Thursday Thought Leaders - October 8, 2026

What if one of the most powerful tools in business isn’t having the right answer, but asking the right question? Great questions help us get to the heart of what matters, whether we’re diagnosing a business challenge, understanding what a customer really needs, deciding where to invest our time, or solving a problem that doesn’t have an obvious answer. In this practical and engaging session, Lynne Segall, Goizueta Business School professor and co-author of “Don’t Smash the Watermelon: A guide to business problem-solving with impact: Success without the Mess,” will share a simple framework for framing problems, asking better questions, and focusing attention on what matters most. You will leave with tools you can put to work immediately, no matter your industry, role, or size of business.



About Lynne Segall
Lynne G. Segall is the Associate Dean of Management Practice Initiatives and an Associate Professor in the Practice of Organization & Management at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School.

In her primary role, Professor Segall leads Goizueta IMPACT, the school’s flagship project-based experiential learning curriculum, which is a core part of the Goizueta MBA experience. It is designed to provide students with both classroom and field experiences to learn and apply practical frameworks and systematic processes to address complex, real-world problems and facilitate effective action. In this role, she leads the overall strategic direction for Goizueta’s project-based experiential learning programs including developing and teaching core courses, cultivating client relationships with the business community, and leading a team of Goizueta IMPACT core and elective faculty to ensure meaningful student and client experiences.

Prof. Segall joined Goizueta in July 2015 after almost 16 years at Accenture. In addition to client service, her tenure at Accenture included roles designing, building and running the global Strategy and Management Consulting capability / professional development programs for 16,000 management consultants. She also developed and executed the talent strategy for Accenture’s management consulting practice, creating, advancing and implementing market-relevant offerings in the areas of leadership, talent, HR and organization change. In addition, she has taught (and provided coaching on) structured problem-solving and communication to full-time MBA student teams at Goizueta Business School since
2002.

In addition to teaching in all of Emory’s MBA-degree programs, Prof. Segall also helps organizations build problem-solving and communication capabilities, with clients including UPS, the US Army Rangers, Georgia Power, Delta Air Lines, Fujitsu, Lucent Technologies, Warner Media, OneDigital, TD Bank, BTS Consulting, Crumbl Cookies, Insight Sourcing Group, Midtown Consulting Group, and Roark Capital.

Prof. Segall holds an MBA from Emory University, where she was a Woodruff Scholar, graduated Beta Gamma Sigma, and received the John Robson Outstanding Student Service Award, the school’s highest student honor. Prior to business school, she spent seven years in the property casualty insurance industry working across multiple functions – marketing, underwriting, accounting and claims. She has served on non-profit boards in Atlanta, including her current role on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors for Horizon Theatre, a professional theatre in Inman Park, GA. She also holds a Bachelor of Science in Communication Studies from Northwestern University.