Next to Scott DeRue’s desk hangs a whiteboard covered in multicolor outlines, parabolas and lists. Written with green marker in neat, unassuming handwriting near the middle of the board is one question: “How do we change people’s lives?”
DeRue, professor of management in the Stephen M. Ross School of Business, director of the Ross Leadership Initiative and the faculty director of Ross’ Emerging Leaders Program, cares deeply about changing lives, both his own and those of his students.
Through RLI, DeRue designs and delivers leadership development programs for Ross School students of all degree levels. The two most popular are the impact challenge and the crisis challenge, which put students into situations where they are forced to adapt, create, collaborate and lead.
He found himself in such a situation when he climbed Mount Everest.
DeRue flew to Nepal at the end of March 2013. Before he left, he trained for nine months by suiting up in his boots and pack to use a StairMaster and running with a weighted pack.
“I’ve always been outdoorsy and adventurous, but Everest was never an explicit goal. It was just the next mountain,” says DeRue, whose first big mountain was Mount Kilimanjaro in 2007.
After landing, it took him 12 days to travel to Everest. “We ran into some issues in the Nepali countryside,” DeRue says, citing unfamiliar food and unclean living situations. Several of his team members fell ill.
“We had some team dynamic issues, but we dealt with it. The weather was an issue, too,” DeRue says of his team’s six-week period of acclimating to the mountain. They climbed partially up and down three times before ascending to the summit, which went relatively smoothly. Then they began the descent.
“One of the guys I’d grown pretty close with fell on a very steep part of the mountain as we were going down,” DeRue says. “He fell a couple hundred feet, but we came together as a team. … We were able to help get him to safety.”
DeRue helps students see the importance of working together, too. In addition to RLI, he helps direct RLI Experiment (RLIx), which is designed to allow small groups of students to experiment with leadership skills and reflect on their experiences.
“It’s a space for them to step back from the fast-paced, performance-driven culture of business school and work to understand how they’re growing and developing as students and as human beings.”
DeRue recently became the Ross School’s associate dean for Executive Education, where he and his team help executives reach their potential as global business leaders.
Q & A
What moment in the classroom stands out as the most memorable?
During my first year teaching here, I had an undergraduate student who stood up in front of the class and realized that everything she had done in business school was inconsistent with who she wanted to be when she grew up. In that moment, I realized the power of the classroom in changing people’s lives. She went and pursued her dreams, instead of taking that investment banking job.
What can’t you live without?
Peanut butter. I ate a lot of it on Everest.
What is your favorite spot on campus?
The Law Quad. I walk through it each morning on my way to work, and the Law Quad reminds me of the history and tradition that we get the privilege to be part of every day as U-M faculty.
What inspires you?
The opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives through education.
What are you currently reading?
“Basketball on Paper,” which uses analytics to study the game of basketball. I do leadership and team development work for the basketball team, and I tremendously respect John Beilein and his team.
Who had the greatest influence on your career path?
My grandfather. He was the only person in my immediate family to go to college, and he, along with my parents, really reinforced the value of education.
