Michelle Seger 96EMBA loves her work. It’s tough out there running a boutique consulting business, but as she puts it “if it was easy, everyone would do it.” And that pragmatic, honest approach has taken her from upstate New York to traveling around the world working with companies to transform their sales organization and build the business of the future.
As part of her work, Seger works alongside women in leadership from the C-Level to the boardroom. “I am so fortunate to work alongside such smart incredible women that are out there doing amazing things, and I don’t think we hear enough about their stories.”
Big Wheel Moments
Harnessing her entrepreneurial spirit, Seger who is COO and partner at SalesGlobe searched for a way to bring these stories to others. She created a podcast aptly named “Riding the Big Wheel,” a platform where women in leadership and the people who support them share their own personal and professional journeys.
Riding a big wheel is like a woman in leadership. There is no straight path. There are many bumps in the road, and you might feel like you’ve gotten hit with a little gravel along the way.
Michelle Seger 96EMBA
Seger recalls riding a bike down a big hill in her neighborhood. “It was huge and a little bit scary. Many times, I would wipe out, but I just kept going back until one day I mastered it. I’ve been back to my old neighborhood and that same hill many years later, and I realized that it really wasn’t that big after all. I had a lot of fun along the way, even with all my scrapes and bruises.”
The podcast showcases women, their stories, and the big steps they take along the way, what Seger calls “their Big Wheel moment.” Whether taking on a first leadership position or completely changing career paths, it can be scary—and exhilarating. What Seger has learned is that these resilient women wouldn’t trade it for anything, and they’ve learned a lot along the way. “Their stories are truly inspirational for anyone to hear, and I learn something from these women every day”.
The Path to Atlanta
Seger’s career path has taken some interesting twists and turns itself. She originally graduated from Siena College with a degree in Spanish and a concentration in French and Political Science. Seger next went to work for a Spanish translation company. When the business announced its relocation to Atlanta, Seger was hesitant to make the move.
“I didn’t really want to relocate. At the time, I was in upstate New York, and I always thought I’d end up in the city at some point. I remember working with a partner at one of the big consulting firms who told me he thought I would make a great consultant. He also said I was going to need an MBA, and I would need greater business experience. So, I took the relocation, got that MBA, and learned SAP, the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) darling of the day. That all helped me get the right interviews and choose the right firm for me.
An Emory MBA Along the Way
Her road to that dream job with Accenture started at Emory University, where Seger got her MBA from Goizueta Business School. It was the perfect fit for her. “I loved going to Emory,” she said. “First of all, the Executive MBA program is perfect for those who really want to learn about real business problems and want to solve them with a group of peers. At the time I was one of the younger students in the class. So, I would say others had more experience than I did, and I loved it.”
You have this unique opportunity to meet with highly experienced businesspeople and professors and learn from them. You will meet life-long friends along the way, and I found the investment to be completely worthwhile.
Michelle Seger 96EMBA
Seger took advantage of an opportunity at Emory to take summer pre-courses ahead of her MBA program. “I knew nothing about statistics and accounting. I had a liberal arts degree, and I was a bit worried.” As it turned out, she really didn’t need to be. The classes were taught by the same professors as the MBA program. So, she was able to build a rapport with faculty while bolstering her competencies before beginning the more difficult business courses at Goizueta.
She encourages anyone looking for an MBA program to try Goizueta, because of the diverse experience each member of the cohorts brings to the classroom. She advises MBA students, “Give yourself an opportunity to spend time with everyone, all of your classmates. At the time that I did it, they had us set up in teams, and you had the option to stay or change teams. It would have been incredible to stay with my original team. However, we took the harder decision to switch up team members to increase our learning experience. I would highly recommend that you spend as much time getting to know people in your class as you do on the materials you are learning. It’s an outstanding learning opportunity.”
On the Fast Track
After graduating, Seger landed at Accenture as a consultant and was quickly identified as a high-performer. She was therefore assigned to difficult projects working and traveling up to six days a week as an expert in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software.
Back in those days, consulting was grueling. She found herself taking a hard look in the mirror—and at her peers and mentors. Yes, they were all doing great work and making a great living doing what they loved to do. But that came at a personal price that ultimately caused her to leave her job. “The non-stop travel was just too much for me at that point in my life. It was so disappointing, but I felt I needed to make a change. Things have changed a lot since that time. Now we have the best of virtual communication blended in with face-to-face meetings.”
A Path of Her Own
After Seger left Accenture, she opened her own business as a franchisor of an Italian home accessories business, La Bottega di MammaRo, based out of Lucca, Italy, and Tuscan Table Interiors, a remodeling service and retail establishment specializing in European design services. She sold the business after twelve years and started to plan her next big move.
“It was another pivotal moment in my life, and I treated it like a research and discovery project.” She met with a career consultant for advice, and then started her own discovery. “LinkedIn was starting to make headway for businesspeople. So, I started a process of printing out and grouping together job descriptions of things that really interested me.” That’s when the lightbulb went off for her. Seger wanted back in consulting, and she wanted to focus on business performance. At the end of the day, she realized that she really did love owning a piece of the business.
Just Go for It
Seger’s advice for potential MBA students—if you really want it, and you are thinking about it, then just do it. “It helped me as a businesswoman, and I’m proud to tell people that I went to Emory. I know education is expensive, but for me it was worth it.”
What I got out of it was more than textbook content. I learned how to apply it to everyday business situations from the professors and colleagues who took the method and put it to practical work. I suppose the best testament is that I would do it all over again.
Michelle Seger 96EMBA
Seger is a big fan of Audrey Hepburn, and lives by her famous quote, “Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible!’”
But some of the best advice she received came from her grandfather. He told her it was important to learn something new every day. “And I do. I think continuous learning keeps you curious. It makes life more interesting, and it keeps me feeling relevant, excited, and energized every day.”
One of her life principles is the belief that you’re never too old to try something new. That’s a piece of advice Seger says she would give her younger self. “I’m doing all the things I really want to do to make this life a great one.” Last year she became SCUBA certified. She went diving in Bali, and then spent another week immersing herself in the local culture. “The joy I got from that experience well surpassed the duration of the trip itself. It has become another dimension of who I am. So just go for it and definitely look back. Take your experiences with you and always remember who you are.”
Empowering Women Leaders
The Goizueta Executive Women’s Leadership Program focuses on critical skills and competencies proven to elevate individual capability and confidence, to help women leaders contribute to organizational value creation. This program – offered through Emory Executive Education – provides an opportunity for women leaders to enhance their strategic thinking, develop an enterprise mindset, hone self-awareness and leadership behaviors, and emerge ready to contribute more strategically and exert greater influence within their organizations. Learn more and apply now.
In Goizueta’s Executive MBA, you’ll develop the leadership skills to forge your own path and build your own legacy. You’ll brush up on business foundations and go deep on business strategy concepts that apply to a broad range of industries. Learn more.
