On March 25, 2025, I returned to the Harvard campus in a way that I never expected or planned. My documentary feature film Earl. was invited to be screened at Harvard University, co-hosted by The Korea Institute and the Harvard Music Department.

To date, the film has been selected by eight film festivals and won awards, including Best Director, Documentary Feature at the Cannes World Film Festival. It’s been screened around the country and abroad. Every selection and award has been an honor, yet this invitation in particular felt like a homecoming.

My post-HBS career in filmmaking has been an exercise in blending creativity with business strategy, risk-taking with discipline, and storytelling with entrepreneurship. The lessons I learned at HBS have impacted every aspect of my life.

The Business of Storytelling

Before HBS, I worked at 60 Minutes for nearly nine years during its prime as the top-rated show on television. I worked my way up from associate producer to producer, helping find more than fifty stories, which took me across the globe as I searched for narratives that explored the edges of human existence. I specialized in hard news investigative reporting. Each piece felt like making a short film; finding, shaping, and telling powerful stories became my craft.

What I didn’t fully realize at the time was that I was also practicing the fundamentals of business: leadership, resource allocation, and strategic planning. Eventually, I recognized that to build a successful production company, or simply expand the scope of the stories I wanted to tell, I needed formal business training. That realization brought me to Harvard Business School.

A Vision for Growth at HBS

When I arrived at HBS, I came with a clear mission: find brilliant teachers and peers who could challenge and elevate my thinking. Excellence has shaped every chapter of my life, from studying the cello at a high level to training in top tennis programs and working under the highest standards in television journalism. I wanted to apply that same drive to understanding business. HBS did not disappoint. The intensity of the case method forced me to think fast, speak confidently, and accept the discomfort of not always having the right answer, particularly when learning finance, a completely new language to me.

In addition, my professors, including William Sahlman, Nitin Nohria, Clay Christensen, William Lassiter, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, and Francis Frei, changed the way I viewed the world. Two lessons in particular from my organizational behavior professor, Nitin Nohria, have stuck with me through the years.

First, Professor Nohria told me, "I hope you fail early and often." At the time, this left my head spinning. Failure? Really? Yes, because in those clutch moments, you learn to get up after you fall. You learn about yourself, including your strengths, proclivities, and areas that need improvement. You learn to define what you really want. With it comes the realization that life is never simple. Great opportunities often come with great sacrifice.

Second, Professor Nohria told me to have confidence in myself. "You will recognize an opportunity when it comes," he said. I did exactly that when approaching the film, Earl. The story of American composer and Harvard professor Earl Kim (no relation) is the most significant and complex narrative I have ever discovered. Telling his story required 33 interviews on three continents, and there were never any guarantees of the film’s success. But along the way, I trusted my instincts.

From Journalism to Filmmaking

I’ve always been passionate about film. Even at 60 Minutes, a few of the stories I worked on became feature films with well-known actors. Therefore, the transition to filmmaking after HBS wasn’t so much a career pivot as it was a natural extension of what I’d already been doing, telling human stories on screen.

I have had the good fortune of working with deeply experienced crew members and executives who have worked in the film industry at the highest level. We connected as entrepreneurs, realizing our backgrounds in production, editorial, talent management, and financial oversight were remarkably similar. Filmmaking is entrepreneurship at its core. Like any venture, its success depends on endurance, adaptability, and the ability to inspire and lead a great team—skills sharpened at HBS.

Building on Professor Nohria’s lesson about failure, one of the most lasting gifts of HBS that has propelled my career was a new perspective on risk. In filmmaking, you learn not just to tolerate uncertainty but to lean into it as an opportunity. Creative work is inherently unstable with no roadmaps and no guarantees, but that’s part of the thrill. I’ve learned to value hard work, persistence, and the joy of working with truly talented, accountable people. And I’ve learned that even if it’s uncomfortable, failure is an essential teacher. You take the hit, recalibrate, improve, and move forward.

Advice for HBS Students and Alumni

In film, as in any business, strategy and creativity are not opposites; they are partners. Success depends on the right idea, the right team, and the right timing. You need intuition, adaptability, and a strong sense of the market. My business training gave me the tools to balance these variables, to manage resources, and to keep sight of the human connections at the heart of every project.

So, to HBS students and fellow alumni wondering if you can blend creativity with business—yes, you absolutely can. My MBA didn’t just make me a better producer or director; it made me a better storyteller, a better leader, and a better human being. Trust the process and take the risks. Whatever fuels your imagination and vision for your career, be bold and create your own authentic path.

It’s also critical to define what success means to you. For me, success is not about wealth or awards. It’s about the relationships that matter most. My wife of 30 years, Felicia, encouraged me, letting me turn our house into an informal production studio. Our son, Ryan (Harvard, Class of 2023), is enrolled in his third year of Law school and our daughter Sabrina is in her senior year of college. Real success is having the time and freedom to support those you love and to find joy in meaningful work. Titles, cars, and bank accounts are important benchmarks, but secondary. Always make time for what and who matter most.

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