E. Maxine Bruhns, 93, has had her job for more than 50 years. Not only is she just the second director of the University of Pittsburgh’s Nationality Rooms, she’s likely the oldest employee at Pitt.
She also shows few signs of slowing down. When I spoke to her, she’d just gotten off her treadmill and happily spoke of creating many of the rooms as if they were favored pupils.
Before her time in Pittsburgh, she had a multi-cultural life, visiting more than 80 countries and meeting famous people like Albert Schweitzer. Her husband, who she met at The Ohio State University, warned her if she married him, they’d have to travel. He worked for the United Nations.
She shared more about her leadership of the Nationality Rooms in the Uniquely feature.
In an issue that partly focuses on business longevity — where I queried senior executives of companies at least 50 years old about how they’ve adapted to internal and external conditions for long-term success — it’s interesting that Bruhns has a similar tenure.
Bruhns has the ability to accept change, too. She said she’s discovered over her life that anything can happen, so she tries not to think too far ahead.
The executives, on the other hand, were all about looking to the future. Some common themes were continuous improvement, never getting complacent and keeping a check on your ego. Most spoke of accepting market or industry conditions in order to evolve the company to fit those.
When I asked how they decided to take the risk when it came time to pivot, they felt the risk of not doing something was higher. They looked to the horizon for the next challenge or opportunity, weighed the current realities and made a judgement that it was time to change.
It may have been a bit of a leap of faith, but I guess sometimes that’s what it takes. The courage to choose and stick with it.
