On October 25, the Lundy-Fetterman School of Business welcomed internationally-acclaimed leadership speaker and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Drew Dudley to speak as the keynote for their “Investing in Others” leadership series. As the founder and chief catalyst of Day One Leadership, Dudley has helped top organizations around the world increase their leadership capacity. Dudley’s TED talk “Everyday Leadership (The Lollipop Moment)” was voted one of the 15 most inspirational TED talks of all time.
The business school hosts a leadership speaker series each year, inviting all students to learn from and be inspired by industry-leaders and community members. The 2021 series kicked off in September with Coach Pierre Miller’s advice on being “one percent better” and was followed by Dudley’s keynote address, entitled “Creating opportunities to live your values: A clear set for leadership decision-making.”
“My biggest takeaway from Drew Dudley’s presentation is that leadership means interpersonal impact every single day,” said Gillian Kitchings, a first-year Business Fellow. “Doing little things with consistency creates empowerment, and that is what makes us great leaders.”
Kitchings urged other students to take advantage of these opportunities, “It is so important for students to take advantage of the opportunities Campbell has to offer. Half the college experience is about what you do outside of the classroom; going to campus events, grabbing lunch with a friend, or attending presentations like Drew’s. It’s so easy to get engaged and involved with all the opportunities here, a person just needs to look.”
William Mell, a first-year student, said that he is already applying Drew’s advice in his life. “After hearing him speak, I learned that I needed to define what was important to me so I could really focus on my core values in life,” said Mell. “The advice that was most impactful to me was how to motivate myself to do my best and be my best. I applied the new method of motivation to my life today and I have already seen a positive difference in myself; I felt closer to the person I want to be because I changed my mindset.”
“I found it most interesting when Drew Dudley was talking about defining and intentionally applying your values in life,” said junior Trust major Laura Lynn Care. “When he posed the question ‘what have I done today to recognize someone else’s leadership?’ my mind started developing an answer for who has impacted me with their leadership. I knew that I had been touched by so many people, but I have not done much to recognize those people for that.”
In addition to Dudley’s enthusiasm about being in-person with students for the first time since the pandemic, he was excited to find out that Campbell’s mascot is the fighting camel and enjoyed stopping by the camel statue and stocking up on fighting camel gear from the Bazaar.
The “Investing in Others” fall leadership series will conclude on November 15 with Meredith Rose, Group Chief Design and Marketing Officer at Rosewood Family of Companies in Raleigh.