[Program Fitting]为什么HBS招那么多咨询的人啊

Q:
David，你说了那么多，唯独没有说为什么HBS招那么多咨询的人啊

A:
Just like one time when Michael Dell made a speech in a top b-school

an Indian MBA student asked him: “You already made that much money, why don’t you just retire, buy a boat and sail somewhere in the world?”

Michael Dell replied him: “Sail a boat is boring. Do you have any idea about how much fun to run a multi-billion company?”


The hardest thing to manage in the world is not machine or any kind of product marketing, but people.

Management is actually teaching the toughest skills called soft skills

Such as communication skills, interpersonal skills, management skills like corporate governance, market strategy, human resources, and the toughest one, leadership.

These soft skills are much harder to learn than hard skills since they take your humanity and soul to grow them.


For the reason why those top schools, especially HBS, admit a bunch of management consultants

because consulting jobs generally require more advanced analytical and strategic mindset to indentify multiple problems in very short time on industrial scale

and generally have more intense training and involvement on corporate strategy planning, as well as organizational management

it also takes seasoned maturity and more well-rounded personality to intensely communicate with multiple parties externally and internally

while at the mean time, diverse cases will inspire creativity or even cross-cultural sensitivity


But when you see those successful essays from the book “65 Successful HBS Application Essays”

you’ll see all different types of people from a wide array of careers

marketing directors, supply chain managers, fresh-graduated students, dancers, soldiers, bankers, entrepreneurs, actors, non-profit social workers, sales…you name it!

there’s no certain favorite job category the schools really prefer

but it’s about our commitment to constantly grow from our yesterday

people may wonder why these incredible achievers who earns tons of money

still try to get into best b-schools and work as a not-so-impressive title like Associate afterward,

the reason is the same as what Michael Dell said

when you possess such advanced analytical and strategic skills

and can deal with most sophisticated business problems in the world

it’s an unbelievable fulfillment, especially it’s a career preparation for executive career path in future

while the b-school trainings open their gate to reach the executive world





Just like Will Smith once shared in an interview for the movie “7 Pounds”

the world is made by people, and how people survive in this world is about contribute to each other, and be fed by each other

why the city is formed, why we need each other

it’s all about helping each other, and it’s called business, even non-profit or social events

it’s all for survival, and all for a meaningful life