Archive for October, 2009

These 35 professionals in Monterrey, Mexico, are about to start their MBA finance class.  But here’s the catch: while they sit in a classroom in EGADE (the graduate school of business of Tec de Monterrey), the professor will be lecturing from Thunderbird’s main campus in Arizona, and another 100 students will be attending the same lecture from about 12 locations in Mexico, Central and South America.

A combination of satellite and Internet technology, and an innovative pedagogical model built on it, has already allowed more than 1,300 people like these to obtain their joint Thunderbird-Tec de Monterrey Global MBA degree, advance in their careers (many with top international assignments) and develop friendships and connections throughout the continent. (Below are a few of the many faculty and staff members that make the program work, including the new dean of ESADE and Thunderbird professor emeritus Rob Grosse, as well as current students and graduates).

Tec de Monterrey (or ITESM) is a leading university in Mexico and Latin America and the oldest academic partner of Thunderbird.  More importantly, it is one of the most innovative universities in the world as they keep defying traditional assumptions in higher education.  They were one of the first universities to develop a Virtual University to provide technology-supported education (including the joint program with Thunderbird) when mainstream educators argued against it.  More recently, they created Tec Milenio a university that seeks inclusion rather than exclusion, and that is already providing opportunities of professional development to thousands of students.

The word “lama” is Tibetan for “guru”, which in Sanskrit refers to someone with unusual wisdom and knowledge who’s dedicated to guiding others, to helping others leave the darkness of ignorance.  The Dalai Lama may not be the first name to come to mind as a management guru, yet his teachings could not be more meaningful in trying to understand the responsibilities of business leaders in the global economy.

The Financial Times publishes today (FT.com / Business education / Masters in Management – Economic truths) a piece I wrote about a lecture by the Dalai Lama at Thunderbird a few years ago.

Inspiration comes from the most unexpected places.  Mine came from a monk who said he knew nothing about business, a true guru who likes to share his favorite prayer with anyone who cares to listen:  “So long as space endures, so long as the suffering of sentient beings remains, then I too will remain in order to serve.”

The Dalai Lama described Buddhism around two basic ideas: a philosophical outlook that recognizes the interdependence of all things, and a value system around the notion of compassion, the requirement to cause no harm to others.  These two ideas are interconnected.  If I believe my well-being depends on yours, then your pain becomes mine, it becomes my self-interest to care about yours.

These two ideas can be used to define global citizenship in a business context: a philosophical outlook that recognizes that the prosperity of one individual, one firm or one nation depends on the prosperity of other individuals, firms and nations, and a commitment to doing no harm onto others as a consequence of one’s business.

Last week, Business Week wrote about the efforts at Thunderbird to measure an individual’s global IQ, which we call a Global Mindset.  The idea is that being a good business leaders is not sufficient to succeed in the global economy, as the Dalai Lama so eloquently explained.