How Curiosity and Critical Thinking Can Power Your Career with Patrick Mullane, M.B.A.

whensciencespeaks Episodes

This week’s episode of the show features Patrick Mullane, Executive Director of Harvard Business School Online and Executive Education and author of book “The Father, Son, and Holy Shuttle: Growing Up an Astronaut’s Kid in the Glorious 80s”.

We talk about a range of topics related to career development and the power of curiosity and critical thinking as well as what it was like growing up with an inquisitive, inspiring astronaut Dad whose day job involved amazing feats of courage and engineering few are capable of conducting. 

Specific areas discussed include:

 

Patrick’s excellent book, “The Father, Son, and the Holy Shuttle”, which gives readers a window into Patrick’s life growing up as the son of an astronaut, Mike Mullane, who was chosen in the very first group of space shuttle astronauts, a group that included Sally Ride

How Patrick approached translating the technical language in the book into jargon-free, relatable descriptions and the role animation plays in his writing process 
 
The value – from a cognitive and “whole person” standpoint – of having curiosity about what makes things work and trying to deduce how they do operate
 

The key assets Patrick feels have enabled him to be successful in all the diverse industries and professional settings where he’s thrived, including academia

 
Patrick’s recent return to lead Harvard Business School Online and Executive Education as Executive Director, what he sees as the value proposition of the online and exec ed offerings, and his vision for both of these valuable sources of education