Giving Back through the Impact Lab

He wrapped up a 42-year business career in 2020, but Jon Campbell, ’77 BSB, hasn’t truly retired. He travels, has become a master gardener, serves on boards, and even works as a weekend bartender at a restaurant near his Minnesota cabin. And he remains open to new opportunities to serve the community. 

As Campbell concluded his tenure on Minnesota Carlson’s Board of Advisors in 2022, he and his wife, Susan, wanted to do something more. Nothing resonated at first. Then, he heard about a new curriculum Carlson was creating for undergraduate students. Once he learned more, it was an easy decision to help fund the initiative. “It really made sense to us,” Campbell recalls.

The program that captured the Campbells’ attention was the Impact Lab, Carlson’s experiential learning program that launched in Fall 2022. It has provided Jon Campbell the opportunity to support Carlson in multiple ways. 
 

The Lab’s Beginnings

The Impact Lab’s origins arose from a curriculum review that Minnesota Carlson undertook several years ago. That review incorporated feedback from several thousand stakeholders, including employer partners, alumni, and faculty. One of the themes that arose from that feedback: “We have very smart students who have tended to be individualistic and competitive and at times have struggled with teamwork and collaboration,” says Amee McDonald, the Impact Lab’s founding managing director. “And we have very smart students who struggle with navigating ambiguity and uncertainty.” These insights helped inspire the idea of creating a required experiential learning curriculum for undergraduates—an idea that became formalized as the Carlson Impact Lab.

The Impact Lab curriculum comprises two courses. The first introduces students to methodologies for developing problem-solving skills. In the second, students use those skills to help a nonprofit, social enterprise, or other community organization to craft solutions to business challenges, such as rebranding or strategic financial planning. Working with these organizations, McDonald says, helps push students out of their accustomed ways of thinking—and reveals new ways of thinking and problem-solving.

In addition, Impact Lab students meet three to four times a year with mentors from the business world who provide feedback and guidance for addressing complex problems. “Experiential learning is what’s going to help keep business schools relevant because it’s the thing that’s helping students get employability skills,” McDonald says.
 

Lessons Learned and Imparted

One reason why Campbell found the idea of the Impact Lab so compelling is that “connecting community and business is one of my favorite topics. Social purpose combined with business strategy is something that resonates with a lot of students.” After he and his wife made a gift to the Impact Lab, Campbell told McDonald that he’d love to stay in touch.

At least once a year, Campbell goes to Carlson to spend time with students, particularly Impact Lab cohorts. He doesn’t think of himself as a mentor per se. Instead, Campbell sees himself primarily as a storyteller. “In 42 years, you go through a lot of experiences in business,” he says. “Reflecting on those can be helpful for students.”

Earlier this year, for instance, Campbell presented a case study to Impact Lab students about a difficult period in Wells Fargo’s history: the cross-selling scandal that came to light in 2016. In his position as executive vice president and head of corporate responsibility at Wells Fargo’s Minnesota regional headquarters, Campbell had to address questions and anger from customers, journalists, and other stakeholders. In telling the story of that experience, “I was able to pass on some counsel and advice” that could help prepare the students for similar situations in their own business careers. 

In addition to telling stories, he also likes to listen. “I’ve been told that I have a very curious mind,” he says. “When I’m with the students, I love to ask them questions. I think my questions sometimes make them say, ‘A-ha! I wondered about that.’” 

Campbell believes the Impact Lab students enjoy learning that businesses have to be willing to talk about internal conflicts. “I think students find it energizing that people within businesses don’t always agree on everything immediately,” he says. “There’s a great deal of discussion, debate, and give-and-take that occurs before decisions can be made.” Listening and collaborating are two key soft skills that leaders need to tap as they struggle to make challenging decisions, he says. 

Soft skills can serve business leaders in other ways. “I’ve talked about dealing with protesters when they didn’t like something Wells Fargo was doing. I’d be asked, ‘How did you deal with them?’ Well, you talk to them. You learn about them, and you learn about what made them protest.” This kind of communication can help build bridges between companies and other stakeholders, he shares. “You need to learn business principles,” Campbell says. “But you also need to learn how to interact in an effective way.” 

‘An Amazing Partnership’

Given Campbell’s experience in “bridging corporate and community,” McDonald describes working with him in the Impact Lab as “an amazing partnership. He understands both sides—and why this program is important for students.” 

Campbell, who encourages others to give and to provide mentorship, says that he’s “thrilled with Carlson’s commitment to experiential learning. And I’m happy that Susan and I have been able to help in a small way.”

Photos by Dan Gunderson