Trevor Fetter gives advice to the graduating ECs. After so much unpacking, it’s time to pack. What will you bring? What will you leave behind? If you’re completing your first year, we’re basically talking, in travel terms, about an extended weekend. I hope the weather is good, that you like the destination, you get a…
How does the first-year HBS MBA experience differ across the student population? A class-wide survey of second-year students sheds light on this question. HBS students are a diverse population—different demographics and life experiences have shaped each of our journeys to and at HBS. We, a team of WSA members, conducted a survey investigating the HBS…
Ahead of his upcoming move into the Dean’s House, Dean Datar takes some time to talk to the Harbus. Israt Tarin (MBA ’22) and Raseem Farook (MBA ’21) report. On January 1 this year, Srikant Datar was appointed the 11th Dean of the Harvard Business School in the school’s 112 year history, replacing Nitin Nohria,…
Ibe Imo, writes on Sebastion Francois, 2020 Venture in Management Program participant, his experience and the life-changing impact that access and opportunity provide. Sebastion Francois’s participation in Harvard Business School‘s 2020 Venture in Management Program was an affirmation that opportunity and education create life-changing impacts for people and communities. 2020’s Venture in Management Program (VMP)…
Tracey Thompson (MBA ’22) breaks down this 400-year long view of the Black Life in America, and how we can be better at discussing and dismantling it. When I first got approached to write an article about Black History Month, it was my instinct to turn it down. One part of me has never loved…
Samara Sone-Blank reports on the first time in recent memory when HBS commemorated International Holocaust Remembrance Day. January 27 is International Holocaust Remembrance Day, a day that commemorates the genocide of Jewish people that took place at the hands of the German Nazis and their collaborators from 1939 to 1945. Although Jews were the major…
MBAs need to prepare to be held accountable for building a more diverse workforce. In June 2020, while addressing his company’s response to the Black Lives Matter movement, Charles Scharf, the otherwise highly regarded CEO of Wells Fargo who was charged with turning around the bank after the scandals and missteps of his predecessors, asserted,…
Earlier this month, the Women’s Student Association held its 30th annual Dynamic Women in Business Conference. 2021 also marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of the WSA. Almost a decade ago, we started to research the history of women at HBS as part of the School’s W50 commemoration. As we interviewed alumni, faculty, and…
Each year, over a hundred HBS MBA students participate in an immersion program to build on their skills to become an early-stage entrepreneur by starting a venture. Yvonne Ferrier (MBA ’22) talked with five founders-to-be about their venture ideas and aspirations. 2020 was a year described as a pause, standstill or hibernation time, but, in…
Noelia Lombardo Gava (MBA ’22) reports on the EC seminar that focuses on career challenges and opportunities of female protagonists. As we dive into the third edition of this section, it is important to reflect on the amount of single stories we have about female leadership. Single stories told by women all over the world…
Upoma Dutta (MBA ’21) speaks with Kevin Mayer (MBA ’90) about the leadership philosophies and self-discoveries connecting his past, present, and future. By many measures, 2020 has so far been an unprecedented year—a year in which even the best-laid plans went awry and even the most grounded of us were pushed off-course. Some experts say…
Rebecca Braun (MBA ’21) reports on the concerted efforts by the HBS Community to improve civic engagement and voter turnout in the upcoming presidential election. U.S. voter participation is low by both international and historical standards, and the youth of today are less likely to vote than both the Boomers we mock and our peers…
In his inaugural column for the Harbus, Professor Trevor Fetter shares his thoughts on how HBS students can learn crisis leadership by observation in 2020. I first knew Kevin Sharer as the legendary Chief Executive Officer of one of the world’s most important companies. Many of our MBA students first knew him as Professor Kevin…
In his monthly column for the Harbus, Professor Kevin W. Sharer shares his thoughts on the issues facing HBS students. All things must end and so it is for my days as an HBS faculty member and your correspondent. It has been a wonderful adventure in so many ways, and I want to use this…
Gabriel Ellsworth (MBA ’20) reviews EKTA, a banquet of South Asian music and dance in Klarman. On Thursday, March 5, students filled Klarman Hall for EKTA, a cultural performance presented by the South Asian Business Association (SABA). They did not know that this would turn out to be the last performance on the Klarman stage…
Members of the HBS’ Latter-day Saint Student Association share how the beloved HBS professor inspired them and others to build more principled, integrated, and outwardly focused lives. Note: After careful consideration and in accordance with the new Harvard University guidelines for events and meetings on campus due to COVID-19, the memorial service for Professor Clayton Christensen…
In January, 44 ECs led by Professor Willy Shih (TOM) and Professor Meg Rithmire (BGIE) traveled across Asia to study globalization and international relations on the ground. Gabriel Ellsworth and Ryo Takahashi (MBAs 2020) report. On January 5, 2020, an arduous undertaking was under way as 44 ECs, two professors, two program managers, and staff…
Upoma Dutta (MBA ’21) talks with Netflix co-founder Marc Randolph about his new book and the venture that most thought would never work. How often have you tried to explain a direct-to-consumer subscription model created by HBS alumni, and decided you were better off just calling it “the Netflix of … something?” Rent the Runway—“the…
Dean Nitin Nohria offers his perspective on the promise and perils of our market system, touching on the role of corporate and public actors. Tarun Galagali (MBA ’21) sat down with him as a part of an ongoing podcast, Remaking Capitalism, hosted by the Harbus. Two weeks into RC year at HBS, I wrote an…
Upoma Dutta (MBA ’21) talks with Professor Amy C. Edmondson about what’s changed in the two years since #MeToo went viral. On October 5, 2017, the New York Times published an explosive exposé on how one of Hollywood’s most successful film producers, Harvey Weinstein, abused his power for decades to subject numerous actresses to sexual…
Ryo Takahashi (MBA ’20) speaks with Harvard Professor Ezra Vogel. As China celebrates its 70th National Day, Japan prepares in earnest to host the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and the United States becomes increasingly protectionist, the coming decade presents unique opportunities and challenges for Sino-Japanese relations. Professor Ezra Vogel at Harvard University is among those who…
In his monthly column for the Harbus, Professor Kevin W. Sharer shares his thoughts on the issues facing HBS students. The Three Graces is a famous marble neoclassical sculpture executed by the Italian artist Antonio Canova in the early 19th century. The graces are meant to represent the three daughters of Zeus, who personified mythological…
Raseem Farook (MBA ’21) talks to the marketing and admissions teams at HBS to understand their perspective on business-school rankings. MBA rankings have become increasingly important to business-school applicants over the last few years, as they help them compare different MBA programs. Finishing on top of these rankings sends a strong signal to the applicant…
Recently, the Business Roundtable released a new definition of the purpose of corporations. Tarun Galagali (MBA ’21) offers his thoughts on how we might use the pledge to go from reimagining capitalism to remaking it. Just about two weeks ago, a consortium of America’s most powerful CEOs signed a commitment to “[modernize] the principles on…
Gaby Goldstein (MBA ’20) and Connor Cash (MBA ’20) share their thoughts on the beginning of this new school year. Welcome Class of 2021 and welcome back ECs! We are Gaby Santana Goldstein and Connor Cash. Together we are your Student Association Co-Presidents for this year. This past week has been a great moment to…
This year’s START featured a new addition: Reciprocity Rings. Gabriel Ellsworth (MBA ’20) reports. On the second day of their MBA journey, the Class of 2021 learned a lesson that should serve them well throughout their two years at HBS and beyond: request and offer help often. They tried their hands at doing just that…
If you’re loving your summer internship and the company is a good fit, you might just want to accept a full-time offer with them. You may have even chosen your internship knowing that your company sponsors H-1B visas and is looking for a talent like you. In fact, the best advice is to do just…
Rethinking firms and their role in society: Ryo Takahashi (MBA ’20) talks with Professor Rebecca M. Henderson. It has been a commonly held belief that the purpose of firms is to maximize shareholder value. This notion of shareholder primacy resonates with many business leaders’ understanding of their fiduciary duties, and with our norms of how…
In his monthly column for the Harbus, Professor Kevin W. Sharer shares his thoughts on the issues facing HBS students. May comes again as we celebrate, encourage, and recognize another 900 or so new HBS graduates. This is a singular honor, privilege, and accomplishment that will always reflect credit upon you and set you apart….
Kel Jackson (MBA ’19) reflects on the community’s response to anonymous death threats sent to him and other black HBS students. On an afternoon in late March, an anonymous individual sent death threats to me and several other leaders of the African-American Student Union at HBS (AASU). In addition to direct threats to the recipients…