MBAs’ guide to lasting fulfilment
Dr. Srikumar Rao

MBAs’ guide to lasting fulfilment

It is a rare business school programme that invokes in its participants a similar fervour to that experienced in a revivalist religious meeting. But this would appear to be the case with Srikumar Rao’s elective course, Creative and Personal Mastery. 
Now in its third year at London Business School, the course has also run at Columbia, New York, and may soon become part of the MBA programme at the Haas school at Berkeley. Prof Rao, a businessman more than an academic and armed with practical experience rather than research, is one of a new breed of business school teachers. 
They eschew number-crunching and regression models in favour of personal issues. “It is designed to get [students] to think about things rarely acknowledged in business schools. What makes me happy? What makes me happy at work?” Most people, he says, “don’t have a clue” about such things. Many, however, would accept Prof Rao’s hypothesis. “When putting in long hours, if you don’t get a deep sense of fulfilment at work, you’re wasting your life.” His solution? “Your ideal job isn’t something that exists; it’s something you can craft.” Just how to do that is at the core of his programme, which receives gushing praise from many students. “The technical skills that I learn at school will only get me so far and will one day be obsolete,” says Nick Wai, a recent LBS graduate. “What I learn in CPM, however, will help me build a foundation not only as a business person, leader even, but more importantly as a human being.”

Financial Times

See Full Article

Related Stories

Dr. Srikumar Rao

“I now realize I have the power to shape life as I want it to be”

CPM had a monumental effect on my life…what a privilege to have taken this course and to continue to be able to live this way for the rest of my life…I now realize I have the power to shape life as I want it to be - completely on my terms, uniquely tailored to my purpose and goals…rarely fe...
Read more

Carol J. Morley

United States

Dr. Srikumar Rao

"I don’t think you need to get anything in order to be happy"

Professor SRIKUMAR RAO (“Creativity and Personal Mastery,” Columbia Business School, to class): I would like you to give me a list of things that you need to get in order to be happy.LUCKY SEVERSON: The answer to Professor Srikumar Rao’s question would seem obvious. These are, after all,...
Read more

PBS

See Full Article

Dr. Srikumar Rao

“It was the singular most impactful personal development exercise I have ever had”

CPM alone was worth my entire MBA tuition. It was the singular most impactful personal development exercise I have ever had. I learnt techniques that I literally use every day in my professional and personal interactions. Normally I would have run away from the prospect of working in a country I ...
Read more

Mariah Byrne

MBA 2009 Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley; President, 2008 Haas Student Body

United States

Mindvalley is fueled by your stories

Our community runs on voices like yours. It keep us going, and keeps us grounded.
Tell us like it is. What's your story?
Tell us your Story