For ten years Kelly Williams dreamed of pursuing a graduate degree in business. He wanted to add deep, complex thinking and a solid foundation in business theory to his 18 years experience working in manufacturing and high-tech. That meant starting with an education that encouraged leadership and big-picture thinking. The structure of the GDBA and its potential application to a future MBA sold him on the program, and the decision to enroll was ultimately a decision to take charge of his career.

My experience at SFU Beedie

The GDBA was fascinating to me for two reasons. It was online and controlled and allowed me the flexibility to travel. It also supported the opportunity to go on and pursue an MBA. The number of credits you could acquire was important to me.

Throughout my career, I worked for different companies, and saw all these different business data points, from successes to failures, but I didn’t understand them at a level where I could repeat or recreate them.

The SFU Beedie education links all that information together and creates a complete picture—like a constellation—that you can use to make judgments in complex and more challenging situations. It connects everything and allows you to make decisions or contribute to larger scale problem solving with confidence. You are dealing with wisdom and not just information from the past.

My Journey

I came to the realization that as you move through your career, year-by-year, the rest of your working years become more important. I made the decision to take my future seriously and drive my career myself. My GDBA education completely changed the course of my career.

The GDBA changed the way I think and approach complex problems. Being able to see clarity where other people are struggling with a little bit of chaos, allows you to be a leader.

Highlights

The remote aspect of the program was amazing. I remember I was on a bullet train travelling through Japan, and I had a wifi hot spot. I logged into my account and participated in my course in real-time. I attended the whole lecture as I was crossing a foreign country on the other side of the planet. It was incredible.

Within a month or so of taking a GDBA course, I was usually able to apply a tool I had learned to a real situation. Understanding the relevant business theories allowed me to help a team or bring up the people around me.

Where I am today

My current role is Manager, Waterslide Engineering for WhiteWater West Industries Ltd., the world’s largest manufacturer of waterslide parks and attractions with around 600 employees worldwide. It’s the highest pressure job I have ever had, yet it’s not the highest stress job. It’s the first job I‘ve had where pressure and stress are not the same thing.