Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend the General Management & Operations (GMO) Club Forum at Darden.  This annual event brings in executives from various companies that are recruiting on-campus this year.  Visiting us were representatives from BB&T, Danaher, Eaton, GE, Meadwestvaco, and Progressive.  The afternoon was spent participating in panel sessions with our visitors where we learned about their various businesses, heard their opinions on how to handle challenges in management and leadership (especially in the current economy), and received feedback regarding our career goals.

Some of my favorite advice from the panel discussions was:

1) Ethics: “The quick way out the door of a company is to do something that hurts the company’s image.”  Focus your people’s efforts on earning market share; be transparent in your actions and they will follow your lead.  If you employ a “win-at-all-costs” management style, your people will follow your lead and you’ll be held responsible for the consequences.

2) Personal: “Continually push yourself harder and you will come out better because of it.”  The rigor of Darden will prepare you well for handling difficult tasks in a time-crunch, but take advantage of opportunities to stretch yourself—always look for ways to improve your talents and skills.  Above all, make sure to take good care of your body and mind so that you can always perform to your highest ability.

3) Career: “Maintain a distinct and definable skillset.”  Be careful of spreading yourself thin.  No one hires a “general manager”, companies look for management skills that can be applied to certain functional areas.  Find something that you can focus on and become an expert in, rather than remaining a generalist.  Be able to clearly identify and articulate your strengths and successes so that your employer knows exactly how you are adding value for them.

4) Economic Difficulties: “Difficult times are the perfect opportunity for leaders to rise to the top; people are looking for someone to follow.”  Leaders can distinguish themselves during tough times because the ability to come up with innovative solutions and execute them is very important.  Any advantage gained in a down economy will generally be worth way more than if it were to happen in good times.

Following the panel discussions, we were invited to a nice dinner at the Boar’s Head Inn in the Piedmont countryside.  Boar’s Head is a world-class hospitality resort in Charlottesville that is very well maintained and extremely beautiful property.  For dinner, I was placed at a table with one of the BB&T representatives who had very entertaining viewpoints on a variety of issues (including those facing the banking industry today).  Dinner was enjoyable and delicious, and the conversation was interesting.  I definitely appreciated the opportunity to get to know our visitors in an informal setting, and to learn more about my classmates.  Overall, the event was a definite success and I believe that it reflects highly on the GMO Club’s executive leadership.  Kudos to those who organized it!