Ken Barth Inspires Seniors at ESD's Dedman Lecture Series on Leadership

October 19, 2023

Yesterday, ESD's upper school participated in a Special Programming Day during which seniors had the opportunity to hear from Ken Barth, Chairman at Symphonic Source and CEO at Catalogic Software, as part of the biannual Robert H. Dedman Endowed Lecture Series for Leadership. A native Dallasite, Barth graduated from UNT. He has over 25 years of management and leadership experience in technology and actively supports several education-focused not-for-profit organizations. 

Introduced by senior class president Caroline Bagley '24, Barth spoke to students about defining success. He discussed what he learned along his professional journey and what he wished he had known as a senior in college.

He shared that his professional journey had a lot of twists and turns and assured the seniors in the audience that it is okay to make mistakes. After speaking about his mistakes and triumphs, he left the seniors with three pieces of advice:

• "Be honest with yourself. Being successful in life is having a sense of well-being."
• "Be in touch with your feelings. Everything in your life is about your perspective. Ten percent of life is what happens to you, and 90 percent is how you handle it."
• "Being successful in life is being in control of your decisions. Folks that consciously make decisions control their destiny." 

Following the lecture, Barth stayed to speak with students and answer questions. His honest message was engaging and inspiring for those in the audience, and we appreciate his time and efforts to talk to our senior class.

Started in 2002, the Robert H. Dedman Endowed Lecture Series provides students with opportunities to learn lessons in leadership from outstanding achievers across many industries. Guests have included captains of many industries, heroes, and champions of philanthropy and service. For more information, please contact Carol Bergman.