The Buzz - October 24th, 2016

Posted by Roger Maschke on Oct 24, 2016
 
Dr. Ray Muzyka speaking on Entrepreneurial Leadership.
 
Meeting called to order at 11:45am.
 
Many guests in attendance to hear Dr. Ray Muzyka speak.  Dan played a short “What is Rotary” video for all our new attendees.
 
Wheelchairs for Mexico prep day is Tuesday, October 25th at 1:00pm at the Brick.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
Lou Henderson has the 2017 Rotary Cares raffle tickets.
 
A Christmas Cheer event will be held in the home of Marni and Ken Roberts and it will be held on either the last Friday in November or the first Friday in December.  More details to come.
 
The next executive meeting is on November 22nd.
 
Today is World Polio Day.
 
Speaker – Dr. Ray Muzyka
Entrepreneurial Leadership – Lessons Learned as a Medical Doctor, Tech Entrepreneur and Impact Investor
 
Dr. Muzyka studied to be a medical doctor and practiced for a few years.  He started Bioware (a video game entertainment company) in 1995.  He and his partner didn’t receive any pay from the company for the first 5 years and it wasn’t until 2005 that they received their first external capital investment.  Bioware was sold to Electronic Arts in 2008 and Dr. Muzyka retired from the company in 2012.
 
He has now entered the next chapter in his career – angel/impact investing through his company Threshold Impact.  It is his belief that companies that provide products or services that impact society in a positive and meaningful way can still be profitable and good investments (social entrepreneurship).
 
Key points:
  1. Technology is a tool, but it doesn’t replace leadership.
  2. Leadership begins with defining your core values.  Define your social goals as well as your financial and business goals.  Quality and details are key.
  3. Always remember your key stakeholders – consumers, employees and shareholders.
  4. Always have a clear, passionate vision.
  5. The culture of a company comes from aligning your systems, structures and people.
  6. Quality/scope for a project is only as good as the Resources/Time applied to support it.
  7. Like you check the oil on your vehicle, check the oil on your team regularly and go deep.  However, don’t micro-manage.  Trust yet verify.
  8. Books to read – “Good to Great”, “Lean Analytics”, “Drive”, “Peopleware”, “Positioning” and “Resonate”
  9. Good communication with employees is very important.  It’s hard to be direct yet respectful but you can’t ignore it just because it’s hard.
  10. Be persistent in the face of adversity, don’t give up.  Make sure your say/do ratio is good (What you say you are going to do vs What you actually do)
  11. In the area of financing, be careful how you raise money.  Do your due diligence and make sure that deal terms are right for you.  Pay close attention to intellectual property ownership and patents.
     
    Dr. Muzyka closed by announcing a $10,000 donation to our Rotary Tanzania project!
     
    Winner of the 50/50 draw was Ted Gillespie and he drew the 6 of Hearts.
     
    Upcoming Greeters:
    Date                                                   Greeters
                                         
    November 7                Paul Pedersen            Jim Rasmussen
    November 14              Jennifer Stone            Donald Rebus
    November 21              Ray Hook                   Roy Wallace
    November 28              Sheila Herle              Dan Olofson
    December 5                Dawn Anderson          Calvin Skriver
    December 12              Kim Boyco                 David Stolee
    December 19              Grant Burgess                       Carman Mason
    December 26  X                      
January 2         X