Brand Yourself is Terrific!!

http://angelrodriguezfritolayuspikelloggworldventures.brandyourself.com/

Check Out WorldVentures!

http://www.worldventures.com/bio/read/angel-rodriquez

CT NSHMBA review 2011

(pictured: NSHMBA CT ERG Committee Members)  

 

On June 23rd, the National Society of Hispanic MBAs CT chapter held its 5^th Annual Employee Resource Group (ERG) Summit at General Electric Energy Headquarters in Plainville, CT. The theme was "Energize Business. Revamp your Future. Grow your Culture"  

 

More than a hundred attendees from twenty organizations participated in the event, which was sponsored by GE, State Farm, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Travelers and Prudential.  Some of the organizations represented have well-established ERGs, some of them recently launched them and some others have not started them yet.

 

Angel Rodriguez, Sr. VP HR United Surgical Partners International and Former VP HR Frito Lay North America Sales and Operations was the keynote speaker. His speech was described by many as motivational, entertaining and very informative. Angel reminded us of the importance of dreaming things that never were and asking the question, "Why not us?"  He also spoke about the value behind taking our Employee Resource Groups beyond simple agents of diversity and inclusion to become innovation machines within our organizations. The second part of the agenda included a panel discussion with ERG's executive sponsors and chairs from Aetna, Bank of America, General Electric and United Technologies- Hamilton Sundstrand.  Some of the key take-a wayswere when businesses leverage their diversity, the results are tangible and significant; it is a competitive advantage more than simply good citizenship. Also, ERGs should proactively seek to connect with different business objectives as it will open doors to multiple sources of funding. Getting involved in ERGs and diversity has a significant career and personal impact for both ERG leaders and ERG sponsors.

 

The summit accomplished its goal in bringing together ERG representatives and leaders from a broad range of industries to establish a dialogue around the challenges they face, and critical take-aways to implement best practices into their organizations. It was also a great opportunity for companies to notice the increased efforts made by ERGs to become more relevant and strategic to their business every day.

Press Release

http://www.wsav.com/story/23397274/worldventures-appoints-new-chief-people-officer

Escalera Program

NCLR ESCALERA

Angel Rodriguez

I am so proud to have been one of the founding leaders for this amazing program; along with Jorge Hinojosa, David Gonzales, Carlos Vinegas, Richard Montanez, and Hector Ramirez during my Frito-Lay days.  Those were good times with a real sense of purpose - below is Program Recap.  Just amazing success - Viva Escalera!          

In 2001, NCLR, in collaboration with and through the support of PepsiCo Foundation and PepsiCo, Inc., created the Escalera Program: Taking Steps to Success. Expanded with the support of Shell, the program promotes economic mobility for Latino youth by increasing educational attainment, career planning, and access to information about advanced careers. The program aligns with NCLR’s goals to eliminate barriers to employment and economic mobility while increasing the capacity of NCLR Affiliates to provide effective workforce development, education, and leadership services for Latino youth. The intent of the Escalera Program is to design a replicable program model for serving Latino youth that NCLR Affiliates throughout the country can implement. The program’s principal components are career exploration, technology skills development, leadership development, personal development, and academic support.

NCLR, with its Affiliates, has customized the Escalera model to address various youth population needs and create awareness about high-demand careers.

 

Impact

According to the Pew Hispanic Center, the national high school completion rate for Hispanics is 73%. To date, 88% of students who have enrolled in the Escalera Program have successfully completed the program and graduated from high school.

According to the Pew Hispanic Center, 44% of Hispanic high school graduates were attending college. To date, 87% of Escalera Program graduates have chosen a path to upward economic mobility by enrolling in postsecondary institutions. Escalera graduates are persisting in college past year one at an average rate of 89%.

The 2011 graduating cohort of the Escalera Program earned a combined total of $779,675 in scholarships.

Update on Program Successes

The Escalera Program was presented at the following conferences: 2010 Annual Members Forum of National Youth Employment Coalition, 24th Annual Conference of Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, 2011 NCLR Annual Conference, and 2011 Youth Symposium of the National Association of Workforce Development Professionals.

NCLR published Beyond the Classroom: Creating Pathways to College and Careers for Latino Youth, an evaluation of the Escalera Program. The two-year study compares the college and career preparation of Escalera students and non-Escalera students.

NCLR published Plugged In: Positive Development Strategies for Disconnected Latino Youth, which profiles the disconnected youth pilot of the Escalera Program and addresses the obstacles faced by young Hispanics who are disconnected from school and work.

The NCLR Escalera Program and One Economy partnered to implement the Digital Connectors Program, which works to deliver the power of technology and information to low-income people. Seven NCLR Affiliates instructed 100 young participants to serve as digital literacy instructors and completed over 6,900 community service hours nationwide.

www.nclr.org/.../economic_policy/escalera_program

Leadership Interview - 2010

Leadership Skills from Angel Rodriguez, Business Leader - from 2010

 

Join Calgary Consultant Stuart Crawford withFrito Lay VP Angel Rodriguez as we discuss Leadership in today's world. Angel recently decided that speaking on Leadership post his career at Frito Lay was needed. Having the right leadership in place for the smallest businesses right through to the largest is crucial to success. Tune into Angel Rodriguez and Stuart Crawford for a 30 minute discussion on business leadership.

 

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/themspshow/2010/07/22/leadership-skills-from-angel-rodriguez-frito-lay-f

 

YOUR CONFIDENCE FOUNDATION

  

Your Confidence Foundation

During my time at Frito-Lay, GE, and in the Community, the topic of Confidence has proven to be Critical because strong confidence is at the Core of any leader and Elusive because it is a constant effort to solidify as well as maintain.

My Point Of View on Confidence is based on my many conversations and experiences during my personal leadership evolution.  I hope that they will prove useful for you as you evolve and build Your Confidence Foundation.

Others will certainly Believe in You, Motivate You, and Inspire You.  However, you can’t wait for or depend on external confidence injections.  TRUE Confidence comes from within.  YOU have to believe in YOU.  This belief in YOU is fortified with the right combination of Self-Esteem, Personal Accountability, and Courage.

• Self-Esteem- Our self-esteem is often degraded by the that “little voice” in our heads, the “voice” of self doubt.  That “voice” that has been with us for as long as we can remember, it has been with us in the good times and the tough times.  Too often, the deep concerns from our lifetimes are relayed to us by that “voice”.  It says things like “I’m not good enough” , “I don’t belong here with these people from a different background”, ”don’t they see that I have doubts”, “I got promoted to a new role but can I really handle it”, “why do they believe in me?”, ”why are they looking at me as I try to make a point”, “I blew it last time, don’t mess up again”, etc.  We need to stop the “voice” of self-doubt.  The messages need to be POSITIVE.  We should tell ourselves “these people want to hear what I have to say”, “I belong here as I’ve earned my way”, “I need to leverage my strengths and work on my opportunities”, “I can’t wait to learn from others as well as share my insights”, “I feel honored to have people believe in me and I will make them proud!”, etc.  This changing of the “channel” is critical to success.  A positive mental attitude  will allow you to celebrate your strengths as well as approach your capability needs with purpose.  You don’t want to let yourself down.
• Accountability- Personal Accountability is the glue that holds your foundation together.  I often have asked people “if you have a friend who let you down, made you feel bad, missed appointments, and did not uphold commitments – how long would they be your friend?”.  The answer is always “for not long”.  Why do we do these very same things to ourselves?  We let ourselves down for a variety of reasons. However, over-commitment and the subsequent frustration  are often primary drivers.  These roadblocks can be dealt with thru reasonable goal setting along with personal clarity.  Think about the many roles that you play in your life – a mother/father, son/daughter. servant, brother/sister, professional, employee,  executive, community leader, friend, citizen, human being, etc.  Think about the many areas in which you engage – emotional, intellectual, physical, financial, spiritual, societal, professional, etc.  These areas need goals to be fulfilled.  I recommend that you decide where you will play your focus over the next year as it relates to your multi-year plans.  Consider your many roles as you make your decisions.  For example, on the emotional level, you may decide that you need to place more of a focus on being a better parent to truly fulfill your family’s potential.  Then set goals around how you will engage with your children, time you will spend as a family unit, how often you will call your parents, etc. The long term impact will be that you will role model for your children how a parent should express their love.  You also might want to combine focus areas.  For example, if your long-term goal is to be a Senior Executive and you feel that your Financial base is light.  Going after an MBA satisfies your Intellectual need while enabling your Professional goal.
• Courage- I have often said that “Our resolve is greater than our circumstances”. We don’t always see this when are in the storm or faced with a challenge.  To draw upon this courage, you should leverage your confidence foundation by calling upon the entities that give you strength.  Who are you fighting for?  Who is depending on me?  Who has inspired you? A tact that could work is to think about the important people in your life – past and present.  Lao Tzu’s quote says it all - ”Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.”  Despite the challenges you face, there are people who have believed in you and whom you won’t let down.  When fear creeps in, turn it on it’s ear and leverage it to drive you to maximize your success.  Move Forward With Courage.

Well, that’s all for now.  I hope that these insights resonated with you.
Special thanks to each of you for your support.  Please let me know if there is anything that you would like for me to comment on.
Take care, Angel