2 From Graduate Student To ‘Lightly-Seasoned’ Professional: What I’ve Learned So Far Brian Buford Ph.D. Principal Consultant – Organizational Effectiveness Target Corporation

3 My Career Path B.S., Psychology - Kansas State (92-96) Ph.D., Counseling Psychology - University of Iowa (96-00) Clinical Internship – Salem VAMC Consortium, Virginia (00 – 01) Post-Doctoral student - DRI Consulting, St. Paul (01-02) Organizational Effectiveness – Target Corporation (02 to present)

4 Years of experience Still in school 0 < x < 2 2 < x < 5 5 < x < Industry Inside a company Consulting firm Higher ed

5 Target $63 billion revenue, Fortune 31 Company with 352,000 employees 1,638 Target Stores in 47 states, 26 distribution centers, 4 import warehouses Charitable company giving 5% of income, $3 million a week, to the communities we serve Target chosen as one of Hispanic Magazine's Top 100 Companies for Hispanics 2007 Target 22nd "World's Most Innovative Companies List" – Barron’s Magazine 2006 Named “Top 100 Employer of Women” – Fortune 2006 One of the 2008 World’s Most Ethical Companies by Ethisphere Institute No. 14 out of 119 companies on annual “Best Places to Launch a Career” survey Check out Target.com for career information

6 Bob Ulrich CEO of the Year (2007)

7 What I Target Global, cross-functional high-potential leadership development programs Executive coaching, integration Teambuilding and facilitation Train workshops Speaking at meetings

8 1) Be a good team player Listen more, talk less Don’t fall in love with your ideas and theories Follow through Care about other people The more diverse the team, usually The longer it takes to get things done Potential for more conflict The better the results

9 2) Time and attention is precious commodity for senior leaders Don’t waste either Clearly and concisely describe problems, causes, solutions Start big, get into details when asked or needed Verbose PowerPoint = death Master the “1-pager”

10 3) Develop general business acumen Develop a broader perspective Ask clients to teach about their business Listen to earnings, investor calls Use business terms

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12 4) “To know is not to do” We don’t always practice what we preach Espoused theory vs. reality- as-it-is “It doesn’t matter how many ideas you have, but how many you make happen.” Application, execution, and results are the gold

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14 5) Great vendors can be invaluable partners In sales calls Articulate in real-world terms why you are better than your competitors, and why it matters Start with a discussion of the client’s need first Ask how the organization has tried to solve the problems in the past Wait for the up-sell During engagements Care about long-term sustainability Deliver what you say you are going to

15 6) It’s easy to be a good executive coach, hard to be great Providing clarity, accountability and forcing people to think Spend more time early on to gather critical feedback, shape and align expectations

16 7) ROI = Holy Grail?

17 8) If you get a chance to be a leader, do it…cause it ain’t easy Relentless demands, decisions to make Nearly impossible to just “soar with your strengths” Success is contextual, always changing Empathize with your boss

18 9) I’ll never “arrive” or get tenure “It’s a marathon, not a sprint.” Can always get better results faster When it comes to mistakes, master the art of Accepting them and recovering quickly Never making the same one twice “What will I do to be more effective next time?”

19 My very complex learning tool What was the event? What happened? What was the lesson? What will I do differently next time?

20 10) As organizational psychologists, we have a lot of work to do! There are many challenges on the horizon We can add significant value by really helping organizations Engage and retain in the talent war Develop young leaders more quickly to prepare them for bigger, more complex jobs Handle a diverse, global workforce

21 Questions?

22 Thank you! 612 –