Last night, November 17, about 40 people gathered to honor the many African people who traveled from Africa to the Americas, where those who survived the trip were sold into slavery.

Unshackled Memory included an installation of paper boats painted in colors representing the vibrant hues of traditional Africa dress, as well as the multitude of flags from African nations. They were placed in the form of a peace symbol on the floor of Knight Auditorium by visiting artist Elshafei Dafalla Mohamed, who created 3400 of these boats.  

While Mohamed Joh Camara played African drum, others read poetry and essays, sang and danced. The names of those traveling on those boats were read aloud by the audience.  

Among the Babson students who shared their talent were Candace Armand, Winfred Fields, Victoria Ghafoor, Marie Pierre, Bridget Thrash, and London Howell, and others.

Elshafei took photos of the entire group as they surrounded the peace symbol holding hands.  A very moving experience provided by talented students from the Black Student Union and Babson African Student Organization. Emceed by Arts & Humanities professor Elizabeth Goldberg, it was supported by the Undergraduate School, Diversity Office, and the Office of Campus Life.

Don’t forget to visit Elshafei’s exhibit Delirium II through December 18 in Hollister lobby.

On November 16, 2009, the OEM (Organizing for Effective Management) class met in Knight Auditorium for a challenge and hands-on lesson.

They were told that NASA is their new client and that they must create a safe, cost-effective landing device for NASA’s spacecrafts. They were placed in teams, given a bag of materials to work with, and an hour to complete the project. They would be judged on the creativity of their design, its effectiveness, cost, speed, sustainability value, and teamwork.

Their final prototypes were tested by dropping an egg encased in their just-designed ‘craft’ from the Knight balcony to a target placed on the floor below. If the payload (egg) broke, they had failed their mission.

The winner will be announced in the next class meeting.              

There to inspire the students was Matheos Stamm, son of ’93 alumni Sophia Lazeritus and Kevin Stamm (missing from picture), and grandson of management professor Jack Stamm. Matheos, dressed in his Halloween astronaut suit and with a cast on his broken foot, demonstrated what happens if the payload in the landing craft fails… something breaks! It prompted laughter, but was an effective display!

Babson’s Center for Information Management Studies—better known as CIMS—and Boston Society for Information Management (SIM) held a Year Up ‘Class Field Trip’ today in Knight Auditorium.  About 100 young people participated in a workshop to learn:        

• About Babson from undergraduate admission dean Grant Gosselin,
• The meaning and value of networking and interviewing for a job from undergrad career development director Megan Houlker,
• The “principle of objectivity” from chief diversity officer Elizabeth Thornton.

The all-morning event was moderated by CIMS director Kavin Moody.

Year Up is a one-year, intensive training program that provides urban young adults 18-24, with a unique combination of technical and professional skills, college credits, an educational stipend and corporate internship.

I am near the end of a one-month trip to Asia, which included a few conference presentations and presentations at universities, as well as presenting a SEE module for Universiti Tun Abdul Razak (UNITAR) in Malaysia. The main part of my trip, however, was spent teaching ‘Entrepreneurship in China’ to Babson students enrolled in the inaugural BRIC program this semester. This was the students’ fourth course in a semester that took them to St. Petersburg, Russia at the end of August, and then to Beijing in early October. I met up with them in Yiwu, where we attended an international commodities fair, before taking the bus to Shanghai. The fair covered multiple floors and endless aisles of jewelry, clothing, toys, sports equipment—you name it. What was striking about this visit was how the students conversed with the exhibitors and seized opportunities to connect with suppliers for products made in China.

In Shanghai, the students were instantly energized by the business environment and became immediately absorbed in the entrepreneurial possibilities here. They listened to engaging lectures from Fudan University professors about the history and economic/political context of Shanghai and China. They toured a factory making large digital photo printers (Doli Photographic Equipment) and visited the Shibei economic zone, where they learned about how this government-run zone attracts and assists businesses. They visited the U.S. Chamber of Commerce office, AmCham Shanghai, and a few days later attended an AmCham lunch, where they mingled with other businesspeople in China, both foreign and Chinese. An array of guest speakers provided a variety of insights around starting businesses in China. Among them was Robert P. Lee, a 35-year, high-profile Silicon Valley entrepreneur with extensive experience running tech companies in the U.S. and China. Another inspiring experience was meeting Vincent Kobler, a Babson ’99 graduate, who wrote a business plan while an undergrad at Babson and then acted on it after graduation. The business transformed into an internet marketing agency called EmporioAsia, and was acquired by Leo Burnett in 2006

Among the many highlights was presenting a feasibility analysis to Babson President Len Schlesinger and his wife Phyllis, Undergraduate Dean Dennis Hanno, and Babson Trustee and Alum Fred Kiang. The students spent just a week and a half generating ideas from their observations on the streets, interviews with Fudon students, conducting market tests around key uncertainties, as well as consulting the Babson library BRIC China link set up by Kristin Djorup for the class. All of this research, and many nights spent with their teams (and me) in the café downstairs in the hotel, helped them shape their business models into feasibility-stage opportunities. I left Shanghai inspired about entrepreneurship in China and happy to have experienced this with our Babson students.

Donna Kelley, Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship
David H. Park ‘91 Term Chair in Entrepreneurship

On Tuesday I attended a talk by visiting artist Elshafei Dafalla Mohamed in Sorenson Theater.  Then yesterday I was able to spend time talking to, and learning from, this remarkable man.  I was captivated by the artist/activist and fortunate for the opportunity to talk one on one.  The downside is that I can’t possibly include everything I’d like to in this blog. So I encourage you to take the time to meet him before he leaves Babson next week.

Elshafei grew up in Sennar, Sudan, the largest country in Africa and one of the five largest in the world. 115 languages are spoken within its borders and there are about 700 ethnic groups!  It is clearly not a country of just Muslims and Christians – culturally it is so much richer. As the gateway from western Africa to the Middle East and the holy lands, many people travel through Sudan and end up settling there, which explains its cultural diversity.

Elshafei loved art from an early age and recognized it as a valuable tool of communication. His parents, both teachers, encouraged him by providing the tools to teach and nurture his natural ability.  He realized early that his hands could be used to create more than just words on paper; rather they could be used to communicate beyond the restrictions of language.
 
He went to the School of Fine and Applied Art at the Sudan University in Khartoum, and later earned a Master of Fine Arts from the School of Art and Design at the University of Michigan.

For two years (1996-2000) after college in Sudan, he chose to live among the Umbororo people of Sudan, a nomadic tribe often belittled and feared for their ways. The tribe’s self-sufficient life is dedicated to following their animals seeking grazing and pastureland. ElShafei found them to be surprisingly open and welcoming.  He immersed himself in their culture and began to understand and appreciate their freedom as an ideal way to be.  They travel, sometimes crossing borders, without ever being asked to show who they are or why they’re there. They neither own nor carry identification and find no need for it.

While among the Umbororo, he taught them art; and he learned from their art. He gave them paper – both children and adults – to draw whatever they wanted.  They drew beautifully simple animals drawn in a free form with no sense of being restricted by the size or shape of the paper.  The freedom of their artistic expression inspired him years later as a student in the Master of Fine Arts program at the University of Michigan, to create several large (some 200+ lbs.) sculptures of their drawings. These sculptures were displayed on a main street of Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 2008, earning him the Golden Paintbrush Award from the city of Ann Arbor.

This African, male, Muslim, teacher, activist, award winning multi-media artist, is so much more than all those labels.  As he said at the beginning of his presentation, “I am not what I wear; I am what I do.”

Elshafei cannot be placed in a single identifiable ‘box,’ nor, he says, can any of us. Our fingerprints lined up on a wall side by side in Hollister Hall, though unique to each individual, demonstrate that we are more alike than different. His mission, through his art, is to help people understand this. Art is a powerful, universal language. With it he hopes to give voice to those who don’t have a voice.

Next Tuesday, November 17, Elshafei will present:  “Unshackled Memory” in Knight Auditorium, 6-9 p.m.  It is an installation and performance to remember those lost during the Middle Passage of the transatlantic slave trade. 3400 paper boats painted in colors representing traditional African dress, as well as flags from African nations will be on display. Live African drumming, poetry, and song will be be performed.

Photo of Elshafei was taken by Adam Elfil, other photos are by the artist himself, Alshafei Dafalla Mohamed.

I arrived in Narita Airport in Tokyo yesterday and was met by Yuka Nakatsumi, CEO of a new company named Miths.  Miths produces and distributes organic matcha green tea in powdered form that can be mixed with boiling water.  Each package includes 5 cup sized samples in a flat transparent envelope that makes it transportable.  The green tea is natural in its purity and produced in the rich volcanic soil of Kyoto.  In my conversation with Yuka, I learned that when we brew tea, 2/3 of the nutrients are discarded.  The nutrients that come from green tea include carotene, anti-oxidants, vitamin E and other healthy fibers.   While I was intrigued by the tea and the package itself, more interesting is the fact that Yuka is a woman entrepreneur in Japan.   The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 52 country study that Babson College sponsors every year shows that Japan has one of the lowest rates of entrepreneurship overall with and overall rate of early stage entrepreneurial activity at just under 8%.(http://www3.babson.edu/ESHIP/research-publications/gem.) Only 12 other countries have lower rates of entrepreneurship.  Why is this the case?  My understanding is that in Japan, it is harder to fail and more difficult to acquire star-up capital.  For women it is even more difficult.  The GEM study shows that only 6 countries have lower rates of female entrepreneurship than Japan. 

I asked Yuka about role models—she mentioned there are few, especially in the consumer products area—instead, they are in the technology sector.  Role models are important – and again, in Japan, the percentage of individuals personally knowing an entrepreneur who has started a business in the pasts 2 years is the lowest of any of the 52 countries, ad 21%.  For women, it would even lower.  It is clear that Yuka has greater hurdles to overcome in starting a venture.  Her passion, capabilities and experience in  working in the venture capital arena, and her careful planning should make her a success and role model in her own right some day.  

Dr. Candida G. Brush, Professor of Entrepreneurship
Paul T. Babson Chair in Entrepreneurship
Chair- Entrepreneurship Division
Babson College

The ISBE (Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship) conference just ended in Liverpool and I’d consider the conference quite a success.  The conference was held in the city’s Novas Contemporary Urban Centre, a venue designed as a hub for local employment and training.  The site was terrific.  It was such a pleasure to be at a multi-day conference in a building with a great deal of architectural character; every room was unique.

One of the opening sessions was a panel on Recession Coping Strategies, and particularly intriguing was a set of comments given by Alistair Anderson of the UK’s Federation of Small Business.   Professor Anderson has been using data from more than 6,000 respondents to measure that impact.  He described small businesses as the buffers or cushions that are absorbing the impact of the recession and mentioned that 85 percent of his respondents were actively looking for recession solutions.  Their buffering activities, things they do that actually end up easing the pain of  others in the economy, include 2/3 of the business owners lowering their prices (with 1/3 of them describing the price reduction as dramatic) while their employees are trying to support the businesses by working harder and smarter.  The greatest challenge is the absolute reduction in total sales with the owners reporting that many of their business customers just are no longer there.

Anderson’s presentation was followed by John Leake of the Daresbury Science and Innovation Campus, one of two national science and innovation centers in the UK.  Leake built on Anderson’s description by presenting examples of recession steps being taken the high tech companies in his area.  First, he sees an emphatic focus on “speed to money” gained through increased attention given to both the product or service of the business and the engagement with the customer.  Leake also described increased effort in building collaborative efforts to save time, find more routes to the market, develop the technology, and reduce costs.

The next speaker, Mike Taylor of Liverpool Vision, took us to the regional level by reporting that Liverpool businesses wanted to see a Liverpool response to the recession.  In Liverpool, businesses placed hope with those that they knew.  At the same time, they express concern about banking decisions not being made locally; the negative impact of these decisions particularly hitting the small and medium enterprises.   Overall, the theme — trying to make a difference by working together with people you trust — came across loud and clear.

As a final observation on the Novas Centre – the art in the gallery was quite varied, some thought provoking and some just fun.  I will admit that the life size cut-outs of the zombies are now the wallpaper on my phone.  We all find our fun in different ways.

Patricia Greene, Professor of Entrepreneurship

“The surest way to live forever is through the giving of love, time, and money. To live today, we must earn and save; to live forever we must serve and give.”  —Roger W. Babson

The third and final talk in the Wellesley Chamber of Commerce 2009 Babson College/Wellesley Bank Business Series was held this morning. The theme was “Making Sense of a Changing World: Service as a Solution to Today’s Challenges.”

Lisa Thomas, director of Babson’s Bernon Center for Public Service, and Marty Maffeo, an alumnus and volunteer in Babson’s Coaching for Leadership and Teamwork Program (CLTP) who stood in for scheduled speaker Mark Albion, addressed a group of about 20 to tackle the idea of service as one solution for the challenges faced locally and globally and ways that Babson is showing how an entrepreneur – or entrepreneurial attitude – can have an impact.

Marty spoke first emphasizing a Mark Albion mantra “doing good AND doing well” as an attitude for good business. He talked about President Schlesinger’s strategic initiative of making Babson synonymous with entrepreneurship in thought and action. He also talked about People, Profit, and Planet being a foundation for a Babson entrepreneurial education.

He talked about our new charge: to educate a generation of leaders who can create economic and social value . . . everywhere. And to:
• Have our students use their Babson education to transform enterprises and communities around the globe.
• Make business, by its very nature, be socially responsible/impactful. 
• Partner with organizations that can help us with our objectives; e.g.  The Ashoka Foundation  and Net Impact 

Lisa Thomas then spoke about Babson’s Bernon Center, established in 1998, and its mission:  to help Babson College graduate globally responsible and civically engaged individuals who understand that their role as trained entrepreneurs is to not only give back to the community but to use their competencies to look at social justice issues and seek innovative solutions. 

Lisa has been with the Center since its beginning and recalls that in 1998, 2,500 hours of service were documented by the Babson community. In the 2008- 2009 academic year, the Babson community had over 25,000 service hours!  They have grown from one part-time staff member and 6 student leaders to a ¾-time plus one full-time professional and 30 Student Service Leaders.

Every day for almost 14 years, Babson students have helped young Needham and Wellesley students with their homework through the Housing Authority. Another ongoing student mission has been to Mattapan to teach English as a Second Language.  According to Lisa, the students “skip onto the buses” because they love these projects.

Lisa explained her goal is to move the students from hands-on service projects, to embracing the concept of social responsibility, then ‘graduating’ to becoming social entrepreneurs in attitude even if they’re not creating their own businesses. 

A new project underway is the Bernon Scholar Program, intended to formally engage students in an embedded service experience. The first 10 will be selected from the applicants this month. One criteria is to complete a “Be the Change” course taught by undergraduate dean Dennis Hanno, and professors Danna Greenberg, James Hunt and Kate McKone-Sweet. 

Lisa also spoke of an upcoming initiative, Barton Road Research Project, led by John Whitman, professor of entrepreneurship. With his students, they will explore how Babson resources might be applied in a strategic way, not only to serve immediate needs, such as after school educational programs for kids in public housing, but also to help lift motivated families out of public housing. They hope this will become a model program to share with others.

A poignant moment came during a brief Q&A when a Chamber member shared how he learned about giving back during his own college days. He had returned from active military duty and found a job offering a meager salary. He worked hard and earned raises and was at a point that he had a few cents more than he needed to get by. His boss told him that now it was time to start giving back; a position that had never occurred to him.  He says it changed his life!

Last Friday - we held our signature event at Babson - Rocket Pitch Day. This was the 10th consecutive year for this event- and, this is absolutely the BEST of what Babson has to offer - and it symbolizes all that we are.  We had 75 student teams make their “pitches” for business ideas. Each pitch was 3 minutes - and hence, we refer to it as the “rocket Pitch”. At Babson, Rocket Pitch is truly a symbol of our culture.  Culture is defined as a pattern of norms, attitudes, and norms across a social unit (Schein, 1983).  Here at Babson, entrepreneurship is a learning objective for every student, it is embedded in our strategy and it is how we think about solving problems.  And, different from every other school in the US - Entrepreneurship  is a REQUIRED class! (I’m proud to say, this is probably one reason why we continue to be # 1 in the rankings both in the MBA and Undergraduate programs for 14 consecutive years!!!)

The Rocket Pitch event is about ACTION!!!  Participants presented their ideas, and put themselves and their ideas up for review by an audience.  I was amazed at the sheer variety of ideas- from custom shirts (blanklabel), to software to help manage eldercare retirement home needs (retirelife), to an internet aggregator that allows you to purchase from multiple retailers on line at once (bongobing).  Vedavoo was pitched backpacks, while Yisland presented Caribbean  entertainment and events.  Some of the businesses were products, some were services and several  had social and environmental benefits.

I looked around the audience- who was tasked with the job of giving feedback- everyone took this task seriously and gave the presenters comments and suggestions.  While Rocket Pitch is about the pitch- it is also about taking action and learning from that action.  It is very pleasing to see the individual level experiences of our students reflect the high level  strategy of the college- Entrepreneurial Thought and Action.  This is who we are and what we stand for!!

But more than this- we have made our STRATEGY about entrepreneurial thought and action—this means we identify, assess and shape opportunities in a variety of contexts, we navigate and excel in uncertain environments and we actually take action.  Research shows that it is not personality traits that define entrepreneurs (risk taking, achievement, persistence) but it is doing something taking action- getting customers, developing a prototype, building technology, hiring people.  This is what differentiates entrepreneurial ventures that survive and grow from those that do not—entrepreneurial thought and action!

Dr. Candida G. Brush, Professor of Entrepreneurship
Paul T. Babson Chair in Entrepreneurship
Chair- Entrepreneurship Division
Babson College

Prof. William Bygrave says that “Entrepreneurship is the ‘liberal arts’ of a business education. It challenges students to behave both as generalists and specialists, to be creators and creative problem solvers, and to reason conceptually but to implement pragmatically.”  Prof. Bygrave comments on this subject in the BusinessWeek story: “Business: The New Liberal Art” http://bit.ly/3hZm6X.