My Remarks at the Commencement Ceremony for the McCombs School BBA Graduating Class of Fall 2019
Earlier this month, I had the honor of delivering the commencement speech to the last class of graduates from the McCombs School of Business BBA graduates. It was my first college commencement speech, so I had a lot of fun with it. Below are my remarks as prepared. You can also click here for a 90 second highlight reel or here for the full 12 minutes.
People Will Be What They Can See
Thank you…
The Dean
The Staff and Faculty
The Graduates
The Parents
I have had the great privilege of participating in a number of graduations over the years. From my own, to my students and even for my own kids’ graduation. While I heard a lot of speeches, there are few I remember. Except for the short ones. They were my favorite.
So I will honor that tradition today. In a lesson learned from an old Army boss, may it serve you well too. When speaking in public, “Be brief, be bright and be gone.”
Before I go, however, I want to share another lesson learned. But in the interest of keeping this short, I’ll break it down into a series of LifeHacks that might apply in your life.
People will be what they can see. People will be what they can see. That simple phrase packs in so much that I want to break down with you to demonstrate how it will impact your life going forward.
The challenges of the 21st century will require a new skill set of lifelong learning. And only learning organizations will survive over time.
Learning organizations are constantly examining their practices to determine what works and what does not work. It’s because we live in a time of amazing change.
The underlying assumptions of how businesses making long term strategy are being disrupted by globalization, the movement of people into cities, AI, machine learning…. The list goes on and on.
But there is one common denominator — people.
And you need good people for your teams.
Your future employers (or you yourself if you start your own company) are figuring out that retention is so much more efficient than recruiting.
I learned the expression years ago, “Soldiers are not in the Army. Soldiers are the Army.” And culture and the way you treat people in your organization matters too.
We have all read stories of short-term success where a leader pushed his/her people too hard and caused more long-term harm than good for the organization.
People will be what they can see.
Role Modeling and Culture: In any profession, leading by example is a critical aspect of the role of a leader. Role models provide the inspiration to their followers, most especially in times of trouble. Think who in your family or outside your family it might be.
For me, outside of my family it was Mrs. Audrey Grevious, my 6th grade teacher. A civil rights icon in the 50s/60s, she taught me, “When you see a problem, go and fix it”
In addition, there can be a dark side of “People Will Be What They Can See.” Too often, young and impressionable leaders see their leaders acting in a negative or toxic way and might think that is acceptable inside of an organization. Fifty percent of my bosses over the years created what I consider to be a toxic environment. You have to be on guard to not create that same environment.
Be the change you want to see. You have to demonstrate the values and culture you want. The second you talk about being a better steward of your company, and then walk by trash laying next to a trash can at the base of the Tower, you have just exposed the hypocrisy in your message.
Your ability to work — and advance your interest — with diverse colleagues, customers, competitors, and employees will serve as a blueprint for all who are watching. You don’t have to look any further than Washington, DC to see the dysfunction tribal communities create. Instead of one happy marketplace, you’ve got two, mutually exclusive ones. That’s no way to run a business and certainly no way to run a country.
So how do you best understand how to demonstrate that leadership before you’ve seen enough of the good and the bad — —
Read, read and then read again. The biographies of the women and men that went ahead of you will give you the frame of reference to tackle these challenges.
And, today, you get the added advantage of Podcast. Try to always be in absorb mode as exercising, commuting, and doing your chores around your future apartment.
This idea of People Will Be What They Can See speaks to the long-term mentorship and career counseling that effective leaders provide for their people.
By allowing the teammate to visualize himself/herself in a certain role in the future, you increase the likelihood of it happening. And then you help them by laying out a road-map or career timeline, it allows a person to set conditions for future success. Perhaps the most important question a leader can ask a teammate is “So, what do you hope to do next?”
For instance, stay in touch w/ the professors and coaches you have had during your time here on the 40 acres. Reach out and say hello from time to time. Use your latest CRMs tools to remind you to reach out. I have mine set to 6 months so I don’t lose touch of my favorite folks. Keep in mind, Mentorship is a two way street. If you are only swinging by their email inbox out of the blue, you are are going to get a reputation of only being in it for yourself.
And pay it forward…. Now is your chance, pick your favorite 1 or 2 undergrads you met along the way and try to stay in touch. Look out for them.
And lastly, tell your story. Speak up. Make your voice heard. People in successful and healthy work environments are far more likely to use the stories and anecdotes in describing to future team members of what is possible. The often mentioned “war stories” play an extremely important role as people say, “Do you remember how we used to….?” We should never underestimate the power of a story or anecdote. Whether told at a happy hour or board room meeting, stories matter when trying to convey a vision.
And when you can, share your mistakes as well. In addition, to humanizing you, it allows others to see how you learn and grow over time. Finally, it provides inspiration to your team to try and repeat that same success.
So on a lighter note, to help you understand where the more senior members of your company came from and where they are going, let me help you give you one last nugget to help you relate to your future organization.
Think about how your boss and the older members of your team, became who they are today. They too are a product of what they saw around them. Movies, TV and music.
If you want to understand your Baby Boomer or Gen X boss, binge some 80’s movies. It’s a way to make sure you understand the popular culture reference that your boss or your boss’ boss might be throwing your way, instead of simply saying “ok boomer.” If you think the 80’s are old movies, go back and watch them from the 60s as well. I’m serious. I’m giving you permission to binge watch old 80’s movies on Netflix on your weekends. People will be what they can see, and that applied to more senior members of your team as well.
In closing, the success I have been fortunate to participate in over the last 25 years has always been because of teams pushing towards a common cause. And at the end of the day, all of the problems we dealt with, it came down to people.
I’ll close out with what I saw in life and how it helped me get where I am today. I already told you about Mrs. Grevious, and “When you see a problem, go and fix it”
In addition, I picked up several gems from people that inspired me that I try to pass along to all who might be listening.
R.E.S.T.
Read, Exercise, Sleep and Think
1- Be Happy.
2- Do the right thing.
3- Have a good thing to say.
All too often people forget it’s really that simple. People Will Be What They Can See. If you can remain humble and remember the impact others have had on you, while at the same time remember that not only the Eyes of Texas are upon you, but each and every member of your team, you will only get better everyday and leave your organization better than when you found it.
