Reboot Business Education: Make Lifelong Learning the Default
Michael Horn and Harvard Business School professor Bill Kerr discuss how business schools must evolve from credential-granting institutions into continuous learning ecosystems in response to AI and digital transformation. They explore the growing importance of social and leadership skills alongside technical skills, and the need for tight integration between research, teaching, and real-world practice. The conversation frames lifelong learning not as an add-on but as the core business model for future-ready business education.
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Key takeaways
Business education must shift from one-time degrees to ongoing learning relationships, treating institutions like platforms built for continuous updates.
Leadership and social skills are becoming more critical than ever for executive success, even as technical and digital skills rapidly evolve.
Research and curriculum must stay tightly integrated so business programs reflect real-time changes in the global workforce.
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As artificial intelligence reshapes industries and digital skills rapidly evolve, business schools find themselves at a crossroads. Traditional MBA programs and executive education are no longer endpoints but touchstones in a lifelong learning journey. As digital tools and technologies advance rapidly, educational models must keep pace to remain relevant in a changing workforce. Business schools must tightly link research, teaching, and real-world practice to stay aligned with the demands of today's dynamic economy.
Traditional MBA programs and executive education are no longer endpoints but touchstones in a lifelong learning journey.
So, how must business schools evolve to keep pace with the accelerating world of work?
In this episode of The Future of Education, host Michael Horn welcomes Bill Kerr, D'Arbeloff Professor at Harvard Business School and co-director of the Managing the Future of Work Project, for a conversation on the evolving role of business education. Together, they explore how institutions like HBS can remain relevant in an age of continuous disruption.
Key takeaways from the episode…
- Lifelong Learning as a Business Model: Business education is shifting from a one-time degree to a continuous relationship with learners, like "hardware built for software updates."
- Social Skills Are the New Power Skills: While digital skills evolve rapidly, leadership and social skills have become more central than ever for executive success.
- Keeping Curriculum at the Frontier: Research and teaching must stay deeply integrated so that academic programs reflect the changing needs of the global workplace in real time.
William Kerr is the D'Arbeloff Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, where he also serves as Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Research. He co-directs the Managing the Future of Work initiative and leads the Launching New Ventures program, focusing on entrepreneurship, workforce evolution, and innovation. A recognized expert in global talent and entrepreneurship, Bill holds a Ph.D. in Economics from MIT and has received awards for both distinguished research and excellence in teaching.
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Michael Horn interviews the people redesigning how students learn
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About the author
Michael Horn speaks and writes about the future of education and works with a portfolio of education organizations to improve the life of each and every student. He is the co-founder of and a distinguished fellow at the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation, and host of the Future of Education podcast on MarketScale.
