Unlike me, he is set to graduate in December. Even though I will be an undergraduate student until May, he got me thinking.
Each day, graduation is in the back of my mind. Though I might not be consciously aware of it at every waking moment, my mind is filled with thoughts about which journalism job positions will fit my skills and which companies will welcome my resume. And where will I live after May 4, 2012?
It’s only October; I realize that. Leaves have barely begun to fall. But when I look back on the past month and a half since moving back to campus, I notice how fast time is passing.
As part of my volunteer role as a co-op connector, acting as a liaison between students on co-op and the Co-op Connections office, I attended an event Tuesday night hosted by the Office of Alumni Relations. Eric Kaplan, 1990 graduate of the College of Arts and Sciences, was the key speaker of “Sweet Success: A Recipe for the Future.”
As the president and chief operating officer of Max Brenner, Chocolate by the Bald Man, he surprisingly said he doesn’t consider himself an entrepreneur.
“I wouldn’t label myself as an entrepreneur. I would call myself an opportunist,” he said during his hour-long talk.
Before beginning his position with the franchise in 2007, Kaplan worked first at the former Houlihan’s restaurant in Faneuil Hall and then at The Cheesecake Factory for 12 years. His alignment with successful entrepreneurs in the food industry gave him the chance to work with and learn from various individuals, he said.
The franchise is located in Israel, Australia, Singapore, the Philippines, New York City, Philadelphia, Las Vegas and, since March, Boston at 745 Boylston St. Desserts make up 30 percent of the items that leave the kitchen, but there is also a bar at the Boston location and a menu that focuses on lunch food options.
Kaplan credits luck and risk, and the ability to take the opportunity to sit and listen to other people, as the keys to his success.
“You have to be real with yourself to figure out where you want to go … If you can be real with yourself, you can align what you do well [with the experts],” Kaplan said. “Know your shortcomings and what you don’t like.”
As I sat in the audience listening to Kaplan, his experiences and advice reminded me of the visions of the late Steve Jobs.
Last Wednesday the world lost a man who people have called the Thomas Edison of our generation. Jobs, who resigned as chief executive of Apple Computer Inc. just weeks before his death due to pancreatic cancer, was a world-changer, a demanding visionary who transformed the future through computers, iPods, iPads and Apple Stores, just to name a few.
In his commencement address to Stanford University in 2005, Jobs told the graduating students to have the courage to follow their hearts and intuitions.
“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.”
At Northeastern earlier this week, Kaplan advised the members of the audience – mostly alumni and a handful of students – to be passionate about their jobs, and to go to work loving the company’s brand or product, not just a co-worker. The brand will most likely always be there, but the person will not. He acknowledged Northeastern’s co-op program as the vehicle that helped him to decide which occupations he enjoyed, as well as the job positions he disliked. I hope, and believe, I will someday relate.
“Without making mistakes, you’re never going to succeed,” Kaplan said. “All those trials and tribulations are a big, big part of [success].”
–Michele Richinick can be reached at [email protected]
