There is a new doctor in the house. Jim Harper, our Quantitative Research Director, recently received his Doctor of Business Administration in Marketing.
We are super proud of Jim and his amazing accomplishment. Other than the obvious, why is this so amazing? Check out his story.
Congrats on getting your DBA! Why did you decide to pursue that degree?
Thanks. I always had an interest in going back to school. Plus, I have been doing little educational things my whole life, and getting my DBA was a bucket-list kind of idea.
I had thought about it for several years. When COVID hit, it felt like I had a lot of extra time on my hands. I thought, ‘If I’m ever going to do this, now is the perfect time.’
That was correct for about 1.5 to two years, and then it got insanely busy. I have been working full-time at TOG and taking a full class load for the past year. My schedule was crazy. I kept at it, though, because I wanted to finish in three years. And I did it!
What did you mean when you said you have been doing little educational things your whole life?
I believe in lifelong learning. Never sit in one place; always move forward.
I got my undergraduate degree, worked three or four years, and then went back and got my Master of Marketing Research degree from the University of Georgia. About 12 years later, I went back to school and got a Graduate Certificate in Applied Statistics from Penn State University.
I also had a rule for several years that said every month I am going to learn something new related to my job.
And now I have my DBA from Liberty University.
In the future, several years from now when I start to slow down, I want to teach in an online capacity. Getting a DBA was an opportunity to position myself to have that option when the time comes.
So that is why I got into this. That’s not necessarily where I ended up, though.
OK, where did you end up?
I rapidly became a much better writer and a much better analyst. The course work helped me to analyze information in ways that I have never been able to do before. The whole point of doctoral research studies is to go out there and grab information from dozens, or even hundreds, of sources, distill it all down to the true insights, and tell a story.
That storytelling is very, very similar to what we do in the market research world. I wasn’t even thinking about that when I started, but I am a much better storyteller now.
Can you tell a difference in the work you are doing now?
Oh, yes. It’s hundreds of times better!
Understand that I was working on my DBA for a little over a year when I came to TOG. In my previous roles, I was not in a position to pull everything together. But here at TOG, my role is to synthesize insights, pull the data together, and tell a story with that data.
Those two things – my coursework and my role here – came together, and my skill set increased exponentially.
While taking my courses, I created a database of all the papers I had to review and use in class. I read very close to 3,000 academic papers during those three years. Which means I am far more well read about all phases of business than I ever was. I know how to pick out what is important and what’s not important, and how to put it all together in a powerful story.
That will help our clients. It has already helped our clients.
In the past, I was more tactical. My DBA coursework expanded my thinking to a much more strategic level. I now have a greater ability to see the big picture and how everything fits together.
And the timing is perfect. We are doing incredibly strategic work at TOG with our Live Well™ focus. It’s exciting.
How did you celebrate your degree?
It wasn’t real for a few days. I just had to really think about it. Then one day my wife and I went to the movies, which I hadn’t done in forever because I never had the time.
The next day, I woke up and it felt like my first day of work. I felt like everything was brand new.
I am really excited about the future. My training has pushed me to a completely different level, and now I have time to think strategically and be more proactive. This is going to be fun!
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