Crescent Scientia Vita Exolatur: My Week @ UChicago Booth

I?had an incredible week at the University of Chicago Booth School YPO Executive Education Seminar!??????This phenomenal experience connected me with fellow CEOs, allowed me to learn from world-class faculty at the #1 ranked business school, and provided insights on leadership and excellence in business, economics and behavioral science.

We kicked off with Dean Madhav Rajan, George Pratt Shultz Professor of Accounting, welcoming us. I love Chicago’s true commitment to free speech and open debate and pure meritocracy.?? 美国芝加哥大学 ’s motto: “Crescent Scientia Vita Exolatur” translates to Crescendoing Knowledge Human Flourishing. It’s refreshing in this day and age of so many of our institutions running from these principles that are essential for success, excellence and competing on a global stage. Thank you Dean Rajan?????. Here's a glimpse of the incredible week:

• Behavioral Economics, Cognitive Biases, Choice Architecture, AI, and Emotional Resilience with Elena Zinchenko . I was inspired by Elena's personal journey from Siberia to the US on a Rotary International Club scholarship, leading her to become a renowned brain researcher and now a professor at Booth. Her discussion on EMOTIONAL RESILIENCE: THE SCIENCE OF MANAGING STRESS, BURNOUT AND MOTIVATION delved into the primal brain reward system and addressing chronic stress emphasized the importance of health, wellness, and thoughtful incentives for ourselves and our organizations. We explored the thought-provoking ideas in the book "Nudge," which advocates for subtle, freedom-preserving nudges to guide people towards better choices in various aspects of life, such as personal finance, health, and environmental conservation.

• Family Enterprise Management with Stuart Lucas and Artificial Intelligence & Scalable Decision Making with Sanjog Misra . Our immersion into AI was both fascinating and eye-opening. The power and potential of AI to revolutionize industries, drive innovation, and create new opportunities are immense. It's inspiring and daunting to contemplate the profound impact AI will have on society and business.?
• We had an enlightening fireside with Randall Kroszner, Norman R. Bobins Professor of Economics and Anne-Marie Faiola , YPO Pacific One. Anne-Marie pressed Randy for his predictions on the economy and the banking system after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and others.??As an current advisor to the UK government Randy is actively in the arena, not just studying the topic.

• Marketing Analytics to Drive Growth with Jean-Pierre Dube did a deep dive into pricing and utilizing AI and current tools to find optimal pricing strategies. His discussion of the ZipRecruiter case and how they came to optimal pricing was quite instructive. The segment on??Building Competitive Advantage through Open Innovation with Lindsey Lyman challenged our assumptions on sharing openly with vendors, customers, competitors and all the related ecosystems in our various businesses.??

• Private Equity and Venture Capital with Steven Kaplan , Fireside Chat on the New Venture Challenge & Entrepreneurship at Booth, and Winning Now: The Power of Strategic Thinking in VUCA Times with Greg Bunch . Kaplan is the foremost expert on the topic but was totally engaging in our discussions as a class.??As someone actively in market with M&A transactions through my firm STS Capital Partners , if was a really useful discussion pertaining to entrepreneur exits and PE motivations and strategies. It confirmed for me the strategic value and key role we play in the process.

• We had the pleasure of hearing from John List , Kenneth C. Griffen Distinguished Service Professor of Economics, discussing his new book, The Voltage Effect —a data-driven but relatable guide to identifying scalable ideas and scaling them effectively. I'm excited to collaborate with John on scaling DignityMoves in our fight against homelessness.

AI has the potential to transform everything from marketing analytics to decision-making processes. It's crucial for everyone, regardless of industry or profession, to engage in understanding how to effectively utilize AI.

Each day was filled with engaging discussions, study groups, networking events, and dinners featuring inspiring speakers from the Booth faculty and the YPO community. While exhausted, this experience has been truly transformative for my leadership skills and strategic thinking. I’m grateful for my fellow YPO members who served as champions Anne-Marie and Eric?

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