Chris Baumann is an Associate Professor here at Macquarie and prior to academia he worked in the Swiss banking industry. His research interests are in customer loyalty, competitiveness in education and society, ethnic marketing and East Asia.

Check out Chris’ most recent article published on The Lighthouse, where he discusses the difference between business winners and losers.

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(1) In a nutshell, my job is to…
As academics, we inspire, we mentor, we guide, we teach, we find out, we provide Eureka moments for our students and we want to make the world a better place. Such a job is a privilege, since it gives us freedom to research and develop new concepts and theories.Sometimes we use existing theory and that’s fine, but creating a brand-new theory, as my co-authors and I have been doing over the past years with the concept of Competitive Productivity (CP), is truly fascinating (as well as hard and scary).

(2) The question I hear most often in my work is…
“How come you have worked at Macquarie for 19 years, and counting?” Answer: just go for a walk on campus, have a coffee at the library café, a bubble tea at the Globe Café, or lunch at the Staff Café and you will know why. We have the nicest campus in the country in my view, and importantly, we have an inspirational atmosphere and Aussie-style relaxed culture.

(3) The thing I find most rewarding in my role is…
The biggest reward is clearly when we see our students progress, develop and grow into new roles. Equally rewarding is the collegiality on campus and that is very important to me. For example, my colleagues Hume Winzar, Doris Viengkham and I recently collaborated to write a book on Confucianism, Discipline and Competitiveness (CDC). Our collaboration was so much fun and so rewarding at the same time (but also hard work). When you are having fun, you create the best of work.

 (4) My mother/father always told me…
My parents encouraged me to explore life and the world with all its facets. My dad used to work for Swissair, so from a very early age I was shown the world. Travelling the continents as a child (Europe, America, South America, Africa, Asia, Australia) has given me a global mindset and it planted a life-long travel bug.

(5) A place that’s special to me is…
Vancouver! I went to school there when I was 13 as my family moved to Canada, and then I did my MBA there at Simon Fraser University (SFU). But also, Switzerland (my original home), Korea (my spiritual home), and Sydney (my chosen home). I often take the ferry to the CBD and enjoy this mini cruise, passing by the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House is priceless. The lifestyle in Sydney is just phenomenal.

(6) The bravest thing I’ve done is…
In my life, I have packed up and started somewhere else on the planet a couple of times (Canada and Australia). It was never really easy, but always exciting and always inspiring. I sometimes can’t believe how fascinating our world is, how exciting life can be if we allow it to be so.

(7) I’m scared of…
Disappointing the ones that mean most to me.

(8) My hidden talent is…
I am not sure. I have tried singing karaoke and my score told me it is not one of my hidden talents. So, I guess I am still waiting to discover any hidden talents.

(9) Something I’ve never done but wanted to try is…
The past two decades have been devoted largely to my academic career. But sooner or later I think I should have a ‘life sabbatical’ and learn how to fly a plane (I have already taken a few lessons and flown a very small plane and there was no crash, thankfully), or maybe buy a small boat and sail Sydney harbour and beyond. Or, do more volunteer teaching in an emerging market, such as Vietnam or Thailand, and inspire the next generation to reach for the stars beyond what they had previously thought possible.

 (10) A moment I’ll always remember…
With my interest in East Asian culture and markets, I see value in Ying and Yang: the most painful and the most pleasurable moments are the ones that we remember most in life. If we don’t experience pain, we don’t value pleasures, and vice-versa. It’s funny – I teach business, marketing and management, but material things are not important to me. It’s moments with people (or my cat, Otis) that make life worth living (not money, not power). The best things in life are not things at all.

Caption: Associate Professor Chris Baumann with his Confucianism, Discipline, and Competitiveness co-authors Dr Doris Viengkham and Associate Professor Hume Winzar.