Graduation speech to the 2007 MBA class, as given by KU MBA Jenny Weaver
I’ll admit it. I didn’t give the KU MBA a fair start two years ago. I came back to school after a very successful career in newspapers and I was dead set against anything that would deter me from going right back into that industry. I wanted to jump through the hoops, get this thing done and just move on. There might have been a bigger picture or a new avenue to pursue, but I didn’t care. I’ve never been so happy to be so wrong about something! My grad school journey has been one of personal and professional transformation. I’m very proud today to be representing you, my fellow students, because you have played such a huge part in that transformation. That being said, writing this speech was incredibly difficult. I sat staring at a blank Word document, trying to write this speech. My first 8 to 10 drafts read like standard-issue canned motivation, cliché-ridden graduation speeches. They were speeches you could deliver at any school for any class at any time. That just didn’t seem like enough. What a waste of time, I thought. If these people have to listen to me blabber on a Friday night, it should be good, real, authentic KU MBA class of 2007 stuff. So I started over for the 11th time. Slowly the words came out, and what I ended up with is a list of three “good, real, authentic KU MBA class of 2007” sorts of things I hope we’ll all remember after we walk out of here today. Here it goes: Number one: our professors asked us questions. Sounds simple, I know, but let me explain. Our professors delivered traditional lectures but they took it a step further. They asked us to think critically about business. One professor asked me, “What is the purpose of business?” Another asked, “What is a developing market developing toward?” Yet another asked, “What will you do when you fail?” Not “if” you fail, but “when” you fail. These aren’t no-brainers. These aren’t formula- or definition-regurgitation questions. These are really frustrating questions to be asked by a professor. Aren’t they the professors? Don’t they already know the answers? I missed the point at first. But as I got deeper into the program, I began to realize the profound importance of asking these questions. This is why people get MBAs. Not to run NPVs or write executive summaries or make T-accounts or draw demand curves. People get MBAs because the process teaches us how to ask really hard questions of ourselves, of our teammates and of our bosses.
KU School of Business, May 2007 Graduation speech, as given by KU MBA Jenny Weaver 1 of 3
It takes courage to ask these kinds of questions, but when you consider what most people do through most days of their careers just trying to stay above water, you can see the real genius and fortitude in actively seeking better answers to harder questions. Number two: we did not, do not, and will not accept the status quo. I’ll share a story that demonstrates this. Class of ’07 MBAs, let me take you back to Aug. 15, 2005. It’s about 9 a.m. on a very hot Kansas day. We briefly introduce ourselves and then pile onto a school buss destined for an outdoor challenge course in rural Douglas County. About 30 minutes later, we were all stuck on that buss after it high-centered on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere. Let me remind you that it was hot out. We pile off the bus, awkwardly smiling at each other like 8th-graders at a school dance. Nico Quintana and some of the guys make a sad attempt to dislodge the bus using some meager sticks for traction. Nothing happens. We were stranded near a house. The owner strolled out in a torn up t-shirt. The bus driver tried some back-and-forth maneuvering on the guy’s advice. Nothing happens. At this point, we’re over an hour late for our challenge course. Most groups, I think would have given up, left the bus as it stood, and tried to get back to the cool rooms of the business school. We didn’t. Using the very small cars some people had followed us in, we crammed 35-plus students and staff into two or three small—and I mean small—cars, in a sort of taxi setup to shuttle people out another five-ish miles to the course. We were going to do that challenge course come hell or high water. And we did it. We were late, frustrated, tired, hot and cramped, but we did it. And it was awesome. I use that story to show that this group isn’t one that gives up. We don’t accept things as they are. We’ve challenged each other, the professors, the staff and the school at large to give us more. We’ve challenged people to give us something different, better harder, and newer. That drive produced an incredible team that went to China, another team that competed fiercely in new venture contests, another team that brought new organizations into the KU business school culture . . . and an incredible group of individuals who I hope I have the pleasure of working for or with someday. Number three: we have learned how to make decisions. As I said, I used to think business school was about jumping through hoops, memorizing the right formulas, blah blah blah. I was so sorely wrong. Business school has very little to do with formulas, models, definitions, or really anything that’s in a textbook. Decisions. Business school is about decisions. How to make, evaluate, market, enact, and communicate decisions. It’s not the NPV, it’s the decision you can make because you understand what an NPV represents. It’s not the target segment; it’s the decision to leverage a market opportunity that no one else sees because they don’t understand the customers as well as you do. It’s not the demand curve; it’s the
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decision you make about the future of your business because you can predict the impact of economic conditions. I can’t underline this point enough, and I am so glad that I did not make it through school without realizing this. Because, let’s face it, this is why companies hire us: because we can aggregate and analyze information to make strategic decisions that impact the company on many levels. So, these three things: that we were asked hard questions, that we didn’t accept the status quo, and that we learned that this whole MBA thing is about making decisions—these are the life- and careerchanging lessons we can take with us. After graduation is over, I hope we’ll all look back on this experience and realize how different we’ve become as a group and as individuals. And finally, thank-you’s are in order. First we want to thank our professors for many, many, many sleepless nights of studying for difficult exams and writing long papers. In all seriousness, we thank you for leading us through this incredible challenge. Second, thank you to all our family and friends. You kept us sane during these last few years. Next, let’s thank each other. Whether we realized it or not, we taught each other almost as much about business and leadership as any class or textbook. Finally, on a personal note, let me say thanks to my better half, Mike. I want to be a better person for and because of you, so thank you for that inspiration. As I wrap this up, I could tell you not to be afraid of the future, but I already know you aren’t. I could tell you great things lie ahead of us, but graduation is no time for understatements like that. I could say a million things people say in graduation speeches, but somehow, none of them seem real enough. So let me say this, simple and to the point: We, the class of 2007, we will create business that is better, faster, newer, more creative, more innovative, more global, more strategic, and more fun. Let’s get started! (APPLAUSE.)
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