Author: Harry Kraemer

A memorable Notre Dame graduation

A large number of Kraemers and Jansens attended the University of Notre Dame’s graduation ceremonies this weekend for the class of 2024, which includes my youngest son, Daniel!!! A bit surreal to think that my youngest is now a college graduate! And what a weekend!

The activities started with a wonderful mass with Cardinal Pierre in the Joyce Center — I had previously never attended a mass with so many priests! Daniel even gave the invocation at one of the graduation ceremonies.

Father John Jenkins, the President of Notre Dame, gave the commencement address. He is retiring as president after serving 19 years. His speech focused on challenging the students to avoid polarization, to take the time to listen and understand the views and perspectives of others. It reminded me of my daily repetition of the words of St. Francis: “Seek to understand before you are understood.”

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A weekend of work and fun at Kellogg

One thing that is definitely true about Kellogg is that there is never a dull moment. This past weekend was a good example of non-stop work and fun!!!

On Friday, I had the opportunity to teach several classes to EMBA 132 in Evanston at the Allen Center. The topics we covered included key issues in running a global company, how to increase the probability of making an acquisition successful and lessons learned from Private Equity. The EMBA 132 group is scheduled to graduate next month!!! Congratulations!!!

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Kellogg Reunion

I often attend Kellogg’s class reunions as one of the guest speakers. However, the reunion this past weekend was more special because it was also MY class’s reunion.

Admittedly, my name tag threw me off: It said I was part of the class of 1979. That would indicate that this year is my 45th reunion. I asked one of the reunion volunteers how it could possibly be my 45th reunion if I am only 39 years old! 🤣🤣🤣 I tried to convince them that 1979 was actually my date of birth, but they didn’t seem very convinced😎

The weekend started with Julie and I attending the annual Special K! review. The variety show is in its 45th year and consists of nonstop dancing, music, skits, and jokes. Julie and I have had the opportunity to see every show since the show first launched. In fact, Julie wrote several of the songs in the very first show!!!

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Am I late…or just ahead of my time?!

Okay, anybody who knows me is aware that if the topic has anything to do with technology, I am always very late to the party. There are “first movers,” and then there’s me: firmly, unapologetically a “last mover.”🤣

You may remember that I was one of the last people (quite possibly on Earth) to still own a flip phone, and had it not been for that fateful day when “Flip” passed away in a tragic accident (as described in this earlier post), I’d most likely STILL be using a flip phone!🤣🤣

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Why do companies make so many big mistakes?

I am often asked by Kellogg students and executives during my leadership talks “Why do companies make so many BIG mistakes?” Since it happens so often, it is a very fair question.

Simply look at the WSJ, NYT, or FT and almost daily you will find a story about a company blunder and think to yourself: “The company did what?!?!” or “How and why did that happen???”🤔

The usual quick guess as to why it happens is, “Well, it’s simple. The CEO just made a mistake.” However, take a minute to reflect on this issue. The answer is not that easy. First of all, remember, the CEO usually has an executive management team of at least 10-12 people. So how did they all let the mistake happen? Wasn’t there anyone on the team capable of stepping up and stopping the mistake from occurring?

Well, I believe there are two major contributors to the problem: One is the process by which the CEO makes decisions, and the other is how the senior team defines their roles.

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