Lessons Learned from Beth Whited

PROVO, Utah – Mar 26, 2018 – At the first-ever Women in Supply Chain event, students listened to Union Pacific EVP and chief marketing officer Beth Whited as she divulged wisdom and lessons she has learned throughout her thirty-year professional career. Here were some of the highlights:

1. Turn Lemons into Lemonade

“Successful people are the ones who take on an undesirable job and do excellent at it,” Whited says. “Don’t complain, take on the extra project, and do a good job. This will differentiate you.”

2. Be the ‘I Can’ Person

“In the workplace, there is no room for ‘I Can’t.’ You just need to figure things out,” Whited says. “Be the ‘I Can’ person. Even if you don’t know how to tackle the barriers placed in front of you, at least have the desire to knock them down and meet your end goal.”

3. Be Here Now

“Don’t spend time worrying about your next job or promotion. Worry about doing well in the job you are in now,” Whited says. “If you don’t, then you won’t get the opportunity to take on those future opportunities.”

4. Do Not Dwell on Things Outside of Your Control

“The questions you need to be asking yourself are ‘What matters?’ and ‘Can I do something about it?” Whited says. “This is where your focus should be. Trying to control other people and trying to change things that happened in the past are a waste of time. The only person you can control is you.”

5. Sometimes You Win and Sometimes You Learn

“You can’t go into your work life thinking that you’re going to win every argument or that you’re always going to be right,” Whited says. “If you aren’t right, you need to make sure you learn something from it, because everything that you experience is an opportunity for learning.”

Sofi Belnap, a global supply chain junior from Rogers, Arkansas, said that one of her favorite parts of the event was the emphasis that Whited put on women in the workplace and maintaining a work-life balance.

“I am so grateful to be born in an age where women are free to choose their own destinies,” Belnap says. “We should not judge any man or woman for how they balance family and work.”