1 - 10 of 28 results for: GSBGEN

Whether you are launching a start-up, leading an organization, or inspiring social action the need to communicate effectively is crucial to your success. This seminar, grounded in the work of Nancy Duarte's book Illuminate, will look at how leaders can effectively use speeches, ceremonies, stories, and symbols to lead change.n nYou will be able to apply course concepts to a change initiative within which they are already engaged and receive feedback from professor and peers to improve. Plans include field visits to Duarte's offices and other venues where change efforts are underway. You will also benefit from seeing the evolution of MBA students' presentations in the highly successful LOWkeynotes program.

GSB students are eligible to report on work experience that is relevant to their core studies under the direction of the Senior Associate Dean responsible for the MBA Program. Registration for this work must be approved by the Assistant Dean of the MBA Program and is limited to students who present a project which, in judgment of the Advisor, may be undertaken to enhance the material learned in the first year core required courses. It is expected that this research be carried on by the student with a large degree of independence and the expected result is a written report, typically due at the end of the quarter in which the course is taken. Specific assignment details and deadline information will be communicated to enrolled students. Units earned for this course do not meet the requirements needed for graduation.

Investing for Good will introduce students to the entire spectrum of purposeful, values-driven, and impact investing. We examine the field from the perspective of an institutional investor (i.e. fund manager, investment advisor, endowment manager, head of a family office, etc). Our goal is to have students emerge with a practical and analytical framework for: 1. evaluating impact and mission-aligned investments across multiple asset classes and sectors; 2. constructing a portfolio using impact as a lens; 3. designing an impact investment company; and 4. understanding the many practical and theoretical challenges confronting this exciting emerging field.nnWe start by exploring some fundamental questions: what is a purposeful or impact investment; can impact investments be defined along a spectrum between conventional investing and philanthropy; whose money is it; what are the constraints and opportunities; how do we (re)define return and/or performance. We briefly analyze impact investing in the context of modern portfolio theory. We then develop a framework for portfolio construction and evaluation across four criteria: risk, return, liquidity, and impact. Through a combination of class dialogues, role plays, and case discussions, we will explore a wide variety of asset classes, impact themes, and investment challenges. A series of team-based investment committee simulations will comprise a significant portion of the course and will provide a significant experiential learning experience.nnPrevious experience in finance, investing, social enterprise, entrepreneurship, or philanthropy is not required, but both helpful and welcomed. While first year students are encouraged to enroll, students who have limited familiarity with the basics of investing and corporate finance are strongly encouraged to purchase David Swensen's "Pioneering Portfolio Management" and cover the recommended chapters in advance of the course. It's is also important to note that this class will require financial modeling and detailed investment analysis.nnMany of the issues we'll be tackling have no unambiguous answers. Lively discussion and debate will be necessary and expected.

This course teaches the fundamentals of real estate investing. The course begins by introducing the financial analysis tools that investors use to make decisions and structure deals. Topics will include cap rates, debt and equity financing, DCF analysis, and joint ventures (among others) and then use these tools to analyze investment cases across asset and deal types. Through case studies and with the help of industry guests, we explore land economics, market analysis, investment vehicles, risk, development, real estate tech and urban design. The course is designed for students with limited or no background in real estate. Students are not required to have a finance background, but students without any background in this area will need to bring an extra willingness to learn the analysis tools.

This course addresses the distinctive challenges and opportunities of launching high-potential new ventures in developing economies. Developing economies are attractive targets for entrepreneurs because many are just starting to move up the growth curve, and they offer low-cost operating environments that can be great development labs for potentially disruptive innovations. They increase in attractiveness when their political institutions stabilize and they become more market-friendly. At the same time, developing economies pose serious challenges. Pioneering entrepreneurs take on significant risks to gain early mover advantages. Specifically, entrepreneurs will not be able to count on the same kind of supportive operating environments that we take for granted in the developed world. They often face cumbersome permit and licensing processes, poorly developed financial and labor markets, problematic import and export procedures, unreliable local supply chains, weak infrastructure, corruption, currency risks, limited investment capital, lack of financial exits and more. This course is designed to help would-be entrepreneurs - both founders and members of entrepreneurial teams - better understand and prepare for these issues as they pursue the opportunities and address the challenges to start, grow, and harvest their ventures in these environments.nnGSB314 combines a seminar/discussion format (Tuesdays) with a team-based project (Thursdays). For the Tuesday sessions, students will read about and discuss the key challenges described above and potential solutions. Guests will describe their own startup and investing experiences in developing economies and answer questions. A framework based on the recently published World Economic Forum (WEF) report on "Entrepreneurial Ecosystems Around the Globe and Company Growth Dynamics" will be used to structure the course. Each student will prepare a short write-up as a final assignment, for this portion of the course, on a case chosen from a selection provided by the instructors.nnThe Thursday sessions is a team-based exercise for students who either have a specific idea or want to join a team of classmates to pursue more deeply an understanding of the team's country of focus and an initial investigation of the idea's viability. Students must come in willing to be team players and do the work necessary to complete this exercise over the full quarter. Each team member's contributions will be assessed by fellow teammates. Teams of AT LEAST 3 STUDENTS EACH will be formed before the start of class or on the first day of class at the latest so students can decide if they want to enroll. The team will describe, in a final presentation, the challenges and opportunities in their country using the WEF framework. The final presentation will also include the team's thoughts on the viability of their proposed venture and how it capitalizes on their country's assets and addresses its challenges. A detailed business plan is not required; however, specific recommendations and plans for next steps that would be carried out during a 3 to 6 month field and market research study in the country will be part of the final presentation.nnNote: Students who only want to participate in the seminar/discussion portion of the class and not do a team-based project (see details below) may enroll in GSB514 for 2 units.

Business leaders have marketing strategies, expansion strategies, finance strategies, even exit strategies. Successful leaders, however, also have communication strategies. This course will explore how individuals and organizations can develop and execute effective communication strategies for a variety of business settings.nnThis course introduces the essentials of communication strategy and persuasion: audience analysis, communicator credibility, message construction and delivery. Deliverables will include written documents and oral presentations and you will present both individually and in a team. You will receive feedback to improve your communication effectiveness. In the final team presentation, your challenge is to craft an oral presentation that will persuade your audience to accept your strategic recommendations. By doing this, you will see why ideas, data and advocacy are combined for a professional, persuasive presentation. nnThis practical course helps students develop confidence in their speaking and writing through weekly presentations and assignments, lectures and discussions, guest speakers, simulated activities, and videotaped feedback. An important new feature of this course is that a team of external communications coaches work in concert with the professor to ensure that students get rigorous and individualized coaching and feedback.nnIn this course you will learn to:nn- Create communication strategies at an individual and organizational leveln- Develop clearly organized and effective presentations and documentsn- Diagnose and expand your personal writing and oral delivery style n- Adapt your delivery style to different material and audiences n- Enhance oral delivery through effective visual aidsnnStudents at all levels of comfort and expertise with public speaking and business writing will benefit from this course. Waitlists have been long for this course, and you're encouraged to keep that in mind as you make your course selections. Waitlisted students are encouraged to attend the first two classes.

The disruptive nature of the Internet has set in motion the destruction of business models that have supported traditional media organizations. This course will examine the current state and broader economic challenges facing the media industry. These include: the impact of technology, changing consumer behavior, the rise of mobile, social networks, big data, real-time metrics, innovations in digital advertising and distribution channels, and new business models. Students will analyze new digital media ventures and hear from industry experts facing innovation challenges at the intersection of content, technology and business. The course also will identify paths for entrepreneurs interested in building a media business. And experiment with prototyping new digital media ventures.

The course explores the role of mindfulness, self-compassion and compassion in the workplace, and the contribution of these qualities to leadership. Topics addressed will include: How can mindfulness enhance clarity in purpose and productivity? What is the connection between mindfulness and compassion? Is compassion in the business world a strength or a weakness? Are compassion and profit motives fundamentally incompatible, or can they support each other? What does compassionate leadership look like? Can mindfulness and compassion be trained at the individual level, and built into company policy? How does self-compassion support effective leadership and recovery from setbacks? Participants in the course will engage with exercises from evidence-based programs targeting the development of mindfulness and the practical application of the skills of self-awareness, self-compassion, and perspective taking in the context of work and relationships.

Believe it or not, the "Silicon Valley model" has little or nothing to do with most businesses. Most businesses are not started by MBAs; most startups are not funded by VCs; most employees don't work for tech firms; and most businesses don't sell out to other businesses or go public. Rather, the vast majority of businesses world-wide are started, funded, and owned by families, and these firms create most of the employment in the global economy. Despite the prominence of family firms, teaching and research have traditionally focused on analyzing the widely-held or Silicon Valley model of the firm. This course explores the challenges and opportunities faced by family businesses. It is taught by Leo Linbeck III, Lecturer since 2005 at the GSB and President and CEO of Aquinas Companies, LLC. This course is an outlier in a world obsessed with tech startups and venture capital; it is a "Minority Report" from the heart of Silicon Valley. The course is intended for four main audiences: (1) Students whose family owns a business. (2) Students who are considering working for a family firm. (3) Students who are interested in acquiring or consulting with a private firm either directly (search funds, management consultants, etc) or indirectly (private equity, etc). (4) Students who are sick of only learning about cool, sexy startups and the geniuses who get rich from them. The course uses a combination of case studies, guest speakers, lectures, movies, and student presentations to explore the central ideas of the course, which are likely to appear irrelevant to everyone (save the instructor).