Mentorship: Planting Seeds of Growth
According to Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Group, “no matter how incredibly smart you think you are, or how brilliant, disruptive or plain off -the-wall your new concept might be, every start-up team needs at least one good mentor.1” Thankfully, here at IUCG, our Vice President of Internal Development, Louis Higgins, successfully fills the role of mentor, providing guidance and educational workshops for all members to feel prepared to succeed in their future careers.
As an organization, our three core values are: collaborate, solve, accelerate. In his development workshops Louis incorporates these three principles into everything we learn. Whether Louis is teaching our members the values of certain programs in Excel, or defining the rules and applications of statistics; club members are naturally collaborating with each other to solve problems, and in the process are accelerating their development as individuals and young professionals.
Like every good mentor, Louis comes into each and every workshop with enthusiasm and a goal in mind that reaches far beyond the confines of the classroom. His vision as VP of Internal Development is to pass on a way of thinking, rather than a cut and dry set of solutions for a given array of problems. He uses the topics of the development workshops as a basis from which he can provide our members with a “toolbox” to solve a multitude of problems. With mutual interest and concerted effort, this toolbox grows and becomes an intrinsic quality within every member, allowing them to quantitatively and qualitatively reason through problems they could face in a real world situation.
As a graduating senior Louis’ time in IUCG is not permanent, but his vision will certainly be realized and have a lasting effect on IUCG. Our members come from a variety of backgrounds, majors on every end of the spectrum, and each has something unique to bring to the table. Opportunities arise every day to learn from each other. This is the nature of mentorship within IUCG. In the words of our president Evan Lynch, “We want IUCG to be a place where it is natural for a freshman to approach a senior when they are struggling to understand a new concept.” This system of mentorship is predicated upon every member stepping up to the plate and being open to building relationships. More tenured members act as a resource for the younger members when they struggle, and younger members must actively engage with others outside their comfort zone. The exchange of knowledge and willingness to help at a deeper level is something that we foster in IUCG and certainly something that cannot be taught in a development workshop. “It has to become our culture.”
At the end of the day, there is only so much knowledge that can be acquired without being in the industry. Keeping this in mind, Vice President of Development, Davies DeCesare-Fousek reaches out to professionals in the consulting industry who can provide us with some of the knowledge about consulting that many students are only exposed to after they enter the workforce. Earlier this semester, consultants from Grant Thornton came and spoke to IUCG about their experiences in the industry. This external mentorship is another way to accelerate the development of our members.
Thanks to the leadership and vision of our upper classmen members like Louis, Evan, and Davies, IUCG is well on its way to creating this culture of natural mentorship. As a result of the development workshops, external speakers, and IUCG’s culture of mentorship, our members have a constantly growing toolbox, which is used every day inside and outside the classroom, and serves as an asset for their future as they enter the professional world.
1http://www.virgin.com/richard-branson/the-importance-of-having-a-mentor-in-business
- Published in News
Professor Alan Robinson is a wearer of many hats; he is an innovator, but more specifically a professor, consultant, author, and orator. Robinson has been a member of the UMass community for almost thirty years, and is now the faculty advisor for the Isenberg Undergraduate Consulting Group.
After receiving his BA and MBA in mathematics from Cambridge University, Robinson’s interest in the consulting field was peaked during his studies at John’s Hopkins University, where he received both his PhD in applied mathematics and his MSE. Professor Robinson now takes on between ten and fifteen consulting projects per year, and has assisted over 200 organizations in 25 countries.
As a consultant, Robinson aims to give his clients the necessary insight and intellectual resources required to have long term success. In regards to his approach in helping clients, he remarked, “I try to teach people to fish. I don’t want to fish for them.” Professor Alan Robinson considers himself a high-level problem solver. With a focus on high performance organizations, creativity, and innovation, Professor Robinson specializes in what he calls thought leadership consulting. He thinks about a client’s problem and applies his experience and knowledge to help find the optimal solution. The projects he enjoys most, and finds most valuable, are those that scare him. For Robinson, consulting is a medium where he can combine his love of learning, his passion for business, and his interest in research.
Professor Robinson is not only an educator for the organizations he consults with, but he also holds a role as a professor at the Isenberg School of Management. After previously teaching Management 301 and holding the position of Associate Dean for the full-time MBA program, Alan is now teaching an MBA practicum and an MBA Operations Management course. Additionally, he instructs a High Performance Operations class (OIM 420 for the undergraduate program), a course he developed from his consulting experience and independent research. However, Professor Robinson does not let his teaching end in the classroom. He bridges the gap between the classroom and the workforce in many ways. The one which separates him most from his peers is the consulting trips a few lucky students are able to accompany him on. These select students gain valuable job specific field experience and participate in a once in a lifetime hands-on learning experience.
After traveling the world, earning four degrees, and writing numerous books, Professor Robinson remains humble: “There’s way more to know in life than I’ll ever know.” His advice for those interested in a career in consulting is as follows: Be constantly learning; be a life-long reader; master how you approach people and create value within yourself.
IUCG is ecstatic to have Professor Alan Robinson as our faculty advisor. He is an inspiration to us all, a source of invaluable knowledge, and a welcome new addition to our team.
- Published in News, Publication
From the Metaphysical to the Tangible
The Isenberg Undergraduate Consulting Group was born from an innovative idea. IUCG was founded in Fall 2013 as a platform from which young business professionals could develop their hard and soft skills while simultaneously giving back to the community in which they reside.
An article1 from bcg.perspectives notes the driving force separating fast growing companies from companies who fail to grow is their leadership. Those successful leaders understand a failure to grow can be the equivalent to the death of the company. They are constantly pushing and pursuing new opportunities and new ideas. They are never finished; there is always something left to strive for.
Our student leaders understand the importance of progress, and have pushed for growth both in terms of membership size and availablility of hands-on opportunities to learn outside of the classroom. Fast Forward one year from the first operational semester of IUCG: The number of projects has doubled; The membership has increased (32 members at the close of this recruiting period), and an additional four seats, from the original six, have been added to the executive team.
This semester our project managers and analysts will be divided into teams to focus on four different consulting projects: an even split with two projects based out of our local Amherst community and two partnering with our very own university. Our project with The Black Sheep, a local deli in the center of Amherst, will teach analysts how to improve the customer experience by studying wait times. Our second effort to give back to our community is through our project with Craig’s Doors, a local non-profit. The Craig’s Doors team will be working to develop a more organized operational process for the organization. Keeping a little closer to home, analysts on the Residential Service Desk project and the On-Campus Housing Assignment project will be focusing on process improvement to optimize the operations of both of these UMass-Amherst services.
Since its creation in Fall 2013, one of the core goals of IUCG has been to give back- to its members, the Isenberg community, and the Amherst community. We want to establish a culture of personal growth and community mentorship among our members by working together and learning from each other. An open culture where learning is cherished and a desire to give back is central will hopefully allow for continued progress and boundless opportunities for both our members and our clients.
New semester, new projects, new talent. We’re happily embracing the growth imperative.
1Bürkner, Hans-Paul, Kermit King, and Nor Azah Razali. “More Holes than Cheese: Embracing the Growth Imperative” Bcg.perspectives. BCG.perspectives, 8 Oct. 2013. Web. 7 Feb 2015. <<https://www.bcgperspectives.com/content/articles/growth_vision_mission_more_holes_than_cheese_embracing_growth_imperative/>>
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Another Year Older, Another Year Wiser
IUCG is back and better than ever for the Spring 2015 semester. What is at the core of any successful organization? Dedication, passion, and a winning strategy (We’ve got all three). The Executive Team of IUCG spent winter break planning and strategizing for this semester and the future looks bright! With our strong team of analysts and project managers ready to launch our upcoming consulting projects, we are confident that 2015 will be another year of full of dedication, passion, and winning strategies.
In preparation for the continued growth and development of IUCG, we have filled new seats on our Executive Team. We are thrilled to introduce…
- Keith Mellot, Director of Case Materials
- Emma Kelly, Director of Publications
- Abigail Rice, Secretary
Our goals at IUCG are to provide our members with a competitive advantage to help them break into the consulting industry, and to provide our clients with effective and professional service that will optimize their businesses and improve their overall operations. Hopefully this isn’t the first time you’re hearing about the Isenberg Undergraduate Consulting Group, but if it is, make sure you check out our website, isenbergconsulting.org and join our twitter @IsenbergUCG to learn a little bit more about who we are, what we do, and why we do it.
Check back for bi-weekly blog posts and get the inside scoop on all things IUCG. (Next week we’ll announce who we’re partnering with this spring!). Welcome back to UMASS; we hope you’re as excited as we are!
- Published in News, Publication
Isenberg Undergraduate Consulting Group | Fall Review 2014
IUCG’s Fall Review 2014 provides information regarding what our organization has been up to over the past several months. Being the first of its kind, we have covered topics ranging from distinguished speakers, client engagements, what we’ve learned, and more!
This semester was one to remember! Join us as we take a look back on Fall 2014!
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