SUSTAINABLE HUMAN BEHAVIOR

GSBGEN 537 | Stanford Graduate School of Business

Dr. Jennifer Aaker and Dr. Szu-chi Huang
April 08 – 25, 2024 | Mondays & Thursdays, 2:50 – 5:50 pm PST

Overview

What is sustainability? It is not just about air travel, ocean health or reducing plastic waste. It is about rethinking our role as  humans and leaders in this ever-changing world and developing a mindset that leads to positive habits and creates strong relationships to nurture our planet. In a world where success is frequently regarded as a stopping point rather than a stepping stone to future endeavors, this mindset is critical to leading a life of purpose and meaning.  In this class we invite you to rethink:

  • a sustainable self, by moving away from focusing on the short-run win associated with attaining a goal to the longer-term benefits associated with continued improvement after the goal has been achieved thereby sustaining healthy habits.
  • sustainable connections, by helping people feel they are valued members of a winning team on an inspired mission. 
  • sustainable planet, in small ways that ripple out small communities and the planet; the hope is to create a culture of shared prosperity.

The goal of the class is to facilitate dialogue, knowledge exchange, and collaboration among students and guests to create a sustainable toolkit to cultivate positive habits for our future based on a sense of shared prosperity. Lastly, we’ll map out how to use time in ways that will help build sustainable lives (calm mind and healthy body), impactful teams and a beautiful planet, so each of our lives will have meaningful, lasting impact in the world.

Jennifer Aaker

General Atlantic Professor, Stanford GSB

Szu-chi Huang

Associate Professor of Marketing, Stanford GSB

Keala Alvarez

(Chief Steward)