Categories
Career Can D0

May You Live in Interesting Times with Dr. Donald McNeeley

 

In this episode of Career Can Do, Mary Ann Faremouth chats with Dr. Donald McNeeley, who is president and CEO of Chicago Tube and Iron Co., as well as a Professor of Engineering at Northwestern University. As a leader responsible for making a significant contribution in the new work world, Dr. McNeeley discusses the importance of networking and education, and, in the spirit of irony, how having a prestigious degree does not guarantee success in an industry.

 

 

According to social scientists, everyone experiences an average of 3 SEEs, or significant emotional events, over the course of their life. A common SEE is the unexpected death of a spouse or when a child precedes their parent in death. From the time of experiencing such events, life changes irrevocably. The organizational equivalent of a SEE is called a point of inflection, Dr. McNeeley shares. 

 

As a company progresses through time, it will periodically encounter these points of inflection where the leaders will need to rethink their historical business model, irrespective of how successful it’s been. Leaders must be prepared to deliver on those points, he adds. Later, he advises students to go to school with the intention to learn, not get good grades. If you go to school to learn, the grades will come automatically.

 

Resources

Faremouth.com

 

Categories
A Yank at Oxford

Reflections from Oxford at One Year

Tune in every quarter to learn how David Simon, a 53-year-old lawyer from the US, navigates the ancient world of Oxford University in pursuit of an MBA. David is a Partner at the law firm Foley and Lardner, who has dedicated his career to white-collar compliance with a heavy international focus. In A Yank in Oxford, David and host Tom Fox will discuss what inspired his decision to pursue an Executive MBA and his hopes for where the journey may lead.

In this Episode 5, David reflects on the one-year mark in his Oxford MBA Program.

  1. Reflections at the one-year mark.

It has been amazing in so many ways. I love my classmates, and the core value proposition is my interactions with them. I love Oxford and feel lucky to spend time soaking up the atmosphere. Riding the bus into town makes me feel smarter. And I’ve learned so much – about technical business and commercial issues like accounting, finance, and statistics- but also about the macro-level, big-picture issues that drive society and thus drive business.

  1. Favorite courses so far.

Governance and Ethics.

Global Rules of the Game.

Accounting was surprisingly good.

M&A – mini-MBA in itself.

  1. The Physical Environment

            *          Oldest coffee house in the UK is in Oxford. There’s a theory about the coffee house’s importance to the Enlightenment’s emergence. Lots of people with different ideas bouncing around but similar themes. Brilliance of being immersed in an environment of smart, curious, open people.

            *          Thinking about all kinds of issues in different ways and thinking deeply and reading deeply about big societal issues that massively affect business enterprise – my clients – and government and policy.

            *          Presentations and Papers on:

  • Supply chain and geopolitical risk.
  • US/China relations and decoupling.
  • ESG – theory, and practice.
  • Human Rights – Forced Labor/Child Labor in Supply chains and the ethics and practical compliance challenges.
  • The Beatles and the Get Back documentary and leadership lessons learned.
  • Techniques for promoting virtue and ethics in organizations.
  • CSR is a means to develop a sustainable competitive advantage for a business.
  1. What’s coming up?

Global Opportunities and Threats Oxford:  Apply systems thinking too big complex problems. We’re focusing on food security.

Vietnam – Emerging Markets course

  1. What has been some fun stuff?
  2. Rowing
  3. College dinners
  4. Wimbledon
  5. Queen’s funeral – being in the UK
Categories
Daily Compliance News

October 14, 2022 The Ascot Rant Edition

In today’s edition of Daily Compliance News:

  • Crypto groups sue Treasury over Tornado cash sanctions. (WSJ)
  • Rant at Ascot ends Deloitte’s career. (FT)
  • Venezuela objects to Citgo sale. (Reuters)
  • When pay-to-play goes local. (The Mercury News)