Adam Grant’s Favorite Books, Olympic Winners, and More – Toronto News
Recent weeks have seen exciting developments and events for Toronto metro business schools. We’ve laid out some of the high points below.
17 Business Leadership Books That Have Helped MBA Students Succeed in the Business World – Business Insider
Business Insider contributor Adam Grant, perhaps the most famous business school author in the world today, just released a list of 17 books that he finds beneficial for MBA’s entering the workforce. His list includes “The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers” by Ben Horowitz. Noura Sakkijha, co-founder of Mejuri and graduate of McMaster University’s DeGroote School of Business, was highlighted as someone who found Horowitz’s book particularly beneficial:
“I love learning through successful people’s real-life experiences and this book provides an extremely practical and honest experience about running a company, managing people, and handling tough problems.”
Grant also highlights “Power Up: How Smart Women Win in the New Economy” by entrepreneur Magdalena Yesil, who was one of the primary investors in what would become multi-billion dollar tech powerhouse SalesForce, and “Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose” by Tony Hsieh, the CEO of online shoe giant Zappos. Check out the rest of Grant’s 17 favorite books here.
Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir: “The Perfect Partnership” – News@Ivey
Olympic figure skating medalists Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir recently spoke at Western University Canada’s Ivey School of Business, delivering the keynote address for HBA Leadership Day. In addition to providing advice on how to succeed in a competitive sport, the couple offered insight into what has made their relationship work over the past two decades.
Olympic figure skating medalists Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, the keynote speakers at the Ivey School of Business HBA Leadership Day / Photo via ivey.uwo.ca
“We always skate well when we’re on the same page both on and off the ice,” Moir says. “Having each other’s back was our biggest advantage over our competitors.” Virtue also shared the obstacles that come with being a woman in an athletic field. She indicated that as her success rose, so did the amount of scrutiny, criticism, and vulnerability she experienced.
“Every time you get to the top of a mountain, there’s another summit. You’re at one of the best—if not the best—business schools in Canada. You’ve already accomplished so much. But this is where you take off. This is the beginning of a great journey for you.” – Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue
You can read more about the skating duo and the recent Ivey HBA Leadership Day here.
Ryerson, Maple Leafs Announce New Future of Sport Lab – MetroMBA
The brand new Future of Sport Lab, was announced on Tuesday, Sep. 11, 2018 as a brand new partnership between Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, Ltd. (MLSE) and Ryerson University. The school, according to a recent press release, notes, “the objective of the FSL is to be Canada’s leader in sport innovation, creating a sport business ecosystem that will connect Canadian sport properties and industry partners, entrepreneurs, faculty, and students. Together, they will support and foster innovative sport business solutions and technologies along with sport industry research, insights, and education.”
The new program will be directed by Dr. Cheri L. Bradish, the Loretta Rogers Research Chair in Sport Marketing with the Ted Rogers School of Management. In an interview, Bradish says, “Toronto is truly a world-class sport business city. The Future of Sport Lab will bring together the incredible talent that’s already here and give them a chance to collaborate and create solutions with real world impact. This will be the new home of sport innovation in Canada.”
Cheri Bradish, Director of the Future Sport Lab (back, right), with Humza Teherany, Sumit Arora, Teresa Resch, and Jennifer MacInnis / Photo via ryerson.ca
You can learn more about the Future of Sport Lab here.
Ivey EMBA Alum Linda Hasenfratz Named Business Leader of the Year
EMBA alum Linda Hasenfratz from the Ivey Business School at Western University Canada was recently announced as the winner of this year’s Ivey Business Leader of the Year award.
3 Leadership Lessons from Ivey’s MBA Leadership Day
At Western University Canada’s Ivey Business School, leadership is a regular part of the curriculum. In fact, part of Ivey’s mission is to equip its MBA students to become global leaders. In the context of this mandate, each year the Ian O. Ihnatowycz Institute for Leadership hosts an MBA Leadership Day. This year, the class of 2018 heard from four, senior Canadian leadership in a conference setting. The event also included a panel discussion, a LIVE case, and a keynote presentation.
The Speakers
- Barbara Stymiest: former Executive Vice-President & Chief Financial Officer at BMO Nesbitt Burns, Chief Executive Officer at the TSX Group and current board member of several public companies including Blackberry Ltd., George Weston Limited, and Sun Life Financial Inc.
- Michael Rolland: Chief Investment Officer at OMERS Private Equity
- Jon Hantho: Chairman of the Board at Life Labs, former Chief Executive Officer at Maxxam
- Linda Hasenfratz: Chief Executive Officer at Linamar
Beckie Thain-Blonk, an ’18 MBA candidate at Ivey, was one of the students in attendance at the event. In a recent blog post, she shared her three key leadership takeaways: humility, listening, and selflessness.
Humility
Through the case discussion, attendees learned about how important it is to be endeared to your team. No matter if you have good intentions or not, if you don’t take the time to build relationships up front and listen to your team’s feedback, you’ll lose sight of the real goal.
“Building relationships requires active listening and a healthy dose of humility,” Thain-Blonk noted. “The lesson was very clear: remember that relationship skills and humility are important in both the highs and lows of your career.”
Listening
The second lesson for Thain-Blonk came during the panel discussion when Barbara Stymiest talked about being a manager and earning her first board chair position at Ernst & Young. Drawing on examples from her career, Stymiest told attendees that the first leadership lesson she learned was to “listen first.”
“Stymiest emphasized the importance of a leader speaking last,” Thain-Blonk wrote. “She highlighted that, as a leader, if she spoke first, the room would orient around the direction she initially provided.”
Selflessness
The final lesson was learned throughout the entire event as each speaker agreed that “leaders focus on others.” They categorically stated that an individual only becomes a leader when they stop focusing inward and start focusing on others.
“A leader is not born when they become a CEO or are appointed to lead a team,” Thain-Blonk added. “Instead, a leader is defined by an ‘others orientation,’ and that can start today, regardless of who the individual is or what position they hold.”
Online MBA vs. Traditional MBA
There’s no doubt that the online MBA is gaining in popularity. Even top-quality schools such as the Fox School of Business at Temple University and the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University offer online MBA programs. The question then arises, is an online MBA program worth it and how does it differ from a traditional classroom MBA? Continue reading…
