Hear the Conversation 10:10 – 5.8 mb mp3
Hear the Enhanced Conversation 10:10 – 4.6 mb m4a

Michigan State University President Lou Anna Simon tells Spartans what they need to know about the state of the FRIB project in light of Energy Secretary Chu’s remarks last week at the Detroit Economic Club.

“What we have to do is perform very well in the review in April and we’re prepared to do that,” Simon says. “And we’ll continue to work the political process.”

President Simon and her colleagues were gathering at the NCAA meetings last week and she comments on the fact that college football’s movers and shakers are beginning to meet to at least talk about a college football playoff.

She describes MSU’s just-announced Energy Transition Plan, too, and assesses the state of Michigan State as 2012 dawns.

“Michigan State has come through a very difficult economic time with momentum,” Simon says. “We have much yet to do and there are always things we can do better.

“But we’re sustaining a momentum through probably the most difficult sustained financial time in our history. We’ve been able to attract and retain good people, so you have to feel good about where we are.”

Hosted by Russ White.

Hear the Conversation 11:21 – 6.5 mb mp3

“Being the best doesn’t mean anything if you’re dead,” says MSU alumnus Jack DeBoer in his new book Risk Only Money – the story of how the founder of The Residence Inn discovered that success without significance is a losing bet.

When DeBoer, founder of The Residence Inn and three other extended stay hotel chains, received a death threat from an anonymous creditor he knew it was time to change. “Up to that point, my business career had been all about me,” says DeBoer in his new book Risk Only Money: Success in Business Without Risking Family, Friends and Reputation. “It was at that lowest moment, in the depths of failure and my life in danger, that I decided to make changes that would guide the rest of my life and career.”

The most significant change was to completely revamp why he did business.

“There are things you should never jeopardize,” says DeBoer. “You can lose money. Capital exists to risk, gain, lose and reclaim. And you can do it all over again. But things like family, reputation, self-respect, friendships and health do not come back immediately if they are lost. Do not go into business if the only thing you care about is your name on a building or more toys. You can hurt yourself and others in a profound way.”

“There are many lessons in this book that I had to learn the hard way,” DeBoer says. “I wish that someone had told me years ago the right reasons to do business. That is why I accept every invitation I can to discuss what I learned from those early years. Why you do business matters. Do something for others out of the gifts you have. And always remember that success is seldom permanent, but neither is failure.”