How did you get interested in the SVMP program?
SVMP website.
How was the SVMP experience?
Eye-opening. As someone who has read the HBS and SVMP website in and out, I found the experience from SVMP could not have been found or replicated anywhere else.
Describe the week
HBS MBA crash course. Every second of the week was filled with something valuable from building relationships with friends to being put in the shoes of some of the biggest decision makers in the world. It was the most well organized week I have been a part of and the lessons and values I learned from that one week alone are greater than months that have gone in the past.
Talk to me a little bit about the classes themselves, how were they different than what you were used to at an undergraduate level.
The case method is not taught at my current undergraduate school. Being part of the case method kept me involved throughout the whole course and gave me more incentive to prepare for each course so that I too can bring value to the days lesson and to others.
In what ways do you think you most personally developed during that week?
Being unofficially awarded the statue of liberty award. I learned to not only voice my opinion but also to listen. While I have heard that before it wasn’t until I got into SVMP that I truly understood the impact of listening.
Les’s example of asking the person you’re talking to “tell me a bit about yourself before we start” and how it allows you to learn 3-4 topics that you can relate to when your speaking later on is just one of the many lessons about how listening as a leader makes a big difference. As co-founder of a start-up I can definitely use these skills the minute I land back in Detroit and get back to work.
What do you think prospective candidates should know about the program?
That it’s not something they can experience anywhere else and the value from it cannot be truly understood until they have went through the program. Even as an Alumni going back I would not have guessed that the experience would be so great.
How have you enjoyed HBS so far, and what’s the experience been like?
Yes! The experience was amazing. I have never seen so much talent from the mentors, students to professors all in one place. That alone bring so much value because each individual can help provide insight that you would have never thought of. Again the experience cannot be understood until you have arrived to HBS. It’s encouraging to see how much effort people put into helping you get to your next goal and even more encouraging to give back to those people and help others who once where in your shoes.
What would you say is empowering about an MBA in terms of opening up opportunities?
For me personally it’s two folds. One is the network. An MBA especially from HBS opens up a network that cannot be found anywhere else. Second it teaches the aspects of business from a theoretical perspective, as an entrepreneur I face the practice of running a business everyday but I never have the time to understand the theory of what I do every day. Les Williams has said that “Who you know gets you in the door”. I’d like to add to it and say with an MBA from HBS “Who you know gets you in the door, what you know keeps you there“