Jullien Gordon on Why Groupthink Limits MBA Student Potential

In Chapter 9 of 14 of his 2010 Capture Your Flag interview, motivation teacher and Stanford MBA Jullien Gordon shares why groupthink limits so many MBA career plans. During his MBA, Gordon was stunned to see a group of extremely talented and passionate classmates focus on a limited set of career options, namely brand marketing, management consulting, investment banking, private equity and venture capital. Gordon implores MBA students to focus first on applying their passions toward solving the biggest problems rather than making the most money. Gordon references a young Bill Gates and how that problem solving - getting a computer in every home - translated to later career philanthropic efforts. Gordon holds an MBA and Masters in Education from Stanford University and a BA from UCLA.

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen:  How does group think limit MBA student potential and why is this a problem worth solving?

Jullien Gordon:  Oh my goodness! So, I wrote this blog post recently called “A Letter to an MBA” and it came after sitting at a panel at Columbia Business School and just realizing – and I went to Stanford and when you think about the admission rates there. These are literally the most talented – some of the most talented people in the entire world – 350 of the most talented people, and it just makes no sense to me how 350 of the most talented people can all want to be the same five things.  They all want to consultants, bankers, private equity marketers, whatever.  And it just makes no sense to me. 

Instead of thinking of the career paths based on the recruiters that come to campus and what makes the most money, really what MBAs should be thinking about is ‘What is the biggest problem I can solve in the world?’  When you look at Bill Gates, that was the question he asked himself. “How do I get a computer in every single home?”  And what Bill Gates has done is, instead of – he really is a problem solver, technology was the one avenue that he explored his purpose but at his core he’s a problem solver.  Now, he’s taking his problem solving ability and taking it to Malaria, education equalities and other health issues in the developing world because at the core he’s a problem solver. So, if MBAs thought of their career paths in the sense of “What is the biggest problem that I can solve in the world?” then I think that could transform the world in general.

Why MBA Students Should Consider Meditation - Nina Godiwalla

In Chapter 12 of 14, Wharton MBA graduate and "Suits: A Woman on Wall Street" author Nina Godiwalla highlights how MBA students can benefit from meditation. Godiwalla notes how external factors, including family and job, motivate our career ambitions. She shares how external factors, including television, movies, and sports, also relieve us of stress from our external ambitions. By teaching meditation, Godiwalla has found the internal awareness to be especially comforting to MBA students who are in high peer pressure environments where unnecessary urgency is often associated with decison making. The internal focus alleviates stress and provides a calming awareness and clarity to longer term focused decisions.

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen: Why should an MBA student consider meditation?

Nina Godiwalla: I think there’s just this universal feature within us that we have a way within ourselves to ground ourselves. I think often we look to external sources to find happiness, our spouse, children, our family, jobs, careers what ever it is, we look, that’s what we look through too often and then we find things that constantly distract us when we’re not – when those things aren’t working for us, TV, movies just, you know, what ever it is we find our own little distractions and instead of doing that there’s something inside that you can actually change the way you feel, the way you think and even understand, it’s just that initial awareness of what it is. So for me for MBA students there were people there who were very grounded and knew exactly what they wanted to do and I don’t know if they necessarily, if they probably had a way that they were doing that themselves, I think MBA students should consider it because it gives them a sense to feel comfortable with what they’re doing and step back and maybe operate in a way that in the long term is really going to pay them off and not necessarily just right now this looks like the right thing to be doing because everyone else is doing it.

How Mental Models Improve Decision Making - Bijoy Goswami

In Chapter 4 of 15, leadership philosopher and bootstrap business expert Bijoy Goswami explains why he uses mental models to help himself and others refine their life approach. He shares how prejudice is an unconsidered mental model that is not fully processed. He encourages others to consider models they often outsource to others - political beliefs to political party, spiritual views to church, etc.

Why Freelance Lifestyle Appeals to Wardrobe Stylist - Lulu Chen

In Chapter 12 of 13, fashion stylist Lulu Chen chooses to work as a freelance fashion stylist. Projects shoots vary across editorial, personal dressing, advertising, and catalogs and tend to be shorter. Whereas on-staff stylist positions focused on art direction projects start to finish, freelance provides her more focus on wardrobe. Moreover, Chen enjoys the flexibility of being able to choose different ways to work and work with various teams along the way.

How WPP Ad Agency Job Inspired Entrepreneurship Leap - Hattie Elliot

In Chapter 13 of 16, entrepreneur and The Grace List founder Hattie Elliot finds an early career account management advertising job at WPP not in line with her passion to create experiences. Through the experience Elliot places higher personal values on creativity and independence and then leaves the agency world to start her own company.

How Decision Frameworks Can Build Teen Confidence - Louise Davis

In Chapter 2 of 20 in her 2009 Capture Your Flag interview, Peer Health Exchange co-founder and Executive Director Louise Davis shares how frameworks and taught in PHE Decision-Making and Communication build teen confidence and accountability. Specifically, decision-Making frameworks taught to high school students do two things: First, they instill the right to make a decision in each teen; second, they empower the teen to make the decision.

How Eating Grubs Adds to Vietnam Trip Experience - Jason Anello

In Chapter 11 of 13, shortly after his divorce, Yahoo experience marketer Jason Anello travels to Vietnam to design and build Internet Cafes. While there, Anello embraces the overtly foreign nature of Vietnam and its people, traditions, and customs, creating new experiences to complement his father's military service there and that from Yahoo. Traveling alone, Anello accepts the differences and immerses himself in strikingly different scenes, including eating grubs with a family in a colonial French Vietnamese village hut.

How to Overcome Gender Bias in the Film Industry - Tricia Regan

In Chapter 15 of 17 in her 2009 Capture Your Flag interview, documentary filmmaker Tricia Regan explains that the hardest part of being a female filmmaker is that people trust men more than women with big projects. Understanding how to present herself in a way to carry authority, beyond cuteness, sweetness, and charm, in these situations has been most challenging to filmmaker and Emmy Award winning "Autism: The Musical" director Regan.

How to Define Success in the Fields of Music - Conrad Doucette

In Chapter 11 of 13, Takka Takka drummer and music writer Conrad Doucette reflects how his existing music-immersive lifestyle and career balance provide him fulfillment. He defines success as staying in this moment, made challenging by the fast changing face of music. He shares specific experiences - including Bonnaroo and Jay-Z 9/11 Widow's Concert - that exemplify the appeal and constant innovation driving his curiosity, career, and contentment.

How to Break Cultural Stereotypes by Traveling World - Rachel Lehmann-Haupt

In Chapter 8 of 11, "In Her Own Sweet Time" author Rachel Lehmann-Haupt compares foreign travel to reading a great novel and discusses her own book's impact on changing cultural perceptions and breaking stereotypes.  Lehmann-Haupt's immersive foreign travel experiences visiting different cultures fuel creativity, reduce bias, and broaden cultural curiosity in her life.  

What to Consider When Asking for Help Making a Big Decision - Phil McKenzie

In Chapter 12 of 13, media and publishing entrepreneur Phil McKenzie shares his approach to seeking counsel and advice on difficult decisions.  McKenzie finds value both in independent decision making and in accessing pragmatic outside views.  He highlights overcoming the challenge presented when others focus more on safety than on possibility.  Phil McKenzie graduated from Howard University and earned an MBA from the Duke University Fuqua School of Business.  Before starting FREE DMC and the Influencer Conference, McKenzie worked for eight years in sales and trading at Goldman Sachs.

How to Frame Freedom and Life Ownership - Phil McKenzie

In Chapter 1 of 13, Phil McKenzie frames his freedom and life ownership fulfillment definition within the intensive early stage media and publishing entrepreneurial lifestyle at FREE Magazine.  Phil McKenzie graduated from Howard University and earned an MBA from the Duke University Fuqua School of Business.  Before starting FREE DMC and the Influencer Conference, McKenzie worked for eight years in sales and trading at Goldman Sachs.