Archive for the ‘Global Talent’ Category

When people ask NFL agent Eric Kaufman ’03 about sports careers, the first thing he does is try to discourage them. “If you can be discouraged, you won’t make it in the industry,” he told MBA students Sept. 20, 2012, at Thunderbird School of Global Management near Phoenix, Arizona. Kaufman’s own journey as an agent included minimum wage jobs and long periods without pay while serving clients such as former NBA star Shaquille O’Neal and Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll. Today Kaufman manages daily operations as president of Premier Sports & Entertainment in Santa Monica, California. “Everybody wants to work in sports,” he said. “I get resumes every single week from former collegiate athletes who played at the highest levels, and even pro athletes who want to get in.” For people who disregard Kaufman’s industry warnings, he offers at least six pieces of career advice. | Video: How to be an NFL agent (1:55) | Video: Path to Thunderbird (1:22)
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Individuals, organizations and countries looking for an edge in the new global economy can find all the wisdom they need from three fortune cookies collected by retired Intel CEO and Chairman Craig Barrett. “During any period of transition, people win and lose market share,” Barrett said Nov. 10, 2011, during a keynote luncheon at the inaugural Thunderbird Global Business Dialogue in Glendale, Arizona. “These three fortunes contain all the wisdom you need to win in an era of historic transformation.” The first fortune says: “The world will always accept talent with open arms.” Barrett said this message highlights the importance of education, the process of discovering passion and harnessing the human potential. The second fortune says: “You cannot win unless you choose to compete.” Barrett said too many people in mature markets resent the upstarts from China, India and elsewhere. Instead of complaining about the new global economy, they need to start competing. The third fortune says: “A small deed done is better than a great deed planned.” Barrett said people need to recognize that the power to win lies within themselves if they are willing to take action. “Stop looking to others to solve your problems,” he said. “Stop waiting on government.” Download the full podcast here from Thunderbird School of Global Management. | Podcast: Global Reputation Management (37:39)

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As an up-and-coming executive in the hospitality and entertainment industries, Thunderbird graduate Nikki Mark ’95 worked long hours that often ended past midnight. “I sometimes worked 10 a.m. to 3 a.m.,” she said Feb. 17, 2011, during a Global Issues Forum on campus. “Then I had kids, and I had to redefine what balance means to me.” Mark, the author of a new children’s book about working mothers, shared lessons learned from her experiences as a wife, mother and executive vice president of operations for Los Angeles-based hotel, restaurant and nightclub developer SBE. | Video: Mommy Brings Home the Bacon (3:12)
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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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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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Diversity can be a fuzzy term that means different things to different people. William H. Harper III, Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer of Pacific Gas and Electric Company in California, says this sometimes causes fear or resentment when companies start talking about implementing diversity programs. His approach at Pacific Gas and Electric has been to provide clear definitions that help employees understand the company’s vision. “Typically here in the United States, when you say diversity, people go straight to race and ethnicity,” he says. “But it’s really about the broader issue of inclusion.” Harper says another way to build buy-in for diversity programs is to help managers see the benefits to the bottom line. | Video: Building Diversity (2:45)
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By Ángel Cabrera, Thunderbird President and Clinton Global Initiative 2010 Topic Leader

Some nations have oil, some have ore, and others have rich biodiversity and farmland. But the most valuable resource at the disposal of any nation is its human talent. Unlike other natural resources, the benefits of human talent are self-sustaining, self-multiplying and contagious. The more we use it, the more we get. But like other resources, human talent must be refined and harnessed to reach its full potential. The refining process occurs through education, and the harnessing of human talent occurs when well-educated people take their knowledge and put it to work. Leaders from the public and private sectors will pay special attention to these issues during the 2010 Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting, which opens Sept. 21 in New York. | Video: Moving Beyond Microfinance (2:03) | Podcast: Harnessing Human Potential (10:02)
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Business school students looking for overseas employment start at a disadvantage when they carry a U.S. passport, commencement speaker Merle Hinrichs told graduates April 30 at Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Arizona. “It is my belief that some nations impede the competitiveness of their own citizens by the policies they adopt,” said Hinrichs, a 1965 Thunderbird graduate and Thunderbird Board of Trustees member since 1991. “This is unfortunate and maybe not intentional.” Hinrichs is chairman and CEO of Global Sources, Asia’s leading business-to-business media company focused on global trade. | Video: Full speech (13:50) | Video: Merle Hinrich’s Global Career (2:18) | Video: Merle Hinrichs on Emerging Economies (1:37) | Video: Merle Hinrichs answers the Thunderbird Question (2:18)
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By Mary Adams ‘82, Thunderbird graduate, and Michael Oleksak

What if one day your phone rings, and it’s a colleague who wants to talk with you about a company. This company has been around for decades and has grown steadily in recent years. It has good people. Although it has had a rough time in the last recession, it is holding its own and believes that it will be able to benefit from a strengthening economy. Its market holds promise of innovation and growth …Would you take the call? Does this sound interesting enough that you would recommend a deeper look to you as a potential partner, investor, board member or employee?
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What keeps the CEO awake at night? For high-potential managers in the Thunderbird International Consortia, the conversation starts with a single word: China. The managers shared their biggest challenges and concerns April 19 in the opening session of the Consortia, a 10-day executive education program that brings together a diverse mix of companies and professionals in the same classroom. The latest Consortia program includes teams from eight multinational organizations: Delphi, Fluor Corporation, Henkel, Parker Hannifin, SK Group, Standard Bank, State Farm and Vitro. | Video: What Keeps the CEO Awake at Night? (2:49)
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