FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, Nov. 4, 2005
Contact: Dave Wellman, Director of Communications (304) 696-7153
 

Marshall University’s Lewis College of Business
and Corps of Engineers team together to create leaders

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Twelve individuals chosen from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Huntington district were introduced to leadership concepts in October as part of their participation in the Leadership Intern Program (LIP) offered by Marshall University’s Lewis College of Business, Dr. Paul Uselding, dean of the college, said today.

The group met with local leaders and local businesses in addition to traveling to Indianapolis, Ind., to visit Simon Property Group, the largest retail real estate company in the world. 

While at Simon, the team met with various representatives from top management.  The focus of the three-day leadership workshop, according to John Rulli, chief operating officer of Simon and a Marshall alumnus, was to key in on the three ingredients of a high-performing organization – people, process and structure. 

Rulli worked closely with Dr. Lorraine P. Anderson, associate dean of the Lewis College of Business and Marshall’s director of LIP, to create a program that would provide the group with examples of best practices in business. 

“Through visits to organizations such as Simon, the participants of LIP expand their knowledge of leadership principles as well as develop themselves professionally,” Anderson said. 

Jim Shiner, Corps liaison for the program, said the field trips are an integral part of the program.

“They afford the interns the opportunity to see how high-performing organizations apply the various concepts of leadership they are taught in the classroom,” Shiner said. 

In addition to Rulli, the interns heard from Bryan Wiggins of MarketSphere Consulting as to how they use people, process and structure to solve complex problems for clients.  Dave Schacht, Senior VP and CIO of Simon, said communication issues often are more “cultural than technological.”  Two other speakers from Simon discussed different aspects of achieving results with people and processes in a matrix structure. 

The LIP interns also were treated to a private meeting with Rick Carlisle, head coach of the Indiana Pacers, who told the group, “If the people ingredient of a team is broken, nothing works.” Carlisle also said he had never “coached” players, but “worked” with them. 

Prior to the trip to Simon, the Corps leadership interns met with leaders from Toyota Motor Manufacturing in Buffalo, W.Va., including Mike Lutz, assistant general manager of administration.  Toyota’s management team conveyed the essence of the Toyota Production Process, which focuses on planning, standardization, respect for people and continuous improvement.  Moreover, the LIP participants learned that the Toyota culture encourages all employees to reduce waste and work on root causes to solve problems. 

Representatives from Amazon.com’s Huntington location brought a different leadership perspective to the LIP interns.   Krista Booth, Human Resources generalist, said decisions made by the company and the individuals are based on six core values – customer obsession, innovation, bias for action, ownership, high hiring bar and frugality.

Additionally, Michael J. Farrell, a member of Marshall’s board of governors and a Huntington attorney, addressed the group.  Farrell presented leadership as a combination of style and substance.  He said that to be an effective leader one must have the proper attitude, conduct, effective listening skills and behavior.  Farrell also noted that a leader must have the right people, structures, facilities and resources. 

Ted Hamb, one of the current LIP participants, described the series of field trips as a “once-in-a-lifetime” experience.  “Every organization has problems, but how you deal with the problems defines your organization,” he said. 

Marshall University, through the Lewis College of Business, has partnered with the Corps of Engineers to provide the Leadership Intern Program since 1998.  The Corps chooses the 12 individuals on a competitive basis for participation in the prestigious program.  The Leadership Intern Program consists of 80 hours of classroom instruction, retreats, extensive leadership assessments, field trips and a group project.

For more information, persons may contact Anderson at (304) 696-2611.

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