It’s not hard to imagine that when you’re in charge of running a Fortune 200 company with a presence in 60 countries and 60,000+ employees worldwide – you’re highly pressed for time.
Great to see that Jim Loree – CEO of the #1 tools company in the world – is never too busy to “talk shop” with those committed to getting a world-class education in business management.
Loree recently shared some invaluable insight with the brilliant-minded students of Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. Serving as a guest lecturer for the strategic management course “The Industrialist’s Dilemma,” Loree offered an honest and upfront perspective on how business “disrupters” students study in theory are actually being worked through at every level of our organization – from the executive suite to the manufacturing floor.
Loree’s Three Top Takeaways for Students:
Be Explicit About Change.
No one said change was easy. Loree attests to that, explaining to students that with great success can come a fear of failure. But without change, failure is inevitable. With nearly a 180-year history, Stanley Black & Decker is an iconic “institution” that’s constantly moving, evolving and transforming. With disruptors ranging from demand for an even greater eCommerce experience, relentless competition, inflation and supply chain challenges, to technological integration, workforce shortages/upskilling and more – Loree has made it clear where change needs to happen for the company to continue achieving long-term success – even if that means growing pains along the way.
Be a Lifelong Learner.
The speed of change in society is not slowing down – and we can expect the pace of technological change will only increase in the future. That makes a willingness to learn, connect and stay relevant all the more imperative.
Standing before the classroom of students – bound to be the business leaders of tomorrow – Loree stressed just how much learning is a lifelong journey. He strongly encouraged the students to stay open to educating themselves throughout their careers and remain dedicated to learning about new technologies – while continuing to study patterns in the past.
Be Aware of What It Takes to Make the World.
No matter how much things change – one thing is certain. People will always need things made, regardless of how digitized our world becomes. The need for physical objects (in our case, tools) will not diminish.
Loree wanted Stanford students to remember that and appreciate the necessity, complexity and evolution of manufacturing – regardless of whether they envision themselves ever working in the manufacturing industry.
Giving students an inside look at what it takes to make tools for those who make the world, Loree helped bring theory into practice for the next generation of business leaders.