USC Marshall School of Business

One year ago, when Marshall faculty member Steven Mednick met Captain Jeffrey Kendall Sapp, a distinguished U.S. Navy veteran, and asked if he would come in and speak to one of his classes, he thought it was a long shot. Sapp lives in Washington, D.C. and has a busy schedule. "I explained to him that it was just a class, but he still said he would come," Mednick later told students.

When Sapp addressed Marshall students on March 1, 2011, he met high expectations as he bounced around the small auditorium with his booming voice. Sapp's main directive to students was to be bold and pursue their passions. To get there, to find a business that will blossom, he encouraged students to be talented listeners and thoughtful leaders. "You have to develop a flat-out curiosity about life," he said. "And if you want to swim, you've got to get in the pool."

Sapp was a star on the U.S. Naval Academy football team, and he went on to command a Naval destroyer, acquire three graduate degrees and run government agencies with budgets as large as $4.5 billion.

Sapp warned students to not be too proud to admit when they are wrong or to fight battles that are not worth the carnage. "You may not cause World War II, but you could trash your business." When things go wrong, he said, leaders need to hold themselves accountable: "The very first question you should ask is did I contribute to it," he said.

For Mednick, an assistant professor of clinical entrepreneurship, Sapp represents an ideal example of an entrepreneur who thrives through vision and persistence. "The study of leadership is relevant whether the setting is a start-up or a Fortune 500 enterprise," Mednick said.

"Entrepreneurs must initially test themselves to reveal if 'they truly want it.' If so, they must employ learned leadership skills to inspire others to an expectation of future success. We were honored to have Jeffrey Sapp in Cases in New Venture Management because he answered the question to himself that 'he really wanted it' and then went on in multiple leadership roles to achieve things."