What a day!!!
Lee Fowler’s annual version of “I support Sendek” has unleashed a fire storm out here in the real world where workers are held to standards and decisions are based on merit and not only on personal infatuations of big farmers or career climbing Jethros.
I haven’t been in the office since this morning (have to work towards my annual production goals, you see) so I haven’t had the opportunity to read any message board posts outside of these comments…but, I can’t count the number of personal emails and telephone messages of disgust that I have just picked up.
The message that Lee Fowler and Chancellor Oblinger are sending from NC State is crystal clear – NC State accepts failure to succeed at levels that are comparable to other institutions and NC State underscores this lack of ambition through its long term record of management decisions.
From what I can tell, the NC State Community is responding to this message in pretty big numbers. Many Wolfpackers that I know are simply giving up and walking away.
But, I have an additional observation about this situation that I had never considered much prior to the last few days. The interesting part of my experience in recent weeks (and particularly over the last 48 hours) is NOT that former great Wolfpacers have reached their breaking point and are apathetically walking away from their support of NC State…but it is THE TYPE OF PEOPLE that are giving up and walking away.
Since State’s Basketball season has ended, I have interacted (in person, on phone, on email) with the following set of Wolfpackers:
* 4 CEOs of companies with revenues in excess of $50 million
* 2 CFOs of nice-sized companies
* a partner at a major accounting firm
* 2 accountants of Big Five firms
* 3 employees of NC State University
* 4 attorneys from 3 different (highly-recognizable) law firms
* a judge
* 5 bankers employed by 2 of the 4 largest banks in America
* 2 consultants
* 1 political consultant
* 1 real estate developer
* 1 finance executive for a Fortune 100 company
These former Wolfpackers all shared what I considered to be interesting traits:
* Each is considered to be very successful by modern standards of the business world
* Each is beyond disgusted with NC State
* Each is between the age of 30 and 50
Of course, it is just a observation based on my personal interactions, but the fact that each of these successful individuals are between the age of 30 and 50 years old struck me as interesting. I wouldn’t think that it bodes well for the future of NC State University for so much young and successful talent to feel so disenfranchised and frustrated with the University. But, what do I know?
In twenty years NC State will be wondering why it has a huge leadership gap within its alumni community and why its alumni support the University at a rate disproportionately less than other schools (that is..if anyone at NC State would ever dare use defined, measureable, and comparable data as a benchmark for behavior). Perhaps at that point the members of the current Board of Directors, the Chancellor, Wendell Murphy, Lee Fowler, and Herb Sendek will step in and save the future of the University. Well…maybe the 2 or 3 of them that are still alive at that time. Because, I know an awful lot of talented folks that have little interest in being a part of it now…and, I fear forever.
I will leave you quotes from the last voice mail message that I received today from the CFO of a major business headquartered in the Triangle:
“I will be reducing my Wolfpack Club donation to the minimum for my lifetime rights. #&%@ it. It is time for me to grow away from NC State. I will still pull for them. But I will not care anymore.
Sadly, ^this is highly consistent with dozens of other interactions that I have personally had recently. Good Luck, NC State.
