Going beyond the Classroom

 BizBlock, creating leaders who are ready to take on the world.

I recently had the pleasure to serve as a judge for the BizBlock program at Northern Arizona University.  This program is an intense nine credit block class held on campus in Flagstaff, AZ. The students are broken into 5-7 person teams and are instructed to create a business plan from creation to the stage just before funding would be received. This is an intense process and tests the team's ability to manage its time, resources, and the members in that team. Teams are required to show some creativity in their creation and to do extensive research and planning to determine if the business is viable. At the end of the program, the teams present their ideas to real life investors in an attempt to receive mock funds in the form of extra credit.  The presentations take place in a beautiful board room ostentatious enough to prepare them for any future board rooms.  This program is a requirement for all management majors and is generally taken the first semester of their junior year.

I was inspired by the hard work of these students.  The effort, time and deep thought they put into creating a business from initial idea down to very fine details is simply amazing.  The fact that they work with a team they didn't select themselves and bring it all together is a critical skill they need to work well in any business.  The student presentations are extremely professional from their attire and first impression they create the minute they walk in the room, the delivery of the material and their ability to answer any question that is asked of them on the spot.  Every team demonstrated a true knowledge of their subject matter.

As a business owner I am very drawn to this program because it truly prepares students beyond the classroom theory.  They do more than raise their hand in a classroom – they learn to find the answer, find the experts in the real world to learn about the business they are creating and truly master every aspect of that business.  

In addition to the massive amount of work the students do to create a business, I am also incredibly impressed with the additional skills they are taught by this outstanding group of professors.  These students are prepared well beyond the educational theory of the courses bundled in this program.  They learn in depth presentation skills including how to gesture and use your hands during a presentation.  They are also taught proper business etiquette and proper business dress (as shown in these pictures from this year's program).  I do not know of any other university programs that teach these important and differentiating skills.  It makes NAU students standout above the rest.

I truly enjoy working with this brilliant group of professors – Mary Bowers, Kevin Trainor and Chris

Scherpereel. They bring a great mix of knowledge and business experience and are a fun team to be with.  They work so well together that they could finish each other’s sentences but they are each unique with a different set of strengths to offer the students. 

We have already hired Victor Martinez, a member of the winning team from 2013, to work at Stowebridge Promotion Group.  This is a program that prepares students to hit the ground running once they leave the educational environment.

Thank you Northern Arizona University WA Franke College of Business for allowing me to spend time working with amazing students and professors.