Center for
Entrepreneurial Thinking

The father of entrepreneurship.
The world's most famous university.
A trip from harvard to heaven & back.

It will change your life.
it changed mine.

by eric c. sinoway with merrill meadow

uncommon wisdom

The mentor we all hope to have. Wisdom when we need it most, especially in times of dramatic change. Specific lessons taught by an iconic Harvard professor and a dozen extraordinary contributors. The toolkit to help us lead–whether in a business, a nonprofit, a community, or simply our own family. Timeless lessons to guide us to satisfaction and success in our lives and our careers.
Howards Gift in English

This is Howard’s Gift. More than just a book, it has the potential to change your life.

Inspired by a remarkable man, his relationship with a student turned colleague and dear friend–and a heart-stopping brush with death–Howard’s Gift has received critical praise throughout the world.Written by Eric C. Sinoway with Merrill Meadow, Howard’s Gift offers timeless lessons from Professor Howard Stevenson, Eric Sinoway, and an array of extraordinary contributors.

Through warm and engaging conversations between Sinoway and his mentor and friend Stevenson, Howard’s Gift touches readers’ hearts while offering them wise and practical guidance on how to achieve both personal satisfaction and professional success.

 

"A manifesto for building a life and career of satisfaction and success."

5/5
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a global phenomenom

Howards Gift in Korean
Taiwan
Howards Gift in Japense
Howards Gift in Mandarin

a best-selling, award-winning book in korean, complex chinese, & mandarin

Howard's gift worldwide

Published around the world and in multiple languages, the lessons in Howard’s Gift transcend cultures and geographies. 

Howard’s Gift has received worldwide media coverage and received the SERI Book Award (www.seriworld.org), one of the most prestigious book recognitions in Asia. The book has been reprinted multiple times in China, Taiwan, Korea, and Singapore, where it was a best-seller.

The Players

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The Professor

Howard H. Stevenson

The wise guide and iconic Harvard University professor. The “father of entrepreneurship” credited with coining “the best definition of entrepreneurship ever.”

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The Author

Eric C. Sinoway

The story-teller, former Harvard development officer, and a thought-leader, entrepreneur, executive, writer, and public speaker.

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The Contributors

Extraordinary Insight

Race for the Cure Founder Nancy Brinker, NY Giants legend Carl Banks, iHeart CEO Bob Pittman, Award-winning journalist Soledad O’Brien and 10 other remarkable individuals.

Thought leadership & Press

Howard’s Gift has received critical acclaim worldwide. Author Eric Sinoway’s thought leadership has been featured in publications distributed globally.

The article, “No, You Can’t Have it All”–a piece building on the lessons in Howard’s Gift about the challenges of “work-life balance”–was published as a feature in Harvard Business Review. Since then, it has been reproduced extensively in Harvard Business Review compilations and books of its most desirable and popular articles.

From the New York Times to Fortune Magazine, Business Insider to iHeart radio stations across the United States, Howard’s Gift has received worldwide media attention for its insight, actionable lessons, and compelling and fluid storytelling.

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Howard’s Gift author Eric Sinoway was featured on CNN’s “Starting Point”–discussing its practical impact for people seeking a satisfying and successful life and career.

Sinoway’s video interview with Harvard Business Review offers a touching personal story–and practical advice–on the challenges of “juggling on the balance beam of life” and the difficulty of achieving a “A+” on all aspects of life simultaneously. 

lessons to live & lead by

Howard’s Gift features timeless principles and practical ideas on achieving satisfaction and success in your personal and professional life. Each chapter powerfully offers a “mini-course” on how to successfully navigate the fundamental challenges we all face–providing concrete, actionable wisdom that can be applied at work and at home. Like much in life, each topic begins with a question.

What will your kids say at your funeral?

Many of us make plans for our jobs, for our vacations, for our hobbies. What about a plan for our lives? It’s called business planning for your life’s work. Start at the end: by thinking about what you want your kids to say at your funeral.

Is the juice worth the squeeze?

Between our jobs, our families, and the everyday demands of the modern world, there’s never enough time. It’s the one commodity that we can’t make more of. So, first, decide what you WON’T do–so that you have the time to focus on, excel at, and enjoy the most important things that you will.

Are you cheating at solitatire?

Our desires often get in the way of our judgement. Wanting something to be the case doesn’t make it so. Ignoring that fact can create big problems. Avoid the “fallacies” that too often cause unnecessary failure and disappointment.

Might you be rewarding the wrong things?

Remember that Results = performance + luck. And that Performance = skill + effort. Which are you rewarding: skill and performance or luck?

Can you recognize cultural vampires?

Stars do the right thing the right way. High potentials are future stars. Zombies are ‘dead wood’. Vampires perform well but at cross-purposes with desired culture. Is it time to terminate the vampires?

Are you planning for the splash or the ripple?

Every action has consequences, intended and not. Each move we make on the chessboard of life–personal or professional–creates a host of ripples throughout our lives. Before you make a splash, have you thought about the ripples it will cause?

What people say

If you are ready for a life altering awakening, this is the book. I couldn’t put it down. I purchased this book for my whole staff.

5/5
Seattle Elevator Goodness

Howard Stevenson is a lovable insurgent, a revolutionary who has succeeded.

Harvard Business School Professor William Sahlman

Wow! I just couldn’t put this book down!! The relationship between the author & his mentor is very sweet & powerful. It is fantastic.

5/5
Amber Flynn

I bought copies for the group of executives I mentor, and I gave each of them the assignment to read and discuss its meaning with me.

Former American Express Chairman & CEO
Kenneth Chenault

This is not a book about your career; it’s much bigger than that. It’s about your life. I’m planning to buy copies for my clients & friends.

5/5
Susan R. Meyer

The class you taught at HBS about Howard’s Gift was one of the most popular of the year. The students are still talking about it.

Harvard Business School Professor Anat Keinan

contributors

The lessons in Howard’s Gift are brought to life by real-world illustrations provided by extraordinary contributors. Often sharing highly personal insights on their successes and failures, these contributors provide a rare look at the struggles and achievements, the vulnerabilities and strengths of men and women from diverse fields, backgrounds, and experiences.

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Bob
Pittman

CEO
iHeart Radio
Former CEO
MTV Networks

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Mark
Lazarus

Chairman
NBC Universal
Cable, Sports, and News

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Nancy
Brinker

Founder
Race for the Cure
Former Ambassador
Hungary

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Carl
Banks

Pro Ball NFL Icon
Super Bowl Champion
Media Personality
Entrepreneur

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Kirk
Posmantur

Founder & Chairman
Axcess Worldwide
Co-founder
25 Madison

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Soledad
O'brien

Award-winning
Journalist
Founder & CEO
Starfish Media

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Vikram
Mansharamani

Global Advisor
Best-selling author
Harvard Instructor
Entrepreneur

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Mindy
Grossman

CEO
WW
(formerly)
Weight Watchers

The professor

Howard H. Stevenson

A life well lived

A scholar of the first rank who published 200 cases, books and articles during a 40-year career at Harvard University. 

A beloved teacher of entrepreneurship who inspired over 40,000 Harvard MBA, doctoral, and professional students. 

A philanthropist who raised over $1 billion for charitable causes. 

He is Howard H. Stevenson, and he has lived a remarkable life. 

The first generation in his family to attend college, Howard earned his bachelor’s at Stanford and his MBA and Doctorate at Harvard. He was both a teacher and a doer: cofounding a $30 billion money management firm, serving as Chairman of HBS Publishing, Chairman of National Public Radio, Dean of External Relations for HBS, and Vice Provost for Harvard University. 

the father of entrepreneurship

Howard helped create the field of entrepreneurship. He defined it: “the pursuit of opportunities beyond the resources currently controlled.” Then became a mentor for thousands of the most successful entrepreneurs around the world. 

Now, through Howard’s Gift, his insight is helping people of all ages and backgrounds–indeed, anyone who wants to live a satisfying life and have a successful career–apply Entrepreneurial Thinking to their work, their lives, and their organizations.

"Entrepreneurship is the pursuit of opportunities beyond the resources currently controlled"

Professor Stevenson’s construct on entrepreneurship–that it is a set of beliefs, outlooks, and behaviors that can be studied and taught–expanded the concept of an entrepreneur from someone by definition must have started a business to one that could apply to individuals in any role, at any organization, who exhibited certain traits that were, by definition, entrepreneurial. 

The Author

Eric C. Sinoway

A serial entrepreneur with an insatiable curiosity. A corporate executive with extensive experience in academic and non-profit organizations. A highly-sought advisor and thought-leader on strategy, organizational transformation and culture, partnership development, and philanthropic economics.

A graduate of Cornell and Harvard. A tested leader in organizations ranging from Cendant Corporation (now Wyndham Worldwide) to Worth Magazine to Harvard University. A track record of building relationships with and between many of the world’s most respected organizations, brands, and individuals. 

Howard’s Gift is a publication of The Center for Entrepreneurial Thinking, which is a global resource located steps from Harvard Square in Cambridge, Ma. Learn more here.