Margaret Bishop, Adjunct Faculty, Independent Consultant
Margaret Bishop, Adjunct Faculty, Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), and Independent Consultant, USA
Undergraduate Degree and Major:
North Carolina State University, College of Textiles, BS, 1978
Graduate School(s)/Degree(s)/Year(s):
Krannert Graduate School of Management, Purdue University, MS in Management, 1985
Fashion Institute of Technology, MPS in Global Fashion Management, expected December 2011
What I do
At FIT I teach in both the Textile Development/Marketing Department and the International Trade and Marketing Department. Currently, I'm teaching an exciting International Marketing Research course that focuses on using leading-edge online and mobile marketing research and marketing methodologies in a real-life, client-based marketing project.
I also work as an international business consultant, assisting companies and governments around the world to enhance competitiveness and drive international trade. I've worked as a consultant in roughly 50 countries worldwide.
I recently developed and oversaw an initiative to facilitate major growth in Haiti's very important apparel industry by designing and launching the Haiti Apparel Center, a state-of-the-art training and technical assistance center in Port au Prince. It was one of the most exciting initiatives I've worked on around the world, and though we started well before the devastating January 2010 earthquake, we inaugurated the Center in August 2010, at a time when Haiti critically needed the new jobs the industry and Center will produce.
Though I've worked across a range of sectors (apparel/textiles, agribusiness, productive infrastructure, hand-crafted products, and tourism), I'm focusing more on apparel, textiles, and fashion today.
How has your degree served you?
My degree has served as a critical ticket to entry for most of the assignments I’ve taken on since completing my program. But perhaps more importantly, the skills I learned while earning the degree have proved invaluable to my success on the job. Beyond the specific skills of marketing, operations or strategic planning, for example, the degree has helped me develop the ability to take a broad, strategic perspective in designing an approach to an issue or task at hand – to "see the forest not just the trees."
In many of the smaller organizations and not-for-profits with which I've worked in my consulting, the degree has proven particularly helpful as a complement to the highly specialized skills the individuals in those organizations may have. When I encounter organizations where key individuals have graduate business degrees, I've generally noticed a significant difference in the management and administration of the organization and the projects they undertake.
What I enjoy most
What I enjoy most is the variety of experiences I get across companies, countries, and functional areas, and experiencing countries well beyond airport conference rooms. My consulting has taken me to major cities and tiny rural villages far beyond the international sites most global business people experience. It also means I need to maintain a very current skill set, because I'm never sure where the next assignment will take me, or exactly what it will involve. My consulting has allowed me to track gorillas in the mountains of Rwanda, visit the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon, and travel the Silk Route.
Why I enjoy least
The internal politics I see in some organizations is an unfortunate drag on resources.
Why did you choose this career?
For the opportunities to work overseas.
Why did you choose to get a graduate management degree?
My undergraduate degree was highly technical and I felt it was important to complement the technical background with a solid understanding of the functional areas of business such as marketing, finance, strategic planning.
What was your first job after receiving your management degree?
I was a marketing assistant at Kimberly-Clark Corporation.
What traits should someone have to be successful in your career?
I’ve identified three keys to success in my career:
- Tremendous flexibility, which is even more crucial now than five or ten years ago
- A willingness and ability to work outside your comfort zone – academically, emotionally, and physically
- A lifelong commitment to learn and evolve as the environment evolves.
To succeed in an MBA program, you need stamina, and an ability to step back and see the forest, not just the trees.
What advice would you give someone considering an MBA or other graduate management degree?
Know yourself and your personal values.
When considering graduate management programs, what do you suggest prospective students look for?
I recommend looking for a program that has an international cohort and a significant global, cross-cultural component. I've chronicled my personal experiences in diverse countries around the world in a book, titled “Now I Can Sit with the Old Men – Journeys on the Road to Wisdom,” available on lulu.com, amazon.com, and barnesandnoble.com.
