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December 18, 2008
The Real HBS Story
I was one of the Harvard Business School graduates interviewed by CNBC for its special one hour documentary on the 100th anniversary of the "West Point of Capitalism." Here is a link to excerpts for your viewing pleasure (and apologies for the hairstyles in ’78).
I was beyond surprised to be included, along side business luminaries such as Jamie Dimon, Jeff Immelt, Steve Schwarzman and Meg Whitman. I suppose I represented the “little people”--the entrepreneurs and family business owners who attended the institution. Here is the back story on my life and times at the school.
If Harvard College was “the life of the mind,” Harvard Business School was “Survivor.” On our first day of class, we were informed that up to ten percent of each 80 person section would “hit the screen,” meaning flunk out. Put eighty highly motivated rats in a cage with a limited amount of food and you get an idea of why Darwin was right about survival of the fittest. There were grizzled (that is to say 32 year old) Viet Nam veterans who had landed jets on carriers or been on PT boats patrolling the Mekong River. There were former bankers from two year internship programs, trained accountants and a few fresh faced college graduates who had come without work experience (like me).
Each day there were three cases to be prepared, each requiring 90 minutes to two hours of study. Class discussion began with one poor soul called upon to open the proceedings, to “lay out the case.” Then the feeding frenzy began, with critiques pouring in from all sides, some eloquent, others bit contributions that were “air time” to register class participation with the professor. The case method was fantastic for marketing, finance and HR but nearly impossible for accounting and managerial economics because you left class even more bewildered than when you arrived. You met each night with your study group of six section mates to discuss the cases for the next day. Every other Friday, a WOC (written and oral communication) was due at midnight in a post office box.
Manifestations of stress were evident by mid-October. My closest friends and I took to playing basketball at all hours, breaking into the gym after submitting our WOC then competing until 2:30 AM. My accounting professor, called me into his office in early November after a miserable mid-term exam, to tell me that I should prepare to hit the screen.
Somehow, I found new reserves of willpower and intelligence. It began to make sense, or at least enough sense to get passing grades. I learned to minimize transaction time, eating quickly, having fewer friendly debates over lunch about politics or love life. Then in January came the gong. For those of you too young to remember, Chuck Barris created The Gong Show in the 70s, with amateur entertainers performing in front of a live audience. The keeper of the gong used his weapon when the crowd turned against the performer. Jim Riehl, my section mate, brought a gong to class and installed it along side his seat on the top row of the classroom. From that moment onward, windy and shallow contributors were “gonged,” to the delight of the class and the teachers alike. It was the comic relief needed to get us through the first year.
So what did I get out of my two years at HBS? The huge work load forces you to prioritize; the continued pressure to perform gives you an inner calm. Nothing that you confront in your life, whether walk outs by senior staff, prostate cancer or client defections, is unmanageable. You gather facts, you have a strategy, you execute. You learn to get up after getting knocked down. You realize that you have to rely on a team because nobody can do this much work on his own. You recognize personality types, those you can trust and those who will turn out to be totally self-serving or duplicitous. Like the Marine Corps, if the experience doesn’t kill you, it makes you better. For this I am eternally grateful…but I still periodically wake up in a cold sweat from a bad dream, that I am called upon to open the case in cost accounting and cannot explain how to maximize production from the coffee roaster…
Posted by Edelman at December 18, 2008 3:40 PM |
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Comments
Thanks for sharing. I was excited to see you on that show because I've done a little work for Rick Murray and Ming Yee. Plus I'm in Chicago so it was cool seeing you.
The last paragraph of this post says it all. I'm a 27 year old entrepreneur trying to grow my small consulting firm, and I am faced with a ton of challenges, from finding new clients, recovering from losing big ones, managing employees leaving with little/no notice, to simply managing cashflow so I can support my family.
At times tumultuous, I find peace in my trial by fire. I'm learning a lot about myself and I see a light at the end of the tunnel. There's a lot of potential and see this tough period as the "Dip" that Seth Godin talks about. It's hard, and it's a lot of work, but I'm grateful for it.
Raza Imam
http://SoftwareSweatshop.com
Posted by: Raza Imam at December 30, 2008 1:58 PM
Richard, coincidentally I just emailed you on this very CNBC appearance. I was channel surfing and whose face appeared but yours.
I must admit I like the current hairstyle much better, and I'm thrilled that a PR pro such as yourself is considered a peer to the Jeff Immelt's and Meg Whitman's of the world. It's about time.
It was a delightful interview and I'm glad I happened upon it.
Happy 2009 to all,
Pam
Posted by: Pam Miller at January 2, 2009 12:13 AM