By Haamid Adam, MBA ’26
These are the principles I’ve come to believe in after bridging technical operations in Taiwan, Japan, and Korea. What follows is a set of lessons, part observation, part conviction, for folks starting their MBA journey and looking to do meaningful work in a changing world.
I’ve spent the last half-decade developing the first commercial-scale offshore wind farms for Siemens Gamesa across East Asia, turning ambitious renewable energy projects from concept into tangible reality. In Taiwan, where influence flows quietly and relationships unfold over time, I learned the art of getting your stakeholders on board before the meeting. In Japan, I absorbed the discipline of restraint – the way of the poker face. And in Korea, how to navigate pace, hierarchy, and persistence across complex technical settings.
Now, I’m trading turbine blades for climate tech investing. This summer, I’m at DCVC in Palo Alto, working on deep-tech ventures, sharpening my leadership through the OpenMinds NextGen Leaders Program, and building ideas that, just nine months ago, felt out of reach.
Lead with Community, Not Code
In Asia, third spaces often emerged informally, over dinners, long-standing vendor relationships, or in late-night calls across language gaps. They weren’t labeled “innovation hubs,” but they were just as catalytic.
Historically, business success hinged on controlling capital and information. Now, AI is flipping the script on information access, and the competitive advantage shifts toward branding and community building. In this landscape, when anyone can rapidly build a product, these elements become critical differentiators. Products are now built last, after establishing strong community and brand loyalty. Mastering modern tools and digital fluency isn’t a competitive advantage; it’s the baseline. You yourself are a brand capable of inspiring community. Identify gaps, wedge yourself strategically into these spaces, and act swiftly to capitalize on emerging opportunities. I saw this firsthand across Asia, technical solutions mean little without the social license to operate- the communities around the infrastructure, determine longevity and traction.
Third spaces, hybrid environments for collaboration and experimentation, are becoming essential for building brand and community. For MBA students and founders alike, building or contributing to these spaces can create the kind of sticky, self-reinforcing ecosystems that drive both innovation and connection. At MIT, that means maker labs, pop-up climate studios, and cross-school salons. If the space you need doesn’t exist yet, create it.
Avoid the Time Trap
When I was managing timelines across Japan and Korea, urgency had to be reframed. Sometimes the sprint was logistical; other times, it was cultural, aligning twelve stakeholders without ever putting urgency on the table. The point is: strategy isn’t about time, it’s about timing.
Two-year programs feel long, but much of that is breaks and downtime. The most valuable experiences happen outside the classroom, so spend your semester wisely preparing for the breaks between semesters. These periods are where real sprints happen, whether building a product, nurturing a community, or pursuing impactful projects. Use your downtime strategically. Sure, participate in social MBA trips to build genuine friendships, but be mindful and constantly evaluate your commitments. Otherwise, you might find your valuable free time consumed entirely by coffee chats or classes. Remember, classes serve to inspire, but true learning occurs when you tackle real-world challenges. Prioritize activities beyond classwork.
Create Impact, Don’t Follow
I used to think friction meant conflict. But in Japan and Korea, I learned that controlled friction, handled with subtlety and trust, can be the birthplace of real alignment. Don’t avoid resistance, learn how it expresses itself in different systems.
Resist chasing trends or succumbing to FOMO. Genuine impact comes from balancing humility with conviction, engaging openly, listening carefully, and always assuming the other person might be right about something you’ve missed. But be critical, because independent thinking brings friction because it challenges what’s already accepted.
At MIT Sloan, I’ve seen how the most impactful contributions rarely come from consensus. They come from the person willing to sit with an uncomfortable idea longer than others, or to challenge the framing entirely. But doing that well takes more than conviction. It takes tact. You need to know when to push, when to pause, and when to reframe the question altogether. That only comes with time, feedback, and practice.
That’s why hedging, strategically saying yes to everything just in case, doesn’t work. It spreads your energy thin, traps you in someone else’s game, and makes every move a reaction. People often advise it in uncertain environments. But real leadership means choosing your lane and staying with it, even when it’s uncomfortable. Clarity and full commitment aren’t risky, they’re what reduce noise and make risk navigable. Every essay you write, every class you take, every event you show up to, it’s all a directional bet. Just make sure it’s yours. Tie each decision back to your vision, your goals, your momentum, and don’t act out of compulsion. If you do, pause and ask why. There’s no leverage in being everywhere. There’s only leverage in being aligned.
Don’t Aim to Shout the Loudest
In Japan, silence often said more than speaking. The most powerful people rarely spoke first, but they never missed their moment.
Initially, it might feel like being the loudest person in the room pays off, especially early on in competitive programs. Short-term, it might. But real value comes from quietly observing, acclimating, and spotting opportunities hidden in the noise. There’s a law of power that says you must show people what you’re capable of, and that’s true, but aggressively elbowing out peers traps you into a siloed position. Eventually, it works against you.
Tap into MIT’s Startup Ecosystem and Network Strategically
The way I approached this in Taiwan, getting clarity on the unwritten rules, mapping influence, and finding the right entry point, applies just as much to Boston’s startup scene. The players change, but the dynamics don’t.
MIT spins out countless climate-tech startups and innovative ventures across different schools, from the AI Venture Studio at the Media Lab to the Climate and Energy Ventures class and initiatives like the Orbit page. Engage actively in these environments and leverage in-semester internship opportunities throughout Boston. VCs, especially in climate tech, highly value practical industry experience, making strategic networking critical even before arriving. Keep track of every meaningful interaction and personally note how, when, and where you’ve connected. This will set you apart.
Constant Learning for Venture Capital, for life
I used to toggle between technical specs and site constraints; now it’s market signals and founder psychology. But the lesson is the same: the patterns always emerge a layer above the obvious.
If there’s one muscle I’m deliberately training, it’s perspective. Some of the sharpest VCs I’ve spoken to move like people who’ve seen the same story play out in ten different domains. What they’re really doing is building holism: the ability to zoom out, synthesize, and see what others miss.
Develop this skill by embracing deep, broad learning. Dive into industry reports, stay attuned to insightful podcasts like “20VC” and “Acquired,” but mostly, explore interdisciplinary thought from price theory, narrative structure, or the shifting aesthetics of fashion and art. Genuine pattern recognition emerges from a vantage point.
At MIT Sloan, this is your unfair advantage. Cross-register at Harvard. Take a design class at the Media Lab, a supply chain elective at Sloan, or a systems thinking seminar in Engineering. The most dangerous thinkers I’ve met here go deep and sideways.
Strategic Discomfort: Thinking One Layer Above
Back in offshore wind, the biggest problems were rarely technical. They were coordination failures, trust gaps, misaligned incentives. The leverage was never in the turbine specs – it was always in how the system was framed.
Every impactful outcome arises from focused effort made about six weeks earlier. Rapid experimentation and prioritization, especially during early semesters, allow you to quickly identify where your efforts yield the greatest impact. In this program, your job is to test fast and learn faster. But don’t just react to the next assignment or calendar invite. Train yourself to think one layer above the immediate problem: What system is this part of? What incentives shape the issue? What structure might unlock a better outcome? People with notable impact excel at recognizing the broader environments and conditions necessary for solutions to thrive.
Strategic discomfort means working on what’s not yet obvious, problems that are still unframed, opportunities others haven’t noticed. That’s where the leverage is. The goal is to be early and a little uncomfortable throughout.
Draft Mode
These aren’t my rules – just lessons I’m testing in real-time. But if there’s a through line, it’s this: don’t follow the structure, question it.
Most of the leverage lives upstream: in the structure, in the system, in the framing of the problem. So, question the frame. Design for the conditions and stay close to the friction. When things feel uncertain, that’s usually the signal to lean in, not out.
