#SmealWeeklyRecap featuring Jeremy Sauve, ’00 Management
Thank you to my network for keeping me updated on the business world, sharing career insights, and their successes. Below are some of the articles collected from alumni and other business resources. All articles can be viewed at this link. The topics for this week were product management, customer service, companies' alumni follow - Amazon, and work/life balance. As you know, our interns play a key role in organizing the information and researching companies.
Featured Alumnus: Jeremy S. Sauve (’00 Management), Area Vice President for Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. – Gallagher Benefit Services
Jeremy S. Sauve (’00 Business Management) is the Area Vice President for Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. – Gallagher Benefit Services “GBS” division in the Central PA region. Jeremy was featured 3 years ago, when Sauvé Consulting Group, Inc. was acquired by Gallagher on May 1, 2016. Since the acquisition, Jeremy and his team have been tasked with growing the Central PA market presence for Gallagher by growing organically within the region. Jeremy and his team use a comprehensive approach to organizational well-being that aligns your people strategy with your overall business goals through a holistic approach to benefits, compensation, employee communications and workplace culture unlike any other. He began his ‘insurance’ career working for New York Life immediately following graduation from PSU. After three years, he then took his talents in a different direction to industry leading group disability and life insurance carrier Unum. Following an almost 8 year tenure, eventually giving in to his entrepreneurial spirit, Jeremy co-founded Sauvé Consulting Group, Inc. “SCG” in Central PA. SCG ultimately led to merger discussions with Gallagher and he has never looked back. Jeremy resides in Boiling Springs, PA and enjoys spending family time with his 3 beautiful daughters (Harper, Camryn & Sloane) and his amazingly supportive wife of almost 10 years Melissa. Outside of family, Jeremy enjoys all sports PSU (wrestling season ticket holder) golf, skiing and traveling the world. Jeremy’s biggest advice to any Smeal alumni is to Work Hard, Play Hard and Enjoy Life!!!
#Topics of the Week
Work/Life Balance: An article on LinkedIn suggests that we need to stop saying work/life balance and look at work/life harmony. Like Jeff Bezos, he sees work and life as a continuum, flowing into and influencing one another. "The pursuit of “balance” implies that work and life are two separate spheres competing for our attention in a zero-sum game." Interestingly, The Atlantic reported on research that showed people who are busy tend to be happier than those who are idle, whether their busyness is purposeful or not. One theory is that having too much free time would challenge a person's self-image sort of like, "Ugh, I'm so busy" which has become a status symbol of our time. Fast Company feels that people fought for time off from work, so stop working so much. The article shares information on the history of vacation and the increase of productivity. Two more articles to point out discussed the challenges of working dads (which was shared in the post) and finding a balance between motherhood and a career.
Companies Alumni Follow - Amazon: Despite reports from Jeff Bezos that the company's growth is slowing, Amazon is still becoming more and more involved in our everyday life. At a recent meeting, Jeff Bezos discussed his excitement about the auto industry, they opened a new go store that is accepting cash, they are recruiting the New York Times and BuzzFeed to help reach more shoppers outside the U.S. and recently signed a $1.5 billion, 5-year deal with Apple for use of their cloud services. These are just a few of the over 120 articles collected recently on the company! Amazon's fulfillment centers are the engine of the company. To keep up productivity, the company automatically tracks and fires warehouse workers who do not make rate. The Verge obtained documents that show a deeply automated tracking and termination process. This practice has caused a lot of backlash for the company. What do you think and is it likely that automation will eliminate these types of positions in the long run?
Customer Services: An opinion piece in AdAge discussed this generation's need for concierge-level services. This was assisted by the emergence of the branded smartphone app. He refers to the millennials, Gen Ys and Gen Zs as the "near me" generations. Of note in the article is an Accenture study that found 50% of customers who have a poor experience with a brand will stop doing business with that brand entirely! In Entrepreneur they discussed staying ahead of how customer experience is evolving. "The smartest businesses anticipate customer needs before they manifest." The article urges companies to start thinking about 2020 now. A decade ago, an impressive product release could keep a company afloat for years, using BlackBerry as an example. By 2017, the company’s share of the smartphone market was officially 0 percent. People and companies abandoned BlackBerry’s operating system in lieu of newer operating systems that provided a better experience. HBR shared an article on why bad customer service is profitable which is opposite of most articles that stress good customer service, especially when it comes to a return policy. The articles seeks to help us understand why some of the most hated companies in America are so profitable and why customer service, unfortunately, remains so frustrating.
Product Management: I hope some of you got to attend our Lifelong Learning Webinar with Smeal alumnus David Horn on Wednesday, May 22nd at Noon. If not, the good news is, you can view the live stream on Smeal's Facebook page! David discussed the introduction of the product life cycle which includes sub-stages titled innovation, development and staging. He discusses the golden rules of each stage and provides a slide with additional resources. If you are interested in a career in product management, it is a must see. David's advice is not to expect to walk right into this type of position. There are things a company will make you learn before allowing you to take charge of a product. Some other articles of interest talked about how smart product managers track their competitors and how to avoid indecision in produce management which can create a bottleneck.
Remember to sign up for news about our free Smeal Lifelong Learning Webinars! Everyone is welcome, so share the registration links with your online network, company and co-workers! The webinars are on Wednesday at Noon EDT. Below is our 2019 line up to date.
Nail the Authentic Interview: Advice from Smeal Alumni Career Coaches - Presented by Doreen Glenning and Dr. Jennifer Nicholas ('17 PhD, Workforce Education) Career Coaches in Smeal Alumni Career Services - September 11
The Evolution of Fintech and Alternative Investments - Presented by Natasha Bansgopaul, the Co-Founder & COO of DarcMatter, a global award winning financial technology company for alternative investments - September 25th