Biz Communication Guy Podcast II

Bill, Hi there. Welcome to biz communication Show. I’m your host, Bill Lampton, the biz communication guy, bringing you tips and strategies that will boost your business. And those tips and strategies come through my conversation with a highly qualified guest. Certainly, today’s guest is highly qualified Bo Henderson. I’m delighted to welcome Bo Henderson to the biz communication show. Among his several prestigious credentials, he’s a retirement income Certified Professional with over 20 years of experience helping individuals navigate their financial futures. Beau brings his extensive perspective to hosting the rich life retirement show on Radio. I’m sure many of you are familiar with that show with a background in psychology and finance from the University of Georgia. Beau brings a distinctive people first approach to retirement planning, inspired by the loss of his father to lung cancer at age 49 Beau is passionate about helping others navigate their financial futures with confidence and clarity. Bo Henderson has helped transform the lives of more than 4000 households over the past two decades through educational classes, books and personalized retirement planning, his insights have been featured in major publications, including the Huffington Post, The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, and as a best selling author, he contributes regularly to Forbes and other notable publications. I know you will join me in welcoming Bo Henderson, hello, Bo.

Dr Bill, I’m so excited to be here with one of a person that’s been very influential and important in my life, so thanks for inviting me on the show to come hang out a little bit and talk. It’s been too long. It

has been too long. We both are busy doing our best to bring vital communication and financial planning strategies to as many people as we can It is great to be with you, and I appreciate that compliment that you gave Bo I know, as we just barely mentioned in the introduction, and we know you’re a University of Georgia graduate. However, I don’t know that many people are aware that you were a true Georgia Bulldog. You were a starting defensive end for three years on the Georgia football team. And so one of the questions that seems quite natural to me is, what did you What did your football experience? And you told me you started football very early in life, but thinking particularly about your varsity college experience, university experience. What did football teach you about leadership and teamwork?

Interesting question. So I started playing football around five years old, and did have the opportunity to play defensive line there at the University of Georgia during my college time. And when I think about, how has that, how did that translate to life, right? One, one that’s pretty straightforward and obvious, I would say, is you learn teamwork. That is a sport that you can’t have just one superstar and and win, right? Normally. So Teamwork was one thing that was I learned there, and then also preparation, right? You didn’t go and learn how to you didn’t show up and hope you were ready on game day. You were preparing all week, right? So those were two things, but, but what’s funny, doctor bill that after that period of time, I was still young, I still my early 20s, after after football, and even though I had those skills and they were related to sports, it’s taken a lot of years for me to truly integrate those into business. Because what happens, I think a lot is you lean in your strengths, just like I did earlier, when I was younger, going through high school and things, I would lean into what I was good at and on the field and kind of try to stand out, to have other opportunities take it to the next level. So what I did with business for a lot of years. Yes, it was just me, right? You remember some years where I was maybe I had had some some administrative support, but it was just me, so I leaned into my strength. But what I learned was eventually, when it’s just you, without building a supporting team around you, that everybody’s working in their strengths, you got the right people in the right position, so to speak, right? Your center is probably not going to be your wide receiver, if we’re going to make a analogy, right? Um, so as I get older, and as I as I mature more into a business owner, I’m really now seeing what I learned in football playing out in my life. Is that, right? Hey, I need, I need a kicker, I need a wide receiver, I need a good offensive line, and then I have, I have a position that I’m really I would say I’m kind of quarterback in this thing at this point. So I think that’s what’s translated. But it was fascinating to me to say it kind of evolved over time, and it’s actually had deeper meaning to me as I get older.

Excellent analogies there, I think of a couple of things on that, and particularly you’re saying that you can’t do it all. Malcolm Gladwell in one of his books, and he’s one of my favorite authors, Malcolm Gladwell says that you could look at rock stars, you could look at Tech moguls. You could look at giants of industry. You could look at great performers in music and theater, and there’s not one single one of them who made it alone. He said, We all need a team. And then, of course, when you talk about preparation, I think one of the one of the wonderful opportunities we have through watching, for example, specials on YouTube. I remember one quarterback which focused on three NFL quarterbacks. It was about a 10 part series. And one of the main things that it saw one, if you haven’t seen that one, I would recommend to anybody to watch that quarterback when Patrick mahomes and Chris cousins and another. And what I what you learn is I saw Patrick mahomes going through all the weight training program that you would have Bo as a defensive lineman, or a tackle, would or a guard? Would? You think? Many people probably presume, oh, quarterback’s just a soft spot. You don’t have to do all that stuff, but with all the hits you take and the stamina you have to have, you have to do it too. Preparation, yes, teamwork, yes. And as you say, many people who think being an entrepreneur means, okay, you never rely on anybody else. We’ll try that for a while. And and you’ll, first of all, your energy will be depleted. And secondly, you won’t know enough, and there’s probably a pretty good chance of burnout, if that’s what it’s going to be. And

Bill, as you’re describing that it’s my mind’s going through and thinking through some points you’re making me bubble up to the surface here is right. I think maybe early on for business owners, in a lot of cases, we do this because we’re trying to generate income for ourselves our family, right? So there’s a money component to it. As business develops, as business owners develop, over time, there’s going to be a shift for a lot of people to now that i i have income coming in, and I’ve solved that, what kind of impact can I have with the work I do? And just as you were describing my income, My impact is limited only by the team I can build around me that buys into that vision of the impact I want to have in this world. So again, if it’s bigger impact as a business owner. And again, you know, we talk a lot about living a fulfilling, rich life, right? A lot of that is looking back saying, hey, you know what, my life’s work here actually made a difference and helped some people

out. You, you cued me for my next question there, when you mentioned the rich life your long time running radio show the rich life show, which I had the privilege many times of CO hosting with you, your seminars that you hold, your videos and books and articles, your message is about living the rich life. To many people, when they first hear that, they think, oh, Beau’s going to teach me how to become a millionaire, but Bo’s going to show me how to fill my bank account. Well, those things might be a part of it, but elaborate. What? Bo what really the rich life concept has meant for you right from the beginning?

Yes. And first, I want to make clear, there is no issue. This isn’t picking one or the other. I hope everybody has millions of dollars in the bank if that’s their goal, because with that, you can have bigger impact and have more options and choices. So money is important, and we all have to deal with it. So we need to be good stewards, be competent and have good planning and strategy around that. So that’s one piece. Yes, that is necessary. But if we get to the root of the matter, if we get to the core of everything, and this is me, listening to people paying attention, seeing it firsthand for over 25 years now, 1000s of conversations. Really your definition of a rich life is going if we went through a process and talked through this, it’s going to revolve around what makes you what makes your life rich, what lights you up, what makes you happy, what makes you fulfilled. It’s going to revolve around more time with the people you care about, because once that’s gone, you’d pay anything to have it back. Your health, because once that’s gone, you’d pay anything to have it back. And then it’s those memories and experiences that we create that we can share and talk about over and over again, right? So relationships, health, experiences, that’s core, and sometimes I find as humans, we’re just kind of as busy people. We’re busy with life, families, careers, and we’re kind of sleepwalking through life, reacting and responding. But if we can get clear on what that life looks like to us, specifically to me, specifically to you, there’s no there’s no right answer, cookie cutter approach to any of this, then and only then do we, really, I believe, have the proper context to take the puzzle pieces of your financial life and create a strategy using your assets as a tool to move towards that best life for you and your family, right? So it’s basically, when I say a person first approach, I need to get clear on you as a person. And let’s get clarity on you and what that looks like for you. And then let’s do the very good work and good planning and good strategy around how do we create that with this outer in my mind, I’m doing this bill because the outer circle is your financial planning, all the things that need to be working together you’re going to need in retirement. Specifically, you’re going to need income plan, investment plan, health care planning, tax planning, Legacy planning, and I believe, also behavior planning, behavior coaching and planning. So that’s the outer circle, but there in that core is those three components, right? That’s what is that rich life look like? What is what are we going to do to address healthier life, better relationships, creating intentionally memories and experiences, facilitating those things. And then we go back to the outer circle to make sure that we’re doing what we can to make that happen. That’s through slife financial planning. And that’s the way I find that nobody just says, If you really get deep enough under the surface, nobody just really wants ten million they’re really thinking in their mind, if I had $2 million I’d be able to do this. I’d have the options to do this, the freedom to do this. So if we can get straight to the to the point of, what is it you really want to accomplish, and then just start really working directly towards that, that’s your definition of rich life,

wonderful definition and a wonderful approach. You. You and I have known each other for 20 or so years, and you see my post on Facebook, you know how valuable My daughters are to me and my grandchildren, and I know your daughter is a an absolutely top priority, And so building wealth and building security goes back to your experience you had when you lost your father. He was he was only 49 years old, and you saw then that families need a security plan, and it’s not a selfish plan, it’s a benevolent plan, because you’re taking care of the ones you love, and when you you get to talking about what is wealth? Wealth, to me, was this weekend, when I was with both of my daughters, right their children. And wealth, to you, is when you’re with your daughter and your friends and others who are close. So I’ve I’ve loved right from the start, all those years ago, I’ve loved your definition of the rich life. Rich life, to many people, means somebody miserly, somebody penny pinching, somebody who’s doing it all for themselves, but thank you for shattering that definition, right?

And that’s a great point. You can have a richer life focusing on those core things we talked about than somebody with with 10 times the assets you have, right? It’s really the philosophy and the intentionality behind you creating this. And to me, what. Be a better world than everybody living in their their best version of themselves, doing what they do, what lights them up?

Yes, and Bo, we’re going to come back in a minute and few seconds, and we’re going to talk about your radio show. We mentioned that, so I want to highlight that right after this brief message,

do you wish you felt confident about giving speeches? Do you want to deal with difficult people constructively? And what about becoming more persuasive in sales? Then keep listening now to Dr Bill Lambton. He spent 20 years in management, so he knows the communication skills you need for success. I urge you to call the biz communication guy today for a no cost, but very valuable, 30 minute discussion about Your communication challenges. Call now, 678-316-4300, again, that’s 678-316-4300, you

we’re back with Bo Henderson on the biz communication show. I mentioned just before that short break that we want Bo to tell us about his radio show. Bo, what prompted you to get started in radio? How long have you done it? What are you accomplishing by it? And how can we access it?

The original, there’s been variations, and like you mentioned earlier, Bill, for a long period of time here locally, we co host and got to work together on the show around 2010 I was talking to a salesperson, asking about doing advertising on a local radio station here, right? And I had heard of some guys in financial planning having a radio show. Didn’t really know anything about it, so 2010 was that 14 years ago, right? And I just brought up, I said, Hey, you have any kind of a spot, a program, to where I have an idea about this? This talking about financial planning. Yes, we can get into the rules of the Roth IRA contribution limits, or the stuff everybody talks about. But also want to talk about a bigger picture of that, that living a good life, that definition of a rich life. So I kind of pitched the concept back in 2010 and at the time they said, No, we don’t really do really do that kind of thing. We don’t do extra shows. And a couple weeks later, I have, I had a call, and they said, Well, something shifted, some show left. Do you want to do the show? And I was thrown into it. I came in to look at the studio, and I said, Well, what? When are we going to start doing the show? And they said, well, 20 minutes. So my first show, I just basically walked into the studio and scared to death of, how in the world am I going to talk about something, anything, for an hour?

We can talk. We can call that spontaneous, can’t we? Right? So I have that, I

have that somewhere which, which I have to dig that up because it’s, it’s very funny. And now, especially when the two of us get together, we could talk for four hours straight, right, because time and but that was the start of the rich life show. And over time, I realized to align it with our work. As we were growing the retirement planning firm, I really got focused on the specific transitions and the specific goals of people going from their working life and into retirement. So now the show is rich life retirement, and you can find it on in Atlanta and locally here in Gainesville, Georgia, and rich life advisors.com you can access the podcast on all your your iTunes, Spotify all that. And really a lot of the things we’re talking about is it’s part living well, we get into some stuff about traveling better, traveling more, traveling like a millionaire, even when you don’t have a million dollars, some of the things people care about. Then we’re also talking about dynamic distribution for tax efficiency, right? But I can’t talk about that all the time because that would, that would bore me. So, so we kind of blended in. What’s important to you, what’s exciting, what’s fun, but what do you need to know the rules that apply to you in your household that’s going to help you navigate this life in a way that you’re successful or get the results you’re looking

for? Well, of course, I had the privilege of sitting beside you on the mic for quite a number of years, and I saw the impact that you were having educating not only this community, but listeners elsewhere as well. Beau, have time for just one more question. Sure that is many, many couples, many, many families are so reluctant to discuss their financial situation. How do you get them through that? And I know you hold all these seminars. Do you have? Do you have couples attending? Do you have just one spouse or how is it you get. Families to really discuss their financial future.

There’s a blend a more generalized, like, if we’re talking about how to get the most out of your Social Security or tax planning strategy or retirement, I’ll get a blend of individuals and couples coming coming into those we will do specifically, like a vision and values exercise specifically for couples sometimes. And of course, that’s going to attract couples. But it comes back to this whole idea is money is important, and especially when we get a retirement we’re talking about our life savings and the rest of our life and our family, our beneficiaries and all of that. So we need to just start having conversations, because sometimes, because our parents didn’t talk about it. We haven’t talked about it. It’s just something that’s a new a new muscle we’ve got to build. But we can realize this is important for me and the people I care about the most. And what we do a lot of times at rich life advisors, we just create the space to help facilitate those conversations. Because some people are like, Well, where do we start? What’s the order of things we should talk through right? And when we have conversations, and they can start with, what are the concerns you have, what are the priorities? And just opening it up to where it’s okay to talk about money, it’s okay to talk about fears and concerns, and a lot of times, once that conversation starts, there’s a lot of relief, because then we can start getting certainty. Okay, here’s the idea of retiring at 65 that you have that’s really not viable, but we can make it happen at 66 even though that might not be what you initially thought you’d want to do. The clarity around building a plan to something that will work is very helpful, and also a lot of times real quick, I’d like to talk about something that’s very important when you’re talking about couples, Bill, what happens when a spouse dies again? We’re busy. We’re going through life with careers, kids, grandkids, all the things we talked about, and often just like I got into this business when my dad passed away at 49 years old, my parents hadn’t had all the planning and discussion that ideally would have happened, right and get around to it. And I can tell you this when I talk to most couples, and this is completely normal. It’s not bad or wrong, it’s just, it’s just what it’s normal, right? Now, I most couples 90% plus when I ask, what is your plan for when one of you dies, because there’s 100% certainty we’ll die, right? So what’s your plan for one of you dies? It’s just like, uh, we haven’t got around to it yet, right? So the problem with that is we need to have awareness on a couple little things, and then we can move on. Is when one of you dies, the surviving spouse is going to be typically less with left with around a third less income, on average across the board. The second thing that happens is there’s almost a penalty, a widow penalty, you’ll hear a survival a survival penalty is your tax burden goes up so you lose a chunk of income. Your tax burden goes up because you drop from the most favorable tax bracket to the least, and your standard deduction just got cut, right? So if we haven’t thought through that and left that person with a plan, what I’m left dealing with, that I know people didn’t intend to do is getting a call from that surviving spouse one day, they just lost their person. They’re scared. They’re vulnerable, and now we have less options to solve this thing with, whereas a few conversations like we’re talking about proactively ahead of time to say, Okay, what is our plan for when one of us dies? Because it’s inevitable, Bill, it’s going to happen one day. We can prevent a lot of that from happening. So that’s just one of those things for couples especially, get on this. And another thing that happens a lot of times. There’s one point person that handles the finances and also having those conversation facilitates that other person, at least, has a good idea of what’s going on and where things are.

It shouldn’t be, I’ve got a secret, right, right? And because

basically it’s like, Okay, now that, now that I’m gone, I’m leaving you to figure it out and find everything you know that’s not. Most people don’t intend to leave their their person in that position. They just don’t get around to it. Two

factors to mention quickly. One is that many people don’t take into account the vast difference now of life longevity. 40 years ago, if somebody was doing financial planning, they might have been thinking about death at age 70. Well, you and I know people in their late 90s. I know quite a few. So if your planning was only for your mid to late 60s or your early 70s, you’ve got another 20 or 25 years to think about. And then the other factor, which we’ll have to close with, how Bo Does, does a parent you have a daughter? Right? How does a pair? How and when does a parent start teaching a child financial responsibility without being overbearing about it?

Well, I believe it’s the same thing. A lot of times it doesn’t happen because we didn’t have that from our parents or their parent. You know, it kind of cycles. I. I think it’s huge if you can find age appropriate ways to teach your kids money lessons, right? It’s like with Gwendolyn. She has a little debit card at United Community Bank here in town, and I have her do a do a checklist of you do your chores, and we can go to town, and you can use that instead of just expecting dad to buy everything you want, right? You can do so when they’re a little older, you can start teaching a little more about investing, about about separating into savings, investing and and money you spend. So I think it’s finding age appropriate ways. And there’s some resources, and there’s some books out there, and it’s a book I would like to one day, and it’s on on the long term plan to to facilitate and make available to the public. And I actually would love to the vision, as I’d love to have in our school systems, is that just look for those resources, and sometimes the resources, I think could be utilized to be a really nice thing for parents and kids to do together, as far as just an activity of, hey, what would be better than me looking back one day and remembering dad on those Saturday afternoons, taking me through this thing that’s helped me avoid so many pitfalls I’ve seen some of my colleagues go through because he took the time, or she took the time to do that. So I think it’s just like we talked about with the couples having conversations is no one of the best things you can do is not necessarily leave your kids millions of dollars one day, is to give them the skills so that if they had millions of dollars, or earn millions of dollars, they could keep it and grow it

so well said, I think I think back to my childhood. There was nothing very sophisticated, but many of the kids in my small town had piggy banks. You would save quarters, dimes, nickels, and after a while, you You saw how that added up. You learned the value of saving. And even something that simple is better than nothing, isn’t it?

Right? When you start learning, and I think sometimes, as a parent, it’s a little extra effort to teach a lesson or to teach a principle. But again, when we talk about legacy planning, a lot of times you’re thinking about, what am I leaving in my wills, power, you know, my trust and all those things. I think if we really looked at it and spent another this would be another show, Dr Bill, but if we went through assets that we can leave to our kids, it’s actually the things we can teach them. I think that’s going to be more valuable and serve them more than the money without context. So Right? It’s again, it’s important. It’s like most people want to do things for their kids, leave their kids in better positions. And one of those is just, Hey, maybe I can intentionally take that time, 30 minutes a week, one hour a month, and us have this meeting where we talk about these skills and these principles, and if I don’t know them, I can look for resources and find resources that help me learn, because there’s nothing better. That’s what I do all the time. I’m constantly teaching and sharing, because I’m constantly learning, and how I learn it and ingrain things is I learn it in a way I can distill it to teach it. So it’s a great way to interact and bond and grow and create memories, creating memories, experiences, relationships, all that rich life stuff we’re talking about. It’s a great tool.

Bo, as we close, there’s one item I think we did not mention and that’s where you’re based, the same place I am, Gainesville, Georgia, just north of Atlanta. I think people need to know where you are. That’s right. That’s

what you find us in Gainesville, Georgia. We do have some presence, a satellite office in Lawrenceville, Georgia, and for most people, easiest way to find out more about what we do already ours. Rich life advisors.com which is our website,

yes, though, thank you for that. I I appreciate that that’s your contact information. Rich life advisors.com is that your website? Is that right? That’s it. Okay. Thank you. And now that you have given your contact information. I’m delighted to give mine my YouTube channel where this video and over 500 others appear. My YouTube channel is Bill Lampton, PhD, and I encourage you to go there and subscribe so that you you can have access to great information, such as Bo Henderson, other fantastic guests are providing my website. Since I’m the biz communication guy, quite logically, my website is biz communication guy.com and when you’re on there, notice that there’s a way to subscribe to the podcast. I hope you will do that so that you’ll have multiple opportunities to listen to these fabulous guests who do bring wonderful business communication tips and strategies and one of the one of the reasons I produced. 30 minute podcast is because that’s ideal for traveling and listening. When I used to first started listening to podcasts as a road warrior, one of the items I noticed was I didn’t want to listen to one five to seven minutes long, because I have to stop and get another one. So that’s why these are half hour and they’re they’re very valuable with all the information we get as well. I welcome phone calls to discuss your communication needs and challenges and how I can assist you with them. My number, 678-316-4300,

I think the if I could tie it up in a bow, I would say a couple of pieces of advice. Say yes more often. When we try more things, do more things, have more experiences. Good things happen. We learn things and we have things to share and talk about. Say yes, more often. It’s something this year is come up for me a lot. The other thing is just clarity. Is we’re so busy in the current lives we live that step back. Take some time think through, get clarity, and as it pertains to your life and your financial plan, so many people I know could be living more of the life that would really make them happy, fulfilled and be meaningful to them if they had that clarity, get the clarity, and then you have the context to create a financial strategy that’s going to move you toward what you ultimately want. And I’m just going to summarize it. It’s going to, if you, if you need some clues, it’s going to revolve around those three core things. What are some things I can do intentionally to spend more time with the people I care about the most? What can I do to improve my health so that I can enjoy my life as long as possible? And what are memories and experiences that I can intentionally schedule and create. And you start there, and you work, and you build that ideal definition of a rich life for you, and then you have the goal to pull towards and to build a financial plan for so that’s my advice. Little bit of a mind shift from how the industry does things. Marvelous.

Conclusion, I’m so happy we have people of your caliber who can translate the what I call the financial jargon and give us the advice, the counsel and the support that we need. Thank you so much Bo Henderson, the rich life guy, for being our guest today, and thanks to those of you who joined us on YouTube and the podcast. I’m Bill Lampton, the biz communication guy. Look forward to hosting you again for the next biz communication show you.

Bill, hi there, and welcome to the biz communication Show. I’m your host, Bill Lampton, the biz communication guy, and on this show, we bring you tips and strategies that are sure to boost your business. You’ll learn plenty, as I do when we have the conversation with my highly qualified guest today, it’s an unusual privilege, and that is, I’m a graduate of Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi. My undergraduate degree when I was a student there, if you had ever told me that one day, on something called the internet, I would be interviewing the Millsaps college new president, I would have scratched my head and started walking the other direction. It’s a wonderful privilege today to host Frank Neville, recently appointed the president of Millsaps College in June of 2024 Frank Neville brings 35 years of leadership experience in higher education, government and global public affairs. He has served in senior administrative positions and two leading research universities and three US diplomatic missions across the globe, and amazingly, he continues to be a lifelong learner. He’s still a dedicated learner. He is currently a PhD student at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, before joining Millsaps, Frank served as the Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives and the Chief of Staff at Georgia Tech. He coordinated the work of Tech’s senior leadership. He also was an adjunct faculty member at the Scheller College of Business. And then, before Georgia Tech, Neville was at George Mason University, where he served as Chief of Staff and Vice President of Communications and Marketing for two years. In addition, Neville was an adjunct professor in the School of Business. Prior to George Mason University, Frank was the Vice President of Global Communications and Public Affairs at the Thunderbird School of Global Management. In addition to all this and higher education, Frank Neville served 15 years as a diplomat with the US State Department, with postings in Taipei, Xingu, Guatemala City, Beijing and Nogales. At the time of his resignation, he was the most decorated Foreign Service officer under the age of 40. So I know that you will join me in welcoming Frank Neville to the biz communication show. Hello, Frank.

Hello, Bill. How are you?

I am just absolutely delighted to host you. Brings back such wonderful memories of my college days, and from everything I’ve read about your career, I know my college is in good hands. Now, the big question that probably comes to many minds when they hear of your academic career, and particularly your most recent posts, the question could be put quite simply, you left an institution, Georgia Tech and Atlanta, 47,000 students, And you came to Jackson, Mississippi, to head Millsaps College, which has approximately 700 students. That’s that’s a vast difference in numbers. And so give us, please, what your motivation was and still is for assuming the presidency of Millsaps.

Yeah. Well, thank you, Bill. And that’s a great question. And you know, for me, it starts with my own undergraduate experience. I’m a graduate of Carleton College in Minnesota, which is an institution that’s very similar to Millsaps, and Carlton was instrumental in in putting me on the path that you just outlined, and preparing me to be successful on that path. And so coming to Millsaps is a little bit like coming home, even if the even if the geography is different, the culture and the values are very much the same. But also I like the fact. Is that at a smaller institution, you can really get to know people, and there’s a really deep sense of community. And that was something that came through very strongly in my initial conversations with people at Millsaps and and that sense has only been reinforced since I’ve actually arrived here.

I can relate to that quite easily, because early in my career, I was a faculty member at University of Georgia, and my first position after that was on the development staff Middlesex college. So I had the same experience leaving a very large institution and coming to a smaller school for much the same reason, because of the the personal contacts and the immediate interactions. This leads us to the next question, and that is all of us know whatever our profession, all of us know the value and the importance of first impressions. So after a few weeks, a couple of three months on the job, I want to ask certainly the communication strategies that we go through right away are a major part of our first impressions. So review for us, please, what steps you have taken to get to know the faculty, the students, the community, the administration that you work with, what what have been your communication strategies to get acquainted very quickly and very positively?

Right? Well, I learned very early that showing up matters and showing up early is particularly important, and so I have worked very, very hard to meet as many people as possible and understand their perspectives on Millsaps, their aspirations for Millsaps. So we have 40 board members. I think I’ve I’ve now met in person with three quarters of them in the in the first two months, I just got back from Houston. I’ve been to Dallas. I’ve traveled around the state. I’ve been to Alabama, so I’ve been deliberately really reaching out there. One of my 100 day goals is to meet 75 of our top 100 donors, and I’m pretty well on track for that as well. I’ve met with just about all of the the faculty in in department by department. I’ve had multiple meetings with with academic leadership. I’ve gone around and met with every single administrative unit here at Millsaps. And again, the size of Millsaps then, you know, makes that a little bit more manageable than than it would be at Georgia Tech. But again, it it, as you alluded to, it’s really important to engage early and give people the opportunity to be heard right away. Now, part of that also, though, is not just listening, it’s shaping the narrative and leading the narrative so that people know what to expect, maybe not necessarily, in terms of all of the details, but certainly in terms of the principles and the priorities and the strategies that you intend to pursue. And so we’ve had some very intensive discussions and workshops this summer around the marketing of the college, the value proposition, our strategic positioning, our competitive analysis. And we’ve we’ve changed our marketing materials as a result of that. I kind of held up the printing of things for a little bit this summer so that we could get that right. We’ve had several senior leadership conversations around goals. So I’ve, you know, taken my goals and I’ve vetted them around campus, so that, you know, people have the chance to provide input. But also it’s, it’s clear as to, you know, what the institutional direction is so I think those two things, one, you know, showing up, showing up early, engaging people quickly, but then also, you know, shaping the narrative as well, rather than having the narrative sort of be shaped by others. Yeah.

You remind me of someone who was was not an academic. Woody Allen said, half the battle of winning is showing up and visibility, as you say, is, is so important. I was for eight years affiliated with an institution as a staff member, where the CEO of that organization had a private entrance into the building so that he would not confront anybody who might want to have a conversation with him. And in those days Frank we we referred to administration as the suits. Very few people wear suits anymore, as we know. But another practice that the suits would have would be when they went into the cafeteria, and I saw this happen many times, they would not go mingle with the other workers. Individually, no they would go find a table, and they would sit and they would discuss business. In fact, I remember one time there were two who were there alone, and I decided to use my lunch hour to get acquainted, and I sat down and started chit chat, and they said, Excuse us. We’re discussing business. So being able to to establish, I guess we would call it your your persona, but it’s the same time as you said, listening, but it’s also important not only to listen, not only to be there, but to begin to express what your presidency right away will mean for Millsaps colleges and the fact that you’ve already traveled to different cities, you’ve met with board members, you’ve met with faculty members, you’ve met with the administration. I’m sure that your schedule is going to include visits to alumni chapters. I worked at different stages for three college presidents, and I think the busiest person of all was the person keeping their calendar. It’s, it’s not a prop up your feet. Job, is it

not at all? Yeah, and I, and I told my staff here, I said, you know, if between the hours of, you know, 8am and 8pm I’m sitting at my desk, you’re wasting your money. So they have been, they have been very good at at helping me show up, be present, be engaged, and do so in a strategic fashion. But you know, I will say, I want to come back to your comment about the suits. And as somebody who wears a suit every day, even in 95 degree or 98 degree Mississippi heat, I take no offense, but, but your your points, I think, are really important, and I want to, I want to pause on that for a second. And you know, as a leader, regardless of the institution, you know, certainly at a at a college, where it’s decentralized, where there’s a lot of autonomy, where there’s shared governance, you know the the the dispersal of power is much greater, but even in a corporate environment, as a leader, you only have a direct line of sight to a small fraction of what happens in your organization. And you can have dashboards and you can have metrics, but you can’t sit in the room with your salespeople and micromanage their conversations, and you you can’t sit in people’s offices and and know whether they’re going the extra mile or not. And so the way you optimize performance is by motivating people and aligning their actions around strategic objectives, and the only way you do that is through engagement and communication. And so it is really important for a leader to show to the rest of the organization that that there’s a there’s a vision that you’re pursuing that will make the organization better, That will make their situations better, and that has it’s it’s worth working for, it’s worth struggling for, and that you’re going to lead, you’re not going to give up, and that if, if they follow this vision, that you’ll be successful. So that is. It, it’s critical to to be seen as as part of the team. You know, not inaccessible from the team.

You’ve demonstrated that quite well from the outset, Frank, we’re going to be back in just a few seconds, and then we’re going to talk about the curriculum, because that, of course, is central to the success of any college or university. We’ll be back shortly.

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we’re here with Frank Neville, the president of Millsaps College, Jackson, Mississippi, Frank. One of the items that I’ve come across in keeping up with what’s happening in the news and higher education is a reshaping of curriculum. And the purpose is to reshape the curriculum, in many instances, to match the what’s needed in the job market, and I know and getting Millsaps publications over the last three to four years, there have been changes with That slant, and I’m curious what you see as additional improvements, changes directions in the college’s curriculum? Yeah.

Well, there are a number of different dimensions to that, but I think you hit on the most important point, which is, you know, a lot of colleges and universities have been slow to respond to societal needs or changing societal needs. And this is one thing that that I’ve talked a lot about, you know, we talked about shaping the narrative, is, you know, from from day one, what, what I’ve been saying here on campus, and what I’ve been saying in all all of my conversations actually, is that Millsaps has a mission of service to the community, and that we need to meet societal needs. We need to meet students, needs, parents, needs, employers, needs, and those needs evolve, and so we need to evolve as well in order to meet those needs. And so, you know, what I’ve what I’ve talked about is, is the critical importance of continuous improvement in order to do that. So what does that mean at Millsaps in 2024 Well, I think, first of all, I give the team and the board a great amount of credit for making a lot of progress in that regard over the over the past year, in particular, we added six new degrees, and their degrees in areas like data analytics exercise science that are in particular demands and provide students with with skills that will be very marketable. But this also raises the question of, what is the balance between technical skills and the foundational education that’s traditionally been the secret sauce of a liberal arts curriculum, and in my view, is the reason why we have so many tremendously successful Millsaps alumni, and specifically what I what I’m referring to is the integrated curriculum where you, you learn how to apply knowledge through problem solving, analysis, communications, leadership, critical thinking, because we know in the real world, problems don’t show up in disciplinary buckets. You know, there’s not the physics problem and the religious studies problem, right? There are problems. Problems show up as snarled balls of yarn and having. An integrated understanding of the world, because you’ve had a multidisciplinary education is particularly helpful in unsnarling those balls of yarn. So what what we are working on now we’ll be working on over the next year and maybe even into the following year, is thinking through what is that balance between the foundational liberal arts curriculum and then the specialized technical curriculum, and how to stitch those together in a way that is that is particularly valuable for students. And then there are, you know, there are other sub elements of that to, you know, what other programs we might want to add? I’ve asked for, for a list of proposals. We’ve already started building that list. I think there are a couple, a couple promising options for new programs. We’re also looking at how to organize ourselves around the delivery of that integrated education in a more structured fashion. So all of those things are in the mix, and we’ve got, we’ve got faculty committees talking about those things. And, you know, hopefully we’ll be able to put in place some of those things, you know, maybe as early as the spring, but if not, by the fall of 2025, but, but for the most part, though, Bill, I will say that the education that’s delivered here at Millsaps is still creating great value for students and families, and it’s positioning graduates to be successful in a wide range of careers. I’ll give you one example is, you know, over the past, I don’t know, several five ish years over, 10% of the graduates of Millsaps college every year have gone on to medical school. And I could give you lots of other statistics as well, but hopefully that one sort of makes the point of the preparedness of our students, once they once they leave these gates.

I know some people would probably doubt it, but I can still quote some of the Shakespeare I learned and Dr Milton White’s class. That was the last class I took during summer school. And I, and I hope students still get access to that wherever they are, those, those types of true, durable treasures, and I know that will be preserved at Millsaps, Frank Neville. This has been so fascinating. And I, I, as I said at the outset, indications are incredibly strong that Millsaps has a wonderful future under your leadership. Could you, in 30 seconds, sort of pull together? How would you like to conclude what we’ve talked about,

yeah, I would just echo what you said, Bill, is that Millsaps is a really special place. And more broadly, you know, a liberal arts education is is actually, in my view, more in demand now, more valuable now, than it ever has been, because the world is more complicated. Solutions are are trickier because, you know, we’ve got a much more diverse, polarized society, and so having people who can lead change, who can find solutions, who can be creative, and can do so from a value based perspective, which, which Millsaps has a strong tradition of, I think is, is, is very much in demand. And, you know, it’s a contribution that Millsaps has made for decades and can continue to make to Mississippi and to the country.

Very well. Said, Frank, would you like to give us your contact information? I know that there are alumni, friends of the college, people who might now just be learning about Millsaps, who would like to get in touch with you? Yeah,

please. It’s, it’s very simple. Just [email protected] is is a great way to reach me and and any alumni who are planning to visit Jackson or who live in Jackson and want to visit campus, just let us know. We’d love to see you. Seen some of you on campus, but would love to see more so. Welcome,

thank you, and thank you again for being with us. And since Frank Neville has given his contact information, I’m happy to give mine, my YouTube channel where this video and now about 500 others appear. My YouTube channel. Bill Lambton, PhD invites you to subscribe there also my website. I mentioned I’m the biz communication guy, so quite logically, my website is biz communicationguide.com and on the website, notice that you can subscribe to my podcast, which I invite you to do. I welcome phone calls to talk about your communication challenges and problems and goals and how I can assist you with them. So please do keep in touch and doctor, soon to be doctor. Frank Neville, thank you so much again. Really appreciate it, and thank you for all that you have done already for my beloved alma mater, Middlesex College.

Thank you, Bill. It’s been a pleasure.

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