Guest speakers offer leadership examples, personal tales

"If you don't find peace in action, you'll never find it with weekends and vacations," said Swami Parthasarathy during his visit to the Kellogg School on Oct. 6. The renowned Vedanta philosopher delivered a lecture on "the science of productivity" and shared insights from his lifelong study of the ancient Hindu religious tradition.
Secretary of the Army Francis Harvey explained how business and national security mix during his Oct. 11 lecture. Among his initiatives for the Army is creating a "performance culture" in which incentives will encourage efficiency among the Army's civilian employees.
Craig Donohue '95, CEO of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, delivered one of the keynote addresses at the 2005 Kellogg Finance Conference. In his remarks, he related some of the CME's history as well as details about how the Sarbanes-Oxley legislation has influenced strategy.
Kellogg launched the second year of its Distinguished Entrepreneur Speaker Series Oct. 18 with guest Gordon Gund, founder of Gund Investment Corp., co-founder of the Foundation Fighting Blindness and owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers NBA basketball team. At age 25, Gund was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa and by age 30 was blind. But he spoke of "limiting the limitations" and enhancing his strengths. He shared how his memory skills improved dramatically, and how he learned to ask others for help.
Ralph Shrader, chairman and CEO of Booz Allen Hamilton, shared his insights gleaned from leading the consultancy, including his views about "enduring value," a concept that challenges the idea that something must be new to be good. Among his initiatives since becoming the firm's top executive in 1999 has been advancing the cause of disabled workers there.

Photos credits: Ralph Shrader © Mary Hanlon; all other photos © Nathan Mandell.