Mauro Guillen is in the business of persuasion
Victor Franco M. Calanog, WHG’00, WHP’04
Issue date: 4/9/01 Section: News
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Why did you decide to become a teacher?
I earned two doctorates in political economy and sociology, and in both areas of study I was interested in cross-national comparisons of business practices. I liked doing research work with my professors as an undergraduate; it’s not that I was “born an academic.” I’m actually the first person to earn a Ph.D. in my family. So I guess I was young and impressionable back in college, and I really liked the academic’s life of teaching and research so I kept at it, to this day.
How did your teaching abilities develop?
I never took any specific courses to “learn how to teach well.” I worked as a teaching assistant while I was working on my doctoral degrees, so I got some training there. My first teaching assignment was at MIT, where I also taught MBAs, and I learned a lot from my experience there. I came to Wharton five years ago, and both MIT and Wharton actually have three-hour workshops every so often to help faculty improve their teaching abilities. But what I really found useful was watching other faculty members teach. When I came to Wharton, I watched three or four faculty members handle classes, and the professor who impressed me the most was Mike Useem. He’s an absolutely fantastic teacher – his approach and style made a real impression on me. I don’t think his style is similar to mine, but in observing him handle classes I learned a lot of the basic principles that made for effective MBA classes.
What were the most difficult lessons you had to learn as a teacher of MBA students?
I can mention a lot! At the very basic level, you have MBA students taking a lot of courses in their first year, so you have a lot of people who don’t exactly have my course on global strategic management at the top of their list. They simply have different interests, so the key thing is to keep the students engaged. Sometimes one fails to communicate the excitement and usefulness of what one is trying to convey, although not for lack of trying.