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Pivoting with Purpose feat. Will Eldridge '17
Manage episode 452251786 series 2818412
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Owl Have You Know is pleased to welcome Twice-Rice grad Will Eldridge – a consultant at Bain & Company and the president-elect of the Rice Business Alumni Association Board.
Will earned his Bachelor of Science in Civil & Environmental Engineering at Rice in 2017. But after an unforgettable experience in MAcc program director Ben Lansford’s class, he decided to pivot to accounting. Will went on to work at Deloitte as a senior auditor for oil and gas clients, before deciding to go back to school again for his MBA at Chicago Booth.
Will chats with Owl Have You Know guest host Brian Jackson '21 about his path from accounting to strategy consulting, the importance of mentorship, and why board service has given him a way to give back to his community in fulfilling ways.
Episode Guide:
00:53 Will's Favorite Career Pivot
02:00 Impact of Ben Lansford
03:22 Choosing Rice and Career Path
05:05 Experience at Deloitte
08:11 Transition to Consulting
09:46 Volunteering and Alumni Networks
15:30 Consulting Challenges and Skills
18:10 Personal Background and French Heritage
20:39 Commitment to Rice Business
23:33 Advice for Future Business Students
25:01 Classic Cocktails and Conclusion
Owl Have You Know is a production of Rice Business and is produced by University FM.
Episode Quotes:
Ben Lansford and MAcc program’s impact in Will’s journey from engineering to accounting
01:56: [Will Eldridge]: Yeah, of course. Ben is this amazing dad figure for a lot of us who found our way to the MAcc. I say that because he has these great dad jokes, but he also helps a lot of people find their way and is someone who has made accounting, which gets a bad rap in a lot of circles, you know, the favorite class that some people take. [02:26] And, you know, when they announced bringing this program back to Rice, there were no current or former students to speak to, but Ben Lansford had been hired. And I got coffee with him, I remember, and started talking about the program, the opportunities. And it was just a great connection that I know he's made with a lot of the students going through the program, and he really helped me understand how I could marry my current background with a master's degree in accounting and make that transition despite having not lot of accounting experience yet and gave me that confidence to make the transition.
After realizing that accounting wasn't his long-term goal, Will pivoted to strategy consulting.
The power of empathy in consulting
19:16: [Will Eldridge]: For one, approaching whatever you're presenting to them with a mindset of context reset, you're deep in the details, and it's hard to sometimes pull up and look at the work that you're presenting and remember the limited context that your client might have and how much else they have going on. So, there's definitely a level of empathizing that is really critical. And so, to put yourself in their shoes and think, you know, what are they coming at this from? What do they care about? What do they need to get out of this? And what is the one or two things they should take away from this conversation is a good frame of mind to take.
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