A Remarkable Thing Happened at Harvard

Anne Manning and Susan Robertson taught a class called Creativity and Organizational Success at Harvard Summer School.

At the end of the class all 27 students signed a letter to the Dean of Students that reads as follows:

Dear Robert,

We are writing to convey our appreciation for the fantastic class we were privileged to attend during the Harvard Summer School.

To put it simply, we loved this course and it changed our lives.

On the first day, in the first hour, our entire class bonded in a way we have not experienced in a university course. The way our two professors broke the ice and engaged us was remarkable. The unconventional way of welcoming us into the course enabled meaningful working relationships to develop and allowed us to roll up our sleeves and get started immediately.

The tools and techniques we learned and practiced, and then applied to real client situations, have broadened our minds, changed our thinking patterns and will enable us to transform the way we work back home.

To give you a test of our experience, here are three verbatim comments from participating students:

"Anne and Susan created a very productive and fun atmosphere in the class which unleashed everyone's potential. I have never seen such a great atmosphere and experienced such connection with my colleagues in any of my university courses."

"This class was completely out of my comfort zone. I am a very structured and analytical person, and this class made me feel safe on my uncontrolled side, my creative side. I never went to a class as special as this. Thank you for having this subject in your portfolio."

"Anne and Susan are the creative teachers I have ever met. They created a fantastic atmosphere for all the class. I learned a lot every day and had fun at the same time. I feel so glad to have taken this course and I will introduce my friends to it next year."

WE are now creative problem solvers who are ready to go back to our professional worlds with the skills of design thinking that Anne Maning and Susan Robertson have creatively taught us.

We believe this subject should be considered mandatory for all courses, as solving the problems of the world in any industry will be reliant on a degree of innovative thinking in order to take giant leaps forward. Creative problem solving techniques can be usefully applied to many disciplines.

We thank you so deeply for offering this course. We recommend it to others in the highest possible form.