Eli Jones, professor of promoting, Lowry and Peggy Mays Eminent Scholar, and the previous Dean of Mays Enterprise Faculty, photographed on the Wehner Constructing at Texas A&M College on April 27, 2022.
Laura McKenzie/Texas A&M College Division of Advertising & Communications
Nestled among the many rows of books, awards and educational journals that fill the cabinets and cupboards in Eli Jones’ West Campus workplace, a collection of framed pictures give a glimpse of the individuals, locations and moments which have formed the life and profession of the previous Mays Enterprise Faculty dean.
A lot of the photos characteristic household: Jones’ spouse, their 4 grownup youngsters — together with two being handed their faculty levels by their father — and 10 grandchildren. One other is with the enterprise college’s namesake and longtime benefactor, Lowry Mays. Alongside the alternative wall, aspect by aspect, are Jones’ three levels from Texas A&M: a bachelor’s in journalism, a Grasp of Enterprise Administration, and a Ph.D. in advertising and marketing.
“I’m within the enterprise of reworking lives. That’s my very own mission assertion that God gave me a few years in the past,” stated Jones, who was lately acknowledged as one of many enterprise college’s excellent alumni. “That’s what I’m right here to do.”
Since deciding to step down as dean final 12 months, Jones has absolutely embraced his function as a professor of promoting and the Lowry and Peggy Mays Eminent Scholar. He stated this transition from dean to senior college member has given him extra time to return to the type of work he initially joined the career to do — conducting cutting-edge analysis whereas working intently with doctoral college students and educating graduate and undergraduate college students at his beloved alma mater.
As his college students and colleagues know, Jones takes delight in passing on the wealth of data he has acquired within the classroom, the boardroom and in every single place in between. As a few of these college students graduate from Texas A&M this month, they’ll be coming into the world with loads of Jones’ knowledge to information them via their very own journeys. Jones stated if there’s one factor he hopes every realized, it’s that true success isn’t achieved by taking part in it secure.
“Step out of your consolation zone. Be brave, be daring, be proactive about pursuing alternatives,” Jones stated. “Take some dangers.”
From DJ To Dean
Because the son of two serial entrepreneurs, Jones realized the worth of each danger and onerous work at a really younger age. One in every of 4 siblings, he was born in Houston and grew up serving to with no matter enterprise his mother and father occurred to personal and handle on the time, from a dry cleaners in Houston to a ranch in Somerville to a comfort retailer in Bryan.
By the point he was a scholar at A&M, he had already launched into a profession of his personal, discovering work as a disc jockey at native radio stations KORA, KTAM and WTAW, amongst others. Jones remained on the air throughout his time as an undergraduate, even touchdown a weekend gig at Houston’s KMJQ, “Majic 102.1.” He commuted to and from Houston each weekend as a junior and senior in faculty.
As a younger man, Jones assumed a whole lot of obligations to stability, and at occasions, it appeared prefer it was virtually an excessive amount of to bear — particularly as he contended with the distinctive struggles of being a first-generation faculty scholar.
“Texas A&M wasn’t as large as it’s now, nevertheless it was nonetheless an enormous campus, particularly for a first-gen to navigate. All of this was new,” Jones stated. “That’s why I actually empathize with first-gens, as a result of I fully perceive what that’s like. Many occasions, you possibly can’t search assist from your loved ones about educational work, as a result of nobody has gone via the expertise.”
Regardless of these obstacles, Jones caught with it. He stated he was going to do no matter it took to construct the life he wished. “I realized from my dad — by no means be idle,” Jones stated.
One night time towards the top of an extended shift at KMJQ, Jones had a customer within the studio: a fellow music lover named Fern Walker. Their assembly was orchestrated by a mutual pal who was satisfied the 2 would hit it off. Fern made it clear that she was no fan of the younger DJ’s on-air persona, however as she talked with the actual Eli Jones, she began to really feel a connection.
The pair actually sang collectively till the solar got here up, and from that time on, they have been inseparable. They married and began a household instantly.
“I needed to develop up quick,” Jones stated. As a part of that course of, he determined to go away radio behind in favor of a job that might give him the means to help his rising household. And so he launched into profession quantity two: gross sales and gross sales management.
As soon as once more, Jones began native, discovering appreciable success as an advert salesperson for The Bryan-School Station Eagle through the early-to-mid 80s. He additionally continued his research at A&M, incomes his MBA in 1986 earlier than journeying out into the company world. Over the course of an extended and profitable profession in business-to-business gross sales and advertising and marketing, Jones held jobs with three family names: Quaker Oats, Nabisco and Frito Lay.
“Alongside the best way, I found that I actually loved educating my salespeople,” Jones stated. “That’s once I received the educating bug. Additionally, I typically referred to educational analysis in gross sales administration to steer my gross sales groups. I assumed perhaps I ought to take into account coming again right here and getting a Ph.D. and turning into an educational.”
In 1993, Jones did simply that. He left his profitable job to return to Texas A&M as a graduate scholar once more, this time along with his sights set on a doctorate. The transition into this third profession was not with out its challenges, however Jones stated he was greater than prepared to surrender a number of the luxuries of his previous life to observe this new calling.
“My household needed to sacrifice together with me, coming from an enormous, comfy dwelling once we have been in company and downsizing into a little bit duplex the place we lived on one aspect and rented the opposite aspect with the intention to pay the mortgage,” Jones stated. “That was an enormous sacrifice for my whole household once I give it some thought. My youngsters left their pals to fulfill new pals in class.”
In 1997, Jones walked throughout the commencement stage at A&M and stepped into a school place on the College of Houston. However he didn’t cease there. After working his method up from assistant professor to affiliate professor with tenure to full professor, Jones was contacted by Louisiana State College. They wanted a brand new dean for his or her faculty of enterprise, and Jones was the correct particular person for the job. After 4 years there, and three on the College of Arkansas’ Walton School of Enterprise, Jones received a name about a chance that appeared too good go up: “Lastly, I received the nod that I used to be in a position to come dwelling and lead the very faculty from which I graduated,” he stated.
Jones took over as dean of Mays Enterprise Faculty in 2015 and led it for six years. Throughout his tenure, the varsity celebrated its fiftieth anniversary and launched quite a lot of new applications and initiatives geared toward solidifying Mays’ place as one of many nation’s preeminent public enterprise faculties. By 2020, 4 out of 5 undergraduate applications at Mays have been listed within the prime 25 in U.S. Information and World Stories’ annual rankings, and all three of Mays’ MBA applications made the highest 20.
“To steer the enterprise college from which I graduated was very, very particular,” he stated.
What It Means To Lead
For Jones, efficient management boils down to a few totally different however intently associated ideas. By way of years of research and sensible expertise, he has woven these ideas collectively into his personal guiding management philosophy.
The primary pillar of this philosophy, main by instance, is so simple as it is necessary: “In gross sales, for instance, you’ve received to hold the bag earlier than you’re in a position to lead individuals who carry the bag,” Jones stated.
He noticed the worth of that strategy firsthand throughout his years in company, going along with his salespeople to name on prospects and even driving alongside on deliveries.
“I feel that’s necessary as a result of it helps one construct belief with the crew,” Jones stated. “Folks can relate to you and vice versa.
“Equally, as a dean, I by no means stopped engaged on analysis and publishing over the 13 years of being an administrator. I additionally taught as a lot as my loopy schedule allowed. I labored onerous to do the identical type of work as my colleagues.”
He continued to prioritize this type of management by instance whereas drawing additional on his experiences within the company world to emphasise the second pillar of his management technique: participative management.
“Sharing concepts, getting enter and getting others to take part — that engagement of staff is an important issue,” Jones stated. “That works very properly in academia as a result of we imagine in shared governance.”
Throughout his time on the helm of Mays, Jones put that concept into motion as the varsity labored to create and execute its 2017-2021 strategic plan, organized round a central imaginative and prescient: “to advance the world’s prosperity by being a vibrant studying group, creating impactful information, and growing transformational leaders.”
Jones made it clear that he wished everybody to have a say in that imaginative and prescient, internet hosting city halls and different occasions geared toward amassing enter from college and employees.
“In as we speak’s management, you’ve received to have the ability to interact individuals, to get them to purchase right into a imaginative and prescient and be a part of the visioning course of, which is essential,” Jones stated.
However the work doesn’t cease there. As Jones defined, a very good chief is one who offers crew members the instruments, sources and help they should make their shared imaginative and prescient a actuality. Therein lies the third pillar of Jones’ philosophy: servant management.
“It’s not about me,” he stated. “It’s about what I can do inside a company to completely allow individuals to do their jobs and succeed of their roles.”
For Dean Jones, that usually meant going out and elevating cash to finance modern applications and services. Underneath his watch, the enterprise college surpassed its fundraising targets through the college’s current Lead by Instance capital marketing campaign and even obtained the biggest single donation in its historical past from the Mays household. Of that $25 million donation, $15 million was put aside for a brand new Enterprise Training Complicated on West Campus, with development set to start late this 12 months.
The thought behind the brand new constructing is to create an area that accommodates new methods of educating and studying, together with loads of room for college kids to collaborate on varied sorts of tasks. Jones stated he’ll at all times be happy with the very important function he performed in initiating this challenge from the brainstorming section to hiring Invoice Peel, government director of Innovation and Strategic Planning, to shepherd the challenge, together with Interim Dean Duane Eire, and different colleagues, who’re bringing this imaginative and prescient to actuality.
“I’m very grateful to those colleagues, the donors, and to President Banks for his or her robust help of this challenge,” Jones stated.
“That’s management — to take one thing that’s normal, simply the kernel of an concept, and to construct round it and create, after which hastily it’s there. That’s thrilling.”
At its core, innovating is lots like creating music, stated Jones, who can typically be discovered taking part in the drums in jam periods with family and friends. Simply as musicians take disparate sounds and put them collectively to make one thing with a definite rhythm and really feel, he stated a very good chief should be capable of take summary ideas and concepts and form them into one thing concrete.
“We take one thing that doesn’t exist, and we create a sample of notes. We discover a rhythm, and once we all get into that rhythm, we make stunning music,” Jones stated.
Inside that construction, there’s some room to take dangers and check out new issues, he stated. Whereas it won’t at all times result in essentially the most harmonious sound or essentially the most fascinating end result, a little bit of risk-taking is usually needed if one hopes to create one thing actually significant.
“If you happen to’re going to innovate, it’s important to permit for some errors,” Jones stated. “The factor that might disappoint me is that if I seemed again and stated, ‘Throughout my time as dean, we did little or no. We stayed secure.’ I’m not that type of particular person. I wish to look again and say, ‘Wow, take a look at that creation. We did that.’”
And Jones just isn’t performed. Along with his analysis and educating obligations, he continues to share steerage with others via his new podcast, “Victory Groove,” and a current e-book of tales and classes about overcoming life’s challenges, “Run Towards Your Goliaths.”
Sometimes, he’ll obtain a message from a former scholar or colleague thanking him for his years of mentorship. As he reads these reminders, Jones stated he is aware of he’s nonetheless on the correct path.
“Each from time to time,” Jones stated, “somebody will ship me a thanks observe that jogs my memory that I’m certainly within the enterprise of reworking lives — and it’s working.”
