An Open Letter to Business Grads

(ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN MY BLOG IN 2010, I AM RE-PUBLISHING AS TODAY'S GRADUATES HAVE MANY OF THE SAME QUESTIONS. I HAVE INCLUDED THE COMMENTS SECTION, AS IT IS A RICH TROVE OF ADDITIONAL ADVICE THAT BUILDS ON THE THEME)

Kids today have it tough. Sure, they’ve all got laptops, iPhones and have grown up never having used a payphone or wearing a watch, but as Thomas Friedman has pointed out, their world is now flat. Competition for jobs is now global. “Take on the world” now has a literal meaning and an urgency unknown to previous generations.

Being involved with Acadia University ’s Manning School of Business ( Acadia Launchbox ) as its Entrepreneur-in-Residence, I have found reason to be optimistic. One of the most gratifying aspects of my involvement has been the opportunity to engage with both students and faculty, and see firsthand how they are adapting to, and taking on this new world.

I’ve been asked by several new grads, for real world, practical advice. So, as a guy with some miles under the tires and some scars, I offer up these thoughts on what it takes to be successful out of the gate.

In no particular order:

Be a sponge – Absorb everything that you can – at work, in industry, follow thought leaders, etc.;

Resist the temptation to prove how much you know – People will notice you by your effort and competence, you don’t have to point out how great you are;

Work hard and Play hard – but “play hard” is different from university where it meant hitting the pub every night. Whether it’s playing Ultimate, softball or mountain biking, get to know your team members outside of the office;

Volunteer for assignments - “Old timers” generally hate working trade shows, but I would try to go to as many as possible. Help with booth set-up/teardown, work the booth, take in the keynotes...It’s a great way to be as current as possible, to build a professional network and to begin to formulate your own opinions about your space;

Be opinionated and passionate - but don’t always feel like you have to “win”...Sometimes it’s about trying to make lemonade from lemons.

Make your boss look good;

Watch the nickels and dimes – You’re spending someone else’s money (investors, shareholders), treat it as your own. Offer to double up at trade shows, as rooms are often the biggest expense;

Be aligned with a profit center not a cost center – Tie yourself to revenue, where you can be measured...When times are tough, cutbacks come first from cost centers, and no matter how “valuable” you think your contributions are, if they can’t be measured and tracked against revenue, you’ll be hard pressed to justify your existence at some point;

Participate in outside meetings – partners, customers, press/analysts...Observe, take notes...But mind the hierarchy;

Remember, that your career is lifelong - I was going to say it’s a marathon, not a sprint, but actually it’s more like a series of wind sprints...You run fast, pause to catch your breath, and then run fast again and again;

Create your own “story” and practice telling it - How did you become passionate about your field, end up at...?

Meet the VCs – tell them your “story”...

And most importantly, remember, “Success has many parents…” Success truly requires a team that rows in the same direction. Be willing to acknowledge and share the credit for your successes, because whether you believe it or not, you would not have succeeded but for the contributions of others;

Lastly, many forget that the second half of the expression is “...but Failure is an orphan”. Sometimes, you need to own mistakes and/or failures. Resist pointing the finger.

Now go take on the world, because you have to!

That’s my .02!

What’s yours?

COMMENT:

AUTHOR: Jody Pendleton

Great Post Martin. I agree completely.?Also, I'd add to be flexible. Don't get hung up on what your "official" job entails. If you can stay late and help out the test team or help marketing pack for a show, do it. These things not only expand your knowledge and networks but they provide personal" currency" that can pay dividends later.

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COMMENT:

AUTHOR: Martin Suter

Thanks for the comment Jody. Related to that is the willingness to do even the most menial tasks. I tried to touch on this with the "set-up and tear-down booth" comment, but as you suggest, it's much broader than that. I've taped boxes closed on loading docks in order to get as much product out the door at the end of a quarter so we could hit a number, sales guys would get their accelerators, etc. Your point about "personal currency" is a great one too. Pay it forward whenever you can, and it will come back around at some point!

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COMMENT:

AUTHOR: Allen Kupetz

Martin,

I’ve always respected that you have knowledge and wisdom. It is rare to have one and unique to have both.

I like the “create your own story,” which I often explain as “create a personal brand.” I like to ask students, tell me what you think when someone says Coca-Cola. Now, tell me what someone would think if they thought of you as a brand.

My three rules:

1. Don’t do business with strangers. Build and maintain life-long lasting relationships that are mutually beneficial.

2. Do what you do. Don’t try to be all things to all people.

3. You never get rich on your salary.

And three other thoughts:

“If you chase two monkeys, both will escape.” - Chinese Proverb

"The indispensable first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: decide what you want." - Ben Stein

“Some succeed because they are destined to, but most succeed because they are determined to.” - Unknown

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COMMENT:

AUTHOR: Martin Suter

Allen - Thanks for the generous comments, and valuable additions to the Words of Wisdom for today's grads. Any chance they heed the advice? Would we have done so??

Unlike some other cultures, the wisdom of the tribal elders is too often unheard (or unheeded). There is a propensity to go out and earn one's own scars, rather than standing on the shoulders of those who have gone before.

It'll be interesting to hear from some young'uns whether this resonates with them or not!

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COMMENT:

AUTHOR: Frank W

Martin,

Great post, especially the "sponge".

I would also recommend removing all sense of entitlement; MBA students expect too much - 6 figures, corner office, big house and nice cars.

Allen's student.

-Frank

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COMMENT:

AUTHOR: Marion Malhouitre

I think this is a great post and very insightful as I am a student about to enter the workforce in May of 2011. Many of the tips here I have already heard and agree with all them. I really like Allen Kupetz's additional points and would like to add to his comments.

Don’t do business with strangers, yes, but also don’t do business with family or friends. There are some success stories of family businesses but resolving conflict with families and/or friends is much more difficult. You might risk losing an important bond if the business does not work out.

You never get rich with your salary. By knowing this, it allows people to do jobs that they truly love even if they do not pay well. If people have another source of income, they know they will be able to support themselves; therefore, they can dedicate all their efforts and passion to the job that they love. As I am starting my job search, I am looking for a job that I will truly be passionate about even if the pay is not good. If you are successful at what you do, the money will come in later on. Passion in what you do differentiates between successful and unsuccessful people.

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COMMENT:

AUTHOR: Martin Suter

Frank - Thanks for reading and for your comment about "entitlement". I agree with your observation. One of the best bosses that I ever had was Jan Kaminski . He managed to assemble an "A" team, comprised of alpha dogs, but Jan had zero tolerance for egos. "Check it at the door" was his mantra, and he managed to get all of the alpha dogs working together. The lack of politics and entitlement had a powerful effect on productivity, and resulted in a $100m liquidity event for our investors and employees.

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COMMENT:

AUTHOR: Martin Suter

Marion;

Vous etes francaise?

Thank you for your comments. I agree that finding your "passion" is key, and that success and monetary rewards are more likely to follow those who do what they love.

Your raising the yellow flag on doing business with friends and family is also valid. Having to fire a family member and explain that it's "just business" would put a strain on most Xmas dinners!

Je vous remercie,

Martin

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COMMENT:

AUTHOR: Allen Kupetz

Marion’s comment about “you never get rich on your salary” is actually a much more generous interpretation of my thought, which was simply that equity is more important than salary. But I much prefer her idea that rich doesn’t equal money in all cases. There is the bumper sticker that says, “You won't be on your death bed wishing you had worked more ... only that you had spent more time with your kids.” Being a husband was often challenging; being a father is the best job in the world. My kids have made me rich (and will likely make me poor as they start college …).

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COMMENT:

AUTHOR: Roger Rustad, Jr.

Ditto on everything you've mentioned, Martin.?These are great tips!

A few other pieces of advice:

--Never underestimate the "pay it forward" style of networking. Where other IT guys would scoff at important people "wanting free stuff", I found that extremely simple things on my end (e.g. side project of recovering data from kid's computer) paid off immensely when that person moved to another company or had a position opening.

--When you are young, view start up projects like dating. Cast your net wide and be open to new experiences! Bad experiences turn into great learning experiences, and often companies will want people who know how to deal with previous bad situations.

--Some of the best professional contacts come out of sharing a hobby with similar people who share your intense interest.?In my case, it was chess, go, Crossfit, heavy metal, art/museums, traveling, etc. In almost all of these cases, someone was likely pull for you because you shared some larger passion with them.

--Never EVER forget the value of a liberal arts education.?(Pro tip: You'll know an interview or initial business relationship is going good when you spend most of the time talking about art, music, and books.)

--The best political advice someone ever gave me was, "If you cannot agree with someone, talk about music or food."?This strategy gives you a way to (a) safely disagree about something, and (b) build a relationship that you can leverage later for business.

--It's ok not to know something.?More important is to be able to find it.?If you (a) are resourceful (especially with online resources), and (b) are cool with others who might know, then you become an extremely valuable asset.

--Always have "one leg out" when it comes to jobs.?Have your 9-5 guaranteed money maker, but also experiment with side gigs.?For me, it is a combination of side consulting projects and volunteer projects with humanitarian organizations.?With these side gigs, your rolodex will grow rapidly, making it much easier to find new gigs.

--If you want to be a part of any team, give others a tad more praise than they deserve and take a tad more responsibility than you deserve (especially when things go south).?Not too much in either way, but just enough so that others are not put off by you.

--Every once in a while, dive into a problem that is completely out of your expertise (especially if you are a technical person).?Learning "how to learn" something new is invaluable.

--Follow the money.?Learn what financial things are happening "behind the scenes" to drive actions.?This sort of thing is incredibly important in VC-backed companies that are looking to IPO.

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COMMENT:

AUTHOR: Jeff Moore

Funny, I found Drego writing his own biz grad advice recently.??A few key points from his “personal experiences” section:

-Never wear a speedo to the company picnic without at least number 50 sunblock.?Your dermatologist will thank you.

-When you park in the Boss’ parking spot it’s not a good idea to cross out his name and sharpie in yours over top, even if he’s planning to be on vacation for an extended period (as it turns out occasionally they drop into the office from time to time).

-Don’t expense anything over $100,000 without prior approval, no matter how justified the expense, the accountants (business prevention department) never seem to quite get it.

-When waxing your legs in the company rest room, bear the pain like a man, as screaming tends to alarm other staff.

J

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COMMENT:

AUTHOR: Jean Kabore

Thanks for this post.?These are great advices.?I think new grads should first chose their fields carefully though.?You wouldn't want to choose a field that is likely to be outsourced overseas for cheaper labor or automated as technology continues to grow exponentially...certain domains in Finance and accounting are headed that way??

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COMMENT:

AUTHOR: Duncan Ebata

Great article. So many of your points hit home. In particular the theme of getting involved and being a sponge.

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COMMENT:

AUTHOR: Kenny Norton

As said last night, this is amazing advice Martin. For a budding business/tech graduate learning from a vet that has run a similar career path that I would like to pursue is about as good as it gets.

Love the "Success has many fathers….but Failure is an orphan" analogy. I think giving individuals the credit they deserve is very important, and also if you mess up, admit your failures, because potentially something that wasn't a big deal could get very messy.

I think there's even more great points in the comments here.

Allen's: “If you chase two monkeys, both will escape.” quote is really deep, I haven't even entered the corporate world full time and I've seen this occur on many occasions.

Marion: Great quote on the doing business with family and friends. It definitely is difficult dealing with negative situations with them. I think it can be done, just has to be the right situation and the right people/friends. But it is definitely something to be weary of.

I also strongly agree it is very important in this day and age to work in an industry you're passionate in. Sounds easy enough, but it can be tough so I wish you luck in your job search :). One advice as a recent graduate who literally signed on for my job today, start early. If you have extra curriculars and the such, don't use them as a scapegoat, because I did and it definitely made me late to the game. So make sure you get a good head start on it, well before your graduation.

Rog: Great points across the board.

Thanks all for collaborating on this blog post, definitely bookmarking this one.

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COMMENT:

AUTHOR: Julia Fisher

Martin,

This post certainly resonated with me. I have always appreciated advice from those who have come before me. It is so valuable when wise leaders take the time to share thoughts about what steps rising leaders should take to be successful.

My favorite part is "volunteer for assignments" and "make your boss look good".

Young business professionals often forget when the clock strikes 5pm that doesn't mean they can pack up the briefcase and head home. Taking work seriously as a new employee at a company means spending the extra hour after everyone else has headed home and proving you were worth the hire.

I also appreciate the volunteer recommendation, because it takes something one can do to help out and turns it into a benefit to them. Attending the keynote speakers, networking, and staying current with industry news are all enormous take-aways from events that are "volunteered" for.

Second, "make your boss look good". I think more times than not young professionals are too busy trying to make themselves look good they forget the bigger picture. The one thing I learned in a previous sales position was the best way to get buy-in and support for what I wanted to do was to make the person I was selling it to think it was all their idea to begin with. I got more accomplished and enjoyed my successes just as much when I let others think they were the ones coming up with the good ideas and increasing sales.

Thank you for the great advice - I will take note and look back at all these tips when I (hopefully) enter the workforce upon graduation next year.

Best,

Julia Fisher

Rollins MBA

Student of Professor Kupetz

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COMMENT:

AUTHOR: Martin Suter

Julia - Thank you for reading and for your kind comments. I'm glad to hear that it resonated with you and that you found value in several of the specific ideas.

I chuckled at your comment about "making the other person think it was their idea to begin with". In many cases, I call this managing up, which is at least as important as managing down in an organization.

Exciting to be embarking on your career shortly. Good luck!

Martin

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COMMENT:

AUTHOR: Anne Wemhoener

Great post! Thank you for all the valuable advice.

I really liked Jody's addition on being flexible and not getting "hung up on what your 'official job' entails". In believe helping out colleagues or other departments expands your knowledge, but more importantly, it shows your commitment and interest in the overall efforts of the company. At the same time, this is a great opportunity to foster better cooperation in the future.

Another comment I enjoyed is Marion's post about finding a job that you "will truly be passionate about". In the past, I have experienced that it is much easier to perform well, to generate new ideas and to use my talents if I was passionate about the work. Therefore, I completely agree with the comment, although I acknowledge that it might be difficult to find that job right after graduation.

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COMMENT:

AUTHOR: Jonathan Suter

Fantastic post, and great discussion in the comments. ?I couldn't agree more with Marion's note about following your passion.?Wealth will come as the by-product of passion (not the other way around).?Following money for money's sake only furthers the myth that there will come a time when you can finally do what you want (read: retirement).?Forty years for the potential shot at doing something you are finally excited about??No, thank you.

Work hard to find what it is you are passionate about—it isn't easy, and it's ok if you don't get it right the first time or if it changes as you learn.?Once you find it, you'll be motivated at a level beyond wealth.?You'll continue to want to learn, you'll work harder, and you'll be happier for it.

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COMMENT:

AUTHOR: Chris Albinson

Nice post!?I would add - find the smartest/hardest working person and provide them leverage - same can be said of companies.??Easier to attach yourself to velocity early in your career than create it.?

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COMMENT:

AUTHOR: Allen Kupetz

I like Chris’ post and it reminded me of the Higgins Rule: “Every person a business hires should raise the mean IQ of the organization.”

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COMMENT:

AUTHOR: Zach Woodward

As one of the graduates who reached out to Martin, and received this exact advice, I can tell you it's spot on.

However, one key point that hits home for me is actually missing from this list.

PATIENCE! PATIENCE! PATIENCE!

If I've learned one thing in the last 6 months it's that patience will speak volumes about a person’s maturity. Being the youngest person in a fairly new company I learned this quickly. :)

On the topic of being a sponge I agree completely. But also there are times when it's appropriate to prove to your manager/exec that while you are a sponge, you can also be a sham-wow (lol). If you do something that you really feel is great and reflects well on the company, most definitely show it to your boss and relevant coworkers.

That being said it's important not to try and prove how much you know because, like I said above - be patient, and your actions/execution will show people what you're capable of.

Jody: I love the "don't get hung up what your official job entails." I think if we can add value to another aspect of the business we should express this, or just go do it.

Don't be afraid to make mistakes, be entrepreneurial, and most importantly be resourceful.

Cheers,

Zach Woodward, Radian6

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COMMENT:

AUTHOR: Martin Suter

Zach - Thanks for validating the advice I shared with you some months ago. It's good to know that I was on target and that you're finding it helpful. One of the things I noticed (and appreciated) about you, was your willingness to engage with people more senior than you, to ask questions and to take advice. I am glad to have had the chance to meet you as an undergrad, to have been asked for advice and have proudly watched your career begin to take off.

"And will you succeed? Yes, you will indeed. (98 and 3/4% guaranteed. Kid - you'll move mountains!"

Go for it!