Keith Cooper is a 2006 graduate of LSU with a degree in Biological Sciences with a minor in Chemistry. After working at a local hospital and with an estate planning/administration attorney, Keith went back to school in 2008 and got his MBA from the LSU Flores MBA Program with a focus in Management and Entrepreneurship. Shortly thereafter he began his professional career in skilled nursing facilities, where Keith quickly learned that all of the management courses under the sun could not have prepared him for what laid waiting in the “real world”. It was at this point that he realized that he could not be the only person in this predicament; others had to be equally unprepared, and we all carried our ineptness silently. It is for this reason that Keith began to record his personal experiences, hoping to fill in the gaps of his own personal knowledge and help better prepare others who might be experiencing the same struggles.

The blog’s name, The Nouveau Manager, was coined because of the duality of the word “nouveau” – it means both “new” and “modern”. As a member of the newest generation of managers, Keith found himself referring to antiquated management concepts that had worked thirty years ago, but no longer had the same efficacy. What worked in the management of “baby boomer” employees would not (and will not) work for “gen x’ers” or “millennials”. And why should it? They are groups of people separated by not just time but also values, dreams, and expectations. This is why we must adapt our management styles and make them people-centric, as opposed to book-centric.