Dean's Blog

Summer Reflection and Reinvigoration

The demands placed on providers of business education are rapidly changing. The manager of the 21st Century must be more flexible, be able to make decisions faster and more efficiently, and have greater foresight into evolving threats and opportunities than ever before. Added to this, shifts across the economy are creating needs for new types of knowledge deployed in new locations, and all of our work is becoming increasingly virtual, mobile, cross-cultural, and cross-continental. 

The challenges and opportunities of defining the next generation of business education to meet these needs excite me. This month, as I took some time to connect with relatives and friends on our family’s annual summer trip to California, I also had time to continue reflecting on the significant chapter ahead of us at Ross taking a leading role in shaping the future of business education.  

I find stepping away once in a while hugely important for any leader. A different perspective refreshes, re-inspires, and yields new ideas. It also serves as a key opportunity to assess and improve your leadership approach. Throughout my career I’ve found certain tenets of leadership to be particularly important, and I continually strive to improve in the ways I carry them out. While simple in concept, they can be hard to implement, yet powerful in their results. 

• Stay focused on the big picture. Every day, we as leaders face myriad situations and issues requiring decisions and actions. It’s easy to get pulled into tasks which do not advance your most strategic goals, or to find yourself moving so quickly through the volume of work that you lose sight of the bigger picture. Remaining focused on the most core objectives is a constant challenge, yet the ability to do so is key to being successful.

• Support people in ways that advance both the organization and the individual. Organizations are made up of people. It sounds obvious, but too often leaders can lose sight of the needs of the individuals who comprise their organizations. I strive to ask myself throughout my work whether I am fully taking advantage of the opportunities to help individuals thrive in their work. When you can unite the strategic goals of the organization with the opportunities to help individuals find meaning and purpose in what they do, the results are significant.

• Listen more than talk. As a leader, it’s important to communicate clearly about what you’re trying to achieve. But you must also be particularly attuned to the importance of listening. Good leaders continually ask questions, observe the world around them, seek out the perspectives of others, and are open to information they may not want to hear. I continually ask myself if I’m doing this, so that I can be better able to formulate new perspectives, eliminate blind spots, and ultimately make the biggest gains. 

Over the coming school year, I look forward to sharing with you many of the innovative developments underway at Ross. The opportunities ahead of us to take the lead in shaping the future of business education are significant. And during these summer months, I encourage all of us in the Ross community and the business world at large to take a moment to reflect on the goals we each have for our work and the qualities of leadership that will help us most effectively achieve them.

Leading the Advancement of Business Knowledge

The creation of new knowledge is what drives our business economy forward. In May, it was my privilege to host Ross’ annual faculty awards dinner. The caliber of the faculty, research, and, ultimately, new knowledge that’s created at Ross is one of the reasons I chose to come to the school.

The University of Texas at Dallas Jindal School of Management ranks Ross No. 3 in the world for quantity of research output, behind only Harvard and Wharton. And the Financial Times ranks Ross fifth globally in production of business research. The impressive knowledge development we lead extends across disciplines, from accounting and finance to management, marketing, and operations.

To highlight just a few of the faculty who have developed our research reputation, faculty member Rick Bagozzi, who won Ross’ 2012 Researcher of the Year award, has helped the advancement of knowledge not just in business, but also in medicine, the social sciences, and more, through his work on effective research methodologies. To date, Google Scholar reports he’s been cited more than 40,000 times, impressive by any objective measure. Aradhna Krishna, who developed the concept of sensory marketing, has changed the way organizations around the world approach product development. And Karl Weick, a giant in the field of management and organizations, has defined the way organizations sense and react (or don’t react) to a variety of stimuli, especially those that are novel or unexpected.  

As another example, more than ten years ago, it was Ross faculty who pioneered the application of scientific research to the concepts of positive leadership and organization. Today, highly popularized literature and mainstream media hail the business benefits of positive leadership approaches, and business leaders around the world are using tools from this field to bring about organizational gains. 

One reason for Ross’ significant achievements in knowledge advancement is the linkages we have across the University of Michigan campus. U-M has more than 95 programs ranked in the top ten nationally by U.S. News and World Report, and it receives the highest amount of research funding among public U.S. universities, as ranked by the National Science Foundation. The most innovative thinking often happens across boundaries, and the ways Ross faculty collaborate with fellow leading researchers in engineering, medicine, public policy, and more fuel our creativity.

As we look to the future at Ross, interdisciplinary collaborations will play a key role in how we continue to advance thinking and solutions for society’s most critical challenges. Our research in the area of healthcare management and operations stands to help this giant industry identify a financially sustainable way of providing service and improve patient safety and satisfaction. And faculty in Ross’ Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise are poised to change the way businesses and markets solve large environmental, energy, and social challenges.

These are just a few examples of the innovative and influential thinking that takes place at Ross. Our vibrant intellectual life drives everything we do as educators, and our students and the organizations with which we interact on a daily basis benefit in significant ways. As the knowledge we develop gets put into practice, the impact of Ross research is truly remarkable.

Our Collective Opportunity

“Success will depend on the world that we collectively help construct.” These were the words of Michelle Bernard, MSNBC journalist, political analyst, and author, who gave the commencement address this year at the Ross School’s graduation ceremonies. As I listened to her speak, I was struck by the profound message she was imparting to our graduates. 

We face extraordinary challenges today that span international politics, social wellbeing, and the economy. It is not just the social world and the public sector that shape and are shaped by these challenges. These challenges shape every aspect of how we conduct business. And business in turn shapes these challenges, whether through the creation of jobs, products and services, or wealth. Social issues and business are inextricably linked, and business is now a critical force (in some instances the critical force) for moving society forward.

The role of business schools in shaping leaders to address the most consequential issues of our time is something I am deeply passionate about. At the macro level, government and business leaders must effectively work together to identify the right policies that will improve our world. And at the micro level, we need to recognize the impact of our business actions on our communities – whether through hiring, investment, or environmental practices.  

At Ross we take seriously the responsibility to prepare leaders with the vision, insight, and courage to solve the important issues of our time. We challenge students to think deeply and seriously about both problems and potential solutions so that as leaders they can challenge convention and status quo. 

The impact of individual and collective action is learned no more clearly than through our MBA programs’ Multidisciplinary Action Projects course. As students collaborate to solve challenges in organizations throughout the world, whether with a nonprofit to advance a public initiative or a large corporation to devise a product launch strategy, the interdependence of the project, the team, and broader social contexts become highly real. 

A wide range of offerings at Ross also highlight the interplay between business and society: Programs at the Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise and the Nonprofit and Public Management Center, dual degree and cross-enrollment opportunities with the Ford School and the School of Public Health, the Washington Campus for MBA students, the Carson Scholars Program for BBA students, the capstone course for MAcc students, and the Zell Lurie Institute’s Social Venture Fund. As we look to the future at Ross, courses and programs at the intersection of business and society, including in health care, green operations, and development of educational organizations, will increase at all levels of instruction.

The spirit of collective action, responsibility, and opportunity is palpable at Ross. It is my goal to instill in students while they’re here that the opportunities in front of us to make a difference, not only for business but also for the broader world we all inhabit, are significant. And it is a source of pride for me to know that when they go out in the world they carry this knowledge with them wherever they go.

Commencing to Leave a Legacy

Spring Commencement is one of the most memorable events a dean can experience. On April 27, the Class of 2012 will join our expansive and diverse family of alumni, currently living and working in more than 80 countries worldwide. I feel tremendous optimism about the future as I watch these vibrant, intelligent, and creative people prepare for the next phase of life's journey.

In March, Forbes magazine’s Margaret Brennan wrote a profile on the person who is perhaps our most "famous" alumnus, Stephen M. Ross, BBA '62. Steve's $100 million gift in 2004 transformed our learning community in both form and function. Our physical space is not only beautiful, it also inspires collaboration, teamwork, and collegiality.

As president of New York-based real estate development firm The Related Companies, Steve continues to set an example for our students and alumni with his vision and passion. His latest development, New York City's Hudson Yards Project, is estimated to take 10 years and $12 billion to complete. Forbes reports that if Steve can "pull this off," it will be the most significant private development project in Manhattan since John D. Rockefeller created Rockefeller Center in the 1930s.

The fact that Steve continues to innovate his business and career at such high stakes in such a challenging market is a true testament to his knowledge and skill. The fact that he does it with such joy is inspiring. As he tells the writer in the article’s conclusion, "Look, it’s a lot of fun. Because it’s not all about the money, really. It’s about transforming something and what you leave behind. This is a legacy."

As dean of the school that bears Steve's name, I take his words to heart. And as I prepare to congratulate the Class of 2012 on one of the most profound achievements of their lives, I hope they will do the same.

Business, Politics, and the Economy

As we enter the final stretch leading into the 2012 presidential election, the debate rages on over who has the best strategy to fix the U.S. economy. Depending on who’s speaking, a candidate’s business expertise can be presented as an obvious strength or key weakness.

I find the intersection of business, public policy, and the economy to be a fascinating topic of conversation — not to mention research, policy, and practice.

At Michigan Ross we’ve aligned our 2012 speaker series around this very topic. My goal is to provoke creativity and curiosity in our community as we discover new ways to maximize the role of business as a contributor to social well-being.

In January Adrian Fenty, the youngest mayor to hold office in Washington, D.C., presented our Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Lecture. Fenty risked his political career to take on issues plaguing the district's residents. In just one term he led controversial reforms in the education system and completed a school modernization project. He also achieved record increases in public safety and drove housing and healthcare initiatives. Speaking to a large group in our Blau Auditorium, Fenty described the risks he took, the successes he achieved, and the political price he paid.

We also hosted Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Chrysler Group LLC. He detailed for students the ways in which the automaker’s leadership team worked with the U.S. and Canadian governments to emerge from an orderly Chapter 11. Chrysler Group had an operating profit of $2 billion for 2011, and has made huge gains in sales, market share, and public perception in just two years. The company also answered critics of government bailouts by paying back loans to the U.S. and Canadian governments six years ahead of schedule.

In April MSNBC journalist, political analyst, and author Michelle Bernard will address our graduating Class of 2012. She is the founder of the Bernard Center for Women, Politics, and Public Policy; the former president and CEO of the Independent Women's Forum; and founder of IWF’s Iraqi Women's Democracy Initiative. Bernard's career path and stance on the important issues of our time fit perfectly with the theme of our speaker series.

As educators of tomorrow’s global business leaders, it’s important that we complement the academic experience with a wide variety of extracurricular options. By interacting with inspiring leaders and courageous citizens like these, I’m confident our students will discover new and groundbreaking ways to create value at that critical intersection of business, public policy, and the economy.

Ahead of the Action-Based Curve

A number of our peer schools are generating lots of buzz these days around their versions of immersive, experiential field studies. To the uninformed, it would seem this is a novel concept in MBA programs. But two decades ago, the Michigan Ross faculty actually set the curve in action-based learning. And we remain well ahead of that curve to this day.

In 1992, our faculty launched the groundbreaking course we call MAP. It’s is a neat little acronym for our Multidisciplinary Action Projects course, which epitomizes the Michigan Ross ethos to “lead in thought and action.” MAP requires our MBA students to leave the classroom altogether and work exclusively as consultants for a diverse array of organizations worldwide. They spend 25 percent of their first year in the field collaborating in teams to resolve high-stakes, real-world challenges.

Our students help firms enter emerging markets, improve operations, and launch new products. Their work takes them all over the world from Johannesburg to Mumbai. In the past two decades, Michigan Ross students and faculty have delivered 1,500 innovative, practical solutions for more than 750 organizations worldwide. This January, 97 teams of MBA students embarked on 44 international projects and 53 domestic ones. We count 44 new organizations as sponsors this year, from healthcare providers to manufacturers, and Facebook is one of our newest partners.

One of the most significant differentiators of MAP is the fact that the business issues our students face are purposely undefined and ambiguous. Unlike the typical field study, the MAP experience begins with students entering an organization, scoping the business landscape, and framing the actual issue. It is only then that they set about resolving it and implementing a strategic course of action. They will be frustrated, challenged, confused, and exhilarated. They will learn to work in teams to ask the right questions. They will gain the perspective to solve the right problems. And they will exercise leadership, knowledge, and judgment to arrive at the kinds of elegant solutions their sponsors may never have imagined.

At Michigan Ross, we assert that no other method of learning can better prepare today’s business student for tomorrow’s business challenge. And here’s what our faculty have learned during 20 years as leaders in action-based learning: It’s not just about action. It’s not just about solutions. It’s about transformation.

Today we are more focused than ever on the learning outcomes of these experiences. We know that simply having them doesn’t guarantee one will learn from them. It takes effort and commitment to understand these experiences -- through conscious reflection -- so one can leverage them later on. Taking time to be reflective about what is learned during a project is a challenge and a commitment we make with and for our students that is unmatched among other business schools.

At the end, Michigan Ross students will be rewarded with the knowledge they achieved something real, tangible, and concrete during their time in our program. Through our model of action-based learning they will learn as much about themselves as they will about the business issues they choose to resolve. They will leave business school with far richer, deeper, and broader experience than when they arrived. And they will remain far ahead of the curve, creating real value in real organizations throughout the world and throughout their careers.

Reflections and Resolutions

The beginning of a new year is a natural time to reflect on the recent past and prepare for the action yet to come. I have just completed my first six months as dean at Michigan Ross. Currently I am working with my leadership team, as well as Ross faculty, staff, students, alumni, advisory boards, and other key constituents to frame a strategic plan that will shape our school’s future. Timed for release late this summer, the plan will be informed by my early priorities: globalization, executive education, entrepreneurship, and innovation around action-based learning. Of course, that’s just the beginning. I eagerly anticipate the variety of new issues and opportunities that emerge each day.

Global Expansion
Shortly after my arrival in July 2011, I appointed an associate dean for global initiatives. The goal is to coordinate our multifaceted relationships and identify new opportunities to deliver globalization across all business programs. We’ve conducted a complete inventory of our global activities and discovered that, while we are doing more than it might first appear, we can integrate our efforts more effectively and go deeper than before. In 2012, we’ll focus on academic and research activities, as well as alumni and corporate outreach. This includes custom executive education, in-country student projects, and new knowledge creation.

Much of our early attention will be on India, where Ross has a vibrant alumni network and a long history of corporate partnerships. In fact, our students are set to embark on approximately five in-country projects with Indian firms this spring under the auspices of the school’s new C.K. Prahalad Initiative. The Prahalad Initiative is named for the late Ross professor and management guru who was deeply passionate about the role of business in alleviating poverty.

Executive Education
In late 2011, I announced we would debut our top-ranked Executive MBA Program in Los Angeles this fall. For the first time, we will bring the Michigan Ross faculty and top-ranked curriculum to extremely busy executives who would otherwise not travel outside the region for a long-term degree program. As for non-degree executive education, we continue to grow our portfolio of open-enrollment offerings. We also are working toward partnerships that will facilitate degree and non-degree graduate business education in Southeast Asia.

Entrepreneurship
In fall 2012, we’ll debut the Master of Entrepreneurship Program, a unique collaboration between Michigan Ross and the College of Engineering (COE). Our two faculties, along with partners in the Zell Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies at Ross and the COE’s Center for Entrepreneurship, have created a truly special curriculum that can’t be found in a conventional business or engineering program.

Innovation Around Action-Based Learning
In 1992, Michigan Ross introduced the innovative Multidisciplinary Action Projects (MAP) course, an intensive field-study experience in which teams of students spend an entire semester collaborating to resolve high-stakes business challenges inside actual organizations. Since then, Ross students have executed more than 1,500 projects for 750 organizations worldwide. Experiential learning is a true differentiator in our graduate programs, especially in the global context. Our faculty committee is examining ways to further develop exceptional individual and team capabilities in our students to deliver value on business issues. Effective project management and intercultural communication will get increasing attention as more international projects come on line.

It’s an understatement to say my first six months as dean have been incredibly busy and challenging. I’ve created a new leadership team, established some key priorities, and accomplished several goals, both large and small. And whether I am introducing a keynote speaker at a student-run event or managing the complex set of activities required to launch our EMBA Program in Los Angeles, I am motivated by the same thing: to ensure academic and organizational excellence at Michigan Ross.

GLOBE TROTTING

Any Michigan graduate will tell you the words “Go Blue!” transcend all language barriers. Michigan Ross alumni live and work in 88 countries and the University of Michigan boasts one of the largest living alumni networks in the world. Some 500,000 Michigan graduates are dispersed across the globe.

One of my key goals as dean at Ross is to keep expanding that global footprint with quality and integrity. We already have a rich array of programs and opportunities for faculty, students, and executives to engage in coursework, field studies, and other initiatives with multinationals, startups, and nonprofits worldwide. This year 46 percent of our MBA students engaged in multidisciplinary, action-based projects outside the U.S., with nearly 80 percent of students completing some type of project in a nation other than their home country. Ross MBA classes average more than 5,000 days of coursework outside the U.S. each year.

But to be truly global, a business school must be able to deploy its top-tier resources and academic programming in multiple locations. Thus, I recently announced that in fall 2012 we will deliver an annual cohort of the Michigan Ross Executive MBA Program (EMBA) in Los Angeles. Our EMBA faculty and staff have honed a superior model of distance learning in the program’s once-a-month format. And we’re confident this flexible model will appeal to executives who would otherwise not travel outside the region for education. This foray into a new market will pave the way for future delivery of our degree programs outside of Ann Arbor, domestically and internationally.

In addition, several Michigan Ross colleagues and I traveled to Malaysia in November where we discussed a potential collaboration with Kuala Lumpur Educational City and Bank Negara, Malaysia’s central bank. Through this collaboration, Michigan Ross faculty would build long-term educational capacity and help facilitate degree and non-degree graduate business education in Southeast Asia.

And just prior to visiting Malaysia, I stopped in London to meet with editors from The Financial Times and The Economist. While speaking to the media can be a challenging aspect of this job, it also can be very rewarding. And frankly it’s critical now that more top-tier players are emerging in Europe and Southeast Asia. The foreign press plays a key role in advancing our global footprint, and I am pleased to report that we are making great strides in reminding the global audience that Michigan Ross is indeed a global player.

Maize and Blue from Coast to Coast

Autumn on the University of Michigan campus delivers a vivid palette of breathtaking color. But only two colors really matter to Michigan Ross students and alumni: maize and blue.

In October I traveled from coast to coast, visiting alumni in California and New York. Then I welcomed graduates back to campus for our annual Reunion Weekend. What an impressive array of human capital, our institution's greatest asset.

As for that human capital, prospects look increasingly good going forward. I'm pleased to report that Ross was one of only two schools nationwide to experience a recent increase in applications to our Full-time MBA Program. Numbers were up 7.6 percent for the class of 2013, an admissions statistic I am confident was enhanced by the efforts of our alumni who live and work in more than 88 countries.

My visit to the Bay Area for the school's West Coast Forum illustrated the gamut our graduates span in the venture capital and entrepreneurial communities. Investment banker Sandy Robertson, BBA '53/MBA '54, landed in Silicon Valley in 1965 and went on to co-found the boutique bank Robertson Stephens, one of the "four horsemen" of technology investing. The bank ultimately closed in 2002, but Sandy always will be known for helping to fund an entire sector of the American economy (think Dell, AOL, Pixar, etc.). At the other end of the spectrum, entrepreneur Benzi Ronen, MBA '98, recently took skills he gleaned from tech giants Netscape and Microsoft Corp. and founded Farmigo Inc. This burgeoning startup harnesses social media and the popular locavore movement to bring together consumers and farmers in a purely entrepreneurial model of food production and distribution.

Just days later I was at the historic Waldorf-Astoria, marveling at the energetic alumni representing Ross in the hub of global finance. Our New York club president Cecil Shepherd, MBA '00, is a VP at JP Morgan Chase & Co., yet somehow he finds time to be one of the school's most enthusiastic ambassadors, networking with students, supporting applicants, and reminding fellow graduates that an engaged alumni base benefits us all.

So often as dean, one is consumed with the day-to-day affairs on campus. We are meeting with students, faculty, and staff, striving to create the most productive experience for the entire community. But our thoughts are never far from our alumni. As dean at Ross, I'm fortunate to have access to a worldwide network of innovators who not only are transforming business, but are working hard to ensure that maize and blue outshine every color in the spectrum.

 

Partnerships, Progress, and Prosperity

The most creative, innovative, and successful business leaders today are comfortable working among people of varied disciplines: scientists, engineers, designers, marketers, lawyers, investors, and people who are experts in developing human capital.

At Ross, we are fortunate to be housed within the University of Michigan, home to a robust portfolio of top-10 graduate programs. We encourage our students to collaborate with peers in world-renowned programs in engineering, medicine, natural resources, law, public health, public policy, and more. Options for collaboration are as basic as taking an elective course or as comprehensive as pursuing a dual degree (we offer 20 across campus).

These partnerships are particularly exciting for our student entrepreneurs. In September Ross hosted the annual Entrepalooza symposium, presented by our Samuel Zell and Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies. Ross alum and serial entrepreneur Brad Keywell spoke to our students about his success with Groupon Inc., the popular website that utilizes social networking to enable group purchasing. Brad co-founded the venture, which in just three years has grown to 7,000 employees. But he is more than an expert in business; this entrepreneur also holds a degree from U-M Law School. When I met with Brad after his presentation, we discussed how the discipline of thought gained in law school helped him become a better entrepreneur.

Brad’s perspective echoes that of Sam Zell, who co-founded the Zell Lurie Institute at Ross and recently established the new Zell Entrepreneurship and Law (ZEAL) Program at the Law School. ZEAL will deploy student-attorneys, supervised by law faculty, to help entrepreneurs from Ross and elsewhere navigate the legal landscape that comes with new venture creation.

Another key partner set to open new avenues for Ross is the U-M College of Engineering (COE). In fall 2012, we’ll debut the Master of Entrepreneurship Program, a one-year joint offering that will deliver science- and engineering-focused courses in parallel with business-focused content. It’s an exciting opportunity to give budding entrepreneurs even more tools and confidence to become business-savvy innovators.

This arrangement with engineering builds upon a valuable relationship we’ve long enjoyed with our peers in COE through the Tauber Institute for Global Operations. Endowed by Ross alumnus Joel Tauber, this institute links our operations-oriented MBAs with engineering students in a number of action-based ventures, clubs, and programs that directly impact global industry.

This summer 33 teams of business and engineering students collaborated with faculty to resolve operations challenges inside the Boeing Co., Cardinal Health, Cisco Systems Inc., and more. The total three-year savings for this year's consulting projects are projected to reach $601 million (or an average of $18 million per project), a true manifestation of the alchemy that occurs when multiple disciplines come together in pursuit of the same goal.

These partnerships and events reinforce my conviction that a multidisciplinary perspective is an inherent element of business innovation. I'm pleased to say that at Ross, it's an inherent element of business education, as well.