Whether it’s technological advancements, climate change, or social inequalities, business leaders today must adapt to emerging realities. Andy Chisholm, MBA ’85, says it’s a complicated, confusing era for those entering business today.
But he offered three simple pieces of advice for leading through increasing complexity: Strong effort, prioritizing quality, and taking action.
Chisholm, a corporate director and Chair of the Ivey Advisory Board, shared that advice at Western’s 321st convocation where graduates from Ivey’s MBA, EMBA, MScs, MM in Analytics, and PhD programs received their diplomas and officially joined the Ivey Alumni Network. At the ceremony, eight Ukrainian exchange students who participated in Ivey’s MBA through the Academic Shelter Program also received the Graduate Diploma in Management.
Chisholm spoke to graduates on the heels of receiving an honorary Doctor of Laws at the ceremony for his business achievement, community leadership, and contributions to Ivey and Western. Here are some takeaways.
Set yourself up for success
Things can and most often will go either way in business and in life, but effort and desire will put you in the best position for good luck and serendipity to occur. Chisholm shared a story from his time at Queen's University when he was goaltender for the men's hockey team during the Ontario Championship. Noting that the team was clearly the underdog and only there due to collective tenacity and grit, Chisholm told of a surprise win for the team after he stopped a goal that should have gone in, but somehow didn’t because luck was on his side that day.
“It’s often a fine line between succeeding and having to try again to muster new energy and try a new approach. You all have many of the ingredients to succeed, like intelligence, or you wouldn't even be here,” he said. “At Ivey, you’ve learned to reason, to form judgment, and to collaborate. You've been instilled with the importance of integrity and trust. You've got all that. So it's left to effort to be the differentiator to put you in a position for good things to happen.”
Quality matters
Quality is more than just excellence, it also encompasses goodness, emotional understanding, and having a broader perspective. Simply put, Chisholm said quality relates to how your actions impact others and how your values and actions intersect. He encouraged the graduates to never be satisfied with just being satisfactory, especially when it comes to playing a part in bettering the world.
“Quality in business means being conscious of the social license to operate. It means adjusting course if harm becomes evident,” he said. “Money follows quality – at least the money worth having. Self-worth certainly follows quality.”
Make things happen
Sharing that a mentor once told him there are three types of people – those that make things happen, those that watch things happen, and those that wonder what just happened – Chisholm stressed that individual actions can collectively make a big impact. He urged the graduates to stand up for their ideals, strive to make a difference, build on the work of others, and move from “we should” to “I will.”
Citing the importance of business in advancing climate-related strategies, Chisholm ended his speech with a personal plea, urging the next generation of business leaders to consider what they can do differently to save the planet.
“Decarbonization needs many people to say, ‘I will,’ not just ‘We must’ – to make things happen, rather than watch things happen,” he said. “Please do the work to understand how your main job or your company might be impacting this problem and how you or your company might do things differently … Wherever you go next, there is a role to play.”
Ivey’s graduation ceremony also marks the School’s 100th anniversary as a degree-granting institution. Read more about Ivey’s 100-year history.
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