B usinesse s today are looking or a ew good leaders. And they are hoping to nd them i n the rank s oTo morrow’s MBAs. What an MBA proves to a prospective employer is a willingness or continuous learning and an eagerness to transorm that learning into winning impact on the organization. What Tomorrow’s MBA learns rom his or her MBA studies is how to handle challen ges with the tools and condence to take calculated risks, characteristics coveted by consulting rms and businesses alike when looking oremployable candidates. “Plenty opeople on MBA campuses can be an entr y-leve l consultant, which is a wonderul thing,” says PeterSullivan, Director oRecruiting orBooz Allen Hamilton, a global strategy and technology consulting frm that provides services to major international corporations and government clients. “What we are looki ng or is people who have the potential to be with Booz Allen over the long term, and over the long term at Booz Allen you wil l become a senior counselorto senior management.” To ulfll that role, Sullivan says, requires a whole host oskills that build upon analytical horsepower and basic thought-leadership. “You’ve got to be able to build relationships personally, proessionally, with the client and th roughout Booz Al len,” Sull ivan says. “Y ou’ ve got to be that le ader. Yo u’v e got to be able to hold a room. You’ve got to have presence. You’ve got to have polish. And so I thi nk these days there is more emphasis—happily—in business school on creating these well-rounded business leaders.” Tomorrow’s MBAs will have one important trait in common: agility, the mind to entertain radically new ideas and take quick advantage of them. Chicago freelance journalist Sally Duros began her career atThe Wall Street Journal and continued atCrain Communicat ions, where she served in various positions including managing editor ofCrain’s City & State. She writes for theChicago Sun-Times, The Wall Street Journal Online andTIME Magazine, among others. Defning Tomorrow’s MBAs Tomorrow’s MBA will be male or emale, oany color, race orethnicity, oany age, with widely varied work experience. She will b e an entrepreneur, teach er or a physician. He will be a police ocer, computer scientist or a not-or-prot leader. Tomorrow’s business leader will bring a wealth oexperience rom all olie’s roles into work. While they may come rom very diverse proessional and personal backgrounds, Tomorrow’s MBAs will have one important trait in common: agility. In particular, they will need the mental agility to entertain radically new ideas and take quick advantage othem. The past ve years have seen a convergence omaturing technologies that have spurred an at-times bewildering global marketplace ogoods and services. Tomorrow’s MBA must master a core competency, must cultivate a passion or new ideas, and must develop a global perspective ohis business to thrive within the crowded working space that is the 21st century. Ithere is one thing that is valued by today’s employers, it is the capacity to provide insightul leadership when the world around you is changing. Without that leadership our businesses will ounder. If there is one thing that is valued by today’s employers, it is the capacity to provide insightful leadership when the world around you is changing. About the Author: TOMORROW’S MBA The Expectations ofAme r ica’s Top Employers By Sally Duros
