Jim Ludington ’82 Advises Students to ‘Stand and Deliver’

Jim Ludington joined the cable industry over twenty five years ago, at a time when many people, including his father, were skeptical that anybody would ever pay to watch television. Despite the concern of his family, and with a “stand and deliver” attitude, the current executive vice president at Time Warner Cable found success doing a job he loves.

Jim returned to campus last week to share career advice for students – his first time back to Fort Collins since 1982 when he graduated with a degree in construction management. His message was timely. Jim presented to a class of students who are preparing to graduate and enter the work force in a tough economic environment much like Jim faced in the early eighties. Not only were his words appropriate for students, but anyone at any career stage would benefit from implementing Jim’s advice. Here are some tenets that he shared with the group.

• On decision making: “I spend money and make money as if it were my business.”

• On complaining: “Many can elevate complaining to an art form of wasting time. I have a two minute rule. I’ll allow moaning and groaning for two minutes. Then it’s time to solve the problem.”

• On choosing a career: “Love what you do. If you don’t love it, quit. Respect yourself and go find it. Understand who you are. A job is a place for employment and enjoyment.”

• On recruiting: “I always hire ‘attitude and aptitude.’ Are you the type of person to get things done? I don’t care about grades or even job experience, but can you learn what I do? Can you learn the job?”

• On social media: “Facebook and myspace-away, but when we lose the ability to interact face to face, we are in trouble. By the way, is Facebook a good place to do reference checks?”

• On asking questions: “I remember coming out of meetings during my first job, with long, long lists of things I didn’t know, questions I had. I would spend the rest of the day going to find the answers to all of those questions. I still come out of meetings with lists of questions. Use those opportunities. Ask if you don’t understand. Go learn it.”

• On complacency: “Be the one to ‘do it.’ Stand up and get things done. Two things that drive me nuts – when I hear ‘we’ve been talking about doing that for a while’ and ‘this is the way we’ve always done that.’ Nothing drives me crazier.”

• On change: “Embrace it.”

• On communication: “Listen.”

As Jim closed, he reminded students that they may soon find themselves in a sector of the construction industry they don’t feel prepared for. Or possibly in a completely different industry (perhaps the cable business!) “You have a great foundation in your education from Colorado State University. Now it’s about attitude and aptitude. Stand and deliver!”

About Jim Ludington
In Jim's role at Time Warner Cable, he is responsible for oversight of the testing, implementation, and national operation of the technology platforms delivering voice, video, and data services. Prior to joining Time Warner, he assisted the cable operator with some of its first launches of Video on Demand while working at INT2-Internetwork Integration, Inc., an integration and network development company he founded in 1996. Before founding INT2, Jim spent 14 years at Time Warner Cable in a number of capacities.

Jim was on campus as a Monfort Professor-in-Residence, a program that brings accomplished leaders from business, government, and the arts to campus to interact with students and enrich their learning experiences. The program is supported by a generous gift from the Monfort Family Foundation.

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Contact:  Kim Winger
Telephone:  970.491.2797
Email:  Kim.Winger@colostate.edu