Corporate America is very different than academia. I think that is what makes my perspective different. Usually people have only done one or the other successfully.
Biggest difference I saw was that corporate America doesn’t sit around pontificating about radical ideas and reading books. They may do that after hours or on the weekends, but “prime time” hours are dedicated to working: making calls, being productive, seeing clients, generating revenue. Anything to increase market share.
This is where the transition really changes and what I had to learn, going from the academic side to the corporate side of my career. My mentor in business was a Cornell University Economics major so she understood the transition coming from a cerebral institution.
It is even pervasive in medicine – academic guys tend to look down on the business guys. Academic physicians look at Medicine from a non-profit perspective and frown on the business side of medicine. Whereas the business people tend to look down on the academic guys thinking that those who can do and those who can’t teach. Sounds harsh, but that’s how it is and I’ve seen both sides of it up close.
My opinion is that having experience in both is invaluable. It’s theory vs application.
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