MIT Class: Managing in Adversity

I just gave a guest lecture at an MIT Sloane School class entitled, "Managing in Adversity." Professors Peter Kurzina and Howard Anderson (seen here with teaching assistant Andrew McCarthy) invite CEOs from a variety of backgrounds and industries to reminisce about periods in their leadership careers that presented significant challenges. I was asked to talk about the turn-around of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center back in 2002, six years after a merger that was not working out very well.

The class begins with a presentation by a student, as though that person were the CEO at the time of the organization's crisis. Every student prepares for this presentation, and one is chosen at the last minute. In this case, it was Marlena Ruth Hubley, an MBA candidate in the Class of 2012. This was her slide accurately outlining the options faced by BIDMC in 2002.




You see Marlena above being grilled by Howard after her presentation. She did very well, indeed. If you want read more about the context for that period of time, outlining the nature of the problems we faced and my initial approach to them, you can read more here.

In addition to Marlena, many other students were engaged and thoughtful participants during the class. I attach a couple of pictures here of two who gave very good answers to questions I posed.