Outstanding Alumnus Says NIACC Started His Engine

When Bill Swift returned to Mason City almost 35 years after graduating from NIACC, it was, as he explains, "a significant emotional experience." Swift, a top executive with Ford Motor Company in Detroit, came back to his hometown as part of the "Pathways to Success" leadership program. He pulled into town in his Jaguar a day early so that he and his wife, Mary, could see the College for themselves, a campus that they had never seen before.

"The campus is spectacular, and you can quote me on that," Swift said. "We wanted to look at it without any other participants so I could form my own view. It is a knock out campus, and as I’ve listened to the formula for the education system, I can tell it’s a good model."

Swift graduated from Mason City High School in 1961 and began his college education at Northwestern University in Chicago. After his freshman year, he was disappointed with the curriculum and decided to enroll at Mason City Junior College for his sophomore year.

"It gave me exactly what I was looking for. More of a ‘how-to’ in business," Swift said. "In fact it got me so ready for my junior year at Iowa that I was quite comfortable in declaring an accounting major, which is a tough major."

After graduating from the University of Iowa in 1965 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, he fulfilled a lifetime goal by accepting a job with Ford Motor Company as an accountant in the staff accounting department. As a self professed "car nut" and a business fanatic, he was pairing two of his passions by working in the auto business. He went on to earn his master’s degree in management from Stanford University, where he was a Sloan Fellow.

Swift held several positions on the Ford finance staff until 1981, when he joined the car product development division as assistant controller-product analysis. From there, he gradually worked his way up in the company and in January of 1999 assumed the position of vice-president and controller.

Until about four or five years ago, Swift hadn’t kept up on NIACC. It was when he received an Intouch newsletter that he noticed a few changes.

"It was just apparent from this newsletter that this organization had changed fairly dramatically. It was larger in scope and very much in tune to the educational community and it sparked an interest in my mind," Swift said.

That spark helped Swift reflect on the College as it was when he was a student. "When this was Mason City Junior College, I don’t think it was of the stature that NIACC is today. But even back then what it gave me was a relevant curriculum," Swift said. "It was very specific direction and instruction around accounting, statistics, economics and history of business, all things I felt that I needed to know very quickly to get into a business career."

Swift, who recently became a grandfather, admits that, even in his personal life, he has kept his passion for the auto industry very close to his heart. Mary, his wife of 13 years, is controller of Ford’s Lincoln Mercury line.

married since 1987, made the trip back to Mason City. Swift admits, even in his personal life, he has kept his passion for the auto industry very close to his heart.

"The only other person I could marry was someone else in the car and truck business and they had to work with Ford and they had to be in finance," Swift explained. "I’ll even say they had to be a controller. So we have two controllers in our family and people like to joke about that…who controls who!"

Bill Swift urged NIACC students to find their passion and center their career on it. And that’s just what Swift, a 1963 Mason City Junior College (NIACC’s predecessor) graduate, has done. Swift spoke to a packed room of NIACC students, family and friends, faculty and staff as part of the "Pathways to Success" leadership luncheon in April. Invited back to NIACC as the 2000 Outstanding Alumnus, Swift also had the honor of addressing the group on his life theories at the luncheon.

"I came at the invitation to talk to the 34 emerging leaders here and I think at this stage in my career we all have this responsibility to help others," Swift said. "I am really looking forward to at least shaking hands with these leaders because it is so tough for kids today to make their way. There are so many distractions and so many opportunities to go off scale, that I really admire kids who have the determination to make it stick."

Swift didn’t work from notes for his speech, but instead from his heart and head on what has been tried and true for him in the business world.

The message focused on a "career model." At the very heart, or center of that model he says is passion. Swift encourages others to first identify their passion and then make your career around that.

"I’ve seen too many people who reserve their passion for their hobbies instead of putting more into their career," Swift said. "In my case, Ford is my passion. I want to be buried in a coffin with an F-150 on my head," referring to the Ford truck model.

The second component to the career model is will…the drive, determination, conviction to follow your passion, followed by competitive strength. Swift touched on the importance of knowledge, the expectation to be an expert of your passion and to keep up with times and the growing body of knowledge. "Know how to drive your career," Swift said.

He wrapped up by commenting on teamwork, teaching others, and having the "edge" to make tough decisions. He encouraged others to be true to themselves, to do the right thing, and be true to their own values.

"You must have integrity and credibility before the people you lead and courage to make the tough calls," Swift said. "You must know how to balance the good and the bad days out. The bottom line is to understand how to get the results you want. Bring people with you through your success and teach them along the way. And remember, it’s vital to communicate your action plan."