work blog at http://ltr-latrobe-mfg.blogspot.com/.

Greater Works

…whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing,

and they will do even greater works than these…

(John 14:12)

 

I have a confession. Remember Ally McBeal and her theme songs? Well not only do I have theme songs, I have theme words flowing through my spirit. In the past, my theme words simply defined my then phase of maturation: healed, delivered, sowed, harvest, released. However, now, I am in a season where my theme word is an adjective: GREATER!!!

I used to work for a manufacturing company whose mission statement, vision statement, and quality policy were all one and the same: More. Better. Faster. Three small words that drove every organizational decision related to processes and products. The entire organization was aligned to those three words and was inspired to delivering, thus providing the drive to propel the company to become the global market leader.

That experience reminds me of current season. I suddenly have renewed energy for doing the work I have been graced to do. And in true form, as I accept my mission, I am constantly bombarded with subtle and overt reminders of GREATER: Greater Mt. Corinth MBC, Greater Port Arthur COC, greater trials, greater pressures, greater successes. And my current theme song that resonates with my theme word is titled GREATER and contains these lyrics: if it had not been for the pressing, I would have never been able to walk into my destiny. He's preparing me for GREATER!

My definition of greater is having more influence, or reach, than I ever imagined. God never gives me an assignment without showing me His provision for completion. I asked Him to enlarge my territory and to grant me favor to be a blessing to others. Three ways that He's proven Himself in this prayer include:

GREATER Reach...Through the blog, I have opened up to sharing my experiences and journey of walking by faith. I am amazed at the people who are following, watching, and deciding, if He’s doing it for you, He’ll do it for me too. I am humbled by emails from people around the world thanking me for sharing and asking questions about the process.

GREATER Vision...Through the target audience for my work, I have learned that women are not the only population who should consider careers in manufacturing--that we really need to educate young people in general about the possibilities if we are going to be prepared for the future. And when He says do not worry about what to say or how to say it, I cannot explain how we have been able to get audiences with some influential people to discuss our vision for educating and training through workforce readiness initiatives.

GREATER Faith...Through the sharing of my testimony, I have gained greater confidence in knowing that through Him, I can accomplish more than I ever imagined possible. When I look back on everything that has happened in my life and on this journey of faith, I can genuinely appreciate all of the pressing and preparations to be blessed to walk into my destiny. By faith, I believe that GREATER WORKS are coming!

Now that I have shared my theme song and my theme word for this season, I invite you to share yours. What word or song is resonating in your spirit and inspiring you to do the work that you have been commissioned to do? Feel free to comment, or, send me an email at latanyua.robinson@gmail.com. If you like this post and want to catch up on some of my previous discussions on manufacturing and economic diversity, please visit the full Purposed Work blog at http://ltr-latrobe-mfg.blogspot.com/.
 

Falling on the Road to Good Works

…for the just falls seven times, but rises up again!

(Proverbs 24:16)

I got a text on Mother’s Day congratulating me for making “it” look easy. By “it”, I assume my friend meant juggling being a woman of God, a wife, and a working mom. While I am honored by the acknowledgement that she thinks I am doing a good job of it all, I want to remind everyone not to let the look fool you. As a good Southern girl, I was taught to smile and act as though everything was perfect. This followed me into adulthood, where I learned to act as though I had my superwoman cape on underneath my business suit, trying to do all things while making “it” look good and easy to everyone else. I got the reputation of being a fixer, so when I decided to become an entrepreneur, I continued the act, and proceeded like I could juggle all of my new responsibilities without any help.

The problem with juggling too many balls, or responsibilities, is that if one thing slips, epic fail or catastrophe is almost certain. I have spent so much time trying to prove myself that I sometimes forget that it is ok to ask for help. As I write this post, I do not know whether to credit Madeline Albright, Oprah Winfrey, Donna Freedman, or someone one else with this saying that has helped me to find balance in my life: You can have it all, just not at the same time. In my own experience, I was at the brink of failure (mentally, professionally, and financially) before I admitted that it was time to ask for help.

Starting a business for me was like getting married. In the beginning, during the honeymoon phase, everything looked easy, as though I could juggle all of the responsibilities. Getting married was the easy part, but after a couple of years, I soon realized that the real work was staying married. We surrounded ourselves with other married couples, of various ages and stages of their marriages, just to share experiences and to provide a sanity check that our journey was normal. Without specifically asking for help, these couples became our Marriage Board.

After starting my business, I made some avoidable mistakes, primarily, because I did not want to ask for help and have anyone think I was a failure, or a fraud. I am a survivor, so I learned a valuable lesson that allowed me to rebound stronger and wiser: I needed advisors. Large organizations have corporate boards to provide guidance and insight to avoid making catastrophic business mistakes. Throughout this journey, I know that everything will not go according to the strategic plan and that some failures are unavoidable. To help me manage the risks, I have an Entrepreneurial Board that consists of seven people who challenge me with checks and balance and boundaries:

• A seasoned mentor who has built a successful business model in industrial manufacturing
• A financial advisor who keeps me out of trouble with the taxman and in good favor with lenders
• A spiritual friend who reminds me that I am exactly where I am supposed to be
• A creative genius who dares me to color outside the lines (inside joke)
• A youthful mentee who has the same drive to change the world that I had in my twenties
• A retired collaborator who imparts wisdom and constantly asks about my exit strategy
• A soulmate who allows me to dream in living color but keeps me grounded in the present

So to my friend who says that I make “it” look easy, I say thank you, but rest assured it is not easy. I make a lot of mistakes every day. But as Pastor Donnie sings, we fall down, but we get up…on our road to good works!

A Vision of Good Works

Where there is no vision, the people perish:

(Proverbs 29:18)

 It is spring time. In the business community, it is also a good season for strategic planning. Strategic planning is evaluating the current business plan and developing long range goals for future business expansion. In other words, it is defining the business direction and making decisions on how resources will be allocated to successfully accomplish the strategy.

I started my small business based on a strategic plan. Like many corporate-minded people, I based the plan and allocation of resources on past experiences in order to project initial expectations. As I started looking over the portfolio and the initial business plan put forward in 2010, so much has changed. There are some areas that exceeded expectations...and then there are other areas where I question what I was even thinking… Nor could I fathom that in 2013 that we would still not have fully recovered from pre-2009 levels. All I can say is that as a result, I’m stronger, I’m wiser, I’m better, and most importantly, I’m still here. I made it through because as an entrepreneur, I was graced to change and evolve, based on customer expectations. And that's what business is, providing goods and services that customers need and are willing to pay. Going through this process also revealed that it is time to update our infrastructure, so that customers know what we offer by our website, telephone, marketing material, and messaging.

Through this process of operating a business and walking this journey of faith, I have learned the power of devine revelation of His word, His Spirit, and His Providences. My spiritual guide to strategic planning comes from Habakkuk 2:2-3:



>>> Write down the vision, make it plain on tablets,
>>> so that anyone who reads it will understand.
>>> The vision is for a future (appointed) time.
>>> There will be delays, but patiently wait.
>>> In time, the vision will be fulfilled!

From a natural perspective, customer responses sometimes drive business strategies into new directions. Today’s customers want to know what they get by doing business with you, instead of your competition. What does your company, or brand, promise? After completing my new strategic plan, I was so excited that I immediately contacted my marketing guy and requested that he begin thinking about the creative  pieces needed to communicate the evolution. I am standing on the promises that the vision for Latrobe will be fulfilled!

Strategic planning is not just for businesses. The same processes can be applied in your community and in your family. What long term goals to you want to accomplish and impart change? Do you need a process or provoking thoughts to get you started? Consider this illustration of The Cascade of Strategic Choices presented by the Monitor Institute.

If this process is beneficial, please share your story on how you used it to develop your vision of good works by strategic planning. If you like these blog posts, please share and invite others to share!

A Teachable Moment in Good Works

…put a fresh wind in my sails!
Give me a job teaching rebels your ways…

(Psalm 51:12-13)

One of my favorite movies opens with the question: So when did you first fall in love with hip-hop? It’s a brilliant question for a thinker that allows you to contemplate the cause and effect of so many of life’s events. For example, if I were to ponder when I first considered pursuing engineering, I can point to another movie that had an impact on my life: the original Cheaper by the Dozen. The old black and white was the story of Frank and Lillian Gilbreth, their family, and their work in time and motion studies.

 

No one really explained to me what an industrial engineer (IE) did. The summer between my junior and senior year of high school, I attended an introduction to engineering session at the University of Arkansas. A group of us spent a week touring the campus and visiting with the various disciplines. During the IE session, someone identified Fredrick Taylor (my family name) as the father of scientific management and mentioned therblig (Gilbreth spelled backwards) as the basic unit of measure in time and motion studies, and I became intrigued to learn more. By the end of the week, I knew I would major in industrial engineering. I remember going back home, to work at Mr. B’s, telling my manager that I was going to be an IE. When he asked me what they did, my best example was still the Cheaper by the Dozen reference. He asked if I planned to become an efficiency expert. I told him not exactly, but that I would come up with a better use of our time in response to him constantly saying if you have time to lean, you have time to clean!

Today, if I had to explain what an industrial engineer does, I would say that we focus on improving productivity and quality in any work process. Although I have a passion for manufacturing processes, I have gained a lot of experience in non-manufacturing environments. Throughout the years, I have had assignments that ranged from getting the right dietary meals to patients in relatively large hospitals, to understanding how cash payments are processed and credited from retailers to banks, to performing job-cost analysis for material handling in warehouses, to developing a supply-chain study of components and assemblies required to operate wind turbine farms for renewable energy. I like to think of my work as the proper balance of processes and people that produces sustained profitability!

WSJ blog image of a new engineering grad 

That’s my experience, based on the cause/effect/exposure in my life. For students entering the profession today, the global possibilities are endless. The Institute of Industrial Engineers recently released the following video to illustrate some of the career opportunities that may be attractive in the 21^st century graduates:

IIE: Today In America

UPDATED 04.30.2013:  Interested in other engineering disciplines? Check out this WSJ blog on the highest paid college majors:

http://blogs.wsj.com/atwork/2013/04/29/and-the-highest-paid-college-majors-are/?mod=e2tw

 

In the Name of Good Works

There are currently nine women serving as her state’s Attorney General (Harris-CA, Bondi-FL, Madigan-IL, Mills-ME, Coakley-MA, Swanson-MN, Masto-NV, Rosenblum-OR, and Kane-PA). However, if you listen to the news, you would not consider that 20% of the country's Attorneys General are female because when the AG title is spoken about in general terms, it has a male connotation. Even with adequate representation, there are still some job titles that are associated with men.

What's wrong in this picture?

I see a similar stigma in manufacturing. When speaking of a plant manager, engineering manager, director of operations, VP of product development, the person is always assumed to be a man. I was recently asked to share a funny story about an event in my career. A common theme for me: When people in other countries see my name written, they do not know if I am a man or a woman. Before the days of intranet bio's, I was once introduced on a global video conference as Mr. Latanyua Robinson from Germany, until the camera zoomed on me, revealing that I was an American female...from Stuttgart (AR)! Even in the picture shown, welcoming me to a plant in China, I was (innocently) referenced as a man. The most logical explanation is that people look at the job title or function and automatically assume that the person is a man. And while the examples I cited involved an international audience, the same holds true in the United States. Why are we still assigning gender roles to job titles and functions in 2013?

A 2011 study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (found at http://www.fortefoundation.org/site/DocServer/gendered_wording_JPSP.pdf?docID=16121) suggested that subtle biases exist in job listings for technical roles. For example, job titles for positions in engineering and other male-dominated professions used more masculine words, such as “leader,” “competitive” and “dominant.” Listings for jobs in female-dominated professions — such as office administration and human resources — did not include such words. Perhaps linguistics or culture play a role in why some jobs are more likely to be filled by a man, but I say it is still a numbers game.

Women represent 47% of the workforce, but fill less than 25% of the manufacturing workforce (http://www.themanufacturinginstitute.org/~/media/A07730B2A798437D98501E798C2E13AA.ashx). Advocacy groups like Women in Manufacturing are good associations for highlighting the accomplishments of women in the industry. As members, we have to do our parts at the grassroots level to educate young women about the career opportunities available. We have to share our stories about navigating through the ranks, bringing with us our rich experiences and diversity of thought. We have to be the driving force in the cultural shift that invites more women to want to become engaged in manufacturing so that 25 years from now, we no longer hear a job title and automatically assume that the role is filled by a man. We want a future state that assumes no gender biases, only that the role, any role in any industry, is filled with the most qualified person.

Don’t Quit on the Road to Good Works

I just can’t give up now.
I have come too far from where I started from.

Nobody told me the road would be easy.

I don’t believe He brought me this far to leave me.

(Mary  Mary)

On Friday, my family traveled to Northwest Arkansas to attend the induction ceremony into the Arkansas Academy of Industrial Engineering (AAIE). The plan was for us to arrive early so that we had time to tour the campus, particularly Bell Engineering Center, and to locate my name on Senior Walk. By 5:30 am, the plans changed: Our local flight was cancelled without notification; the only flights available with three seats required us to drive to Houston, connect through Dallas, fly into Tulsa, and drive back to Springdale. At one point, I looked at James, ready to give up, when a still small voice said don’t quit. So we made the journey and arrived as the banquet began. Throughout the ceremony, I realized that this journey leading me back to the University of Arkansas began years ago.

 

The thing is, I never planned to attend any in-state college. If I had my way, I would have gone to Duke. I first started getting info from Duke in junior high school, based on standardized test scores. Later, in high school, after expressing an interest in engineering, I began to get correspondence from the School of Engineering. At that time, I had not considered the cost of going to Duke...I simply wanted to go to Duke because the school expressed interest in me.

Senior year rolled around and the reality of paying for college set in. I grew up in Stuttgart, a low-to-moderate income community, and I was first generation college. Thankfully, I had a dedicated guidance counselor who worked tirelessly to assist those of us who needed help finding scholarships (a big shout-out to Mrs. Ferguson). I had no idea how I could afford college, so I only applied to in-state schools... thinking I could not afford out-of-state tuition and unaware of any other options. On graduation day, I learned that I had been selected for the Ruth Reiger Scholarship, renewable for four years at an in-state institution. I started classes at the UA in June 1988 and completed my coursework by December 1992.

We make our plans, but God orders our steps. The road to good works has not been easy. There were a lot of nights when the load of you-name-it seemed too much to bear and I wanted to give up, but that still small voice would speak to me and say don’t quit. I am so thankful for the blessings and the lessons learned along the journey. When the banquet was over, I had the pleasure of meeting two very prosperous members of AAIE, who informed me that I was only the fourth person born in Stuttgart to become a member of the academy. (That makes me the first woman from Stuttgart to be inducted and motivates me to become an ambassador for more women to pursue Industrial Engineering.) To learn more about what’s happening at the University of Arkansas, visit http://www.ineg.uark.edu/

So, as I get ready for another workweek, I close this post with a verse of inspiration:

 

Don’t Quit

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,

When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,

When the funds are low and the debts are high,

And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,

When care is pressing you down a bit,

Rest, if you must, but don't you quit.

To read the poem in it’s entirety, visit http://www.thedontquitpoem.com/thePoem.htm