Fall Library by Tom Gauld

Fall Library by Tom Gauld

Scott Cook, Founder of Intuit, and Rick Levin, President emeritus of Yale, participated in an event that was held in Woolsey Hall on October 13^th, “Changing the World from Silicon Valley,” sponsored by the Yale Entrepreneurial Institute and HackYale. They engaged in a lively discussion about topics ranging from how Intuit was founded in 1983 to the state of entrepreneurship in Silicon Valley today. During the Q&A a member of the audience asked what impact a Yale student’s background in liberal arts would have on a startup versus a Stanford graduate who majored in engineering. Rick Levin’s answer was interesting. He said a broad education might be a disadvantage initially, but this disadvantage will dissipate over time. The opportunity to take companies beyond the startup phase, to mature organizations is where you need that broader vision to navigate the external world. “These companies get going then all of a sudden they have to worry about international markets, international regulations, and legal compliance,” he stated. He continued, “A whole host of things that a generally educated person can probably get into and understand will enable him to lead a little more effectively than a person with a more narrowly focused education.”

Leadership is in the institutional DNA at Yale. I have written about how leadership is fostered throughout the institution, and starts with the selection of students through the admissions process. Jeffrey Brenzel ’75, Master of Timothy Dwight College and former Dean of Yale College Admissions, was quoted in an earlier post:

In undergraduate admissions, however, we must also keep before us Yale’s longstanding aspiration to cultivate responsible citizens and leaders, graduates who will achieve prominence in the founding or management of enterprises, in public service and public office, in the professions, or in the realms of religion, the arts, and education. By “leaders” I do not mean individuals who succeed merely in achieving high status or high income. To develop leaders means to nurture individuals with superb skills for collaboration, an orientation to service, high levels of creative energy, and the aspirations and character required to make substantive contributions to the common good. Our mandate is to send talented, courageous, and far-sighted people into the global endeavors, organizations, and communities that sorely need them. [Brenzel 2014]

The Yale wide toolbox cohort is sustained because of a broad liberal arts education coupled with an institutional focus on leadership development in an environment where a spirit of entrepreneurship is emerging. Ellen, an example of the wide toolbox cohort, is a self-described bibliophile and “an English nerd.” She described her interest in English and entrepreneurship in pragmatic terms: “English is not necessarily a career. English is the way I live my life. I love poetry, it speaks to me at a level that is not necessarily academic, but personal which is why it is so important for me to study. I love it; it is my hobby. My career mindset though is entrepreneurship and business.” 

Ellen is emblematic of the type of person Brenzel was describing as the Yale “leader,” and Levin described as the broadly educated businessperson that is required to be an effective leader to navigate the world beyond the startup phase of a venture. Currently, Ellen is heavily involved in creating a sustainable business model for a student-led publication. Through this effort she displays the full array of traits that successful entrepreneurs possess: leadership skills, perseverance, persistence, empathy, hard work, and the ability to get things done. Some of these characteristics were evident in Ellen when she came to Yale. But it is pretty clear that the environment at Yale has enabled her to embellish whatever traits she came to campus with. Moreover, she has been able to hone her skills at a very high level.   

To the question that was asked during the Q&A, it is virtually impossible to know whether a broad liberal arts education will focus budding entrepreneurs on different business problems or industries than a student with a more technical education would pursue. A liberal arts education exposes students to an array of subjects and thought processes that enables them to look at issues from a different perspective than the typical technically educated student.