As March draws to a close, students are beginning to savor their last weeks of classes before the summer – or graduation!
The Harbus reports that Harvard Business School is celebrating the beginning of spring with green week. The Graduate Green Living Program completed a survey this week to assess the progress of the school’s “Green Living Reps.” These students have been hard at work helping the HBS community implement changes in their daily habits that will have a positive impact on the environment. Results show that students’ daily habits have improved, particularly in the areas of resource conservation and recycling, but that there is still a lot to be done, especially in raising awareness on green issues and promoting more environmentally conscious choices in the cafeteria.
On another note, HBS Business of Sports Club held their second annual New York City Sports Trek. The trip began at the National Football League’s offices in midtown, where students met executives from corporate development, digital media, human resource, and operations. Later that day, a tour of Yankee Stadium and a visit with Lonn Trost, Chief Operating Officer of the Yankees, left many students in awe. The trip’s final stop was the National Basketball Association, where they spoke with Scott O’Neill, who leads the NBA’s Team Marketing and Business Operations group. A highlight of the visit was a conversation with HBS 2004 graduate Dan Reed, who is now President of the NBA Development League, which is building itself into a full minor league farm system for NBA teams.
In Chicago, Kellogg Insights reports on the 21st Annual Black Management Association Conference, a three-day, student-led event. Speakers and panelists spoke on the theme of understanding the power of collaboration to effect change. McDonald’s USA President Don Thompson urged successful African-Americans and future leaders to reach into the community to help pull others up the success ladder. He added, “Making noise about the need for greater progress must be coupled with strategic thinking about how to bring it about.”
Also working to create social change, a team of Kellogg students took home the top prize from the Education Leadership Case Competition held at UC-Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. The winning team’s case concerned strategies for rebuilding New Orleans’ public schools in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Their plan for boosting student achievement in the short term, as well as their long-term strategy for unifying the New Orleans school districts under one system, may contribute to the future success of students in New Orleans.
Last but not least, Kellogg professor Adam Galinsky provided insight into power relationships and stereotypes for today’s leaders. Using a creative metaphor he explained that the relationship between power and leadership is like driving a car. “The agency of power is like pressing the gas. Without that, one stands still. But one also needs a good steering wheel so accidents don’t happen. Perspective-taking without agency is ineffective and agency without perspective-taking is dangerous and irresponsible. Thus effective leadership requires acceleration and steering, power with perspective-taking.” So remember to drive carefully everyone!
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