"Engineering Management Thought of the Week" Jeff Glass

The first day of classes for Duke is this week!  This is always an exciting time.  Students have survived a demanding orientation schedule by now and are ready to jump into their courses.  I have been blogging this summer more about real time “on-the-job” issues rather than student and graduate school issues.  So as the new school year gets started, I would like to steer the discussion to what you should do to prepare for graduate school.  The most important suggestion I have is to remember that you are no longer an undergraduate and that the purpose of graduate school, especially in the case of the MEM Program, is to prepare for the “real world”.  Here are some thoughts on how best to do that: 

Professionalism – Start right away thinking about how to develop and demonstrate the somewhat amorphous thing called “professionalism”.  You cannot imagine how being the most professional of a set of new recruits at an organization will set you apart.  But what does that really mean?  There are lots of ways to look at it but I think the idea of “adhering to a set of quality standards in an organization” is one way to look at it.  But a laundry list of what it means may be a little easier to grasp:

• Respect others; respect diversity – continuously demonstrate this respect
• On the (rare) occasion that you cannot make, or will be late on, a commitment, let someone know
• Be proactive and positive; take responsibility for your actions and your environment
• Identify, and help resolve, problems
• Check your appearance, know how to dress for the occasion
• Demonstrate integrity (honesty; sincerity; trustworthiness – and again, honor your commitments)
• Be open, direct and forthright
• Make your actions and words consistent (do what you say you are going to do)
• Provide clear, logical written communication with appropriate tone, grammar and spelling
• Be articulate in your verbal speech and listen actively to others.

Underpromise/Overdeliver – When students first arrive at Duke for their graduate degree, it is natural to want to get involved in everything and experience as much as possible.  The problem is that most of you do not have the experience to be able to judge how much you can take on – there are only 24 hours in a day!  So push yourself to do as much as possible, take some risk by trying new things but be careful not to let your colleagues, professors or friends down by promising more than you can deliver.  And if you do find yourself in that position, take responsibility for your mistake and inform all those who are impacted and don’t let it happen twice. 

Balance – Balance is an important concept for your career in management and your time as a graduate student.  You will always be balancing competing needs as well as demands for your time.  This balance is dynamic and needs to flow with the environment.  You will need to move more in one direction or another depending on your judgment of what is needed at any point in time.  Of particular importance in your graduate work, will be balancing the following:

• Academics vs. Job Search Activities
• Extracurricular vs. Course Activities
• Social vs. Individual Activities

There is no single right way to balance these activities but I would urge you to be careful not to lose the “long term” considerations as you make these decisions on where to focus your time.  It is easier to react to short term, sometimes urgent issues that may not be as important as the long term issues when considering your career goals.  In fact, the impact of learning as much as possible during your time at Duke is tremendous because it can be valuable for many years into the future.  It will be beneficial for your career over multiple jobs and multiple organizations.  Whereas some activities are focused more on a short term goal or need, learning is an investment that will pay off for years to come.

Representing the MEM program – It is important to remember that you represent the MEM program in everything you do while you are here and in your work life after you leave Duke.  (You will also be representing your company when you begin work).  Every year we hear from a variety of groups including employers, faculty from the Fuqua School of Business and prospective students, about their experiences with MEM students.  Those we hear from tend to stereotype our students and program based on very limited interactions – MEMP students are “________” (fill in the blank depending on the interaction – articulate, respectful OR pushy, self-absorbed…..).   Many times these groups are “wowed” by our students but too often, one bad interaction, one student who is disrespectful or unprofessional, causes someone to make a negative assumption about MEM students; thereby giving us a hole we need to dig out of, hurting not only you but many MEM students who follow you.  So PLEASE consider the broader consequences of your actions whenever you interact with others; you are representing the MEM program and all your fellow students.

Take advantage of Your Technical Roots – Every year, some fraction of our incoming students are expecting to leave their technical roots behind.  But think about it, there are several reasons why this is probably not a great strategy.  How can you add value to an organization without in some way utilizing what you have studied during your 4 years as an undergraduate?  You will learn business fundamentals during your time in the MEM program but if you don’t also build on your previous background, it is as if you are starting over and only have a year to learn something of value to the company instead of five times that (i.e., your undergraduate degree plus your MEM degree!).  Part of the problem is that students sometimes focus on what they want in their future without considering what value they provide to the organization.  It is this value that determines if an organization will hire you, not what you need or want!  And consider the relatively small number of people who have the technical background that you have.  This means you are more likely to be competitive if you take advantage of your technical background. 

Well, there are many other things to keep in mind as you enter the MEM Program but I think this is a good start.  As you familiarize yourself with the new environment in graduate school, consider how you can lead by example and help develop a culture that reflects the goals of the program and the aspirations of its graduates.  It will be great practice for your job after graduation too.