Kellogg leaders are primed to tackle challenges everywhere, from the boardroom to their neighborhoods. Describe a specific professional experience where you had to make a difficult decision. Reflecting on this experience, identify the values that guided your decision-making process and how it impacted your leadership style.Â
Understanding the prompt- (Creator's commentary will be available to understand the essay in depth)
Again, start by understanding the prompt word for word. What is it asking?
One instance where you decided to show a certain leadership trait that aligns more with Kellogg values. Kellogg's strong emphasis on collaboration, empathy and opportunity shown here will make the difference for you. You need to look for a time where you were the Kellogg Leader. (Go to Essay 1 for more)
Additionally, it is limiting you to just professional situation, you can actually choose any other form of impact, that can be from the community as well. The idea is that you are primed to tackle the challenge as a Kellogg Leader!
Here's the fun part- this essay is perfectly suited for Michael Scott! Why? Ever seen a boss so involved in their employees personal lives to celebrate every win with them and get that reciprocated with a song when he left? That's what I thought. So let's have some fun and learn how to create this essay and what instance we have chosen that shows Michael Scott as a Kellogg Leader!
Image- Kellogg School of Management (Rights to Image not owned by MBA Conquerors; parts of image are AI generated)
When I started Michael Scott Paper Company, I believed in my team but starting a company from the scratch, bootstrapping it no less, was no easy task. So, it was going to be no easy decision when we were given an offer by my former employer for acquiring Michael Scott Paper Company after seeing how we have created something huge. How about I tell you what led to this first, shall I?
Two of my former coworkers put their faith in me and joined the startup, leaving their old lives behind. Couple of days passed and Michael Scott Paper Company took the Scranton market by storm. With lean operations, customer acquisition and delivery, a team of three was able to acquire more than 25% of the market. This success came by going above and beyond our normal duties, leading us to acquire 40% of the market within a couple of months of launch.
This news was never hidden from our former employer and the new techniques were too difficult to replicate for anyone as the organizational structure was far too rigid. In this moment, Jim Halpert, still an employee at Dunder Mifflin Inc., brought the offer from David Wallace, CFO, to us- to acquire our company. The reason selling the company was a difficult decision was because it was a challenge to sell something where people followed me and believed in the vision of Michael Scott Paper Company, an impact of which was largely known.
To arrive at the decision, I really wanted to involve my team as it was only through our collective efforts, we were able to create something special. We heard out the offer as a sign of respect to our former employer. While sharing our perspectives while evaluating the offer, I saw a great deal of uncertainty as to how the post-acquisition integration will be carried forward. This uncertainty paved a way for an opportunity because I knew all the people in the branch and I knew with the right direction and some creativity, we can replicate the model of Michael Scott Paper Company and apply that to Dunder Mifflin Inc.
Instead of accepting their acquisition offer, I offered to join back with an intention to bring back the two employees who will join back as sales people and help facilitate the merger. This idea worked out well and post-merger, we were able to integrate the lean systems into the branch, leading the Scranton branch to become the best branch for it's innovative approach. It could not have happened if we did not have a diverse team that openly shared their perspectives so we can come up with innovative solutions in an extremely competitive market.
While the decision to merge/to get acquired was difficult, having those values guide my decision helped me take a leap of faith in the people who can turn things around by working collaboratively. And soon after, things went back to the way they were- every day was a new opportunity to try something new and grow together.
Creator's commentary coming soon!
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