Professor Spotlight: Douglas Hannah – MAN 374H

Currently, only BHP seniors have the privilege of learning from Douglas Hannah in class, but that is about to change. Dr. Hannah currently teaches the BHP capstone course MAN 374H, which focuses on business strategy. All BHP students take MAN 374H before graduating, and if you are in Dr. Hannah’s section of the class, studying strategy includes tinker toys and lots of chocolate. Starting in the fall of 2017, sophomore students will also get to enjoy Dr. Hannah’s dynamic and engaging teaching style. Dr. Hannah is developing a new course for first-semester BHP sophomores that will focus on entrepreneurship and creativity. He hopes the class will be a gateway to introduce student leaders to all of the entrepreneurship course offerings, resources, opportunities, and student organizations on campus. The course will include lessons on idea creation and how to turn an idea into a company. According to Hannah, the fundamental skill of entrepreneurship is “how to see something no one else has seen and convince others that it is a good idea.”

Dr. Hannah’s research focuses on entrepreneurial strategy in emerging high tech industries. He explores the balance between cooperation and competition in these developing industries and is very interested in the interdependence between actors that need to coordinate to bring new products to market. In high-tech industries, decision making happens in settings with high uncertainty, and strategy theories are constantly changing. With a background in environmental policy consulting, graduate degrees in both engineering and strategy, and extensive research experience, there is no doubt that Professor Hannah will create an enjoyable and valuable learning experience for students through this new entrepreneurship class.

Professor Hannah’s advice to students is to worry less about the specifics of an assignment and more about what they can do with the skills they are learning through the assignment. He says that the people students look up to seem to have been on a straight path, but that is an optical illusion. In reality, everyone’s career paths are much more winding than we realize. Students in BHP tend to be conservative in risk-taking, but Dr. Hannah suggests that students should “have faith in themselves to figure out new things” and take more challenging risks.

Students are encouraged to visit Dr. Hannah’s office hours, which are held this semester on Mondays and Wednesdays from 3:00-4:00 p.m. in CBA 4.254. He is also available by appointment. Want to get to know this impressive professor but not sure how to start? Here’s a list of questions to ask in office hours! They are guaranteed to start a great conversation and help you learn something new.

  1. What companies really won through the Pokemon Go phenomenon?
  2. What is the Herb Kelleher center?
  3. Are Intel and Microsoft’s incentives well aligned?
  4. What kind of competitions have you participated in in over 30 states and 6 countries?
  5. Tell me about the time you lived on a bus for the summer.
  6. What’s new in the world of environmental advocacy?

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