 |
| Harvard Law School Library |
Around Harvard
After almost a month of incessant studying, I finally got the chance to explore the Harvard University campus. There are a couple of things I noticed:
 |
| Harvard Yard |
 |
| Harvard Yard |
- Everything is brick red. Yes I was told that this is the official university color and has a specific color pantone. The official and only daily newspaper is the Harvard Crimson, which is run entirely by undergraduates.
- It is impeccably clean. It has green manicured lawns that are child friendly. This might sound pedantic but students are environment conscious and throw their garbage in color-coded receptacles.
- They have magnificent century old structures that's so astonishingly well-maintained. I was told that the building code forbids the demolition of old structures but allows for internal renovation. The city, in fact gives tax breaks to owners who preserve the outer structure of their buildings.
Their buildings are either modern or are eerily similar to Hogwarts from the Harry Potter film. Don't get me wrong, it's pretty but in a somewhat unique way. This by the way, is a dormitory for those taking their masters degree in Law.
They also have a very modern student center where students just chill out, have their meals, or study.
Since this is Harvard, the richest university in the planet with an aggregate endowment fund of USD32Billion, most of the buildings are named after benefactors. It is in fact my dream to have a structure named after me within 5 years - the Vince Abejo gutter or even the Vince Abejo drain might be a good start. I first thought of a Vince Abejo lamp post but that might be overly ambitious.
Lessons
Business, Government and the International Economy
The subject of our case discussion is South Africa. And our Professor, Dick Vietor, continues to regale our class with his witty yet spot on comments about macroeconomic analysis. Without going into the minute details of the South African economy, below are the key principles that can have universal applicability.
- strong political leadership is a must for economic growth and trade competitiveness
- national economic interests must not be subservient to local / sectoral interests
- countries need to differentiate itself in order to enhance its competitiveness
Today, unfortunately is the last day of our Negotiation class. I really enjoyed this class so much as our Professor, Guhan Subramanian, is very articulate and knows the subject very well, he is the author of the book, "Dealmaking". In addition, I find his class to be very practical, useful and his teaching style is thoroughly engaging.
- when deciding whether to auction or negotiate consider bidder profile, asset characteristics, seller profile and contextual factors
- process and substance are negotiated simultaneously, achieve substantive advantage through process advantage
- know your friends, your allies and those who don't want the deal to go forward
- in multi-party negotiations seek early coalitions
- prior preparation prevents poor performance
Our Professor, Ranjay Gulati, today talked about influencing. And I must say that this is a true must have skill for all leaders. Professor Gulati, is able to transform an abstract concept called leadership into something tangible and replicable.
- Influence involves procedural tactics and interpersonal tactics
- Weapons of influence
- reciprocity
- commitment and consistency
- social proof
- liking
- authoring
- scarcity
- Influence is not manipulation it is based on an understanding of those whom you are trying to influence
I need to hit the sack, in the meantime let me leave you with some more photos of Harvard University.
