Laura Clayton McDonnell, JD MBA 85 – The Importance of Having a Personal Philosophy

Feb 15 2024 • 34 mins

On this episode of OneHaas, we hear about the incredible career journey of Laura Clayton McDonnell – the president of Corporates at Thomson Reuters and a board member at Signal AI and Zuora.

A first-generation American, Laura grew up in a military family from Panama with her parents always encouraging her to stay curious and never stop learning. She got her undergraduate degree at San Jose State and went on to earn her JD and MBA at Haas. From there, she worked with some of the biggest tech companies in the world, including Apple, IBM, and Microsoft.

Laura and host Sean Li discuss her experience working with tech giants, the important influence her parents have played in shaping her view of the world, and why finding your personal philosophy is crucial to your success.

*OneHaas Alumni Podcast is a production of Haas School of Business and is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

The influence that her parents’ have had on her life

“I think about that a lot, about how they came to the United States first of their family to come here. And I think about the sacrifices that they made. They left behind their family, friends, food, culture, language to create a life for a family yet to be born. And I think about the strength and the courage that they bring to the table and you know what – it actually informs the way that I think about the world.”

How she uses her personal philosophy statement every day

“When I start my day, I think about my personal philosophy and I commit to doing the best that I can. At the end of the day, I reflect and sometimes I don't do as well as I would like, but I commit to do better the next day. And so this, once again, you know, it just really influences everything, everything that I stand for, that I think about and how I live my life.”

On her decision to join Microsoft

“Sometimes you get these calls out of the blue and you almost have to say yes, because it absolutely made a difference in joining that organization. Satya had just been appointed the CEO, maybe he had been in the role for a year and a half, but he put together an incredible program to change Microsoft from being known as a ‘know it all' company to a ‘learn it all company.’”

Why the personal philosophy statement is crucial in business

“The first thing that you do when you meet a customer, [is] you're trying to build empathy as a salesperson, [and] you've got to know who you are. So you need to know what your personal philosophy is. So you're supposed to convey that. ‘Hi, my name is Laura Clayton McDonnell and I'm so glad to meet you. I'd like to share my personal philosophy and then I'd like to hear yours too.’ And then you build that connection point. Talk about those words and what they mean.”