Box.com Chief Operating Officer Inspires UB Students

Founded in 2005, Box.com is a document management and collaboration platform that allows you to keep your files in one place, offering access from any device. Before working with Box, Dan held various executive roles at Intuit, Inc., including Vice President and General Manager of Healthcare and Senior Vice President and General Manager of Intuit’s Small Business Group.

Dan shared five inspiring lessons with us he has learned over the last 30 years:

You should never start a mission unless you have a clear sense of objectives and know what you’re trying to accomplish.

Time is our single most valuable asset. If we choose to focus our time to work on the right things we can improve our performance in the short term. He highly encouraged students to take an hour a week to focus on improving themselves.

There is no winning if your team loses. We are not only solving for ourselves but for other people too.

Business culture is either created by design or by default. To achieve a healthy company culture, you must intentionally create that culture and work hard to maintain it. You have the ability and control to change the culture of your team if you devote your time and effort to it.

Be intentional about living the best life. Dan advised that graduating students seek a boss that is going to help them be the best version of themselves. Don’t just settle for a job that pays well; find a job that helps you grow as a person.

My students were inspired by Dan’s personal stories and messages. Giving students the opportunity to interface with successful and innovative people is something I’m grateful to have had the chance to do, and my thanks goes out to Dan and all the people who shared their experience with my course.