"If you're going in to banking or consulting as a way to continue your education after school, that's fine.  But make sure you aren't waiting until then to find out what you're passionate about.  You should be figuring that out now while you're in school and have the time and space to experiment.

"Once you've figured that thing out, put it at the top of the list as you figure out what you want to do."

-paraphrased quote from Scott Malkin (Harvard JD/MBA and real estate developer focused on outlet centers in Europe, Value Partners)
Advice given in Real Property  on 25 September 2014

Confirmation Bias

We often seek information that confirms our decision, rather than systematically seeking disconfirming data.  You should build into any decision making process or any organization someone who questions decisions.  Set up a "red team."  Designate a team skeptic who will also question decisions.  In an investment decision, designate someone on the team to take the opposite side of the issue.  Remember 12 Angry Men.  Remember the example of the Challenger disaster, where they did not recognize the data that could have led them to avoid the tragedy, because they were seeking data that would confirm their "go" criteria.

The Danger of Competitive Arousal

Competitive arousal is when you experience a desire to beat rivals at any cost.

"This emotional state can lead to expensive mistakes in business decisions, including overpaying for acquisitions or managerial talent when other players enter the fray."

The drivers of competitive arousal are rivalry, time pressure, and the presence of an audience (or the spotlight).  Manage those drivers to ensure that you are able to make better decisions.

-When Winning is Everything, Deepak Malhorta, Gillian Ku, and J. Keith Murnighan, HBR, May '08

Give yourself time

"Because individuals consistently underestimate the time needed for complicated tasks--and consistently overestimate their ability to make wise decisions, particularly under time pressure--it is easy to set ill-considered deadlines that lead to bad decisions."
-When Winning is Everything, Deepak Malhotra, Gilian Ku, and J. Keith Murnighan, HBR, May '08

The goal of BSSE, and maybe HBS as a whole

"Our hope is to prepare our students to be capable builders and discerning consumers of theory--to build an instinct for knowing when they can and cannot trust that the recommendations of an author, consultatnt, or subordinate will produce the needed impact, given the circumstance that they are in.  The skill to learn the right lessons from experience and to apply them in ccirumstances wehre they are appropriate is perhaps the most valuable ability that our students might take from our tutelage."
-Course Resarch: Using the Case MEthod to Build and Teach Management Theory
Clayton Christensen and Paul Carlile
Published in Academy of Managemnt Learning & Education, 2009, Vol. 8, No. 2, Page 250


This pairs well with theories I've learned in the past in political science courses.  In The American Presidency I learned about the importance of President's understanding their "political time," which is essentially the circumstances which apply to them.  In Neustadt's book Thinking in Time, they discuss understanding in a very nuanced way how the lessons of history are or aren't applicable to your moment in time.

Bottom line: Understanding if a recommendation applies to current circumstances is essential to success.