At HBS, I’m a “Section Chair” for the first time. HBS students are divided into “Sections” when they first arrive, and each Section Chair is the first faculty member with whom they meet. We gathered with them six times over three days during an orientation program called “START” and hold periodic check-ins with them as
Category: Brain hacking
Note to My Students: A Reflection on ‘Home’
(I occasionally write notes to my students. The latest is below. The second-year students are about to graduate.) Dear Section G and VCPE: I write this to you on a Saturday morning from my HBS office. The campus is largely empty and quiet, and I hope you’re all sleeping in. It was a joy to
Hunger
I read Bertrand Cooper’s interesting essay today in The Times: “I Escaped Poverty, but Hunger Still Haunts Me.” As I’ve written before, for a period in my childhood, I went hungry. And, I’ve never forgotten that gnawing feeling. When you’re eight years old, you don’t know what “normal” is, as you have no perspective. You
Reunion 2022
I went to my 25th/27th business school reunion this weekend. It’s hard to describe how amazing it was to gather with friends and act like not much time has gone by. It’s trite but true: time goes by quickly, and reunions are life milestones. I’ve volunteered to help out with nearly all of my reunions,
My Second Story
I have this theory that people have two stories in their lives. They have their First Story: that’s what goes on the CV and LinkedIn profiles, and it’s the one we tell publicly. But each of us has a Second Story, one that we hide. We want to show the world the shiny and clean
Being Bravey, Remembering Dr. King
I recently read Olympic champion Alexi Pappas’ book Bravey, and so, courage has been on my mind. run like a bravey, sleep like a baby, dream like a crazy, replace cant with maybe through sunny & shady. — Alexi Pappas (@AlexiPappas) August 31, 2014 I find that it’s easy to talk about courage, but it’s