From the President: Charging Forward in an Era of Change

The pace of change in business and society is driven by technological advances, social dynamics, and the effects of the pandemic, permanently posing new challenges and opportunities. We see it in new technologies and business models that shape new markets and revolutionize industries, and we see it in new demands and expectations for hybrid and digital-only work and learning. These phenomena present new opportunities to collaborate with diverse and inclusive communities around the world.

There’s no going back. The rapid rate of change is our new reality. The leaders and organizations that embrace that reality will race forward, while others will be left behind.

As the No. 1 school for entrepreneurship for three decades, Babson College chooses to charge forward. We have a responsibility to lead in this new era. I recently sat down with Babson Magazine to reflect on how the College has navigated this pace of change and how we’re positioned for even greater impact over the next few years.

Learn more at Meeting the Moment: Collective Impact.

Babson scholars define entrepreneurial leaders as “individuals who possess a growth mindset and demonstrate high levels of emotional, social, and cognitive competence to facilitate follower intrinsic motivation to act entrepreneurially.”* The need to educate entrepreneurial leaders who can tackle the most critical global issues has been especially urgent in higher education, a volatile market undergoing seismic shifts even before the pandemic. At Babson, we recognized that if we solve these new challenges in creative and sustainable ways, we could create competitive advantages to position the College for even greater impact. And, we’ve been doing that—much to the credit of our faculty, students, alumni, and entire community.

The accelerated pace of change is perhaps most dramatically seen in the rapid rise of generative AI. This emerging technology poses exciting and unique challenges and opportunities, as well as some daunting questions. In this issue, Babson experts—faculty and alumni—explore the ramifications for entrepreneurs and offer their insights at the dawn of the Generative AI Era.

Symbolic of our new reality, it’s an era full of uncertainty and opportunity—the type of situation in which the Babson community is prepared to lead and thrive.

* “An Integrated Conceptual Model of Entrepreneurial Leadership: New Frontiers for Research,” Scott Taylor, Danna Greenberg, Andrew C. Corbett, Keith Rollag, Jeffrey Shay, and Wendy Marcinkus Murphy, Academy of Management Journal

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Tagged Campus, Leadership, Entrepreneurial Leadership, Research, Babson Magazine

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