Harbus

Issue date: 4/7/08 Section: Features

Media Credit: Tom Fitzsimmons Searching for True North with Jonathan Kelly and HBS Professor, author Bill George '66.

It is painful for me to think that I might succumb to what Teddy Roosevelt called a "cloistered life which saps the hardy virtues… as it saps the individual; or else…[being] wedded to that base spirit of gain and greed which recognizes in commercialism the be-all and end-all …, instead of realizing that though an indispensable element, it is, after all but one of the many elements."

As graduation nears, the temptation to follow seems greater at times than the impulse to lead. A classmate of mine says that this is the siren call to "[to spend more] time walking away from the truth." The truth being that as part of a world bigger than ourselves, we might have a duty to be ourselves and live out our talents. When I came to Harvard there was part of me that secretly hoped that in a school full of "leaders" I might have a chance to blend into the scenery. Something selfish in me wanted to be somewhere I might not be singled out to use my gifts for the benefit of others and could be lulled into a sense of complacency. For some temptation of this sort in any form is too onerous and taxing and in turn consider the alternative of taking Oscar Wilde's advice on eliminating temptation by "yielding to it."

More than a century ago Harvard faced temptation to be like other business schools but it decided to take what at the time seemed like bold steps; requiring collegiate studies and a sense of responsibility as graduate of the school in using enterprise to shape the world. (It is worth noting that a century later the temptation to be like others tempts the school as it did then, yet the absence of that temptation would be a sad sign indeed.)

It has been of some importance to me that as President of the United States of America Teddy Roosevelt took interest in Harvard's initial plans, more than a century ago, to establish a school of public service and commerce, which we know today as the Harvard Business School. I care that he took interest because in my estimate President Roosevelt was one of those rare characters who made his presence known in and out of his own time, and I lament that many characters today never seem to take stage.

With respect to President Roosevelt's relevance today consider that this month Yale will commemorate the centennial of Roosevelt's 1908 conference of governors that sparked the "modern conservation movement" by convening governors from across the country to talk about climate change. This example reminds me of the impact individuals can have when they struggle despite being well aware of the cost involved or that the returns may not come in their own lifetimes.

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