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Today, I was at a fast food restaurant with my wife and daughter. I won’t mention the name of the restaurant but the values they proclaim were in complete opposition to what I experienced. I went up to the counter to ask for a refill of Diet Coke and the manager, who was talking to another employee, said, “She should have freakin recorded that.” Of course, he did not say ‘freakin’ but the real world. Yes, the queen mother of dirty words.

I was appalled. I couldn’t believe a manager would use that type of language in front of customers (including children)! I got back to the table and told my wife what I overheard. She said, “You can preach values all you want but one employee can ruin it with one interaction with a customer.” WOW! How profound.

This whole experience made me consider how incredibly important front-line employees are. You can brand the hell out your company or product or service, but one employee, in one single interaction with a customer, can obliterate the brand. As a leader, manager, or entrepreneur, do you know how your front-line staff interacts with customers? Do they exude positivity? Do they act in accordance with the values set forth by the organization? Do they enhance the brand? Here’s one way to find out.

Have you seen the new FedEx marketing campaign against UPS? @Ryanatmghwom sent a tweet linking to www.brownbaliout.com. I went to the site and was quite surprised. The campaign attempts to be humorous and is very, very direct. What surprised me most is that it was a politically charged site that not only attacked UPS but indirectly, unions and United States government bailouts.

The campaign’s message is:

“Why is mega-corporation UPS trying to use its political clout to get a bailout from the U.S. Congress, leaving you to pay the tab?”

Here’s another quote from the site:

“Using their clout as the “biggest giver to U.S. lawmakers,” UPS hopes to slip this bailout in under the radar.

UPS lobbyists have buried a short 230-word legislative bailout deep inside the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2009 currently before Congress. It’s worth billions to “Big Brown” at the expense of today’s American economy that thrives on next-day commerce, competitive shipping options and ready access to markets around the world.”

I have not delved into the issues listed on the website so I cannot comment and offer an opinion. However, this is an interesting campaign that deserves attention and thoughtful conversation. I wonder what experienced marketing professionals feel about the campaign. Will it work or will it backfire?

I filmed this a few weeks back. It is a brief introduction to the UB/Towson MBA program and its major benefits to students.

I read a New York Times article a few weeks back that tackled this question. I recently Googled the topic and was surprised by the number of hits. As with any topic, opinions abound. Therefore, I feel compelled to offer my take on the whole situation.

Yes, MBA programs and business school are in part to blame for the downtown. However, like any crisis, there is never one contributing factor. MBA programs are threads in a tapestry of other factors. But, for the purposes of this article I’m only going to discuss MBA programs.

According to the New York Time’s article, the last time business schools really took a hard look at themselves was during the 1950s when the Ford and Carnegie foundations made a series of recommendations. These recommendations suggested that B-Schools become more “analytical and rigorous” in their curriculum. The pendulum might have swung too far in that direction.

As I read various articles regarding the culpability of business schools, I found that most critics blame business programs for teaching that businesses are in business for one reason and one reason only; to maximize shareholder value. Programs have focused heavily on a short-term, quarterly, bottom-line perspective. It’s all about the quantitative and not much on the qualitative. Robin Humphrey, in her response to a recent Harvard Business article, wrote,

“Talk to the vast majority of MBA graduates of any business school about the relevance of managing and leading people to achieve outcomes and a blank look descends over their faces. They don’t do people, as they cannot be measured in black & white terms; it’s all grey.”

What’s the prescription? I believe that MBA programs should not simply model what the business community wants but should help lead and guide the direction of business. To do this, business schools must:

1. Teach students to maximize stakeholder value.
   B-Schools and MBA program must help future business leaders understand that business is about being profitable AND being good stewards to their employees, their customers, the community in which they reside, and the planet. It’s called sustainability management.
2. Teach Corporate Social Responsibility; not ethics.
   My opinion is that ethics cannot be taught. B-Schools have been teaching ethics for decades and look where we are now. Instead, teach students to act in ways in which their organization can be socially responsible.
3. Teach that leadership is about both the “big picture” and “the details”.
   The Harvard Business article stated that leadership should not be separate from the hard, quantitative aspects of business. Leadership is about vision and execution. It’s about motivation and financial statements. It’s about strategy and managing projects.
4. Become learning organizations.
   B-Schools must continually survey the environment and adapt and change. B-schools must be nimble and quick. They must be forward thinking and drive innovation in thought and strategy. It’s frightening to learn that the last time business schools did a thorough self-examination was in the 1950s. It’s time to do this much more frequently.

The UB/Towson MBA is launching a new curriculum in Fall 2009. To keep this article short, I’ll defer the details to a future blog post. All I will say is that I’m proud that we’ve addressed the criticisms and will be preparing our students to be responsible leaders who will promote profitable, long-term, sustainable business practices for all stakeholders.

Here are two press releases regarding our new Sustainability Management specialization and new and updated curriculum.

Press release from Towson University

Press release from the University of Baltimore

Before I answer ‘why’, let me answer ‘what’. What is Twitter?

Think of Twitter as a stream of conversations, random thoughts, and news worthy information. To plug into the conversation you “follow” individuals and organizations. When that specific person or entity submits a message (called a “tweet”), followers will instantly get that message through the Twitter website or a third-party application such as TweetDeck. As a Twitter user, you not only consume information from those you follow, but you in turn will have followers. Therefore, you become a publisher of information as well.

Here’s an example.

You are on Twitter and you start to follow the UB/Towson MBA. A moment after you begin to follow, I post a message regarding an MBA event. The next time you login or refresh Twitter, the message I just published shows up on your Twitter page. If you use TweetDeck and are logged on, you’ll be notified of the new message immediately. Soon, I notice that you are following our MBA program so I begin to follow you. If you post a message, I’ll see it (as will everyone else who is following you).

So why use Twitter?

I thought Twitter would be a colossal waste of time. But recently, I have come to realize that Twitter is a great productivity, business, and marketing tool if used correctly. I’m just starting to use it personally (@rdesi) but I do use it for the UB/Towson MBA program (@ubtowsonmba). Here are some reasons why I use Twitter for our MBA program.

Incredible insights. If you follow the right people and organizations, there is a ton of new knowledge you can pick-up each and every hour.

Engage our current students. I usually tweet news and information regarding the MBA program before I send an email to students. Why? It’s faster. Most of our students work full-time and attend our MBA program part-time so Twitter helps them stay connected.

Engage prospective students. When a prospective student follows us on Twitter, they are tuned into our program. The UB/Towson MBA becomes a part of their life through Twitter. It’s not invasive since they chose to follow us and can stop following us whenever they want. Prospective students can see how we communicate with current students via social media and the level of engagement we have with current students. In addition, they see that our program is engaged in conversation with innovative organizations.

Engage the community. One thing I noticed immediately upon joining Twitter was that many local businesses and organizations (and their employees and executives) were active members of the Twitter community. I started to follow them. In turn, they started following @ubtowsonmba! So every time I tweet, we are on their radar.

Showcase our MBA program. As an MBA program we have a lot of great things to share. We want to promote events and program, student and faculty achievements.

Promote our partners. Twitter is a great way to share good news about partners and what great things they are doing. When I see that an organization we work with is having an event or has great news to pass along I tweet or retweet it.

These are a few of the big reasons why we use Twitter. In future articles I’ll discuss how I fit twittering into my already busy and hectic schedule.

This week, Michael Setzer and Kristy Hammonds, two employees of Dominos Pizza, thought it would be funny to record themselves tampering with food in a most disgusting manner. Instead of keeping the video to themselves they decided to put it on YouTube. This act caused a major public relations headache for Dominos Pizza.

In another example, someone figured out a simple way to pick a Kryptonite bike lock with a hollowed out Bic pen. Soon after the defect was discovered, videos on YouTube appeared showing step-by-step instructions. Of course those who had a Kryptonite lock had to try this nifty trick and of course, film it and put it on YouTube. 

Prior to the internet and specifically before the advent of social media, marketing and public relations professionals could control the message. Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and a whole host of other social media have put control in the hands of the masses. In the past, a disgruntled customer would tell a few friends of poor service or low product quality. Now, “The power has shifted, [so] that big companies now have to be worried about one individual with a microphone.” [Source: Boston.com]

I direct an MBA program and am not a public relations expert but my advice would be not to fight it (because you’ll lose), but embrace the new media and be a part of the conversation. In response to the food tampering, Domino’s CEO, Patrick Doyle, recorded a YouTube video. Here it is:

Using YouTube was a great idea but Dominos Pizza could do more. Much more. First, social media and Web 2.0 are about honesty, transparency, and authenticity. Reading so obviously from cue cards was not the way to go. An authentic look into the camera, having an honest conversation with those watching the video would have felt more genuine. Kelly Decker, guest blogger at Blog Decker, points this out and asks us to compare the Domino’s response to this response from JetBlue:

In addition, Dominoes should try something fun. Give employees video cameras and have them film themselves doing honorable things for customers.

Perhaps Dominos is doing this, but search Twitter to see what conversations are going on about the food incident and the brand in general. Comcast and GoDaddy are two companies who monitor Twitter for both customer complaints and kudos. They proactively respond. I recently posted a Tweet stating that I was thinking about becoming a Comcast customer and ‘ComcastConnie’ got back to me in less than five minutes…and this was at 9pm on a Friday night!

Not all, but many of your customers are on various social media sites. If you aren’t using social media, now’s the time. Your customers are talking about you, your company, your products, your services. Decide today to be a part of that conversation and not absent from it.

Last night we were treated to a double-dose of The Office. These two episodes, The Dream Team and The Michael Scott Paper Company, gave us a glimpse at true start-up genius (okay, maybe not!). Michael launched his business with no plan. He had a dream, followed his gut, and launched a company. Michael showed us the power of not planning.

I’m not advocating that you start a business without a plan, but some research has shown that there is no difference in terms of success between those entrepreneurs who had a business plan and those who did not.  An Inc. survey found that 60% of the Inc. 500 CEOs did not have a business plan when they launched their business.

So is a plan really necessary? If you need funding for your venture, you likely need a formal plan. In last night’s episode, Michael went to “Nana”, his grandmother, to obtain funding for his start-up. Nana asks, “How do you plan on turning a profit in this economy?” Michael responds, “By wanting it more. By working hard…” His grandmother then interrupts, “What’s your mission statement?” He says, “My mission is stated as follows. I will not be beat. I will never give up. I am on a mission. That is the Michael Scott guarantee.” Nana was not convinced. He didn’t obtain funding. Here’s the clip.

Researchers at the University of Maryland, however, found that business plans don’t really effect venture capitalist funding. They say, “Our results are most supportive of the premise that planning documents play, at best, a minor ceremonial role and do not inform venture capitalists.” But then the article does state that, “A business plan may be useful in helping entrepreneurs organize their thoughts and details.” [Source: WSJ Blogs]

So, should you start your business with reckless abandon or carefully craft an ultra-detailed, “budget-to-the-penny” business plan? A formal business plan may not be necessary but you must be prepared. I listened to Ron Shapiro, author of Dare to Prepare, give a talk at a recent SmartCEO event. The people he presents in his book (and during the presentation) all attributed their accomplishments and success to being prepared.

You cannot start any venture haphazardly but at the same time you may not need, according to the research, a 50-page detailed business plan. A simple plan, however, does help define your goals and how to get there. Here are some resources for helping you plan:

• Simple but effective
• Small Business Planning Guide
• Small Business Administration

With any plan, whether on the back of a napkin or an elaborate masterpiece, you must be able to adapt, change, and be nimble enough to shift the plan at a moment’s notice. Agility is the key. And of course, it is essential to be intuitive and at times and follow what your gut tells you. Having trouble listening to your gut? Here’s how.

Michael Scott started The Michael Scott Paper Company on a whim. A little planning on his end while being flexible and following his gut instincts would have likely put him on a more solid footing. But hey, at least Pam made a sale for his new company.

“Ethical decision making” is a tired phrase. It has been bantered about in MBA programs for decades and yet we find ourselves plagued by corporate scandals. Former CEO of Medtronics, author, and now Harvard professor believes that the whole economic mess we are in today is a result of leaders not acting ethically nor responsibly. He says “Once again, ego-driven operators hungry for glory and power have taken the U.S. to the brink while a few true leaders built sound futures.” He goes on to say that we need leaders who act in the best interest of all stakeholder [Source: US News & World Report].

I think ethics has been missing the critical virtue of prudence. Leaders must think both ethically and prudently about decisions. Even if a decision is legal, ethical, and moral, it still may not be a good decision. The big three automaker CEOs flew their private jets to Washington, DC. Flying their jets was not illegal, unethical, or immoral, but was it prudent given the economic and political climate?

I’ve always been impressed with SAS, the business intelligence software giant. SAS seems to make very prudent decisions that are focused on long-term gain for all stakeholders. They recently reported record revenue despite horrible economic conditions. The CEO of SAS, Jim Goodnight, said, “This growth is a direct result of being a stable privately held company, which allows us to invest in long-term relationships with employees and customers.”  [Source: Triangle Business Journal]

There was debate recently at an MBA conference I attended. The debate asked “can ethics be taught?” Assume that it can’t for a moment. Prudence might be the antidote to the unethical, short-sighted, self-serving leader. Even if he or she is utterly unethical to the bone, the person can still act in the best interest of all shareholders using the ancient virtue of prudence.

You have a hard decision staring you in the face. Think ethically, of course, but also think prudently taking into consideration all stakeholders and how the decision will affect them.

I spent this weekend completely redeploying the UB/Towson MBA Director’s Blog. I did this for a number of reasons.

1. Wordpress flexibility
   This blog is now hosted at Godaddy.com (Bob Parson, CEO, is a University of Baltimore graduate).
2. We wanted a look that was more inspiring, innovative, “Web 2.0″, and too be honest, fun.
   Thanks to Jai Nischal Verma at Blog Oh! Blog for providing this Wordpress template.
3. I felt motivated to do something a bit different…I’m always looking for ways to improve things!

I hope you like the new look. It’s still a work in progress. In the meantime, there is plenty to read.