There is no such thing as a free lunch. That statement rings in Kevin Walker’s ears. It was his most memorable encounter with his graduate school finance professor, Andrew Chen, at Southern Methodist University (SMU) Cox School of Business. An enlightening time for the budding marketer, seeds were sown and Walker, the managing partner at CultureLab, a marketing consultancy and cultural trends think tank focused on helping companies and institutions maintain their relevancy in the 21st century, has applied this perspective on “risk and reward” to every business relationship.
Here, he discusses his global network and his remarkable prescience to realize trends in technology three years in advance. –yvette caslin
What is your daily routine?
The first thing I do is check my Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter feeds, as well as Mashable and PSFK websites. A large part of my job is monitoring developments in social media, technology, business and marketing. The remainder of my day is [spent] fielding phone calls, working on business development and conference calls with clients.
How do you stay relevant in your industry?
I think one of my strengths as a business person is my ability to stay ahead of the curve and understand what is coming as it relates to consumer behavior and industry trends. This is simply because I read an awful lot and I love observing people when I travel to other cities, especially New York and L.A.
What are the benefits of an MBA?
One of the greatest benefits of an MBA and having gone to grad school is the personal connections you make with smart people. I have friends all over the globe. Once, when I was doing work for a client in Brazil, I was rescued by one of my SMU business school classmates who is now a renowned investment banker in Sao Paulo. My MBA has also put me in a position to teach at the college level, I am an adjunct college professor as well.
How do the cases studies from business school help you in your current role?
Case studies are one of the best methods for learning and applying what you learn in the text books in business school. Some of the best case studies were the Harvard Business School case studies in my Strategy class. I really loved doing case studies. As a matter of fact, in my business, I am essentially doing case studies on a client-by-client basis. I am helping my clients solve problems in trying to acquire more, share more clients and more relevancy.
How valuable was your first-year internship? Where did you intern?
My internship between my first and second year of business school was with Johnson & Johnson, as a marketing intern. The experience was invaluable and [it] helped to give me more credibility as a job candidate when it came to my full time job search.
What role has technology played in the business sector you currently work in today — keeping in mind supply chain, customer relationship management (CRM), QRS codes, tables, the Internet and more?
I generally work with the marketing and advertising functions and in this area, technology is paramount, but [also] the understanding of how it shapes consumer behavior. Three years ago, I organized an urban youth insights summit for my Saatchi & Saatchi NY and General Mills, and we discussed things like Transmedia Storytelling, Augmented Reality, and geolocation apps. All of these things, three years later are now at the forefront of marketing outreach tactics. So we helped the clients understand what was going to be relevant to connect before others knew.
What about social media?
Social media has been a game changer. It has given consumers the power to make or break brands, and has given the consumer the power to create and broadcast content.
How do you set your professional goals?
Hmm … I think this is an area of improvement for myself. I am driven by vision not as much as a goal. When I envision something, I work hard to make it manifest, its more of a big picture thing for me.
Given the industry that you work in today, how would you describe your best professional accomplishment?
It is very fulfilling when clients tell me that their business was enhanced through our consultation and creative work. To see our work on TV is huge, and of course when we won awards for our work, it was incredibly satisfying.
If you delivered a commencement speech to college seniors on the value of an advanced degree, what would your speaking points be?
1) Cultivate friendships with your classmates. Your network means more than what you learn from case studies and text books.
2) Focus on learning how to speak in public and to present. If you have good presentation skills it will take you far.
3) Please learn how to write well. The art of writing well seems to be under siege these days, but if you can write well, more doors will open for you. [He beams.]
