16A –What’s Your Secret Sauce?

Marcus Manzoni

16A –What’s Your Secret Sauce?


My 5 Unique Human Capital Aspects:

1. I am essentially a full blooded Italian because my entire family as far back as we know on both my mom and dad’s side of the family are also fully blooded Italians. This culture and lifestyle is embedded in my DNA and I had a very unique childhood experience.


2. I have started to learn other languages for fun. Although I am new to this venture, I have already begun learning the basics of different languages like Spanish, French and most recently Japanese. My willingness to explore different cultures and languages on a whim with no real purpose is unique.


3. I am really good at playing out scenarios in my head before they happen. It makes me more prepared for future events and it helps me with project and organizational vision.


4. I am very realistic with myself and those around me. Having this situational awareness helps me recognize when things are and are not going well and I can work to solve issues before they get out of hand.


5. I had a really crazy childhood in terms of stability. I was always moving, family dynamics were changing constantly and I was a low income student living in a middle-high income neighborhood with a lot of people I couldn’t relate to. However, I have a unique ability to adapt to situations and make the best of them because of this.


Interviews summary: 

The five people who know me best - my dad, my brother, my uncle, and my two friends from back home mentioned (although generic) a few different things about me. The first is that I have a great work ethic in terms of completing tasks on time even if the tasks are very difficult. The second thing that was mentioned was that I am unusually good in pressure situations, like giving public speeches and coming through when it matters. The last thing was that I have really good judgment when making decisions.

Reflection: 

The differences based on my interpretations and others interpretations are that my list is much more specific because I know myself better. The people I interviewed me know me really well because they have spent a lot of time with me but even they don’t know everything about me and what I truly think is different. The things they said weren’t necessarily wrong, but I haven't been put in too many “high pressure” situations in the real world. They also use my performance in sports and school to better reaffirm their descriptions, but there are a lot more higher stakes situations in life than closing a baseball game or getting a good grade on a class presentation. If I were negotiating billion dollar deals, I would hope I would come through then also but I have never done it so I can’t say for sure. For this reason I wouldn’t disagree with anything, but I wouldn’t add them to my list either.

Comments

  1. Matthew CapraMarch 13, 2020 at 2:30 AM

    Hi Marcus,
    I like to agree with your reflection where you talk about how they know you really well, but don't quite know everything about you or the specific achievements/qualities that you pride yourself on. I think that certain events or situations that they have seen you in obviously don't compare to all the experiences and hardships you've had and how you dealt with them. I found this exercise very rewarding those as i feel it gave us an opportunity to learn about how we are perceived on the outside.

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  2. CarlMarch 15, 2020 at 9:41 PM

    What's up Marcus,

    Your list was actually very interesting, and I can say I can relate to one of them, that being learning languages for fun. I started taking Italian in high school and have stuck with it ever since. I began taking it to embrace new cultures and venture outside to what I am used to understanding in both American and also hispanic cultures. I think it is really cool that you play out scenarios in your head before they happen; I feel like that helps shape a good mentality in terms of what to expect and essentially what not to expect.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Janine SantiagoMarch 16, 2020 at 12:25 PM

    Hi Marcus, great post! I think the human capital aspects you mentioned are great and very unique. In my post, I also mentioned growing up with a unique culture. My entire family is Puerto Rican and growing up with that culture has not only expanded my mind but has allowed me to be more open to new ideas. Knowing multiple cultures can help you keep an open mind when developing a new product.

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