Each week in my Interpersonal Relations class at the UM College of Engineering and the Center for Entrepreneurship, I bring in a speaker from the community. Last week the class hosted the President and CEO of the Ann Arbor Art Center , Marie Klopf, and the students absolutely loved her. She shared with them her experiences as an engineer, an entrepreneur, an angel investor, as well as most recently a leader in the arts community of Ann Arbor.
Three of the engineering students interviewed her and then led a stimulating class discussion. At the end, I asked each of the 40 students to share their take-aways from the session. Today in Dr. Rob, I present you with some of these students’ learnings from Marie’s wonderful talk.
1. Before designing your next great enterprise or app, first listen to what the customer needs.
2. In life… leap and the net will appear.
3. Life is a game of guts.
4. Your way is not always the right way.
5. If the team decides go in another direction, you have a choice: either get on board enthusiastically or get out.
6. Always find time for family.
7. Do not get stuck in the same job forever, but also don’t jump around too fast. Three to five years in one job is about right.
8 Have enough faith in people to let them fail or succeed on their own.
9. Variety is the spice of life.
10. Don’t let go of control of your own life.
11. Before you take the money, know where it is coming from and what strings are attached.
12. “You can have it all, but you can’t have it all at once” – Cokie Roberts, best selling author and political commentator.
13. Never be afraid to go for it.
14. Always strive to continue learning.
15. Take risks and do not be afraid to fail.
16. It’s not just the amount of money, but how you earn it that matters.
17. Put a piano out in front of your store, like the Ann Arbor Art Center did.
18. Respect differences.
19. If you’re going to fail, make it a meaningful failure.
20. Be very careful who you get into business with.
21. Life is one big roller coaster – enjoy the ride!
Many thanks to Marie.
I’m interested in what tidbits of advice my readers have for the class too.
Dr. Rob