Today was the first day of class, and I can already tell that managing the complex content of this course will make for an exhausting month. On Day 1 of Managing in Complex Environments, we covered a variety of business tools and terms including value proposition, Porter’s five forces, stakeholder analysis, PESTLE, VUCA, and the open systems hypothesis. To survive and thrive, providing a valuable product or service as well as understanding the competition, the environment and its complexity, and the stakeholders are very important. The five forces of the competitors, suppliers, substitutes, buyers, and new entrants were emphasized throughout the class. I know I will continue to analyze these forces and establish value proposition in business and, specifically, in my innovation project. Near the end of the class, we explored deeper into the meanings of our dominant strengths which were determined from the Clifton’s Strengths Finder assessment. In order, starting with the strongest, my strengths were restorative, discipline, achiever, competition, and consistency. Essentially, this assessment tells me that:

• I enjoy solving problems and restoring vitality within something that needed fixed.
• I need my world to be ordered and planned, and I need to feel control by sticking to routines and focusing on deadlines.
• I have a constant need for achievement, a theme which helps explain my drive and keeps me moving.
• I compete to win rather than for fun because outperforming my peers satisfies the achievement I crave.
• I treat people equally and fairly, despite their connections or background, so each person has an even chance to show his or her worth.

For the most part, I can see myself characterized by each of these skills and think some of my attributes can come in handy. For example, since I need to achieve to feel good about myself, I will work hard at Pitt Business so I can achieve plenty of job opportunities and then continue to achieve at those jobs.