“What’s Next?” | Rady School of Management Commencement Speech | June 20, 2014

Rady School of Management Commencement Speech

“What’s Next?”

A little bird was flying south for the winter. It was so cold, the bird froze and fell to the ground in a large field. While it was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on it. As the frozen bird lay in the pile of cow dung, it began to realize how warm it was. The dung was actually thawing him out! He lay there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy. A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate. Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung, and promptly dug him out and ate him!

June 20, 2014

It is a great honor and pleasure for me to be allowed to address you on this auspicious occasion of your graduation and the school’s 10th anniversary. To set the mood, I’d like to start with some MANAGEMENT LESSONS.

A crow was sitting on a tree, doing nothing all day. A small rabbit saw the crow and asked, “Can I also sit like you and do nothing all day? The crow answered, “Sure, why not?” So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the crow and rested. All of a sudden, a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit and ate it.

A turkey was chatting with a bull. “I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree,” sighed the turkey, “but I haven’t got the energy.” Well, why don’t you nibble on some of my droppings?” replied the bull. They’re packed with nutrients.” The turkey pecked at a lump of dung and found that it actually gave him enough strength to reach the first branch of the tree. The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch. Finally after a fourth night, there he was proudly perched at the top of the tree. Soon he was promptly spotted by a farmer, who shot the turkey out of the tree.

Management Lesson: Bullshit might get you to the top, but it won’t keep you there.

Management Lesson: To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up.

Lesson #1

Lesson #2

Lesson #3

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Ernest RadyChair, Rady School of Management Dean’s

Advisory Council; Chairman, ICW and Affiliates; and Executive

Chairman, American Assets Trust

Management Lesson:1. Not everyone who shits on you is your enemy.2. Not everyone who gets you out of shit is your friend.3. When you’re in deep shit, keep your mouth shut!

“What’s Next?” | Rady School of Management Commencement Speech | June 20, 2014

But in all seriousness, I congratulate each of you for what must be one of the proudest days of your life – a proud day for parents, relatives, friends and spouses – all those who have helped you with your success to date, culminating in this major success today. And it is a proud day for faculty and staff who worked hard to educate you, and who made sacrifices themselves to help you achieve this day. Going forward, you will have an impact on many people. It is not hard to change the lives of people – you will come in contact with many and change many lives.

As we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Rady School of Management and we look to “what’s next” for the School as it grows and advances, in the same way you are celebrating a milestone in your life and looking to “what’s next” for you. As time, circumstance, and your loved ones usher you into that next great phase of your life, I hope that I, too, can give you a little bit of advice that has served, and continues to serve me well – both in business and in life.

I know you have sat through a lot of lectures and worked hard for this day but if you will permit, perhaps I can add some advice based upon my life experiences.

“What’s Next?” | Rady School of Management Commencement Speech | June 20, 2014

3 Sometimes to affect change you will have to sacrifice your own ego.I’ve always said that if you’re working in an environment with other people it’s got to be a “we” company not a “me” company, and I’ve emphasized that during my career. I hope that I’ve been successful in encouraging people to enjoy the success that we’ve created together, and I hope that you can do the same in your career. Be a team player for maximum productivity.

You will need help – you can’t do it alone.In your business endeavors, large and small, you will have to present a good strategy, but then you must enlist others to help and you must then listen to them. That ability may be the most critical to your success because if you only rely on what you can do with your own two hands, you will have a limited future.

The people you need to help you will have to be as determined and committed as you and it’s your responsibility to get them on board with that with a commitment. If you are able to trust and rely on others who work with you, and you in turn motivate them, then you will have a much more productive and successful future.

At one point in my career I had 5,000 people working for companies that I was responsible for. I could not do the job of all those 5,000 people – they carried out our business plan much better than I could have done. I find good people, I motivate them to have the same values and commitment that I do, and they pass that on to the people who work for them. That has always been a key factor in my success, and it will be for you, too.

2

1 Start the day with a clear conscience and a record of fair dealing.When I moved to San Diego from Winnipeg 40 years ago, I realized that in Winnipeg everybody knew who you were and what you were. I knew that there was an opportunity in coming to a much larger city and perhaps a more impersonal environment to act other than ethically and honorably; but I decided at that point that I was going to go by the small-town standards I’d grown up with. That was a great decision and it’s worked in my favor on a very consistent basis. Opportunities based on trust have been available to me that, had I pursued a different strategy, certainly would not have become available.

“What’s Next?” | Rady School of Management Commencement Speech | June 20, 2014

You have to make extra efforts.As my late father used to say, “success is nine parts perspiration and one part inspiration.” You will set the example for the people you work with.

When I first went to work at a law firm in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada there was a partner who was always running down the hallway. I didn’t even like being a student in the law firm, but I was caught up with the leadership that he represented and by his energy, and so I started running down the hallway. So, you may have to run down the hallway – you may have to make extra efforts to set the example.

4

To help the world and yourself you must perform, no matter how difficult the environment – even when I experienced difficulties or failures, I had to put on my best face and go forward.

At one point I was the largest stockholder of Wachovia, the fourth largest bank in the country, but in the financial meltdown, I not only lost a very significant portion of my net worth due to the disappearance of Wachovia to Wells Fargo, but at the same time I was sued by my own family – my nieces and nephews.

Those were four terrible years, not just financially, but also emotionally; and plenty of times I had the opportunity to say, “I’ve had enough,” or I could instead keep going and try to make a comeback as best I could. I chose the latter and I’m really glad I did.

No matter who you are, or what successes you’ve achieved, hard times and even failures will come. The important thing is being able to push through those times – to keep going – and you may even find a new level of success.

Life is filled with failures – you will have many, so be prepared to learn from them and then move forward.

5

“What’s Next?” | Rady School of Management Commencement Speech | June 20, 2014

When I experienced difficulties, I could never show the fear and worry I was dealing with. As a leader you have to put on your face to the world that shows courage and optimism and you will have to give people that vision and that strategy. So even if the future is looking bleak to you, it must not look like that to others – you must impart enthusiasm and optimism for the future.

To help the world and yourself you must perform no matter how difficult the environment.

6

Be careful in your business associations.There are a lot of unscrupulous people in the world – sharks, crooks – and you will have to deal with them, but you are better off if you learn how to avoid them in the first place. Personally, I have always had a rule that I just don’t deal with people I don’t trust, and that’s stood me in good stead over the long run.

I will give you a quick example of this, going back to Winnipeg and the first real estate deal I ever did. There was a real estate agent named Lou who wanted to do a deal with me. I soon came to see that he was not straightforward at best, so I decided I was not going to do business with him. That was a great decision; otherwise I’d still be mired in the mistakes that he would have led me to make. He eventually left Winnipeg and moved to Toronto to find more lucrative prey.

7

“What’s Next?” | Rady School of Management Commencement Speech | June 20, 2014

Find someone to help you through life – a partner and mentors.To help you through life you’re going to have to find a partner, and I’ve been fortunate to have my wife Evelyn. Evelyn is a little different than me – I got up every day and went out to pillage and plunder, while she got up every day of her life and went to help others as a social worker. I admired what she did and she ignored what I did, so we’ve gotten along for 55 years and we have been partners in life.

You will also need mentors. I’ve had mentors all my life, but when I was a youngster, I had my father’s friends as mentors; a lawyer, a cold storage operator (not much of a business in Winnipeg) and a gentlemen who ran a commercial fishing company. Two summers during college I worked in the fish factory shoveling fish and one summer I travelled with the lawyer working in his law office. During this time they taught me a great deal about life and business. These three never had a son, so I became their substitute son, to my benefit and I hope theirs too!

When I moved to San Diego, there was a gentleman who was a general in the Marine Corps and who had run Sears Canada – General Douglas Peacher. Doug never had children and my father became ill and passed on early in my life, so Doug and I developed a close friendship like father and son. We went fishing and socialized, and our relationship was more than just a close friend and mentor, it was family. Doug had been a director and participant in large companies; he was a director of Allstate, Thompson Newspaper, Sears Canada and Whirlpool. As the companies I was involved with grew, when I didn’t know what to do, I’d turn to Doug and ask him to please give me some advice, and he was always helpful in sharing the benefits of his experiences. He was also a great inspiration to me and my colleagues and a dedicated friend and businessman. In fact, when he was in the hospital on his deathbed, he got out of the hospital and came to a board meeting with the bandage still around his arm. He was a wonderful human being and I think about him often – General Douglas Peacher.

So, find people in your life who you can rely on as a mentor and as a partner. They will help guide you, keep you steady and on course, and can be an important factor in your success and happiness.

9

“What’s Next?” | Rady School of Management Commencement Speech | June 20, 2014

I, and all of us at the Rady School, take pride in the culmination of all of your hard work and we look forward to your future successes and achievements.

Your accomplishments are a source of pride to you and your families, and are also the measure of my legacy to this school and to our community.

~ Ernest Rady

Never give up!You will have so many challenges in your life and you never want to say, “I don’t want another challenge.” Embrace the challenges with enthusiasm, find them intellectually and spiritually interesting and uplifting, and you will improve your life and the lives of those around you.

9

I’ve always advised that if you don’t find something you love to do you will not be successful. I’ve been fortunate in finding what I love to do and I always say I never got up to work a day in my life, I just got up to have more fun, and that continues to this day!

You need to love what you do to succeed at it – if you haven’t found it yet, keep looking until you do!

10

Find good people, work with them, motivate them and let them motivate and teach you.

Don’t lose sight of yourself, your morals or your ethics.

Remember that failures will happen, but you can and you will push through them and go forward.

And most importantly, do what you love to do – if you haven’t found it yet, keep looking until you do!

So...

What’s Next? Now you must translate all that you’ve learned and all your experiences into a life of meaning and productivity, to build a career and a life for yourself and your family and to help make a better world.