What They Teach You at Harvard Business School

“ We were a class full of insecure overachievers, a term I heard again and again. ” e.style.display='none');if(typeof getContentsSections==='function')setTimeout(getContentsSections,50)" /> Philip Delves Broughton, a journalist with zero business background, enrolled at Harvard Business School in 2004 expecting a neutral period of study. Instead he found a pressure cooker where 895 students — chosen from 7,100 applicants — competed on a forced curve while stampeding toward summer internships. Ex-consultants warned that if you arrived married, you'd end up divorced. Ex-bankers described seeing

Lesson 1: Train judgment like a muscle: practice with hundreds of messy, real cases

This principle from What They Teach You at Harvard Business School is backed by Philip Delves Broughton's extensive research and real-world examples. Understanding it deeply can shift how you approach decisions, relationships, and long-term planning in meaningful ways.

Lesson 2: Cash flow, not profit, determines if a growing company lives or dies

This principle from What They Teach You at Harvard Business School is backed by Philip Delves Broughton's extensive research and real-world examples. Understanding it deeply can shift how you approach decisions, relationships, and long-term planning in meaningful ways.

How to Apply What They Teach You at Harvard Business School's Lessons

The real value of What They Teach You at Harvard Business School lies in its applicability. After reading, the most important step is identifying which of Philip Delves Broughton's principles speak most directly to your current situation.

Consider keeping a journal while reading — noting where the ideas challenge your current approach and where they confirm what you already suspected. The friction of your own resistance often points to the most important insights.

Key Quote

"Train judgment like a muscle: practice with hundreds of messy, real cases" — Philip Delves Broughton, What They Teach You at Harvard Business School

About the Author

Philip Delves Broughton is the author of What They Teach You at Harvard Business School. The book reflects years of research, observation, and synthesis of evidence from multiple disciplines.