Profiles in Leadership - UW-Milwaukee

Executive MBA
Fiserv’s Yabuki on Differentiating
Yourself as a Leader
Jeffery W. Yabuki
“
Truly great leadership is a
combination of tangible skills
that blend in a way that is really
differentiating,” Jeffery W. Yabuki,
President & CEO of Fiserv, Inc., told the
Executive MBA Class of 2007 at their
graduation ceremony.
Fiserv, a publicly traded Fortune 500
company, is a market share leader of
information technology systems and
services to the fi nancial and insurance
industries. The company reported $4.5
billion in 2006 revenues, with 23,000
employees serving more than 17,000
clients worldwide.
Yabuki noted that Fiserv has consistently
grown revenue and earnings at a doubledigit
clip. “I am particularly proud that we
are one of only a handful of companies in
10 OUTLOOK
the S&P 500 which have grown revenue
and earnings for at least 15 straight
years,” he said. “And I think there is a
direct correlation to the company’s
leadership, because leadership is often
about consistency and stability.”
He challenged graduates to consider
three simple but potent questions that
could “change your trajectory as business
leaders.”
What do you want to do? This is not
necessarily a job title, Yabuki said, but a
defi nition of where your passion lies, how
you want to make an impact. Don’t just
think about it, he said, but put it down in
black and white. “Writing it down not
only changes it from a wish to a goal. It
holds you accountable.”
What is the essence of your personal brand?
Learn to view yourself not just as a person,
but as a brand, he suggested. All of your
actions contribute to how your brand is
perceived. In the business world, we place
great importance on managing brands,
he said. It shouldn’t be any different with
your personal brand.
What do you want to be famous for?
Everyone gets remembered for
something. Tyco’s Dennis Kozlowski,
Enron’s Kenneth Lay — even former
president Bill Clinton — made poor
short-term decisions rather than look
ahead to manage their legacies. So, in all
that you do, he urged, think about the
impact your actions and decisions will
have on your legacy.
Jeff Yabuki joined Fiserv in December
2005 after more than six years at H&R
Block, Inc., where he rose to the position
of executive vice president and chief
operating offi cer, after joining the
company as president of International
Operations in 1999. Prior to H&R Block,
Jeff spent 12 years with American
Express, most recently as president and
chief executive offi cer of American
Express Tax and Business Services. He
serves on the Lubar School’s Business
Advisory Council.
UWM’s Executive MBA Program is one of
the longest-running and most successful
programs of its kind in the nation.
Established in 1974, the program boasts more
than 850 graduates from over 400 businesses,
providing skilled managers with a unique
academic and peer learning experience in an
accelerated format and preparing them for
positions of executive leadership.