How the mission of one EC student sets an example for us all Why did you come to HBS? To switch careers, build your resume, or simply to push yourself outside of your comfort zone? For Rich Horgan (HBS ‘18) the answer is more complex: to further his goal of advancing research to commercialize treatments…
From the Editors – Now the Real Work Begins
To the Harvard Business School MBA class of 2017: congratulations! You’ve earned a degree that is the envy of business leaders everywhere. It will imbue you with the golden brand of a gilded school and allow you easier entry into careers and opportunities. Some may say that your degree gives you the right to a…
HBS students collaborate with ABCDC to increase home ownership around campus
Buying a house in a “hot” market can be a daunting task. When a property becomes available in highly competitive locations, financial buyers usually get it before prospective owner-occupants. Investors can almost instantly secure financing and make a purchase, leaving individuals with no real chance of home ownership in the area. This results in neighborhoods…
Resolving to be Happy: HBS students could learn to settle a little more
In the wake of the financial crisis, University of Texas professor Robert Prentice proposed an overhaul of business school rankings based on long-term happiness rather than post-MBA salaries. “Any sensible person would rather be happy than rich,” Prentice wrote in 2009. “Those who choose to attend business school on the assumption that an MBA will…
The End of Facts = The End of Empathy
On Tuesday 31st of January, Harvard University hosted an event entitled ‘The End of Facts – Journalism in a Post-Truth Era’. This session filled Harvard’s largest auditorium, the Sanders Theatre, and required an overflow area for students and faculty from Harvard and beyond. They had flocked to hear the musings of luminaries within news media…
Why Facebook’s Algorithms are Destroying Democracy
According to Pew Research, 61 percent of millennials use Facebook as their primary source for news about politics and government. The implications this could have for democracy’s underpinnings should not be underestimated. In disrupting the fundamental structures behind traditional information creation, distribution and consumption, social media has been one of the Internet’s most radical and innovative…
In the Aftermath of Castile’s Murder: What Can We Do?
The Minneapolis headquarters of food conglomerate General Mills is less than 20 minutes away from where Philando Castile was shot this July, right in the middle of my internship. I remember watching the video filmed by his girlfriend Diamond, and breaking down when I realized that her 4-year-old daughter was in the back seat….
Empathy Matters
These reflections were written in reaction to the tragedies that took place over the summer, but they are especially relevant given the recent bombings in NY/ NJ and the deaths of Tyre King, Terrance Crutcher and Keith Lamont Scott. My clock stopped shortly after July 4th with the murders of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling,…
Communicating through Change, Challenge, and Chaos; The Education of Tom Strickland
What do brands like Target, Theranos, UnitedHealth, and Vanderbilt University have in common with the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Columbine High School Massacre? All were the subjects of intense press coverage, and in each case the man brought in to weather the media maelstrom was Tom Strickland. A lawyer by training, Strickland served…
Brexit – A Geopolitical Perspective
The nail in the coffin for “Great” Britain? On June 23rd, the British people will vote in a national referendum and will answer the following question; “Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave?” Whilst a seemingly straightforward question, if the British people vote through simple majority to exit the EU (dubbed…
From MBA to Fortune 500 CEO: Fireside Chat with Steven Reinemund, former PepsiCo CEO
It is hard to know what to expect when going to meet a Harvard Business School case protagonist in person. In our HBS cases, most CEOs spend an awful lot of time staring out of windows in heavy contemplation. Windows, it seemed, were critical to learning. This robust theory was unequivocally overturned when I met…
HBO’s Silicon Valley: Lessons from the Writer’s Room on Leading Successful, Engaged Business Teams
What could HBO’s Silicon Valley possibly teach you about running a venture? More than you might think. During a recent talk at the Harvard i-lab, Dan Lyons, author of the recent book Disrupted and a staff writer for the show, shared some behind the scenes insights on the process involved in setting a vision for…
Social Impact And Balancing Social Value With Financial Value
Why investing in Education is so frustrating for the Impact investor When I was young, my family would often visit my paternal grandparents’ home in rural Kisumu, Kenya. On one of our visits, I remember pestering my mother to let me start a school in our home, after seeing how bad the local rural district…
A CEO’s Career: Interview with Ellen Kullman, former CEO of DuPont
Many HBS students dream of breaking into the C-Suite, but how does one get there? Careers in general management are highly sought-after as they offer broad management training and preparation for senior roles. To learn more about this path, I sat down with Ellen Kullman, former CEO of DuPont and board member of General Motors….
Put your data analysis skills to the test – take part in the Datathon for Diabetes
Diabetes is a global pandemic. Characterized by chronic high blood glucose levels (hyperglycemia) due to the body’s failure to produce enough insulin, diabetes affects over 9% of the population in the US alone, and of those people, approximately 25% are undiagnosed. More alarmingly so, the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) estimates that 415 million people have…
It’s Legal but is it Right?
Google the phrase “do the right thing” to see the many ways in which this mantra is intrinsic to American and other healthy cultures. At HBS this message is paramount. It goes without saying that we all want to be successful in life and business, always in ways that are rewarding, legal, honest, and honorable….
A Path Less Traveled: HBS Graduate Runs for Mayor of Baltimore
According to Harvard Business School’s recruiting statistics, the most sought out industries by HBS graduates are financial services and consulting, together consistently drawing in over half of the school’s graduating classes. The class of 2015 statistics support that narrative, with 31% of graduates entering financial services and 24% joining a consulting firm. Contrast that with…
In conversation with Jody Miller: Alternate paths to the top (and why “leaning-in” might not be enough)
Jody Greenstone Miller is a thought leader on the future of work and the Co-Founder and CEO of Business Talent Group (BTG), the leading global marketplace for top independent consultants and executives interested in project-based work. BTG was recently named to Inc. Magazine’s prestigious list of the 5000 fastest-growing companies in America and to the…
Take it From the Guy who Created FOMO: One Job is not Enough
With graduation fast approaching, it’s natural to feel apprehensive about finding a job that will be both interesting and fulfilling. Even if you manage to find a position that meets your wildest expectations, how do you know that your initial excitement will last? According to Forbes Magazine, a recent survey by the Conference Board indicates…
The Life You Can Save: A Perspective on Ethical and Effective Charitable Giving
On Tuesday February 16 The Social Enterprise Club and Retail and Luxury Goods Club co-hosted a talk by Charlie Bresler, who is currently the Executive Director of The Life You Can Save and previously served as President of Men’s Warehouse. Bresler spoke about his remarkable career journey, from anti-war activist, to psychologist, to retail executive…
The Future of Entertainment: Peter Chernin on Navigating a Career in a Changing Media Landscape
Peter Chernin, one of the most powerful media executives in the world, has had a career that has produced the two top grossing movies of all time, Titanic and Avatar, and shaped a wide range of media conglomerates including Showtime, Fox, and News Corporation. He began his career at St. Martin’s Press, a book publishing…
The Power of a Personal Vision Statement
By Heather Fischer, Harvard Business School Partner A little over a year ago, I sat in the gym parking lot with my husband, Matt, sipping on a pre-workout energy drink as we decompressed from the day. It was our regular routine to meet up after work, talk for an hour, and then head inside to…
LGBT Dating at HBS: The Reality
“Everyone you meet has a part to play in your story. And while some may take a chapter, others a paragraph, and most will be no more than a scribbled note in the margins, someday, you’ll meet someone who will become so integral to your life, you’ll put their name in the title.” – Beau Taplin/Life Stories…
Confronting Nationalism: FIELD 2
By Dmitry Zhdankin, HBS Class of 2017 In an airplane on my way back to Boston, I flipped through the pages in my passport. Several of them were now filled with brand new stamps from Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and—my FIELD2 destination—the Philippines. They now officially confirmed that I got a chance to visit Asia. Yet despite…
Case for Daily Fantasy Sports
By Akash Pradhan, Harvard Business School Class of 2017 Over the last three to four years, a plethora of daily fantasy sports (DFS) companies have emerged, offering avid and casual fans a chance to play shorter-term fantasy games for money. The two leaders in the industry, FanDuel and DraftKings, offer players a chance to “re-draft” their player lineups on…
20 things ECs must do before they leave HBS
This article was originally posted on March 23, 2015. Slight modifications have been made to apply to the current time and year. HBS Partner Emily Dohse looks at Boston to find the 20 things that graduating ECs have to do before they leave and start their real lives in the real world. Congrats, ECs! You are…
Cooking Corner: C’est la Veg: An Introduction
So where to begin? When I was 8, I had a diary. I’ll refrain from sharing excerpts to spare myself years of embarrassment, but as soon as I received my college email address I gladly leapt into the encapsulating arms of Facebook. Back when the site reveled in its exclusive allure, I admittedly stole my sister’s account…
LET’S MAKE THE BIGGEST DAMN DIFFERENCE!
HBS alumni-elders Delmor Markoff (MBA ’39), Joan Mokray and Roger Shamel (both MBA ’74), offer thoughts on what they describe as “the challenge of the century,” urging Harvard Business School to lead a first-of-its-kind, University-wide, outreach to alumni, asking them to help solve climate change problems and capitalize on climate change opportunities. Change creates…
A word from the ‘drop-ins’
For our August edition, The Harbus spoke to five (former) members of the Class of 2016, who decided to drop out of HBS to pursue a range of other opportunities. This month, we spoke with five new members of the Class of 2016 – people who dropped out after their first year, and have come…
The Mindful Athlete: An Interview with George Mumford
By Karan Kumar, HBS Class of 2016 Michael Jordan credits George Mumford with transforming his on-court leadership of the Bulls, helping Jordan lead the team to six NBA championships. Mumford also helped Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, and Lamar Odom and countless other NBA players turn around their games. His successful techniques are available for everyone…