What is it about leaders that makes people admire them? How can you get on that path to becoming an exceptional leader in whatever field of human endeavor you plan to pursue? It all begins with one simple, but very important step. Doing what you love. It's easy to say, and difficult to implement. Follow your passion, irrespective of what people's opinions are about it, irrespective of how challenging the path itself might be, irrespective of whether it's the "in thing" or fad of the day or not.
Numerous questions immediately follow. "What if there's not much money in it?" "What if I fail miserably?" Think about it. If you're doing something that you love so much that you're willing to take it up despite all odds, should there be a fear of failure? Initially, you might have to make ends meet and as things start looking up (which they will), don't you think what was a bed of thorns will turn into a bed of roses?
Think about it. If everyone was fearful about failure and perceived lack of money, would there be any business activity in the world? Would there be any product/service out there (including this Pagalguy platform) that we take so much for granted? Enough of this philosophic discourse, but wanted you think a bit more about what is it that you really want to do in life. Dream. And then work to make that dream happen. That's when life becomes beautiful. That's when you will leave a legacy behind you. That's when people remember your contributions.
Here's Prof. Ella Bell discussing leadership, developing oneself, and leaving a legacy. She teaches, among other courses, one of the most sought-after electives at Tuck, Leadership Out-of-the-Box.
http://www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/newsroom/articles/the-legacy-of-leadership
First year fall and winter quarters at Tuck are characterized by study groups. Students from different backgrounds, different countries, different perspectives, and different skills are intentionally placed in a given study group. The idea is to let them figure out the dynamics and get to an understanding of how they want to operate and identify priorities of each individual so the expectations are set ahead of time. And then, it's time to jump into the rigor of academics, help each other learn, and make it a very rounded and fulfilling experience for all concerned, while supporting each other's aspirations.
Here's a first year student's perspective of her study group experience.
http://www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/admissions/blog/the-tuck-study-group-experience-or-how-i-learned-to-st...
Recruiting is an activity that literally starts the moment you set foot on campus in the fall. The results are out there for everyone to see - Tuck saw one of the best years in recruiting for its MBA graduates across the spectrum of business schools. See this note from Tuck's career development office listing a sample of the companies that showed up on campus over the last few weeks.
http://www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/admissions/blog/tuck-students-learn-more-about-wide-range-of-companies...
Academics apart, there is always some activity or the other going on at Tuck. To get a sense of the kind of activities that students at Tuck get involved in - and these are all student-led initiatives - just read on. A couple of them recently got done, but the fun is just getting started!
http://www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/newsroom/articles/11-things-not-to-miss-at-tuck-this-year
Is purely online presence enough for an apparel retailer to be successful? Is a purely brick-and-mortar establishment enough to drive sales? Based on the research done by Prof. Santiago Gallino and his colleagues, some level of showrooming is the way forward to propel sales at online-only stores. For more on this intriguing finding, read on:
http://www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/newsroom/articles/showroom-showdown
Sydney Finkelstein is one of my most favorite professors at Tuck. The way he engages students in the classroom, and the way he brings out concepts through discussions that hark back to his work with top leaders from around the world is something to be experienced. He is synonymous with leadership and is one of the foremost thought leaders in this field and routinely advises Fortune 500 CEOs on leadership related issues.
He was recently named the faculty director of Tuck's Center for Leadership. Here's an excerpt of a chat with this outstanding teacher and mentor whom I've had the privilege of getting to know during my two years at Tuck.
https://www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/newsroom/articles/the-center-for-leadership-gets-a-new-leader
Tuck is at the forefront of encouraging more women to go to business school. The number of women MBA candidates at Tuck continues to rise. Here are thoughts from a current woman student at Tuck on the heels of the recently held Women in Business conference hosted annually by the school.
http://www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/admissions/blog/how-b-school-taught-me-to-value-the-other-f-word
Whatever the career path you might choose, Tuck and its tight-knit community rally around each student to make that dream career a reality. Here's a current student's experience of how things transpired for him in his internship search.
http://www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/admissions/blog/a-successful-internship-search
You've heard me say more than a few times that the Tuck experience is transformative. Exactly how? Here's a current student sharing her thoughts on one of the facets of the Tuck experience that enables the transformation - course work and classroom discussion. Read on.
http://www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/admissions/blog/tucks-electives-and-fellowship-opportunities-make-lear...
Calling the attention of all applicants to Tuck who are planning to apply in the January round:
Here's a heads up from Tuck Admissions on the different ways you can connect with various members of the Admissions Committee including Dawna Clarke, the Director of Admissions, and get to know more about the school before the deadline on January 6th.
Needless to say, feel free to reach out to me as well if there are questions I can answer about the school. Do not hesitate! Good luck with the application process!!
http://www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/admissions/blog/6-ways-to-connect-with-tuck-before-january-6
What's the point of talking about sustainability and the climate change imperative if you don't do something about it yourself? Tuck Sustains is a student-run club that looks at how Tuck handles its own resources and works on reducing waste, make the school more environmentally friendly, and helps reduce the school's carbon footprint. Here's the initiative in the words of a current student.
http://www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/admissions/blog/club-spotlight-tuck-sustains-brings-environmental-issu...
Many Indian applicants I have spoken to - especially those from energy background - have mentioned how they're very interested in Revers Energy Initiative and wanted to take advantage of this dedicated energy research center at Tuck to further their aspirations. Some of the more informed applicants mentioned how they would like to work under Prof. Erin Mansur, who recently joined Tuck as the Revers Professor of Business Administration at Tuck to get an immersion in all things energy.
Read on for an insight into some of the ongoing research being conducted by Prof. Mansur in collaboration with colleagues from Dartmouth College.
http://www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/newsroom/articles/a-fuller-picture-of-frackings-impact
Chris Trimble, adjunct faculty member at Tuck has worked closely with VG on a number of books including the novella "How Stella Saved The Farm," - a delightful read on the need for innovation and organizational support for innovation. If you haven't read it, I strongly encourage that you do.
Here's Chris Trimble engaging in a conversation with Larry Hall, CEO of PAR Springer-Miller Systems, discussing precisely this novella and its takeaways.
http://www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/newsroom/multimedia/videos/ceos-required-reading-a-tale-about-sheep-lu...
I've known Francis Barel, T'05 ever since my exchange program at HEC. I've never actually interacted with Julian Herman T'06, but know a substantial number of his classmates very well. Recently, the two of them shared excellent advice with international students regarding recruiting. Here are their comments:
http://www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/admissions/blog/alums-offer-advice-to-international-students-at-tuck-p...
Dawna Clarke, Director of Admissions at Tuck, is extremely affable and readily available to answer any and all questions that applicants to Tuck have. You may have already heard she's going to take questions on Tuck's facebook wall from 12 PM - 1 PM EST on Dec 3rd (which is 10.30 PM - 11.30 PM IST tonight). Take advantage of this opportunity and get your queries. In the meantime, here is a selection of the "Ask Dawna" series for you to get warmed up to the question-answer session tonight.
http://www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/admissions/blog/the-best-of-ask-dawna
There are any number of ways students can contribute to the Tuck community. The school and the community is always open to ideas and fostering any number of avenues to bring people together, comprising students/faculty/staff/administrators/alumni/Dartmouth etc. Here's a great example of a new initiative at Tuck that just got started, called TuckTalks. Read on for more on this:
http://www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/admissions/blog/tucktalks-many-students-many-paths-to-tuck
Those who have visited the Tuck campus have no doubt entered TuckStuff, the student-run retail store that sells all kinds of Tuck paraphernalia. A team of second year students is selected every year (based on their career interests in sales, marketing, and all-things retail) to run the store on behalf of Tuck. And the customers are not simply students - it's staff, faculty, their children, Tuck Partners, Tiny Tuckies, and most importantly, alumni who stroll into the store and buy whatever they can lay their hands on! Here's a note from the current second year students who run TuckStuff.
http://www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/admissions/blog/tuckstuff-more-than-just-stuff
Another glimpse of the unique and close-knit community that is Tuck: the school celebrated Thanksgiving by the students for the students who stayed on campus (mostly international students) and didn't necessarily have a place to go to for the Thanksgiving break. Read on for this heartwarming post:
http://www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/admissions/blog/tucksgiving-2014-a-family-dinner-for-85-people
If you've never heard of Prof. James Brian Quinn, look him up now. Prof. Quinn (he insisted that everyone call him simply Brian) was a legend in strategy. He taught entrepreneurship and innovation at Tuck before anyone did in any other business school, and was associated with Tuck for 50 years. He was honored with every conceivable recognition in the field of strategy, innovation, and entrepreneurship. He had served on prestigious committees for the President of the United States. In short, he was a towering personality, yet the most humble person you could ever meet. At his retirement 50 Tuckies who were transformed by his teachings came together and donated funds to name a faculty chair in his honor - the J. Brian Quinn Professor of Technology and Strategy. He passed away last year.
Why am I telling you this? The professor at Tuck who currently occupies the James Brian Quinn chair, Constance Helfat, was just awarded the prestigious Viipuri Prize, for her internationally acclaimed research on business and strategy. Past winners of this prize include strategy exponents such as John Kay of the London School of Economics, and the late C.K. Prahalad of the University of Michigan. Prof. Helfat has been teaching at Tuck for 16 years and some of her courses include highly sought-after electives such as Strategic Principles for Internet Businesses and the Research-to-Practice Seminar, Deconstructing Apple.
To learn more about Prof. Helfat, check out:
http://www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/newsroom/articles/professor-constance-helfat-wins-strategy-award