Well, he is the speaker at Northwestern Univ , Kellogg School of Management .2011-2012 ( NWU are north of Chicago ) . For me my question is MT3 use fedex time to be speaker in the university ? or did he use his dayoff ???
Speakers - Business Leadership Club | CampusGroups at Kellogg School of Management
Individuals in a position like your beloved MT3, aren't really governed by "day off" availability. They have a schedule, they have committments, but they don't have to walk in the office before a certain time, they can take care of personal business if it doesn't conflict with company needs and they can go give a commencement speech if there isn't any conflict with already scheduled company events.
In a way, company's executives going to universities and giving speeches is PART of their responsibilities - it gives a public face to the corporation, and generates "positive PR".
The only thing executives have to be careful about, is to not shoot off their mouth regarding company operations and impending business plans. If MT3 is going to tell students to "work hard", "be good citizens", "wash behind the ears......" (in otherwords, useless platitudes), then there isn't an issue. In most cases, speeches by corporate executives AREN'T written by the exec, the speech is written by someone in PR, who receives a few talking points from the exec (along with a few personal anecdotes to include).
Then the professional speech writer crafts a speech to fit a certain time limit (the invite will include just how long the speaker will have to speak), have the exec review it, make any requested modifications, run it through PR and legal to make sure there are no potential issues for the company, then hand it over to the exec. The exec will spend some time practicing it, then arrange for it to either be placed on a teleprompter or set up a version with large type to enable reading from a podium.
In the corporate world, having execs give speeches on occasion is part of their "job". There are also social events that are more or less mandatory for them to attend - to give "face time" and put a big smiley on the impression that people have of the corporation. I have to admit, that is one part of "professional life" which I don't like - being required to put in face time at various events which I (and especially my wife) would rather not be at. One gets dressed up, shows up, smiles and makes small talk and tries to get out after spending just enough time to get "credit" for attending the event.