Michael L. McManus, Ph.D.

I have been taught all my life, from parents to teachers to mentors, that hard work pays off in the end. I followed the advice to this day and yet I understand that there are other forces at work as well… luck, the role of others, and certain golden moments which seem to be accidents, but later appear to be gifts. I have seen highs and lows in the lives of others and in my own. I have seen how fast time can fly and why now at my stage of experience it is important to focus on what is important, where to spend my time and where it could be wasted. Some of the choices are not easy. I perceive an urgency to set forth some statements of personal mission and to get more organized than ever to align my efforts for these critical causes. While I fully intend to go for these goals with unbridled fury, I hope to pay attention, as Buckminster Fuller said, to the stuff which comes in at 90 degree angles… there will be changes and surprises which cause us to adjust, we hope!

The planet has changed lots since I finished my formal education. The world of business is literally a “world business”, or maybe the term should be a “planetary economy”. There are new problems and new planetary urgencies which now impact b-school education everywhere. The equivalent of natural disasters on the planet in the business education world is a set of man-made problems now deeply embedded in higher education worldwide: overbuilt systems in the US and in other advanced countries; digital technologies which reduce time, effort and possibly scientific rigor; non-symmetrical systems worldwide; vast audiences that are unreachable or unable to afford the cost of education. A colleague in Asia pointed out that only a very small percentage of the total will ever be able to get on airplanes and have a foreign study experience.
When a professional discipline or field implodes because of its inability to deal with world forces such as these, it falls from favor, undergoes painful transitions, and may force metamorphosis to a new or lower form of its original good self. Wall Streeters and bankers worldwide are now undergoing this massive shakeout and shakedown. Higher education across the planet may be one of the next big sectors to undergo crises never seen before. I see that my own professional efforts, activities and projects must address the larger planetary economy issues as well as immediate local efforts on a daily basis. It involves me, my leadership, my venue, which is the California International Business University (CIBU), and what I choose to do each day, week, month, and year. This urgency has led me to conclude that my energies must address general causes and some specific career actions which align with my life purpose as a global educator and creator:

Critical Relevance… the urgent need to bring critical relevance, as I know it, to the increasingly irrelevant and jaded world of b-schools so that the customers (students) can get a fair value deal now for the future value of their investment in time, effort, and money.

A Challenging Perspective… the urgent concern for the use and possible abuse of knowledge in the business and financial world… at a time in which the planet is dealing in its larger context with potentially disastrous issues of world hunger, disease, senseless wars, terrorism and out of control natural disasters and economic crises.

Programs, Priorities and Central Projects… As a professional and leader in my chosen field of business school and university level international education, I will devote my time and energy to focused areas which matter and in which I have an actual chance to make a real contribution.

1. I am a global educator… I build bridges… and impact individuals, and that has a multiplier effect
2. I create programs and central projects to effectuate global education
3. I light the fire of the entrepreneurial spirit within each student
4. I must understand deeply the cutting edge of my field to be able to speak credibly as a spokesman-leader, and so I can convey the true value of knowledge to my students
5. I will navigate my chosen institution’s (CIBU) impact and growth in its category or ranking, as an institution with correct values for the planetary economy. This will necessarily encompass the positioning of the US and California as central and vital places for the combination of study, research, and application of frontier innovation.
6. I will articulate my message to make sure that hard working, leadership seeking, achievement seeking students can avoid the pitfalls of extreme self interest, elitism, and hubris
7. I will illuminate my students and our student body about the possibility of finding a central life purpose worth everything to pursue, and provide them with my own story and insights about how one might find this…
8. I will challenge the business school community about its collective responsibility for both the proper and improper, harmful uses of financial engineering and other business school influences on our society and the greater global economy.
9. I will challenge my colleagues to do the same.
10. I will challenge my students to lead and foremost to create useful projects, and to help others to do the same.

I reserve the right to update, modify, and enrich this statement in an ongoing way. There is an enormous amount I could write and may in the future to anchor my opinions and positions in empirical data. For example, I have used the words “proper” and “abuse” in this essay, and I realize that much more should follow about what actual values might look like. In essence, this is subjective and everything starts with an opening challenge, and that is exactly what this is… subjective and very personal at heart. Just laying down what you believe and what you stand for and what you intend to do is an incredibly awesome and daunting challenge unto itself. My inspiration for this profound professional step comes from Jeffrey Bennett, Ph.D., the renowned astrophysicist. Dr. Bennett made his own personal mission statement public on his website www.jeffreybennett.com I had never seen anything quite like it. I realized upon reading it that this is a vital step in one’s own coming to terms with one’s life purpose. I encourage colleagues, students, and friends to consider taking this same step. We create our legacy with concrete actions in moments of utmost clarity and bravery. When you do this, I guarantee it’s a step of the toughest and most courageous kind.