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As I am writing this, the Mega Millions jackpot is at $540 Million and set to go even higher. While many out there may be thinking of the luxury life that the lottery winnings must surely bring, the first thoughts on winnings in my head were not “Bentley v. Lamborghini” or “Malibu v. Aspen” or “Gucci v. Prada” (or all of the above) they were of something else entirely.

But, allow me to digress.

This is likely my last post as a Leeds MBA blogger. I have thought heavily about what it should be about. After some pondering, I concluded that above everything else, my MBA class of 2012 is full of bright talented individuals. We have our share of consultants to be, financial analysts and the like. But more and more students arrive at our MBA program every year interested in sustainability. Those individuals are looking to study the challenges of providing urban farming, market new products with environmental or social benefits, revolutionize the world of impact investing, or commercialize the next renewable energy technology. This is why I am glad I chose CU and why I plan to continually be involved even after I graduate. As I leave this stage in my life I want to encourage future MBAs to place a premium on an education that emphasizes core values in social and corporate responsibility, environmental stewardship, and full system economics. Problems exist worldwide that governments are too slow and ill-prepared to respond to and grassroots organizations are by their very nature under-funded. For some time now academia has been catching on.

If the words of one blogger aren’t enough, maybe a recap of some selected events would prove more meaningful. Recently, an individual left Goldman Sachs and with one opinion piece posted on the New York Times briefly caught the financial world’s attention and highlighted the delusion with many of the people at the top of the economic pyramid. Hillary Clinton not too long ago called Net Impact in San Francisco to talk about the rising movement of the “Impact MBA”. While here at CU-Boulder we have been running a sustainability-focused case competition for over a decade, schools like Schulich, BYU, and others are just starting theirs, focusing topics such as social innovation and international development.�� Net Impact’s “Business as UNusual” guide () receives more hits year after year. The Leeds School of Business here at CU has had a focus on Social Responsibility unofficially now for decades, and officially since the early 2000s with our “Leeds” naming. Other schools are jumping on board with similar commitments and centers of excellence. All of this has come full circle as Andy Fastow, former CFO of Enron, chose one school to contact immediately after he was released from prison late last year in order to share his experiences. He chose the Leeds School of Business. He chose us because he heard of the reputation of Leeds and CU, through Dean Ikenberry and Donna Sockell the Director of our Center for Education on Social Responsibility discussing our schools commitment to ethical business. In light of this, I hope soon if we haven’t already, that the business world will receive a critical mass of conscious business minded MBAs --who realize the single minded pursuit of profit for the individual or a shareholder is not economically sustainable. It leaves out the long term, and it forgets that there are externalities to business that can cause financial, ecological, and cultural systems to come crashing down if nobody is responsible or paying attention.

As I think back to what I would do with a potential lottery windfall, what was in my head was not luxury goods or lavish vacations, it was more along the lines of; who out there specializes in social impact bonds, how can I invest in real estate that preserves the environment, or what type of fund would promote sustainable business concepts to the students at my alma maters most? I guess that leaves me with a final message for those considering an MBA, if your first thoughts sound more like my first paragraph, then you might be disappointed in our MBA program at CU. If however your inclinations are more like what you see here in this last paragraph, I hope you have what it takes and you get in to the Leeds School of Business at the �Թ��� of Colorado Boulder.

Thanks,
Steven Ross

Please feel free to contact me:
Linked-In Profile:��
E-Mail:steven.m.ross@colorado.edu

Leeds Sustainability Resources:
Net Impact at CU:��leeds.colorado.edu/club/netimpact
The Center for Education on Social Responsibility:��

PS. I didn’t win the lottery, but you will never win unless you play, right?