Last year about this time I visited Morehouse College, which hosted the business deans of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). During the conference we visited the Martin Luther King, Jr. International Chapel and viewed its inspiring collection of Purvis Young art and humbling Wall of Honor. After hearing the phrase "Morehouse Man" enough times, I began to realize there is something enormously powerful about the culture in place like this. Almost everything seemed to inspire young black men to excel, to achieve greatness. Dr. King, Maynard Jackson, and Spike Lee are all Morehouse Men.
The experience caused me to believe business schools that are part of institutions like Morehouse College, Simmons College, Yeshiva University, and U.S. Coast Guard Academy have an edge in management education because they have something more than business that ties everyone together. That “something more” gives additional purpose to the curriculum. It guides behavior, connects alumni, and shapes the strategy of the school. It provides what many people suggest has been missing in business education.
I think most great business schools have a purpose that goes beyond business. Each has “something more” that is the center of gravity for everything it does. But it may be underdeveloped or less transparent to anyone on the outside looking in. I challenge every business school to uncover its latent purpose. Find that "something more,” nurture it, leverage it, and reveal it to the world.