Andrew Temte - Balancing Act

2021 Andrew Temte

Published by Kaplan Publishing, a division of Kaplan, Inc.

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ISBN: 978-1-5062-7665-6

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As President and Global Head of Corporate Learning, Dr. Andrew Temte, CFA, spearheads Kaplans efforts in helping employees remain relevant in the future world of work as well as in helping companies continuously improve by attracting the right talent and upskilling/reskilling their workforce. In this capacity, he oversees and leverages assets, capabilities, and talent across Kaplans global footprint.

A thought leader on issues related to professional education and workforce skilling, Dr. Temte has been published and cited in a number of media outlets. Previously, Dr. Temte served in the following professional positions: CEO of Kaplan Professional, Dean of the Kaplan University School of Professional and Continuing Education, Interim President of Mount Washington College, and President of the Kaplan University College of Business and Technology. This blend of higher education and professional education experience gives Dr. Temte a unique perspective over the issues surrounding the future of employment and workplace relevance.

Dr. Temte started his professional education career in 1990, working with Dr. Carl Schweser to build the Schweser Study Program into the leader in CFA exam review. Under Dr. Temtes direction, Kaplan Schweser became a leading global provider of innovative, efficient, and effective financial education solutions.

Dr. Temte earned his doctorate in finance from the University of Iowa with a concentration in international finance and investment theory. He holds the CFA designation and has over fourteen years of university teaching experience in the areas of corporate finance, investments, and international finance.

When I planted the initial seeds for this work in 2017, the goal was to compile a series of Tales from a Mid-level Senior Executive to describe the challenges and opportunities that face leaders who must manage up, down, and across complex organizations. As the cornerstones were laid, it quickly became apparent that the concept of balance was the thread that tied my personal and professional stories together.

Im grateful for the opportunities Ive had to cross paths with some extraordinary people throughout my life and am thankful to current and former colleagues, business partners, and friends for the small but significant parts theyve played in shaping the leader and individual I am today. Ive used the tapestry we painted through our interactions to learn and grow. Im particularly thankful for the role my mentors and coaches have played in my developmentspecifically Carl Schweser, Dan Johnson-Wilmot, Keith Sherony, Roger Leithold, and Mike Marsh.

In most book dedications, there are references to family, and this one is no exception. Id like to thank my dad, Bill, for nailing the basement window shut when I was seventeen; my mom, Louise, for trying (in vain) to get me to learn the piano; my sons, Nick and Brandon, for showing me what true, unconditional love means; and my wife, Linda, for being my polar opposite, my Sol Mate, and continually challenging me to become that next best version of myself.

I am truly blessed.

Success without balance is often more disastrous than failure with balance.

When the unbalanced achieve victory, it often serves to further destructive habits. When the balanced suffer defeat, resilience and perseverance grows.

As a young boy in primary school, I was a picture of academic success. Most subjects came easily to me, which made me the odd boy out. In third and fourth grades, one teacher literally sent me out of class for being too far ahead. While my peers studied in the classroom, I sat outside drawing pictures on a canvas the custodian had set up in the hallway to help me pass the time.

In junior high school, I was a straight-A student, a charter member of the La Crosse BoyChoir, president of the student council, and a competitive member of the football, wrestling, and track teams. As viewed through the lens of the adults around me, I was on the right path and perfectly positioned to move forward.

Two things happened in my midteens that completely disrupted that path, as they have the paths of many promising adolescents before and after me: one was rock n roll, the other was drugs and alcohol.

I joined my first rock band in the eighth grade, and we played our first gigs at homecomings, winter carnivals, and junior proms throughout western Wisconsin and southeastern Minnesota. Suddenly, the eleventh-grade girls were seeing this eighth grader for the first time, and I soon realized that there was more to life than just being the smartest person in the room.

Pursuing music meant partying with older kids, and partying with older kids meant delving into the world of drugs and alcohol at a relatively young age. I was at the top of my class, being labeled special, gifted, and talented. However, that was nothing compared to the allure and ego stroke of performing in front of a live crowd, not to mention getting the attention and affection of older students.

By the time I reached the eleventh grade, I was at a crossroads. I had already completed most of the coursework required to gain admission to college, but at that point, the State of Wisconsin had no mechanism for advancing those they labeled gifted. Skipping grades and gaining early admission wasnt a straightforward option or a well-worn path.

Instead, the two options I saw in front of me were either spending another year of my life passing time until graduation or dropping out of school and diving headfirst into a world of drugs, sex, and rock n roll. I was seventeen years old at the timewhich do you think I chose?

Against the better wishes of my parents, teachers, and just about every adult around me, I dropped out of school in the eleventh grade and went off to pursue my rock n roll fantasy.

What I failed to acknowledge at the time was that being a rock starselling music for a livingwasnt just a lifestyle; it was a business. Having the musical ability, as I foolishly believed at the time, wasnt enough. To succeed, I also needed financial, behavioral, managerial, and marketing skills.

Unless youre an extraordinary talent or have an in within the industrysuch as an established rock star or a music executive in the familyit was a very business-like grind. Since I had dropped out of school, I didnt have such skills and capabilities in my portfolio.