Month: January 2024

Why is the value of a college education declining in America?

Why is the value of a college education declining in America?

Posted by | Jan 29, 2024 | , , , |

Much has been written in the last several years regarding the declining value of a college education. According to Gallup, the percentage of Americans who expressed confidence in higher education fell from 57% to 36%. A recent article in the New York Times, “Why Americans have lost faith in the value of college“ states that “nearly half of parents say they would prefer not to send their children to a four-year college after high school…. 2/3 of high school students think they will be just fine without a college degree.”

This perspective is significantly different from the previous 50 years. As stated in the NYT article “Between 1965 and 2011, university enrollment increased nearly fourfold to 21 million.”

So the obvious question is: Why is the value of a college education declining in America?

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Is it lonely and stressful at the top?

Is it lonely and stressful at the top?

Posted by | Jan 22, 2024 | , , , , |

Given my experience as a former CFO, CEO, and Chairman of Baxter International, a global healthcare company, as well as my ongoing chairmanship of multiple company boards, I am often asked by my Kellogg MBA students and Kellogg Executive seminar participants: “Harry, is it true that it is lonely and stressful at the top of organizations?” My opinion is that yes, it can be lonely and stressful at the top, but it definitely does not have to be. Let me explain.

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A fireside discussion with Tony Blair

A fireside discussion with Tony Blair

Posted by | Jan 15, 2024 | , , , |

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the United States, a national holiday. It is a day that I find both inspiring and saddening: Inspiring because it honors a man who sparked in our national conscience a recognition of the injustices suffered by Blacks and other minorities and played a pivotal role in the civil rights movement. Saddening because this extraordinary man of peace was taken from us far too soon in a senseless act of violence.

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A great example of a true values-based leader

A great example of a true values-based leader

Posted by | Jan 8, 2024 | , , , |

While visiting my daughter Shannon in Los Angeles this past weekend, I had the opportunity to stop by the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum. What an outstanding example of a values-based leader! What impressed me most was the personal history of Ronald Reagan, a man who came from a very modest background in Illinois and rose to become the governor of California and eventually the 40th president of the United States of America.

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