Updated on July 24, 2016
The two years in Harvard taught our Finance Minister that it’s the constant process of learning everyday that makes one a success or failure.
Addressing a gathering of business leaders in Mumbai at the launch of the South Asian edition of Harvard Business Review, Finance Minister P Chidambaram went down memory lane, and spoke of his days in Harvard: “Those were the best days of my life. Harvard Business School was a special place. Yes, I gained immensely!”
He added, “At Harvard, the biggest thing I learnt was to question conventional wisdom. The process of learning everyday is what has remained with me since. I try to educate myself every day. It’s a constant process of learning everyday that makes one a success or failure.”
Founded in 1908, Harvard Business School is nearly as old as the concept of management education itself; and in less than a century, the School has produced leaders and ideas that have shaped the practice of management in organizations of every kind around the globe. In 1924, George Fisher Baker, president of the First National Bank of New York, donated $5 million to build a campus for the Business School on the Boston side of the Charles River. The School has been rated as one of the best management schools in the world for decades now.
“The famous case method of HBS was a great tool. While discussing the issues, so many aspects would emerge… I try to practice the rigor and the approach even today,” Chidambaram remarked. In 1911, the "problem" method, the predecessor to the case method, was introduced to the classroom as businessmen were invited to present real problems to students. In 1924, the case method was established as the primary method of instruction.
In a lighter vein, Chidambaram added, “I was constantly under financial pressures while my stay at HBS. So much so, that to save money, I didn’t even cut my hair for all my stay!”
Welcoming the South Asia edition of Harvard Business Review, Chidambaram said, “HBR is a unique magazine. The South Asia edition says a lot about India! Welcome HBR.”
The Harvard Business Review was founded in 1922.
