Returning to Teaching
This spring I will be teaching a new course in the Entrepreneurship program at IE University, if my proposed elective is selected by students. I have wanted to return to teaching for some time. Yet, it took a long time to determine what I wanted to teach.
I decided to focus on something I wanted to learn more about, believing that preparing the course materials and engaging in the class discussions will be much more exciting if I am learning alongside the students. But it also had to be a topic with which I have both direct experience, and a strong understanding of the broader academic discussion.
My course is called "Decision Making for Purpose Driven Leaders." We will explore the challenge of leading organizations that seek to balance stakeholder interests, rather than defaulting to a model of shareholder primacy.
It has been a fun challenge to consider the framing of the class, choose specific case studies and prepare the materials. I'll share the syllabus here at some point, but to get a better sense of what I am exploring, here's the speech I will give to prospective students to pitch the class. I really want to teach, so hoping this will get some students excited.
(I've been learning from many current and former Professors as I design this work. Special gratitude to Brian Trelstad at HBS, Laura Hattendorf at the GSB and Clay Christensen, whom I still learn from via his books and videos. The course has been heavily shaped by all three).
My Pitch (recorded by video)
I’m Rory Eakin, Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship at IE. I’ll be teaching Decision Making for Purpose Driven Leaders this spring.
Our course is designed to help prepare you to lead organizations in the stakeholder economy. We will explore leadership questions such as:
- How you can lead a purpose driven organization with integrity and consistency.
- As you build, how will you balance the needs and wants of shareholders, customers, employees and your community?
We start from the premise that there are no easy answers. Today’s leaders face new challenges, balancing customers, employees, shareholders and the environment in an age of global connectivity and digital engagement.
This course provides you with a framework and tools to make better decisions when you hold organizational leadership responsibilities. We will learn through cases and class discussion, building on the experiences of other leaders facing difficult decisions. Each week we study a key leadership challenge through a stakeholder lens, and discuss the decision and its impact.
I created this course because I know first-hand the challenges of leading a purpose driven organization. I founded CircleUp, a technology driven investment platform to help entrepreneurs thrive by providing them the capital and resources they need. We raised venture capital, hired a wonderful team and built a company serving thousands of customers.
With my co-founder, we constantly made difficult decisions. Like many purpose-driven companies, we wanted to balance profit and purpose. But, that general principle was difficult to apply in the moment, for highly specific decisions: Should we be a B Corps? Should we raise venture capital? If our mission is to serve entrepreneurs and they are our customers, how should we set prices? How should we hire, and separate from, colleagues with commitment and integrity? This course came about because I wanted to build a better toolset to help with these decisions. We will explore cases on each of those topics, and many more.
You are right for this class if you are interested in leading through complexity. Holding responsibility for balancing the interests of investors, employees and customers over time, and through challenging circumstances. If you desire to hold that trust and to be well prepared in your journey, please consider signing up.
I believe management is a noble pursuit. I believe outstanding managers shape careers, sustain organizations and set pathways for collective well-being. And, I believe leadership is a difficult road. Together, in this course, we prepare for that journey.
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