The Case for Global Multidisciplinary Pragmatism

Over the past months, I’ve had difficulty explaining my Master’s program to friends and family. The official name is Master’s in International Business. However, most are confused when I reveal that Fletcher is not a business school. Is it a traditional MBA, a diplomacy program or something else, they ask. For a while, I was also confused and could not offer a convincing response. Then, I set out to find an answer.

Why study business in a global multidisciplinary perspective? In the age of concise AI responses, why bother understanding the complexities of global challenges? Having thought repeatedly about the value of a Fletcher-type education, I write this short reflection arguing the need for more global multidisciplinary pragmatic leadership.

Why global?

The dotted-line political maps we studied in Geography class become evermore complex. Carbon emissions know no political borders. Supply-chains are more interconnected than ever. Product portfolios cater to different languages, cultures and histories. Complexity becomes the standard for dealing with business challenges. 

As economies move towards the digital age, the talent pool becomes global. National borders no longer constrain talent availability. For aspiring digital nomads of developing countries, an internet connection unlocks access to the global economy. Businesses can source solutions from the best global alternative. Business leaders with global awareness to navigate those complicated global maps will succeed.

Why multidisciplinary 

Business has historically been structured in hierarchical functional departments. However, innovations and collaboration do not occur in information silos. In contrast, uniting functional tasks at a shared roundtable leads to innovation and promotes dialogue and collaboration. Company boards (and governance bodies in general) require leaders who simultaneously speak the ‘languages’ of economics, law, history, ethics, and psychology. 

Trade professions are transformed by technology. The internet contains every possible answer to a problem a business might face. The knowledge is out there. The tasks of future business leaders will be to tailor solutions based on contextual awareness, adjusting for the subtleties that current AI models do not yet capture.

Seaport’s Redevelopment Master Plan is one of the most fascinating examples. In less than 20 years, the area has been radically transformed through real collaboration between public, private and NGO actors working towards coherent, sensible policy-making. The Seaport Innovation redevelopment project contains a fascinating mix of project finance, strategic planning, and sustainable urban design. These fields, characteristic of typical Fletcher classes, worked together to make Seaport a living testament that public-private cooperation is a win-win when done right. 

Designing the grand master plans of tomorrow requires being fluent in multiple ‘languages’. Thinking of technical solutions, political repercussions and the associated geopolitical tensions. Thinking also of the governance bodies that enforce policies while simultaneously designing the incentives that motivate businesses. Considering the cash-flows projections, analyzing the regulatory environment and understanding the economics of any potential solutions, all at the same time. 

Why pragmatism

The ideological political spectrum of the 21st century looks increasingly polarized. Us versus them. This-or-that dichotomies. Sadly, societies move towards extremes while the centrist areas of sensible policy-making remain uninhabited. We constantly look for the great leaders of our time only to find extremist solutions. Consequently, young leaders are mostly disillusioned. 

When we look historically, some of the best leaders have been pragmatists: Churchill, Adenauer, FDR. These were not charismatic leaders by nature. In fact, pragmatic leadership can often be boring because it acknowledges one-size-fits-all solutions do not work. History exemplifies best that multivariable world problems are not easily solved by turning to ideological extremes.

Instead, pragmatic leadership navigates the intermediate shades of gray as effective levers to drive change. It emphasizes dialogue, compromise and experimentation. ChatGPT today has more resources, insights, and data than all historical decision-makers had available. All the knowledge needed to make great policy is out there. The leader’s task becomes to integrate the functional languages and the complex world maps to drive meaningful change.

I am reminded of a phrase attributed to Franklin Delano Roosevelt: “It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.”

To find solutions for a complex global problem like climate change, we require the experimentation that FDR encouraged. Complicated world problems require trial and error, dialogue and innovative thinking. The solutions we seek are not in any textbook ChatGPT can summarize. The answers lie in those intermediate shades of grey which capture the Fletcher essence best.