Tag: corporate

Associate professor of marketing Robyn LeBoeuf presented research findings to an eager corporate audience in December at the first Praxis Series breakfast. Attendees were surprised to learn that speaking about goals in terms of weeks rather a specific date appeared to motivate people to take initial action toward pursuing goals.

Robyn LeBoeuf

There is more research to be done, as the Q&A time after her presentation proved. There are many more questions about how wording can affect goal-setting to motivate customers or employees.

LeBoeuf’s presentation included research published in her paper, “The Influence of Time-Interval Descriptions on Goal-Pursuit Decisions”. The paper was a top contender in the  2015 Olin Award competition that honors research that impacts business.

Contact or learn more about Professor LeBoeuf here.

Read previous Praxis and Olin Award papers here.

Elizabeth “SiSi” Beltrán Martí, BSBA’04, is Director, Bear Marketing Activation at Build-A-Bear Workshop. She is an active alumna at Olin and has participated as a classroom speaker, a member of the Olin Alumni Board for the last 11 years, a current member of the Olin Alumni Board Executive Committee, a founding member and the current Chair of the Olin LEAD Initiative, a mentor with the Industry Insider Mentorship Program, and a judge for Olin’s Freshman Case Competition.

Because of this and much more, she exemplifies what it means to be a Friend of Olin. Friends are those who are giving of their time, their knowledge, share their years of experience, open the doors of their companies to students and faculty to help Olin build better leaders.

Some friendly questions for our Friends of Olin:

What is the most compelling thing your mentor has shared with/done for you? A senior leader once asked me what my next role at my company would be and I had only one response. He challenged me to always think of multiple “next roles” for myself and continue to explore other opportunities and not work myself into a narrow path or professional corner!

What is the one behavior or trait you have seen impede leaders’ careers?  Not developing their team! It is important for success for people to be constantly challenged and growing with every new task or project. Neglecting to develop your team and continually learn is a direct recipe for failure.

What are you grateful for today? Why? I’m grateful for the St. Louis area! While St. Louis isn’t unflawed, it has the perfect composition for creating opportunity and empowerment for community involvement. There is a big focus on engaging young professionals across multiple organizations and by being involved, it is very easy to have impact. When I talk to my friends in other cities they are always surprised by how much opportunity for civic involvement there is here. And if you can’t find what you want to be involved in… you can create it!

Sisi Beltran Marti, speaking to Olin students about international marketing

Who is your favorite business speaker or author? Why?  One author and business owner that made an impression on me early in my career was David Wagner, author of Life as a Daymaker. In his book he talks about how focusing on making someone’s day will lead to you making your own. While this is a simple premise, it has become one of my guiding principles and serves as a reminder of the benefits of true altruism. This can be applied to both professional and personal situations and the payoff can be exponential and an extreme high!

Robin Peppe Sterneck spent a good portion of her career at General Electric during the Jack Welch era and considerable time at Lehman Brothers. She shared her career experiences with EMBA class 44 during their recent Leadership Residency.

Sterneck opened with the age-old question: Are leaders born or are they developed? In truth, it’s a little bit of both, says Sterneck. She shared her path to leadership spanning 30 years in financial services and the importance of observing role models she found worthy of emulating.

Important lessons Sterneck discussed with the EMBA students include:

• Leading is not about the leader but about the people he or she leads. Focusing on the team is the first step.
• To achieve a leadership position in an organization, find leaders you respect and mimic what you like about them.
• You must positively differentiate yourself amongst your peers.

 About Robin Peppe Sterneck

Robin Sterneck has spent her 30-year career in financial services and business leadership. During her time in Investment Banking at Lehman Brothers in New York she focused on the Capital Markets and Municipal Finance areas, ultimately running the Health and Education Public Finance Department.

Robin then served on several leadership teams at GE including national and global roles in pricing, actuarial, marketing and talent development in addition to leading the $1Billion Commercial Insurance business portfolio and division. In 2006 Robin joined Swiss Re’s Global Management Team as part of their acquisition of GE Insurance.

Robin is currently a member of the Sterneck Capital Management team, an individual investment advisory firm based in Kansas City. She serves on three corporate boards and is a Vice Chair on the JCC Board. Recently she has served on the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation, WIN for KC/KC Sports Commission, and Pembroke Hill School Boards. She has been recognized professionally in the “Women Who Mean Business” feature of The KC Business Journal, as a “People to Watch in Insurance” by Insurance Magazine and the “Mentor of the Year” by the Central Exchange.

Robin loves spending time with family, traveling and working out.

Pictured above: Professor Hillary Sale, Robin Peppe Sterneck and Professor Stuart Bunderson