Eight B-school deans share their 2019 resolutions with Poets&Quants. Stanford GSB photo
Ah, January. The year is new, and so is everyone’s resolve to change for the better. In this, business school deans are no different from the rest of us — except as the ultimate go-getters, they are probably more likely than the rest of us to stick to their resolutions and succeed in their goals for change.
Our money is on Bill Boulding to succeed, for example, when he resolves to “double down on my efforts as dean of Duke’s Fuqua School of Business and chair of the board of GMAC (the Graduate Management Admission Council) to explain how business education can help develop the kind of leaders who can use business to improve society.” Or on Jonathan Levin when he touts multi-disciplinary thinking at Stanford Graduate School of Business and resolves to “launch new initiatives in partnership with our fellow Stanford schools, in order to strengthen our faculty, MBA, Ph.D., and MSx programs and … further our mission of nurturing the next generation of leaders who will change lives, organizations, and the world.” It’s a safe bet, too, that when Cornell Johnson’s Mark Nelson says he wants to “continue to build on our two-campus, one community model, leveraging new facilities, faculty and innovative programming on both the Cornell Tech campus in New York City and the Cornell campus in Ithaca for the benefit of all of our students” — that it’s going to happen.
Here, in no particular order, are resolutions from eight deans from the most elite U.S. schools.
SCOTT DeRUE, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN ROSS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
Michigan Ross’ Scott DeRue. Ross photo
The turn of the calendar is a wonderful time for reflection and renewal. It is a time to reflect on our progress, setbacks, and lessons learned. And it is a time to renew our commitment to the values, ideals, and aspirations that define us. To not reflect and renew is a missed opportunity on the journey to discovering our best self — as individuals and as business schools.
As I write these resolutions, I am on my own personal journey of reflection and renewal — an expedition in Antarctica where a team of good friends and I are skiing to the South Pole and climbing Mt. Vinson, the tallest mountain in Antarctica. The hours of solitude combined with daily displays of team spirit offer a wonderful environment for reflection and renewal.
I have incredibly high expectations for business education in 2019! At Michigan Ross, we have three defining resolutions for the coming year.
First, we will take smart risks in service of innovation. For example, we will expand our new Ross Experiences in Action-based Learning (REAL) in ways that will redefine how Michigan Ross educates students and engages companies for years to come. Additionally, we will establish a Business+Impact Studio, an incubator to translate research insights from Michigan Ross and the University of Michigan into practical business solutions. The goal of the studio is to support students as they evaluate business ideas from faculty, students, and community members, and to make recommendations on how to turn such ideas into viable business options. The business school of yesterday is no longer. Business schools must be action-oriented and the educational experience must resemble a curated concert between faculty and students embedded in the real work of leading companies around the globe.
Second, in 2019 we will launch the next phase of digital innovation at Michigan Ross. We will provide more flexible and accessible business education to exceptional students through online offerings, including our new Ross Online MBA program. We will also develop digital capabilities to offer a more personalized experience to every student who is part of the Michigan family.
Lastly, we will discover new ways for our faculty and students to use their unique talents to make a positive impact in our communities, locally and globally. Whether it is addressing the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, or addressing the declining percentage of women in India’s labor force, our faculty and students will develop innovative ideas and learn new skills as they improve our communities for future generations. Each and every day in 2019, we will renew our commitment to the mission — building a better world at the intersection of business and education.
JONATHAN LEVIN, STANFORD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
Stanford GSB Dean Jon Levin. GSB photo
In 2019, I resolve to strengthen the GSB’s collaboration with Stanford’s other world-class schools and institutes. The greatest challenges in today’s world require different types of thinking, and leaders who can work with different types of people. Business schools are inherently multi-disciplinary: we expect students to master a broad range of skills, and to collaborate with peers from diverse backgrounds and industries. At Stanford, we want GSB students to develop close relationships with each other, but also to engage with students and faculty from engineering, medicine, law, education, the sciences, social sciences, and the humanities.
Some of the most innovative thinking on our campus comes from these interactions, whether in multi-disciplinary classes, through joint degrees, or in pioneering research. We will expand on these efforts in 2019 and launch new initiatives in partnership with our fellow Stanford schools, in order to strengthen our faculty, MBA, Ph.D., and MSx programs and initiatives such as Stanford LEAD and Stanford Seed, and to further our mission of nurturing the next generation of leaders who will change lives, organizations, and the world.
PETER RODRIGUEZ, RICE UNIVERSITY JONES GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
Rice Dean Peter Rodriguez. Rice photo
I make a habit of setting big goals a few times a year. Once a year just isn’t enough. But, I do always make resolutions for the New Year. Usually, I go on the record sometime around the midnight champagne toasts and take pen to paper to make them stick.
What I like most about New Year’s resolutions is the invitation to clarify my focus on the big picture. Looking back at another year’s passing and all it brought invites valuable reflections like no other moment. I’m incredibly excited for 2019 and expect the year to be a watershed for Rice. We are in an enviable position for growth and impact because of the strategic investments made by my predecessors and so many others. To honor their vision, we must resolve to have the courage to play the long game with our strategic decisions, and that means being bold enough to take sizable risks and embrace the sometimes daunting challenge of change. At the same time, we must recall our fundamental belief that the purpose of organizations is to solve the world’s problems, and resolve to advance it through all our efforts. We do so by staying romantic about the power of an education to transform a life and to empower a leader to create change for good. And we do so by finding and fighting for truth in our research.
Finally, I like to recall a favorite mantra: Good thoughts, good words, good deeds. It’s a reminder to fill my mind with the best knowledge available, strive ever harder to communicate with clarity and honesty, and pledge to act for others more often.
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MATTHEW SLAUGHTER, DARTMOUTH COLLEGE TUCK SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
Dartmouth Tuck Dean Matthew Slaughter. Tuck photo
For 2019, I resolve to spend more time envisioning.
Many of the world’s premier athletes and musicians invest the time to envision a sterling performance before actually delivering it: a podium following a Nordic ski race thanks to a refined double-poling technique, or a stirring rendition of Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons” thanks to a fresh interpretation of its summer storms.
The same is true of premier leaders, in business and more broadly. They envision a tomorrow that is different from today, and then invite others to help bring to life that vision.
We at Tuck did a lot of reflecting in 2018, a precursor to envisioning. Perhaps the most exciting result of reflecting and then envisioning: Just before the winter break, our faculty voted unanimously in favor of broad-scale changes to Tuck’s foundational first-year core curriculum. These changes include an expanded orientation program to ensure students have an even richer and more vibrant start to their Tuck MBA experience; adjusted term lengths and new courses for Fall A and Fall B; a restructured winter term to allow for concentrated recruiting; and increased optionality with elective courses. While these refinements take full effect in the fall, I am excited that our current Tuck students, who proved vital to our reflection and review process, will be able to participate in and benefit from an array of curricular innovations being piloted this winter and spring.
These broadscale changes sprang from Tuck faculty, students, and recruiters envisioning a learning environment that is even more timely and more connected to the world’s biggest challenges and opportunities. Our new pilots and innovations will rely on more such imagination and creativity. I am so excited to see how all of this takes shape.
And I am similarly excited to envision a silkier putting stroke for me in 2019 to card more birdies — or at least fewer bogeys!
M. ERIC JOHNSON, VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY OWEN GRADUATE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT
M. Eric Johnson , dean of Vanderbilt’s Owen Graduate School of Management. File photo
“Spend less time in the office.” I think this resolution holds equally well for students as deans. MBA students are presented with an amazing opportunity of time and access — making the most of that is part of the value of a great business program. Now, don’t get me wrong — by saying “less time in the office,” I don’t mean working less or skipping class, but rather getting out of your comfort zone and connecting with people who can change your perspective. For me, that means visiting alumni and partner companies, and hearing from prospective students.
That could mean everything from trekking through Asia, speaking at a CentreCourt event, or visiting a Nashville company. I plan to take my own advice the first week of January by trekking with a student group in the Bay Area to visit tech firms.
For students, spending less time in the office means capturing the many opportunities outside the classroom. One mistake I see many MBA students make is waiting to develop their networks. Top B-schools offer an amazing (and sometime overwhelming) set of opportunities to network. Students should never miss a chance to travel on a trek or share coffee with a visiting executive. Even after a long day of classes, stopping by for an evening reception can be career-changing.
MARK NELSON, CORNELL JOHNSON GRADUATE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT
My resolution for 2019 is that we continue to build on our two-campus, one community model, leveraging new facilities, faculty, and innovative programming on both the Cornell Tech campus in New York City and the Cornell campus in Ithaca for the benefit of all of our students. In a time where there seems to be growing division in the world, we want Johnson students to continue their evolution as leaders and appreciate how interdisciplinary studies and collaborative thinking leads to greater purpose and stronger outcomes.
Johnson students will continue to benefit from the innovative courses and experiential learning opportunities that we offer, and as they leave school they are prepared to be leaders who play a positive role in society. 2019 will be a very exciting year for Johnson.
BILL BOULDING, DUKE UNIVERSITY FUQUA SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
Duke’s Bill Boulding. Fuqua photo
I resolve in 2019 to double down on my efforts as dean of Duke’s Fuqua School of Business and chair of the board of GMAC to explain how business education can help develop the kind of leaders who can use business to improve society. Critical to that mission is making sure students can study and work in the country of their choosing.
We must better explain the direct tie between immigration and economic development and how business school plays a role in that process. Research has shown repeatedly that immigrants are not job takers, but job creators. It is essential to the growth of economies around the world that the best and brightest talent be able to study and work where they desire.
Therefore, I will continue to advocate for GMAC’s belief that “no talent should go undiscovered.” Explaining the benefits of access is important not just for the business education industry — but for society.
If we can bring people and countries to a better understanding of the benefits of diversity, then we can also help heal deep polarization in the world. Very different people come together every day to work with common purpose in business — and that should be our exemplar in moving forward in society for 2019.
I would argue this is more important than ever in 2019: Some believe we are in the midst of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, as technology innovation continues at a rapid pace. The rise in nationalism in many parts of the world that we are experiencing today can be attributed to a backlash against globalization from people who lost their jobs. We risk another backlash if technology is seen as a job killer rather than a job changer that marries the best of humanity and technology. Business schools must develop the kind of leaders who not only have the skills to lead and manage innovation, but also consider the disruptions and find solutions for those who would otherwise be left behind.
However, to fulfill that mission in business school we must be able to recruit and train talent from all regions of the world. We must recruit students who have IQ (they are smart) + EQ (emotional intelligence) + DQ (decency quotient). That combination of capabilities will produce the kind of graduates who will not only do well for their companies, but good for the world. Those graduates will get us to a better place in society.
I resolve in 2019 to help people outside the business education community better understand the possibility that lies in business.
PAUL ALMEIDA, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY McDONOUGH SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
Georgetown McDonough’s Paul Almeida. McDonough photo
All business schools want to be good at teaching the tools of business, management, and leadership. It’s our duty to make a positive difference to the world. It’s not an option. It’s not an add-on. It’s a central part of why a Jesuit business school like Georgetown McDonough exists.
When each year turns, we are called upon in a renewed way to imagine how we can create a better world. Imagine a world with leaders who understand the big issues facing mankind; have the tools, expertise, and relationships to solve them; and are inspired to serve humanity. I want to live in that world.
We should rededicate ourselves in practical ways to actually achieving this aspiration. We are developing programs to educate our students to solve the world’s huge challenges, whether it’s global health or climate change or sustainability or cybersecurity — all of which need business skills as well as global skills.
My resolution is to make these programs more central to our community so we can make a difference to the world and also grow through that process.
DON’T MISS B-SCHOOL DEANS SHARE 2018 RESOLUTIONS and THE BIGGEST B-SCHOOL SCANDALS OF 2018
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