ROBERT LAUD ON THE DOG-EAT-DOG OF REAL BUSINESS

When a conversation turns to the topics of “alpha dogs” and “beta dogs” and “pack mentality,” is the wild kingdom or big business under discussion? Well, in a conversation with Robert Laud, Distinguished Lecturer of Management at Baruch’s Zicklin School, it could be about one or the other or both.

Laud, who joined the faculty in 2004, has been with some of the world’s most prestigious firms for over 20 years. He was a senior partner at Accenture, global managing partner of Innovation & Research at Andersen Worldwide, innovation strategy advisor at Deloitte, and an officer at SRI (Stanford Research Institute). Whether in spite of or because of the daily dog-eat-dog of business, Laud developed interests distinct from his professional life. “I was looking to get involved with something at the other end of the ‘big business’ continuum,” he explains. That something turned out to be sled dogs and wildlife (especially wolf) advocacy.

As a consultant, Laud built an impressive cross-industry blue chip client list that includes Xerox, Microsoft, Exxon, GE, PepsiCo, and AT&T. He has also won several prestigious research awards from Ford, Philip Morris, and NCR. Today, he teaches both innovation and leadership courses in Baruch’s MBA program. These subject areas are a perfect fit for a professor like Laud because they capitalize on what an experienced executive can bring to the business classroom. “I know how companies innovate and grow, and I have ‘upward mobility expertise,’” he explains. “I can help students understand how careers are made and what is critical for the upward journey.” He is also heading a new executive education initiative for Zicklin.

But the classroom and the boardroom aren’t wild enough for Laud, who has chosen to welcome to his New Jersey home an ancient Arctic dog breed, the Alaskan malamute. His “sovereigns in fur,” Kiak and Tasha (whose favorite treats are pizza and ice cream and who view Laud’s entire home, according to him, as one big chew toy), are his companions in hiking, sledding, and “pulling anything you can attach a tow line to.” And the wildness doesn’t end there. Laud is also an environmental activist who has taken up the cause of wilderness and wolf preservation. He sits on the board of the International Wolf Center, remotely headquartered in Ely, Minnesota.

Closely observing his dogs and learning firsthand about wolf ecology have taught Laud about competition in some of its most raw, most natural forms. And although he doesn’t like to belabor the connections, the similarities between his vocations and his avocations are undeniable. “Phrases like ‘pack sell’ and ‘the wolves are circling’ are part of the business lexicon,” he admits. “The pack is all about leadership, survival of the fittest, territorial protection, loyalty, and, ultimately, group renewal. These concepts are a part of all nature and part of the highly competitive world of business, too.”

For more information, contact Dr. Robert Laud at robert_laud@baruch.cuny.edu.

 

—Diane Harrigan

Photo (top left) by Jerry Speier