Entrepreneurship Lessons from Harvard Business School

Andrew MitchellCentre for Entrepreneurial Learning

University of Cambridge13th December 2010

Case Studies Galore!

Quotes from the week

Let me start with two quotes from the week:

“Entrepreneurship is like raising children; it starts with a moment of enthusiasm, followed by decades of hard work” (Howard Stevenson?)

“HBS is two thirds BS” (Anon!)

(Guess this applies to JBS too…)

Key Topics

• People

• Programme

• Participant Centred Learning?

• Academic strength - Cambridge strength

• We have an important job to do

People• 45 participants• 21 European countries

• Professor Howard Stevenson (HBS)• Professor Walter Kuemmerle (HBS)• Professor Willis Emmons (HBS)• Professor Ashish Nanda (HBS)• Professor Richard Hamermesh (HBS)• Professor Nancy Koehn (HBS)• Professor Jim Heskett (HBS)• Professor Mike Roberts (HBS)• Professor Josh Lerner (HBS)• Professor William Sahlman (HBS)

• Bert Twaalfhoven (EFER)• Karen Wilson (EFER)• Vincent Dessain, HBS Europe Research Center

ProgrammeEach day started with study group meetings at 8am after breakfastEach day ended with case study reading and preparation after dinner

Mon Opening session (Professors Howard Stevenson and Walter Kuemmerle)Campus TourRound Table Discussion (EFER Advisor, Karen Wilson)

Tues Win as Much as You Can (Professor Howard Stevenson) (yours truly won this…)Case Study: R&R (Professor Howard Stevenson)Case Method: Teaching and Participant-Centered Learning (Professor Willis Emmons)Case Study: Singulus (Professor Walter Kuemmerle)

Weds The Teaching and Learning Contract (Professor Willis Emmons)Case Study: Cambridge Consulting Group: Bob Anderson (Professor Ashish Nanda)Designing a Required Course in Entrepreneurship (Professor Richard Hamermesh)Entrepreneurs: Past, Present and Future (Professor Nancy Koehn)

Thurs Case Study: Ernie Budding (Professor Jim Heskett)Case Study: Assistant Professor Graham and Ms.Macomber (Professor Jim Heskett)Case Study: Rob Parson at Morgan Stanley (Professor Ashish Nanda)Harvard Business School Publishing Information Session

Fri Case Writing: (Professor Mike Roberts)Case Study: Nantucket Nectars (Professor Willis Emmons)Case Study: The Exxel Group (Professor Josh Lerner)

Sat Case Study: Yale University Investments Office (Professor Josh Lerner)Case Study: TelePizza (Professor Walter Kuemmerle)Brief Summary of the First 4 1/2 days (Professors Howard Stevenson and Walter Kuemmerle)Afternoon off - trip to Rockport

Trip to RockportIn 1856 a gang of 200 women lead by Hannah Jumper swept through the town and destroyed anything containing alcohol in what is called "Rockport's revolt against rum" and banned alcohol from the town.

It stopped being one of America’s few ‘dry towns’ the weekend before we arrived there. But you could only consume alcohol in a restaurant along with a meal. So we had ice cream instead of beer!

Programme cont’Each day started with study group meetings at 8am after breakfastEach day ended with case study reading and preparation after dinner

Sun Day offMon Case study: R.R. Donnelley & Sons: The Digital Division (Professor Howard Stevenson)

Local Context, Entrepreneurial Strategies and International Expansion of Ventures(Professor Walter Kuemmerle)Case study: Dr. John's Products, Ltd. (Professor William Sahlman)Case study: Fortu (Vincent Dessain, Executive Director HBS Europe Research Center)

Tues Case study: Shurgard Self-Storage: Expansion to Europe (Professor Richard Hamermesh)Case study: Infosys: Financing an Indian Software Start-Up (Professor Walter Kuemmerle)Case Writing: (Professor Mike Roberts)Views from an Entrepreneur (Bert Twaalfhoven)

Weds Case study: Southwest Airlines Discussion (Professor Howard Stevenson)Closing Comments (Professors Howard Stevenson and Walter Kuemmerle)

Participant Centred?Some of my notes…

Case method teaching requires a certain level of PCL. But it is highly structured, planned and executed to get certain information across to students and specific answers out of students. So it’s not purely PCL.

100 or 200 MBA students per class is not particularly PCL.

HBS structure all learning objectives around the case method - square peg approach.

There are countless other methods of teaching:

• Consulting projects• Industrial placements• Experiential learning• Role playing• Course work and presentation • Mentoring• Interviewing / small scale research

QuestionsQuestions HBS are asking:

What’s the difference between theories based on equilibrium and theories based on change? (i.e. traditional business teaching vs. entrepreneurship)

How can we think more systematically about entrepreneurship theory?

What are the cultural norms that help/hinder entrepreneurship?

How do we create materials to engage students? (Nancy Koehn)

Are Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes the three dimensions of our work?

Cambridge StrengthsHBS’ entrepreneurship core programme is basically their General Management programme re-branded.

Probably the oldest business course in the world (1925)?

80 percent of teaching at HBS is by case method.

HBS raised over $500M endowments in their most recent campaign.

Much of the “entrepreneurship faculty” are not experts in entrepreneurship (what ever that is!), as with MIT e-center.

So they do something exceptionally well, without doubt…

…but Cambridge has it’s own strengths and to create a future for entrepreneurship at Cambridge we must “do our own thing”.

We have started to draw on other faculty.

For example Entrepreneurs in Residence, and:

Chris Lowe, Derek Fray, Richard Friend, Barbara Sahakian, Mike Gregory.

We should increase this and make the relationships more formal and with more continuity.

Complexity & change:

Draw from social science, history, geography, mathematics and so on.

Cambridge Strengths

Important job to doWhat exactly is the higher purpose of entrepreneurship education?

Economic Growth?

Jack Welch, General Electric’s double digit growth year on year?

Global consumerism at an American level?

£48B will be spent in the UK by consumers this December!

Climate change?

Poverty?

Distribution of wealth?

Important job to do I think it has something to do with the UN Millennium Goals

1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger 2. Achieve universal primary education3. Promote gender equality and empower women4. Reduce child mortality5. Improve maternal health6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases7. Ensure environmental sustainability8. Develop a global partnership for development

http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/

Important job to do Change Agents

Sustainable Enterprise & the Entrepreneurial Leader

The CfEL should make this their USP and focus, why?

1. These goals have science, engineering and technology challenges2. These goals have commercial challenges3. We need an intellectual argument that engages the best minds at CU4. We can engage and build on a Judge Business School strength 5. It’s a noble cause6. It differentiates the centre but aligns with CU