MBA Seminar Prepares Students to Lead Social Enterprises

Social Enterprise Newsletter, Spring 2000

What steps did the CEO of the American Cancer Society take to accomplish a major organizational change involving more than 3,000 local chapters? What challenges did the president of Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries face as she streamlined its program structure? How did the CEO of Planned Parenthood create a new vision for the organization following dramatic changes in the healthcare arena?

MBA students heard firsthand answers to these questions in a new seminar unveiled this winter, Effective Leadership of Social Enterprise (ELSE). Taking the perspective of the nonprofit CEO, students in the course are prepared to lead social enterprises. Heads of highly innovative and successful nonprofits, from Teach for America to the Appalachian Mountain Club, visited the class to discuss management challenges.

"I wanted to expose students to leaders who have been really effective at strengthening nonprofit management," says John Sawhill, senior lecturer at HBS and president and CEO of The Nature Conservancy, who spearheaded and taught the course. "I also wanted students to get a sense of the excitement, fulfillment, and real social purpose that people working for these institutions experience." Sawhill brings both a nonprofit and for-profit background to the course. His previous positions have included: director of McKinsey & Company, Inc.; president of New York University; and deputy secretary of the Department of Energy.

Seminar topics included: mission, strategy, and structure; leadership and management of human resources; and leading change in social enterprise institutions. In addition, HBS Professor Regina Herzlinger and Harvard Graduate School of Education faculty member James Honan each led a session on financial management and performance measurement. Students included cross-registrants from other Harvard graduate programs.

"Students need to understand the differences between managing in the for-profit versus the nonprofit world," says Sawhill.

One major difference, he notes, is the management of people. "People in nonprofits care about achieving the mission and want to be involved in major decisions. You have to manage in a much more consensual way."

Another key difference, he adds, is understanding the importance of the mission. This lesson became clear during a class visit from John Seffrin, CEO of the American Cancer Society. Seffrin told students about how the ACS had to accomplish a major organizational change, but didn't start off by saying they were going to change the organization.

"We explained our mission and goals for reducing mortality from cancer by 50 percent by the year 2015 - and it got our staff and volunteers excited about accomplishing those goals," Seffrin says. "They knew they had to do some things differently, and that's what led them to accept the changes. Our mission and goals transformed the organization."

The seminar offers students an invaluable opportunity to engage with many high-level social enterprise leaders and absorb some of their in-depth nonprofit management skills. One such student is Nick Hoffman (MBA '00), a London native who came to HBS after working for the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. Finding his time at the museum "the most exciting experience of my life," Hoffman set his sights on a career in cultural nonprofits.

"I wanted to understand the range of management activities one has to accomplish as a nonprofit leader," he says. "With all the ELSE speakers, we can put ourselves in their positions and really comprehend the issues and why they tackled problems certain ways."

Hoffman also appreciated hearing speakers discuss current challenges. Particularly compelling, he says, was Reynold Levy, president of the International Rescue Committee. Levy spoke about whether his organization should expand its range of activities, such as providing Internet connections for nonprofits in Kosovo.

For Sawhill, ELSE offers a way to share his enthusiasm about working in social enterprise. "You can really make society a better place," he says, "and to me that is very exciting."

ELSE SPEAKERS

Andy Falender (MBA '69)
CEO, Appalachian Mountain Club

Gloria Feldt
CEO, Planned Parenthood Federation of America

Tom Gulick
Director of Marketing and Public Relations, San Francisco Opera

Joanne Hilferty
President, Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries

Wendy Kopp
Founder, Teach for America

Reynold Levy
President, International Rescue Committee

Greg Low
Director of U.S. Conservation, The Nature Conservancy

Eileen Moser
Executive Vice President, United Way of Southeastern New England

Belle Sawhill and
Sarah Brown
Founders, The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy

Dick Schubert
former President and CEO, American Red Cross, and
former President, Points of Light Foundation

John Seffrin
CEO, American Cancer Society

Ted Swisher
Director of U.S. Affiliates, Habitat for Humanity