August 15, 2020

A bestselling author on championing ideas, facing adversity, and building resilience is delivering lessons on those topics during this year’s convention.

Adam Grant, PhD, is a professor of management and psychology at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, an author of four books, a lecturer and consultant, and the host of the “WorkLife” podcast and Authors @Wharton Speaker Series. The AVMA’s chief economist, Matthew J. Salois, PhD, plans to interview Dr. Grant for the virtual session “Where Do We Go from Here: A Conversation with Adam Grant” during the AVMA Virtual Convention 2020.

Dr. Salois said Dr. Grant delivers lessons with skill and academic rigor, and Dr. Grant combines those qualities with warmth and kindness, using his talks and books to deliver practical yet positive lessons on organizational theory and management.

“He’s got a lot of expertise in organizational culture, how to build a cohesive team, concepts around innovation and creativity, and so forth,” Dr. Salois said.

Any company or organization would benefit from those skills, Dr. Salois said. As veterinary medicine navigates through the darkness of COVID-19, “I think the positive light that Adam Grant tends to spin on issues and challenges will be great for our members to hear.”

Every problem has a solution, and there’s always reason for hope, Dr. Salois said.

The session is scheduled for 11 a.m. EDT on Saturday, Aug. 22, and is sponsored by CareCredit. It is expected to draw on lessons from “Option B,” a book that Dr. Grant and Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook chief operating officer, co-authored about re-imagining and rebuilding life after the first choice is no longer available.

Dr. Salois also recounted lessons from a prior book, “Originals,” in which Dr. Grant describes how individuals can champion new ideas and organizational leaders can combat groupthink.

“It requires a bit of courage and conviction to be bold and rethink old assumptions,” Dr. Salois said, but enduring that risk and fear is worthwhile to get to a brighter place.

“I think we’ve got some real challenges and issues that would benefit from that sort of mindset,” he said.

Dr. Salois and his team in the AVMA Veterinary Economics Division also direct the annual AVMA Economic Summit, which will be offered virtually for 2020. The summit is planned for Oct. 27-28, and Dr. Salois said work to adapt that meeting was ongoing.

That meeting gives presentations and discussions on the economic challenges and opportunities in veterinary medicine, with lessons on improving practice sustainability and understanding the trends influencing client spending and veterinary practice, according to AVMA information.