Lesson 28: Network

Before I started high school, my mom told me, “You can be cool with everyone, but you cannot be friends with everyone.” Her message was meant to encourage me to resist the temptation to change who I am to make friends. This advice comes to mind as I get ready to start business school and one of the benefits of a program like Booth is the network. As I meet my classmates, I want to be authentic about who I am.

This newsletter helps remind me who I am and why I came to business school. My mission is to increase representation for Black leaders at the executive, investor, and board level. My vision is to leverage my influence as a Black business leader to pursue economic justice. My values are to act with love, humility, and wisdom. I am interested in learning why my classmates came to business school and how I can help them reach their goals as I pursue mine.

The podcast Think Big Buy Small interviewed Jerod Pierce, who successfully acquired a business through a search fund. He attributes part of his success to growing up with a low-income background, “You end up getting this skill to relate with a lot of different people because it's what you have to do.” Jarod could connect with the business owner as well as the employees to help everyone reach their individual goals. Jarod wanted to own and operate a business, the owner wanted to step away from the day-to-day operations, and the employees wanted to be rewarded for their hard work. While their goals were different, Jarod saw how to align everyone to work together.

Although my classmates will come from different backgrounds with different interests and motivations, I know our success is shared. The reason I am interested in Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition is because it leverages my strongest skill: connecting with people from different backgrounds and creating buy-in. Next Thursday is orientation for first-year MBAs at Booth, and I can use this skill in action to build a strong network.

Much of the value of my MBA will be the connections I establish in two short years. I anticipate learning in my courses as well as about my classmates' experiences and ambitions for the future. No one has to change who they are or what they want out of this experience to make friends, but our strength is rooted in this diversity.

Network is Lesson 28. Next week, I will share Lesson 29: Grit.