

Insights from
A few decades back, important business people would have secretaries to type for them. Then the innovators of their day realized it was more effective just to do their own typing, particularly with the advent of computers and digital.
Every year, more Darden MBAs are joining what you’d generally call “technology companies” for reasons that are probably pretty obvious to you if you read Ideas to Action. As faculty, our job is to equip them for those roles. I teach two electives, “Software Design” and “Software Development,” to students interested in technology, and I can tell you firsthand that prototypes in HTML, CSS and JS (Javascript) are the new PowerPoint. These students are able to take action on their ideas with the current tools of the trade.
I would say this is important and a harbinger of things to come for three reasons:
Effective teams have a culture of experimentation and a culture of doing vs. talking. The MBA of the future needs to be better at showing than telling.
I’m excited for the future of business and the future of work, and so are Darden MBAs. If you’re interested, I invite you to check out some of their terrific work from the “Software Development” class:
Cowan is an expert in digital innovation, agile and lean methodologies, and entrepreneurship. He teaches multiple courses in Darden’s Technology and Operations Management area, as well as the massive open online course specialization “Agile Development” (one of Coursera’s Top 15 specializations) and “Digital Product Management: Modern Fundamentals.”
Author of the book Starting a Tech Business: A Practical Guide for Anyone Creating or Designing Applications or Software, Cowan is also an experienced entrepreneur and intrapreneur who now divides his time between instructing, advising and consulting. He delves into venture design, his systematic approach to developing new products and businesses, on www.alexandercowan.com.
Cowan studied industrial engineering and economics at Stanford University.
Prototypes in HTML, CSS and JS Are the New PowerPoint
Share