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 …
Today Dr. Rob features author, Tracy Brower, who was the presenter last week at Rob Pasick’s Leaders Connect Breakfast at Zingerman’s Roadhouse (sponsored by Zingerman’s and Bank of Ann Arbor). At a time when American workers are stressed by the increasingly impossible demands of their employees, Dr. Brower’s message is about how creating a supportive and humane work environment is good for business. This is essential reading for our leaders to consider.Dr. Rob Dr. Tracy Brower is the author of Bring Work to Life by Bringing Life to Work: A Guide for …
Last week, the Michigan University Musical Society, lead by Ken Fischer, was honored with the National Medal of Arts from President Obama at the White House. For my friend, Ken, this was the fulfillment of a dream come true. In my classes at the Business School and the College of Engineering at the University of Michigan, I teach my students that we all have an opportunity to make our dreams come true. As an exercise, I ask the students to share their dreams with their fellow …
Students are flocking back to Ann Arbor and campuses all across the country to start the new school year. Once again I will be teaching a course on Interpersonal Relationships and Personal Development at the University of Michigan Ross Business School. In addition, I have just been asked to teach a similar course for graduate students at UM College of Engineering for the Center for Entrepreneurship. I have designed the curriculum to help students develop positive relationships, improve their emotional intelligence competencies, …
Sit right down and write your 21-year-old self a letter Today, as I prepare to teach this fall, I have an unusual assignment for you. Here is the assignment: Compose a letter to your 21-year-old self with the advice about how to manage his/her career. You might wonder why I am suggesting this assignment. Here is my rationale. This fall I will once again teach an upper level course for the University of Michigan’s Ross Business School. The purpose of …
People often have trouble recognizing their unique gift or special talent. Sometimes if we pay attention, we can learn to recognize the secret of our unique talent early on in life. This was brought home to me in dramatic fashion recently at our 50th year high school reunion. A friend, Donna Gillespie, gave me a copy of an article from the June 1964 Ferndale Eagle Newspaper. The article described a program that I had started at age 16, during my senior year. As …