Reflecting on a Successful Tenure as Dean with Matt Waller
This week on the podcast, we turn the mic to Matt as he is interviewed by incoming interim dean and new podcast host, Brent Williams. They reflect on Matt's transformative 8-year tenure as dean and how they initially met when Brent was a student of Matt's. They discuss key highlights during Matt's time as dean and then look to the future. Looking ahead, Matt shares his plans to return to research and teaching, while also supporting entrepreneurs across Northwest Arkansas. Stay tuned for next week's episode where Matt will interview Brent about the future of the Walton College in his final episode as host.
Transcript
That difficult time I had made us better. We trusted
Matt Waller:each other more, because we had to trust each other more. And we
Matt Waller:were able to just work so efficiently and effectively. It
Matt Waller:was a it's a memorable time in my life.
Matt Waller:Excellence, professionalism, innovation, and collegiality.
Matt Waller:These are the values the Sam M. Walton College of Business
Matt Waller:explores in education, business and the lives of people we meet
Matt Waller:every day. I'm Matt Waller, Dean of the Walton College, and
Matt Waller:welcome to the be epic podcast.
Brent Williams:Well, I have with me today, Matt Waller for
Brent Williams:this audience. He probably needs absolutely no introduction. But
Brent Williams:you've been listening to him for some time as the moderator of
Brent Williams:this podcast. But Matt, as you know, is the outgoing dean of
Brent Williams:the Sam M. Walton College of Business, has been a professor
Brent Williams:at the University of Arkansas for many, many years, and has
Brent Williams:just been a valued member of the community here. So Matt, thank
Brent Williams:you for being willing to join me today.
Matt Waller:Thank you for having me. This is the first
Matt Waller:time I've been a guest on the be epic podcast. Thanks for taking
Matt Waller:it over.
Brent Williams:Yeah, you're on. You're on the other side of the
Brent Williams:of the table. Well, the last eight years that you have been
Brent Williams:dean at, I think, has truly been remarkable for the Walton
Brent Williams:College, I think the college has gone through in its history, you
Brent Williams:know, a couple of real transformational periods. But
Brent Williams:in, you know, being able to be around the Walton College for at
Brent Williams:least the last 20 years and understand a lot of its history.
Brent Williams:I I do think that the last eight years that you've been dean has
Brent Williams:been transformational. So, you know, well, one. And so I want
Brent Williams:to, I want to get to some of the highlights. But, you know, I was
Brent Williams:thinking that this audience with you, as the moderator may not
Brent Williams:have really gotten to hear your story. So I mentioned, you know,
Brent Williams:you've been a faculty here, but you've also been a founder,
Brent Williams:you're clearly an entrepreneur. So maybe tell us a little bit
Brent Williams:about your background?
Matt Waller:Sure. Well, when I came here, in 1994, I came as a
Matt Waller:visiting assistant professor, that means I had a job for a
Matt Waller:year, essentially, I didn't know exactly what I was going to do
Matt Waller:after that. But I, after I moved here, well, even before I moved
Matt Waller:here, I had been following what was going on with Walmart and
Matt Waller:the suppliers moving to town. And I remember even when I was a
Matt Waller:doctoral student at Penn State, I read an article about Walmart.
Matt Waller:I think this would have been in 1989. I can't remember,
Matt Waller:somewhere around there. I read an article about Walmart,
Matt Waller:sharing point of sale data with Procter and Gamble, and they
Matt Waller:were planning on rolling it out to all of their suppliers. So
Matt Waller:that means sales data by store by day on hand inventory, many
Matt Waller:other variables. And I got to thinking about it. And you know,
Matt Waller:part of this story really well. I was very fortunate at Penn
Matt Waller:State, I had some amazing classes and professors, I really
Matt Waller:did. And they were just leaders in their fields and research.
Matt Waller:But in one of the classes, it was a economics like an advanced
Matt Waller:economics class in macroeconomics class, we read a
Matt Waller:paper. I think it was called something like information
Matt Waller:substitutes for inventory. And it was just the idea that the
Matt Waller:more information you have, the less inventory you really need.
Matt Waller:Because inventory can help you still need some because you can
Matt Waller:economize by having more inventory. Anyway, I won't go
Matt Waller:into all of it, but you don't need as much safety stock. In
Matt Waller:other words, if you knew exactly what was gonna happen, then you
Matt Waller:could just have that that amount of inventory and you'd satisfy
Matt Waller:demand. You may still have some cycle stock for economizing on
Matt Waller:the inventory, transportation, for example, but I thought okay,
Matt Waller:this makes sense. Walmart would share this information to
Matt Waller:substitute for inventory. And in retail inventory is so critical.
Matt Waller:It's like, you can't live with it and you can't live without
Matt Waller:it. If you have too much inventory, your return on assets
Matt Waller:is going to go down your return and that will affect your stock
Matt Waller:price. If and you'll also have more inventory going bad if you
Matt Waller:have not enough inventory, you're gonna miss sales and you
Matt Waller:may miss the margin on those sales. You may have customers
Matt Waller:leave the store, eventually you may lose the customer
Matt Waller:altogether. And I believe based on my research that and
Matt Waller:experience that is part of the reason Kmart failed, you know
Matt Waller:Kmart, Walmart and Target all started in 1962. And Walmart
Matt Waller:just grew so fast. It's unbelievable. And I won't go
Matt Waller:into all of this, but I remember so before I came here, Kmart was
Matt Waller:bigger than Walmart. Yet again, through some I took a class in.
Matt Waller:And we didn't talk necessarily about Walmart, specifically, but
Matt Waller:I would happen to find articles on it. But we talked about
Matt Waller:economies of scope and economies of scale and how you build your
Matt Waller:network. And, you know, the Walmart idea of using
Matt Waller:distribution centers close to stores, was a unique idea. You
Matt Waller:know, the competitors to Walmart would just put stores in the
Matt Waller:best location. And Walmart would say, let's build the stores
Matt Waller:within a certain distance of a distribution center. Because by
Matt Waller:having them close, you can have a shorter lead times to the
Matt Waller:store, meaning you need less inventory at safety stock in the
Matt Waller:stores. But you can also have full truckloads to the stores.
Matt Waller:Heterogeneous truckloads. I won't go on and on about all
Matt Waller:this stuff. But my point is the seed had been planted for
Matt Waller:Northwest Arkansas. And I kept reading more about what was
Matt Waller:going on here. And I was fascinated by it. But I also
Matt Waller:talked to my doctoral peers, I would talk to my professors
Matt Waller:about it, they knew very little about, I knew more about Walmart
Matt Waller:than they did. But I was always using Walmart as an example of
Matt Waller:what I was learning. And Walmart, again, you could argue,
Matt Waller:well, okay, great. They're in a small part of the country.
Matt Waller:They're probably not going to do very well, given where they are,
Matt Waller:you know. But once the economies of scale kicked in, Walmart blew
Matt Waller:past everybody. And of course, Walmart is really good at
Matt Waller:pivoting, which is a whole nother story. So when I first
Matt Waller:came here, I was very fortunate. I got to have lunch with Lee
Matt Waller:Scott, who was Executive Vice President of logistics, for
Matt Waller:Walmart. I had no idea who was going to become a CEO. We had a
Matt Waller:long lunch. And he agreed to he got me involved in a project at
Matt Waller:Walmart. And I, my co author was a industrial engineering
Matt Waller:professor. And we worked on this cool optimization problem. And I
Matt Waller:got to know a bunch of people there and loved it. And I won't
Matt Waller:go on and on. But I've always been involved with Walmart to
Matt Waller:some degree, and the vendors and the carriers. And so my
Matt Waller:knowledge of the retail value chain just kept going up.
Matt Waller:Because I kept, I started doing lots of research and I, I did
Matt Waller:research and, you know, on the intersection of merchandising
Matt Waller:and logistics, and lots of other areas, but so I came here, there
Matt Waller:was only, I had a year. And I met some business people, some
Matt Waller:retired people from Walmart. And there were four of them. And we
Matt Waller:started a consulting firm, early on in my time here, doesn't
Matt Waller:exist anymore. But it was called Bentonville Associates, which is
Matt Waller:a cool name you know.
Brent Williams:Yeah.
Matt Waller:It it signals what it is pretty quickly. And within
Matt Waller:the first year, we I think we did $650,000 year one, and we
Matt Waller:had no overhead. And we didn't even have to rent the space
Matt Waller:because one of my partners owned the first real major office park
Matt Waller:here, Bo Terre. And so we use space there. We even used his
Matt Waller:admin. So I mean, it was, you know, that's the thing about
Matt Waller:Walmart. They think let's do things efficiently. And it was a
Matt Waller:good lesson for me in life. I live that way personally, as you
Matt Waller:know. And but I thought, wow, it makes so much sense. You can
Matt Waller:make better decisions when you're frugal. You're not
Matt Waller:dependent on every dollar, you know, you can say let's do
Matt Waller:what's best. But so I Doyle Williams was dean at the time,
Matt Waller:and he was unbelievably good dean, great dean.
Brent Williams:I think he was the other period of
Brent Williams:transformation by the way.
Matt Waller:Oh my gosh, he was remarkable. And I was fortunate
Matt Waller:in that similar to you, he let me get involved in things I had
Matt Waller:no business being involved in, including the first gift, the
Matt Waller:big gift we got from the Walton Family Charitable Support
Matt Waller:Foundation, the $50 million that resulted in us being the Walton
Matt Waller:College of Business, I got involved in that process a
Matt Waller:little bit early on, and I was an assistant professor, so I
Matt Waller:did, Doyle, the other thing is Doyle believed in me. And so he
Matt Waller:took a position an existing position from the finance
Matt Waller:department and moved it to the marketing department, because we
Matt Waller:didn't have our own department back then, it was marketing and
Matt Waller:transportation. And and I got that position.
Brent Williams:Well, you know, I don't know that I've thought
Brent Williams:about this, Matt. But it's kind of a funny story, Doyle believed
Brent Williams:in you, and found a position and made it happen. And I don't know
Brent Williams:if you remember this. When I was transitioning from the master's
Brent Williams:program to the Ph D program, there was not a slot for me. And
Brent Williams:you believed in me, and you had to go find that slot and made it
Brent Williams:happen. I've never thought about the parallel between those
Brent Williams:stories.
Matt Waller:Boy, that's true. And I had to go to another
Matt Waller:department, I actually went to, well, I had to do a bunch of
Matt Waller:things. But one, one thing was funding. And so, Bill Hargrave,
Matt Waller:who's now the president of the University of Memphis, was
Matt Waller:running the RFID Lab. And there was a project we were working
Matt Waller:on, and I said, hey, could we fund this doctoral student? He
Matt Waller:said, absolutely. He's a great guy to collaborate with.
Brent Williams:Well, Bill reminded me of that many years
Brent Williams:ago, when I was at Auburn, and told him, I was coming to
Brent Williams:Arkansas. He was my dean at Auburn. And he reminded me of
Brent Williams:that story.
Matt Waller:Well, you know, and it gets this gets back to this
Matt Waller:concept of being frugal, too. Okay, we didn't have enough
Matt Waller:resources for it. But we figured out how to make it work. I think
Matt Waller:that sometimes, being a little scarce on resources teaches you
Matt Waller:to be more creative, more innovative, more
Matt Waller:entrepreneurial, you know. And, boy, when I look at, you know,
Matt Waller:the resources we have today, compared to what we had, then
Matt Waller:it's so different. I remember, as a new professor here, there
Matt Waller:used to be this rule that. So we have the University of Arkansas
Matt Waller:Fort Smith, but it used to be called West Ark Community
Matt Waller:College. And there were some rule that we had to teach an MBA
Matt Waller:class there every year, at least one per year. And I had the
Matt Waller:fortune of being selected because I was the newbie, I
Matt Waller:think I did it while I was a visiting assistant professor.
Matt Waller:Yeah. So I had to teach this course in Fort Smith. And back
Matt Waller:then we didn't have I 49. And the road was very dangerous. And
Matt Waller:I taught it on Monday nights, from six to 10, six to 10. And
Matt Waller:you know, Brent, I'm a morning person. I'm in bed by nine
Matt Waller:o'clock. And so I had to drive down this really dangerous road.
Matt Waller:And I found out later, it was the sixth most dangerous road in
Matt Waller:the United States based on deaths per mile per year. And I
Matt Waller:was, so I struggling you know I would teach. And it took a long
Matt Waller:time. Now, it's pretty quick to get to Fort Smith. But back then
Matt Waller:it took a long, long drive.
Brent Williams:Well, I mean, quite a departure, you know,
Brent Williams:from where the Walton College is and the, you know, the, I guess,
Brent Williams:and you've, you've been a huge part of finding ways to I think
Brent Williams:you have infused an entrepreneurial spirit into into
Brent Williams:us as a college that I think existed, but you really helped
Brent Williams:to accelerate that. And, you know, when you look back over
Brent Williams:the last eight years, that you've served as dean, and while
Brent Williams:I know hard at times, I truly believe you've loved it and
Brent Williams:given it absolutely everything you had. What are some of the
Brent Williams:highlights that really stand out to you during that period?
Matt Waller:Well, that's a good, good question. I'm gonna
Matt Waller:bring up one that's very personal. And it shows the
Matt Waller:importance of having a good team. So you are an Associate
Matt Waller:Dean, Anne O'Leary Kelly, Alan Ellstrand. And we had Tanya and
Matt Waller:the whole team and in 2017, I was diagnosed with colorectal
Matt Waller:cancer that had spread and yeah, it didn't look good. I had to go
Matt Waller:through radiation and chemo and the fall in the fall, spring of
Matt Waller:17, surgeries in the summer of 17 more chemo in the fall, and
Matt Waller:then a final surgery in November of 2017. And, you know, when I
Matt Waller:was, I had only been dean for two years by that point. And I
Matt Waller:talked to some people and I said, Matt, you're gonna, you're
Matt Waller:gonna really feel tired after the chemo and the radiation and
Matt Waller:weak. And I thought, oh my gosh, because you're right, I love I
Matt Waller:love being dean. And I loved great being an entrepreneurial
Matt Waller:dean and being starting new things and growing them. And I
Matt Waller:thought, well, I'm not going to have the energy for that. You
Matt Waller:know? And, but, so I started thinking about delegating more.
Matt Waller:So this was a great lesson for me. But it's a lesson to anyone,
Matt Waller:the importance of delegation. Okay, so I had to delegate a
Matt Waller:bunch of stuff to my entire team, because I thought that I
Matt Waller:was gonna be weak, and not be able to operate fully. And, of
Matt Waller:course, I was in the hospital for a month in Dallas, and, and
Matt Waller:you and I was in the hospital for 10 days in Northwest
Matt Waller:Arkansas, in November, I think, or October, no November. But,
Matt Waller:but I delegated all this work to you all. And it turns out, I
Matt Waller:didn't have as bad a reaction to the radiation and chemo, as a
Matt Waller:lot of people do. And I was able to function quite well, I, I
Matt Waller:worked every day, I never missed one day of work, due to chemo
Matt Waller:and radiation, at least in the spring. Now, in the fall, there
Matt Waller:was one exception where I did. But you know, we got a lot done
Matt Waller:in 2017. And I wouldn't have got as much done, had I not
Matt Waller:delegated. So my sickness, forced me to delegate, but that
Matt Waller:delegation wouldn't have worked if I wouldn't have had a good
Matt Waller:team. So people that are listening to this, I can say one
Matt Waller:leadership takeaway that I've learned, is build a great team
Matt Waller:and delegate to them. And don't micromanage them.
Brent Williams:Well, and I think maybe that connects to you
Brent Williams:know, what I would have added to that, which was empowerment, you
Brent Williams:know, so when I think about being a part of that, one, we
Brent Williams:were a close team, in a really short period of time, we had
Brent Williams:bonded, and we're all on the same page, and all understood
Brent Williams:the mission and what we were trying to accomplish. But I
Brent Williams:think Anne and Alan would agree with me that we all felt
Brent Williams:empowered. And we felt empowered to make decisions. We felt
Brent Williams:supported when we made those decisions, even if they weren't,
Brent Williams:right. And there's absolutely no doubt that we I'm sure made
Brent Williams:mistakes and might have made decisions that you wouldn't have
Brent Williams:made. But I think that boy that period really created trust. And
Brent Williams:it it just gave us more bandwidth in a really short
Brent Williams:period of time that seemed to launch us into that next phase,
Brent Williams:even though it came from, you know, something terrible.
Matt Waller:Well, that's right. And I was really sad about it.
Matt Waller:Because I probably get too much of my identity from my job. And
Matt Waller:at my accomplishments, you know, I thrive in that and probably
Matt Waller:too much, but I was so sad when this diagnosis came. I was not
Matt Waller:scared. Even though I had heard I may have only a 10% chance of
Matt Waller:living five years. That didn't scare me as much as the thought
Matt Waller:of not being able to do a good job by far, and I was sad for a
Matt Waller:long time. And so once I started getting the radiation and chemo,
Matt Waller:I realized, oh, I can do okay, I'd already delegated a bunch of
Matt Waller:stuff. And I was supposed to be in the hospital for three days
Matt Waller:in June of that year and I wound up being there a month. Thank
Matt Waller:goodness I delegated. And you really took the ball and ran
Matt Waller:with the McMillon Studio. We had already had the gift but you
Matt Waller:know we got that going. We got the Brewer Hub up and running
Matt Waller:that year. We got a $7 million gift for the supply chain policy
Matt Waller:initiative. We got the online accounting degree created, the
Matt Waller:online undergraduate supply chain management degree. And
Matt Waller:then in the next year, you know, the Blockchain Center of
Matt Waller:Excellence was started, which was terrific. And we started the
Matt Waller:Dean's roundtable of entrepreneurs and market makers.
Matt Waller:And then we got the Walton College at 2nd and main going,
Matt Waller:we got another million dollar gift from Doug and Shelly
Matt Waller:McMillon, and then things just started rocketing from there.
Matt Waller:That's, I really think 2020 is when all of the fruit of that
Matt Waller:started being manifested because in 2020, we started a brand new
Matt Waller:department, the department of strategy, entrepreneurship, and
Matt Waller:venture innovation, which has been great. The supply chain
Matt Waller:undergraduate program got ranked number one in North America by
Matt Waller:Gartner, the Dillard the the accounting department got
Matt Waller:endowed with a $10 million gift William Dillard Department of
Matt Waller:Accounting, we created the Master of Science in economic
Matt Waller:analytics, the Master of Professional Accounting, the
Matt Waller:Master of Applied Business Analytics, master of supply
Matt Waller:chain management, Master of Science in finance. We started
Matt Waller:the business integrity leadership Initiative, with
Matt Waller:Cindy Moehring, who used to be the chief ethics officer at
Matt Waller:Walmart for 20 years, we started the supply chain hall of fame in
Matt Waller:Rogers, the we got a gift from JB Hunt for 2.2 million. All of
Matt Waller:that really happened in 2020. But it was based on work that
Matt Waller:had already really been done, it just came to fruition. And I do
Matt Waller:think you're right, that that difficult time I had made us
Matt Waller:better. We trusted each other more, because we had to trust
Matt Waller:each other more. And we were able to just work so efficiently
Matt Waller:and effectively. It was a it's a memorable time in my life. This
Matt Waller:doesn't happen much in leadership teams. There's very
Matt Waller:few times throughout history, where you get to experience that
Matt Waller:kind of productivity as a team really.
Brent Williams:I couldn't agree more. You're right. And and then
Brent Williams:you get that really creates joy out of the work.
Matt Waller:It does.
Brent Williams:You know. So, as Dean, you know, when I think
Brent Williams:back to what you just read us, I mean, there truly was an
Brent Williams:entrepreneur, entrepreneurial, I guess, mindset that was really
Brent Williams:at hand. And in doing that, I think that wasn't about us. It
Brent Williams:was about really serving our stakeholders, right, it was
Brent Williams:about bettering our students, it was about getting them better
Brent Williams:jobs and helping them succeed in life. And then, you know, it's
Brent Williams:about serving our state better by bringing expertise. It truly
Brent Williams:was about building things that built up our stakeholders.
Matt Waller:Well you know, the entrepreneur mindset. Really,
Matt Waller:it's about saying, what are the problems out there? And how can
Matt Waller:we overcome those problems? If you look at what we did over the
Matt Waller:past eight years, as a team, we focused on that we see an issue.
Matt Waller:We try to address it. And we don't I mean, you look at all
Matt Waller:these things we did. We didn't have the resources to do it. But
Matt Waller:we did it. And it generated more resources than we could have
Matt Waller:ever imagined. The budget of the college has just grown
Matt Waller:dramatically. And we're contributing back to the
Matt Waller:university a lot of resources as well.
Brent Williams:Yeah, a virtuous cycle.
Matt Waller:It is.
Brent Williams:Well, let me switch gears to the podcast. You
Brent Williams:know, you've had, you've had some dedicated listeners for the
Brent Williams:last several years. And I think that as of your last podcast, I
Brent Williams:think it's around 240 episodes, if not maybe a touch more. So,
Brent Williams:you know, for those that have been dedicated listeners
Brent Williams:following along, what is the podcast experience been for you?
Brent Williams:Why did you think it was so important because you've clearly
Brent Williams:dedicated a lot of your time and resources to it. But I think
Brent Williams:it's made a tremendous impact for expanding the reach of the
Brent Williams:college.
Matt Waller:First of all, there's no other dean of a
Matt Waller:business school that has 240 podcasts. So I, you know, we,
Matt Waller:our college podcast episodes, usually universities, and Dean's
Matt Waller:or whoever start them and they quit, or they start them and
Matt Waller:then handed off to someone else. I felt it was important to stick
Matt Waller:with it. And I'm glad you want to do it and continue it.
Matt Waller:Because if you think about it, one of the most important
Matt Waller:variables in leadership is setting the direction of
Matt Waller:whatever entity it is gaining alignment of people, motivating
Matt Waller:people. And the podcast can do that in so many different ways.
Matt Waller:You know, you you wind up, of course, I have talked to
Matt Waller:faculty, staff, alumni, and other people. Sometimes I read a
Matt Waller:book and I think I really liked this, I call the author and say,
Matt Waller:can I interview you for this book, I've done that maybe four
Matt Waller:or five times maybe more than that. But with alumni, and not
Matt Waller:just alumni, but people somehow who might be related to the
Matt Waller:college in some way or should be related. It forms a bond between
Matt Waller:between them and the college, when they finally do a podcast.
Matt Waller:And then me as the dean, I've actually had people asked me,
Matt Waller:you know, why don't you just have someone else do the podcast
Matt Waller:rather than you? And the answer is, I'm the leader of the
Matt Waller:college I, I'm the one that takes responsibility for
Matt Waller:boundary spanning and for sense making. And boundary spanning
Matt Waller:and sense making are two important functions of a leader.
Matt Waller:And so in a way, this allows me to span the boundaries, but it
Matt Waller:also allows me to make sense to to engage in sense making I hear
Matt Waller:something, and in the podcast, I'll start talking about how it
Matt Waller:relates to the college. And so people say, oh, that's how it
Matt Waller:relates to the college. And I think as you know, we've
Matt Waller:actually had, I remember a few years ago, there was a student
Matt Waller:who was a freshman at KU. And he started listening to our
Matt Waller:podcast. KU, University of Kansas. And he thought, there's
Matt Waller:more going on at Arkansas, and Walton College than I'm seeing
Matt Waller:going on here. No offense to KU, but it's a this is what he said.
Matt Waller:And he switched. his sophomore year, he was here in the Walton
Matt Waller:College, he's graduated.
Brent Williams:As dean, you're certainly the chief executive.
Brent Williams:But I think in watching you in the role, you also served as
Brent Williams:chief learner for the college. And I think that this podcast
Brent Williams:was probably a way for you to learn from more than 240 people.
Matt Waller:I've learned something from every podcast,
Matt Waller:some podcasts, I've learned a lot. And one thing I noticed,
Matt Waller:when you do a podcast recording interview of someone, you
Matt Waller:remember more content, than if you just have a discussion with
Matt Waller:someone. At least that's been true for me, it anchors it in
Matt Waller:your brain. And so then when you see them the next time you
Matt Waller:remember all this content, and it allows you to connect to them
Matt Waller:better, but it also has actually made me start, some of the
Matt Waller:initiatives I've started in part have been a result of things
Matt Waller:I've learned through the podcasts. And also you learn
Matt Waller:things that people don't want public. There's been times I've
Matt Waller:interviewed faculty, staff, students, alumni, and they'll
Matt Waller:say, let me tell you something, Matt, I'm not gonna say this on
Matt Waller:the podcast, but I've been wanting to tell you this. So it
Matt Waller:gives people a opportunity to share things with you that they
Matt Waller:wouldn't normally share. And I think that the fact that you're
Matt Waller:inviting someone to be on the podcast, it starts. It shows
Matt Waller:that, you know, trust has three components. And one component is
Matt Waller:that you have the person's best interests in mind. And that
Matt Waller:component, like if you if you, if you have someone on as to
Matt Waller:interview them, it shows you care about them to some degree,
Matt Waller:or you wouldn't have mind. So trust starts building as a
Matt Waller:result of that.
Brent Williams:Well, I'm excited to keep the podcast
Brent Williams:going. I think it's very important. And I look forward to
Brent Williams:meeting all the future guests and learning from them. This is
Brent Williams:a tremendous opportunity for me. So thank you for making it a
Brent Williams:reality. And I know for those of us that have been dedicated
Brent Williams:listeners, we've all learned from you and from your guests.
Brent Williams:So here's a question that I think you we've got to be of
Brent Williams:interest to those that have followed you and followed the
Brent Williams:podcast. Well so you've been dean for eight years, well, one,
Brent Williams:why are you going back to faculty? And but you know, after
Brent Williams:you explain that, tell us a little bit more about what's in
Brent Williams:your plans.
Matt Waller:Sure. So, you know, I believe in rotational
Matt Waller:leadership, there's this concept called rotational leadership.
Matt Waller:And I've encouraged it in our college, I like to take people
Matt Waller:out of positions, they're comfortable in after a few years
Matt Waller:and put them somewhere else. I mean, amongst the associate,
Matt Waller:deans, we've mixed up all kinds of thing. But I do think, you
Matt Waller:know, it's like for department chairs, I don't think department
Matt Waller:chairs should be in that position for 10, more than 10
Matt Waller:years for sure. Eight years is probably enough. Now, there's
Matt Waller:some cases where you need to keep them going. So I want to
Matt Waller:say this. And I've said this publicly before, if you were not
Matt Waller:wanting to be Dean, I wouldn't step down right now. Because
Matt Waller:even though I think it's better for me to rotate out, I wouldn't
Matt Waller:do it unless I knew there was someone really good to take my
Matt Waller:place. And in your case, I think you will excel as dean, I think
Matt Waller:you're gonna take us to new levels.
Brent Williams:Thank you.
Matt Waller:I wouldn't step down right now. Now. And usually
Matt Waller:they don't let Dean's be a part of the search process to replace
Matt Waller:them, which I think is a mistake. Who else? I mean, you
Matt Waller:definitely want the input of the sitting dean or the former dean.
Matt Waller:I don't understand that at all. But but that's what I would do.
Matt Waller:And but you're ready. There's no question in my mind. And I've
Matt Waller:used a lot of my entrepreneurial spirit has been important during
Matt Waller:this phase. I think you bring things that I don't have, that
Matt Waller:we need. And I think that, and I know you do, because I've worked
Matt Waller:with you for 20 years, so I know what your strengths are. And I
Matt Waller:think it's time for a change. I've given my best to this
Matt Waller:organization. But I'm also a little bit like that I I prefer
Matt Waller:new things now that this I'm so if you would have asked me year
Matt Waller:one, do you think you'll stay in this job for eight years? I
Matt Waller:would have said no.
Brent Williams:I would have agreed with that, knowing you
Brent Williams:eight years ago. Yeah.
Matt Waller:It's just not me to do that. I've been very loyal to
Matt Waller:the university. I've stayed here for 30 years, but I come into
Matt Waller:1994. I quickly be you know, I'm a very loyal person. And it
Matt Waller:would be hard for me to leave the University of Arkansas, all
Matt Waller:my friends are here. I mean, I know so many people in all the
Matt Waller:colleges of our campus. We have lots of wonderful people. And
Matt Waller:especially, of course, I know a lot of people in the Walton
Matt Waller:College. And I wouldn't want to leave, it's just not in me. I've
Matt Waller:had lots of opportunities to do so. But I would feel I just
Matt Waller:wouldn't feel good about it at this point. I, this is my
Matt Waller:university, that I'm part of, this my college. And so that's
Matt Waller:part of the reason I think it's time for me to leave. I also
Matt Waller:think I can help Northwest Arkansas and the state as a
Matt Waller:professor, more than I can as Dean now I've got, I've become
Matt Waller:aware of some things I'll share some ideas of what's going on.
Brent Williams:I was about to say for most that's probably a
Brent Williams:counterintuitive statement. I believe it's true. I understand
Brent Williams:for you why it may be true, but share a little more.
Matt Waller:Sure. And so I want to say this over the next year.
Matt Waller:As I continue to prepare for teaching and I'm already doing
Matt Waller:research again, by the way, I was way behind on research, I
Matt Waller:had no pipeline and I just remember I just noticed the
Matt Waller:other day I've got to be careful now because I've got like seven
Matt Waller:major projects going. But I do I you know if you look at if you
Matt Waller:look at professors by citations on Google Scholar. I'm in the
Matt Waller:top 20 at the University of Arkansas. I want to maintain
Matt Waller:that I want, I'm 58. I'm going to turn 59 in August. I hope to
Matt Waller:be able to be a great contributor for at least 10 more
Matt Waller:years, maybe 12. Maybe, maybe till I'm 70 or 71, or 72, I
Matt Waller:don't know. But tell me, Brent, when, I when I am doing terrible
Matt Waller:in the classroom, I hope you tell me to leave. But my goal is
Matt Waller:to be one of the top researchers in the Walton College and in the
Matt Waller:country in supply chain management. And I having been
Matt Waller:dean, I've seen it all. I actually know how to do it now.
Matt Waller:I did, I did pretty well before. But I know way more about how to
Matt Waller:do it now. And I'm young enough to where I can still do it.
Brent Williams:There's absolutely no doubt in my mind
Brent Williams:that you will be tremendous in the faculty role. And I'm
Brent Williams:thrilled that you've chosen to stay as a faculty member in the
Brent Williams:Walton College of Business. I know you're going to do some
Brent Williams:other things too, what's what's in what's in the works? To
Brent Williams:really drive the you know, you mentioned, continuing to advance
Brent Williams:Northwest Arkansas and the state of Arkansas. And that's, you
Brent Williams:know, I think so appealing to me to hear you say that.
Matt Waller:I will I want to talk about an elephant in the
Matt Waller:room before I get on to that,
Brent Williams:Okay.
Matt Waller:And the elephant is many people know, I applied to
Matt Waller:be chancellor and I didn't get it. And I just want to say this,
Matt Waller:and I mean it I'm not Brent knows this, and people who work
Matt Waller:with me know this. I'm glad I didn't get it. I mean, this is
Matt Waller:not a way of just dealing with something. There was a part of
Matt Waller:me that was disappointed, I was ready for something new. And I
Matt Waller:thought I had some ideas that could really advance the the
Matt Waller:university actually some of the things I did at the college I
Matt Waller:wanted to do at the university, it would have been very hard to
Matt Waller:do but but I think I fully support Charles, he's doing a
Matt Waller:great job and Terry, I'm behind them, and I will help them if
Matt Waller:they call upon me for help. I'll be there. There's no sour
Matt Waller:grapes. I'm really blessed in that it's just not a part of my
Matt Waller:wiring. I think it's one of the reasons why I've been a
Matt Waller:successful entrepreneur, I can try something, if it doesn't
Matt Waller:work, I can go on to the next thing and I don't dwell on it, I
Matt Waller:go to the next thing I didn't become chancellor, I was not
Matt Waller:selected. I don't think I did as good a job in the interview
Matt Waller:process, as my competitors did. I'm not sure that I even have
Matt Waller:the background necessary for it. So I'm thankful. And now that it
Matt Waller:had quite a few months, I guess almost a year since I found that
Matt Waller:I wasn't in the running. I have discovered. wow the
Matt Waller:opportunities are unbelievable. I mean, I've always you know,
Matt Waller:Brent, I've always at the university as a professor,
Matt Waller:you're allowed to do one day per week outside of the university
Matt Waller:of consulting or working with industry or whatever. And I and
Matt Waller:we have to fill out a conflict of interest form and come up
Matt Waller:with a plan and fill out an outside employment form if
Matt Waller:that's necessary. And I've done it every year I've been here.
Matt Waller:I've always been engaged. And there's many summers. I took
Matt Waller:note most of the summers before I was an administrator. I took
Matt Waller:no compensation, because I wanted to be fully outside. And
Matt Waller:I did. And in fact, I took a leave of absence one semester
Matt Waller:with Bentonville Associates. I left the university for a few
Matt Waller:years, gave up my tenure, because of Mercari technologies.
Matt Waller:My software company came back in 2002. So I am an entrepreneur,
Matt Waller:I've got things going on already. And I'm very blessed
Matt Waller:with my network, which is off the charts incredible. Now, one
Matt Waller:thing I'm doing again, that I think will help this will be
Matt Waller:announced more fully soon. But, you know, we've got lots of
Matt Waller:entrepreneurs support organizations in Northwest
Matt Waller:Arkansas. We have the big companies here have venture
Matt Waller:arms. We have a few venture capital companies. We've got
Matt Waller:some private equity companies. We've got seed funding going on,
Matt Waller:and we have small businesses. And so I'm going to be helping
Matt Waller:bring focus to companies that fall into the retail value
Matt Waller:chain, in Northwest Arkansas, we're going to do this through
Matt Waller:the Northwest Arkansas Council, but I'm going to be leading that
Matt Waller:through the council. That is, all these organizations, plug
Matt Waller:and play, and many others are engaged in these things. But
Matt Waller:there's no one that is bringing a focus to it. But if you look
Matt Waller:at it, there is nothing in Northwest Arkansas, or the state
Matt Waller:of Arkansas in my opinion, that has more brand equity, more
Matt Waller:talent, than the retail value chain, that includes logistics,
Matt Waller:supply chain, retail, CPG, and technology associated with that.
Matt Waller:That's been my career here, too. It's been my research, it's been
Matt Waller:my teaching, it's been my company's my consulting,
Matt Waller:everything's been kind of in the retail value chain for Matt
Matt Waller:Waller. Now, what I want to do is try to help the region
Matt Waller:develop it further. And I'm blessed in that I can do it now.
Brent Williams:Well, Matt, at the beginning of the podcast, I
Brent Williams:should have introduced you as a force for good because I believe
Brent Williams:that to be true, and I'm excited for your future. Because you are
Brent Williams:going to be a force for good in the region. Well, one in your
Brent Williams:family, like you have your entire life. And with your
Brent Williams:friends, this region, this state and I actually think the world.
Brent Williams:And in doing so and your alignment with our strategy as a
Brent Williams:college, our strategic areas of focus, retail, supply chain
Brent Williams:management, analytics, entrepreneurship, everything
Brent Williams:you're doing is completely aligned with the strategy of the
Brent Williams:Walton College. And as a faculty member doing all these things,
Brent Williams:you're going to shine a great light on us and reflect so well
Brent Williams:on the college. So I'm excited for your future. And, you know,
Brent Williams:I've got to say I think I get an opportunity to thank you, I
Brent Williams:thank you on behalf of me for what you've done for me
Brent Williams:personally, for this college over the last eight years and
Brent Williams:really your whole career. And I thank you on behalf of this
Brent Williams:faculty and staff because I think every one of them would
Brent Williams:thank you if they are sitting in this chair, I just get to be the
Brent Williams:one that says it. And and thank you on behalf of all of our
Brent Williams:alumni and our state. You've done an amazing job as dean, and
Brent Williams:we're thankful that you're gonna continue to be a part of the
Brent Williams:Walton College of Business.
Matt Waller:That's very encouraging. I appreciate it.
Brent Williams:Thank you, Matt.
Matt Waller:Thanks.
Brent Williams:On behalf of the Walton College thank you for
Brent Williams:joining us for this captivating conversation. To stay connected
Brent Williams:and never miss an episode. Simply search for be epic on
