Kelly King, the CEO of BB&T, visited the Poole College of Management Wednesday evening to discuss global problems and personal values in front of a crowd of about 250 attendees, including Elaine Marshall, the North Carolina Secretary of State.

King said geopolitical issues, such as China’s slowing growth and Europe’s recession, are impacting the United States’ economy and ultimately keeping it from reaching its full potential. 

“[There are] many very well-informed people who will say U.S. has seen its best days, and it will get worse from here,” King said. “I absolutely reject that.”

In addition to conditions abroad, the political environment in the U.S. is also holding the economy back, King said. 

King identified himself as a democrat with fiscally conservative, socially responsible views. However, he said he thinks some social programs are problematic for the future of the U.S. as they create floors for economics. 

“It really creates a difficult challenge for people to move forward and work hard to pull themselves up. It causes people to settle down and let government take care of them. That’s not the basis the country was formed,” King said. 

King said the country was founded on opportunity.

“If we get to a point where half the people are drawing the source of their economic from the government, they will be disenfranchised,” King said. “They will lose their spirit of hope and opportunity.”

To change that, King suggested the country change leadership, which comes from people taking action.

“My strong recommendation to you is to recognize long-term results are a function of behaviors,” King said. “Behaviors are a result of beliefs. People behave in a matter that is consistent with their beliefs.”

Maintaining values, such as judgment, honesty and happiness, is critical for aspiring businesspeople who are looking to successfully reach their goals, King said. 

“Honesty is absolute, and one should be 100 percent honest to be successful,” King said. “If you start down the road of things that might not seem important but they are dishonest, then you start to think that dishonesty is okay. Dishonesty in life will ultimately catch up with you because it will destroy people’s life with you.”

King said every person should concentrate on making good decisions for his or herself in order to produce the best outcome. 

“Making good decisions for yourself is really important if you want to achieve a lot in life. Success is about a sense of individuality,” King said. “It’s about individually producing all you can produce.”

During the lecture, King addressed the concept of justice from a capitalistic standpoint. 

“Those that produce the most, ought to earn the most,” King said. “That is a capitalistic view of life. We believe if you work harder, study harder, you get an A.” 

At the end of the event, a few guests were able to ask questions, including Marshall, who asked what can be done about the lack of financial literacy in the country.

“Financial literacy is one of the reasons our economy is not doing well,” King said. “We need to educate people about the basics financial literacy.”

King talked about how BB&T partnered with a small company, EverFi, to create a game that was designed to teach financial literacy and make large purchases such as a car or a house, which King said will be given freely to 1,300 schools in North Carolina.

“The reason I came to NC State was to try to have a positive impact on the students,” King said. “And I wanted them to know there are still phenomenal opportunities in our country if they will assume responsibility for their own success and happiness.”

Lewis Stocks, a junior in finance, said he appreciated King’s enthusiasm about young people’s role in the future of the U.S. economy. 

“I loved it because of how passionate he was about young people, the future success of our country, and the values he wants to instill in our country,” Stocks said. 

Stocks said he saw the significance in the political portion of the speech.

“I think he is a strong believer in the way the country was founded, and he believes the country is moving in a different direction in terms of Washington and its leadership,” Stocks said. “What I mean by Washington and its leadership, I don’t believe he was talking about the president.”

King has served as the chairman of BB&T since 2010, and president and CEO of BB&T Corporation and the Branch Banking & Trust Company since 2009. He was ranked No. 3 Best CEO in a 2011 study by Institutional Investor magazine.

The lecture in Nelson Auditorium was part of the Dean’s Executive Series sponsored by Wells Fargo.