Dr. Stephen Arthur LeMay, Professor

Which classes do you teach online?

Marketing Management, Logistics Systems and Analytics

What do you want students to learn in your classes? What is the expected outcome?

• How to think like marketers or logisticians, depending on the class
• How to adapt to rapidly changing environments
• How to deal with the underlying causes of problems
• How to create and adapt complex systems to current need

Why did you start teaching?

It was an accident. I was there and something needed to be taught. I see it as an extension of what I've done since high school: journalism, military intelligence, and university teaching. In each case, the essence of the job was to know things and tell people about them. Sometimes the audience was broad, sometimes narrow, but that remains the essence.

What's the best advice that you have ever received?

Don't sweat the small stuff--and "Down!"

What's the best advice you could give to online students?

Get the work done, respect your fellow students, and respect the faculty. If you do that, you will encounter few problems in my classes.

What is the one book you think everyone should read?

Sapiens: a Short History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari

What qualities make someone particularly successful in business?

For business, the most important trait is conscientiousness. Be where you are supposed to be and do what you are supposed to be doing. Work hard at it.

What do you think is the biggest challenge that people in business today?

The speed of change. The fastest growing jobs in five years may be jobs that don't exist today. The ability to adapt quickly is the most critical characteristic that a business professional can develop.

Tell us something interesting about yourself that your students may not know about you.

In the last three years, I have published 10 poems. Last year I read three of them at the Odeon in Lille, France.