My Professor Doesn't Teach!

It occurred to me last night - in the midst of an active, impassioned class discussion instigated by the professor - that the professor doesn't teach us any material. At all.  There are not even any exams.  Our grades are derived entirely from three case presentations.

You may be thinking, "What?! That's infuriating!" 

And indeed it was until I realized that, although he is not teaching us any of the actual case and despite the fact that our class discussions hardly touch on case facts at all, he is one of the most effective professors I have ever had in B-school.

What?! How can this be?

Well, I'll tell you.  The man doesn't teach the material.  He guides us through how to think about the material - a lesson far more valuable than a regurgitation of facts about Honda entering the American market against all odds with no strategy, for example.  Because how far will that get you, really?  You may be able to impress a potential employer or client at first glance, but if you can't think critically and analytically in the face of real business challenges, that corner office may not be calling your name for quite some time - if at all.

However, marinate on this alternative... Your savvy self, able to think about Honda's nonexistent strategy while you're also considering the subsequent strategies that emerged as the company pursued its absolutely insane objective of penetrating a market in which they had no hope of success and then, being able to recognize the implications of those decisions and extrapolate those lessons into your own risk tolerance in business... well, that, my friends, is worth the money we pay for tuition.  And Hello, Corner Office!

Thank you for that wake up call, Professor because, personally, that vignette describes the business leader I would like to exemplify.

I'll be honest with you, some of my friends and classmates are inherently awesome critical thinkers, and I feel subpar when I listen to their valuable contributions to class discussions.  

However, I have decided that I am not too far gone to hone this skill, and I will look at this semester as an opportunity to tailor my thinking and my perspective on the world... to be flexible and open to other opinions and ideas that may be different than my own and that may be even <gasp> better.  (I've heard doing all these things are important in business.)  And I will look at this professor as a Sensei... a Sensei of Critical Thinking!

You can strengthen your analytical skills and deductive reasoning with the right tools, too!  So stay tuned for lessons from the Sensei that you can implement, and then use them to differentiate yourself in the classroom, on the interview, or in the boardroom!

You are the crème de la crème, and this is yet another opportunity to prove it!