Why We Created the BizBio, The Short Form Visual Bio

April 30, 2019

Ever since I switched from linguistics to business, I have been very interested in the people of business around the world and how they’re, to paraphrase a friend, “just doing business.” I’m more fascinated by the who of business than the what, when, where, or how. I believe that as important as developing a great product, a powerful vision, or a big mission, is the legacy a business person thinks about leaving. In business, we leave our legacy through sustained results that serve a purpose−not always a noble purpose, but a purpose nonetheless.

The BizBio is my way of sorting through information overload−the many details on Wikipedia, Bloomberg Executive Profiles, LinkedIn, in analyst reports, on social media, and more. BizBios represent the forest, not the trees. They force us to stay focused on the big picture of what a world business leader is striving to achieve.

The people we feature in BizBios are the “first, biggest, best, or most” in some way, when it comes to business. We created a BizBio on Indra Nooyi because she was one of the first female leaders of a Fortune-500 company, and she consistently ranks among the world’s 100 most powerful women. Big picture, she successfully helped categorize and rebrand Pepsi’s business for a changing consumer market.

Indra Nooyi

Dara Khosrowshahi

We created a BizBio on Dara Khosrowshahi because he is CEO of one of the world’s highest profile gig-economy companies, Uber. He’s charged with improving the employee culture and growing consumer trust as well as being a resonant leader relating to the societal issues of big tech and the gig economy.

We release at least one BizBio every week on leaders good, bad, or, possibly (rarely) indifferent. Our awesome team of gig-economy professionals here at Braun Ink help research and draw the icons for the BizBios. I’m very thankful for their skills, and hope that our work informs and inspires you and your work.

  • Story & Biography Expertise

Using Comic Books in the Classroom

When using a comic book, business educators have the opportunity to develop these business competencies in students. Such competencies are in high demand in the business workplace.

Ask students to:

  • SUMMARIZE and SYNTHESIZE the actions, images, people, and topics.
  • DEVELOP ARGUMENTS about and CRITICALLY APPRAISE key actions and decisions made by executives.
  • OFFER SUPPORT for their arguments using text and facts.
  • REFLECT ON how the comic book characters’ views and actions compare and contrast to their own.
  • SHOW CURIOSITY about business leaders through asking questions of the main subject/CEO, if the LIVE VIDEO VISIT option is chosen by educators.

Using CEO Memoirs & Biographies in the Classroom

Memoirs and biographies combine the case method with more immersive and experiential learning because readers are immersed in the story and narrative. Narratives are arguably the most effective way to teach and learn in general. Studies have shown that students consistently recall information tied to storytelling better than material presented without storytelling. Organizational psychologists have found that learning from a well-told story is remembered “far longer” than learning derived from facts and figures and that facts are 20 times more likely to be remembered if they’re part of a story.

Braun Collection books and comic books enable business educators to use narrative to enhance the learning experience of their students. Further, it seems that people who read narratives that “oscillate” (i.e., the narratives do not offer a story of clear ascent or descent but rather a story of oscillating successes and failures) have better resilience later in their own lives and careers when making their own decisions. This is because they have reference points (the prior narratives) that consist of patterns of oscillation as opposed to clear-cut ascent or descent2. As we know in real life, decisions rarely involve clear-cut ascent or descent situations. Braun Collection materials do  show neither deeply flawed heroes nor perfect decision makers, rather people who deal with the ups and downs of the issues and
opportunities in their lives and careers.

When using a True Business Adventure Tale (CEO memoir or biography), business educators have the opportunity to develop these business competencies in students. Such competencies are in high demand in the business workplace.

Ask students to:

  • SUMMARIZE the actions, people, and topics and SYNTHESIZE all the information into the theme of the book. Synthesizing key topics and themes is important in business.
  • DEVELOP ARGUMENTS about and CRITICALLY APPRAISE key actions and decisions made by executives. Being able to develop and appraise various actions is important in business.
  • OFFER SUPPORT for their arguments using text and facts as opposed to pure opinion and conjecture. Knowing how to offer factual, even if not scientific, evidence is important in business.
  • REFLECT ON how the subjects and authors views and actions compare and contrast to their own. A level of appropriate reflection is shown to build a level of warmth and relationships that matter for business.
  • SHOW CURIOSITY about business leaders through asking questions of the authors, if the LIVE VIDEO VISIT option is chosen by educators. Asking good questions is a vital business skill.