{"id":29887,"date":"2017-12-05T09:53:32","date_gmt":"2017-12-05T14:53:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/?p=29887"},"modified":"2018-08-27T08:09:31","modified_gmt":"2018-08-27T12:09:31","slug":"alumnus-conor-flynn-finds-the-road-to-success-through-intuition-networking-and-heart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/2017\/12\/alumnus-conor-flynn-finds-the-road-to-success-through-intuition-networking-and-heart\/","title":{"rendered":"Alumnus Conor Flynn finds the road to success through intuition, networking, and heart."},"content":{"rendered":"

In finding his way to success in South Florida, Conor Flynn has followed what he considers the most reliable guides: his heart and intuition.<\/p>\n

\"Conor
Conor Flynn<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The FIU alumnus, who received his Master of Business Administration in 2010, is deeply committed to public service and advocating for those in need.<\/p>\n

He volunteers with The Education Fund, which supports innovation in public education; Chapman Partnership homeless assistance, where he designed a program with fellow MBA students to teach people financial literacy skills; Best Buddies International; and United Cerebral Palsy, to name just a few. The last two are especially personal to Flynn, who has a cousin with Down syndrome and another with cerebral palsy.<\/p>\n

Through his involvement in causes he cares about, he gradually built a network of people with shared passions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no specific road map to building a network: it starts with showing up,\u201d Flynn said. \u201cFind something you\u2019re passionate about and get involved.\u00a0I started going to many different events to see where I could find successful, interesting people and make a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of my community involvement came from meeting so many amazing people in the MBA program at FIU<\/a>. I met some of my best friends there, people I still talk to every day. We\u2019ve been talking about a 10-year reunion. I\u2019m grateful for those friendships,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Flynn has been a member of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce since 2014, and says that \u201chas deepened my relationships with FIU business school contacts,\u201d as well as the larger community. He helps chair customer care for the Chamber, and has served as chair of the Chamber\u2019s South Florida Good to Great Awards; this is his second year on the board of directors and third on board of governors. Flynn is among only a few under age 40 in the organization\u2019s 110-year history to be elected to the boards.<\/p>\n

Cornelia Pereira, the Chamber\u2019s chief operating officer, lauded Flynn\u2019s efforts. \u201cIt\u2019s been my pleasure to watch Conor jump in and get involved in the Chamber in a big way,\u201d she said. \u201cHe realized right away the personal and professional benefit to rolling up his sleeves and doing his part to make our projects successful.”<\/p>\n

This year, he\u2019s been chosen to serve on the FIU President’s Council with other business and civic leaders who represent FIU, making community connections and bridging business and academia.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m honored to be part of it, and excited about helping FIU any way I can,\u201d Flynn said.<\/p>\n

\u201cConor is the epitome of an engaged professional,\u201d said Danette Gossett, owner of Gossett Marketing, and Chamber board member,<\/p>\n

Education as a driving force. <\/em><\/p>\n

Learning is a big part of what drives Flynn. His mother is a retired teacher, his father a research psychologist and director at Texas Christian University\u2019s Institute of Behavioral Research. \u201cI\u2019m passionate about education,\u201d he said. \u201cThe key to growing is learning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before finding his current job as a relationship leader at Aon Risk Solutions, where he\u2019s worked for over a year, Flynn tried \u201ca number of entrepreneurial ventures,\u201d including an import\/export start-up and employer consulting.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf any of them had worked out, I wouldn\u2019t be here now,\u201d he said. \u201cI consider them learning experiences, not failures.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aon is a good fit, both professionally and personally. \u201cI want to work for the best and the brightest,\u201d Flynn said. \u201cThey\u2019re the thought leaders in insurance and risk management, and largest insurance broker in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

The company culture is social, and stresses involvement in charitable work and volunteerism, participating in causes that include Autism Speaks and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe people are tremendous,\u201d Flynn said. \u201cThey\u2019re always planning great activities, and are active in the community. I learn something new every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the side, Flynn is involved with start-up specialty coffee company Rx Coffee<\/a>. \u201cThese are some of the best coffees in the world,\u201d he said. \u201cOur target demographic is the CrossFit community and health\/fitness adventure traveler.\u201d<\/p>\n

Finding growth through constant challenge.<\/em><\/p>\n

Flynn urges aspiring, next-generation business leaders not to dwell on past accomplishments or mistakes. Instead, \u201ctry to improve every day by consistently challenging yourself \u2013 run a marathon, get a graduate degree, conquer your fear of public speaking.\u201d (Flynn does stand-up comedy, CrossFit, and \u201chas survived mixed martial arts training with UFC fighters.\u201d)<\/p>\n

He also recommends creating a plan: \u201cA goal without a plan is just a dream;\u00a0most people quit at 40 percent.\u00a0Write it down and figure out how to get there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Flynn\u2019s charity work has taught him humility \u2013 knowing his limitations, and asking for help when he needs it. \u201cUltimately,\u201d he said, \u201cthe people we connect with are key in how, and what, we accomplish.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe relationships you build transfer to everything you do in life. It sounds clich\u00e9, but we have the ability to create our own destiny,\u201d he said. \u201cThe future is waiting.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In finding his way to success in South Florida, Conor Flynn has followed what he considers the most reliable guides: his heart and intuition. The FIU alumnus, who received his Master of Business Administration in 2010, is deeply committed to public service and advocating for those in need. He volunteers with The Education Fund, which […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":93,"featured_media":29891,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[3,7],"tags":[3903,481,1833,1835],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29887"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/93"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29887"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29887\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29909,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29887\/revisions\/29909"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29887"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29887"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}