UCLA Anderson School of Management Blog

UCLA Anderson Forecast: Savings Crisis

According to economists at the UCLA Anderson Forecast, a slow-rolling catastrophe of grossly inadequate national savings is upon us. Everyday Americans approaching retirement, Medicare, Social Security and pensions—all are facing a savings crisis. With low interest rates, sluggish income growth and a surge in health care spending, we need to be saving more, not less. Our most accurate (and most ignored) forecast is: “Next year you will be a year older.”

The Forecast December Economic Outlook event “Saving Our Future” will unpack the savings crisis, including talks such as “What difference would a Yellen Fed make?” and “Unfunded pensions in California Cities, A ticking time bomb?” The keynote talk by Laurence Kotlikoff, William Fairfield Warren Distinguished Professor of Economics at Boston University and author of “The Clash of Generations: Saving Ourselves, Our Kids and Our Economy,” will discuss the inter-generational impact of our dwindling savings.

Other speakers include: Forecast Director Edward Leamer; David Shulman, senior economist of the Forecast; Jerry Nickelsburg, senior economist of the Forecast and adjunct professor of economics; William Yu, economist at the Forecast; Michael Hiltzik, business columnist for the Los Angeles Times; Anderson Professor Suzanne Shu; Ann Boynton, deputy executive officer of Programs, Benefits and Policy at Calpers; and David Crane, lecturer and research scholar at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research.

The event takes place Dec. 5 from 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in the Grand Horizon Ballroom in UCLA’s Covel Commons.

Head to the Forecast homepage for more information.

Disney’s Iger Honored with 2013 John Wooden Global Leadership Award

Bob Iger, chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Company, has received numerous accolades during his 40-plus-year career. Tonight he added one more, one named after a man he grew up admiring. "It means so much to me to receive the John Wooden Award because it’s named after a man who believed that doing well is doing right," he said.

Iger was speaking to a sold-out crowd at this year’s John Wooden Global Leadership Award Program, presented annually by UCLA Anderson. The award is given for exemplary leadership and service to the community, values that echo those of legendary Coach Wooden. Iger’s exceptional leadership has led Disney to record performance and shareholder value, all while focusing on creativity, innovative technology and global growth.

Referring to John Wooden's famed ideals, UCLA Anderson Dean Judy Olian said, "Coach Wooden would be very proud. Bob is the pyramid of success," she said.

The evening included a discussion between Iger and ABC News Correspondent Cecilia Vega and covered a wide range of topics from how a legacy brand remains relevant in a quickly changing world, to the importance of failure and second chances, to principles of leadership. The exchange gave everyone in the room a window into how a CEO leads with integrity and success, according to Olian.

Past recipients of the John Wooden Global Leadership Award include Indra Nooyi, chairman and CEO of PepsiCo (2012), Peter Ueberroth, managing director of Contrarian Group (2011), Frederick W. Smith, chairman, president and CEO of FedEx (2010), Kenneth Chenault, chairman and CEO of American Express (2009), and Howard Schultz, chairman, president and CEO of Starbucks (2008).

Proceeds from the dinner fund two $25,000 John Wooden Leadership Fellowships, given to deserving UCLA Anderson students based on their exceptional leadership, academic merit and financial need. This year’s recipients are Elliot Ling (MBA ’14) and Jordanna Mora (FEMBA ’15).

Ling has spent the last eight years working on initiatives that benefit youth, particularly in low-income communities.  Most recently, Elliot served as director of youth development for Servant Partners, a humanitarian organization dedicated to transforming disadvantaged urban communities. But it was the simple, generous act of helping out a neighbor that has made the biggest change in Ling’s life. He and his wife welcomed Justin, a 16-year-old dropout, into their home after his family lost theirs following his step-father’s death. Over the course of a year, they helped the young man graduate from high school and build a new future.

“I’m excited about the possibility of doing good through social enterprise and education reform, but the specifics of my story are still unfolding. This, however, I know: my time at Anderson has afforded resources and tools that few in this world have the opportunity to possess,” Ling said in his acceptance remarks. “When I leave Anderson in June, I will leave newly empowered and freshly inspired to make a difference in my community and others like it.”

Mora is a licensed and board-certified genetic counselor with entrepreneurial drive and a commitment to service.  While pursuing her degree, she works at Integrated Genetics and provides complex prenatal and preconception consultation for high-risk patients. In addition, she consults with biotechnology companies on communication strategies to help them better connect with the patients they serve.

At tonight’s event, Mora said the lessons she learned from her mom, a single mother who worked numerous jobs, were similar to those espoused by Coach Wooden. “My mother always told me that as a family, my mother, sister and I were a team and that very little is accomplished on one’s own,” she said. “Although there were numerous obstacles growing up, she shared, and still shares, John Wooden’s belief that true greatness is achievable by anyone as long as your values are consistent with being a great person.”

Past fellowship recipients include Aviva Altmann (MBA '13), Juan Rose (EMBA '13), Karla Sarni (FEMBA '13), Valerie Sun (FEMBA '13), Russell Altenburg (MBA '12), Archana Rajan (EMBA '11), Joanna Schochet (MBA '11), Shahrouz Golshani (FEMBA '11), Dana Taylor (MBA '10), Andrea Swanson (FEMBA '09) and Christopher Schnakenberg (MBA '09). 

Head to the UCLA Anderson Wooden event page to watch the event, as well as videos on the amazing work that both Ling and Mora are doing and plan to do.

Disney’s Iger Shares His Secrets to Great Leadership

At today’s Dean’s Distinguished Speaker Series, Disney Chairman and CEO Bob Iger said there are 10 attributes every CEO should have. “A CEO has to be optimistic, thoughtful, decisive, honest, open, accessible, curious, they must listen to a diversity of opinions and they have to lead by example,” he said. Speaking to a packed house in UCLA Anderson’s Korn Hall, Iger and Dean Judy Olian discussed a wide range of topics from leadership style to navigating the Chinese marketplace.

Iger will receive the John Wooden Global Leadership Award tonight at The Beverly Hilton. The award is given for exemplary leadership and service to the community, with proceeds from the dinner funding two $25,000 John Wooden Leadership Fellowships.

Disney is one of the largest employers of Anderson alumni, and Dean Judy Olian asked what the company could gain from hiring MBAs. “Companies today really need to be ambidextrous—and people need to be that. What an MBA brings is a broad perspective,” Iger said. “I like working with people who have business sense and creative sense.” He said that Disney is actively developing the next generation of talent that will have both sensibilities.

One of Iger’s biggest challenges is staying true to Disney’s heritage while remaining nimble and innovating to move the company forward, he said. “When you have a great brand, there's a lot of great tradition and history. But, you can't let them get in the way of innovation,” he said. “Frequently, the person who runs the company treats the brand as scared. If you do that you might as well stick it in a museum.”

Growing up, Iger’s heroes included Walt Disney, Martin Luther King Jr. and John Wooden, who all shared a creed he still emulates. “It wasn’t victory at all cost. It was victory with integrity while demanding quality,” he said.

Head to the UCLA Anderson Twitter feed for more great Iger quotes, and head to the John Wooden Awards page for more on tonight’s event.

Ringing Up a Retirement-Crisis Solution

UCLA Anderson’s Shlomo Benartzi, a leading authority on behavioral finance and participant behavior in retirement savings plans, took to Scientific American online to trumpet an impending U.S. disaster: retirement. His op-ed, “How Mobile Phones Can Solve The Retirement Savings Crisis,” outlines his roadmap to financial salvation, an app that allows users to automatically send cash to their retirement savings account every month.

As he writes in the post, “The numbers are stark: according to the National Institute on Retirement Security, the median U.S. household near retirement has saved $12,000. If you and your spouse did nothing else except share a Starbucks cappuccino every morning, the money would still not last throughout retirement.”

The op-ed is part of Scientific American’s special series running during the Summit on Global Agenda.

Read the piece here and head to Benartzi’s UCLA Anderson page here.

Celebrating Wooden’s Leadership Milestones, Awards

Forty years ago, legendary head coach, author and speaker John Wooden was enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach. He’d previously been inducted as a player, the first ever to have both honors—a feat later shared by only two other basketball legends, Lenny Wilkens and Bill Sharman. While leading the Bruins eight NCAA National Championships was Hall-of-Fame worthy, Wooden still had two league-winning runs yet to come when he was inducted. In fact, 2014 marks the 50^th anniversary of the first of 10 championships for the Bruins under Wooden, a remarkable run yet to be bested.

Wooden joined UCLA in 1949 and, over the next 27 years, built a record and legacy admired and lauded. From making the National Basketball Hall of Fame to being named the 1973 Sports Illustrated Sports Man of the Year, Wooden accomplished much. But it was his achievements off the court that he was most proud of. He honed his “Pyramid of Success” philosophy throughout his career, and translated his work ethic and principles into numerous books on leadership. The John Wooden Global Leadership Award Program at UCLA Anderson is built upon those values.

On Nov. 21, UCLA Anderson will honor Robert A. Iger, chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Company, with the annual John Wooden Global Leadership Award, which is given for exemplary leadership and service to the community. Past recipients include Indra Nooyi, chairman and CEO of PepsiCo (2012), Peter Ueberroth, managing director of Contrarian Group (2011), Frederick W. Smith, chairman, president and CEO of FedEx (2010), Kenneth Chenault, chairman and CEO of American Express (2009), and Howard Schultz, chairman, president and CEO of Starbucks (2008).

Proceeds from the award dinner will help fund two $25,000 John Wooden Leadership Fellowships given to deserving UCLA Anderson students based on their exceptional principles-based leadership, academic merit and financial need. This year’s recipients are Elliot Ling (MBA ’14) and Jordanna Mora (FEMBA ’15).

The awards evening at The Beverly Hilton Hotel starts with a 6 p.m. cocktail reception, followed by dinner and the main program at 7 p.m. Business attire is appreciated.

Head to our Wooden Awards page for more on the event.

Two UCLA Anderson Professors Shortlisted for Thinkers50 Awards

L to R: Fons Trompenaars, Marshall Goldsmith, Subir Chowdhury and Bhagwan Chowdhry.

UCLA Anderson professors Bhagwan Chowdhry and Richard Rumelt landed coveted spots on the 2013 Thinkers50 Awards shortlist. The awards are part of the Thinkers50 global ranking of management thinkers and celebrate new ideas in management philosophy.

Chowdhry’s Financial Access at Birth initiative was nominated in the Breakthrough Idea category, which lauds ideas with the potential to change the world. FAB was designed by Chowdhry to increase access to financial savings for children and families around the globe. At birth, a child would receive $100 in an online bank account accessed via an electronic ID birth certificate. The hope is to create a worldwide program.

Rumelt was nominated in the Strategy category, which pinpoints key thought leaders that a “CEO of a major corporation would turn to for practical and imaginative strategic advice.” He’s the Harry and Elsa Kunin Chair in Business and Society and has authored or co-authored numerous business publications, including “Strategy, Structure, and Economic Performance,” “Fundamental Issues in Strategy” and “Good Strategy/Bad Strategy.”

The awards are given biennially and were handed out Nov. 11 in a ceremony in London. The first-ever global ranking of management thinkers, Thinkers50 was created in 2001 by Stuart Crainer and Des Dearlove.

Read more on the awards at the Thinkers50 Awards page.

Wooden Fellow Jordanna Mora Coaches Families

On Nov. 21, UCLA Anderson will honor Robert A. Iger, chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Company, with the annual John Wooden Global Leadership Award, which is given for exemplary leadership and service to the community. Proceeds from the award dinner will help fund two $25,000 John Wooden Leadership Fellowships for deserving UCLA Anderson students based on their exceptional principles-based leadership, academic merit and financial need.

Jordanna Mora (FEMBA ’15), one of this year’s fellowship recipients, learned a lesson out of Coach Wooden’s playbook through her mom, a single mother who worked numerous jobs. “Before John Wooden there were a lot of hierarchical books on management. He really spoke to the importance of working as a team,” she says. “Nothing gets done by one person. Ever. Team is great for work, but even more so in life. Mom taught us when we were young that we were family, yes, but also a team.”

In 2008, Mora co-founded an Internet start-up, InheritedHealth, which she and her partner sold three years later.  She began her career helping coordinate family-based services for Boston inner city youth, and later served for four years as a volunteer mentor to children in high-risk homes.

Mora is a licensed and board-certified genetic counselor with entrepreneurial drive and a commitment to service.  While pursuing her degree, she works at Integrated Genetics providing complex prenatal and preconception consultation for high-risk patients. In addition, she consults with biotechnology companies on communication strategies to help them better connect with the patients they serve.

Earning an MBA won’t just mean a few letters after her name—it’ll be a knowledge base from which to serve others. “Everything I learned as an entrepreneur was a baptism by fire. I had to learn by trial and error,” she says. “I lacked that foundation of knowledge that I think would’ve helped us succeed sooner or better.”

The awards evening at The Beverly Hilton Hotel starts with a 6 p.m. cocktail reception, followed by dinner and the main program at 7 p.m. Business attire is appreciated.

Head to our Wooden Awards page for more on the event.

Anderson in the News This Week: Nov. 15th

ChinaDaily
China Daily covered today’s Innovation China 2013 forum in Shanghai, co-sponsored by UCLA Anderson, which focused on entrepreneurship, innovation and business trends in China.

Bloomberg Businessweek
Associate Professor Felipe Caro, who also serves as business advisor to fashion retailer Zara, weighed in on the Spanish company’s success in a Bloomberg Businessweek article.

CNBC and The Wall Street Journal
Professor Samuel Culbert offered his thoughts on the flawed nature of performance reviews in two recent CNBC and The Wall Street Journal articles.

Wooden Fellow Elliot Ling Lives on Purpose

On Nov. 21, UCLA Anderson will honor Robert A. Iger, chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Company, with the annual John Wooden Global Leadership Award, which is given for exemplary leadership and service to the community. Proceeds from the award dinner will help fund two $25,000 John Wooden Leadership Fellowships for deserving UCLA Anderson students based on their exceptional principles-based leadership, academic merit and financial need.

One of this year’s fellowship recipients, Elliot Ling (’14), says Coach Wooden’s wisdom speaks to him daily during his early morning trips to the John Wooden Center gym. “There are some powerful quotations on the wall that really resonate with how I’ve tried to live my life,” Ling says. “One in particular, ‘Don’t let making a living get in the way of making a life,’ has resonated deeply.”

After graduating from Stanford, Ling moved to South Los Angeles with the intention of creating a purpose-filled life. “There was something that grew in me in college, that my life needed to have some purpose besides being comfortable,” he says. “My life felt like it had to be built on certain values, including making the opportunities I had as a kid available for all kids.”

Ling has spent the last eight years working on initiatives that benefit youth, particularly in low-income communities.  Most recently, Elliot served as director of youth development for Servant Partners, a humanitarian organization dedicated to transforming disadvantaged urban communities. He began his career as a policy analyst for Advancement Project, researching and modeling best-practice youth development programs. Later at Green Dot Public Schools, Elliot took an operations role and led a team to improve the efficiency of teacher onboarding, enabling more resources to flow to the classroom.

But it was the simple, generous act of helping out a neighbor that has made the biggest change in Ling’s life. He and his wife welcomed Justin, a 16-year-old dropout, into their home after his family lost theirs following his step-father’s death. Over the course of a year, they helped the young man graduate from high school and build a new future. “I never thought about business school until Justin went to a school where he was receiving employment and completing high school at the same time,” Ling says. “The social enterprise that he was a part of and succeeded out of, that’s what I wrote my essay on and that’s why I came to business school in the first place.”

Ling’s MBA will serve as a launch pad to scaling his impact and extending his reach in his neighborhood and beyond.

The awards evening at The Beverly Hilton Hotel starts with a 6 p.m. cocktail reception, followed by dinner and the main program at 7 p.m. Business attire is appreciated.

Head to our Wooden Awards page for more on the event.

XPRIZE Dives Deep to Find Global Solutions

Known for its efforts to encourage space exploration, the XPRIZE Foundation has announced plans to incentivize exploration deeper into the oceans. The new multi-year effort seeks to launch three additional ocean XPRIZE challenge awards by 2020. Part of the XPRIZE Ocean Initiative, the foundation will crowdsource ideas for new challenges and involve the public in everything from prize design to award.

Since 2012, Trish Halamandaris ('92) has helped the XPRIZE Foundation spread the word about their change-agent competitions. As senior vice president of marketing for the foundation, her mission is to promote the prize and involve larger and larger groups in its growing number of initiatives.

“At XPRIZE, we believe great ideas can come from anywhere. Teams from around the world, from all walks of life, compete in our competitions,” said Peter H. Diamandis, chairman and CEO of XPRIZE. “We know that crowdsourcing has enormous potential, so we are inviting the public to help us hone in on the Grand Challenges facing our oceans. Whether it’s overfishing, pollution, plastics, or the myriad other challenges, hearing directly from concerned and motivated individuals will yield new and unexpected solutions.”

Halamandaris began her career in consulting. After earning her MBA from UCLA Anderson, she redirected her professional aims toward the world of marketing and spent many years working at celebrated companies like Disney and Electronic Arts before joining XPRIZE.

For more on Halamandaris and the XPRIZE, head to Assets Digital. The XPRIZE homepage can be found here.