Exposure, opportunity, and a broad perspective are the recipe for his success. Dr. Anthony Wilbon has been a mentor and guide to many first-generation students and now leads award-winning business programs at Howard University, ensuring the next generation of students understands private equity, wealth management, and investment banking.
Dr. Anthony Wilbon is the Dean of the prestigious Howard University School of Business. His expertise is in strategic technology management. He is also a certified Project Management Professional (PMP). Dr. Wilbon's research areas include technology strategy, quantitative analysis, information technology, and technology innovation and entrepreneurship. He received his Ph.D. from The George Washington University, an MBA from Howard University, and his BS from Michigan State University.
Dr. Wilbon's focus: "...with significant global challenges, we must evolve to ensure our students are competitive in the landscape in which they will embark upon. We are making strategically intentional changes...to create an innovative learning environment where excellence is woven in the fabric of what we do."
Need a good read? Check out Dr. Wilbon's - fictional technothriller and suspense novel, The Enigma of Njama.
Dr. Anthony Wilbon is the Dean of the prestigious Howard University School of Business. His expertise is in strategic technology management. He is also a certified Project Management Professional (PMP). Dr. Wilbon's research areas include technology strategy, quantitative analysis, information technology, and technology innovation and entrepreneurship. He received his Ph.D. from The George Washington University, an MBA from Howard University, and his BS from Michigan State University.
Dr. Wilbon's focus: "...with significant global challenges, we must evolve to ensure our students are competitive in the landscape in which they will embark upon. We are making strategically intentional changes...to create an innovative learning environment where excellence is woven in the fabric of what we do."
Need a good read? Check out Dr. Wilbon's - fictional technothriller and suspense novel, The Enigma of Njama.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Welcome to Team Leadership Radio. I'm your host, Doctor Cecilia Martin,
and I am so glad to be with you guys today. Hey,
I have received your emails, your texts, your notes and
phone calls all as well. We have been just so
busy juggling projects, but we are back on track. Thank
(00:51):
you from the bottom of my heart to all of
my team players, faithful listeners and subscribers, not just in
the United States, but to my listeners in Brazil and India, Israel, Japan, Ecuador, Denmark, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria,
Malaysia and the Philippines. Thank you for tuning in and
(01:14):
I promise it has been worth the wait. I am
so honored to have with me today a very special guest,
Doctor Anthony Wilbon, Dean of the prestigious Howard University School
of Business. Doctor Anthony Wilbond's expertise is in strategic technology management.
(01:36):
He is also a certified Project management professional. Doctor Wilbond's
particular areas of research include technology strategy, quantitative analysis, information
technology and technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship. His professional experience and
capabilities extend to business management and technology related topics, including systems,
(02:02):
application and technology, production and operations management, project management, systems, development,
life cycle and quantitative and qualitative research methodology. Doctor Anthony Wilbond,
Dean of Howard University School of Business, who is the
epitome of excellence. Thank you for joining me on Team
(02:24):
Leadership Radio. It is such an honor.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Thank you, Doctor Martin. Appreciate you having me on.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
So let's dive right in. We want to know the
man behind the title, the man behind the role. Tell
me what a little bit about your family and what
it was like growing up in Flint, Michigan.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
Well, I mean, my beginnings are relatively humble, I think.
I mean I didn't come from a super sophisticated academic background.
We were pretty simplistic in terms of being a basic
blue collar, middle class family growing up in Flint, which
was at the time a very very big help for
(03:05):
General Motors. It was a lot of General Motors plants,
and so it was right for the migration of African
Americans from the South to the north to get those
jobs in. My family was part of that migration, and
so again I grew up in a fairly middle class
family and most everybody kind of employed by General Motors.
(03:27):
Flint at the time was a strong economic environment, great
school systems, and pretty good place to grow up at
the time.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
M h and, so are you an only child or
do you have siblings?
Speaker 3 (03:41):
No? I had.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
I have an oldest sister, and I was the second
in that line of four siblings. And my older sister
is quite a bit older, was about twelve years older
than it was three of us in a row.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
Oh wow, South it was like fun, yeah, okay, all right.
And your mom and dad, what did they do for
a living?
Speaker 2 (04:07):
So they both they both worked at General Motors. I mean,
you know, again, at the time, I think Flint probably
was about a couple hundred thousand people in the city.
General Motors was the largest employer. Bucles headquartered there. There
was Chevy plants and several several subsidiary plans of General Motors,
(04:27):
and my parents worked there. Again, just basic education, but
it was an opportunity for this company. Really gave them
an opportunity to have a very strong middle class lifestyle
in spite of the fact that they didn't have a
you know, a great educational background.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
Mm hmmm. So what drew you to college particularly, I'm
guessing because of the culture and where you grew up
electrical engineering was the thing to do or did you
dream of being an engineering when you were a child?
How did you get it?
Speaker 2 (05:00):
There? No, absolutely not, you know again, because of the
environment of Flint, really the school systems were developed to
get people out of high school and go work for
the plants. There was really not much college prep going
on at all. Most people just migrated directly into plant jobs.
(05:22):
So it was fairly rare.
Speaker 3 (05:23):
For anybody to.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Go to college at the time that I was there,
unless they were on some kind of athletic scholarship or
something like that. So it was toward the tail end
of my high school career that general motors started to
decline and people are looking for alternatives, and the schools
really weren't prepared for that as well. So I kind
of fell into college as an option, knowing that I
(05:46):
didn't want to work in the plant through at the
time that I was there, they had options for students
to go to vocational school, and so I went to
a vocational school. It was part of connected to the
front public schools, and there's where I met a gentleman
who was an electrical engineer. I was taking electronics course,
(06:08):
and he kind of exposed me to what that what
that career might look like, encouraged me to follow it.
I had no idea what that, what that even was,
what electric engineering was, and he actually had, uh was
a graduate of Michigan State University, so he gave me
insights on what it.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
Would be like there.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
And then I had visited colleges because I was on
the track team at Very's tracked me, so I had
you know, I kind of got enamored by the college
environment through that exposure, and so that was my opening
to pursue that career option at that university.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
Yeah. Sure, So you are a first generation college student.
What was that like for you? Not just academically, I
mean clearly you were smart, bright young man, but what
was it like to adjust socially to the college life
as a first gen college Well, to be honest with.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
You, it was completely shocking, to say the least. First,
that you know, most people kind of take for granted
that you know they're going to college is an easy transition,
and particularly if you have parents or other siblings or
other people have gone before, you kind of have some
thoughts about what it would look like being a first
(07:23):
generation college student. It's really a culture shock because you
really don't know what to expect. And again, academically, even
though I was smart enough to compete, I wasn't really
prepared to compete because I didn't come from a college
prep high school. So the first year was certainly challenging
(07:43):
to get used to being away from home on this
college campus. At the time, Michigan State was a huge
campus still is forty five thousand students, and so it's
easy to kind of get lost in that as a
people and so forth. But it was, you know, I
I adapted fairly quickly and within the you know, during
(08:07):
the first year it was usually transition into the academic piece.
The social piece kind of caught up with itself.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
Sure, did you join any clubs or fraternities?
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Yeah, I was all of it. I was, you know,
I kind of fell into at the time when the
dorm that I was staying in had student government and
also a black caucus, So I became president of the
student Black Caucus for the dorm. I also joined Cap
Alpha Pside fraternity. At the time, I was exposed to
various clubs within the engineering college and so yeah, you know,
(08:43):
after the first year and actually, even during the first year,
I really kind of got involved pretty quickly into the
social scene and the club organizational scene.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
Sure, I think those are very important because I know
a lot of students don't feel prepared their first year
of college, and so I think joining those activities and
clubs are very much helpful. But it really is just
a learning process. You just have to work it out
that first year being on your own independent. I think
for me it was a little different because I was
(09:14):
coming I was still in the military when I went
to college, and so I had had that privilege of
training and development in the military. So by the time
I got to college, I was a little bit more
disciplined and focus, I think than some of my peers,
only because I took a year or two to get there.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Yeah, that's very helpful.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
Yeah, so you prompted, So you went to so you
got your undergrad and then you went on to get
your NBA. Tell me about your experience at Howard. How
did you go from Michigan to Washington, d C. That's
a big stretch there.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
Well, when I finished my undergrad and engineering, my first
job was with a company called Westernhouse Electric, which is
now called North of drumming, and so I was working
in radar systems, building radar systems for F sixteen fire
planes and so forth. It was very detailed work, working
(10:11):
in a lab on various modules and circuitries and those
kinds of things, and so I realized fairly early on
that that was not an interest to me. It was very,
very particular and specific and isolating work, and I wanted
to have a broader perspective of the organization and strategies
(10:34):
and those kinds of things. So I explored, you know,
just thinking about options, explored the NBA and went to
Howard to get that. And at the same time, I
also started transitioning into consulting work. So I was doing
my MBA part time while I was working as a
consultant for various firms Blues Allen and Hamilton company called
(10:56):
American Management Systems, and so I kind of allowed me
to and those companies I was doing kind of a
technology consulting were working on it's not like communication systems,
and so it allowed me to kind of merge my
technology background in engineering with what I was learning in
my MBA program and apply it at the organizational level.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
So I know, you had a great experience in Michigan.
Tell me about your experience at Howard and how was
it different than your undergraduate experience at Michigan Michigan.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
Well, it was significantly different. Michigan State, as I mentioned,
student population is about forty five thousand students at the
time when I was there, it was only about four
percent African American. So of that forty five thousand students,
about two thousand of us were African Americans. So it
wasn't you know, you had to adapt to that environment
(11:51):
being a minority and not in kind of isolating. Howard
is just the opposite. Being an historically black college. You
had a much deeper exposure to the culture of people,
African American people, a much deeper appreciation of how we
(12:11):
fit into society. So much of the academics in the
in the social aspects of the university kind of infuse
into students, uh, what role their disciplines play in the
world based on their cultural positioning. So it was it
was a completely different mind shift after spending time at
(12:33):
Michigan State. But it was it was very much a
growth experience because you really got a chance to feel
comfortable in an academic environment and learn under a different
condition and and uh and and really kind of apply
everything that you had to from from your your cultural standpoint.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
Sure, yeah, I am how would alarm as well as
the Morgan allowm And we'll get to that in a minute.
But I can tell you the experience at Howard University
for me was just incredible, and like you said, the
cultural experience there and where you and how you see
you fit in the world, which is very different from
my view of myself or the view of myself when
(13:15):
I was younger, born and raised in Texas, and so
being in DC at Howard University, there's just an energy
there that you really can explain. You have to experience it.
But I remember when I first started at Morgan in
undergrad it was this feeling of falling in love with myself,
you know, and being in an environment where everybody looked
(13:38):
like me. It was just so different and so enriching
in a way that's just life changing, at least it
was for me, So.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
No question, no, and I absolutely agree with you. I
mean I think that again, learning and that kind of
environment really opens you up to that level of comfort,
really opens your mind to be able to embrace a
lot more things I think because you don't have that that, uh,
(14:08):
the fear or the anxiety of where you know, why,
where you fit in, how do you fit in, what
people might think about you, you kind of embraced and
that I think contributes to your expansion of your intellectual capacity.
And then you know, being in DC is also I
think important too, because there's so many things happening that
give you a much broader socio political, geographical perspective than
(14:35):
you would in any other city in the country. So
the combination of of of being in d C and
on that campus and having the experience from a place
like Michigan really allowed me to grow pretty tremendously in
that in that time and space. Mm hmm.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
So you're consulting at this sort of time in your
life while you're getting your m b a. So you're
working in going to school, which I don't know why
students today think they it's not an either or it's
usually a and both working and going to school at
the same time, whether you're an undergrad you know, or
graduate school. But you also did a stint at the
(15:14):
board of the Governor's of Federal Reserve System. How did
that connect your path and what.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
Was that like, so, yeah, I during that time that
I was doing all of the consulting out in the NBA,
I finished the NBA, but I went to another consulting
from and I was doing a lot of traveling. And
again that gave me a lot more exposure to a
broader type of organization because we were connected with various
(15:42):
companies and various industries. But I started to get a
sense that I wanted to do something even broader or
deeper than that, and that was to get into academia.
And so it was kind of a two pronged approach.
I went to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors of
(16:03):
the Federal Reserve right there in DC. But at the
same time, I also pursued or applied for my doctorate
degree at George Washington, and uh, they're both right there together,
They're like three blocks away. And so it gave me
the opportunity to have a you know, pretty distinguished organization
like the Federal Reserve, and I was overseeing the operations
(16:25):
of various reserve banks in the country. Uh they're check processing,
the cash systems there, you know, there are any it systems.
And at the same time, it gave me the option
to pursue my doctor degree while I was at GW
And so that was that was a very enriching environment,
(16:46):
very tough because I was doing both at the same time.
But I was fortunate enough that the location wasn't an
impediment because they were so close to each other. But
I but again it was I just wanted to transition
away from the consulting world to see what the academic
world looked like. And that that opened up that opportunity
for me.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
And that's so hugely I think, yeah, yeah, yeah, So
why teach? Why teach at Morgan State? What did that?
What was that like for you? I mean, certainly you
shifted from a thriving consulting career. You're leaving that now
you're going to teach at a university. What was that like?
Speaker 2 (17:24):
Well? And that was that was another mind shift. Of course,
when I when I finished my doctorate, I I knew
I wanted to give back. I didn't want to just
you know, proceed with a traditional career, and I had
options to go to other schools Johns, Hopkins and other
entities like that, but having been at Howard, I wanted
(17:48):
to give back and I thought that my experiences were
important enough that I could stand in front of a
room of other students, particularly African American students, and have
a much greater impact. So I went to Morton State,
which is another HBCU in Baltimore, and I started teaching
(18:08):
there and and so again my goal was to just
be a mentor or guide for other students like me,
first generation students, under deserved, under represented populations that were smart, intelligent,
but maybe needed a bit more of a push and
support system. And my experiences were, you know, pretty significant
(18:32):
at the time, having worked in various places, and that
they were fairly well known, and so I think that
was something that students really attached to. And I, you know,
I felt a great need and a pull to be
in that environment.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
Mm hmmmm hmmm. And I know the students appreciated because
one signature hallmarket experience from being in Morgan State as
well as Howard University was the caringness of the teachers,
the connectivity there, but also that push for excellence, like
there are no excuses, the expectations are high, and so
(19:08):
to have instructors like that really is very important. It's
particularly for first and students like yourself, myself and many
others out there who are trying to make a career
path that doesn't necessarily, you know, include votech experiences. And
I think that's that. I think that's a general struggle.
(19:30):
If you could speak to that just for a bit.
I know we're kind of taking another path, but you know,
you talk about schools that are preparing students for the
vocational world, but not necessarily in my experience, also giving
them the clear access to the college prep experience and
(19:51):
preparing them for the college life. What are your thoughts
on that in the state and sort of how schools
are designed today. It seems like some schools are really
pushing vocational tech and and part of it is because
of the student loan dad and all kinds of other stuff.
There are many reasons, but it's also an industry and
industry and they need people to get to work. Yeah,
(20:11):
tell me a little bit about your feelings about that.
Speaker 3 (20:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
Yeah, I have a you know, I guess a unique
for LOOT one not probably not unique, but a philosophy
around higher education and what its goal should be. And
you're right, there is kind of a trend where companies
are imposing themselves on universities to a to adapt the
curriculum to the needs of the companies. To some degree,
(20:36):
part of that is okay, But I believe that the
foundation or the contribution to the university of the university
to the individual is not just to prepare them for
technical skills. The university is not a vocation school, is
not a training center. It is there to expand the
mind of people by exposing them to a universal edge cation.
(21:01):
And so regardless of discipline, I think that, uh, it's
important for all students on university campuses to have exposure
to everything that's going to expand their critical thinking. And
that includes the liberal arts, the uh, you know, the humanities,
the science, social scientists, and art, natural sciences. You know,
(21:22):
even if you're an engineering whether you're an engineering major
or social work major, or business major or law school,
you should have exposure to all of them. I think
it's important to have an appreciation, for example, for the arts.
You know, even though I was an engineering major, one
of the most memorable classes I had a college was
an art history class, and it gave me appreciation for
(21:45):
the history of various types of art and uh and
I still carry that to this day. And you know,
it gives you an opportunity to be a broader contributor
to society. You can have conversations, you know, beyond just
your discipline with people around politics and geography and demographics
(22:09):
and everything. And so I'm not a big supporter of
people going to college with the expectation that they're sole
purpose is to get a job, even though that's important,
I think you should also have a goal of expanding
yourself and learning as much as possible now and even
on college environments college campuses, just being there is important
(22:32):
because you're exposed to a variety of people from various
cultures and countries. You're living, You're living in these spaces
with these people, You're learning how to manage conflicts. It's
it's a really enriching environment that I don't I hope
doesn't get diminished to just job training centers.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
Absolutely, I am one hundred on board, because you know,
I think the balance is needed. Like you said, the
exposure not just to your discipline, but to other people,
to other cultures, to other topics, to the arts. All
of that makes for a well rounded, I think individual.
But not only that, it reminds you that there is
(23:17):
a world so much larger than ourselves, and it's important
to take hold of that, like you said, solving conflicts,
working with other people in different fields and industries, how
you can collaborate and synergize, And you just don't get that,
like you said, if you're focused on just piping out
(23:40):
people or cranking them out for the for the assembly
line or the industry that you're in. There's so much
more to gather from being on a college campus that
I think you can't get anywhere else. Most college campuses
are like a small city within themselves, and there's so
much to explore.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
So there's roles, there's roles for I mean again, there's
there's I don't want to expa people who pursue vocations,
because there is there's an important role for those people electricians, plumbers,
companies or whatever. And then but there are institutions built
(24:21):
for that as well, whereby you can go get those
vocational training and you don't have to be exposed to
the liberal arts. And there's nothing wrong with that. But
if your if your choice is to go to a university,
I think the universities are built for an important reason,
and that is to expand the mind of the individual
(24:42):
so that they can contribute to society in a different
way than vocational schools, and so I think we just
need to make sure that we kind of keep those
ideas in place when we look at these institutions.
Speaker 1 (24:54):
Absolutely, and speaking of which, a lot of people do
choose their PAS way because they want to own their
own business, they want to make their own path. And
I know that Howard University had partnered with P and
C Financial Services Group for the National Center for Entrepreneurship.
So that is really the best of both worlds that
(25:15):
you've just described. The focus is on strategic management and technology.
How is that center going? Is it completed? What's what's
happening there?
Speaker 3 (25:25):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (25:25):
So yeah, PNC gave us sixteen point eight million dollars
to establish this National Entrepreneurship Center, and it was about
a year and a half ago we started building it
up and we launched it. Just officially launched.
Speaker 3 (25:41):
It about a month ago.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
We had TDJS on campus and he was our keynote speaker.
And the way that the center is established Howard is
the Howard and the School of businesses the National Center Hub,
and then we have four regional centers. Morgan State Park,
Atlanta in Texas, Southern and Houston UH. And the goal
(26:03):
is to basically diffuse entrepreneurship through these regional centers into
all of the HBCUs in the country over one hundred hpcus,
with the goal of trying to grow entrepreneurship at those
universities and the surrounding communities. Entrepreneurship is the the economic
engine of this country for sure. You know, probably I
(26:27):
think more than ninety certainly more than eighty five percent
of the companies in this country have you know, fewer
than ten people in them, and so, you know, and
and we don't often take advantage of the opportunities to
think about how to start our own businesses. And so
(26:48):
this is this program or the center is designed to
help give insight and content for what it's like to
be an entrepreneur, what what resource are needed to do
that expose these individuals to the potential capital, whether they're
through bank loans or other type of investment strategies, venture
(27:11):
capitalists or private equity or whatever it might be. And
just plant the seed for people and then provide the
support system to help them build their businesses and also
sustain them. Because you know, the flip side of this
also that there's a huge failure rate for small businesses
as well, mostly because they don't have the infrastructure or
the support systems, and so the center is also built
(27:33):
to possibly help with that also. So I think we
think it's going to be a pretty big impact, pretty
substantial investment from P and C to partner with us
on this program, and we're looking forward to bringing even further.
Speaker 1 (27:47):
Okay, so you are at the helm of some pretty
major projects because not only do you have the P
and C Financial Services Group grant, but you also have
a ninety million dollar grant from the Apollo Global Management
and the fund focus on financial literacy, right, and I
believe that's a collaboration with more House, Spellman Clark Atlanta
(28:10):
as well as the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton Business School.
Tell us a little more about this collaboration, the curriculum
around financial literacy training.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
Yeah, so it's it's it's it's not a it's not
necessarily a grant, but the three major private equity firms
came together, areas of Tree and Apollo, to invest ninety
million dollars in building what is referred to as an
all finance program, alternative finance program, and the goal.
Speaker 3 (28:42):
Is to uh.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
One of the things that that students of color or
people of color have not been involved in when you
look at the financial sector is this very small, unique
area called private equity and private investment alternative investments. And
so so what this program is built to do is
to help train students and prepare them for careers in
(29:09):
the alternative investment space wealth management, private equity sales, and
trading investment banking. There's just, you know, very few of
us in that space, and even fewer of us in
the executive levels of those spaces. And so what we're
trying to do is give students kind of a heads up,
a head start in that career by exposing them to
(29:32):
specialize boot camps and workshops and connecting them into the
network of some of these companies so that they can
get specialized internships with the hopes that they would build
those skill sets early on in their undergrad career and
by the time they graduate they could really jump in
and make a significant impact right away with some of
(29:52):
these companies. And then we've been pretty successful. We place
students and internships that Apollow and no Tree in other
places our students have never been, and these companies have
opened up their doors to allow our students in through
this relationship with Apollo and the financial group, and it's
just to start. I think again that you mentioned financial
(30:13):
literacy or financial education. One of the things that we
need to do more of is exposed ourselves and our
students and our families to financial literacy and how that works,
how those systems work to build wealth within our communities.
Speaker 1 (30:30):
Absolutely, I can't. I'm just overwhelmed because it is so
important I think for families to break the cycle of poverty,
some of these generational challenges that the black and brown
community has had to access as well as to opportunities.
(30:51):
Kind of goes back to that financial literacy piece as well.
And also you mentioned something very important about having people
of color and executive level of business. So why is
that important that we have more representation at the executive level?
And I know how it is doing a great job
with that, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:12):
I mean in today's environment, I mean you hear a
lot of people talk about diversity in diversity at various
stages of organizations and particularly at the senior level, but
it's more than just representation. Particularly you're talking about corporations
and just having people in the room there have been
(31:33):
countless studies. McKenzie and PwC several other organizations have done
studies to demonstrate that the more diverse your senior leadership
team is in terms of not only ethnic diversity, but
also a gender diversity. The more diversity leadership team is,
the more likely that you're going to be more profitable
(31:55):
than companies that have a less diverse leadership team. So
there's evidence that you know, not just you know it's
a good thing to do, but it can also help
your bottom line pretty significantly if you have a diverse
leadership team. So, you know, the positioning of our people
to take advantage of and to position themselves to get
(32:17):
in those jobs is important, and I think companies have
now come to realize that for their survival and their growth,
it's important. Having a diversity of thought in a room
when you're trying to make important decisions is critical to
the success of your organization, regardless of what type of
organization it is. We have had countless examples of companies
making very critical mistakes because they did not have somebody
(32:42):
in the room to tell them, you know, you probably
shouldn't do that because you're probably going to have a
negative impact on the Asian community, African American community, the
transgender community, and it you know, comes back to bite
them in their pockets. And so you know, again, diversity
(33:03):
is critical at every part of the organization, but it's
super critical at the director and C suite levels.
Speaker 3 (33:10):
Mm hmmm.
Speaker 1 (33:11):
Absolutely. And you know, I was thinking about some of
when you talk about representation, and there are lots of
great things happening in our world today, but I was
thinking specifically around Silicon Valley and sort of the history there.
What are your thoughts about the current state of affairs
(33:32):
in terms of the workforce, pipeline, the diversity there. I know,
Howard University has worked hard to partner with many of
those companies there.
Speaker 2 (33:43):
Yeah, we have a relationship, for example, with Google out
and we have a Howard West campus actually on Google's campus,
and what we're doing is working with Google. Again, you know,
it goes back to a couple of things. Is a
pipeline issue. We Google has a very specific technology that
(34:06):
they have trained people for and most of the people
that they have targeted to come work there have been
from you know, pretty distinct schools and a lot of them,
you know, schools in California or they may train, they
may recruit at the Harvard's and the Yales and the
places like that, but they've they've they're very limited opportunities
for people from HBCUs to go to Google. So what
(34:27):
we did we partnered with Google and created a program
whereby we send students out there for one semester along
with some faculty, so that they can actually learn on
Google campus alongside Google engineers and our faculty about what
it's like to work there, what kind of technologies they're using,
and that kind of worked. It helped us two fold.
(34:49):
It also it helped our students prepare and understand what
it's like to work in those spaces, but it also
helped our faculty understand what those technologies were so they
could bring them back to the broader classroom and teach
as well. Uh. That's been on We've been doing that
for I think maybe four years or so now. And uh,
and we did the same thing with at Amazon Studios
(35:11):
in California, where where we had students working with Amazon
Studios in the same Vein spent some time out there
in California, understood what it was like to be not
in front of the camera but behind the camera, which
is we don't have a lot of people represented there
as well, and and and had some faculty out there
(35:31):
to understand, you know, what is production like, what are
some of the the nuances of behind the camera work,
and and and some of these studio functions. So we
built out a couple of different programs like that between
Amazon and Google, and we're working on a few others
and other disciplines.
Speaker 1 (35:51):
Okay, so what is your mission now? There's so much
established and great happening in the School of Business and
with Howard Universe and all of these amazing partnerships. What
is your mission not just for Howard but for the
next generation.
Speaker 2 (36:07):
My mission is always about opportunity, providing students with opportunity,
and regardless of what that looks like. And so the
more exposure that they have to opportunities, better decisions they
can make about what their career pursuits might be. And so,
(36:28):
you know, we we have to be able to adapt
to a changing society. We can't just keep reducing students
in these very very basic disciplines because things are becoming
much more complex. The world is becoming more complex, work
is becoming more complex, particularly when you think about you
know these transitions to these transitions to work from home telework,
(36:53):
and so, you know, what I believe in the university
and myself is prepared people to be adaptable by giving
them exposure to a variety of opportunities so that they
can prepare themselves to whatever the work world looks like.
And the next generation students are willing.
Speaker 3 (37:11):
To adapt to that.
Speaker 2 (37:13):
They already have had considerable shifts in their lives. They're
very adaptable. They know what they want and they go
for it, and they know what they don't want as well,
and they're very.
Speaker 3 (37:28):
Vocal about it.
Speaker 2 (37:28):
And so you have to give them, meet them where
they are and give them opportunities to see what the
world looks like and how they can play in it,
and then prepare them accordingly. And it's not necessarily the
traditional way that we've been doing it. We have to
figure out a way to do it differently.
Speaker 1 (37:47):
H My goodness, I don't know. I get nervous about
the future at times when I see the current generation, because,
like you said, they are extremely vocal about what they
will do and what they won't do. And really they're
doing the right things in a lot of ways in
terms of even when they're interviewing. They're not just being interviewed,
(38:10):
they're interviewing the company. They want to know work life balance,
and they want to know if this will be a
professional home is there are their growth opportunities and they're
quick to say, listen, this isn't for me, or to
quit a job and keep keep it moving. And so
talk to me about your work life balance or some
(38:33):
of the choices that you've made in life. You have
pretty much been on a consistent pathway for you know,
the bulk of your twenty years plus has that is
that panning out for you? In other words, is it
better to be a risk taker? Is it better to
to sort of stay in one genre, one field for
(38:57):
a good bit of time, just just your own personal
for life feel on sort of this work life balance
and this career choice path? How do we balance that
with a stability longevity in an area versus taking a
risk because some of these risk takers they are also disruptors, right,
So what are your thoughts on that?
Speaker 2 (39:20):
Well, I mean, if I look at my career, I've
I've had a pretty broad, diverse set of experiences and
I think it's worked for me very well. You know,
I have an appreciation for technology, but I also have
appreciation for qualitative thinking and you know, kind of critical
(39:45):
discourse and philosophies and so forth. So for me, I
think it's important to to open yourself up to be
considered of all types of learning and to be ongoing learner,
continuous learner. And and you know, in terms of your
(40:06):
suggestion about risk, one of our biggest challenges is our
aversion to risk or taking risk. And there's you know,
there's nothing wrong with taking risk. You have to be
a bit more calculated about it, and I wouldn't you know,
you don't just jump out there. You really have to
put some time into that understanding what you're you know,
(40:28):
how to how to mitigate risk and manage risk, but
you shouldn't be afraid to take it. And that's one
of the things that I you know, I I've I've
also I've always challenged myself to go for things, but
I've also done it in a very intentional way, and
in terms of preparing myself for what those risks like
look like, what the outcomes might look like, thinking through
(40:50):
what my options might be before I just jump into
a situation. But you still got to jump, Yeah, so
you regardless of you don't to be paralyzed by this
analysis and trying to figure it all out. But you
don't want to you know, you don't want to just
jump out there without a parachute either, So it's you know,
(41:10):
it's a balancing act.
Speaker 4 (41:11):
And again, my experiences have been that I've been successful
and jumping from various fields and jumping into different spaces,
and it's worked for me.
Speaker 2 (41:22):
And I would encourage people to just think about what
you want to do and how you want to get there,
and don't be afraid to take the first step and
the next step and maybe a couple of leaps and
jumps and everything in between.
Speaker 1 (41:33):
Absolutely, And listen, when you were talking, I was thinking
about the qualitative side of you. It's very unique to
have someone strong in both areas at that side of
the brain right, And I was thinking, I'm not sure
if I have the exact number correct, but I know
you have written close to fifty peer review general articles
(41:57):
and also found the time somewhere. I don't write a
fictional novel. I mean, now that is a serious brain shift.
What can you tell me about your book? How did
that happen in the midst of all this you have.
You know, this is interesting, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (42:14):
It was. It was. It's a while.
Speaker 2 (42:15):
There's something I always wanted to do, and I just
woke up one I usually spend over the you know,
just before the end of the year sometimes just kind
of thinking about my goals and and my bucket list
of things that I want to do and accomplished. And
one of those things always have been writing a novel.
(42:37):
And so one year I just said, Okay, this is
a year to do it, and I just it was
a combination of using my my skill sets for logical
thinking and building this thing out. And so I spent
about two or three months just laying out the storyline
and the characters and who they looked, what they look like,
(42:57):
who they were, what their backgrounds were, what reline was
going to be. And I spent a few months on that,
and then I just started writing. And I was fairly
disciplined about it. I got up and I wrote a
thousand words a day every day until I got the
book done, to all two hundred and seven papers over
whatever it was. But I tried to also use, you know,
(43:23):
some of my background as well, because the book is,
the novel is about a secret society of African American
women who have a highly skilled technology background and and
they're kind of infused throughout government agencies and technology agencies,
and they have, you know, various different actions that they're
(43:48):
they're doing to support society and also maybe to be detrimental.
Speaker 3 (43:54):
And they have a.
Speaker 2 (43:56):
Nemesis who stumbles on their secret, and so there's a
kind of a suspense around things that they're doing and
with things that he's doing to protect themselves from them.
And it was fairly successful time that I wrote it,
and I did, I had quite a good could, quite
a few good reviews.
Speaker 3 (44:16):
I did quite a few public.
Speaker 2 (44:18):
Speaking and book clubs and those kinds of things.
Speaker 3 (44:20):
So it was fairly well.
Speaker 2 (44:22):
And again it was a different It was a mind shift,
but again I was just another goal I wanted to accomplish,
and I started working on the second one. Never got
a chance to finish it because life's gotten away. But
maybe someday I'll get back to it.
Speaker 1 (44:36):
Well, I'm intrigued. Can we still get a copy of
the book? Is it in circulation?
Speaker 2 (44:40):
Yeah, it's out there in Amazon and other places. It's
still available.
Speaker 1 (44:44):
And the title The Enigma of in Jama Okay, unique
title there.
Speaker 2 (44:51):
Yeah, and Jama was the name of the secret society
n j A m A.
Speaker 1 (44:55):
Okay, okay, now you know we're all going to get
it because we're just I mean, it's sounds like a
good mysterious, you know I spy type thing. So, uh so,
what else is on your bucket list? You mentioned that
was one of one thing. Where do you see yourself
in the future.
Speaker 3 (45:13):
Well, I mean, of.
Speaker 2 (45:13):
Course, there's always aspirations professionally to do other things or
bigger things, and so that's always on the forefront. I'm
a big advocate of travel, so I try to put
that into where I can I make, you know, different
sects across the globe and and have a long list
of other things I want to do and what the
(45:34):
places I want to see and uh and so that's
always on my on my mind. My most of my
bucket list is around just exposing myself to two things
and people and places. I'm again, I'm a big advocate
of just learning and growing and so everything everything from you.
(45:58):
A few years ago, I had on my list to
two myself how to play a bass guitar.
Speaker 3 (46:01):
So I did that.
Speaker 1 (46:03):
Oh wow, okay, I.
Speaker 2 (46:07):
Wanted I wanted to go, for example, the places like
the Grammys or something. And it was actually out in
California at the Grammys the last in October whenever it was,
And I got a chance to walk up to the door,
but I couldn't get in because I'd have a ticket,
but I didn't. I made it there, but I didn't
complete the goal because I didn't get inside. But but
(46:28):
you know, those kinds of things.
Speaker 3 (46:29):
Just I just like to be.
Speaker 2 (46:31):
I like a variety of different exposures and and so
my my goal is to continue to pursue those as
much as possible.
Speaker 3 (46:39):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (46:40):
I got about eighty five things on my bucket list
to do left, and so yeah, it's uh. I think
it's important to have fun with this short timeframe we
call life.
Speaker 1 (46:54):
Indeed, and listen, I know a person who knows the
person I might be able to get you in next time,
I mean personally. But that person that I know, they
have gone several times, and so I'm gonna I'm gonna
connect you and see we can't check that one off
the list really now, as you're such a well rounded leader,
(47:17):
not just an intelligence, but in life and your career
path and decisions, tell me about your self care regimen,
because I know you're a big advocate of self care.
Why is that important to you as a leader, and
how do you take care of yourself?
Speaker 2 (47:37):
Again, it kind of goes to balance.
Speaker 3 (47:39):
I mean, I have a.
Speaker 2 (47:42):
There's a spiritual, mental, physical, and emotional side that I
think all four have to stay in balance. And so
most of my life is committed to the mental area,
and for the past many many years now twenty five
thirty years, I've committed to the physical in that you know,
(48:04):
I work out three four times a day, I mean,
sorry times a week, three four times a week religiously,
regardless of what I'm doing. That's part of my calendar.
I've you know, I do yoga on occasion as much
as I can. Meditation for this, you know, expansion of
the spiritual and so you know, you know, because of
(48:29):
the stress of the job that I have, and then
sometimes I don't do as good of a job of
pacing myself. But the exercising in the in the meditation
helped to maintain the balance, you know, one of the
biggest killers of people's stress, and so managing that sometimes
(48:50):
I do it, do a good job, and sometimes I don't.
But at least it's it's on the agenda, and there's
an attempt so that I can, you know, try to
continue to do the things I want to do and
still grow as an individual.
Speaker 3 (49:06):
Mm hmmm mm hmm.
Speaker 1 (49:08):
Well, I am just thrilled that you took the time
to talk to us today. I have so many other
questions I know, I know I can't answer right now.
Your time is so precious and listen, I can't tell
you how honored I am talk about stress. I was stressed.
Speaker 3 (49:27):
Just what.
Speaker 1 (49:31):
Yeah, No, it was like no, seriously, the palm sweating
and all that good stuff. But it's been, like I said,
such a pleasure and honor. Thank you for sharing a
bit of your life with us. Thank you for sharing
the programs that are happening and the innovative things that
are that are partnerships that are happening at Howard University.
(49:53):
And thank you for helping us think through this sort
of work life balance and access the opportunities and taking
ri while staying balanced all at the same time. It's
so important that people of your caliber take the time
to just share a day and of life, you know,
with us, because we're all out here looking for mentors
(50:18):
and heroes and you are certainly one of them. So
I appreciate that I wasn't joking when I was saying
the epitome of excellence at the beginning, because for me
and for many who admire you, which and there are many,
you are the epitome of black excellence, black male excellence,
(50:38):
back business excellence, black consulting excellence. I mean, the list
goes just on and on, and so thank you again,
doctor Anthony Wilbon for joining us on Team Leadership Radio.
Speaker 2 (50:52):
Well, thank you for having me on. I appreciate it
was a great, great conversation, and again, thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (50:58):
All Right, well, thank you, thank you guys for tuning
in until next time. Hey stick with us. This is
so exciting and it's always thank you for being a
team player.
Welcome to Team Leadership Radio. I'm your host, Doctor Cecilia Martin,
and I am so glad to be with you guys today. Hey,
I have received your emails, your texts, your notes and
phone calls all as well. We have been just so
busy juggling projects, but we are back on track. Thank
(00:51):
you from the bottom of my heart to all of
my team players, faithful listeners and subscribers, not just in
the United States, but to my listeners in Brazil and India, Israel, Japan, Ecuador, Denmark, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria,
Malaysia and the Philippines. Thank you for tuning in and
(01:14):
I promise it has been worth the wait. I am
so honored to have with me today a very special guest,
Doctor Anthony Wilbon, Dean of the prestigious Howard University School
of Business. Doctor Anthony Wilbond's expertise is in strategic technology management.
(01:36):
He is also a certified Project management professional. Doctor Wilbond's
particular areas of research include technology strategy, quantitative analysis, information
technology and technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship. His professional experience and
capabilities extend to business management and technology related topics, including systems,
(02:02):
application and technology, production and operations management, project management, systems, development,
life cycle and quantitative and qualitative research methodology. Doctor Anthony Wilbond,
Dean of Howard University School of Business, who is the
epitome of excellence. Thank you for joining me on Team
(02:24):
Leadership Radio. It is such an honor.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Thank you, Doctor Martin. Appreciate you having me on.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
So let's dive right in. We want to know the
man behind the title, the man behind the role. Tell
me what a little bit about your family and what
it was like growing up in Flint, Michigan.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
Well, I mean, my beginnings are relatively humble, I think.
I mean I didn't come from a super sophisticated academic background.
We were pretty simplistic in terms of being a basic
blue collar, middle class family growing up in Flint, which
was at the time a very very big help for
(03:05):
General Motors. It was a lot of General Motors plants,
and so it was right for the migration of African
Americans from the South to the north to get those
jobs in. My family was part of that migration, and
so again I grew up in a fairly middle class
family and most everybody kind of employed by General Motors.
(03:27):
Flint at the time was a strong economic environment, great
school systems, and pretty good place to grow up at
the time.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
M h and, so are you an only child or
do you have siblings?
Speaker 3 (03:41):
No? I had.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
I have an oldest sister, and I was the second
in that line of four siblings. And my older sister
is quite a bit older, was about twelve years older
than it was three of us in a row.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
Oh wow, South it was like fun, yeah, okay, all right.
And your mom and dad, what did they do for
a living?
Speaker 2 (04:07):
So they both they both worked at General Motors. I mean,
you know, again, at the time, I think Flint probably
was about a couple hundred thousand people in the city.
General Motors was the largest employer. Bucles headquartered there. There
was Chevy plants and several several subsidiary plans of General Motors,
(04:27):
and my parents worked there. Again, just basic education, but
it was an opportunity for this company. Really gave them
an opportunity to have a very strong middle class lifestyle
in spite of the fact that they didn't have a
you know, a great educational background.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
Mm hmmm. So what drew you to college particularly, I'm
guessing because of the culture and where you grew up
electrical engineering was the thing to do or did you
dream of being an engineering when you were a child?
How did you get it?
Speaker 2 (05:00):
There? No, absolutely not, you know again, because of the
environment of Flint, really the school systems were developed to
get people out of high school and go work for
the plants. There was really not much college prep going
on at all. Most people just migrated directly into plant jobs.
(05:22):
So it was fairly rare.
Speaker 3 (05:23):
For anybody to.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
Go to college at the time that I was there,
unless they were on some kind of athletic scholarship or
something like that. So it was toward the tail end
of my high school career that general motors started to
decline and people are looking for alternatives, and the schools
really weren't prepared for that as well. So I kind
of fell into college as an option, knowing that I
(05:46):
didn't want to work in the plant through at the
time that I was there, they had options for students
to go to vocational school, and so I went to
a vocational school. It was part of connected to the
front public schools, and there's where I met a gentleman
who was an electrical engineer. I was taking electronics course,
(06:08):
and he kind of exposed me to what that what
that career might look like, encouraged me to follow it.
I had no idea what that, what that even was,
what electric engineering was, and he actually had, uh was
a graduate of Michigan State University, so he gave me
insights on what it.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
Would be like there.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
And then I had visited colleges because I was on
the track team at Very's tracked me, so I had
you know, I kind of got enamored by the college
environment through that exposure, and so that was my opening
to pursue that career option at that university.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
Yeah. Sure, So you are a first generation college student.
What was that like for you? Not just academically, I
mean clearly you were smart, bright young man, but what
was it like to adjust socially to the college life
as a first gen college Well, to be honest with.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
You, it was completely shocking, to say the least. First,
that you know, most people kind of take for granted
that you know they're going to college is an easy transition,
and particularly if you have parents or other siblings or
other people have gone before, you kind of have some
thoughts about what it would look like being a first
(07:23):
generation college student. It's really a culture shock because you
really don't know what to expect. And again, academically, even
though I was smart enough to compete, I wasn't really
prepared to compete because I didn't come from a college
prep high school. So the first year was certainly challenging
(07:43):
to get used to being away from home on this
college campus. At the time, Michigan State was a huge
campus still is forty five thousand students, and so it's
easy to kind of get lost in that as a
people and so forth. But it was, you know, I
I adapted fairly quickly and within the you know, during
(08:07):
the first year it was usually transition into the academic piece.
The social piece kind of caught up with itself.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
Sure, did you join any clubs or fraternities?
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Yeah, I was all of it. I was, you know,
I kind of fell into at the time when the
dorm that I was staying in had student government and
also a black caucus, So I became president of the
student Black Caucus for the dorm. I also joined Cap
Alpha Pside fraternity. At the time, I was exposed to
various clubs within the engineering college and so yeah, you know,
(08:43):
after the first year and actually, even during the first year,
I really kind of got involved pretty quickly into the
social scene and the club organizational scene.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
Sure, I think those are very important because I know
a lot of students don't feel prepared their first year
of college, and so I think joining those activities and
clubs are very much helpful. But it really is just
a learning process. You just have to work it out
that first year being on your own independent. I think
for me it was a little different because I was
(09:14):
coming I was still in the military when I went
to college, and so I had had that privilege of
training and development in the military. So by the time
I got to college, I was a little bit more
disciplined and focus, I think than some of my peers,
only because I took a year or two to get there.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Yeah, that's very helpful.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
Yeah, so you prompted, So you went to so you
got your undergrad and then you went on to get
your NBA. Tell me about your experience at Howard. How
did you go from Michigan to Washington, d C. That's
a big stretch there.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
Well, when I finished my undergrad and engineering, my first
job was with a company called Westernhouse Electric, which is
now called North of drumming, and so I was working
in radar systems, building radar systems for F sixteen fire
planes and so forth. It was very detailed work, working
(10:11):
in a lab on various modules and circuitries and those
kinds of things, and so I realized fairly early on
that that was not an interest to me. It was very,
very particular and specific and isolating work, and I wanted
to have a broader perspective of the organization and strategies
(10:34):
and those kinds of things. So I explored, you know,
just thinking about options, explored the NBA and went to
Howard to get that. And at the same time, I
also started transitioning into consulting work. So I was doing
my MBA part time while I was working as a
consultant for various firms Blues Allen and Hamilton company called
(10:56):
American Management Systems, and so I kind of allowed me
to and those companies I was doing kind of a
technology consulting were working on it's not like communication systems,
and so it allowed me to kind of merge my
technology background in engineering with what I was learning in
my MBA program and apply it at the organizational level.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
So I know, you had a great experience in Michigan.
Tell me about your experience at Howard and how was
it different than your undergraduate experience at Michigan Michigan.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
Well, it was significantly different. Michigan State, as I mentioned,
student population is about forty five thousand students at the
time when I was there, it was only about four
percent African American. So of that forty five thousand students,
about two thousand of us were African Americans. So it
wasn't you know, you had to adapt to that environment
(11:51):
being a minority and not in kind of isolating. Howard
is just the opposite. Being an historically black college. You
had a much deeper exposure to the culture of people,
African American people, a much deeper appreciation of how we
(12:11):
fit into society. So much of the academics in the
in the social aspects of the university kind of infuse
into students, uh, what role their disciplines play in the
world based on their cultural positioning. So it was it
was a completely different mind shift after spending time at
(12:33):
Michigan State. But it was it was very much a
growth experience because you really got a chance to feel
comfortable in an academic environment and learn under a different
condition and and uh and and really kind of apply
everything that you had to from from your your cultural standpoint.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
Sure, yeah, I am how would alarm as well as
the Morgan allowm And we'll get to that in a minute.
But I can tell you the experience at Howard University
for me was just incredible, and like you said, the
cultural experience there and where you and how you see
you fit in the world, which is very different from
my view of myself or the view of myself when
(13:15):
I was younger, born and raised in Texas, and so
being in DC at Howard University, there's just an energy
there that you really can explain. You have to experience it.
But I remember when I first started at Morgan in
undergrad it was this feeling of falling in love with myself,
you know, and being in an environment where everybody looked
(13:38):
like me. It was just so different and so enriching
in a way that's just life changing, at least it
was for me, So.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
No question, no, and I absolutely agree with you. I
mean I think that again, learning and that kind of
environment really opens you up to that level of comfort,
really opens your mind to be able to embrace a
lot more things I think because you don't have that that, uh,
(14:08):
the fear or the anxiety of where you know, why,
where you fit in, how do you fit in, what
people might think about you, you kind of embraced and
that I think contributes to your expansion of your intellectual capacity.
And then you know, being in DC is also I
think important too, because there's so many things happening that
give you a much broader socio political, geographical perspective than
(14:35):
you would in any other city in the country. So
the combination of of of being in d C and
on that campus and having the experience from a place
like Michigan really allowed me to grow pretty tremendously in
that in that time and space. Mm hmm.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
So you're consulting at this sort of time in your
life while you're getting your m b a. So you're
working in going to school, which I don't know why
students today think they it's not an either or it's
usually a and both working and going to school at
the same time, whether you're an undergrad you know, or
graduate school. But you also did a stint at the
(15:14):
board of the Governor's of Federal Reserve System. How did
that connect your path and what.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
Was that like, so, yeah, I during that time that
I was doing all of the consulting out in the NBA,
I finished the NBA, but I went to another consulting
from and I was doing a lot of traveling. And
again that gave me a lot more exposure to a
broader type of organization because we were connected with various
(15:42):
companies and various industries. But I started to get a
sense that I wanted to do something even broader or
deeper than that, and that was to get into academia.
And so it was kind of a two pronged approach.
I went to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors of
(16:03):
the Federal Reserve right there in DC. But at the
same time, I also pursued or applied for my doctorate
degree at George Washington, and uh, they're both right there together,
They're like three blocks away. And so it gave me
the opportunity to have a you know, pretty distinguished organization
like the Federal Reserve, and I was overseeing the operations
(16:25):
of various reserve banks in the country. Uh they're check processing,
the cash systems there, you know, there are any it systems.
And at the same time, it gave me the option
to pursue my doctor degree while I was at GW
And so that was that was a very enriching environment,
(16:46):
very tough because I was doing both at the same time.
But I was fortunate enough that the location wasn't an
impediment because they were so close to each other. But
I but again it was I just wanted to transition
away from the consulting world to see what the academic
world looked like. And that that opened up that opportunity
for me.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
And that's so hugely I think, yeah, yeah, yeah, So
why teach? Why teach at Morgan State? What did that?
What was that like for you? I mean, certainly you
shifted from a thriving consulting career. You're leaving that now
you're going to teach at a university. What was that like?
Speaker 2 (17:24):
Well? And that was that was another mind shift. Of course,
when I when I finished my doctorate, I I knew
I wanted to give back. I didn't want to just
you know, proceed with a traditional career, and I had
options to go to other schools Johns, Hopkins and other
entities like that, but having been at Howard, I wanted
(17:48):
to give back and I thought that my experiences were
important enough that I could stand in front of a
room of other students, particularly African American students, and have
a much greater impact. So I went to Morton State,
which is another HBCU in Baltimore, and I started teaching
(18:08):
there and and so again my goal was to just
be a mentor or guide for other students like me,
first generation students, under deserved, under represented populations that were smart, intelligent,
but maybe needed a bit more of a push and
support system. And my experiences were, you know, pretty significant
(18:32):
at the time, having worked in various places, and that
they were fairly well known, and so I think that
was something that students really attached to. And I, you know,
I felt a great need and a pull to be
in that environment.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
Mm hmmmm hmmm. And I know the students appreciated because
one signature hallmarket experience from being in Morgan State as
well as Howard University was the caringness of the teachers,
the connectivity there, but also that push for excellence, like
there are no excuses, the expectations are high, and so
(19:08):
to have instructors like that really is very important. It's
particularly for first and students like yourself, myself and many
others out there who are trying to make a career
path that doesn't necessarily, you know, include votech experiences. And
I think that's that. I think that's a general struggle.
(19:30):
If you could speak to that just for a bit.
I know we're kind of taking another path, but you know,
you talk about schools that are preparing students for the
vocational world, but not necessarily in my experience, also giving
them the clear access to the college prep experience and
(19:51):
preparing them for the college life. What are your thoughts
on that in the state and sort of how schools
are designed today. It seems like some schools are really
pushing vocational tech and and part of it is because
of the student loan dad and all kinds of other stuff.
There are many reasons, but it's also an industry and
industry and they need people to get to work. Yeah,
(20:11):
tell me a little bit about your feelings about that.
Speaker 3 (20:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
Yeah, I have a you know, I guess a unique
for LOOT one not probably not unique, but a philosophy
around higher education and what its goal should be. And
you're right, there is kind of a trend where companies
are imposing themselves on universities to a to adapt the
curriculum to the needs of the companies. To some degree,
(20:36):
part of that is okay, But I believe that the
foundation or the contribution to the university of the university
to the individual is not just to prepare them for
technical skills. The university is not a vocation school, is
not a training center. It is there to expand the
mind of people by exposing them to a universal edge cation.
(21:01):
And so regardless of discipline, I think that, uh, it's
important for all students on university campuses to have exposure
to everything that's going to expand their critical thinking. And
that includes the liberal arts, the uh, you know, the humanities,
the science, social scientists, and art, natural sciences. You know,
(21:22):
even if you're an engineering whether you're an engineering major
or social work major, or business major or law school,
you should have exposure to all of them. I think
it's important to have an appreciation, for example, for the arts.
You know, even though I was an engineering major, one
of the most memorable classes I had a college was
an art history class, and it gave me appreciation for
(21:45):
the history of various types of art and uh and
I still carry that to this day. And you know,
it gives you an opportunity to be a broader contributor
to society. You can have conversations, you know, beyond just
your discipline with people around politics and geography and demographics
(22:09):
and everything. And so I'm not a big supporter of
people going to college with the expectation that they're sole
purpose is to get a job, even though that's important,
I think you should also have a goal of expanding
yourself and learning as much as possible now and even
on college environments college campuses, just being there is important
(22:32):
because you're exposed to a variety of people from various
cultures and countries. You're living, You're living in these spaces
with these people, You're learning how to manage conflicts. It's
it's a really enriching environment that I don't I hope
doesn't get diminished to just job training centers.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
Absolutely, I am one hundred on board, because you know,
I think the balance is needed. Like you said, the
exposure not just to your discipline, but to other people,
to other cultures, to other topics, to the arts. All
of that makes for a well rounded, I think individual.
But not only that, it reminds you that there is
(23:17):
a world so much larger than ourselves, and it's important
to take hold of that, like you said, solving conflicts,
working with other people in different fields and industries, how
you can collaborate and synergize, And you just don't get that,
like you said, if you're focused on just piping out
(23:40):
people or cranking them out for the for the assembly
line or the industry that you're in. There's so much
more to gather from being on a college campus that
I think you can't get anywhere else. Most college campuses
are like a small city within themselves, and there's so
much to explore.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
So there's roles, there's roles for I mean again, there's
there's I don't want to expa people who pursue vocations,
because there is there's an important role for those people electricians, plumbers,
companies or whatever. And then but there are institutions built
(24:21):
for that as well, whereby you can go get those
vocational training and you don't have to be exposed to
the liberal arts. And there's nothing wrong with that. But
if your if your choice is to go to a university,
I think the universities are built for an important reason,
and that is to expand the mind of the individual
(24:42):
so that they can contribute to society in a different
way than vocational schools, and so I think we just
need to make sure that we kind of keep those
ideas in place when we look at these institutions.
Speaker 1 (24:54):
Absolutely, and speaking of which, a lot of people do
choose their PAS way because they want to own their
own business, they want to make their own path. And
I know that Howard University had partnered with P and
C Financial Services Group for the National Center for Entrepreneurship.
So that is really the best of both worlds that
(25:15):
you've just described. The focus is on strategic management and technology.
How is that center going? Is it completed? What's what's
happening there?
Speaker 3 (25:25):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (25:25):
So yeah, PNC gave us sixteen point eight million dollars
to establish this National Entrepreneurship Center, and it was about
a year and a half ago we started building it
up and we launched it. Just officially launched.
Speaker 3 (25:41):
It about a month ago.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
We had TDJS on campus and he was our keynote speaker.
And the way that the center is established Howard is
the Howard and the School of businesses the National Center Hub,
and then we have four regional centers. Morgan State Park,
Atlanta in Texas, Southern and Houston UH. And the goal
(26:03):
is to basically diffuse entrepreneurship through these regional centers into
all of the HBCUs in the country over one hundred hpcus,
with the goal of trying to grow entrepreneurship at those
universities and the surrounding communities. Entrepreneurship is the the economic
engine of this country for sure. You know, probably I
(26:27):
think more than ninety certainly more than eighty five percent
of the companies in this country have you know, fewer
than ten people in them, and so, you know, and
and we don't often take advantage of the opportunities to
think about how to start our own businesses. And so
(26:48):
this is this program or the center is designed to
help give insight and content for what it's like to
be an entrepreneur, what what resource are needed to do
that expose these individuals to the potential capital, whether they're
through bank loans or other type of investment strategies, venture
(27:11):
capitalists or private equity or whatever it might be. And
just plant the seed for people and then provide the
support system to help them build their businesses and also
sustain them. Because you know, the flip side of this
also that there's a huge failure rate for small businesses
as well, mostly because they don't have the infrastructure or
the support systems, and so the center is also built
(27:33):
to possibly help with that also. So I think we
think it's going to be a pretty big impact, pretty
substantial investment from P and C to partner with us
on this program, and we're looking forward to bringing even further.
Speaker 1 (27:47):
Okay, so you are at the helm of some pretty
major projects because not only do you have the P
and C Financial Services Group grant, but you also have
a ninety million dollar grant from the Apollo Global Management
and the fund focus on financial literacy, right, and I
believe that's a collaboration with more House, Spellman Clark Atlanta
(28:10):
as well as the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton Business School.
Tell us a little more about this collaboration, the curriculum
around financial literacy training.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
Yeah, so it's it's it's it's not a it's not
necessarily a grant, but the three major private equity firms
came together, areas of Tree and Apollo, to invest ninety
million dollars in building what is referred to as an
all finance program, alternative finance program, and the goal.
Speaker 3 (28:42):
Is to uh.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
One of the things that that students of color or
people of color have not been involved in when you
look at the financial sector is this very small, unique
area called private equity and private investment alternative investments. And
so so what this program is built to do is
to help train students and prepare them for careers in
(29:09):
the alternative investment space wealth management, private equity sales, and
trading investment banking. There's just, you know, very few of
us in that space, and even fewer of us in
the executive levels of those spaces. And so what we're
trying to do is give students kind of a heads up,
a head start in that career by exposing them to
(29:32):
specialize boot camps and workshops and connecting them into the
network of some of these companies so that they can
get specialized internships with the hopes that they would build
those skill sets early on in their undergrad career and
by the time they graduate they could really jump in
and make a significant impact right away with some of
(29:52):
these companies. And then we've been pretty successful. We place
students and internships that Apollow and no Tree in other
places our students have never been, and these companies have
opened up their doors to allow our students in through
this relationship with Apollo and the financial group, and it's
just to start. I think again that you mentioned financial
(30:13):
literacy or financial education. One of the things that we
need to do more of is exposed ourselves and our
students and our families to financial literacy and how that works,
how those systems work to build wealth within our communities.
Speaker 1 (30:30):
Absolutely, I can't. I'm just overwhelmed because it is so
important I think for families to break the cycle of poverty,
some of these generational challenges that the black and brown
community has had to access as well as to opportunities.
(30:51):
Kind of goes back to that financial literacy piece as well.
And also you mentioned something very important about having people
of color and executive level of business. So why is
that important that we have more representation at the executive level?
And I know how it is doing a great job
with that, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:12):
I mean in today's environment, I mean you hear a
lot of people talk about diversity in diversity at various
stages of organizations and particularly at the senior level, but
it's more than just representation. Particularly you're talking about corporations
and just having people in the room there have been
(31:33):
countless studies. McKenzie and PwC several other organizations have done
studies to demonstrate that the more diverse your senior leadership
team is in terms of not only ethnic diversity, but
also a gender diversity. The more diversity leadership team is,
the more likely that you're going to be more profitable
(31:55):
than companies that have a less diverse leadership team. So
there's evidence that you know, not just you know it's
a good thing to do, but it can also help
your bottom line pretty significantly if you have a diverse
leadership team. So, you know, the positioning of our people
to take advantage of and to position themselves to get
(32:17):
in those jobs is important, and I think companies have
now come to realize that for their survival and their growth,
it's important. Having a diversity of thought in a room
when you're trying to make important decisions is critical to
the success of your organization, regardless of what type of
organization it is. We have had countless examples of companies
making very critical mistakes because they did not have somebody
(32:42):
in the room to tell them, you know, you probably
shouldn't do that because you're probably going to have a
negative impact on the Asian community, African American community, the
transgender community, and it you know, comes back to bite
them in their pockets. And so you know, again, diversity
(33:03):
is critical at every part of the organization, but it's
super critical at the director and C suite levels.
Speaker 3 (33:10):
Mm hmmm.
Speaker 1 (33:11):
Absolutely. And you know, I was thinking about some of
when you talk about representation, and there are lots of
great things happening in our world today, but I was
thinking specifically around Silicon Valley and sort of the history there.
What are your thoughts about the current state of affairs
(33:32):
in terms of the workforce, pipeline, the diversity there. I know,
Howard University has worked hard to partner with many of
those companies there.
Speaker 2 (33:43):
Yeah, we have a relationship, for example, with Google out
and we have a Howard West campus actually on Google's campus,
and what we're doing is working with Google. Again, you know,
it goes back to a couple of things. Is a
pipeline issue. We Google has a very specific technology that
(34:06):
they have trained people for and most of the people
that they have targeted to come work there have been
from you know, pretty distinct schools and a lot of them,
you know, schools in California or they may train, they
may recruit at the Harvard's and the Yales and the
places like that, but they've they've they're very limited opportunities
for people from HBCUs to go to Google. So what
(34:27):
we did we partnered with Google and created a program
whereby we send students out there for one semester along
with some faculty, so that they can actually learn on
Google campus alongside Google engineers and our faculty about what
it's like to work there, what kind of technologies they're using,
and that kind of worked. It helped us two fold.
(34:49):
It also it helped our students prepare and understand what
it's like to work in those spaces, but it also
helped our faculty understand what those technologies were so they
could bring them back to the broader classroom and teach
as well. Uh. That's been on We've been doing that
for I think maybe four years or so now. And uh,
and we did the same thing with at Amazon Studios
(35:11):
in California, where where we had students working with Amazon
Studios in the same Vein spent some time out there
in California, understood what it was like to be not
in front of the camera but behind the camera, which
is we don't have a lot of people represented there
as well, and and and had some faculty out there
(35:31):
to understand, you know, what is production like, what are
some of the the nuances of behind the camera work,
and and and some of these studio functions. So we
built out a couple of different programs like that between
Amazon and Google, and we're working on a few others
and other disciplines.
Speaker 1 (35:51):
Okay, so what is your mission now? There's so much
established and great happening in the School of Business and
with Howard Universe and all of these amazing partnerships. What
is your mission not just for Howard but for the
next generation.
Speaker 2 (36:07):
My mission is always about opportunity, providing students with opportunity,
and regardless of what that looks like. And so the
more exposure that they have to opportunities, better decisions they
can make about what their career pursuits might be. And so,
(36:28):
you know, we we have to be able to adapt
to a changing society. We can't just keep reducing students
in these very very basic disciplines because things are becoming
much more complex. The world is becoming more complex, work
is becoming more complex, particularly when you think about you
know these transitions to these transitions to work from home telework,
(36:53):
and so, you know, what I believe in the university
and myself is prepared people to be adaptable by giving
them exposure to a variety of opportunities so that they
can prepare themselves to whatever the work world looks like.
And the next generation students are willing.
Speaker 3 (37:11):
To adapt to that.
Speaker 2 (37:13):
They already have had considerable shifts in their lives. They're
very adaptable. They know what they want and they go
for it, and they know what they don't want as well,
and they're very.
Speaker 3 (37:28):
Vocal about it.
Speaker 2 (37:28):
And so you have to give them, meet them where
they are and give them opportunities to see what the
world looks like and how they can play in it,
and then prepare them accordingly. And it's not necessarily the
traditional way that we've been doing it. We have to
figure out a way to do it differently.
Speaker 1 (37:47):
H My goodness, I don't know. I get nervous about
the future at times when I see the current generation, because,
like you said, they are extremely vocal about what they
will do and what they won't do. And really they're
doing the right things in a lot of ways in
terms of even when they're interviewing. They're not just being interviewed,
(38:10):
they're interviewing the company. They want to know work life balance,
and they want to know if this will be a
professional home is there are their growth opportunities and they're
quick to say, listen, this isn't for me, or to
quit a job and keep keep it moving. And so
talk to me about your work life balance or some
(38:33):
of the choices that you've made in life. You have
pretty much been on a consistent pathway for you know,
the bulk of your twenty years plus has that is
that panning out for you? In other words, is it
better to be a risk taker? Is it better to
to sort of stay in one genre, one field for
(38:57):
a good bit of time, just just your own personal
for life feel on sort of this work life balance
and this career choice path? How do we balance that
with a stability longevity in an area versus taking a
risk because some of these risk takers they are also disruptors, right,
So what are your thoughts on that?
Speaker 2 (39:20):
Well, I mean, if I look at my career, I've
I've had a pretty broad, diverse set of experiences and
I think it's worked for me very well. You know,
I have an appreciation for technology, but I also have
appreciation for qualitative thinking and you know, kind of critical
(39:45):
discourse and philosophies and so forth. So for me, I
think it's important to to open yourself up to be
considered of all types of learning and to be ongoing learner,
continuous learner. And and you know, in terms of your
(40:06):
suggestion about risk, one of our biggest challenges is our
aversion to risk or taking risk. And there's you know,
there's nothing wrong with taking risk. You have to be
a bit more calculated about it, and I wouldn't you know,
you don't just jump out there. You really have to
put some time into that understanding what you're you know,
(40:28):
how to how to mitigate risk and manage risk, but
you shouldn't be afraid to take it. And that's one
of the things that I you know, I I've I've
also I've always challenged myself to go for things, but
I've also done it in a very intentional way, and
in terms of preparing myself for what those risks like
look like, what the outcomes might look like, thinking through
(40:50):
what my options might be before I just jump into
a situation. But you still got to jump, Yeah, so
you regardless of you don't to be paralyzed by this
analysis and trying to figure it all out. But you
don't want to you know, you don't want to just
jump out there without a parachute either, So it's you know,
(41:10):
it's a balancing act.
Speaker 4 (41:11):
And again, my experiences have been that I've been successful
and jumping from various fields and jumping into different spaces,
and it's worked for me.
Speaker 2 (41:22):
And I would encourage people to just think about what
you want to do and how you want to get there,
and don't be afraid to take the first step and
the next step and maybe a couple of leaps and
jumps and everything in between.
Speaker 1 (41:33):
Absolutely, And listen, when you were talking, I was thinking
about the qualitative side of you. It's very unique to
have someone strong in both areas at that side of
the brain right, And I was thinking, I'm not sure
if I have the exact number correct, but I know
you have written close to fifty peer review general articles
(41:57):
and also found the time somewhere. I don't write a
fictional novel. I mean, now that is a serious brain shift.
What can you tell me about your book? How did
that happen in the midst of all this you have.
You know, this is interesting, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (42:14):
It was. It was. It's a while.
Speaker 2 (42:15):
There's something I always wanted to do, and I just
woke up one I usually spend over the you know,
just before the end of the year sometimes just kind
of thinking about my goals and and my bucket list
of things that I want to do and accomplished. And
one of those things always have been writing a novel.
(42:37):
And so one year I just said, Okay, this is
a year to do it, and I just it was
a combination of using my my skill sets for logical
thinking and building this thing out. And so I spent
about two or three months just laying out the storyline
and the characters and who they looked, what they look like,
(42:57):
who they were, what their backgrounds were, what reline was
going to be. And I spent a few months on that,
and then I just started writing. And I was fairly
disciplined about it. I got up and I wrote a
thousand words a day every day until I got the
book done, to all two hundred and seven papers over
whatever it was. But I tried to also use, you know,
(43:23):
some of my background as well, because the book is,
the novel is about a secret society of African American
women who have a highly skilled technology background and and
they're kind of infused throughout government agencies and technology agencies,
and they have, you know, various different actions that they're
(43:48):
they're doing to support society and also maybe to be detrimental.
Speaker 3 (43:54):
And they have a.
Speaker 2 (43:56):
Nemesis who stumbles on their secret, and so there's a
kind of a suspense around things that they're doing and
with things that he's doing to protect themselves from them.
And it was fairly successful time that I wrote it,
and I did, I had quite a good could, quite
a few good reviews.
Speaker 3 (44:16):
I did quite a few public.
Speaker 2 (44:18):
Speaking and book clubs and those kinds of things.
Speaker 3 (44:20):
So it was fairly well.
Speaker 2 (44:22):
And again it was a different It was a mind shift,
but again I was just another goal I wanted to accomplish,
and I started working on the second one. Never got
a chance to finish it because life's gotten away. But
maybe someday I'll get back to it.
Speaker 1 (44:36):
Well, I'm intrigued. Can we still get a copy of
the book? Is it in circulation?
Speaker 2 (44:40):
Yeah, it's out there in Amazon and other places. It's
still available.
Speaker 1 (44:44):
And the title The Enigma of in Jama Okay, unique
title there.
Speaker 2 (44:51):
Yeah, and Jama was the name of the secret society
n j A m A.
Speaker 1 (44:55):
Okay, okay, now you know we're all going to get
it because we're just I mean, it's sounds like a
good mysterious, you know I spy type thing. So, uh so,
what else is on your bucket list? You mentioned that
was one of one thing. Where do you see yourself
in the future.
Speaker 3 (45:13):
Well, I mean, of.
Speaker 2 (45:13):
Course, there's always aspirations professionally to do other things or
bigger things, and so that's always on the forefront. I'm
a big advocate of travel, so I try to put
that into where I can I make, you know, different
sects across the globe and and have a long list
of other things I want to do and what the
(45:34):
places I want to see and uh and so that's
always on my on my mind. My most of my
bucket list is around just exposing myself to two things
and people and places. I'm again, I'm a big advocate
of just learning and growing and so everything everything from you.
(45:58):
A few years ago, I had on my list to
two myself how to play a bass guitar.
Speaker 3 (46:01):
So I did that.
Speaker 1 (46:03):
Oh wow, okay, I.
Speaker 2 (46:07):
Wanted I wanted to go, for example, the places like
the Grammys or something. And it was actually out in
California at the Grammys the last in October whenever it was,
And I got a chance to walk up to the door,
but I couldn't get in because I'd have a ticket,
but I didn't. I made it there, but I didn't
complete the goal because I didn't get inside. But but
(46:28):
you know, those kinds of things.
Speaker 3 (46:29):
Just I just like to be.
Speaker 2 (46:31):
I like a variety of different exposures and and so
my my goal is to continue to pursue those as
much as possible.
Speaker 3 (46:39):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (46:40):
I got about eighty five things on my bucket list
to do left, and so yeah, it's uh. I think
it's important to have fun with this short timeframe we
call life.
Speaker 1 (46:54):
Indeed, and listen, I know a person who knows the
person I might be able to get you in next time,
I mean personally. But that person that I know, they
have gone several times, and so I'm gonna I'm gonna
connect you and see we can't check that one off
the list really now, as you're such a well rounded leader,
(47:17):
not just an intelligence, but in life and your career
path and decisions, tell me about your self care regimen,
because I know you're a big advocate of self care.
Why is that important to you as a leader, and
how do you take care of yourself?
Speaker 2 (47:37):
Again, it kind of goes to balance.
Speaker 3 (47:39):
I mean, I have a.
Speaker 2 (47:42):
There's a spiritual, mental, physical, and emotional side that I
think all four have to stay in balance. And so
most of my life is committed to the mental area,
and for the past many many years now twenty five
thirty years, I've committed to the physical in that you know,
(48:04):
I work out three four times a day, I mean,
sorry times a week, three four times a week religiously,
regardless of what I'm doing. That's part of my calendar.
I've you know, I do yoga on occasion as much
as I can. Meditation for this, you know, expansion of
the spiritual and so you know, you know, because of
(48:29):
the stress of the job that I have, and then
sometimes I don't do as good of a job of
pacing myself. But the exercising in the in the meditation
helped to maintain the balance, you know, one of the
biggest killers of people's stress, and so managing that sometimes
(48:50):
I do it, do a good job, and sometimes I don't.
But at least it's it's on the agenda, and there's
an attempt so that I can, you know, try to
continue to do the things I want to do and
still grow as an individual.
Speaker 3 (49:06):
Mm hmmm mm hmm.
Speaker 1 (49:08):
Well, I am just thrilled that you took the time
to talk to us today. I have so many other
questions I know, I know I can't answer right now.
Your time is so precious and listen, I can't tell
you how honored I am talk about stress. I was stressed.
Speaker 3 (49:27):
Just what.
Speaker 1 (49:31):
Yeah, No, it was like no, seriously, the palm sweating
and all that good stuff. But it's been, like I said,
such a pleasure and honor. Thank you for sharing a
bit of your life with us. Thank you for sharing
the programs that are happening and the innovative things that
are that are partnerships that are happening at Howard University.
(49:53):
And thank you for helping us think through this sort
of work life balance and access the opportunities and taking
ri while staying balanced all at the same time. It's
so important that people of your caliber take the time
to just share a day and of life, you know,
with us, because we're all out here looking for mentors
(50:18):
and heroes and you are certainly one of them. So
I appreciate that I wasn't joking when I was saying
the epitome of excellence at the beginning, because for me
and for many who admire you, which and there are many,
you are the epitome of black excellence, black male excellence,
(50:38):
back business excellence, black consulting excellence. I mean, the list
goes just on and on, and so thank you again,
doctor Anthony Wilbon for joining us on Team Leadership Radio.
Speaker 2 (50:52):
Well, thank you for having me on. I appreciate it
was a great, great conversation, and again, thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (50:58):
All Right, well, thank you, thank you guys for tuning
in until next time. Hey stick with us. This is
so exciting and it's always thank you for being a
team player.
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