Inquiry about the "save the world" ethic at the GSB

So, I didn’t exactly get new posts up in three consecutive days over the weekend like I wanted to, but at least I’m getting three real ones (I won’t count my request for the hook-up on that MP3) posted within a seven-day period. I’ve been diving into the new gig full-force lately and have devoted a lot of my evenings to getting smarter, so I haven’t been checking my blog Inbox too often. I’m going to work on that now that I’m a little more settled into the job because I know there are folk out there waiting to hear what I have to say 🙂

The email for this entry comes from a Stanford GSB R2 applicant who is excited by the schools “Save the world” ethic and wants to know how real it is. It’s a question that I’ve never been asked and never really thought about, so it was fun to think about a response. And, one great thing about this email is that the reader actually thought about how long it would take for me to read and respond and decided to make her message short and efficient…she actually paid attention to my many requests about this. I literally couldn’t believe it when I read her message. So, I want to send a HUGE shout out to her for thinking, not only about getting her question answered, but also about how much of an effort it might take me to get back to her. Niiiiiiiiice!

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ML wrote:

“Marquis,

I’ve got a question for you and I’m not sure if you’ve addressed this before, so if you have you can just send me a link to your previous post. Also, it’s great that you’re spending time helping prospective MBAs.

I’m applying to Stanford R2. To give you a quick background of me, I’ve got a decent GMAT (760), lots of community involvement, and want to do a dual degree with IPER (environmental studies) with an MBA at Stanford so I can work to integrate sustainability into core business strategy.

I wanted to mostly get your thoughts on how you view the folks who go to Stanford in terms of their “save the world” ethic. It seems that Stanford is a bit random about who they accept. GMATs seem pretty important given the high mean and personal character also seems very important given the interview process and school’s motto. After going to Stanford, would you say that a lot of folks had big aspirations of saving the world with their MBAs? It’s probably hard to compare with other schools, but maybe you’ve come across some with friends or after work. What do you think makes Stanford folks different from those at other schools? I know this is a hard nut to crack, and if you could, I’m sure you’d be a well-paid admissions consultant :). I’m not trying to do that – I’m just trying to get a sense of how true the save the world ethic is at Stanford – if it’s reality or part of the hype.

Personally, I love that attitude and I want to be surrounded by folks who are out to make the world a better place. When I visited schools, I think pretty everyone I met had traditional MBA goals – but that’s expected since it’s b-school – and I’m guessing people may want to focus on career first and then save the world after they’ve given themselves a good foundation.

This email’s getting a bit long, and I know you’re busy and like things short, so I’ll end this here. I appreciate your thoughts and happy holidays!

ML”

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My response:

ML,

Thanks for reading my blog and thinking of me as a resource for your question. Also, I’d like to send youa big “THANK YOU” for paying attention to my statements about how shorter requests from readers bring a smile to my face. I swear I’ve made that statement in several entries in the past year, but I’d started to believe that no one ever noticed. Whenever I get an email with a laundry list of highly detailed questions, I just shake my head and have a long debate about whether I should even try to respond. Fortunately, I didn’t have to worry about that with your email and I truly appreciate that you were thoughtful enough to save me that effort. And, for the record, a 760 GMAT is waaaaaaaay better than “decent”…you should be patting yourself on the back for getting a score that high 🙂

OK, so let’s get to your question…How do I view the students at Stanford GSB in terms of their “save the world” ethic? My short answer is that many of my classmates had aspirations of positively impacting the world in some way and I learned a tremendous amount from them. I could just end my response right there, but we should go under the hood with this a little more to give you some more context. It sounded like you were wondering if students had some grand ambitions to swoop in and do something major to affect change, but, sometimes, even the smallest change can also save the world in its own way. I tend to think of things as simply as possible and, with that in mind, I see a person being able to have impact on the world in a couple of ways:

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– Direct –> In this case, a person decides to dive right into trying to save the world and chooses a path likely to have direct impact on the world. A few examples are launching or working for a non-profit, taking a job within some kind of governmental agency/organization, joining a global think tank or research shop, and starting/joining a foundation or other philanthropic organization. This definitely IS NOT an exhaustive list, but they’re the first ones that popped into my head. Two great real-life examples of this would be Bill Drayton, founder of Ashoka, and Wendy Kopp, founder of Teach for America. Neither of them was an MBA, but both of them had a vision for saving the world and went all-in on it.

– Indirect –> If the first one is “Direct”, then the second one’s got to be “Indirect”, right? 🙂 In this case, the person isn’t necessarily rolling up their sleeves and getting their hands dirty to fix things. Rather, the person takes some actions that don’t save the world directly, but could have some ripple-effects that ultimately drive long-term impact. This can manifest itself in many different ways. One could pursue a career in Finance/PE/VC/etc, make a boatload of cash, and then donate the money to charities, non-profits, and other impactful organizations. Or, he/she could start a pharma or healthcare company that partners with NGOs aimed at treating illnesses in third world nations. Perhaps, he/she follows a corporate career path and serves as a mentor to elementary school kids, one of whom ends up becoming the doctor who cures cancer. You never can tell how the small things you do today can affect the world in the long run, right? This is the route that I’ll likely take to save the world because my reach likely won’t be great enough to have widespread direct impact on it. But, through the actions I can take in the future (including maintaining my blog), I hope to be able to touch people, groups, and even ideas that might some day affect some change. I bet if I were to survey some of my classmates and other GSB alums, they’d have a similar goal.
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So, if I use the dual-definition of the “save the world” ethic described above, then I’d say that it is DEFINITELY real at the GSB and you will not be disappointed if you end up as a student there. You might find a few kids who will say that they’re in B-school simply to get rich, but I’d guess that the majority of them have aspirations of saving the world in their own way, whether it’s through something big or small. Obviously, a lot of this is based on the actual students who are in each entering class, but my man D.B. and his team in the Admissions office have a knack for putting together a group a kids who want to “change lives”, “change organizations”, and “change the world”.

OK, you also asked about comparing this “save the world” ethic at Stanford to that at other schools and I’m not really comfortable doing that. It’s not that I don’t have an opinion on it (I definitely do), but I’ve never been immersed in the environment at another B-school to gain in-depth knowledge about how the student plan to impact the world in their post-MBA lives. I would imagine that many of them have plans to go the indirect route, as described above, but you’ll have to dig into that yourself when you start attending admitted student weekends. If this is something that is truly important for you, then make sure you ask the hard questions and

By now, you’ve probably submitted your Stanford R2 application by now, so I wish you the best of luck on getting in. Hopefully, you’ll be getting that “happy phone call” from a member of the Admissions team in a couple of months. Take care.

-Marquis