Sandia National Laboratories employees talk with students about the Compound Effect

Monday, January 25, 2016

Lynne Felix and Nancy Muller from the Sandia National Laboratories were the guest speakers to Watson Graduate School of Management students.

Oklahoma State University’s Watson Graduate School of Management students recently participated in an interactive presentation with guest speakers Lynne Felix and Nancy Muller.

Felix and Muller are both employees at Sandia National Laboratories. Muller, a recruiter for Sandia, and Felix, a project lead for Sandia, spoke with students about the compound effect.

According to the definition provided by Felix, the compound effect is “the principle of reaping huge rewards from a series of small, smart choices.”

Felix chose this topic because it aligned with her beliefs.

“I am a very goal-oriented person, and I did love the way he (author Darren Hardy) constructed that package to beautifully dissect and start your journey right,” said Felix. “It helps in understanding how you’re knit together and what you’re passionate about.”

To expound on the topic, Felix explained the importance of saving for retirement. She encouraged the students to get a head start on saving and to be consistent and diligent with saving.

During the lecture, the students participated in gratitude, core values, and the eight attributes assessments. First-year MBA student John Nickel found the assessments useful.

“The assessments from Mrs. Felix and Mrs. Muller helped the students in our MBA program reflect on areas of gratitude, core values, and the eight attributes that make up the wheel of life (relationships, physical, financial, business, lifestyle, mental, spiritual, family),” said Nickel.

Muller explained the purpose and importance of the eight-question gratitude assessment.

“It makes you take stock of what things you value and what things are important in your life,” said Muller.

Along with other topics to help students understand the compound effect, Felix and Muller discussed the significance of core values. Felix told students that core values are usually established early in your life and can help them choose what kind of company to work for, where they should live, and who to associate themselves with.

“Nothing can cause more unhappiness or stress than if I’m acting incongruently from my core values,” said Felix.

Professional Development course professor Ajay Sukhdial invited Felix and Muller because of their company’s connections with the university.

“The reason I wanted to invite them was that Sandia is one of the major companies that employ a lot of our students,” said Sukhdial. “From my conversations with Mrs. Felix and Mrs. Muller, I understood that what they were going to present information on the kind of soft skills that they look for during the hiring process and the skills their research has shown to be successful.”

“Our two speakers taught us that much of our life can be reflected upon in a disciplined and consistent manner,” said Nickel. “As young professionals, developing these skills and habits of reflection will help guide and correct the choices we make along the way.”

For more information on OSU’s Watson Graduate School of Management, visit http://watson.okstate.edu/ or call 405-744-9000.