The combination of business and leadership is stronger than any force of nature. On Friday March 16 at 9:00am, Quinnipiac University current and former students, faculty, and other guests braved a serious downpour of snow to attend a forum hosted by the School of Business and starring five speakers– management author Tom Peters, Terex Corporation president and CEO Ronald M. DeFeo, President of the Effectiveness Institute Tom Champoux as well as alumni William C. Weldon and Bill Ayers who are the CEOs of Johnson & Johnson and The Ayers Group respectively. Its a great event, said John Morgan, Quinnipiac’s Vice President of Public Relations.
Its a great opportunity for the Quinnipiac School of Business to bring some internationally-known business leaders to campus to share wisdom with business leaders and the campus. And those who registered for the event really were expecting a tremendous chance of acquiring wisdom from the headlining presenters. I hope to gain some valuable lessons and experience from the corporate leaders who are attending here and make myself a better leader in the business world, said Jonathan Bellows; a member of the Quinnipiac class of 2006 and now an employee at Hewitt Associates.
Liana Hartford, a Quinnipiac graduate from the class of 2005, concurred. I’d like to gain some perspectives about leadership and maybe learn something about myself said Hartford; who is now working at Hartford Investment Management. And the lessons would be valuable. The day started with an energetic presentation given by Tom Peters, author of such organization books as The Pursuit of Wow! (1994) and the more recent Talent: Develop It, Sell It, Be It (2005), who advised those in attendance that the best way to earn success is to do things. The secret to success in life is trying a lot and hoping some of it works said Peters. The management guru also stated that the people you associate yourself with can have an impact on your personality; If you hang out with interesting people. You become more interesting.
If you hang out with boring people, you will become more boring. Following Peters homily, QU Alum William C Weldon talked about the societal impact of Johnson & Johnson and also emphasized how enjoying your job is just as important as your performance. You got to be enthusiastic about what you do, he recommended. Morality is very highest at Johnson & Johnson. Proceeding Weldons presentation, it was now time a grand panel discussion amongst the speakers. Peters and Weldon were joined by Champoux and DeFeo for a discussion about leadership and credibility within the workplace. While moderated by Joe Connolly of the Wall Street Journal, the experts discussed how success can be brought about in the business world through guidance and hard-working.
Among the highlights of the debate were DeFeo explaining that any promotion in trade is brought about when those involved are developing the right and soft numbers, as well as William Ayers advice that success in the work place is brought about by three things: communication, communication, and communication. After lunch, Effectiveness Institute President Tom Champoux enthusiastically spoke about how a successful team is formed within the workplace. The Effectiveness expert also had the audience figure out how easily they would get along with others in the workplace by weighing both their negative and positive attributes.
One of the most pivotal points of Champouxs presentation came when he emphasized the significance of trust in regards to establishing leadership. Trust is a key-note issue, accentuated Champoux. Either you trust me or you don’t. In addition to the speakers counsel and passion, it was exciting to see how everyone was impacted by the noteworthy conference. Personally, I thought it was terrific, said Quinnipiacs School of Business Dean Mark Thompson. Of course Im a little biased, but everything I’ve heard from people today was that it was excellent. Bellows agreed and recalled the previous time he attended one of Champouxs presentations at the university. He was pretty much on the dot of what he was talking about from my experiences, recounted Bellows. I was fortunate to apply some of his lessons in the workplace. It was also exciting to see how those who had already gained much practice in the business world be inspired by the knowledge of the speakers.
The speakers were very insightful and their comments are extremely relative to what people are faced with today, said John G. Catero; who has served as a consultant for worldwide pharmaceutical companies for the past six years. John Morgan, however, was quite impressed by the turnout of both the forum as well as everyone who attended It was a tremendous success, beamed Morgan. To think that several hundred people stayed during a blizzard speak volumes about what great presenters they were. And that was what made the forum so remarkable. Despite the stormy weather, many people stayed for an informative and inspirational eight hours. Along with Ayers, DeFeos, Weldons, Peters, and Champouxs knowledge and zest, it truly was a warm day at Quinnipiac University.
