When writing his first book, Tom Porter, GR’79, looked to nature for inspiration.
Porter published, “All I Need to Know About Business I Learned From a Duck: Business Lessons from Nature,” late last year. The book is available at Barnes & Noble, Borders and on Amazon.com.
The book contains 88 lessons that are designed to take about a minute each to read. Each chapter takes an example from nature and applies it to the business world.
Porter said the book was written for owners and managers of small and medium-sized businesses as well as recent college graduates.
While writing the book, Porter, an outdoor enthusiast, drew from knowledge gained from his work as a marketing consultant and his 22 years of experience as the owner of the Des Moines-based ad agency Porter & Associates.
He said he also reflected on lessons learned through Drake’s MBA program.
“What I appreciated about Drake’s MBA program was it provided a 30,000-foot perspective of various aspects of business, but all of that information was balanced with practical tips and advice,” he said.
“When I was forming my ideas for the book, I thought back to my MBA experience and decided to provide a blend of practical business advice as well as business theory, similar to what I received in the Master of Business program at Drake.”