School of Business luncheon features nationally known author

The Newman University School of Business drew an impressive audience with a March 28 luncheon featuring nationally recognized speaker and author Dr. David Burkus. The “lunch and learn” was the first in what will be an annual speakers series brought to campus by the school.

Burkus is a best-selling author, award-winning podcaster and management professor at Oral Roberts University. He is a regular contributor to the Harvard Business Review and Inc. Magazine, and his work has been featured in Fast Company, The Financial Times and Bloomberg BusinessWeek, and on “CBS This Morning.”

He has also delivered keynote speeches and workshops for Fortune 500 companies such as Microsoft, Google, and Stryker, in-demand conferences such as SXSW and TEDx events, and governmental and military leaders at the U.S. Naval Academy and Naval Postgraduate School.

Brett Andrews, dean of the School of Business, said he hopes Burkus’ presentation helped raise awareness of the School of Business in the Wichita business community, as well as help increase leadership skills of the attendees.

“We want the business community to know that Newman’s School of Business cares about the challenges they face and we are involved in seeking solutions to current business issues, both on the local and regional level,” he said.

Andrews added that the target audience for the luncheon was entrepreneurs, owners of small- and medium-sized businesses, young professionals, and director-level employees.

Burkus’ speech, “Under New Management,” is the title of his latest book, which examines the idea that the best companies today are breaking the old rules. For example, at some companies, e-mail is now restricted to certain hours so that employees can work without distraction. Netflix no longer has a standard vacation policy of two to three weeks, but instructs employees to take time off when they feel they need it. Additionally, at Valve Software, there are no managers; the employees govern themselves.

By challenging traditional beliefs about how the business world should be run, Burkus said he strives to convince companies to leave behind their decades-old management practices and implement new ways to enhance productivity and morale. After exploring these ideas, Burkus has said that he wants audience members to walk away with evidence-based strategies and real-world examples to drive performance, build stronger teams, and acquire a growth mindset.