Aon’s Executive Vice President John Barrett and Head of North American Operations Janice Lum are dedicated to helping the next generation of business leaders differentiate themselves in the workplace. On March 21, over 80 students, including several student-athletes, attended the Business Etiquette session in Taper Hall 102. The event was hosted by the Peter Arkley Institute for Risk Management and cosponsored by the USC Marshall Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion as well as Gamma Iota Sigma, USC’s risk management student group. Barrett and Lum provided students an exclusive session on business etiquette. They covered where to sit in a client meeting, the secret to professional emails, and other minutia that employees could have only learned on the job.
John Barrett’s first position in the insurance industry is not what you would expect. According to Barrett, insurance brokerage firm Johnson & Higgins needed a shortstop to round out the office baseball team, and, having played shortstop for Santa Clara University, Barrett was brought onto the team as a ringer. Following an impressive season, which culminated in Johnson & Higgins making the playoffs, Barrett received an offer to work for the firm. He left his position as a high school teacher to give insurance a shot.
The transition from educator to insurance broker was not seamless. Barrett soon realized that entering a competitive corporate environment required him to develop a personal brand that would set him apart from his peers. For Barrett, that meant working long hours, improving his communication skills, and keeping authenticity at the forefront of all interactions.
“People want to do business with the people they like,” Barrett said.
Now, Barrett is helping USC’s rising professionals build their own brands. He and Lum’s interactive presentation focused on the importance of personal branding, networking in a hybrid workplace, and navigating business etiquette as a young professional.
“As a freshman, networking can be a daunting task to succeed in,” said Marshall student and Gamma Iota Sigma member Anthony Zavala. “After attending the Business Etiquette session, I learned about the three p’s of networking: purpose, people, and process. It has given me a blueprint to excel in future networking events that I’m eager to utilize; networking no longer seems as intimidating.”
For many students, Barrett and Lum’s presentation was an opportunity to learn about soft skills not taught in the classroom. Covering topics such as where to sit in a client meeting and what fork to use at a business dinner, Barrett and Lum showed students that little things can make a big difference in a corporate setting. Considering the rise of hybrid and virtual workplaces, the pair also discussed proper email etiquette and whether it is appropriate to use emojis or slang in professional communications, noting that communications should be tailored to suit client preferences.
