Seven HBX CORe participants share tips to help incoming students avoid procrastination, balance the course work with other commitments, and position themselves for success.

Bethany

First, be prepared for a time commitment. The material is challenging! It takes time not only passing through the modules, but also participating in peer discussions, both of which are extremely important for mastering the material.

Gaurang

I've noticed that it is equally important to get your loved ones on board - it can be your family, your partner, your best friend, or your manager at work. Make sure you clearly communicate the time commitment you'll need to complete CORe.

Emily

Keep up with the rest of the cohort. At the beginning of the course, I'd finish the modules just before they were due. But when I completed the modules earlier, I was able to participate in more real-time discussions with other students for two reasons: 1) because people were still online and 2) because we had more time to talk about concepts rather than scramble to quizzes before the deadline.

Richard

How do you calculate the time needed to complete HBX work? Try module timing: work on a module with your best effort for an hour and see what percentage you've completed. Then it is a simple matter to do the math that will give you an estimate of how much time you will need in order to complete that module.

Conor

I was able to balance CORe material with my full-time teaching schedule due to the accessibility of the CORe platform. Even if you only have 45 minutes free, you can log in from anywhere (home, coffee shop, library, etc.), make some progress through a module, and then get back to your daily tasks feeling like you've made some headway.

Holden

Look at the course syllabus beforehand and try to set aside appropriate time to be able to digest the material and to be able to interact with others in the discussion tabs. It is important to offer help to those who might not be as quick as you, for you may be in the same boat down the line!

Jim

Allocate "hard" study hours each day. Put a pad between each module's targeted completion date and the quiz deadline. Stay focused and remember that there is no freeze button once HBX starts - the clock is always running.

One of the benefits of the HBX online learning platform is the fact that you can complete the coursework from anywhere, as long as you have access to a computer and a steady internet connection. We asked students in the September 2015 HBX CORe cohort to share their favorite study spots.

Participants opened up their laptops to connect with their peers and learn the fundamentals of business in all sorts of interesting places around the globe - in airplanes at 30,000 feet, at local coffee shops, and with their furry friends at home.

We sat down with Patrick Mullane, our new Executive Director, to talk about his role at HBX, his best life advice, and Oreos.

What do you do here at HBX?

I am the Executive Director of HBX which means I help the team here in any way I can as they go about being the best course developers, marketers, coders, operators, creators, and support personnel they can be. I hope that I bring some general management experience across all parts of HBX that will help us to further advance the Harvard Business School's mission of educating leaders that make a difference in the world.

What’s your favorite part of your job?

My favorite part of job by far is seeing the pride students take in their involvement in and completion of HBX CORe or Disruptive Strategy.

How would you describe yourself? 

I love to laugh, I don’t take myself too seriously, and I hate missing the previews at the movies.

Where did you go to school and what did you study? 

I went to the University of Notre Dame where I got a BS in Mathematics. I then went to Golden Gate University for an MS in Project and Systems Management. I finished off my formal education with an MBA from Harvard Business School.

If a genie gave you one wish, what would you wish for?

I’d wish for world peace. And a lifetime supply of Oreos covered in peanut butter and dipped in hot fudge. 

Best advice anyone has ever given you? 

An HBS professor once said to me (and the rest of my class), “It’s okay to be lucky. It’s okay to be smart. It’s not okay to be lucky and think you're smart."

Best book you've read?

Lonesome Dove, the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Larry McMurtry. The best book you’ll ever read about risk-taking, adventure, love and redemption (and it was a great TV miniseries in the late 80s as well). 

We sat down with Neil Tuli, a Multimedia Specialist on the Creative Team, to talk about his role at HBX, his love of music, and his burning desire to attend Hogwarts.

What do you do here at HBX?

I am on the Creative Team and report to the Creative Director. I work as a Cinematographer/Animator/Designer for course content, platform, and marketing needs and basically try to make my boss’ life as easy as possible by taking as much work off his plate as I can.

What’s your favorite part of your job?

The content! The people! I love it all. 

One of my favorite parts of the job is problem solving. For example, one time we had to create a steamy effect where we wanted to animate hand-drawn text onto a steamy window. Our first few animated steam attempts failed to get the results we wanted, so we had to get the effect practically.

We decided to shoot through a glass pane onto a black background, so we borrowed a hot plate to boil a pot of water just below the glass and filmed it. We then set the blending mode of that video to screen in post (to remove the blacks) and laid it onto our b-roll and boom! We had a great time building it all out. 

How would you describe yourself? 

I'm obchessed (a.k.a. chess obsessed), and I love analog synths.

Where did you go to school and what did you study? 

I went to The George Washington University, majored in Music and minored in Film Studies.

If a genie gave you one wish, what would you wish for?

For the Harry Potter universe to be real, and for me to be 11 and recently accepted into Hogwarts. That’s one wish, right?

Any hidden talents? 

I was the music director for my college a capella group (GW Troubadours) and have been singing since I was little. 

Speaking of music, we actually had a fun shoot recently where I got to play guitar and pretend to be a member of the band in Adriel's testimonial video. Talk about different worlds colliding!

What is the best advice anyone has ever given you?

When someone tells you that something is wrong with a piece you worked on, they are almost always right. But when they tell you specifically what is wrong with it, they are almost always wrong.

What’s your spirit animal? 

I want it to be a panther, but it’s probably a corgi.

Where do you get your news from?  

I read it on reddit.

HBX Live is our new virtual classroom and one-of-a-kind digital environment that collapses geography and allows participants worldwide to interact in real-time with one another and a faculty member.

We recently held an HBX Live session for some members of our July cohort of HBX CORe and two students, Chris and Saurabh, volunteered to discuss their experiences on the platform. 

Chris is a United States Marine stationed at Camp Pendleton in California who is transitioning to business school next fall. In his spare time, he volunteers for The Wingman Foundation. Saurabh is an Operations Business Analyst who enrolled in CORe to perfect the analytical skills and strategies that will allow him to both advance to a senior position and to obtain an MBA.

What was it like logging into HBX Live for the first time?

Chris: When I first logged in, I didn't know what to expect. When I saw everyone's face on the wall, I was shocked. Quickly I realized that HBX has created the best virtual classroom I have seen. The wall reminded me of students sitting in an auditorium listening intently to the professor. I felt like I was in class. The ability of the instructor to look at you, call on you, and hear your response made me nervous, but also made me engage in the virtual classroom much more than I otherwise would. I expected much less and was blown away by the innovative setup.

Saurabh: It was amazing! I was excited to be a part of such a great initiative. The entire experience was immersive, and seeing myself on the wall with others and faculty members was pretty impressive. I guess the only time I have been a part of anything remotely close to this was in a video conference, but HBX Live was at a different level.

How did Live compare to a real classroom?

Chris: Live was the closest thing to a real classroom environment without actually going to class. In fact, one could argue that Live improves on the classroom experience because you can learn from the comfort of anywhere in the world. Since students can login anywhere around the world, the diversity of the students is a big advantage to foster collaborative thinking.

Saurabh: The Live experience was very engaging compared to a real classroom. Discussions and participation were just amazing. The only part that was distracting me was the chat. I too participated in chat but was more interested in what was happening in front of me than following chat. I did participate whenever I was given a chance. No complaints there at all!

What was your favorite part of the experience?

Chris: My favorite part of the experience was meeting [Ace Ticket founder] Jim Holzman and asking him questions about his business experience. In true case study form, each student had the opportunity to learn from Jim by engaging with him on business decisions. I have sat in a case study class offered at a business school, and Live captured the exact same environment. The students were able to ask Jim any question.

Saurabh: I could name many, but the most favorite part was when I could see the faculty member as well as Jim Holzman from Ace Ticket live on stage sharing their experiences. Seeing and listening to the business owner about whom we studied so much was definitely worth an applaud. He not only shared his experiences but took constructive feedback from many of the HBX participants and responded genuinely.

Do you have any other insights or advice for people?

Chris: I would suggest signing up for Live and HBX CORe. The course has been amazing because I am learning the same concepts and am able to discuss the concepts with students who are taking similar courses at other prominent business schools. I have discussed HBX during my job search, and every employer has been very impressed with my knowledge of business analytics and financial accounting. As Live grows and becomes a larger part of the HBX CORe, the course will only get better.

Would you want to participate in another Live session?

Chris: Yes!

Saurabh: ABSOLUTELY!

To learn more about HBX CORe or Live, visit hbx.hbs.edu!

There is another aspect of HBX that we haven't shared much about yet.  For the last two years, a small team of faculty, staff and technology experts has been working to create an incredible new space: HBX Live, a virtual classroom that connects 60 students from anywhere in the world to a professor in Boston for a dynamic and engaging HBS-style discussion. 

How does it work?  Participants from around the globe can log in and join real-time, case-based sessions with HBS faculty, who teach from the HBX Live studio on the Boston campus of public broadcaster, WGBH.  In the studio, high resolution monitors are arrayed to mimic the tiers of an HBS classroom.  Sessions are expertly “produced” using still and roaming cameras—so realistically that we have had participants break out in a sweat as they experience a professor moving toward them for a cold call.  

The HBX Live team was thrilled to see their hard work come together as people remotely connected to the first beta session last year. "It was really powerful to see participants dialed in from different time zones and countries at the same time, and faculty noted that the experience was even more immersive than teaching in a traditional classroom," said Cristina de la Cierva, HBX Live Product Manager. "We immediately saw the impact of this new platform and are excited for all that is to come!"

The team spent most of the past year conducting additional beta sessions, refining the production model and calibrating the technology. For Ross Pearo, Director of HBX CORe, a highlight was watching the first cohort of CORe students participate in a Live session last year and interact in real-time. "It was amazing to see all these people who had only met the CORe faculty through the CORe platform having the chance to interact with them in person on HBX Live," he said. "The engagement of all the participants was really incredible to watch."

We also welcomed groups of Executive Education participants and Harvard Business School alumni from the classes of 2000, 2005, and 2010 into the studio this year. So far, feedback has been very positive overall and we look forward to rolling out more broadly to alumni and Executive Education, as well as exploring new uses altogether with HBX Live.  

Here are some highlights (and a few factoids about HBX Live)...

This post is a part of our HBX Year One series celebrating the one year anniversary of the public launch of HBX. Don't miss our other infographics on HBX, CORe, and Courses! 

Photo courtesy of StarPilot Productions LLC

Building and Sustaining a Successful Enterprise (BSSE), based on the teachings of Clayton M. Christensen, is one of the most popular courses at Harvard Business School. The HBX team was thrilled to work with Clay to develop an online version of his course, Disruptive Strategy with Clayton Christensen, as the first offering from HBX Courses. 

Since launching in June 2014, organizational teams from more than 25 companies have taken the course and used it to help solve their most difficult strategic challenges. 

Initially, Willy Shih and Chet Huber, who teach BSSE with Clay and helped develop Disruptive Strategy, wondered whether HBX could replicate the live, interactive HBS classroom experience in an online platform. 

"I have been amazed at how well it seems to work," said Huber. "While I’m not sure anything can beat a live discussion, the combination of mini-lectures, video cases and interactive sessions do a great job – and have some unique advantages. Tailoring the material to a firm’s unique situation, and engaging each student individually (including cold calls) is something I wish I could do with 90 students in a classroom."

"The thing that shocked me on Disruptive Strategy was the idea that the HBX product had the potential to be BETTER than the classroom product," Shih added.  "It’s a comprehensive, scalable way to simultaneously bring our BSSE material to life for an entire organization, mapped across their unique competitive situation."

For John Woodson, Assistant Director of Disruptive Strategy, the response from early participants has been a huge motivator. "I heard from a recent participant that Disruptive Strategy was one of the top three executive education programs he has ever been apart of," he said. "The impact the course is having on organizations like athenahealth and Intuit has been rewarding to see." 

The range of companies that were able to benefit from the program in the first year shows the potential for HBX to reach a wider audience and allow more organizations to put Clay's theories into practice. 

“I put [my content] on the HBX platform because if I don’t do that, then every year at maximum 900 people will be exposed to the theories," Christensen said. "...and many more people need to have access.” 

Here are some of the highlights from the first year of HBX Courses:

This post is a part of our HBX Year One series celebrating the one year anniversary of the public launch of HBX. Don't miss our other infographics on HBX, CORe, and Live! 

HBX CORe is a program that brings together students from around the world to learn the fundamentals of business on our interactive online learning platform.  Much to our delight, students have developed a strong sense of community throughout the program, and some have taken it upon themselves to organize in-person meetups in cities like Boston, London, New York, Tokyo, and Kuala Lumpur!  We've asked some of those students to share their meetup experiences in this week's blog post.

London 

One thing I didn’t expect out of CORe was meeting people in person who were also doing the course.  I wasn’t sure how many people on the course would be from London and the surrounding area, but it turns out that there are quite a few of us, which is exciting!

It’s always a little bit awkward and daunting walking into a pub and trying to find people you’ve only seen in Facebook pictures, but we ended up successfully finding each other!

Thus far, we have met up twice, once as just an introductory meeting and then a second time when some HBX staff members were over in London.  I’ve found it really interesting to speak to people to find out why they decided to do the course or what they’re finding difficult.

We commiserated a bit over finding new terms in the Economics for Managers modules difficult to comprehend and talked about how we’ve managed our time thus far.  It’s always nice to know that you’re not alone in finding some parts of CORe difficult, and meeting up with other people on the course has made me feel more of a sense of connection to the others in our cohort.

- Chelsea Pompadur, HBX CORe February 2015 Cohort & HBX CORe Blogger

Chicago 

I'm so glad I met up with HBXers in Chicago!  Those of us HBXers in the Chicago area met up after work on a Wednesday for dinner. We chose Wednesday since we could take the night off from studying!  Two quizzes had been due earlier in the day, and we immediately started talking about some of the questions and the concepts from those modules.

It felt like we had all just left the classroom together, and it was really reassuring to hear that everyone's going through the same highs and lows in the course. 

It was great to connect in-person and was comforting to hear that everyone is balancing work and HBX and that some of the concepts are challenging for us all!  We shared the reasons why we originally enrolled, and while everyone had different motives, we found that we all share a desire to enhance our knowledge in business to be better positioned in work or with school.

I especially enjoyed talking about the professors, the case studies - we talked a lot about Ace and Cardullo's, and the unique platform that has allowed us all to meet.  I now have a handful of new connections in Chicago and can’t wait to meet up with HBXers again near the end of the course.

- Jen Rogers, HBX CORe February 2015 cohort

Washington DC 

HBX CORe participants in the Washington D.C. area fittingly met up for a happy hour, at "Hamiltons", named after the Secretary of the Treasury who established the nation's first economic policies and founded the National Bank.  We discussed our experiences and motivations for enrolling in the program and made some great offline connections.

Much of the happy hour's discussion revolved around how impressed we were with the HBX Platform and how much it surpassed our expectations.  The event was such a success that several more meet ups have been planned, and there has been discussion of holding some group study sessions to prepare for the upcoming exam.

- Nick Greenough, HBX CORe February 2015 cohort

Tokyo

HBX in Japan got together in the Ebisu neighborhood of Tokyo to get to know our local classmates.  Four of the nine members were able to attend, Randolph Capocasale, Ken Kumagai, Marat Vyshegorodtsev, and Yamaguchi Satoshi.

The event was a rare opportunity to meet avid learners from differing backgrounds including e-commerce, defense, consulting, and finance.  We will have a second opportunity to attend an HBX in Japan event on the 18th of April.

- Randy Capocasale, HBX CORe February 2015 cohort