Word of Mouth Epidemic

22-May-2009
Published in: Ladue News
Author: Benjamin Ola. Akande

This being the information age, I think we sometimes forget the importance of personal communication. In 1990, just after Lexus introduced its luxury cars in the United States, the company realized two minor problems with the LS400 would require a recall. Lexus had decided from the beginning to build its reputation around quality workmanship and reliability, and now, a little more than a year into the brand's launch, the company was being forced to admit problems.

Most recalls are handled in a public announcement via TV, radio, letters to owners, fax or in publications. Lexus wisely decided to convey its message about the recall in the most personal and direct manner. So the company called each owner on the telephone the day the recall was announced. When owners picked up their cars at dealerships after the repair work was completed, each car had been washed and the tank filled with gas. If an owner lived more than 100 miles from a dealership, the dealer sent a mechanic to the owner's home; in one instance, a technician flew from Los Angeles to Anchorage to make the repairs!

Needless to say, the company emerged from what could have been a disaster with a reputation for outstanding customer service that continues to this day. One automotive publication later called it "the perfect recall." By going the extra mile in a personal way, Lexus successfully kick-started a 'word-of-mouth epidemic' about the quality of its customer service–something that would not have happened had the recall been conducted through letter, fax or media broadcast.

This is a story about the value of communication. The effectiveness of our message can depend more on how the message is delivered than the message itself–and that includes our dealings with colleagues, business partners and clients. Do you take the easy, least resistant way to communicate your message? Have you become addicted to e-mail, more comfortable sending those impersonal sound bytes than meeting face-to-face? Do you prefer to leave a message on the voice mail rather than engage in a telephone conversation? Are you eager to draft memoranda to colleagues outlining an idea and/or concept and shy away from calling a meeting or walking down the hallway for a brief discussion? Beware.

We live in a world of instantaneous information where we demand immediate response(s) to all our questions. We find a way to get what we need, when we need it. But all this immediacy comes with a steep price. We have dehumanized the value of looking someone in the eye, observing their body language, and assessing a positive or negative reaction to our message. Remember: There is no replacement for that. Gone are the days when we rely on the variation in a person's voice for an indication of how they respond to our ideas, comments, observations. Today we have literally to read between the lines, to guess what the words truly mean, hoping against hope that the written word is accurate.

How are you communicating your message? That is something everyone, from friends to business associates, should ask themselves. And is that communication the most effective way to convey your message?

Finishing What We Start: A Lesson in the Power of the Positive

27-Apr-2009
Published in: MarketWatch
Author: Benjamin Ola. Akande

The following is a statement by Benjamin Ola Akande, Dean, School of Business and Technology, Webster University:

During these times of global and personal disarray, it's easy for an overall gloom to creep into our lives, without our even being aware that it's happening. Yet amid the doom and gloom, we can usually find paradigms of courage so inspiring they help us put life in perspective. I had the privilege of witnessing one such example during the recent graduation ceremony of Webster's Marymount campus MBA program in California.

Among the graduates was a young woman in her mid-30s whose personal story speaks to the resiliency and character of many, many people the world over. As the festivities sprawled across this picturesque campus on the tip of the Pacific Ocean, I noticed this young lady with a bandana on her head. You couldn't miss her. She displayed a youthful vigor, warmth and energy that belied her sobering circumstances. For while all those around her were jubilant amid the congratulatory wishes of family and friends, she had accomplished something in addition to earning a degree: She had beaten breast cancer. She had successfully completed her education while balancing work, life, family and a battle with cancer. Yet it was clear by her demeanor that neither energy-draining chemotherapy nor the threat of death had dampened her spirit.

So how does all this figure into a column on business? Call it a lesson in the power of the positive. This woman clearly focused on what could be achieved, rather than what could not'something businesses, investors and consumers can all benefit from, especially these days. She did not let the darkness overtake her daylight. Instead, she illuminated her world and those of her classmates, as well, with her light. As I watched her, it occurred to me that many of our students across the world of Webster face mind-numbing challenges while striving to get an education and earn a degree'a sobering thought when we are inclined to grouse about the shrinkage in our 401Ks.

No, life is not fair, but is that important'or even relevant? Many who work hard to overcome challenges are still thrown additional curve balls at 96 miles an hour, yet they step up to the plate and wait expectantly for the next pitch. But just like these 'batters,' we as a nation are being tested in today's economic climate. It is a test of attitude and character. Are we acting with integrity no matter how tough our circumstances get? Are we able to remain positive and prevent the ensuing economic times from bringing us down?

Life is a long marathon with rough roads, speed bumps and unexpected turns along the way, but the winners are those who have trained their minds as well as their bodies. It's a journey that we all get to travel just once, and the obstacles along the way make our achievements all the better. In closing, I recall the poem by Patrick O'Leary, Nobody Knows It But Me, which speaks to the journey of life, the personal battles we confront daily, and the importance of tapping our inner selves to help us finish what we start.

There's a place I travel when I want to roam,

And nobody knows it but me.

The roads don't go there and the signs stay home,

And nobody knows it but me.

It's far, far away, and way, way afar,

It's over the moon and the sea.

Wherever you're going that's wherever you are,

And nobody knows it but me (you).

Soapbox: The Web Savvy Generation

5-Apr-2009

Published in: Financial Times

Author: Benjamin Ola. Akande

In his book, How Will Millennials Manage?, Professor James Heskett of Harvard Business School says leaders of the future must be able to embrace change. No problem: born between 1982 and 2000, 115m iPoders are waiting in the wings and fast-paced change is what they are all about.

Who are these iPoders? They are a growing population that is internet-savvy, phone-addicted, opportunistic and digitally conscious.

The iPoders have extra limbs to accommodate an iPod, BlackBerry and laptop. This iGeneration is the first raised exclusively on computers. They move at breakneck speed, texting, e-mailing and twittering. Technology is their oxygen.

From the horrors of September 11, 2001 to the limitless possibilities of digital technology, the iGeneration has seen the worst and best the world has to offer. An added burden is that they have become the post-great- recession generation.

So what will the future look like with iPoders at the helm? It will be a future of innovative doers, who value independent thought. To stay relevant, organisations must successfully recruit and retain them. Andrea Hershatter, associate dean at Goizueta Business School, Emory University, says of iPoders: "They don't feel entitled because they are special. They just want to have those who are closest to them support their quest to achieve and accomplish meaningful goals."

The iPoders want things to move at a pace that is incomprehensible to the baby boom generation.

The greatest challenge for iPoders is discovering that wisdom cannot be attained from behind a laptop or from an iPhone. They want a world without limitation: wireless access any time and anywhere. While they form and sustain their social and, some day, business connections, technology is their one true, constant companion. My advice to iPoders is to seek what Professor Dorothy Leonard of Harvard calls "deep smart" – achieved by learning from other people's mistakes, seeking wisdom from others and, if I may add, embracing the traditional mode of learning in the classroom.

An iPoder's rule of thumb is: "Don't ask until you've Googled" – and they see technology as a way to answer all life's questions, as well as to meet people and stay connected with friends. Trust does not need to be developed face to face. For a generation that uses the internet to buy everything from cars to diapers, trust can be nurtured through social networks and e-mails.

I recently asked some students: "What should business schools do to engage iPoders? Their responses were pointed. The iPoders want schools to recruit young faculty who are practitioners in their fields. They are concerned about being competitive in a tight marketplace and question the value of faculty with little or no corporate experience. They question the readiness of such faculty for the corporate world when their academic preparation has been based on strategies learnt in the classroom that may not be relevant in today�s financial environment.

The iPoders want business schools to introduce delivery methods that use blogs, social networking sites and texting. They predict that the future belongs to those schools that transform themselves by operating in the internet-driven space.

Organisations that harness the iPoder's understanding and appreciation of technology, recognising innovation long before it arrives on the scene, will be the destinations of choice. The organisations that iPoders will be attracted to are the ones savvy enough to welcome emerging trends, bold enough to change long before they have to and smart enough to recognise technology as the currency of the future.

The iPoders know the economic climate offers opportunities enabling them to emerge from today's crisis empowered and ready to transform the future. They are determined to learn from the failures of the previous generation but do not want to waste time doing it. Their sense of constructive impatience gives us hope for our future.

Benjamin Ola Akande is dean of the School of Business and Technology, Webster University

Lessons from Humpty Dumpty

20-Feb-2009

Published in: Forbes.com

Author: Benjamin Ola. Akande

As a child growing up, I was raised and nurtured with nursery rhymes, some made up by my parents, others borrowed from a long list of universal rhymes. One has stayed with me all my life: It is a story of risk, failure and perseverance, the story of Humpty Dumpty, the anthropomorphic egg who tried to defy the odds and met with interesting results. Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Humpty Dumpty together again.

The key word is the very last one: 'again.' It implies that this wasn't the first fall for Humpty; he was a serial risk taker. In my eyes he was bold, fearless, unrelenting and entrepreneurial. Humpty obviously believed in setting stretch goals and was very familiar with the reality called failure. But, this egg refused to allow failure to define him. Failure for Humpty was just real-time feedback, an opportunity to regroup, reassess and try again until success was eventually achieved.

That attitude is a most valuable skill in today's challenging climate. The wall is a simple metaphor for the singular act of overcoming adversity. Climbing a wall is moving beyond where you are, overcoming adversity, challenging conventional wisdom, pursuing goals that are not easily achievable and refusing to give up in that pursuit.

There are many people the world over who now find themselves faced with the greatest challenge of their lives. They have lost jobs, homes, life savings and are gradually losing confidence. They are down because they have fallen. As we contemplate the severity and hopelessness of the present and seek to overcome the uncertainty of the future, I believe it's helpful to invoke the story of Humpty, a journey of endurance and the willingness to keep trying. The lesson behind a childish rhyme speaks of the courage to seek challenges, to gratefully accept help when needed and to persevere when there is no apparent reason to do so. It's also a reminder that even when you do everything right–remain loyal to your employer, invest your money in a 'foolproof' fund, pursue the American Dream--you may fall and fall again. Remember, when we fall we should strive to get back up and not allow setbacks to define who we are.

No one is perfect. At times, we make faulty judgments. Perhaps we overreach as we try to make life better for our families. Sometimes, we act based on fear versus hope. At other times, our overconfidence leads the way when it should be tempered. Occasionally, our desire to keep pace with our peers leads us down a slippery slope. All of these imperfections speak to the story of Humpty and the resolve to scale the wall of obstacles. There is a little Humpty Dumpty in all of us. We have fallen, yes. We have been broken, certainly. But somewhere deep inside–behind the doom, beyond the gloom–we still have our eye on that wall and are ready to successfully climb it, cracks and all, as insurmountable as it may seem.

In closing, I am particularly impressed with Humpty's support group: his friends, all the king's horses and all the king's men. They provided the ultimate safety net. We have all climbed that wall and have fallen many times, but if it weren't for our 'king's horses and men,' getting back up would have been impossible. They gave us the endurance to keep on keeping on. These are the kind of friends we all need, especially these days.

As we grapple with these difficult financial times, may our journey be blessed with good friends and may we learn as much from our falls as we do from our ascents.

Benjamin Ola. Akande, Professor of Economics, Dean, School of Business & Technology, Webster University.

Ten Most Interesting: Benjamin Akande

29-Jan-2009Published in: Ladue News Author: Trish Muyco-Tobin

For as long as he can remember, economist Benjamin Akande has been fascinated by success, specifically by what makes people successful. Given to perusing several books at a time, Akande is currently enjoying Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers: The Story of Success. "It's a very interesting book about why people succeed," he says. "One thing is very clear: In many instances, success doesn't come because we're born with the intellectual capacity to be successful, it comes as a result of hard work."

Akande himself is an American success story. Born in Nigeria, he spent much of his childhood at boarding school, away from his parents and four sisters. He says having a certain level of independence allowed him to discover himself. "It was a time to grow up: to make mistakes and learn from them. It was all about education and preparation."

Education was the reason Akande came to the United States 30 years ago. He attended Wayland Baptist University as an undergraduate, received a doctorate in economics from the University of Oklahoma, and completed post-doctoral studies at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Akande's interest in economics began in his teens. "I wanted to understand how the economy worked, as well as what caused interruptions, when things don't work as they should," he says. A penchant for reading soon followed. "I read everything I could get my hands on, newspapers, magazines, fiction. Back then, we'd get most of the papers two days later. But it didn't matter. I'd read them as if they were new," he recalls. "Being able to see and read different writing styles helped me formulate my own. It also expanded my imagination and took me to places I'd never go."

Since 2000, Akande has been dean of Webster University's School of Business & Technology, overseeing 13,000 business students and working with 1,500 staff throughout the university's worldwide system. "My responsibility is to provide leadership in curriculum and innovation, as well as ensure that we're constantly challenging the most important people at Webster, the students."

Aside from his duties as dean, Akande also maintains a strong public presence in print, on the airwaves and around town. He's been recognized as one of the city's most influential leaders, serving on the boards of The PrivateBank, Newberry Group, Xiolink and Beyond Housing, and consulting with a number of Fortune 500 companies. "I'm constantly engaging the private sector, seeking input and building relationships," he says. "The experience has served as my laboratory of sorts, as it has enabled me to implement ideas that could grow and transform organizations."

When he's not making presentations to business and financial organizations or delegating academic directives, Akande can be found listening to jazz, reading a book or two, or spending time with his wife, Bola, and their daughters, ages 16, 13 and 8. "We hang out, play pick-up soccer in the backyard or ping-pong, the kids are not as good as me but they're getting there." He also enjoys storytelling. "It's having a conversation with my kids, and a way for me to stay connected with my past."