Walk the Talk

In Attendance

• John Cole,
• Victor Forlani,
• Henry Jacobs,
• Jack Lohbeck
• David Bowman,
• Ben Hartings,
• Alex Percy,
• Jeremy Rambo,
• Erich Wudke

Minutes

1. Mission & Identity: Henry Jacobs & Jeremy Rambo to discuss & give recs next meeting.

* What are we about? What do we do? How are we structured? Relationships with other organizations?

* Ideas shared & summarized below may be useful.

2. Possible Means and Models:

o Interact with Executives regarding matters of Call and of Ethics
o University of Pittsburgh MBA Model ->

o Twice a semester talk in late morning by an executive

o Lunch afterwards with a few MBAs selected by lottery and that executive

o Tribute Meals wherein we thank and honor business people supporting Bus as Call
o Connect with many groups like ours around the Miami Valley ->
o Find out what’s already in place -> for instance those at

Lexis Nexis, Wagner Smith, Rotoract. Find out what’s already in place.

o Our MBA WTT group would constitute one of those groups
o We would also coordinate the programs we are contemplating here.
o Meals before tasks & projects such as video taping or retreat planning
o Semi annual gathering of all with guest executive and / or speaker
o Use Annual Business as a Calling Fall Symposium as one of them

3. Our MBA WTT Format:
o Prayer or Reading / Introductions around the Table / 15 – 18 ideal size
o Business meeting dealing with projects like the BAC Annual Symposium
o Topic du Jour for some mtgs; different member coordinating each. Develop a “Tool Kit”.
o What’s on our mind? Issues we’re facing or wondering about? “Collective Mentoring”

In attendance

• John Cole
• Victor Forlani
• Jack Lohbeck
• Matt Schmitt
• Bob Smith
• Christian Kiewitz
• Jeremy Rambo
• Erich Wudke

Minutes

• Question we struggle with: What are we about?
• How do we roll out MBA WTT to local Business Community? How do we promote ourselves?
• Through Rotary; Generation Dayton, MBA Programs
• Create a MBA WTT UDayton Blog or Quickplace (“WalktheTalkDayton.com “) to be a forum for opinion and reaction for those who cannot attend MBA WTT meetings & promote free flow thinking with provision for anonimity
• How do we raise awareness of ethics in the community?
• Outreach to ethical companies?
• Rotary-style meeting set up with speaker, Q & A, discussions at tables, reports from tables.
• A social - “Beer at Tanks” - once a month?

Refining Our Mission:

1. Support each other in our challenges & opportunities at work
2. Two additional themes: Ethics & Service to Community
3. A forum in which to discuss these issues
4. First part of each gathering -> what’s on our mind? Issues we’re facing or wondering about?
5. Second part -> topical -> based on a brief reading or with an “expert” guest. Or people who have succeeded & done so ethically & as good citizens.

Needs:

• Arrange a program of meetings, regular day and time and place each month.
• Look into another meeting place as we grown

Questions / Issues on our Minds:

• What is a positive company culture like?
• Who or what guides it? What helps or hurts it?
• How often are corporate stated intent and staff perceived intent in tandem?
• Where does change start in a firm? What if anything can we – people in late 20s & 30s - affect?
• We are not running orgs; rather we are competing with others to move up.
• Assess impact we can have on culture as managers of a group even if overall culture is toxic or anomalous.
• Succession of leaders above us: how assess if culture will continue? If new regime looks bad, do we have options other than opting out?
• How can a firm reach out to its communities?
• Can “people in the middle”, in departments or units but not in charge, affect the culture?
  If so, how?
• How participatory is our firm about ethics? Or is it: “Here are the rules. Keep them”?
• Fact that it is often difficult to determine what is ethical in today’s economy.
• Pressures from the press and the market to make quarterly targets.
• Importance that chief executives and their direct reports set tone at the top.
• Ambiguity arising from the customs in various cultures as we trade internationally.
• People often resort to fight or flight in such situations, thereby often resolving nothing.
• Middle ground possible? > cooperation, discussion, collaboration, conversation, dialogue.
• Creating a sense of common purpose, a “we” rather than adversarial us versus them.

Personal Needs:

• Decide between right & wrong now for ourselves. Credo.
• Decide now what success will mean for you as time goes on.
• How do we survive in a toxic or amorphous culture?
• How can we change it?

]

nventory on a Web Page or Blog to get fix on what MBA students / recent alumni sense they need would be helpful. Some initial thoughts:

• List of Possible topics or questions to discuss
• List of Possible Guest Speakers

In Attendance:

• Ben Hartings
• Jeremy Rambo
• Alex Percy
• Erich Wudke
• Rob Sills
• Joseph Drayer
• John Cole
• Al Pierce
• Laura McManamon
• Jack Lohbeck
• Christian Kiewitz
• Victor Forlani

Minutes:

• Brother Victor led us in prayer.
• Jack Lohbeck started us off by relating his experience of pressures in the workplace. He zeroed in on pressures from the press and the market to make quarterly targets. He also described ethical issues on the job site.
• John Cole and Al Pierce chimed in with some of their perceptions and questions:
  • Fact that it is often difficult to determine what is ethical in today’s economy.
  • Importance that chief executives and their direct reports set tone at the top.
  • Ambiguity arising from the customs in various cultures as we trade internationally.
  • Getting a fix on what MBA students and recent alumni sense they need would be helpful.
• We raised the issue of a difficult or toxic workplace and/or poor bosses. How can subordinates address these situations? What do they need to cope with them?
• Discussed the fact that often people resort to fight or flight in such situations, thereby often resolving nothing.
• Discussed the alternative of a middle ground, one of cooperation, discussion, collaboration, conversation, open dialogue. Creating a sense of common purpose, a “we” rather than the adversarial us versus them.
• Brother Victor stated that focusing on that type situation may be a worthwhile goal and an effective way to being our conversation over the next several months..
• Reflected on the fact that awareness of ethical issues is an on-going process. Some practices which are considered wrong today were not always so. Impact of effluents on the environment would be an example.
• Some consider the MBA an awakening process regarding such issues and, hopefully, ways to address them.