With potential business deals and partnerships cropping up constantly, you need to arm yourself with proven strategies to maximize your ROI. That's exactly what drove Lisa Joseph-Metelus to attend the HBS Executive Education Business of Entertainment, Media, and Sports (BEMS) program. As an Executive at Creative Artists Agency and Manager for the Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade, she was eager to learn all she could from others in the entertainment and sports industries. Having recently completed the program, she shared her thoughts about the experience.
How did you learn about the BEMS program and what made you decide to attend?
I oversee all of Dwyane Wade's business deals and partnerships, and I heard about the program through him. He shared with me his desire to attend and after reading through the course description, I thought it'd be a good idea for us to attend the program together.
Was there a specific business challenge, either within your own career or Dwyane's, that you were looking to address by taking the program?
I didn't know what to expect, but I had heard amazing things about Professor Anita Elberse and had read her book, Blockbusters: Hit-making, Risk-taking, and the Big Business of Entertainment. I came with an open mind. We do so many partnerships and business deals in our line of work, and I was ready to learn from other participants' experiences and opinions. I wanted to walk away fresh—with new strategies and thought processes related to sports business.
Can you describe your experience in the classroom?
Not having ever been students at Harvard, both Dwyane and I were initially intimidated by the experience. You walk into the classroom and see strangers who have a great deal of credibility and experience within their own fields, and it can be a little nerve-wracking. But I think the way Professor Elberse teaches the program – holding a dialogue and encouraging people—put us both at ease right away and gave us the confidence to feel like our opinions mattered. Because of the dialogue in the classroom, you know that there's no right or wrong answer but rather different ways of thinking. Being exposed to so many different ideas and thoughts just makes you a better person.
Was there a particular case study or piece of the curriculum that has stuck with you since leaving the BEMS program?
I think for me it was exposure to so many varied strategies. Whether we were discussing personalities or brands—Netflix, Beyoncé, or Jay-Z's book launch—every case challenged me to rethink how I do things so it's not always status quo.
What would you say to those considering the BEMS program?
I would say attending the program gives you a different way of thinking and a different approach to business challenges. Since I walked out of the program, I often reflect on the classroom discussions and what I was exposed to, and it challenges me to think differently. Those conversations impact how I now think about partnerships and launches. What am I going to do differently? What can we do to create a buzz or cause disruption? We always have the case studies to refer back to when we're thinking through our day-to-day work.