Outdoor Magazine calls it “the toughest sporting event in the world.” It’s the Race Across America: A 3,000-mile bike race from Oceanside, California, to Annapolis, Maryland completed by cyclists in under 12 days. Last June, 34 cyclists began the race, 14 finished. After cycling 300 miles each day, Kurt Matzler was among the top finishers. Matzler is a strategy professor at the University of Innsbruck in Austria. While competing in the race, he saw a number of parallels between his experience racing across America, and leadership. His new book, “The High Performance Mindset: What We Can Learn From The World’s Toughest Bicycle Race” has just been released in German. The English version is expected in the US later this year. He spoke to our MBA students recently, and today he joins us to talk about the race, his experience, and how it generated leadership lessons.
Learn how the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at William and Mary can help you and your organization develop your top talent through customized executive education and professional development programs. Visit us at www.wmleadership.com. Thank you for listening.
Serving on a board; whether corporate or non-profit, it is a goal for many professionals. But how do you get there, and what’s required of board members? A Harvard Business Review article titled “Are You Ready To Serve On A Board?” lists five types of intelligence aspiring board members should possess. They include a financial IQ, a strategic IQ, the ability to build relationships, understanding where you add value, and having a ‘get it done’ attitude. Kim Lopdrup is the former CEO of Red Lobster. He currently serves on multiple boards, including those at Wawa, and Bob Evans, and he has experience on non-profit boards as well. He joins us today to discuss the role of the board member, the time and talent required, and how members of the board benefit from their experience.
Learn how the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at William and Mary can help you and your organization develop your top talent through customized executive education and professional development programs. Visit us at www.wmleadership.com. Thank you for listening.
Now that we’re settled in to 2023, it’s a good time of the year to take stock of your personal brand. The way you’re perceived by others is important. Yet many professionals rarely take the time to ensure their brand is up to date, relevant, and visible. For example, when was the last time you carefully reviewed your LinkedIn profile? Your brand and the tools you use to promote it require your attention. Dawn Edmiston is a professor of marketing at the William & Mary School of Business. She’s an author, researcher, and personal branding expert. She joins us today to discuss your personal brand: How you can be sure it’s relevant, and why this time of the year is a good time for a personal brand update.
Learn how the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at William and Mary can help you and your organization develop your top talent through customized executive education and professional development programs. Visit us at www.wmleadership.com. Thank you for listening.
As the world evolves, leadership also evolves. There’s no doubt the leader of today and tomorrow will be different from the leader of the past. Qualities and approaches that defined yesterday’s high quality leaders won’t work moving forward. Our guest today says a fundamental shift is occurring, and leaders must adapt. Matt Williams is a clinical professor at William & Mary’s School of Business and an experienced and successful leader. He’s the Managing Director of Brand Federation and the former CEO of The Martin Agency - one of the top advertising agencies in America. He says in order to succeed, leaders have to change their way of thinking; about themselves, their organizations, and their employees.
Learn how the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at William and Mary can help you and your organization develop your top talent through customized executive education and professional development programs. Visit us at www.wmleadership.com. Thank you for listening.
It seems like everyone is talking about ChatGPT. Today on the podcast, we’ll learn about it by going right to the source. First, some background: People in business, education, journalism, law, and virtually all fields are asking what ChatGPT might do to change the way we work, learn, and communicate. In some sectors, there’s major concern. In others, there’s considerable excitement regarding the possibilities. Introduced in November, ChatGPT is an Artificial Intelligence system that can do some amazing things, like respond to customer service inquiries and write term papers. And it does so quickly, and for the most part accurately. As a result, marketers and customer service professionals are working to test and implement ChatGPT. Meanwhile, school districts from New York City to Seattle banned the chatbot last month. On today’s episode, we learn the basics of ChatGPT, but rather than invite a subject matter expert to discuss it, we went right to the source. We submitted specific questions about ChatGPT to ChatGPT and it quickly delivered written answers. To show you the quality of those answers, we combined them with Text-To-Speech technology which generated a voice that will read the answers Chat GPT wrote for us.
Learn how the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at William and Mary can help you and your organization develop your top talent through customized executive education and professional development programs. Visit us at www.wmleadership.com. Thank you for listening.
Artificial Intelligence, synthetic biology, blockchain, social media, and other technologies continue to change the way we live, work, and lead. At the same time, the reach of technology is expanding daily as more people are connected today than ever before. Now decisions, thanks in part to technology, are often significant and far-reaching. And with that in mind, our guest says tech entrepreneurs must embrace ethical leadership. Anand Anandalingam is a tech scholar, teacher, and consultant. A professor of Management Science at the University of Maryland, he previously served as the Dean of the Business Schools at Maryland and Imperial College in London. He says while tech entrepreneurs have much on their plates, ethics and ethical leadership should be the priorities.
Learn how the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at William and Mary can help you and your organization develop your top talent through customized executive education and professional development programs. Visit us at www.wmleadership.com. Thank you for listening.
For the first time in 25 years, William & Mary’s School of Business, the Raymond A. Mason School of Business, has a new leader. After long-time Dean Larry Pulley announced his retirement, and the University conducted a global search, Todd Mooradian was named Dean in August. Mooradian’s no stranger to William & Mary, or to leadership. He spent 27 years at the Mason School of Business as a marketing professor, Associate Dean, and campus leader. Then, in 2017, he left to become Dean of the University of Louisville’s College of Business. After five years there, he was named Dean at William & Mary. He joins us today to discuss his role, coming home, and taking the reins from a long-time and successful leader.
Learn how the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at William and Mary can help you and your organization develop your top talent through customized executive education and professional development programs. Visit us at www.wmleadership.com. Thank you for listening.
It’s the holiday season, and ordinarily at this time of the year we would suggest some good books for you to read as you hopefully get some time off to relax. Not this year. This year was different. If you’re like most professionals, you worked harder than ever this year. On top of that, finding time to exercise, sleep, interact with family and friends, seemed more challenging. Many professionals are flat-out tired. They need some downtime. So, instead of recommending books to read over the holiday, we suggest you kick back and take time to binge-watch some good television. We spoke to students, faculty, and staff at the William & Mary School of Business and asked them to share some suggestions for holiday binge watching. We have 10 recommendations for you, plus a bonus recommendation.
There are countless parallels between business and sports; teamwork, sacrifice, expertise, winning and losing, innovation, leadership, and commitment. Our guest today is the President and Owner of PGC Basketball, the largest education basketball camp in the world. PGC has camps across the United States and Canada dedicated to teaching young people how to succeed on and off the court. While the PGC camps are spread out geographically, so is its staff. It’s fully remote, and has been for years. Yet, the organization’s president, Mano Watsa, has built a highly successful team by creating a commitment-based organization. He joins us today to talk about the commitment-based organization, the people it attracts and retains, and why it leads to success.
Learn how the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at William and Mary can help you and your organization develop your top talent through customized executive education and professional development programs. Visit us at www.wmleadership.com. Thank you for listening.
It’s hard to imagine life without pizza, and difficult to imagine pizza and pizza delivery without Domino’s. It all began in 1960 with one store in Michigan. Now, Domino’s is the number one pizza restaurant in the world operating in 95 countries. By the end of the decade, Domino’s expects to have 30,000 stores. Ninety-eight percent of the stores are owned by franchisees. And 95% of store owners worked at a Domino’s before becoming owners. It’s a success story fueled by a love of pizza, opportunity, and innovation. Joe Jordan is President of US Business and Global Functions at Domino’s. He’s been with the organization for 11 years. He joins us to talk about the pizza business, Domino’s guiding principles, and what it takes to stay on top.
Learn how the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at William and Mary can help you and your organization develop your top talent through customized executive education and professional development programs. Visit us at www.wmleadership.com. Thank you for listening.
Think of your favorite brand - maybe it’s Apple, Bose, Dominoes, Netflix, Jeep - whatever your favorite, most likely the quality of the product is excellent. But that’s not enough to make you loyal to the brand. According to our guest today, there are two other important elements that lead to brand loyalty: The environment where the product is delivered, and the quality of the customer service. Chris Caracci helps organizations build customer loyalty. He spent years at the Disney Institute working with clients across the world. Today, he teaches at the William & Mary School of Business and continues to help businesses and organizations with their loyalty creation initiatives. He joins us to talk about building customer loyalty.
Learn how the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at William and Mary can help you and your organization develop your top talent through customized executive education and professional development programs. Visit us at www.wmleadership.com. Thank you for listening.
Whatever business or field you’re in, standing still is not an option. That’s why so many are placing an emphasis on innovation. With that in mind, Tribe Innovation, at the William & Mary School of Business recently hosted Innovation At Work, a panel featuring professionals who spoke about innovation and the role it plays in their respective organizations and sectors. One of the panelists joined us afterwards: Dan Webber is with Edelman, the global communication firm that works with businesses and organizations to promote and protect their brands and reputations. Webber is President of Edelman’s Washington DC office. He says in his work, innovation is about a long-term trajectory for success. He joins us to share how he and the Edelman organization view and implement innovation.
Learn how the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at William and Mary can help you and your organization develop your top talent through customized executive education and professional development programs. Visit us at www.wmleadership.com. Thank you for listening.
Whether your organization has embraced remote work or a hybrid model, managing and leading a remote team can be challenging. For many managers, it’s a real source of frustration. If it’s causing you headaches, perhaps you’re leading the way you did when everyone was in the office. If that’s the case, our guest says your leadership style needs updating in order to succeed in our new environment. Dr. Jeanne Wilson is a Professor of Organizational Behavior at the William & Mary School of Business. She’s an expert in teams; she researches and teaches co-located and distributed teams, and teams across organizational boundaries. She says to be an effective leader in a remote setting, managers and leaders have to let go of their old way of leading.
Learn how the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at William and Mary can help you and your organization develop your top talent through customized executive education and professional development programs. Visit us at www.wmleadership.com. Thank you for listening.
In 1975, John T Molloy wrote “Dress for Success.” A couple of years later, he followed it with “Dress for Success for Women.” As a result, a generation of professionals had guidelines and rules to follow when it came to the business dress code. In 2022 that code is changing like never before. In fact, there is no dress code today. Professionals have the opportunity to define new ways to dress comfortably while projecting an image of professionalism. Lucy Vozza believes clothing and the vibe you send to others are linked. After spending 17 years in sales with biotech companies such as Baxter, Regeneron and Genentech, she recently transition to a leadership role at BeiGene. She joins us to discuss today's evolving dress code and what you should consider when getting dressed for work.
Learn how the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at William and Mary can help you and your organization develop your top talent through customized executive education and professional development programs. Visit us at www.wmleadership.com. Thank you for listening.
Last summer, William & Mary Business Professor Ram Ganeshan joined us on the podcast to talk about where supply chains stood in 2021. A year ago we were experiencing lumber shortages, new furniture was challenging to find, and chlorine for the backyard swimming pool was in short supply. Fast-forward one year to today and we’re faced with new supply chain issues. Some we could never have imagined a year ago. For example, the baby formula shortage continues, semiconductors are in short supply, and the Russian-Ukranian war has caused a number of critical shortages affecting people all over the world. Professor Ganeshan joins us again to talk about today’s supply chain issues, how they began, and what might be ahead for customers, companies, and countries across the globe.
Learn how the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at William and Mary can help you and your organization develop your top talent through customized executive education and professional development programs. Visit us at www.wmleadership.com. Thank you for listening.
There’s no doubt change will play a major role in our future. We’ll experience new business landscapes, new paradigms for leadership, and new approaches to work. The next 20 years of business in the world will be vastly different from the past. For many professionals, that constant change leads to uncertainty, which can increase burnout, exhaustion, and low morale. If not handled appropriately, it can adversely affect the bottom line. Our guest today says that does not have to be the case. She says we can take that disruptive uncertainty and turn it into productive possibility by embracing regenerative resilience. Elatia Abate is an entrepreneur and futurist who works around the world with top companies and organizations. She joins us today to discuss how leaders and professionals can thrive in challenging times thanks to regenerative resilience.
Learn how the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at William and Mary can help you and your organization develop your top talent through customized executive education and professional development programs. Visit us at www.wmleadership.com. Thank you for listening.
Retaining high quality employees. A priority today. As professionals change jobs faster than ever, businesses and organizations need to hang on to their best performers. While many employers increase salaries to retain people, our guest today says they’re often overlooking something more important and more effective. Something that will keep top employees engaged and happy at work. David Long is a professor of organizational behavior at William & Mary’s School of Business. In addition to teaching undergraduate and MBA students, he works closely with businesses and leadership teams. He says employers can focus on five elements that lead to happy and fulfilled employees. The kind who stay on the team and contribute.
Learn how the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at William and Mary can help you and your organization develop your top talent through customized executive education and professional development programs. Visit us at www.wmleadership.com. Thank you for listening.
We all know that companies and employees expect businesses to do more than make money. Today, people expect organizations to contribute to society to make a difference. And we’ve seen how those efforts lead to a number of positive outcomes. When looking for role models in the doing good and doing well arena, one company jumps out: DICK’S Sporting Goods. America’s largest sporting goods retailer goes to great lengths to support young athletes. In fact, since 2014, DICK’S and the DICK’S Foundation have committed over $150 million to youth sports. Navdeep Gupta is the CFO at DICK’S. He earned his MBA at William & Mary and was here last month for Alumni Reunion Weekend. He sat down with us to talk about DICK’S Sporting Goods, its special culture, and its commitment to today’s young athletes.
Learn how the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at William and Mary can help you and your organization develop your top talent through customized executive education and professional development programs. Visit us at www.wmleadership.com. Thank you for listening.
Few sectors were hit harder by the pandemic than the hospitality sector. Hotels in particular faced devastating losses as travel came to a halt. For Marriott International, the world’s largest hotel company, that meant closing some hotels and laying off or furloughing many employees. Two years later, Marriott is experiencing a remarkable recovery; employees are back to work, hotels are open, and in many cases they’re full, almost back to record levels. Stephanie Linnartz is President of Marriott International. She earned her MBA at William & Mary and was recently here for Alumni Reunion Weekend. She sat down with us to talk about Marriott, leading through the pandemic, and her people-first approach.
Learn how the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at William and Mary can help you and your organization develop your top talent through customized executive education and professional development programs. Visit us at www.wmleadership.com. Thank you for listening.
The role of today’s leader is quite different from the role leaders played in the past. Today’s senior leaders are navigating several challenges simultaneously: Inflation, fast-moving technology, work from home - and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Andrew White is a Senior Fellow in Management Practice at the University of Oxford’s Said School of Business in England. A leadership coach to top CEOs, he leads the Advanced Management and Leadership Program at Oxford. He says leading in the modern age provides CEOs with unprecedented challenges and opportunities, such as meeting sustainability goals, insuring diversity, retaining top talent, and navigating the fast-changing geopolitical landscape.
Learn how the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at William and Mary can help you and your organization develop your top talent through customized executive education and professional development programs. Visit us at www.wmleadership.com. Thank you for listening.
To say Dan Akerson has had an exciting career is an understatement. He’s held leadership positions such as CEO, Chairman, President, and Managing Director of top organizations - including MCI, General Instrument, Nextel, The Carlisle Group, and General Motors. He’s been successful at each stop. He continues to be active, serving on the boards at American Express and Lockheed Martin, but it’s his four years as CEO of General Motors that people remember best. He led GM from 2010 to 2014 where he orchestrated a major turnaround. He joins us today to talk about the auto industry and its supply-chain challenges. He also shares a few stories about leadership, working with Vladimir Putin, and how to knock out a billion dollars in losses.
Learn how the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at William and Mary can help you and your organization develop your top talent through customized executive education and professional development programs. Visit us at www.wmleadership.com. Thank you for listening.
As businesses, organizations, and professionals deal with change like we’ve never seen before, it makes sense the way we lead will also change. Our guest today says a new leadership paradigm is urgently needed. Nicholas Janni is a sought-after coach, teacher, speaker and author. He works with the world’s top businesses and business schools transforming the way executives lead. He’s written a new book “Leader as Healer: A New Paradigm for 21st Century Leadership.” He joins us today to discuss his theoretical and practical path to the highest levels of presence and peak performance leadership. The leadership he says is needed moving forward.
Learn how the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at William and Mary can help you and your organization develop your top talent through customized executive education and professional development programs. Visit us at www.wmleadership.com. Thank you for listening.
How do you invest your money? Chances are, your gender plays a role in where you invest, how you invest, and the results you generate. When it comes to wealth management, there are considerable differences between the approaches men and women take. Molly Nissman is Vice President, Wealth Management and Portfolio Manager at UBS Financial Services in Norfolk, Virginia. She’s spent her career helping people get the most from their money. She was on campus recently for the annual Women’s Stock Pitch and Leadership Summit hosted by the William & Mary School of Business and its Boehly Center for Excellence in Finance. She took time to talk with us about women, men, and investing.
Learn how the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at William and Mary can help you and your organization develop your top talent through customized executive education and professional development programs. Visit us at www.wmleadership.com. Thank you for listening.
More than ever before, companies and organizations are placing great emphasis on their employees by offering more flexible work schedules, or investing greatly in education and training programs. Some, like Microsoft, are focusing on the general wellbeing of their employees. Microsoft has created and launched its Holistic Wellbeing Program - a series of offerings that support employees in four specific wellbeing areas: Physical, mental, financial, and social. Kristen Roby Dimlow is a graduate of William & Mary. She’s Vice President, Total Rewards, Performance, and HR Business Intelligence at Microsoft. She joins us to talk about the Holistic Wellbeing Program there, what it entails, and what it’s doing for Microsoft and its employees.
Learn how the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at William and Mary can help you and your organization develop your top talent through customized executive education and professional development programs. Visit us at www.wmleadership.com. Thank you for listening.
We’ve all been there: You go to a local business, or visit a hotel, or go online to make a purchase, and the experience is awful. If it’s bad enough, you decide to never go back again. Which means the business - at a minimum - has lost a customer. In today’s competitive market, no business can afford to lose customers. That’s where Chris Caracci steps in. He helps organizations improve their customer experience. He spent years at the Disney Institute working with clients across the world. Today he continues to help all types of businesses and organizations deliver a high quality customer experience. He joins us to talk about the customer experience, its importance, and how improvement starts at the top.
If you are a professional who would like a non-degree executive education, or you would like to learn more about leadership and business, visit us at http://www.wmleadership.com.