2008 Woodie Awards
Transform This
Issue date: 4/22/08 Section: Viewpoints & Humor
Yes, HBS has also provided us with an environment in which to learn, network, and make new friends. And yes, we'll all probably get a good job after school. But couldn't we have done all of this without HBS?
We say that we can change the world. We can't.
We say that we'll be the class to redefine success. We won't.
We say a lot of things here at HBS, but the truth is that most of it just isn't true. Our dreams may be big and our hopes may be limitless, but in reality the world is a complicated, depressing and evil place, and there's nothing much we can do about it. Seriously, don't be confused by all the hot air that your fellow classmates are blowing, particularly on April 8th. We're just a bunch of MBA students with no real power to change anything. Repeatedly telling ourselves we're important may sound great, but it also sounds great when Lindsay Lohan says she's sober. Words are meaningless without action and action is impossible without substance.
If an MBA is truly so feckless, then why has HBS been so successful for 100 years? Escapism. Life is and always has been one continuous series of failures punctuated by occasional spots of happiness, and HBS provides the ultimate escape for two years. The best thing about going to a school where it's almost impossible to fail is just that - you postpone for two amazing years the ritualistic disappointment and failure that has become commonplace in our lives. This is the true value proposition of HBS, and we should celebrate this proven model of escapism more wholeheartedly.
Yes, HBS has also provided us with an environment in which to learn, network, and make new friends. And yes, we'll all probably get a good job after school. But couldn't we have done all of this without HBS? Absolutely. But could we have had such a rock-solid excuse to avoid doing any real work, while also escaping the oppressive melancholy of existence? No way. And that's the beauty of HBS. Again, this is what we should be celebrating on April 8th. Everything else is just an exercise in self-justification and ego reinforcement.
We say that we can change the world. We can't.
We say that we'll be the class to redefine success. We won't.
We say a lot of things here at HBS, but the truth is that most of it just isn't true. Our dreams may be big and our hopes may be limitless, but in reality the world is a complicated, depressing and evil place, and there's nothing much we can do about it. Seriously, don't be confused by all the hot air that your fellow classmates are blowing, particularly on April 8th. We're just a bunch of MBA students with no real power to change anything. Repeatedly telling ourselves we're important may sound great, but it also sounds great when Lindsay Lohan says she's sober. Words are meaningless without action and action is impossible without substance.
If an MBA is truly so feckless, then why has HBS been so successful for 100 years? Escapism. Life is and always has been one continuous series of failures punctuated by occasional spots of happiness, and HBS provides the ultimate escape for two years. The best thing about going to a school where it's almost impossible to fail is just that - you postpone for two amazing years the ritualistic disappointment and failure that has become commonplace in our lives. This is the true value proposition of HBS, and we should celebrate this proven model of escapism more wholeheartedly.
Yes, HBS has also provided us with an environment in which to learn, network, and make new friends. And yes, we'll all probably get a good job after school. But couldn't we have done all of this without HBS? Absolutely. But could we have had such a rock-solid excuse to avoid doing any real work, while also escaping the oppressive melancholy of existence? No way. And that's the beauty of HBS. Again, this is what we should be celebrating on April 8th. Everything else is just an exercise in self-justification and ego reinforcement.
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