For alumnus Eric Crown, his induction into the W. P. Carey School’s Hall of Fame is sweet vindication. While pursuing a degree in computer information systems, Crown, 46, wrote a paper on a potential mail-order business that would sell parts for the burgeoning computer market. He got a C on the assignment because, he recalls, the professor didn’t deem the idea viable. However, two years after his 1984 graduation, Crown started just that business. Today Insight Enterprises, Inc. has clients in 170 countries, counts more than 4,000 employees and notched $4.8 billion in revenues in 2007.

Herman Cain believes he has one gift that has allowed him to attain every goal he’s set for himself: the ability to inspire. "Great leaders inspire others," the conservative radio talk show host and former president of Godfather’s Pizza told about 60 business students last week in a speech hosted by the W. P. Carey School of Business. "But more importantly, great leaders inspire themselves."

The inspiring expression, "failure is not an option" reportedly evolved from a statement by Jerry C. Bostick, a flight controller who helped bring the space-stranded astronauts of Apollo 13 safely back to earth. While the mindset behind it — to never give up — still applies, the adage itself does not fit the innovative, mutable environment most businesswomen face today, according to entrepreneur Rita Davenport. Davenport was speaking at the NAWBO/Wells Fargo Trailblazers Award luncheon.