‘Sea Captain’ Phil Bender takes Trulaske students on ‘The Voyage’

University of Missouri alum Phil Bender left a successful career as a managing partner at Northwestern Mutual to don a new hat: that of The Sea Captain. 

Through his enterprise, Sea Captain Coaching, Bender ventured into uncharted waters to help other professionals chart a course to professional and personal success. As founder and CEO, Bender and his team of coaches develop strategies that empower businesses and organizations to optimize their growth. 

While Bender has chosen to dock in Newport, Rhode Island, Mizzou still holds this Sea Captain’s heart. In addition to supporting the university’s athletics department through consulting and fund raising, Bender has also invested his time, money and talent in Mizzou’s Robert J. Trulaske, Sr. College of Business. It was through his work with the college’s Heartland Scholars Academy, which supports first-generation rural students, and the Trulaske Edge program, which provides business students with professional and personal development opportunities, that Bender stumbled upon inspiration for his next adventure. 

As he reflected on his own days as a student, Bender remembered that he had learned best through storytelling. Bender reached out to Laurie Baughman, an alum of Mizzou’s Journalism School, a master storyteller, and the proud parent of two Trulaske alumni, with a simple idea: writing a book that would help prepare future business leaders for whatever tomorrow might bring.

“He didn’t want a regular book on business principles,” Baughman recalled. “He mentioned a fable. He wanted to take the students on a journey.”

Recently widowed, Baughman was also ready to venture into new waters and had made a commitment to herself to begin saying “yes” to new opportunities. Together, Bender and Baughman set out to share Bender’s lessons in leadership, excellence, and personal and professional growth in a novel new way: “The Voyage – The Adventure in Your Lifetime,” a book that features a series of fictional vignettes shared between a seafaring grandfather and his granddaughter, as she prepares to set sail on her own maiden voyage.

The unique fictional tale includes a range of teaching tools designed to help the reader identify their own work style, learn to navigate conflict resolution, and discover their own sense of purpose. The entertaining yarn emphasizes the importance of intention and activation and how those principles can help leaders live proactively, rather than reactively.

“We all have strengths we can tap into if we’re intentional,” Baughman said. “And you create a bigger impact if you live intentionally, rather than just letting life happen to you.”

Bender and Baughman recently visited Trulaske students to discuss the book, which was published in April. Bender hopes the lessons shared will empower young adults to “create a visionary life” by inspiring them to rise above fear.

“The generation coming through college now is more self-aware than any previous generation, in my opinion,” Bender said. “But they struggle with taking risks. Unfortunately, most learning comes from living through adverse situations.”

It’s fitting that “The Voyage” will launch from Cornell Hall, since the book itself features an introduction by Balaji Rajagopalan, the Robert J. Trulaske, Sr. Dean of the Trulaske College of Business, and illustrations by Reece Kearby, a student in Trulaske’s marketing department, whom Bender and Baughman met through a chance encounter at a restaurant. 

“I’m honored Phil and Laurie have chosen to share their experiences first-hand with Trulaske students,” Rajagopalan said. “I have no doubt this entertaining and informative tale will support our students in their pursuit of academic, professional and personal excellence.”

Baughman says she takes inspiration from the students she meets during her campus visits. Bender also encourages other alumni, supporters and partners of the university to lend their time and talents.

“They’ll help you find the spot where you can make a difference,” he said. “If you’ve achieved something worthwhile, you owe it to yourself to pay it forward.”

This Sea Captain has a few other pieces of advice for others as they prepare to embark on life after graduation. He encourages young people to develop a sense of “mission clarity” by understanding who they are and how they can serve — an important mindset for professionals as they climb the ladder of success. 

“Who you are matters more than what you know when you reach the leadership level,” Bender said. “For me, that means meeting a new person every day, helping them put together their personal puzzles, and joining them on their long journeys.”

But most importantly, he said, never stop seeking new experiences.

“You can never be old in spirit if your new experiences outweigh your old memories.”

Mizzou’s Robert J. Trulaske, Sr. College of Business prepares students for success as global citizens, business leaders, scholars, innovators and entrepreneurs by providing access to transformative technologies, offering experience-centered learning opportunities and fostering an entrepreneurial mindset.