Traction Journal

: : FA(AAHHHHH!)LL 2020 : :

Posted on by Aida Cardona

... remind me again, how it's WEEK 4 already?

Okay, and… here we are! 

Welcome (back?) to my blog; more specifically to my Traction Journal entries for the WWU E&I Minor, Fall 2020. Nice to see you here– wait– wait a second– well, you know what I mean. 

I’ll preface by admitting that this was a HUGE procrastinary effort on my behalf, while also honoring and recognizing that my plate feels fuller than ever and I am truly doing my best to prioritize in ways that feel good and healthy for me. Yay, transparency! I appreciate your grace.

Check out the voice memos below that cover the past three weeks’ Traction Journal prompts. (F)unfortunately, I’ll be pivoting from the prompts for Week 4, as I’ve had to skip this week’s classes due to mental health and the execution of a Peaceful Rally in Celebration of George Floyd’s Life I had been helping organize over the last couple of weeks. Instead, I’ll offer you a recap of my week and traction in relation to my personal endeavors and the topics covered in class.

Hopefully things will start to smooth out for me and I’ll be able to shift energy back toward school… Can someone remind me what time is again? Please point me in the direction of whoever decided that concept was a good idea, and I’ll happily shake my fist at them like a disgruntled Grandma. 

Nevertheless, enjoy these reflections : : :

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Woo! First traction blog in the books. Looking forward to plugging back into this class and into the traction journey for VP2.

Thanks for reading ~

Xo // AC

. : . : Normalizing Daydreams : . : .

Posted on by Aida Cardona

*Cue prolonged, lovely sigh– and click the music video above for a vibe to match this post!*

Between the Coaching workshop Art led and the E4-focused Ikigai lesson led by Serafima, there was a LOT to love during week 5. But that’s not all! Literally in between– I also had a great time connecting with my classmates [outside of the (virtual) classroom] through our Cinco De Mayo Game Night, and through the Venture Naming “Wordstorm” I shared with Gavin. 

Finally, this weekend offered some yummy conversation with Art & Meg around the Culture of Belonging, and what we can do as program leads to ring it resonant with our minor community and beyond.

Check out the [supa tired and 3 weeks late] audio blurb below for my elaboration on the week! 

My VP2 in the Ikigai Framework
Love 100%
Good At 83%
World Needs 100%
Paid For 90%
=
Total Ikigai . . ? 74.7%

Not exactly sure if you can quantify something like this, but… 

Outside of the school thang, I was able to go on my first [mini] backpacking trip, visit my parents, aunt and grandma for Mother’s Day and enjoy being home for the first time in months!

Ah, the sweet surrender of letting life unfold in its perfect timing… amidst the chaos there’s such intense serendipity. I’ve learned it’s best to just dance with it.

"Normalize Daydreams"

-Serafima Healy

Ugly But Tasty!

Posted on by Aida Cardona

-- WOOF --
weeks behind here,
but better late than never..!

Alright, Week 4! 

The big LOVE of the week of course, everyone’s favorite mid-term check point: UGLY BUT TASTY (UBT)! It was interesting moving through these “rough draft” pitches over Zoom, but I really enjoyed how we were able to have more focused conversations in our breakout rooms, and that we had enough time to move through the process twice. 

Through our Troika (“Got Your Back”) consulting that followed each pitch, I was able to deepen my understanding of giving effective feedback and applying it immediately. What I love about Troika consulting is that we’re able to be honest and uninhibited with our feedback. Not only was I able to give critical feedback this way, but I was also able to receive it and gain new inspiration, and new resources, to take my venture forward.

 

Check out my Big Idea Canvas (BIC) Here!

I would have loved to have gathered more evidence this week, as (at this point) I still feel WAY behind on my data collecting. It’s proven to be really challenging to keep traction on this project, as it’s not only a HUGE vision to realize, but only having myself to keep me accountable (among all the other coursework for other classes, and general life stuff) has been tough. 

One way I’ve been able to keep moving forward though, like Week 3’s intention, has been to just keep talking about it. My girlfriend, Clare, is really passionate about this project too, and sharing my BIC with her has offered me a segue to share the vision with more people. What’s next, now, is to get a survey out to gather qualitative evidence that will backup my Problem/Opportunity statement. From there, we’ll let the (right) interviewees show themselves, and my prototyping be guided by their feedback.

 

on your mark... get set... GO!

(emerges from the starting block like a tortoise)

(still wins the race)​

True North

Posted on by Aida Cardona

pointing in the direction of

Major Definite Purpose

This past week offered me some foundational tools to inspire my venture and set plans in motion! 

Check out the video below for my reflections from our E&I coursework over Week 3, and my personal, interrelated reflections below. Enjoy!

Now, for the honest truth...

HAAAAALP ~ my work-life balance is needing some, well, balancing! 

It’s been extremely challenging to gain traction on this project as I work to grow personally, and address the needs of my relations. It seems like everything right now is a priority and though I truly want to prioritize my health and wellbeing, the revolving task-list has me feeling the weight. 

I’m learning to be gentle with myself, in that, realistically, we can’t do it all. A common theme for me right now is to meet myself where I’m at, and last night my roommate Babs added to that notion by saying how, “it’s also important to meet yourself where you’re going… and to know that regardless of where that is, there you are.” 

His words really struck inspiration with me, and reminded me of the power of my agency. I’m rolling with this inspiration to flow into some traction this week, getting to communicating with my audience and asking the right questions to put the puzzle pieces together. 

Until next week… Wish me luck!

Xo// AC

Pitches & Protos & Quads (Oh My!)

Posted on by Aida Cardona

Not sure if it’s because all the weeks are blending together already, but this past week in class went relatively swiftly! Doing VP1 pitches over Zoom went as smoothly as it could have; utilizing breakout rooms for community sharing and quads has gotten to be more fluid too (with the exception of prompts being shared before everyone returns to class!). 

Pitching Lap Desk 2020 was a great culminating point for our project. I wasn’t expecting to be pitching for the whole class, even more pitch first, as it was my first time doing so. Max said he enjoyed going first and just getting it out of the way… I’m glad we did too and I feel we set the standard well.

I would have loved to have had a 3D prototype in time for our pitch, but it was out of reach– given the time we put into evidence-based entrepreneurship and pitch prep– to also try and spend the limited time we had left to build one. However, in the days after pitch day (using the plethora of cardboard boxes at my house, some scissors and an extra-long rubber band I found), I did manage to rig a cardboard lapdesk decent enough to pass!

My roommate enjoyed using this lapdesk for nearly an hour before it fell over (lol)
My roommate enjoyed using this lapdesk for nearly an hour before it fell over (lol)
Standard height, 6-12"
Standard height, 6-12"
Getting some blog writing done on my Prototype
Getting some blog writing done on my Prototype
Eli could benefit from our extendable leg option!
Eli could benefit from our extendable leg option!
Extended height, up to 20"!
Extended height, up to 20"!
Not bad for 6 pieces of cardboard and a rubber band!
Not bad for 6 pieces of cardboard and a rubber band!

On Wednesday we kicked off VP2 and met with our Traction Quads for the quarter. Our prompts really helped me explore what support I need from them, which is accountability, and space held and feedback to talk things out. 

It’s a funny and beautiful relationship my quad and I, who are otherwise comprised of E1s– while I can offer them feedback and information about their processes and understanding, I know they’ll offer me so much feedback and wisdom too.  The E1s this quarter are something special, let me tell ya. They’re ready to rock.  (:

 

My VP1 Group and I jamming out to Wham! for our Learning Journey Video!

While I’ve been feeling into some options for VP2 from Change Leadership last quarter, I have really disconnected from social media and most of my networks outside of my chosen-family/inner circle. And while its been awesome to give myself time to be with myself, it’s made it challenging to re-emerge into online platforms and reconnect with people, even with those who I know are there for me. 

But especially with embarking on my long-term venture in sight– nay, HERE– I need to get out of my own way and put myself back out there. So that’s my biggest challenge and what’s next.

... can't go over it
can't go under it...

gotta go THROUGH it!

– Bear Hunt, American Children’s Song

(while I don’t condone sport hunting, this ^ is also a hint in regard to the direction I wish to take my VP2!)

Sparks, Desks, VP1, Etc.

Posted on by Aida Cardona

What happens when you apply your passions in an unconventional way?

You INNOVATE.

During our first week of E&I this quarter, we dove straight in– and it was awesome! We began by building our online community, steadily rolling along Zoom learning curve, and then introduced core concepts of Entrepreneurship & Innovation through workshops on Sparks and week-long sprint that is VP1 (with coaching teams!). 

In the Sparks workshop, I realized that my interest in Nature has increased significantly, and that I truly cherish being outdoors. It definitely influenced the way I approached VP1, with the prompt of Product Innovation! 

Since the social distancing order has been in effect, my team and I wanted to create a product that would be relevant to easing the pains of students and working professionals forced to work from home. We used ideation techniques and a quick survey to settle on innovating the lapdesk: to be portable and versatile for working at home or outside. 

 

Check out Our Venture Here!

We worked super fluidly together over the week, and our coaching teams definitely helped guide us over the last few days, focusing on critical areas like our pitch deck and evidence.

Though the qualitative data from our interviews was super valuable, we have yet to be able to get data sets from our surveys large enough to make for sufficient evidence. This means what’s next for us is to push for more survey responses, beef up our evidence locker and get it ready to submit next week!

It’s been awesome to both experience and exercise Cascading Mentorship with my VP1 team, working with Max (E6), Laura (E2) and Katelynn (E1). I learned a LOT from Max– his pitching style and research techniques are especially admirable to me, so I’m grateful for the chance to have worked with him! It was also great to reintroduce and teach the various canvases (BIC, BMC, Val-Prop and Test Card) to Laura and Katelynn. I feel that as an E4 I have these foundations covered and it felt natural to share, describe and apply them.

 

It will be interesting to grow my understanding of these canvases and tool while applying them towards my own venture over the next three quarters with VP2! I’m also looking forward to expanding on this digital platform, see what my community is up to, and to offer more support through our upcoming Quad formation. We are well on our way! ~

 

Opportunity Orientation

Posted on by Aida Cardona

What greatness can happen when we lean into change?

A first Traction Journal entry, prior to Spring Quarter class.

Examining the ways of the waterfalls!
Bloom's Taxonomy for "Flipped" Classrooms; revised by Lorin Anderson

Given the circumstances (and I’ll leave it at that), the E&I program team has had to get creative about the way we approach Spring Quarter!

We’ve already shifted toward a “flipped” classroom style to free up more class time for lab work and workshops, but now that class sessions are online as well, accountability and engagement will be critical to the success of the course. 

It’s going to be super important for us to keep up our communication and 

So, what do we do? 

Look towards opportunity, and find creative ways to make things work for us all! 

Here’s a little sidebar snippet for a personal example: 

 

Since the Covid-19 pandemic struck, many of my friends (including two of my roommates) were out of work. However, through some networking in our community both were able to find jobs! One works for a local farm, packaging organic produce for take-home/delivery meals, and the other just started today helping at an orchard in Lynden. Both are excited to be of aid to both the community and our environment through these job changes. 

By turning our ORIENTATION toward OPPORTUNITY,  greatness can come of it! 

What about this quarter?

Right now, I’m leaning into learning WordPress to be able to offer support to my peers this quarter! This will be my first time doing web tutorials or any sort of digital IT support, but I’m looking forward to exploring the process and exercising my communication skills in a new way. 

Currently, this looks like:

  • Reviewing tutorials and troubleshooting fickle features 
  • Trying out different screencast video platforms and
  • Practicing my web presentation skills 
Looking toward opportunity!

I’m also heading up the E&I Be Team, an initiative to foster a greater Culture of Belonging within our Minor and Campus community.

If you have a project that may be in alignment with this, or you’re interested in getting involved in the movement DM or Teams me!