2011 Commencement Address

Delivering remarks to the graduating class, Kent J. Thiry, Chairman and CEO of DaVita, Inc., a leading provider of kidney care, spoke of the need to build community within a for-profit company. "People understand that companies need to have profits, just like they understand that their community needs to have jobs," Thiry said. But in return, company employees must receive a sense of mutual caring, transparency, and a shared sense of loyalty. "I ask you to consider the notion of using your business, your company, your job as a vehicle for your values," he said. "It is more fun to contemplate all that potential for good ... especially when doing good and being good is positive-sum, not zero-sum." Leadership, Thiry continued, "is not a function of position; it is a function of behavior."

Category:

Education

Tags:

• mba
• graduation
• business
• thiry
• owen
• vanderbilt
• davita