SCRAPPY: An Interview with Connor Flocks

Last week in Molly Rapert’s class, James Branan, Carly Ihrie, Ethan Westerman, and I had the opportunity to interview Connor Flocks from Accenture Federal. Connor was a former student of Molly’s who won Student Body President and graduated in 2017 from the University of Arkansas. During the interview, Connor described himself, in one word, as “SCRAPPY”, so our team decided to use an acronym as a fun and creative way to describe how we see Connor and share the advice he has for students. #rapertmarketing2016 #waltonmarketingdepartment #marketing

Strategic

To be strategic, Connor explains that you first need to separate the goals from the strategies. Connor defines a strategy as “the strategic direction in which the company, organization, or institution is going to move” and goals as “the set of tangible indicators that take place to fulfill that strategy.”

?Connor encouraged us all to approach a lot of things in life by first setting a clear, strategic direction. As seniors, about to graduate college, he advised us all on how to approach a job search. First, he told us to think about what tactical skills we’re good at and then mix those in with our non-negotiables to find our best fit.?

Connecting

Connor stressed that getting to know people is the critical asset that takes you far in life. Genuinely caring about another person is important: knowing their name, knowing what they’re involved with, knowing their life story for how they got where they are today.?

“There is nowhere better to find that than on a college campus.” For him, this community is special because of the people and the razorback culture. He believes that “there is something about this flagship institution, everything about the razorback community, that is a really cool development pool.”?

Our team felt that same connection, along with Connor, about our time here. We are grateful to the peers and mentors who invested their time into us at the University of Arkansas and, just like Connor, we believe “you make it or break it based on the people around you and the people you are with.”

Resourceful

From the start of his passion for business, Connor started by purchasing his first car which he called, “a clunker”. He then thought of ways he could improve the car that he had purchased by fixing it up. Once he finished the improvements on his car, he sold it to make a profit that was hefty for a high schooler. He was so driven to start another project again that it became a hobby and started to turn into something more.

In his line of work, Connor is using the skills that he learned in his life and taught how to perfect this skill from the Walton College of Business. He has transitioned everything he learned from life and school that he took with him to the work he does now as a consultant at Accenture. Using these skills, he creates unique strategies for the specific business to ensure it meets its goal. On a more personal note, Connor is still being resourceful outside of work by refurbishing furniture that he then places in his home.

Adventurous

As most of us know going to college is an adventure. For some, it is going to a new city, state, or even country. We can say this as a fact that it’s an adventure just to go from a familiar place to a new place on a mission of learning and self-revelation of being in an uncomfortable situation.

Starting on Connor’s adventure path was the University of Arkansas in the Walton College of Business. He got to travel and learned new skills that would help him in the future. When he went to grad school, he had to get a job outside of the U.S. as a requirement of graduating. He decided to go intern for a company called Mass Challenge located all over the world, but he decided to go to Israel to help build better skills to prepare him for his future at Accenture.

Persistent

Connor explained that since the beginning, he’s always had a business mindset, and has always been interested in the business world. Whenever he made up his mind that he wanted to accomplish something, he has always been very persistent until he did it. For example, Connor became the ASG President here at the University of Arkansas during his college career.?

Connor also describes himself as a “self-starter”, and that he's internally motivated. This being said, he’s also very determined to learn something that he may be lacking in. For example, he mentioned to us that something he lacked was data strategies, so he set his mind to learn them.?

From high school, to college, and now into his professional career, Connor has always been persistent with what he wants to do. When he has something in his mind that he wants to fulfill, he will achieve it.

Passionate

An emphasis Connor touched on during the interview was the importance of identifying areas that strike passion, and capitalizing by combining learned skills with those highly-spirited interests.?

“I learned to mix skills that I’d had to date, those business skills, with something I was really passionate about and interested in,” he said of his senior year as president of the Associated Student Government.?

When looking for jobs out of college, he placed a high mark on seeking roles where he could have the highest amount of influence. This requirement stems from his passion for the work he does, wanting to use his high-motor to make a positive difference through his career.

Yourself

“It’s crazy what you can get when you know what you want and you know what to ask for.”

This quote resonated with our team, hearing him first-hand stress the importance of taking a self-inventory, and demanding nothing short of what’s best for yourself. Setting boundaries, working to strengths, and prioritizing scoped out goals is something that becomes easier when someone is confident with what they bring to the table.

Through his personal and professional endeavors, it is evident Connor knows what he wants and has kept laser-focus on the route required to get there.?

Through our interactions with Connor, we gained valuable insight into how we, too, can be “SCRAPPY.”?

Being strategic, making connections, demonstrating resourcefulness, exploring our adventurous side, persistence, displaying passion, and knowing yourself, one can make the most of strategies and goals.

There is a Youtube link in the comments to the full interview with Connor Flocks. Thank you, Connor, for taking the time to invest in #rapertmktg2021 with such valuable advice!