Call to action for the 21st Century by the Dean of Harvard Business School and his team

“To prepare leaders to succeed in this more complex world, and to increase our scale and reach to bring our mission to even more people, requires a relentless dedication to innovation.”

Dean Nitin Nohria of Harvard Business School

This week, Harvard Business School (HBS) seemed to reproduce itself at the Fort Mason Center of San Francisco, as Dean Nitin Nohria, and other HBS luminaries, including Faculty Chair Robert Steven Kaplan and William Sahlman, came to present their newly launched capital campaign. I enjoyed talking with the dean and others, old friends and new. This post is to share the fresh approach to life and to work that they imparted.

The new campaign is to position the School for leadership in management education in the 21st century. The primary objectives of The Harvard Business School Campaign are to:

• Inspire significantly increased levels of participation and engagement among alumni

• Inform, identify, and engage the next generation of HBS leaders

• Strengthen the perception of HBS and business in the world

• Engage with and support the University in new and mutually beneficial ways

• Raise funds for current priorities and future flexibility.

“Today, as we launch this new Campaign for Harvard Business School,” said Dean Nitin Nohria in addressing the alumni leaders and invited guests who attended the event, “let us take the opportunity to ask ourselves: When future generations look back on this time, what will our legacy be? What choices will we make? How will we reimagine this institution and leave it stronger than we found it?

“When I look at the challenges facing our world today, I’m convinced that now more than ever we need the type of leadership Harvard Business School can provide,” Nohria said.

“Over the last century, more than a billion people have been brought into the circle of economic inclusion—but there are still billions more waiting, in America and around the world. Business leaders have a vital role to play in helping to widen this circle of inclusion. Together, we can make a difference,” he emphasized.

Nohria also spoke of the role of HBS in the fields of innovation and entrepreneurship and the spirit of Silicon Valley, and referenced the mission of Harvard Business School in this “call to action.” I believe it is one that should motivate all of us, young and old, rich and poor, and in all corners of the world:

“To prepare leaders to succeed in this more complex world, and to increase our scale and reach to bring our mission to even more people, requires a relentless dedication to innovation.”

The mission of Harvard Business School: “We educate leaders who make a difference in the world.”