Alpha Lambda Delta Initiation Ceremony April 6, 2008 Robert Marx Professor of Management Isenberg School of Management marx@mgmt.umass.edu Good Morning, I am honored to be here this morning to celebrate your remarkable achievements to all the students who have been invited to be initiated into Alpha Lambda Delta, savor the moment, take a look at what you have accomplished and give yourself credit for the hard work that you had to do to receive this honor. To all of the parents who were able to be here today, this ceremony is for you, as well. As a parent myself, I still have a son in high school, one of the greatest joys in life is the success of our children. It is one of the many returns on our investment of time, money, but most of all, love and support since the day they were born. Thank you for delivering your children to the University of Massachusetts. It is you who make the job of the UMass faculty the best job in the world. So, in the short time we have together is there anything I can say that can make your years at UMass more meaningful and fulfilling? Let me start with a question and a challenge! We know you are all smart or you would not be here. But why aren t the smartest people always the most successful? Why aren t they always the happiest? Why do smart people sometimes fail? Before I answer that question let me make my first suggestion: Suggestion #1 Become a bus driver! Your parents are looking at me right now saying All that tuition and he says drive a bus. Let me explain with a story about a bus driver. It was an unbearable steamy August afternoon in New York City, the kind of sweaty day that makes people sullen with discomfort. I was heading back to a hotel, and as I stepped onto a bus up Madison Avenue
I was startled by the driver, a middle-aged black man with an enthusiastic smile, who welcomed me with a friendly, Hi! How are you doing? as I got on, a greeting he proffered to everyone else you entered as the bus wormed through the thick midtown traffic. Each passenger was as startled as I, and locked into a morose mood of the day, few returned his greeting. But as the bus crawled uptown through the gridlock, a slow, rather magical transformation occurred. The driver gave a running monologue for our benefit, a lively commentary on the passing scene around us: there was a terrific sale at that store, a wonderful exhibit at this museum, did you hear about the new movie that just opened and that cinema down the block? His delight in the rich possibilities the city offered was infectious. By the time the people got off the bus, each in turn had shaken off the sullen shell they had entered with, and when the driver shouted out a So long, have a great day! each gave a smiling response. Imagine the spreading virus of good feeling that must have rippled through the city, starting from passengers on his bus. I saw that this bus driver was an urban peacemaker of sorts, wizard-like in his power to transmute the sullen irritability that seethed in his passengers, to soften and open their hearts a bit. 1 This story comes from the prologue of a book entitled Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman. Goleman s research shows that intellectual abilities (IQ), knowledge and technical expertise are the threshold. They get you invited to the 1 From Emo(onal Intelligence, Daniel Goleman, Bantam Books, New York, 2005.
school or job but it is emotional intelligence, awareness of yourself, empathy for others, managing yourself and social skills such as leadership, teamwork, communication and managing change that make the difference between talented specialists and inspiring leaders. Think about the bus driver and make a difference in the lives of others. Here are some ways to increase your emotional intelligence: Suggestion #2: Go to a place where you feel dumb. Spend a semester studying abroad, preferably not in an English speaking country. You will learn about their culture and surprisingly a lot about your own. Suggestion #3 Get beyond the classroom. Do an internship with a company or a social service agency. Learn how organizations really work. Suggestion #4 Once each year, take a course off the UMass campus. You belong to a 5 college Consortium. Try a Robert Frost poetry class at Amherst College. Learn about social work at Smith. Try a film-making course at Hampshire or learn about social justice at Mount Holyoke. There s no extra cost. Suggestion #5 Take a class from one of UMass s Distinguished Teaching Award winners. Only 3 out of a thousand faculty win it each year and they are usually nominated by students. Try a class that is not in your major or even in an area of interest. Suggestion #6 Go to your favorite professor s office hours and interview her. You might learn more than in class. Suggestion #7 Set challenging goals but don t go on automatic pilot. You start out young with energy and enthusiasm. You set goals to get good grades and so you can get into a good college. Good college good job. Get a good job make more money. Make
more money take out a loan. Buy a nice car obviously to meet a nice partner. Nice partner nice marriage have nice kids. Then you tell kids to do well in school so they can get into a good college (and here we go, all over again). Remember youthful energy and enthusiasm don t let your goals bury this magical source of what makes you, yourself. Leave autopilot to the airlines. And Suggestion #8 Become a Fisherman The American businessman was at the pier of a small coastal village in South America when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the boat were several large yellow-fin tuna. The American complimented the fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch. The fisherman replied, Only a little while. The American then asked why he didn t stay out longer and catch more fish? The fisherman said he had enough to support his family s immediate needs. The American then asked But what do you do with the rest of your time? The fisherman said, I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a siesta with my wife Maria, and stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play the guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life, Senor. The American scoffed, I am a Harvard MBA and I can help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from a bigger boat you could buy several boats, and eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to middleman you could sell directly to the processor,
eventually opening up your own cannery. That way, you would control the product, processing, and distribution. Then you could leave this small coastal fishing village and move to the capital city of your country, then to Los Angeles, and eventually to New York City, where you would run your own expanding enterprise. The fisherman asked, But Senor, how long will this take? To which the American replied, Fifteen to twenty years. But what then, Senor? The American laughed and said, That s the best part. When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions! Millions, Senor? Then what? The American said, Then you would retire and move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, and stroll to the village in the evenings, where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos. 2 In the blink of an eye you will celebrate your graduation from UMass. Enjoy your time here. You will make some friends and have experiences that will stay with you for a lifetime. Don t forget to play guitar with your amigos and sleep late. Go easy on the wine and sometimes give the goals a weekend off. Cherish your friends, tell your parents you love them, and always remember to make a difference. Congratulations and all the best for the years to come. 2 Author unknown.