TEDxClemsonU: Two business faculty members present at TEDx

December 10, 2024December 10, 2024

This August, two Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business faculty members presented at TEDxClemsonU. TEDx is a global grassroots initiative that brings TED’s mission of sharing “ideas worth spreading” to local communities through independently organized events featuring live speakers and recorded TED Talks. This year’s event, hosted in the Strom Thurmond Institute auditorium on August 24, 2024, was entitled, “Innovate to Elevate”. During their presentations, Kathryn Kisska-Schulze, Elliot Davis Associate Professor, shared about personal innovation and the power of joy, while Lori Tribble Trudell, assistant professor of management, spoke about the importance of building a community.

The power of joy, Kathryn Kisska-Schulze

On January 28, 2017, Kisska-Schulze’s life changed forever. On her birthday, she lost her younger brother, Kevin. That moment marked the beginning of a challenging season in her life. She was overcome with grief over the loss of her brother, while also was dealing with other difficult life events. Finding joy became impossible for her.

Because of her compounded stress and grief, she soon found herself in a deep depression. Her turning point came unexpectedly about ten months after Kevin’s passing, when she went Christmas shopping with her daughter, Ivy. While pursuing the local shop for gifts, Ivy came across a journal, which she presented to her mother.

Ivy explained to her mother that because she had been so unhappy, Kisska-Schulze might find relief through writing.

“Never underestimate the observance of the youth. I realized at that very moment that I had hit rock bottom. My child had been a true witness to my suffering and my pain, and in the only way she knew how, she was trying to help me.”

Kisska-Schulze took her daughter’s suggestion and purchased the journal. For weeks, the journal sat unused, but eventually, Kisska-Schulze made a New Year’s resolution to write down one single joy each day for the next year. No matter how small or bad of a day she was having, she would think about and record at least one moment of joy to cherish.

She embraced the challenge and, by the end of 2018, had captured and recorded 365 moments of joy. These moments included anything from a first cup of coffee in the morning, hearing her mom’s voice on the phone, an unexpected “I love you” from Ivy, beating her younger daughter, Sierra, at the card game Uno, an unexpected note from a student, and visiting her brother’s gravesite.

Kisska-Schulze loved this process so much, that on January 1, 2019 she again made a resolution to do it again. In fact, as of August 24, 2024, and she had recorded 2,424 moments of joy in her life. Through this practice, she learned two profound lessons:

1. Not every day is joyful, but if you look hard enough, there is at least one moment of joy in every 24-hour period, and
2. Reflecting on joy doesn’t erase or eliminate life’s challenges, but it does shift your perspective by helping you reflect on the joys in your life.

As Kisska-Schulze shares, “Joy journaling saved my life. Through the process, I not only recognized that joy exists, but I also became a more understanding, empathetic person not only to myself, but to others as well.”

As a first-generation college student from a small rural town in Georgia, Lori Trudell understands the importance of community. Growing up in a town of around 1,000 people taught her that nothing is more essential than a supportive, vibrant community, especially when starting a business.

“Where I lived, people generally supported each other. They had to be entrepreneurial self-starters to survive.”

Trudell shared a compelling example of entrepreneurship from her own life: her father. With no formal education or training, he taught himself how to raise and sell catfish, relying on determination and a little help along the way to turn his vision into a reality. In their community, he earned a reputation as the go-to “fish man”, fostering relationships that went beyond simple transactions. . Trudell describes this dynamic as truly symbiotic – a mutually beneficial connection that showcased the spirit of entrepreneurship.

“My dad gave back to the community—he would help anyone who asked him. More than that, he gave his time and expertise to those who needed it,” she explains. “You see, it takes community to build community. In my hometown, you just had to do it for yourself, at least with a little help from your friends. Entrepreneurs everywhere trying to be successful need a community like this to elevate them.”

Now, as an entrepreneurship professor at Clemson, Trudell researches entrepreneurial ecosystems and says that she has found that, just like in the town she grew up in, the key to entrepreneurial success is a supportive community. Strong leadership, collaboration, communication, and experimentation are the biggest factors that contribute to fostering an entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Everyone, she says, benefits from community building, both entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs alike, and it is important for three main reasons.

1. It encourages innovation. When people collaborate and share resources, it pushes the community as a whole to think creatively and pursue bold solutions to challenges. Startups in fields like robotics, artificial intelligence and innovative technology often emerge in these environments.
2. It drives economic growth. It creates job opportunities, sustains small businesses and even attracts major corporations and their headquarters to the region.
3. It builds resilience. Entrepreneurs thrive when they have a network of support, mentorship and shared knowledge. Just as her dad’s community rally together to support one another; modern entrepreneurial ecosystems flourish when people collaborate and unite around a common goal.

Trudell’s closing words urged others to begin creating close community ties. “Let’s come together and be the creative, collaborative and innovative community that builds success. Let’s build an entrepreneurial ecosystem that elevates everyone. Let’s be the community that builds community.”