Education: A Gateway to Opportunity

PROVO, Utah – Oct 23, 2020 – Some people spend their entire lives searching for careers that make them feel fulfilled. Everyone must make decisions about what path to follow and how to develop their careers. So, what happens when someone has not one but two career options that bring them joy? If you’re Tracy Maylett, the decision is easy: do both. As the CEO of a consulting company and a BYU Marriott School of Business adjunct professor, Maylett has found ways to bless lives in the worlds of both business management and education.

When Maylett started the MBA program at BYU Marriott, he intended to use his business skills in a supply chain career but soon realized that the field of human resources was the more interesting subject to him. “As I worked to earn my MBA, I learned that business wasn’t all about operations,” he says. “My time in BYU Marriott’s MBA program helped me to better understand the people component that helped businesses run successfully.  I wanted to find out more about that part of a company, so I started looking into HR.”

Since graduating from the BYU Marriott MBA program in 1997, Maylett's interest in human resources has ultimately been the driving force that has guided and shaped his career, helping him to reach personal and professional goals. He currently works full-time as the CEO at DecisionWise, a management consulting firm specializing in employee engagement. “My day-to-day role at DecisionWise focuses on the strategy of the company,” he says. “I look at strategy for where the organization is going, such as what our goals are and what new products we’re releasing. I also stay involved with the services we provide by spending some of my time doing executive coaching.”

When he’s not working at DecisionWise, Maylett shares his love for and expertise of human resources with BYU Marriott students. “I want my students to learn that the human component is an important part of business, and businesses don’t just exist to make money,” he says. “Businesses can change the world, and businesses can change people for the better.”

Beyond his typical in-class responsibilities of teaching BYU Marriott students, Maylett’s career in teaching has also led to opportunities to see the world and to impact others outside of Provo. One of the more unique experiences Maylett has had is teaching at Pforzheim University in Germany alongside other BYU Marriott professors. Maylett has traveled to Germany every summer from 2015–2019 to teach in Pforzheim’s MBA program, and he plans to resume traveling in Germany after the COVID-19 pandemic has subsided. This international teaching opportunity has allowed Maylett to not only help make a positive impact in teaching but also allowed him and his family to travel and experience different cultures, helping to create lasting memories they all share together.

While there’s certainly joy to be had in vacationing around the world, Maylett concedes that he finds a different kind of fulfillment and joy in the work that he does as a professor and CEO. “Not very many people can actually have two careers going at the same time,” he says. “I have the opportunity to be the CEO of a company that adds value to organizations and individuals, while at the same time, I can take care of this itch that I've always had to teach. Being able to have those two careers at the same time helps me add value to the lives of others.”

As Maylett continues to share insights that he has learned in his career with students, he strives to teach them about how their education can enable them to make a difference in the lives of others. “One of the reasons why I teach is so I can help these students see the power of their education,” he says. “These students have opportunities that just a fraction of the world's population ever has. I hope they feel grateful for those opportunities and recognize the responsibility that they have to contribute back to the world.”

At the end of the day, Maylett finds that it’s just not his own hard work that brings him joy but also the potential impact that those in his classroom will have in their future careers. “I enjoy what I do, but seeing my students go out and make a difference is what really gets me excited.”