Today I am scheduled to lecture to the Math Club at University of California at Irvine (UCI). I always relish the opportunity to speak to students. In the past, I have also talked to MBA students at UCLA, USC and Cal Poly Pomona. My burning desire is simple: so much practical client-side case history is never taught at any university. Usually it is about theory, not day to day use. By sharing, we empower the structural pillars of the respective disciplines we represent.
As I mentioned earlier in another post, our country is way behind in developing math. It’s skills drive modeling, Big Data and machine learning. Yet, very few math majors are exposed to business people and the opportunities they can pursue within these branches of Marketing. Over my 35 year career, I have frequently hired employees from these university programs. They are green to the ways of business, but they have always been fast learners. By any measure of success, all have advanced to senior positions within the enterprise analytics software and media buying spaces.
I myself have had many powerful mentors along the way. I count Dr. Peter Drucker as one. There are many other heroes in my life who imparted wisdom to me. I encourage all my contacts within Linked-In to participate in assisting today’s young employees or candidates. As Gen M now represents 25% of the work force, they place a high value to mentorship as one of the best job perks. I view my career as a marathon, and it is nice to build a cadence with young people who wish to stay instep.
