SUCCESS IN THE REAL WORLD: Elizabeth Del Ferro
Elizabeth "Liz" Del Ferro, Director of Latin American Operations for Storage Tek, came to the United States to live when she was twelve years old, having spent her childhood in Italy. In the United States, she found a rich blending of cultures and languages and knew that she wanted to be involved in some type of international commerce.
Before she went to college, she looked around at many universities to determine which ones were offering both an international program and a solid foundation of business courses. Liz knew that, even at that time, that she would need to have a good understanding of all aspects of business, no matter what type of position she eventually landed. Throughout her education, she was conscious of her ultimate goal and joined international groups and arranged to spend a semester in Mexico. She chose to go to the International graduate school, Thunderbird, to receive an M.B.A. and enhance her understanding of business issues.
"You absolutely need to know the fundamentals of business regardless of what type of business or position you have. When I hire new employees, I look for a broad base of courses. A finance major should have had some marketing courses, for example. I think its really important for people to have exposure to a variety of classes and experiences."
Liz also has learned other skills, which she finds crucial for her success, including flexibility. In her position, she needs to know how to really understand other people and their cultures. She does not want to impose her way on others, but wants to understand their ways. As we do in our personal lives with our friends, Liz believes we can open ourselves up to understanding others in business. Liz also finds that patience has helped her succeed. Especially when dealing with other cultures, she finds that sometimes things take a little longer than she wants, or telephones may be out in the country where she is doing business. However, even in her home office, she finds that patience with others help.
We, as a society, determine success, Liz believes, by income or job title, just because these are concrete and easy to measure. For Liz, her successs comes by simply being able, at the end of the day, to feel good about the job she has done. If she can either learn something new that day or teach someone else something new, she feels like she has been successful. In the same way, she reviews each year, judging her success by the knowledge she has gained and shared.
"I always try to put myself into a position where I can learn something new all the time, whether that comes from the people I surround myself with or the economies I deal with."
Critics of her policies and managerial decisions certainly exist, and Liz sees that disagreements and criticism ease when she takes the time to thoroughly explain her position. A lot of criticism comes, she thinks, because people form an opinon based on what they think they know. She tries to do a lot to communicate with others about her reasons for a decision.
She suggests that students get as much general business into their curriculum as possible. Even if people believe they know what they want to do definitively, they should still get as much experience in other areas as possible. The world we live in now is changing so rapidly that a broad understanding of business is becoming much more important. Liz also thinks initiative is very important. Students should be responsible for their own learning and ask a lot of questions–to their teachers, interviewers, employers–because a lot of curiosity paves the road to success.
