“The tone starts at the top.”

Last Friday, I had the pleasure of wrapping up the inaugural University of Chicago Booth School of Business class on Women as CEOs, Entrepreneurs, Investors, Executives & Directors. Included in the class’ phenomenal line-up of speakers were my two mentors, Valerie Jarrett and John Rogers, whose advice to the 65 MBAs in our class has been on my mind in light of last week’s events. 

Both John and Valerie stressed in their remarks that the tone must be set at the top—that leaders must prioritize diversity when hiring teams and composing boards, adding language and clauses in key company documents that ensure everyone is treated with respect. Echoing Valerie’s and John’s advice, I sent a note prior to our final class with one simple message: You have to walk the walk. There is no choice but to walk the walk. You have to lead and live with the values you expect to be prevalent in our society. 

I hope this message (read the full text here), along with the myriad resources for how to get involved online, serves as a good start. 

HACKS ON THE (VIRTUAL) ROAD

HACKS IN THE PRESS

• Bloomberg Radio | “On the Front Lines of the COVID-19 Response”
• The Street | “Surgical Solutions CEO on How Coronavirus Pandemic Impacted Business” 
• NBC Chicago | “Advice From Business Owners, to Business Owners During the Coronavirus Pandemic“