Navigating business education with practical learning strategies

Yoshito Hori, founder and CEO of GLOBIS, started his MBA 30 years ago with only 800,000 yen ($8,300 USD) capital. His office, which doubled as a classroom, was a tiny rented apartment in Shibuya, Tokyo. Since then, the school has grown steadily to meet Hori’s vision of bringing together people, capital, and knowledge for a positive impact on society.

The idea for GLOBIS started when Hori was studying for his MBA at Harvard Business School in the early 1990s. One day, sitting by the Charles River with a notebook on his lap, he drew three overlapping circles with a word inside each: people, capital, and knowledge. He thought, “This is the ecosystem I should create for societies.” He wanted to provide a new way of teaching that wasn’t just about textbooks or frameworks, but practical application.

The GLOBIS vision to help people find greater meaning in their careers is more relevant than ever. In recent years, over 40% of employees have experienced moderate-to-severe burnout. By empowering MBA students to develop a personal mission (a kokorozashi, in Japanese) and guiding them to meet their goals with practical skills, GLOBIS is creating an empowered network for a new age of business.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, GLOBIS invested heavily in online education as part of its emphasis on Technovate (a combination of “technology” and “innovate”) and its mission to reach aspiring business leaders across the globe. With the pandemic, GLOBIS leaned into online and hybrid learning models, carrying the motto of "never stop learning".

In the 30 years since its launch, GLOBIS has become far more than a business school. It is also the home of Japan’s leading venture capital firm and CSV initiatives that include the G1 Institute and KIBOW. Hori’s ultimate goal is to become the world’s No. 1 business school and venture capital firm in the Technovate era. “We try to do things that not many people can or want to do. That way, we can create more impact,” says Hori.

Internally, GLOBIS grants employees and associates opportunities to achieve their potential and demonstrate an entrepreneurial spirit. HR training and subsidies enable staff to pursue their areas of interest, bringing the GLOBIS vision full circle.

GLOBIS has grown from their humble beginnings to a global business school. In 2022, the company celebrated their 30th anniversary. To date, they have invested $1.18 Billion USD in startups, trained 1,900,000 professionals, and celebrated 7,503 MBA graduates.