During the course of my MBA studies at The University of Tennessee I was one of the fortunate students to have had the opportunity to learn from Dr. Tom Mentzer. Much has been written about Dr. Mentzer and in far more eloquent ways than could I, so I won’t attempt to replicate that here. Dr. Mentzer passed away last Friday, following his 2+ year battle with cancer.
The Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals has written a bio about Dr. Mentzer’s incredible life, and has made available a short book Dr. Mentzer wrote during his battle and you can find it here.
I read the book this week and can tell you the first 5 pages alone changed my attitude. I would sum it up this way: “do more celebrating and less enduring in your life.” One section talks about the question “Why?” I love his point that some questions simply do not have answers and we call those: “fundamental axioms.” He says: “What a great term! I will never know the answer so we will assume it’s a certain way and then not worry about it.” What an excellent philosophy!
Give yourself a gift – read his short book (45 pages) this weekend. Then, go celebrate life!
Cheers, Dr. Mentzer! Thank you for continuing to give to us, even in your absence. We celebrate you!
Hello, Jennifer. I’ve just read your nice tribute to Tom Mentzer. I know that he would be pleased. What a huge loss for all who knew him, but what a huge gift that we were able to enjoy him. Thanks for taking the time to write about Tom.
Thank you Dr. Moon. So many people were touched by Dr. Mentzer I imagine it’s impossible to count. I just loved his short book and his beautiful outlook. He was a great asset to UT, as are you!