What can a US Marine teach me about dealing with COVID-19?

Joel Searls, UCLA Anderson 2017, was an officer in the United States Marine Corps before he got his MBA. What can Joel teach us about dealing with COVID-19?

In this first-ever “home edition” Drive Time interview, Joel and I talk about the life-and-death training he received in the United States Marine Corps and what that might teach us all about how to deal with living through this unique chapter.

Joel generously explores how he has been able to re-create his career four times so far, from being a theater major producing a full play, to being a military officer, to associate producing a full-length Hollywood movie, to now becoming an investment banker. He tells about his perspective on networking and we reminisce about the time he brought the Back to the Future DeLorean to FEMBApalooza!

Enjoy!

Joel Searls ’17 was kind enough to bring the Back to the Future DeLorean to FEMBApalooza.

Here’s hoping we are “live” again for Palooza 9, this summer of 2020.

Covid-19: day-by-day leadership and an alumni podcast

Like everyone around the world, we are adjusting day-by-day to the changes imposed by this global virus. UCLA leadership provides our students, faculty and staff daily updates about changes to exams, student life, spring quarter scheduling, and general overall hygiene and civic decorum. We all digest the new realities daily and make the adjustments to student goals, professional responsibilities, and personal realities at home, like children, parents, neighbors and friends; everyone is impacted.

This is a time for perspective, patience, and prudence. If ever the world needed you to exercise your personal leadership, this is it. Please give your best self to colleagues and family in these upcoming weeks–people need your steady presence. And we can all wash our hands!

As you may have more time now, here is an interesting podcast of two FEMBA alumni discussing their perspective of Covid-19. Friends since FEMBA, Ryan Hughes ’14 is the Founder of Bull Oak Capital (he has spoken at FEMBApalooza before), and on his new podcast he interviews fellow alum Jim Best ’14, Founder and CEO of Serenity Cancer Patient Advocates. Enjoy!

(The views on the podcast above are those of Ryan and Jim alone. This link is for awareness only, and does not imply accuracy of their conversation.)