Jon M. Huntsman School of Business

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Friday, March 30, 2012

Go in search of the arc of the construction – it’s where the outer limits are

There were probably a handful of people who wondered last week why a red dotted line crossed the parking lot on the west side of the George S. Eccles Business Building and looped around on the grass in front of Lund Hall.

Ken Snyder
The dotted line is some of the first outdoor evidence of the new Huntsman Hall. It’s a rough line that our contractors drew on the pavement and grass that marks where the outer edge of our new building will be.

The rain hasn’t washed it all away yet. If you haven’t noticed it, go out in the parking lot or in front of Lund Hall and see if you can find the line. You might be surprised to see just how big the footprint is for this new building.

This is the first sign that construction is about to begin.

By this fall there will be a lot more to see than just some faded red dotted line. I’m sure, however, that the visionaries won’t want to wait until construction begins so I shared this piece of inside news in the blog. Think about it. How many times will you the opportunity to say to your friends, “Not now, I’m looking for the arc in the ground.”

- Ken Snyder

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Taco Bell’s New Dorito Loco Taco’s – Awesome!

Eric D. Schulz
If you haven’t already been to Taco Bell to try out their new tacos featuring a Dorito’s taco shell, you need to go ASAP! These new tasty gems are called Dorito’s Loco Tacos (in both regular and Supreme versions), and cost about a dime more than the taco counterparts in the regular corn taco shells. These things are an awesome new product and worth the dime upcharge!

Not only is the product a brilliant line extension for Doritos, but I give credit to the Taco Bell marketing team for their introductory campaign. Virtually every point of contact at the store, from window signs to the little pithy sayings on the hot sauce pouches, to the menu boards, are all dedicated to promoting and marketing the Dorito Loco Tacos. Great synergy. Great focus. The TV spot featuring the group of 20 something friends who drove over 900 miles to try it out when it was still in test market is a little far-fetched (I think they could have done a better TV ad), but otherwise, Taco Bell gets an “A” for their new product, and an “A-“ for their introductory marketing campaign.

Taco Bell: Live Mas Today!

Taco Bell Doritos Locos Tacos Commercial


- Eric D. Schulz

Monday, March 26, 2012

The pros, cons and reality of phone interviews

I really love Logan, but there are not a lot of entry-level jobs in my field here.

Now that I’m done with school, I am applying for some jobs in Ogden and Salt Lake, but most of the jobs I apply for are so far away, I have to do initial interviews over the phone.

Paul Lewis Siddoway
I have never had music for callers to listen to instead of the standard ringing. Whenever I get an incoming call from someone whose number I don’t recognize, I just answer with a normal “hello.”

I recently read an article in the Salt Lake Tribune by Anita Bruzzese who talked to Paul Bailo, the founder and CEO of Phone Interview Pro. He confirmed some of the things I am doing are right on track, and had a lot of great advice for when you are going to have a job interview over the phone.

The reality of looking for a job in this ever-shrinking world is phone interviews are becoming more commonplace.

I feel like I cannot be as personable over the phone and I can’t read the interviewer's non-verbal cues, but I can have their website up on my laptop and have a list of things I want to make sure I talk about ready to go, which are some reasons I prefer to have phone interviews.

Besides, that way I can pace if I start to get nervous.

- Paul Lewis Siddoway

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

There is one glass ceiling I would like to see in place

I think it would be cool if part of the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business had a glass ceiling. I’m not talking about an invisible barrier to advancement, but a real glass ceiling.

Ken Snyder
Our current plans for our new building would create an open space for a courtyard between the George S. Eccles Business Building and Huntsman Hall. We envision a courtyard with some bricked walkways, trees, benches and some tables for students and faculty. It would be a great place to study or take a lunch break. We would like to use the brick walked ways as a sort of fund-raising opportunity.

Our solid supporters, who want to contribute but may not have the means for a major gift, may have their contributions recognized by having their names etched in bricks that will become a permanent part of the courtyard. The etched bricks will prove a tangible reminder that they too shared the vision of what the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business could be and evidence that they helped lay the foundation for what it would become.

The courtyard would be lower than the ground level around the building, and it would match up with the floor level of our basement. That will give some natural light to the first floor (the basement floor) of the new building.

We really think it would make that space even more usable if we put a glass canopy over the top. Due to the greenhouse-type environment, we think it could be used year round. It wouldn’t be heated or air conditioned, but I suspect the sun would help us heat it in the winter and it might be a nice place to enjoy a rain storm in the summer.

Our current budget includes no money for a cover between the buildings but maybe a generous donor will take an interest in the idea and offer us a donation to make it happen. Do you someone who might be willing to fund a glass canopy?

We are all about Daring Mighty Things, right? In this case we can increase or vision, set our sights on the sky, and do it all without getting cold or wet.

- Ken Snyder

Monday, March 19, 2012

"For Every Body" founder shares 10 lessons

Becky Anderson founded “For Every Body” 17 years ago with one purpose in mind – to teach her four daughters how to work that didn’t include a tractor. She also started a party planning company four years ago called “For Every Home.”

Becky Anderson
During the Entrepreneur Lecture Series on March 1, Becky shared 10 lessons she feels are important to achieve success in entrepreneurial endeavors.

Lesson 1 – Everybody needs a mentor. In business, who you know can often be just as important as what you know. Find a mentor who inspires you to go further than you think you can. My perspective changed in what I should look for in a mentor; not only should I find someone who is successful, I need to find someone who cares about helping me reach my full potential.

Lesson 2 – Dream big and set goals. Becky shared advice from one of her mentors who said to “dream big, paint your vision in living color, and then make it happen.” Our goals need to be specific and have timelines. What do I want? How am I going to achieve it? What needs to happen to get there? Are we asking ourselves these same questions? She said a Harvard study showed that 97 percent of people who write their goals down are farther ahead than those who haven’t.

Lesson 3 – Time management. This lesson struck me the most. As a full-time college student, it is easy to think more hours are required in the day. “We all have 24 hours in a day, how are you going to spend yours?” What are we doing with our time? Imagine if instead of watching TV, spending countless hours on Facebook, or playing video games, we focused on accomplishing our goals. What a difference we would see in our society!

Lesson 4 – Have Passion. “Have so much passion that people know where you work and what you do…bleed the company.” I love the idea of not only being passionate, but sharing and teaching others how to be passionate as well.

Lesson 5 – You must read to succeed. 65 percent of people do not read after they are done with school. I agree with Becky that “successful people are always reading and continuing to learn.” I learned that “if you study or read one hour a day about your field or specialty, you can be in the top five percent of the population within two years.”

Lesson 6 – It’s the fast that eat the slow not the big that eat the small. Take action! Don’t be afraid to fail. Keep moving forward.

Lesson 7 – Go where the hockey puck is going to be, not where it is at now. “Don’t become so in love with what you are doing as to miss out on other opportunities.” We need to ask ourselves, “what do we know this week that we didn’t know last week about…” followed by facts and hard data. Whether about our own business, competitors, customers, etc. we need to be aware of where we (and others) are going.

Lesson 8 – Don’t get emotional or take things personal in business negotiations. “Don’t EVER make a decision which will affect the long-term when you are in an emotional state. You never want those you are negotiating to see that side of you. Get mad somewhere else, not in front of the people.” What great advice!

Lesson 9 – Trust your gut but make educated choices. We will have chances to make choices based on our gut, but make sure it is backed by reasoning. Do not be afraid to take risks.

Lesson 10 – Have a Plan B. Another way of looking at this lesson is to not place all your eggs in one basket. Just like I learned in boy scouts, we must always “Be Prepared.”

- Steven Espinoza

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Holder of 90 surgical patents speaks at Huntsman School

The suture anchor is one of the most innovative surgical procedures of the past 30 years. It is frequently used by orthopedic surgeons all around the world.

It all started with the innovative mind of its inventor, E. Marlowe Goble.

“To me, it was intuitive,” Dr. Goble said at a recent Lecture in Entrepreneurship at the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business.
Dr. E. Marlowe Goble

Dr. Goble has over 30 years as an orthopedic surgeon. In that time, he has amassed more than 90 U.S. patents with more pending. He has also enjoyed success in the entrepreneurial realm. He has co-founded five companies, of which three have been acquired.

Dr. Goble said one of the things that he was most proud of was that he has helped create businesses that supply well-paying jobs for a wide range of skill sets. His companies are a great place for highly trained physicians in specialized areas of medicine, but they also employ numerous people with little educational experience.

During his presentation, Dr. Goble showed actual examples of some of the procedures that he pioneered. One of his procedures was a minimally invasive procedure in which he drilled through the tibia to get to the femur. This procedure replaced a surgery that required two large incisions and four days of recovery time. Dr. Goble’s surgery allowed patients to leave the hospital in the same day.

After watching some graphic videos of Dr. Goble doing his job, his last slide was a nice break. He ended the presentation by showing a picture of his beautiful family, all of whom who have gone on to do great things. He was justifiably proud of each of them and credited them with a lot of his success.

- Connor Child

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Huntsman Hall to feature another student lounge adjoined to café

The current student lounge in our building is about 1,800 square feet. When Huntsman Hall is complete, there will be an additional 3,000 square feet of lounge area.

The cafe and adjoining lodge at PACCAR Hall at the
University of Washington's Foster School of Business
As I mentioned two weeks ago, Huntsman Hall will include a café. There will be about 900 square feet of seating to go with the café. Neighboring the café will be an additional student lounge that will be approximately 2,100 square feet. Students will have the option of picking up food at the café and meandering to the lounge to discuss projects and upcoming tests with their classmates.

One of the architectural firms that is designing our new building is Seattle-based LMN Architects. They designed PACCAR Hall for the Foster School of Business at the University of Washington. The picture at the right shows an image taken of PACCAR Hall’s student lounge area and café. Our lounge/café will be along the same lines.

The current student lounge isn’t going anywhere either. So with the completion of Huntsman Hall, there will be nearly 5,000 square feet of space for students to lounge, eat and prepare for upcoming class assignments.

- Ken Snyder

Friday, March 2, 2012

Huntsman Hall will feature new event space

There are a few people, mostly those who lead clubs, departments or other organizations within the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business, who have learned that in one area the school’s capacity is limited. They know that if they want to hold an event to host VIP visitors or a special meeting, there’s a good chance they won’t be able to use the only space we now have for such things because it will already be booked.

Ken Snyder
The O.C. Tanner Business Lounge on the ninth floor is sometimes double or triple booked, meaning that if someone were to cancel their reservation there might be two other groups that would be ready to claim the space and time.

Once Huntsman Hall is completed, there will be more options available. We plan to include some event space in that new facility that will be four times as large as what we have on the ninth floor. The new room will be designed so that it can be broken into two separate mid-sized rooms. We will also have an executive conference room, something we don’t have now, that can be used for special meetings such as hosting our National Advisory Board.

When Huntsman Hall is completed we’ll continue to use the ninth floor, but our new event space will also offer spectacular views of south Cache Valley. As we planned what to put in Huntsman Hall, every single group we spoke with said they were frustrated by the lack of available space for special events, speakers, luncheons or club meetings. Huntsman Hall will open the doors to more visionary, celebratory and inspirational events, all things that are continually a part of a school that is transforming itself into a top-tier institution.

- Ken Snyder