Three teams went up on stage in front of an audience of over 150 students and presented their hearts out. The level of preparation was exceptional. The presentations were fantastic. The data was solid. The three teams went up there and showed the audience, which included a COO from a division of Hanover Insurance Group, just how brilliant Boston University Management Students are.
Following the presentations a team judges went out of the room to determine which of the three presentations was best.
In the interim, an esteemed COO from Hanover took the podium. It was clear to the audience what was coming next: A sales pitch.
The COO took the podium to tell the students in the audience that insurance is exciting, that it is great place to work, that it has great programs for graduating students. She went on for five minutes. Her intention was clearly to motivate students to apply for positions. She failed miserably.
She had a golden opportunity; she had the attention in a captive audience of high-performing students, yet her words fell on deaf ears. Student snickered, yawned, and checked their phones. Towards the end she asked, “who is excited about insurance?!” I sarcastically shouted, “Yeahhh!” Some may think I was rude. Some may think I was justified. Regardless, the reason for the collective response of the audience was clear. She gave a lousy presentation.
She failed for many reasons, but the number one reason is that her words lacked conviction. In her words there was no excitement, no heart, no genuine passion.
Dear Hanover, listen up. As a student at Boston University’s School Of Management, I guarantee you that the best students in that audience were the ones who were yawning and checking their phones. The best students want to work for companies who show that they care about what they’re doing. The best students want to work for companies who give their employees not just a weekly paycheck, but a sense of purpose. If you want Boston University’s best students you will have to get to know them. If you want students who can lead and who can grow into industry leaders, I advise that you step your game up.
My advice, when you have the attention of a large part of the student body, give the student body a speaker who talks from the heart.
Three teams went up on stage and presented business plans that they spent months preparing. The audience could see their effort. Those teams set the bar for future teams and inspire those future teams to push that bar even higher.
If you want to share the stage with our students and receive the respect of all students, don’t tell us that you care. Show us.
