Learning While Teaching

I just completed my second year as a teacher at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Our class is about the challenges and opportunities in the digital-industrial intersection. My co-teacher, Rob Siegel, and I have known each other for years. This is his area of research and expertise, and he is writing a book on the topic. The course is called “Systems Leadership” with the notion that leaders must master both digital platforms and physical domains. We bring the opportunities from “digital industrial fusion” to life with real-world examples.

We teach the class by doing a case on a company, having their CEO and senior leadership share insights on their challenges and opportunities. In two years, we’ve had: BNSF, Google, John Deere, Target, Qualcomm, Kaiser Permanente, Stitch Fix, Desktop Metal, Uptake, Michelin, Samsung, and others. Through these companies, we are exploring the challenges of data management, Future of Work, healthcare…the challenges students will face one day when they graduate. The students can see that both legacy companies and disruptors face risks and have unique opportunities. Being digital is no sure path to success – nor is size -- but the willingness to change is the key to survival.

The best part of the class is the interaction between students and the CEOs, but it is different than I anticipated. The CEOs are bringing their practices and their problems. The students are developing their problem-solving skills and, really, their empathy. We are all seeing that leadership is not a magic act, it’s an exploration, a grind.

It is hard to put myself in the shoes of a current MBA student, but I try. Most of the technical aspects of business are being automated. Every industry is in the midst of transformation; think a bank or hospital will look the same five years from now? The students I see don’t want to be lectured on behaviors. I have learned that this generation really wants the tools to “figure it out”…regardless of the environment.

They see that legacy and start-up CEOs struggle with similar vulnerabilities. There is an endless need for talent and motivation. They must communicate complex strategies in simple terms. All the guests are insecure about the robustness of their business models and competitors.

Both our students and the guests are from all over the world – and the students are seeing the similarities but also the complexities that come from global differences. How Europeans vs. Americans vs. Chinese vs. South Americans view things, and how companies that are based in different parts of the world are shaped by the business opportunities and cultural constraints of their locations.

When I began, I felt the course would teach leadership techniques to apply the benefits of analytics or additive manufacturing or automation or AI to beat competitors. In other words: digital transformation for legacy companies; industrial disruption for start-ups. It does that, for sure. But the bigger lessons are on managing complexity, powering through self-doubt, displaying patience while being afraid, self-awareness, compartmentalizing through crisis. “Don’t lose your nerve” is a common theme, as the leaders drive change one step at a time.

There are some moments of discovery for both of us. The retail CEO describing that data is easy…they have to figure out the physical leadership for the last mile to the house. The hospital CEO speaks to the overwhelming importance of mental health; that is more important than industry consolidation. The IOT entrepreneur is surprised that only a few students know what a CNC machine does. The female founder gives a lesson on diversity that surpasses any discussions I have had for the last 40 years. We are learning together.

The students embrace the notion that good leaders “absorb fear.” They don’t want to see leaders as heroes or be lectured on the perils of capitalistic excess. They want the tools to figure it out on their own; they want the confidence to lead a team with purpose and accountability; they value impact; they are building resiliency to see optimistic ideas triumph.

I ask the students to think about how they want to enter the world; how ambitious are they; how fast they can learn; how much can they give to others; how much they can take. Fortunately, they have a blend of self-confidence with self-awareness allowing them to deal with the ambiguity of the volatile world they will walk into. They may not know the answer yet, but all seem willing to figure it out.

The students and guests are really great. I am learning a lot.