Archive for November, 2010

By William Keiper, 1980 Thunderbird graduate

You’ve got the job! After the euphoria, congratulations and champagne have become a nice memory, Day One looms ahead. Exciting, yes! But also a bit intimidating. You might be wondering to yourself, “How can I really show my stuff? How can I make a contribution right away, to prove that I am what they thought I would be?” The traditional approach is to keep a low profile, get the “lay of the land” and proceed cautiously. Tens of thousands of MBA grads have done it this way. However, the so-called traditional rules of work are under major revision and newly minted Thunderbirds can be in the vanguard of creating new ones. Here are five proven ways to have an impact from Day One.
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By Thunderbird President Ángel Cabrera

Spanish President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero convened this week a group 39 top business leaders to discuss the country’s competitiveness and his government’s commitment to press ahead with much needed social security, labor and energy reforms (see report and photos in El País). It is reassuring to see the government seek a close dialog with the private sector, especially as drum rolls are heard louder in international capital markets, unfairly yet dangerously comparing Spain’s solvency with Greece’s and Ireland’s. The problem, however, is that the government seems to be leaving out of this dialog the part of the business community that can do the most to pull Spain’s economy back from its 20 percent unemployment: Entrepreneurs. Read the full post in my Global Leadership blog on the Thunderbird Knowledge Network.

By Kris Bibler, 1989 Thunderbird graduate

Have you lived in several cultures during your lifetime? Are you life partners with someone of a different culture? Are you an immigrant, a refugee, or maybe a child of parents with different nationalities? Do you work with people who have had any of the above life experiences? These are just a few of the pathways that may lead to a Blended Culture persona. As a Thunderbird alum or student, it’s quite possible you relate to, or work with people who relate to, the Blended Culture set of values. Understanding those values can help you learn more about yourself and your relations with others, as well as help you manage or work with people who hold those values.
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By Bill Youngdahl, Thunderbird Professor

I’m becoming increasingly convinced that that I need to focus more time at the top of the pyramid. Something seems to happen to the brains of insulated senior leaders that keeps them from becoming servant-leaders. Instead they too often become constraints that consume our time, energy, and talent as project leaders and contributors. Why the rant? I’m currently working with a client to deliver a webinar that addresses servant leadership. Robert K. Greenleaf coined the term servant-leader in 1970, so it is certainly not a new idea. But it doesn’t seem to be flourishing in many organizations. Refreshing my awareness of servant-leadership reminds me of how many leaders cause unnecessary stress and frustration when they could be enabling progress and improving human spirit. Read the full post in my blog, Prosper in a Project-Driven World. | Blog: Project Constraints or Servants? | Video: Project Constraints or Servants? (2:23)

Alberto Vollmer woke up to an unpleasant surprise one morning in February 2000. Land invaders had overrun the family estate in Venezuela, where Rum Santa Teresa has operated for more than 200 years. Almost overnight, a slum settlement appeared on the property. As the new Chairman and CEO of the family enterprise, which exports premium rum to more than 30 countries, Vollmer needed to do something. But he had few options. “Venezuela is not an easy place to do business,” he said Nov. 16, 2010, during a guest lecture at Thunderbird School of Global Management. Vollmer could not appeal to the police for protection because many squatters were relatives of local officials, who condoned the invasion. Vollmer could mount a counterstrike with his own security team, but he knew violence would lead to more violence. That left the option of negotiation. Read about Vollmer’s approach in the World Cafe, a blog on the Thunderbird Knowledge Network focused on cross-cultural negotiation. | Blog: Alberto Vollmer Discovers Legitimate Interests.

ExxonMobil honored an old friend Nov. 16, 2010, in a simple ceremony full of significance for people familiar with the rise of Thunderbird Corporate Learning and the school’s close ties to global oil and gas. Thunderbird Professor Ed Barrett, Ph.D., came to campus in 1990 with a passion for oil and gas that he leveraged to jumpstart business when he took over the school’s fledgling executive education unit. One of his first clients was Exxon, which later became ExxonMobil. Barrett has taught hundreds of high-potential managers in various ExxonMobil programs since then, but he is now easing into retirement as an emeritus professor. On Nov. 18, 2010, he taught his last course as academic director of the Gas Business Fundamentals program with ExxonMobil Gas & Power Marketing.
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Thunderbird trustee and 1965 alumnus Merle A. Hinrichs started with $25 and one set of clothes when he arrived in Hong Kong more than 45 years ago. His suitcase and everything else were stolen within hours. Today Hinrichs runs Global Sources, a media company he launched in 1970 as a way to promote trade between East and West. The Hong Kong-based company went public on the Nasdaq market in 2000, and Hinrichs serves today as chairman and CEO. Revenue topped $100 million in 2004 and $200 million in 2008. Hinrichs has come a long way from the isolated Nebraska farm where he grew up, but he has not forgotten the value of hard work and ethical leadership. | Video: Merle Hinrichs delivers 2010 Thunderbird commencement keynote address (13:50)
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By Steven Stralser, Thunderbird Professor

I am in Geneva this week  teaching Thunderbird Executive MBA students. We just spent an afternoon at the World Intellectual Property Organization for a briefing and presentation by Tamara Nanayakkara, director of the Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Division, and Senior Information Officer Cathy Jewell. One of the interesting — and concerning — research findings our hosts shared is the fact that the United States is falling behind as the innovation leader among well-developed global economies. To regain their “innovation mojo,” U.S. companies might want to consider at least two things. Read my full entry in the Walker Center for Global Entrepreneurship Blog. | Blog: U.S. needs to rediscover its innovation mojo

Thunderbird Professor F. John Mathis, Ph.D., and other faculty hosted high-net-worth individuals Oct. 19-22, 2010, at the first Thunderbird Global Wealth Management Summit in Phoenix, Arizona.

Speakers at the event provided global perspectives on financial services issues and shared investment concepts and strategies.

“The timing for this event could not have been better,” said Mathis, director of Thunderbird’s Global Financial Services Center. “We have mounting uncertainty in the global economy and a tense political environment.”

Other T-bird speakers at the event included President Ángel Cabrera, Ph.D., Professor Ernesto Poza, Thunderbird donors Craig Barrett, Ph.D., and his wife, U.S. Ambassador Barbara Barrett.

One bad event or one angry blogger can spark a reputation crisis that hurts a company’s bottom line in the age of social media. “Just ask Dell, BP or Tiger Woods,” Elixir Interactive CEO Fionn Downhill said Nov. 17, 2010, in the digital marketing class of Thunderbird Professor John Zerio, Ph.D. “The Web is where reputations are made and broken, and where buying decisions are made and broken,” Downhill said. “The Web is not going away. It is not a pleasant place sometimes, but you must participate.” Job hunters and other professionals, just like companies, also need to guard their online reputations. Downhill shared several Golden Rules for online success. | Video: Control Your Google Top 10 (1:54) | Video: Social Media Lessons from BP Oil Spill (1:31) | Video: Fighting Fake Online Reviews (2:33)
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