Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/56529
graduates who have read the classics or studied English are not as valued in the financial world as people who have pri- marily studied economics and math. I think that perspective is wrong—and I think it's changing. The reality now is that tomorrow's leaders will need to be well-rounded individuals with equally strong quantitative and qualitative skills. Businesses will be looking for gradu- ates with an array of key abilities: great communication skills, leadership potential, humility, a sense of ethics, and a desire to contribute. Top business schools are already finding ways to turn out such graduates. They're doing extensive coaching. They're hiring people like me who have real-world experience and who can give case studies and deliver lectures. I share with students my real-world experience, my management experi- ence, and my personal experience. I show them how I man- aged the transitions in my career to prepare them for their own transitions. I think it's very important that students don't attend busi- ness school just so they can get the right jobs. They should see it as an investment in the future. I never got an MBA because I didn't want to invest the time and incur the cost, but five or seven years later, I wished I had. The degree would have given me a much broader framework for dealing with the larg- er business world. I think that's the attitude today's students should take as they pursue their MBAs. They should see it as part of their journey. The Sustainability Advocate Tony Kingsbury has worked for the Dow Chemical Company for 25 years. He specializes in global sustainability, environmentally preferred purchasing, plastics and chemical environmental issues, and sustainability along the supply chain. He joined the Haas School of Business at the Univer- sity of California, Berke- ley, in 2007 as the Executive-in-Residence in the Sustainable Products & Solutions Program. In this role, he teaches an MBA class on sustainability and mentors student teams working on sustainability-related projects and business ideas. If there's one area tomorrow's leaders will need to under- stand, it's sustainability. As they develop business models, 34 BizEd SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2009 If today's business students are going to be successful in the long run, they must be able to dig deeper and consider all aspects of an enterprise. create products of the future, and make key decisions, they will need to consider all three legs of sustainability—envi- ronment, society, and economics—and they must consider all three of them simultaneously. It won't be enough to look at them one by one. If today's business students are going to be successful in the long run, they must be able to dig deeper and consider all aspects of an enterprise. Only then will they be able to develop truly sustainable products and business models, no matter what business they're in. For example, if a company is making bamboo flooring, its executives can't be content just making a profit and knowing that bamboo is a rapidly renewable resource. They have to look deeper. They have to understand where the bamboo is harvested. They have to ask how workers are being treated and whether rainforests are being depleted to grow more bamboo. They have to look at these issues in the context of competitive offerings and the world's ability to supply the needed resources. Although students can learn a great deal by reading books and discussing case studies, the educational process moves to a whole new level if students can follow business situations in real time. As an executive-in-residence, that's what I bring to the classroom—practical experience and an understanding of how real-world business operates. I also share the mistakes I've made along the way so that students can avoid making the same ones. My experience is far different from that of a typical business school professor, who might have spent a lifetime gaining knowledge in a specific discipline. In my career, I've done everything from producing goods to develop- ing new products to coordinating supply chains. This kind of wide-ranging experience has been particularly useful in the field of sustainability, which by its very nature is broad and a bit unwieldy. As I share my experience with business students, I've been impressed by how bright and motivated they are. They're not just out to make a buck. They have a desire to make the world a better place, whether they're working in the San Francisco Bay area or in the poorest reaches of Africa. Their creativity and desire to solve the world's challenges give me hope for the future. ■ z