The answer is Stephen Rogers – he has been a part of them
all. I-Motivate was glad to host Stephen Rogers in an I-Check meeting on Monday
31 October. He was definitely worth listening to.
About Stephen Rogers
Steven Rogers is the
Gordon and Llura Gund Family Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship.
Professor Rogers teaches Entrepreneurial Finance at Kellogg and is the former
Director of the Entrepreneurship Department. Before joining the Kellogg
Faculty, he owned and operated two manufacturing firms and one retail
operation. Prior to becoming an entrepreneur, Professor Rogers worked at Bain
and Company Consulting firm, Cummins Engine Company and UNC Ventures, a venture
capital firm.
I-Motivate: We
are so glad you agreed to speak with us. Your profile is very impressive. The
fact that you have been successful in both business and academia puts you in a
very good position to offer advice to us. More so, your students speak very
well of you.
Steven: thanks
for inviting me to speak; I have been look forward to it.
I-Motivate: First
we would like to know what you would look for if you were recruiting an MBA
into your organization.
Steven: That’s a
great question. In recruiting MBAs there are three basic things I would look
for: communication skills, a sound foundation in finance and leadership skills.
Oral and written communication skills are very important
skills that MBAs should have. The ability to communicate effectively is always a
distinguishing factor. For instance, Olaide sent me an email requesting that I
speak at an I-Motivate meeting. Before getting his email, I had never met
Olaide before. He introduced himself and the I-Motivate group in his email. He explained
that his friend who attended Kellogg told him about me. Though I did not care
to find out whether or not I knew Olaide’s friend, he communicated so clearly
that I was willing to accept his invitation. So communication is a pretty important
skill I would look for in MBAs.
The second thing that I would look for is a sound foundation
in finance. An MBA should not be intimidated by finance. They should have a
clear understanding of core financial concepts. MBAs should be able to look at
numbers and make meaningful interpretations from those numbers. Irrespective of
their background or interests, MBAs should work on improving their finance
skills.
The third is leadership skills. I would be interested in
knowing an MBAs leadership track record. I would like to know if they have lead
teams or project before. I would like to know how successful they were in
leading teams and what achievements they had in the process. I would look for
natural leaders.
Additionally, I would seek for evidence that these
individuals have the ability to master a lot of information. They should be
able to digest a tremendous amount of information and make meaningful interpretations
from it.
I-Motivate:
Thanks Prof. Rogers. In your interactions with MBAs in business and academia, what
irritates you the most about the MBAs you have interacted with?
Steven: I like
that question (laughs). What irritates me the most about MBAs? Two things. The
first is when MBAs do not know what they want and the second is when they don’t
know how to do certain things and do not go the extra mile to learn how to do
those things.
When MBAs come to me, my first question is always “what can
I do to help you?”. I like them to know exactly what they want. I honestly do
not appreciate people who are not clear about their objectives. I have also
seen this to be very applicable in networking. When you are seeking to network
with someone, you need to have an explicit understanding of what you want from
the relationship. In addition, always make sure you understand the importance
of reciprocity. Always look for a means of giving back to the people that you
are networking with.
The next categories of MBAs that irritate me are those who
do not know how to do things and do not work hard to fill their knowledge gaps.
I get irritated when a student has not done adequate research before coming to
me for help. How about trying your hands out on that difficult problem? Get on
Google or something. Do the best you can and then if you still cant find a
solution, you can ask for help.
I-Motivate: You
touched briefly on networking; can you tell us what else we need to be aware of
when networking?
Steven: Apart
from being clear about your objectives and reciprocity? Well, I have to like
you. You need to find some commonality between you and the person you are
networking with (your host). In your attempt to find commonalities, be careful not
to insult the other person. For example, discussing topics that you know little
or nothing about (simply because you are aware of your host’s interest in that
topic) might be an insult to your host.
I-Motivate:
Thanks. What should we look for in target companies as we seek internships and
full time job opportunities?
Steven: I would
say look for fit. Look for a company whose values are in sync with your
personal values and goals. Find out the culture of the firm and be honest with
yourself about which firm blends most with your personality. Do not just seek
for more money. Also for your first job, you want to go for a company that does
things the right way. Look out for how the company treats people. These factors
are very important. That is probably why about 75% of MBAs change jobs within 2
to 3 years of obtaining their MBA.
I-Motivate:
Looking back at your experience, tell us about the time you consider to be a
defining moment in your life.
Steven: That is a
very good question. Upon completing my MBA in Harvard, (I was in my mid-twenties)
I accepted a job with Bain & Company. I was offered a $60,000 starting
salary with a $7,000 signing bonus. In addition, the work environment was great
and the work was very interesting. However after working for 2 years I decided
to leave the job. I left because I had a defining moment. While working on the
job, I had an opportunity to learn about myself. I realized that I desired
independence. I wanted to work for myself. So after leaving Bain, I bought my
first company. Two years, later I bought another company and then another
company two years later. Today (about 30 years later) I still crave the same
independence. That is one of the reasons why I like being a professor. I enjoy being
independent. But I remember it all started with that defining moment when I
realized that I wanted to be independent.
Alright, I need to go now. I have to catch up with another
meeting in downtown Chicago
I-Motivate: Thank
you very much Professor Rogers. We really appreciate your time and we look
forward to connecting with you again.
