Gillian Power (EMBA’18) has always been open to new experiences, and this has served her well at a time when paths of progression in life and career are less certain and more varied than ever before. Originally from South Africa, Power studied holistic medicine before moving to London, where she embarked on a new career […]
In this KCUR Up To Date interview, Larry Wigger, Professor of Supply Chain & Operations Management, explains what’s driving shortages in consumer goods, housing and labor – and what we need to do to get things back on track. LISTEN NOW About Larry Wigger, MBA, MSSCM Larry Wigger currently serves UMKC’s Henry W. Bloch School […]
April Graham Dean Gray, Ph.D. was working in a commercial lab when the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11th occurred. The tragic events of that day shifted his perspective. Dean knew he had a valuable skillset and decided that he wanted his work to serve a higher purpose. Dean joined MRIGlobal in […]
By Larry Wigger We humans love to argue; how we could have better navigated the exit from Afghanistan, to what degree the Mayor is succeeding in his personal campaign against potholes, whether the Kansas City Chief’s offensive line is now sufficiently deep to protect our precious Patrick Mahomes. In a different time, the debate du […]
New Hogan Family Scholarship Fund Seeks to Engage Students Traditionally Left Out Nate Hogan is on a mission. Immediately following graduation this summer, the Bloch Executive MBA alum launched a barrier-free scholarship fund. The Hogan Family Scholarship Fund is designed to engage students traditionally left out of funding opportunities because of test scores or grades. […]
Charles Murnieks, Ph.D. Entrepreneurship is Grueling Although entrepreneurship can be an exhilarating experience, it is often a stressful and exhausting one! In a recent study we conducted, the entrepreneurs we surveyed worked an average of 60 hours per week, and nearly a quarter of these worked well over 70 hours a week. That’s a lot […]
Dr. Nathan Mauck The implications of the COVID-19 pandemic are still unfolding, yet it is clear that economically no industry has felt the pain more than hospitality. In a forthcoming paper to be published in Research in International Business and Finance my Bloch colleagues (John Clark and Steve Pruitt) and I examine the financial impact […]
by Bryan Boots Artificial intelligence and machine learning aren’t going away. For business leaders, professionals, and non-technical founders of tech startups: knowing basics about artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), how it works, and what it can and can’t do will be table stakes for success in business in coming years. The McKinsey Global […]
Jeanie Latz, J.D. consultant and EMBA adjunct instructor was interviewed by Chris Batz with The Lion Group for The Law Firm Leadership Podcast. In this episode, she discussed boards and diversity, trends, and more – including her experience during a hostile takeover attempt. Listen to the podcast and read highlights from the transcript at The […]
by April Graham I’ve been working with the Bloch Executive MBA (EMBA) program for a little over six years. Though our program was established in Kansas City 25 years ago (and there have been several other EMBA programs available in the region), the EMBA remains a best-kept secret of many business schools. Even if you’re […]
In this episode, Gary O’Bannon, Executive-in-Residence at the Bloch School interviews Joni Wickham. Most people came to know Joni Wickham during her five-year stint as Chief of Staff for former Kansas City Mayor Sly James. Still more know her as the recent co-founder of Wickham-James Strategies & Solutions, a firm specializing in government relations, political […]
In this episode, Gary O’Bannon, Executive-in-Residence at the Bloch School introduces you to Dr. Brandon Martin, Vice Chancellor/Director of Athletics for the University of Missouri-Kansas City. To set the scene: in 2018, the school launched a national search to find a proven leader who could transform its Division I athletics program. In December of that […]
By Jacqueline Rifkin, Ph.D. Can your preference for cats or dogs be leveraged to help others? In recently published research, my co-authors and I explore a strategy we call “dueling preferences”, which can be observed in cafés, in charity drives, and on the street. The dueling preferences approach frames the act of giving as a choice […]
Andy Rieger, President of Jacob Rieger Distillery & Company, is the latest guest to appear on the Journey to Leadership Podcast hosted by Gary O’Bannon, Executive-in-Residence. During their talk, Andy describes how he and his business partner, Ryan Maybee, are navigating J-Rieger through the COVID-19 pandemic by creating new business ventures within the J-Rieger brand. […]
The Bloch Idea Salon is a diverse community of intellectually curious individuals who enjoy engaging in interesting conversations on leadership, business, strategy, civic issues, and more. The salon was launched with a four part series on leadership using the Michael Jordan Documentary, The Last Dance, as a case study. The discussion was led by local […]
Gary O’Bannon, Executive-in-Residence at the Henry W. Bloch School of Management recently applied his experience as a news reporter toward a new project: the Journey to Leadership podcast. In his most recent episode, Gary spoke with Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, II. Congressman Cleaver is now in his seventh term representing Missouri’s Fifth Congressional District, which is […]
By Patrick Sallee Health disparities are not a new concept, but the COVID crisis is shining a bright light on just how damaging these disparities are to communities of color. We are now seeing this play out, as public health officials anticipated, having a more substantial impact on low income and minority families, particularly Latino […]
Gary O’Bannon With new emphasis on telecommuting comes a new reality: Teams need a strategy for communicating digitally, and leaders must adapt quickly to effectively manage their people and meetings remotely. The virtual world appears user-friendly on the surface but many have now discovered that even with great technology, it’s a world full of complexity, […]
Dr. Brian Anderson We see a lot of studies in the media and in our organizations in normal circumstances. We are seeing even more now with the pandemic’s effect reverberating across the globe. Policy makers, executives, leaders—people—are relying on some of these studies to make decisions about their personal and professional activities as we navigate […]
Five Insights is an interview series featuring Kansas City business and community leaders sharing their experience and perspectives on current issues. Jean-Paul Chaurand is the Executive Vice President of the H&R Block Foundation and the Marion and Henry Bloch Family Foundation. Prior to his work with the foundations, Jean-Paul was the Chief Operating Officer at […]
By Larry Wigger While much is yet unknown about Covid-19, its transmission, potential immunity, or efficacy of treatments, the world’s energies are turning more and more to the business of re-starting economic engines. Here in the U.S., our libertarian roots are showing, with public angst against any extended prohibitions on business and public activities. What […]
Gary O’Bannon The economic toll of the pandemic is evident with the record-shattering number of unemployment claims filed on both sides of our state line. And while the loss of a job causes obvious financial challenges, it brings with it a number of psychological challenges as well, leaving many with the question on how to […]
By Anthony Vatterott A few weeks ago I wrote a small piece on the supply chain challenges during interruptions both natural and man-made. If you recall, I stated that the food supply chain is relatively stable and safe from negative implications of larger supply chain interruptions because most of the food products we consume (dairy, […]
Dr. Nathan Mauck My last market update was on March 19, 2020. In that article I noted that, “The biggest impact on the narrative surrounding markets and the Coronavirus will be updates about the battle against the virus itself. When good news on that front comes, markets could pivot quickly.” As of April 28, 2020, […]
By Bryan Boots In May 2019, Bryan presented on “Bias in Datasets for AI+ML” at the annual Code for America Summit in Oakland, CA. This article is adapted from that presentation. You may have heard a lot about a push to reduce or remove bias in algorithms used for artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning […]
By Larry Wigger It is nearly impossible to digest the latest coverage of Covid-19, without reading or hearing of severe supply chain disruptions. Whether it is tales of toilet paper shortages at the grocer, delays in Amazon Prime deliveries, or critically low stock of ventilators and masks, everyone is painfully aware of gaps in supply […]
By Don Dagenais A large number of businesses are now closed because of the sheltering orders resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic, and a result there are enormous business losses being accumulated almost everywhere. Aside from cutting expenses and dipping into reserves to keep the basic bills paid, what can businesses do? One possibility is business […]
Dr. Brian Anderson Data and models are part of our daily life–now more than ever. But it can be challenging to evaluate how useful a model, particularly when different models of the same problem make very different predictions. In this session, Dr. Brian Anderson outlines three things to help you be a better consumer of […]
Dr. Nathan Mauck There has never been a better time than right now to take a close look at personal finances. Create a personal balance sheet to evaluate where things stand and to form a plan on how to best move forward and create lasting financial stability. In this session, Nathan provides a simple method […]
Dr. Brian Anderson The closure of campus in response to the new coronavirus world forced innovation and creativity as Bloch worked to rapidly adapt our critical processes to a fully digital workflow. It is—for the most part—working, and for many processes far better than we would have imagined. We are seeing that the digitization often […]
By April Graham Every generation faces periods of chaos. Some are global, some are local, and all are tragic and disruptive in their own way. As we navigate the uncertainty brought about by the coronavirus, it is our responsibility to cultivate skills essential for the new normal. The past teaches us that these moments of […]
By Anthony Vatterott There is a lot we can learn from disruption. In supply chains, the firms that correct disruptions quickest grow fastest. The ones that wait for the supply chain to catch up will not survive. There are plenty of stories from disruptions past that help us understand that much of what we are […]
Dr. Nathan Mauck One week ago I shared my thoughts on making sense of the market reaction to the Coronavirus. At that point, we had witnessed some of the biggest price swings in U.S. history. The price swings that followed dwarfed the recent past including the largest point drop in history and the worst percentage […]
Dr. Ann M. Hackett During a recent EMBA class in HR and Leadership, we were discussing “Turnaround Leadership” by examining leaders from the early to mid-2000s, such as Alan Mulally at Ford and Anne Mulcahy at Xerox. There is much to be learned from leaders who transform their companies during economic or organizational downturns, just […]
Dr. Nathan Mauck On Monday March 9th, 2020 stock trading was halted for the first time since 1997 and the S&P 500 ended the day down 7.6%. It was a rough day for markets which had lost almost 20% from the all-time highs of late February. This followed multiple other recent big moves in the […]
Dr. Scott Helm It’s Veterans Day 2019 and I am sitting in my office in Bloch Executive Hall watching an unexpected snow shower. For some time, I have wanted to express my gratitude for those who have served in our Armed Forces but have found difficulty in authentically articulating my sentiments. The majority of my […]
Dr. Scott Helm The arrival of new ideas is met with excited early adopters and skeptical detractors. In a space like phone apps or a new basketball shoe, these may be trivial battles best left to market sorting. However, when new ideas are proclaimed to be opportunities for new ways of thinking about and executing […]
Dr. Scott Helm The Washington, D.C. Residency is the immersive experience marking the conclusion of the Bloch Executive MBA first year. Study in Washington, D.C. is an extension of the Public Policy and Industry course taken in the second semester of the program. Throughout the course, students are challenged to think strategically about external relations […]
Dr. Brian Anderson It’s certainly a buzzword—perhaps THE buzzword—from the C-Suite to the front line. The word conjures visions of dashboards, big data, and whiz-kid programmers and statisticians turning ones and zeros into insights and ideas that will unleash new strategies, productivity gains, and innovation. Except that’s not what data science is. Yes, applied statistics […]
Dr. Brian Anderson In a recent WSJ column, Christopher Mims borrows from behavioral economics to offer an explanation for “Why the world seems worse than it is.” The details of the column aren’t important for this post, but a passage caught my attention… Sometimes known as the availability heuristic, this bias is one reason parents […]
April Graham The final semester of the UMKC Bloch Executive MBA includes a course on Global Perspectives in Management. This course concludes with a ten day residency abroad where students explore the business landscape in a specific country, reflect on how it resembles and differs from the United States, and what implications those differences have […]
Since 2015, a student from each graduating class has been invited to write an entry into the Bloch Executive MBA Legacy Journal reflecting on their journey and offering advice to future students. Thomas Kepka, Director of Marketing at U.S. Engineering Company Holdings, prepared the following reflection for the Class of 2018. “It’s August 2016, and […]
Jeanie Sell Latz, J.D. Over the past few decades many businesses have focused on the sole objective of creating shareholder value without always giving much thought to the reasoning behind this premise. It was often stated that managers had a legal duty to consider shareholders’ interests to the exclusion of other stakeholders—customers, employees, suppliers, and […]
Dan Stifter “Strategy is easy and execution is hard. “ Anyone not heard that before? Bueller? Couple more classics: “Strategy is about choices.” Hard to disagree with that one. “Do more with less.” If you haven’t heard or said this, well, hope you’re enjoying your trust fund. These all appear insightful, but none of them […]
Dan Stifter, MBA Everyone looks in the mirror and think they’re looking at a natural born leader with all the best attributes of Captain America and Wonder Woman. But according to Gallup, 82% of managers are pretty much complete failures. Less than 1 out of 10 are really qualify as “leaders.” While “managing” is different […]
Dr. Brian Anderson This article resonated with me. It talks about the difference between what literary critics regard as preeminent American literature, and what Americans enjoy reading. Kirsch writes… Another way of putting it is that when Americans read, we mostly read for story, not for style. We want to know what happens next, and […]
Dr. Brian Anderson Periodically, I have a conversation where the topic turns to entrepreneurship researcher’s inability to answer—with precision—why some ventures succeed, some fail, some become zombies, and some become unicorns. Similar conversations surround the topic of startup communities and clusters, and the role of research universities in supporting entrepreneurial ecosystems. Often someone bemoans that […]
by Dr. Nicole Price Many leaders are promoted to leadership because they are amazing problem solvers as individual contributors. In fact, when asked, no fewer than half of all leaders say that they are rewarded for problem solving even in their current roles. The challenge with this disposition to problem solving is that people are […]
Emotional Intelligence (EQ) is the ability to be aware of your own emotions and the emotions of others, then use the information to manage yourself to build strong relationships. While you need to be technically proficient at what you do — whether you are an architect, attorney, engineer or business executive — it’s your emotional […]
America’s leading companies have been moving away from decisions based on intuition and towards data for more than a decade. Amazon, Google, Netflix and Facebook are constantly running experiments in an effort to make better decisions. Experiments are no longer the sole domain of scientists in labs. Today’s leading enterprises employ and master the science […]
