The CEO Of MBAxAmerica On Stories, Speeches, and Small Businesses

How did Harvard Business School play into the creation of MBAs Across America?

Harvard business school changed my life and it changed all of our lives. MBAs Across America  would not exist without it.  It really starts with  those classmates and those friends who believed in our crazy ideas and who continued to support us day in and day out, not just finically but through moral, motivational, and spiritual support. That’s been humbling.

On top of that, so many faculty members from Operations Professor Ryan Buell to Babson President Len Schlesinger, who have said, “How can I help?” And there have been administrators and alums. At every turn of the last year and half with MBAs Across America,  somebody in the HBS family has raised their hand or rolled up their sleeves to help. That has been critical to everything that we’ve done.

You seem to like stories. Where do stories fit into business?

The narrative, the story, the testimony is the most powerful tool in the history of mankind. If you think about it, we’re organized around stories, our whole civilization is based on stories. They are perhaps really the beginning and the end. If you consider business an essential part of society and civilization, then I don’t see how you could consider yourself a future business leader without believing that stories are powerful and critical to getting there.

I think the only way to move people, to organize people, and to persuade people is to tell a story about where we’ve come from, where we are, and where we’re going. That story has to be, I think, a collective story. The business leaders who want to change the world get that. I hope those folks in my generation who are just now heading out into the world really see the power of stories as a great tool to use in the coming challenges that we are going to have to solve.

Any final thoughts?

A lot of people ask me, “Is this about the MBAs or the entrepreneur?” What I say all the time is that if we’re not adding value to entrepreneurs, then we’re going to shut this down. This has to be about unleashing the potential of America’s job creators and the folks on the frontlines of change.

I think that the 32 MBAs who have dedicated their summer to joining us in this inaugural class are in it because they want to serve, they want to give back, but they also want to learn. They want to connect to  people on a human level not just as consultants; they want to be people of action, not just analysis; and they want to launch a movement that can actually make a difference. I think that’s an important distinction in our work, and one that I’ll continue to stress as we go ahead.

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