Invaluable Business Advice from (1-844) Wharton, UPENN

A few weeks ago on Linkedin, our business development specialist John Finnegan noted the elegant toll-free vanity number used by Wharton. The famous business school at the UPENN has a reputation for educational excellence, so its choice of 1-844-WHARTON as the best way for listeners to call its radio show on Sirius XM backs up the intelligent business rationale for a memorable contact number.  

Business Advice from Wharton's Best

Over its impressive history, Wharton has seen plenty of impressive business minds pass through its halls. The alumni list covers all kinds of eventual leaders of large organizations and brands that are trusted household names. Here are some words of advice on business and leadership, from some of Wharton Business School's most successful graduates:

"I'm a big believer in branding the customer experience, not just selling the service."

John Sculley (Class of 63)

-- "The man who fired Steve Jobs" ran two world-spanning brands: Pepsi and Apple. 

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"Hard work for the wrong boss does not get noticed. [It] results in that boss looks terrific, and you get stuck. ”

Ruth Porat (Class of '87)

-- Former CFO of Morgan Stanley, current CFO of Alphabet (previously Google)

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“You just cannot make hasty decisions about what it is not possible to do... many managers give up too early.”

Yotaro Kobayashi (Class of '58)

-- Served as CEO of Fuji Xerox Co. at a crucial point in its rise to prominence in the 1980s

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"To me, success in the job is setting a vision; guiding an organization through change."

Laura Lang (Class of 63)

-- Former CEO of Time Inc. and Digitas

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"Go for a business that any idiot can run because, sooner or later, any idiot is probably going to run it."

Peter Lynch (Class of '68)

-- an investor well-known for his deep insight of the stock market

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Joseph Wharton - Entrepreneur & Founder of Wharton Business School in 1881

For someone whose name is so synonymous with business success, Wharton has surprisingly few pearls of wisdom on record.  Instead, we'll close on his unswerving belief in quality education as a driver of economic prosperity:

"Great schools keep up the respectable standard of a recent past... and labor to supply the needs of an advancing and exacting world."

  Business marketing is a different ballpark to education, of course, but we have to acknowledge that we see vanity numbers as a bridge between tried and trusted marketing channels of the recent past, and the newer digital channels that meet the needs of modern consumers. Without that simple and familiar connection point, it's all too easy to get lost in the latest shiny new social network or promotional tactic, potentially leaving an important set of existing customers behind. Wharton Business School obviously feels that way, using a memorable number to connect listeners to their digital satellite radio show. If you'd like to follow their example, simply start your vanity number search now!