The importance of managing stress and building resilience in the modern world was the key message of a commencement speech to Class of 2023 students graduating from Duke Kunshan University’s master of management studies (MMS) program.
Forty-six MMS students received their master’s degrees in a dedicated ceremony on May 19 held on the Duke Kunshan campus and attended by dozens of relatives and friends.
Guest speaker Ruibin Chen, the managing director of an investment corporation and a Duke University alumnus, used his commencement speech to discuss the importance of shifting our focus from distant future goals to the present moment.
He said that people often become fixated on their long-term career aspirations and worry when they perceive that their goals may become unattainable due to unexpected circumstances, which can lead to stress and a lack of focus on the present.
Chen suggested that, particularly during uncertain times, it is crucial to remain dedicated to each task at hand, continuously learn and improve in everything we do, and ultimately strive towards personal growth.
Chen also recounted his journey of personal transformation, sharing how he managed the stress of a new job and a changing market environment with policy changes over the past three years.
By being helpful and supportive to those around him and striving to bring out his best for others, he said he was able to connect with people, build a cohesive community and achieve success with his team, even during difficult times.
Chen is an alumnus of Fuqua’s MBA Class of 2006. He also holds a Ph.D. in finance (DrAPS) from the University of Geneva and a bachelor’s degree in construction management from Tongji University in Shanghai.
Dean of Duke’s Fuqua School of Business Dr. William Boulding presided over the MMS commencement ceremony.
Duke Kunshan Chancellor Youmei Feng, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Dr. Scott MacEachern and Associate Vice Chancellor for Graduate Studies and Research Dr. Xin Li were among the senior DKU figures addressing the ceremony. Interim Executive Vice Chancellor Dr. Mary Frances Luce delivered a recorded message.
Each year, the top 10 percent of MMS graduates in academic performance are honored as Fuqua Scholars. This year’s recipients are Guo Rongcheng, Liu Xinyu, Breanna Newton, Shi Yuke and Wang Sibo.
Delivered over 10 months and in two countries — first the United States and then China — the MMS program provides a strong foundation in core business disciplines, preparing new college graduates and young professionals for successful international careers.
On graduating, students are awarded a master of management studies degree from Duke University. Past graduates have been hired by firms such as Huawei, McKinsey & Co., IBM, Microsoft and J.P.
Ruibin Chen’s commencement speech in full:
Be near, Give of yourself.
Thank you, Dean. Thank you for the kind introduction and the invitation to speak today.
Good afternoon distinguished Chancellors, faculty members, families, friends, and most importantly, the Duke Kunshan University MMS class of 2023. Congratulations to each and every one of you!
It is truly a privilege and an honor for me to speak to you today, and after three years of Covid, to be able to do so in person. I’m so proud of your achievements because you have completed your study during one of the most extraordinary times in history. You should all take this moment to celebrate and thank your families and friends who have supported you throughout your studies.
I’ve been giving a lot of thought to what the best topics would be to share with you today. Given what’s going on in the world right now, I don’t think you’d be interested to hear some inspiring quotes or success stories from the economic boom times of the past decades.
Instead, I thought perhaps dealing with stress would be a more valuable talking point. Being resilient, calm, and able to prevail in uncertain times is perhaps the one thing we all need. For me, getting better at dealing with the constant stresses at work or in life has been the most valuable learning I have had over the years. I want to share a couple of my learnings with you today.
The first learning is “Be near.” We want to learn to shift our focus from the big and far to the here and now.
When job searching, or indeed, throughout our career, we’re often asked to think about our career goals and describe our plans to achieve those goals, as if the world is under our full control. We then become paranoid when things aren’t going our way or our goals become unattainable due to changes in external conditions. This is a major source of stress for many of us every day.
As you can imagine, I have had a lot of experience with this kind of stress because I also fear missing goals. But over the years, this fear doesn’t bother me as much anymore, probably because I have failed so many times that I don’t want to be bothered anymore or because I have learned to focus on how to do things in the present, very well, and not to worry about the million other things that I have no control and they may or may not happen in the future.
Many successful business and political leaders have explained how staying focused on the near has helped them in their careers. I’ll pick just two that I’ve come across recently.
Albert Bourla, the CEO of Pfizer, shared in a recent Fuqua Distinguished Speaker Series in Jan 2023, and I quote, “I never planned my career. Instead, I always focused on doing a very good job in what I’m doing right now.” “I know if you do a good job, someone will pick you because of that. If you do it twice, more people will notice that, and they will give you more opportunities to do good jobs somewhere else, and this is how careers are built.” End quote.
Lawrence Wong, Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister and the next Prime Minister, has said on multiple occasions, and I quote, “I never aspired to be in big roles. But, whatever task I’m assigned, I give my best. I have never gone out looking for additional work, but somehow the work finds me.” End quote.
I know that this is a stressful time for you. The job market is at a low. Start-up opportunities are scarce. Even for those of you who already have job offers, it’s hard to plan your career prospects given the uncertain economic outlook.
However, this is probably the best time to refocus ourselves on the present, be dedicated to every task in front of us, keep learning and improving at whatever we do, and, ultimately, become better versions of ourselves.
Give your best, to your next job searching email, your next thank you note, or the next big or small task you are assigned in your new job. You’ll be surprised how much joy you can find even during stressful times by completing even seemingly insignificant tasks and, over time, how much you can achieve by delivering on every task that comes to you.
My second learning is “Give of yourself.” We want to give the best of ourselves to others and to be useful and helpful to everyone around us.
It is not very straightforward to talk about giving of yourself, collaboration, or mutual support at a time when competition is rising and pressure is increasing. How could “Give of yourself” help to deal with the stress? Let me explain through a story.
Three years ago, I started a new career when I left investment banking to become an investment manager. Everything was new. The transition was hard. Around the same time, Covid hit. Economic policies changed. Stress and anxiety mounted every day.
To deal with the stress and maintain focus, I tried to read widely to seek answers, I talked to mentors to seek wisdom, and I had open and honest conversations to seek advice and feedback. I slowed down to “be near” and observed how things were done in our organization and in the new normal, and directed all my energies to the work at hand and the people around me.
Slowly, I began to feel that I was more fulfilled when people around me thrived in their work, more satisfied when we as a team helped each other and built a trusting relationship, and more rewarded when we supported each other to learn and grow in everything we do.
I started to find motivation on a new level in being useful and helpful to the people around me. The people from my team, my company, and my business partners. I learned that by creating value for everyone, it was possible to build a united community and achieve success together, even in tough times.
From then on, although the market has remained uncertain and things have not always been under full control, my stress levels have not risen that much.
In Team Fuqua, we have learned to bring out the best in others, and now I have also learned to bring out my best for others, to draw out my strengths for the benefit of others, and build a resilient team to achieve success together, in good and bad times.
As you go forward today, the world will remain full of uncertainties and unknowns. Stress and anxiety are likely to be the only constant. How we choose to think and act in response to these pressures can transform our experience of stress.
So, to conclude, “Be near” to concentrate on the here and now and not be distracted by things in the distant future. You will create inner calmness and serenity, which will enable you to focus on what you do and do it well.
And “Give of yourself”, and always choose to bring out the best of yourself for the benefit of others, and be useful and helpful to everyone around you. You connect with people and become part of something bigger than yourself. And from there on, you know you no longer face the stress alone.
You have come through difficult times during Covid and have made new achievements over the last three years. I believe that you will be able to chart your path towards a bright future.
Thank you.
Congratulations, class of 2023.
