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Kyle Kurlick / AP
Appreciate and embrace the journey they are about to take. No one knows precisely what the post-undergraduate years have in store. That's the advice to graduates from Linda Bowden, president of PNC.
After the graduation caps land and the parties are over, two million college alumni will be heading out into the work world.
Some will end up being successful in their careers and others will end up on the wrong work path.
Wouldn’t it be great to know what people at the pinnacle of their careers did?
We’ve asked an array of business leaders from across the country to offer advice to recent grads based on the challenges and triumphs they’ve encountered in their careers. These top dogs offered insights on everything from mistakes they made and how their heros have changed over the years. Some common advice included try to travel as much as you can, follow your passion and learn from your mistakes.
Here’s their advice:
Brian Sharples, 51, CEO of HomeAway
Brian Sharples
(Colby College class of 1982)
Q. What’s the one piece of advice you’d give college graduates today?
A. If you want to be truly happy in life then pursue a career that is aligned with your passion. If you're lucky enough to understand what it is then get started early. Don't focus on money or what other people might think. In the long run, if you do what you love then great rewards, financial or otherwise, will arrive.
Q. What would you have done differently after you graduated college?
A. Before settling into work mode, I probably would have spent a bit more time traveling – seeing the world and meeting people along the way who have explored the planet and themselves. My perspective was too narrow for too long, and traveling may have helped me discover my own passions earlier in life.
Q. What was the biggest mistake you made?
A. I've made too many mistakes to list but I don't regret a single one. The most powerful and memorable learning is born of failure.
Q. What’s the one thing you learned in college that you wish you listened to?
A. Almost everything. I was more focused on getting good grades than actually learning something. There's a huge difference. Later in life you better understand the privilege of having four (or more) years to absorb knowledge without the distractions of the real life that will follow.
Q. Who was your hero when you graduated, and who’s your hero today?
A. I've never been into hero worship, but coming out of college it was probably some rock star or musician. These days I'm more fascinated with entrepreneurs who have a passion for changing the world, like the late Steve Jobs. That said, I still think rock stars are pretty cool.
John Veihmeyer, 55, Chairman and CEO of KPMG LLP
John Veihmeyer
(Notre Dame class of 1977)
Q. What’s the once piece of advice you’d give college graduates today?
A.I enjoy spending time interacting with college students directly on campus through speaking engagements and our campus recruiting efforts. I will be teaching a course at the University of Notre Dame in the future. I also have the pleasure of speaking with KPMG’s younger professionals in various venues.
Here’s the piece of advice I always pass along: Personal integrity is the critical success factor for an individual. And that includes a concern for others and your community. People who take a longer term view – who think about becoming a successful person first, and then a successful business person – tend to be more successful business people in the long run. Personal integrity is something you can and should be building from the day you start your career. As you progress to leadership positions with people reporting to you, the trust that you build up over time by doing the right thing, in the right way, will be essential.
Q. What would you have done differently after you graduated college?
A. In the first ten years of my career, I would have found some way to do a global rotation or work outside of the United States. Having a global perspective - an awareness of and sensitivity to international challenges and being equipped to work cross-culturally - is critical to succeeding in today’s global business environment, much more so than when I began my career. While I was fortunate to garner global experience over the course of my career, I believe this kind of experience early in my career, would have been invaluable.
Q. What was the biggest mistake you made?
A. We all make hundreds of mistakes. In fact, you are probably not challenging yourself enough if you are not making some mistakes. We shouldn’t be afraid to make them. The biggest mistake I almost made was turning down an opportunity to move into a different role within KPMG, which I initially viewed as a bad career move. Thankfully, I listened to the advice of a mentor and accepted the new role, and it turned out to be a great career move. The key learning for me here was to seek career guidance and inspiration from others rather than going it alone.
Q. What’s the one thing you learned in college that you wish you listened to?
A. Be a life-long learner. Don’t view college as the end of your learning experience. I’ve applied this lesson a lot in the past 15 years of my career, but I wish I did so more in the first 15 years of my career. Continuous learning and training in today’s fast-changing business environment is a must.
Q. Who was your hero when you graduated, and who’s your hero today?
A. During summers in high school and college (I graduated from Notre Dame), I had the opportunity to work for my father. He owned a small business. Through his words and actions, my father taught me the keys to succeeding in business were treating everyone you come in contact with - from the most junior person employee to the biggest client - with respect, as well as always maintaining your personal integrity. A lot of people may not view this as a means to succeed in today’s business world, but those life lessons have served me well. My father has and will always be my hero.
Rick Arquilla, 59, president and COO, Roto-Rooter
(Ohio State University class of 1975)
Rick Arquilla
Q. What’s the one piece of advice you’d give college graduates today?
A. Don't hide behind the Internet and e-mail to find a job. Get out there, meet people, and network!
Q. What would you have done differently after you graduated college?
A. Find the right corporate culture. Don't get hung up on what business the company is in.
Q. What was the biggest mistake you made?
A. Chasing money instead of my passion. Find something you are passionate about and the money will take care of itself.
Q. What’s the one thing you learned in college that you wish you listened to?
A. Memorizing and regurgitating will pass the course but it is not learning!
Q. Who was your hero when you graduated, and who’s your hero today?
A. Jack Nicklaus (1975 ). Ronald Reagan (Today).
Linda Bowden, 60, President, PNC, New Jersey
(Rowan University class of 1973)
Linda Bowden
Q. What’s the one piece of advice you’d give college graduates today?
A. I’d say that the one piece of advice for college graduates is that they should appreciate and embrace the journey they are about to take. No one knows precisely what the post-undergraduate years have in store. There are, however, certain traits that are invaluable to success. These include adaptability, determination, broadening your vision, being energetic both physically and emotionally, nurturing yourself, a willingness to be a team player, always acting in an upright and honest manner, not being afraid to be a rebel and being enterprising.
Q. What would you have done differently after you graduated college?
A. I would have worried less about thinking I needed to know it all. I began my post-undergraduate days in teaching, which is a terrific profession but eventually I began to have doubts that my chosen career was right for me, personally. I also would have been more fearless in terms of knowing it was OK to make mistakes—we all do, especially early in our careers.
Q. What was the biggest mistake you made?
A. Staying too long in a role that I knew in my heart was not right for me was probably one of the biggest mistakes I made.
Q. What’s the one thing you learned in college that you wish you listened to?
A. As far as the one thing I wish I’d listened to while in college, it would’ve been the observation that it’s OK to fail. Your failures can sometimes be your greatest learning opportunity. It comes back to the idea of believing in yourself, and realizing those experiences represent an opportunity to learn and develop new skills.
Q. Who was your hero when you graduated, and who’s your hero today?
A. It would be my father. He was part of the greatest generation, and an honest and upright man. My father was always in a life-long learning mode and he encouraged that in us as well.
Jim Goodnight
Jim Goodnight, 69, CEO of SAS
(North Carolina State University class of 1965)
Q. What’s the one piece of advice you’d give college graduates today?
A. If you want to be successful in business, make sure you have some understanding of analytics and when to use them. People who can use analytics - such as data mining and forecasting - to turn raw data into better business decisions have never been in greater demand. With all the talk of “Big Data,” organizations across industries need people who understand how to use analytics to make sense of it all. I encourage this year’s graduates to learn about how and when analytics can support their decisions.
Q. What would you have done differently after you graduated college?
A. That’s hard to say. Things have gone pretty well. The one thing that felt like a mistake was my short stint in Florida. While I was in graduate school at NC State working on my PhD in Statistics, I took a year off to work on the Apollo space program in Florida. We worked in cubicles, we had to pay for a cup of coffee, and employees weren’t trusted. It wasn’t an environment anyone would enjoy working in. I left after a year. While it seemed like a mistake at the time, it was one of those formative experiences that shaped my thoughts about what a good workplace should be.
When I started SAS with John Sall and others a few years later, we decided to create a different kind of company. We gave people their own offices. We provided free drinks and snacks. We set up a sand volley ball court out on the front lawn and built a racquet ball court so employees could exercise on breaks. When one of our first employees had a child, we started an in-house daycare. Thirty-six years later, we still treat SAS employees well, because happy employees lead to happy customers and a healthy company. If a company treats its people like they make a difference, they will make a difference.
Q. What was the biggest mistake you made?
A. I bought an airline once. It was not a data- and analytics-driven decision. At the time, I wanted to maintain a hub at Raleigh-Durham International Airport. Four years and a pile of money later, the airline went bankrupt. It was a mistake, but it reinforced what I already knew - and unfortunately had ignored in this instance: Always check your data and run the analytics.
Q. What’s the one thing you learned in college that you wish you listened to?
A. Listen to what your data and analytics tell you. I’ve made a few big decisions that resulted in red ink, such as buying the airline. In almost every case, those decisions were not supported with good data.
Q. Who was your hero when you graduated, and who’s your hero today?
A. Then: I admired my high school basketball coach and the leadership he showed. He always gave credit to others for successes and took responsibility when the team failed.
Now: Across industries, smart men and women are using analytics to help banks fight fraud, retailers stock the right styles and sizes, hospitals improve patient care, and manufacturers ensure product quality. Today, as we enter a new age of analytics, my heroes are the many analysts, quantitative experts and data scientists who apply their skills and new technologies to transform the way the world works.
AJ Khubani, 52, CEO of TeleBrands Corp., the marketers of “As Seen on TV” products
AJ Khubani
(Montclair State College New Jersey class of 1983)
Q. What’s the one piece of advice you’d give college graduates today?
A. For years I’ve advised students to decide what they are passionate about and to focus their attention on that. Their passion would eventually bring them tremendous personal and financial reward. Today I would add that they should put a bit more consideration into the financial reward part of their careers.
Q. What would you have done differently after you graduated college?
A. I am very happy with the direction and decisions I made after college. I wouldn’t change anything.
Q. What was the biggest mistake you made?
A. Taking too much risk in the business and putting ALL of my personal assets on the line and nearly losing everything.
Q. What’s the one thing you learned in college that you wish you listened to?
A. It is essential to have a monthly financial meeting.
Q.Who was your hero when you graduated, and who’s your hero today?
A. My father then and now.
Brian MacLean, 58, President and COO, Travelers Insurance
(Fordham College Rose Hill class of 1975)
Brian MacLean
Q. What’s the one piece of advice you’d give college graduates today?
A. My one piece of advice to college graduates is don't expect simple solutions to complicated problems. Most of life's really challenging issues are multi-dimensional and can't be solved with a sound bite or a one line vision statement. To resolve difficult issues you need serious people willing to work hard to understand different perspectives and look for collaborative solutions. It's never easy.
Q. What would you have done differently after you graduated college?
A. After graduation I wish I had stayed in touch with the people I had just spent four years with. Today's graduates have the advantages of cell phones and social media, but regardless of the technology you still have to make the effort. I lost something by letting those relationships get away.
Q. What was the biggest mistake you made?
A. I believe the most important and most difficult dimension to business decisions is the human element. Accordingly, my greatest challenge in business has been living up to the responsibility of managing people. When you are responsible for managing someone, or some group of people, your ultimate responsibility is to help them be as successful as possible. This involves assessing their performance and providing prompt, constructive and direct feedback. While it can be difficult to assess performance, it’s a lot harder to communicate your assessment to the employee in a direct and constructive manner. Because giving this feedback involves human emotions most managers, including myself, have made the mistake of not being as direct as they should be.
Q. What’s the one thing you learned in college that you wish you listened to?
A. In my freshman year at Fordham I was told, "Try to get all A's. You probably won't, but you'll have done your best." It was great advice, and it wasn't just about academics. I haven't forgotten the message, but I haven't always fully applied it either.
Q. Who was your hero when you graduated, and who’s your hero today?
A. My hero when I graduated from college was my older brother John, primarily because he helped me get a job.
Leave a Comment:
CEO's telling grads to travel and follow their passions. WTF! LMAO!
1. CEO's are saying this because they don't want competition
2. What student, saddled with student debt has the money in a moribund economy to travel?
3. The modern student has one passion, to earn a bundle of money to pay off their debt so they can start living a life.
Summary: if this is the best advise CEO's can give is it any wonder why this nation's economy is in the dumper?
IDOTS fit only to run for congress (you know that group of apes inside the beltway)
Or, maybe they have some wisdom that others could use...
Ron if that is the case why aren't they creating jobs for those grads instead of shipping them overseas. Oh wait, I get it now they are telling the grads to travel overseas to get those jobs that pay bargain basement wages so those self same CEO's can line their pockets with more profits. I am so sorry I am so dense perhaps traveling to 118 cities in 30 odd countries was just not enough.
You can sit here and wallow in self-pity, but I don't think it's going to do you any good. My experience is, people that work hard to find ways to succeed, generally do succeed. Those that sit around and complain that life isn't fair, generally do not succeed.
Also, the definition of success varies with the individual. For some, it's wealth accumulation, for others it's a happy family life, and there are many other "success" options. You need to decide what is truly the right definition of success for you - then figure out what you need to do to achieve it.
No Ron, you are wrong.
Most graduates are saddled with enormous amounts of debt, traveling costs thousands, especially when other countries currency rates are not so favorable to us. Unless you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, you are going to be stuck from 18-24ish busting your butt for school, then graduate with 60-100,000 in debt, and most likely spend every cent you have on housing, transportation, and bills for the next 25 years. I haven't had a true vacation since I was 18, they are simply too expensive and those of us who work don't have the luxury to travel or golf all day like these parasites do.
Nobody held a gun to someone's head and said they had to take school loans. They can do like me and my wife did - work while in school and delay graduation. They can also look at cost savings such as going to community college the first 2 years, and living with several roommates in less than pristine housing.
If you really want to travel, make it a working travel. As an example, I have a friend that loves Hawaii. A normal vacation there would be very expensive, so what she did was found a program where she can work part time at a camp while she's there - and then she gets a free place to stay, free food, and some spending money.
Life is what you make of it. If you look for ways to fail - you will fail. But, if you look for ways to succeed - my experience is, you will likely succeed.
Where do you guys get this bull@!$%# strawman? Yes these students most certainly do have a gun to their head, the name of it is high unemployment and the lifelong future of poverty staring them right down the barrel, they have been told tens of thousands of times during the course of their life that college is about the only reliable way to improve their future, so of course a full generation of young adults who know the world turned to @!$%# the last 20 years is going to take on far too much debt in the face of that uncertainty.
If you knew that life without a car was pretty much worthless in your town, and you had no way to move or alternate methods to get places you would pay way too much for a car because of its necessity to get to other places in your life, it is the same way with school. Except these colleges have no real accountability for the programs and volumes of students they churn out, they gleefully recruit tens of thousands at a time knowing that 3/4 of them will never be able to pay back the exhorbitant cost of the program, but by then they have long since gotten their cash and they don't care.
Ultimately this a problem that strikes our country at it's core - are we capable of educating this generation effectively and affordably to position ourselves in a strong spot for the next cycle of business growth, or not? All evidence points to not, we are failing big time.
Traveling is a great learning experience. You get more understanding of different cultures, gain perspective, appreciate what you have more; it opens your mind to more possibilities. I encourage everyone I know to participate in overseas studies programs, but even if that isn't feasible and you can't afford to travel yourself after college (you can travel pretty cheap using youth hostels etc), you should keep yourself open to working overseas. Depending on the job/industry, your company might have many opportunities to work overseas (for a couple weeks to a couple years) and they are invaluable to self learning and your resume and a lot easier to pursue when you are younger and less settled.
Ron just defeated the haters with common sense. Well done!
As Ron pointed out there are plenty of alternative ways to travel, and not every student has loans. You can do a semester abroad while getting your education, usually for little/no more than your standard tuition, study in an international program that gives grant money for overseas research, work for non-profit organizations that pay your expenses for youth camps, relief work, research, aid, ect. You can save up some money over the summer and "backpack" it, staying is hostels and camping, you don't have to go five star or not at all. Plenty of young people are finding ways to travel before entering the workforce. Once you have rent/mortgage, car payment, four kinds of insurance, utilities, phone/tv/internet, and on and on and on, good luck finding the time and money to travel for the next 40 years or so.
Knightofdespair,
You can spend your life saying "I can't", and you will probably fail.
Or, you can spend your life saying "I will find a way", and you will probably succeed in some fashion. (maybe a bit different success than planned, but still success)
Ultimately, playing the blame game hurts you more than anyone else.
Nobody is playing the blame game, the simple truth is most college graduates can't afford to travel or start funding a business unless they spent the last 5+ years living at home, anybody who is actually out there paying rent or housing, has to keep up with bills or kids is not going to be off traveling or sinking hundreds of thousands into a company.
It's me again folks. Ron, I worked for 56 years before retiring at the age of 70 for the first 25 years I literally worked 7 days per week 12 hours per day. I had an average tax load (income, state, property, sales, fees and other crap) totaling and average of 50%. If you jerks would compute your total tax burden you would be as pissed as I am. During the 2008 crash I lost over 50% of my 401 k value and two of the companies I had pensions from went bust after pilfering the pension plan. So don't give ME any crap about not paying my dues.
When a nation becomes so corrupt there is no way an individual can protect himself it is no wonder there is a growing bunch of old folks getting more and more fed up with you young whiners and the gimme gimme my BMW'ers who lucked out not having to join the military or paying back one thin dime to to this nation of ours.
It has been my experience having had to train a number of college educated idiots how jobs are really done and even going so far as, after not being able to find qualified help, to go into a community college and rewrite their entire electronics program.
So Ron take your self pity BS and stuff it where the sun don't shine. When you have experienced life in both worker bee and management roles and realize the "greatest generation" raised a bunch of whiners which in turn raised a bunch of selfish do nothings and no nothings then you can yell and scream at me all you want.
The only thing I want is for the leadership of this country and those responsible for the handling of our funds to accept that responsibility, stop gambling, and treat this serious responsibility with a sense of ethics and morality that are most emphatically lacking in today's society.
Put that in your pipe and smoke it along with your weed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
One really fed up boomer,
That pretty much wraps up the position I am in too...........
One fed up boomer: The stock market has nearly doubled since 2008. How is your 401K now? Mine went down and now is back up. I guess you should not have been "gambling " with your 401K plan. There were and are plenty of safe alternatives.
I too am fed up with combined tax rates approaching 50%. I guess we are both voting Republican this fall.
Agree with you about whiner boomers and their worthless kids.
To Boomer, Knight and all the other angry/depressed folks, it sounds like you missed a lot of opportunities along the way which is sad to read. Sure things are rough and there does not appear to be many solutions to the problems we face but if you decide to wallow in self- or collective pity, you will forever remain where you are today. True change can only come from within.
Wary, don't judge a book by its cover I have had a tremendous career that allowed me to contribute to people's entertainment, help a large segment of the handicapped and ESL training, intel work, and a whole lot more so I have had opportunities and am very satisfied with what I have accomplished. I am NOT wallowing in self pity I am looking at my grand kids and wondering what kind of world we are leaving them. That makes me fed up to here when I see such crap as the GSA spending $100's of thousands of dollars on parties at tax payer expense, or the SS which is supposed to protect the president allowing themselves to be subject to extortion and blackmail because they could not leave their dangling participles in their pants while on duty in a foreign country.
If that makes me in your mind a wallower in self pity then I pity you sir. Uncommon traits such as self dignity, honesty, morality, a sense of ethics is not too much to ask but when it is interpreted as wallowing in self pity then oh hell yes I will wallow until hell freezes over!!!!!
Any native speaker can find employment abroad as an English teacher. The hours are short, the pay is enough to live on, and housing is usually provided. Asian contracts usually pay for the cost of the flight as well.
Ron - love your pie in the sky optimism. Thats just the way I think - er... or thought. I was the only one in my immediate family to go to college. And I wasn't exactly encouraged to do so. I worked two years to afford a beat up old car and tuition at a local college. I worked through college, and earned scholarships. I transferred to the State University, and worked while going to school, and commuted back and forth an hour each way to my home. I still came out with debts, but graduated magna cum laude with a degree in science. Couldnt find a job in my field but took what I could to stay afloat. In my first real job, I was underpaid and lived out of a hotel room in remote corners of the country. I was unable to have a social life. I ended up not ever getting married or having children, both of which I wanted, and I sure did try hard to meet that someone special, but my career ate up too much time. Eventually work dried up, and I had to move on. I continued on working in the regulatory end of my career. poorly paid, and highly political. I fell victim to burnout and my career is all but nonexistent now, due to government cuts. So I am now legally below the poverty level. I have been unemployed for over 4 years, and have progressively been looking for lesser and lesser work, but without a response. I am middle aged, with a gaping career gap, and clinical depression because of it. My family members who didnt support my college work then, are just as intoerant now. I hear from them "you should have". But I did the very best I could, and studied what I was best at, followed my passions as it were, but also made sure to study something pragmatic. And yet here I am. Sometimes Ron, in spite of one's best efforts, life just is not all skittles and rainbows. I did everything right. But now I am in a situation where taking my own life is a pragmatic option. There is nothing more frustrating, and shameful, than doing everything right, working your butt off, forgoing other things in life (like a family) to only end up unemployed, alone, and in poverty. Thats not how this was supposed to work. And I am not here for some failure of effort, or moral character, or lack of intelligence. I am angry, frustrated, confused, and disillusioned. So please, provide me with some more old chestnuts about rolling up ones sleeves, and working hard, and how everything will be ok. Because thats not how it turned out for me.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/06/business/more-young-americans-out-of-high-school-are-also-out-of-work.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss
There is your gun to the head, Ron - 16% with high school only are able to find a job, and ones with a degree get jobs but usually not one good enough to justify the time and dollar costs. The entire generation x and y are struggling due to systemic abuses, abuses you and your ilk would like very much to pretend doesn't exist.
This sounds like Monday morning QB-ing or hind sight being twenty twenty. These COE's forget it was their drive to succeed that got them to where they are now. We need less travelers and teachers, and more engineers and entrepreneurs.
I have to disagree. Good teachers are just as important to the success of a country as entrepreneurs because they can help create the mental foundation others need to succeed. Travelling is good because it exposes us to people outside our existing social networks. These experiences can also help lay the foundation for future success.
I didn't see any of the CEO's saying not to be passionate (although I didn't read the entire article)...I saw them saying it's ok to take chances, don't lock yourself into one path, and expose yourself to other viewpoints.
What about traveling engineers? When did us engineers get a rap that we don't travel. Not only do I love to travel overseas for fun (when money/timing permits), but engineering is a global job now. I spent 2 months in China for my job once and I know engineers who have lived/traveled to China, Japan, Mexico, Canada, Australia, Germany, Italy, Finland, Austria and England for their jobs. I know someone with a lucrative job offer requiring travel to India. And if you are an engineer with a second language, you won't be out of work long.
Because we certainly wont be creating any jobs for new grads.
That truly speaks volumns as to how far disconnected these ceo's are from the plight of the average American. Probably half or more of these graduates will still be searching for employment a yr. from now as they default on thier student loans, while half of the other half are wallowing in misery at a no paying dead end job that they were forced to accept just to keep from defaulting because nothing else is available. This nation is totally screwed for everyone underneath the present 10%. TOTALLY SCREWED!
Travel, get more in debt!!
I am not a CEO and have only a hi school degree. But I worked hard and learned as I went through life. I am now running a production plant doing everything from H.R to payroll, Inv., discipline, and anything else that needs done.
I only have a few things to tell them. Work hard and follow your dream. Keep on track and you will make a different for your future. If you fall and get hurt , Get back up and keep trying. The future of this Country is in your hands. Do your part and always go that extra step.
The future of this country is in their hands? The future of this country is in the hands of the puppets and their masters, and they have already sealed it's fate to total destruction.
Harold,
Well said.
Things have changed drastically, Harold. Now they want college degrees for what you do, and God help you if you find yourself out of a job. They want people coming in the doors with a college degree and at least three years experience in just about anything more advanced than Walmart shelf stocker or fast food worker.
It's pretty hard to travel when the majority of Graduates are 25k + in debt to start their lives off with.
No new jobs until after November so you might as well travel if you can. The CEOs have been instructed by the republicans to keep the economy in the toilet until after the election.
Hmm...would these be the same CEO's that fired everyone in 2008 so Obama could win the election?
No most of them got laid off in 2007 when Bush was off at the ranch and the stock market halved in a week. Obama didn't even start until 1/20/2009 btw, your talking points are getting stale.
Ron
It is true that the private sector is sitting on over a trillion dollars of equity instead of reinvesting it into jobs. How do you explain that? It certainly does lend itself to conspiracy theorists. I'm no economist, but jobs beget jobs, if 1,000 more people work in a factory making cars, then there are a 1,000 more people to buy televisions, or go on vacation to Disneyland, or whatever. Then these employees of television factories and Disneyland can afford to.... buy cars!! The private sector has to take a chance and start the ball rolling!
BG, the money that is sitting on the sideline doesn't belong to the businesses and manufacturers in this country. It belongs to the hoards of investment banks/hedge funds/investment groups/energy companies who've already raped and pillaged the middle class pocketbook, retirement savings and homeownership. And they won't give a dime of that to B&I until after the elections. Count on it.
The money is sitting there because businesses are not certain where the economy is going and what the future tax burden will be. Hiring and training new employees is very expensive. And, if you hire too quickly and have to let people go, you often have to pay some kind of severance, not to mention the moral hit on the employees you don't fire.
When companies feel reasonably certain the economy will improve, and the know what the likely tax burden will be the next 3 to 5 years, then they will hire.
No, when consumer demand is greater than what they can meet they will hire. That will never happen until the consumers (also known as workers) make enough to have spending money to fuel increased demand.
Consumers will also spend money once they feel confident in the economy, their likely tax burden, and their job stability.
Stability makes people and companies feel confident. Confident people and companies spend money, which makes the economy go, which increases confidence, etc. etc.
So, the first step is reducing uncertainty...
There is no uncertainty,
You have a wide swath of workers who literally have no spending money and a tightfisted group of CEOs who want to wring even more out of those workers than the already exhorbitant increases they have stolen over the last 30 years.
People buy stuff when they have cash in their pocket, they don't sit around going "Oh wait, I hate obama so I'm gonna wait 4 years to buy a new computer". Companies hire when they are losing money because the current employees can't keep up with demand, something that only happens when demand is high and something few companies have seen since Reagan started preaching supply side economics.
Good grief Ron, how do you suppose uncertainty will be reduced? An upswing in hiring. A good part of the reason for our down economy is recession brained people who are hoarding money because they don't know if they will be working next week. Knight is right when he says demand can be increased if more people are working. Demand drives production, and production creates jobs, and jobs create demand, and demand drives production, and....see how that works? These things are dependent on one another. In general, one cannot go without the other, and the most logical place to start would be to create jobs so people have the money to spend to increase demand, and production, and jobs.
Did any of these CEO's start the company for which they work. Did any start as entrepreneurs with an expertise in their company's product. These are the true leaders. Not the MBA types that stick a new and improved sticker on the same old bland effort.
Very few people who start companies are actually equipped with the proper management skills to continue to oversee the company to its highest potential at a certain point. There are exceptions to the rule, but even if they do have the skills, eventually they will die and they need to have someone in place with plenty of experience and knowledge of the company and goals to keep it going in the future. Very few large companies are ran by their founders, even many of those that retain honorary titles don't actally manage the day to day operations of their companies.
I work for one of these companies whose CEO is quoted in the article, and yes, he did start it from scratch as an entrepreneur who still has vision in addition to managing the day to day operations. I agree with hiap though that this is a rare instance.
Grads to CEO's:
"Give us jobs so we can pay off our students loans... wtf do you mean, 'travel'?"
ban, you're like the proverbial irresponsible homeowners. sure, I'll take a loan for a home but I don't know how I can repay it because I can't think beyond the end of my nose. how about going to a school you "could" afford; how about getting a job while you were in school? rather than having a plan of how you were going to be able to afford college, you had a plan on how many and what kind of loans you could get so you could "enjoy" the college life.
As you now know, very few can afford to "enjoy" the college life. good luck with those loans. they ain't going away and their on your credit records. And, truly, good luck with the job market.
Grads to CEOs -- keep your frigg'n paws off our democracy; stop using your corporate power to buy politicians. Stop shipping jobs overseas. And, for the love of Pete, start paying your fair share of taxes.
Dandy that was a Dandy summation! Bulls Eye!!
I have to agree with Dandy as well. The majority of CEO's seem to have everything skewed to their favor (salary, taxes, golden parachutes, etc.).
When I worked at a internet start up several years back, I actually put in more hours than the CEO who actually deigned to tell us in a large meeting that we needed to work harder as the company wasn't making money. I was putting in 12 to 14 hour days. So, yea that didn't go over well.
Eventually he was let go for his lack of vision. But, I understand he had a payout waiting for him at about half a million. To think that is actually just a drop in the bucket compared to other payouts given for failed CEO's makes me ill.
As a CEO you make out like a bandit one way or another it seems.
I think these comments these CEO's made really shows how little these CEO's know about the state of jobs in this country. Travel? After graduating with a pile of debt following them everywhere they go? Are they @!$%#ing serious?
Whenever a CEO says anything, and I mean ANYTHING, that is nothing but money talking, corporate America saying what it must to stay in power.
It is possible to travel and go to school without tons of loans. Our son got a partial scholarship that covered part of his first 2 years, and we took out a home equity to pay the rest. He cross registered at a prestigious school in our city for a course in his major. Wound up getting a paid internship there. Based on working there and a recomendation by the professor, he is a research assistant in grad school out of State with tuition paid. He went to Europe last summer for 2 weeks staying in youth hostels using $$ he saved while working. Now this summer he has been selected to present a paper in Spain that he wrote. All trave expenses paid. It can be done with hard wor, patience and having confidence.....go for it!
It is difficult to weigh in here in disagreement without sounding condescending. I hope it will come across as genuine and insightful.
I started my company when I was 27 (now 45). I am not saying I speak with authority, but maybe with at least some credibility.
Of course some of the advice these industry leaders offer may not seem practical to recent graduates but there is most certainly something to what they are saying. It has been my experience that a common element among successful business associates is that they are in fact very well traveled. Being well traveled does not necessarily mean traveling well either. Many of these folks spent time backpacking around Europe and Asia. And much of that travel began in their youth with limited funds (not all are trust-fund babies). And even now, many universities offer study abroad opportunities. There really is something to the worldliness of being well traveled. The multicultural exposure, the access to other ideas and ways of thinking, have all added to the balance of professional development of many of these successful individuals. I count my assistant among them. She came from a very disadvantaged background, put herself through college through hard work and determination, traveled throughout Europe for months by living in 10€ / night hostels, She eventually worked at the Embassy in Brussels and now has an outstanding career in international business with my company. She is only 27. So it can be done and she is a contemporary success story. She had a vision. Some call them dreams, I call them aspirations. But she had focus, desire, and determination. And more than anything, and this I can say of ABSOLUTELY EVERY successful person I know, they make no excuses for failure, and they blame no one else or their circumstances for it.
TSPC I understand what you are saying and in a perfect world I would agree with your, however this nation needs to level the playing field so that equal opportunity reaches everyone - it does not.
One other point, when kids are saddled with student debt where do they get the money to travel? We are talking about thousands of kids, law of averages says some will be able to afford to go, some will be able to go on their parents credit card, etc. but most will be scrambling to find a job sufficient to purchase a pup tent and a can of beans in this economy. Had "executives" not shipped jobs overseas over the past 40-50 years we would not be in this crisis right now. The problem has always been the "get rich quick" and to hell with tomorrow attitude that is the rule here in this country. You may want it now but your kids are/will pay for it in the end.
--->however this nation needs to level the playing field so that equal opportunity reaches everyone - it does not<---
Why does the nation need a level playing field? That's called Socialism. I guess there are no winners or losers in such a world either. Look, I am not saying your sentiments of frustration are lost on me. They are not. And maybe the travel option is not viable for some. But truly, the opportunities are available to do so, but they require commitment and hard work. If you can afford to go to college, then you can compete for scholarships to study abroad. Hey I know we are not all gifted scholars, I get it. I am a realist. But academic results from hard work can make such things happen. That is but one way. Believe it or not, there are numerous grants available for academic studies abroad. But one needs to have the desire to find it. But they are most certainly there.
And yes there are many jobs now shipped overseas. But rather than complain about it, one needs to adapt to the global age we are in. Capitalize on it. Find a way to harness you own talents and creativity and make yourself marketable here.........or there. Either way, in twenty years, some of your contemporaries will surely be successful. They are creating their path now and taking risks. Will you be one of them?
the public is not in the position to be able to adapt to this, you act like the 50 million workers who got displaced can all just afford to enroll in school and spent the next 4-6 years going to school full time. Most of these people were already halfway through a career. Most of these people lost half or all of their retirement funds because their CEO decided he wanted an extra million or two Christmas bonus. Until we realize that effective and cheap education is vital to the future of the country, and until companies actually invest in their employees to create stable, decent paying, and worthwhile jobs then you can expect to see worsening poverty and exponentially higher increases in taxes and fees as consumer demand rachets down correspondingly.
One Really Fed Up Boomer, I'm a 60 yr. old boomer. Have been an entrepreneur and also an employee (which I am now). My plan was to get my MS in engineering but while in college there was a massive collapse in the engineering field because of cutbacks in NASA, the airline industry and the war in Vietnam was winding down.
I think these kids today need to "think" about which fields they have a chance to get into. The pursue their "passions" and sometimes a passion does not translate into $$. Practicality is more important than passion. Once a person gets the ball rolling with income, then it's time to pursue the passion with night school or another degree program. And yeah, the continuing educational pursuits don't come with keggers and tailgate parties. Sorry, I'm not feeling your pain.
TSPC In 20 years my contemporaries and myself will likely be dead or in my case 90 years old. What I have posted is base in large part on my personal observations, what happened when wall street got greedy, my rather extensive world travels, and a host of other things not the least of which is the fact that politicians are more interested in the office than doing what is right for this country.
No snow here- I hear you but when you lose much of your retirement income due to so called "expert" financial advise from allegedly reputable financial companies one has to wonder just exactly what is going on in this country.
I do remember my grandfather loaning very significant amounts of money on a handshake and he never lost a penny. In 1970 when he passed - at his funeral the last of the money he loaned out was returned to his estate - almost $700,000. Where is that kind of honesty today? That is an example of what is wrong today-no one would even think of doing something so "foolish" now would they? Yet it was common practice in the northern New England area in the 40's and 50's.
most businesses are failures, hence most CEOs are failures. who really gives a flying @#$% what advice these hacks have for college graduates. all the jobs I've had, the CEOs have been total tools that didn't know a good idea if it bit them in the butt. CEOs can spew all the pc garbage they want, but the fact is they only care about one thing - money.
ALMOST and interesting article. The unspoken assumption is that to be "successful" in life one must aspire to be a CEO in charge of a profitable business. While it is not a bad goal, it certainly is not the "only" path to a successful life. So the message to the graduates is both incomplete and misleading.
The article would have been truly interesting had it included accomplished writers, artists, teachers and other people who have led full lives but did not base success on making money and acquiring corporate power.
I can't believe how many losers there are out there. The one that cracks me up the most is "One Really Fed Up Boomer." What a liberal loser. All of these negative people need to get an education. I am not talking about going into debt, drinking booze, and getting "A"s in subjects like French Literature. How many of you losers have degrees in something useful like engineering or some other useful science? Fifty-five years ago, at the age of eleven, I got my first job. I have been steadily employed every since - most of the time with more than one job. While working 60 hours a week, I got a college degree. I owned my own company for 25 years. I have been to every state in the Union, every Canadian province, and to over 100 countries. Next week, I will go back to Europe for three weeks for pleasure. I haven't been there in over a month. No one is going to give it to you - not even the government. Instead of bitching and moaning that no one has created a job for you, why don't you create one for yourself? And while you are at it, create some for the other crybabies out there.
Been there and done that. I paid more in taxes and other costs to the state and paid the help way more than I ever made myself. After 4 yrs of that crap at 50 - 80 hrs. wk I said to HELL with it!
Mjprz. For your information I am not a liberal loser I am cynical as hell when I hear about the morality of this nation being taught by pedophalic priests. About wannabe presidents committing adultery while their wives are dying of cancer. I hate people who attempt or agree with the idea that their ideas on abortion are back in the dark ages when they don't have the guts to adopt an unwanted child like I did. I hate hyporcrites who were born with silver spoons in their mouths and care nothing about their fellow human beings. I hate the fact that near hollywood and dolly wood we had to have doctors without borders come in and provide medical care because no one gave a damned about them.
If that makes me a liberal then I am damned proud to be called a bleeding heart SOB liberal so stuff it old man!
--->most businesses are failures, hence most CEOs are failures<---
Not sure that is really the case. While it's true that many business fail, most of those are destined due to either a poor concept, poor business plan, unrealistic expectations, poor execution, or limited ability to generate profit. A great many of these are restaurants, pizza shops, auto body shops, landscape companies and the like. Mostly small businesses. The majority of these failures are not the result of the types of CEO's profiled in this article. I will acquiesce that failure is not uncommon to most successful people either. Most of them have learned from it, with their success coming later. Such experiences made them successful. If one does not view them with contempt just because of their wealth and success, then much can be learned from them.
Not sure when money and profit became dirty words by today's youth. Seems that they find hard work and sacrifice to be equally as unpalatable.
those business failure issues you pointed out all go back to the CEO. it's the CEOs responsibility to correct or plan for all such issues like the ones you mentioned. dont let them get off the hook so easily.
money and profit are not dirty words. however, money and profit above all else is a serious issue. I dont despise successful or wealthy people - if it was EARNED HONESTLY. but lets get real, the game is rigged.
I laugh at baby boomers talking about 'the good ole' days' and decrying the youth of today. give me a break. baby boomers are the reason our 21st century economy is a total wreck. the boomers made sure they got theirs, but #$%@ everybody else. the most selfish generation in american history.
When we went from a country that makes things to a country that pushes paper around and makes the bulk of our 'earnings' from speculation, interest, and creative accounting. Today's youth are just fine with hard work, if there were any good jobs out there worth getting that would actually give a comparable quality of life to what our parents had (ie benefits, pension, decent wage, and not going to fire you if the earnings are down a quarter of a percent).
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So manufacturing is the only type of noble profession?
Paper pushing? We are in electronic age where information is a valuable commodity, especially if one knows what to do with it and how to use it. There are many noble professions which are pushing paper as you put it.
--->Today's youth are just fine with hard work, if there were any good jobs out there worth getting that would actually give a comparable quality of life to what our parents had (ie benefits, pension, decent wage, and not going to fire you if the earnings are down a quarter of a percent)<---
Actually, if there are conditions placed on their level of effort, then no, today's youth is not just fine with hard work. They are fine with entitlement. As someone who hires people regularly, I can say without reservation, today's youth (in general ) does not know the concept of true hard work. Of course there are exceptions, but they are rare. And they are likely employed.
BS, all they want is the ability to afford the basics which few jobs out there provide. Why work your ass off when it won't even cover a car payment, much less any other bills?
Are you talking minimum wage earners or career type jobs. Please note I am not knocking MWEs. But Minimum wage is a starting wage, not a career wage.
Obviously you haven't been out there looking as a new grad, for most fields they are the one and the same. Starting wages are way down, benefits are way down, and few companies are willing to help someone relocate. Once someone starts at a place, they are expected to do the work of 3 employees that got laid off because they 'made too much' and there is little or no real opportunity to move up the ladder. College degrees have become the new high school diplomas, and while having a degree means a better chance of getting a job, the vast majority of them are underemployed and the degree is not really vital to the job they are doing.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/06/business/more-young-americans-out-of-high-school-are-also-out-of-work.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss
There is why you have millions going into extreme debt every day.
It's unfortunate but I recommend that a kid going to college today, pick a major which kind of interests him and he can get a job with when he graduates. Also network heavily. Unfortunately, passion no longer is a factor like it was 20+ years ago.
Name me one field that was hot 5 years ago that isn't saturated today, pretty much any field you pick as 'a solid choice' today is going to be flooded by the time you finish.
They must have been CEOs of travel companies, hotel chains, and airlines. Maybe they were really suggesting grads were SOL for jobs and should join the military, travel to exotic lands, meet new people... like the old t-shirt slogan.
In 2033 Social Security will be bankrupt, you will be working your butt off just to pay for everyone that retires before you, when its your time to retire it won't be there for you.
This article sounds like one of those scams that tell you all the goodies your going to miss if you don't send them a check for money and then they will tell you how, not.
The Mayans say that just before December 21 2012 things will escalate in a bad way, lets hear some more debunking here.
Your best bet may be to join your local militia, they are becoming more and more popular.
Traveling, volunteering and such are valuable experiences. If you can't afford to go abroad, at a minimum go to the next state. I am always mindboggled at how many people never leave their own state. Get out there. It's a big country. You can also consider an airline job. Sure you probably will work the ramp but you do get flight passes and when you are young, you are more flexible for space available travel.
"Follow Your Bliss" - pursuing one's passion irrespective of financial gain - was advice I began to follow 35 years ago, and it was among the best advice ever. After years as a low-paid research assistant, I eventually had the career I had long sought, and love what I do.
And to those who maintain it is possible to work one's way through school, I disagree. I was able to work my way through with some financial aid and loans, but today highly technical/scientific degree programs are far out of reach for even the most determined students... not to mention the extreme difficulty of paying the bills while trying to pass Calculus, Physics, a foreign language, etc.
Not supporting education is akin to a nation "eating their seed corn" - a short-term solution that results in a significant loss of competitive advantage in the world market, which can only drag our economy lower into the abyss.
I actually kind of liked the advice given. Sure, there's a lot of CEOs who don't have peoples' best interest in mind, but we can't paint everyone with a broad brush.
I just graduated two weeks ago myself, although at the age of 27, rather than 22. I might be a little behind, and that freaks me out a little, but some of this is good advice nevertheless ( even if I'm more concerned with getting a job than going out and traveling).
I have to say, reading this made me a little frustrated. I graduated with an engineering degree about a year ago, spent the first six months working at an internship while looking for a full time position, was fortunate to take a week off, then started right into the new full time position that I found. I don't see how anyone that just graduated would have the time or money to spend on vacations and doing what they want. Employers look at gaps in your resume and question them. If someone has a couple months between graduating and finding a job, it's questioned. So basically, if you take the time to enjoy yourself and travel, good luck finding a job when you're done with your travels. As if finding a job isn't hard enough...
"I did it my way" ~ Frank Sinatra
Whoa, that Frank is pretty deep.