This course is designed as a capstone for graduating MBA students.

Our mission is to educate leaders who make a difference in the world. As you prepare to leave Harvard Business School, the critical question is: “What do I need to do to make a difference?” To answer this question, we will study—and learn from—the life choices of a variety of remarkable people who left a lasting legacy that changed the world.

Each week, we will analyze case-length biographies to understand the choices these high-impact individuals faced in their lives and the paths they followed. Our aim will be to develop principles and frameworks to explain and predict their success.

The following HBS case-format biographies will be included in your case packet:

• Business: Mary Kay Ash, P.T. Barnum, Sarah Breedlove (Madam C.J. Walker), Walt Disney, Henry Ford, Katharine Graham, Steve Jobs
• Government: Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Robert McNamara, Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher
• Humanitarian: Mahatma Gandhi, Helen Keller, Nelson Mandela, Bill Wilson
• Science: Marie Curie, Albert Einstein
• Sports: Muhammad Ali, Jackie Robinson
• Writers: Ayn Rand
• Entertainment: Leonard Bernstein
• Education: James Conant

The course is divided into three parts: learning, developing a personal strategy, and reflecting.

Learning: During the first part of the course, you will learn the key concepts needed to understand how people rise to positions of prominence. We start by defining key personal characteristics. Next, we consider the building blocks of a successful career and how to strengthen the hand that you are dealt in life. Then, we reveal how each protagonist we study navigated forks in the road and ultimately found purpose in their life.

Developing a Personal Strategy: During the second part of the course, we analyze different strategies for success. You will decide which strategy works best for you and learn how to increase your odds of making a difference.

Reflecting: In the final part of the course, materials and in-class discussions will be designed to answer the question: What does this mean for me?

Grading will be based on class participation, short polls and hand-ins, and a final paper. The final paper will ask you to apply course concepts by either analyzing an HBS case study or interviewing someone you admire.

You will find this course appealing if:

1. You enjoy learning about the lives and times of interesting individuals in a wide variety of settings,
2. You want to understand, and be inspired by, the choice these people made and the paths they followed to rise to positions of prominence,
3. You enjoy engaging in a spirited discussion about controversial topics,
4. You want to be challenged to think about your own life and the career and the personal choices you will confront if you want to make a difference in the world.

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