Jon M. Huntsman School of Business

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Thursday, October 17, 2013

Suddenly Huntsman Hall Construction Goes Into High Gear



By Ken Snyder

Faithful Huntsman Hall webcam watchers are finally being rewarded for their diligence. We have had, up until now, only limited approval to proceed with our construction work on Huntsman Hall. However, we recently received approval by the State of Utah to begin serious construction work on our new building.

There are several levels of approvals to go through before work on a big project like this can get underway. There are building code requirements to meet. All drawings go through an engineering evaluation. It’s all to make sure the building is designed well and will be safe. We, of course, want everything in order before we begin, but it has been hard to wait for months for the latest drawings to be reviewed so we can take things to the next level. 

So, I invite you again to take a look at our webcams and watch things take shape. We can finally kick things in high gear and build a new facility that will change education at the Huntsman School of Business forever and now you can watch it happen live – without falling asleep.

Friday, October 11, 2013

It’s Time to Think About Where We Will be Sitting Down Two Years From Now


By Ken Snyder

It’s not time to move into Huntsman Hall yet but it is time to seriously consider what type of furniture will be part of our new building. The building doesn’t come with its own set of tables and chairs. 

Have you ever thought about the process for selecting the furniture for a new building? We will need chairs and tables for the café area, the student lounge areas, the outdoor terrace and courtyard areas, and, of course, a host of classrooms and study rooms.

We are now in the process of selecting furniture and here are the four criteria we are using to make our decision.

  1.  Will it be functional? The furniture needs to fit the use. A chair that might work great in a study area will not work in the courtyard. 
  2.  Will it meet the needs of our students? For example, a classroom chair should be comfortable and help students stay alert.
  3. Will it last without showing lots of wear and tear? We need furniture that will work for years to come, not just the first few days after we open Huntsman Hall.
  4. Where are we going to get the best value? Which products meet the need for the lowest cost? 

This step is going to take some work. If you’ve ever gone shopping for a new sofa, table or chairs, you can only imagine what it would be like to try to fill a 117,000-square-foot building. And that’s why it’s time to start thinking about what will be in Huntsman Hall, even though we’re just building the foundation now.

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Huntsman MBAA and Engineering Students Welcome “PowerSpeaker” Rick Gilbert



By Mike Tolman

One thing that engineers and business students have in common is the need for strong presentation and speaking skills. Whether you are pitching a business plan for a new start up or looking for funding for a new research project, engineers and managers must be able to speak up, to tell their story, and to get people to buy-in to their ideas. Rick Gilbert is the founder of PowerSpeaking, a company that that says it can help a person advance “up the corporate ladder by becoming a composed and influential spokesperson.” He is now on a national book tour promoting his new book, “Speaking Up: Surviving Executive Presentations.”

Mike Tolman shares speaking tips that Rick Gilbert offered.
Gilbert spoke at USU recently about the importance of knowing how to make effective presentations to engineers and business people. “A presentation cannot make a career, but a presentation can undo a career,” he said.He went on to say that we need to be able to cut through the “fog” in a meeting and bring our objective into focus. “Executives,” he said, “are extremely bright, demanding, analytical, and are as smart as a whip.” 

In other words, executives will see through any holes in your presentation in a matter of minutes, or less. Understanding this fact and being aware of the primary motives for executives, such as their need to increase profitability and decrease costs, can help a presenter to cut to the bottom line, save the executive’s time, and get a proposal approved, he said. Gilbert suggested giving executives the conclusion of the proposal first.

 “They may tune you out and miss all of the details, but you never want them to miss the conclusion,” Gilbert said.

Mr. Gilbert went on to suggest that people need to be aware of how they deliver their message, not just the presenting the content they have prepared. He said that presenters must pay attention to facial expressions, eye directions, pauses for impact, one’s tone of voice, movement, and especially one’s body language and gestures. He noted that “high-power poses affect your hormones. Reducing cortisol levels by 25%,” the chemical that is triggered by stress. Additionally, Gilbert mentioned that “death by PowerPoint” is a real and significant threat to presentations. He talked about how important it was to not read information off of slides, but rather to use graphics, to tell stories, and to respect your audience’s scarce resource of time.

Mr. Gilbert’s last bit of advice was to “let loose.” When managing a room of executives, it is important to recognize that, at any moment, a presentation could be derailed by comments, difficult questions, or interruptions. To manage this situation, Gilbert suggested to think on one’s feet and to present like a jazz musician and not a classical pianist. 

Whether presenting to a board of executives or to a project funding panel, it is essential for students of business or engineering to understand their audience, get straight to the point, and communicate their needs, objectives, rationale, and proposals effectively and efficiently.
Pictured in their "Power Poses" (left to right) Mike Tolman, Holden Brown, Tucker Smith, Rick Gilbert, Kirsten Sims, Richard W. Anderson, Brekke Van Slyke, Romney Olsen, and Skot Neilson.



 “The best slide is no slide,” Gilbert said, “the best presentation is no presentation. What executives want is dialogue.”