About Pian Shu, PhD
1. My background as a business-school teacher
For ten years, I was a faculty member at business schools, first at Harvard Business School, and then at the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Scheller College of Business. I taught operations management, strategy, and design thinking to MBA and undergraduate students. I immensely enjoyed interacting with students and facilitating class discussions.
During this decade, I developed a distinct teaching style that proved highly effective in discussion-based classrooms. I focused on making complex concepts intuitive and accessible, while using discussion and debate to push students to think critically, articulate their ideas, question assumptions, and engage seriously with different perspectives. One of my students at Harvard described my teaching approach as:
“You really engaged the classroom and challenged us. You encouraged us to become our own professors more than any other professor did. You were very supportive of our learning efforts and pushed us to perform our best.”
I consistently received near-perfect ratings on my teaching. But more importantly, I have been surprised and inspired, time and again, by the depth and breadth of insights that my students generated when they “became their own professors.” When students were given the freedom to explore the material rather than simply being taught it, they often came up with original insights that shed new light even for me on subjects I had been teaching for many years. Empowering students to develop their own views as they grapple with unfamiliar material fostered both intellectual independence and confidence.
Teaching has convinced me that everyone possesses a deep reservoir of natural insight and wisdom, and that to “teach” (or similarly, to “coach”) someone is not so much to impart knowledge as to create the conditions that allow that inner wisdom to blossom. This philosophy was core to my teaching approach and is now foundational to my coaching.
Over the years, many students have shared with me, initially to my surprise, that some of their favorite learning moments happened outside of the classroom, in my office. During office hours, a student and I would have a focused conversation on a topic or challenge of immediate concern to them. Interestingly, these conversations often began with a specific question but evolved into much broader discussions about who they were, what motivated them, and how they saw themselves and the world. A decision about a job offer would turn into a deeper conversation about what the student actually wanted from their career. A concern about classroom participation could lead to a broader discussion about confidence and self-expression.
These conversations almost always left me with a deep sense of gratification. Their individualized nature meant that we could work toward a resolution specific to the student and their situation, often ending with greater clarity and concrete next steps. Looking back, these experiences with one-on-one advising, and the feedback from students, planted some of the earliest seeds for my transition into full-time coaching.
2. My background as an academic
I hold a PhD in Economics from MIT, where my thesis studied the career choices and inventive output of MIT alumni. I went on to publish research on a variety of topics in innovation, entrepreneurship, and international trade. My papers have received over 1000 citations in total.
What I learned in academia was that intellectual endeavors can be thrilling but real life choices are very different.
2. Why I left academia
My journey in academia began at MIT, where I earned a PhD in Economics and wrote my thesis on MIT alumni’s career choices and inventive output. (How individuals choose and succeed in their careers has always been an interesting question to me.) More broadly, during my ten years as a faculty member, I developed several research streams in innovation, entrepreneurship, and international trade. I published in top journals and had good prospects for getting tenure. Nonetheless, I felt that something crucial was missing. Publishing papers and researching/teaching abstract concepts did not energize me at a deeper level.
When I left academia, I knew much more clearly what I didn’t want to do than what I wanted to do. I also left without lining up another job (another unconventional decision), because I did not want to commit to another path before giving myself the space to consider what would make me genuinely happy. In my mind, I saw an image of a room filled with dated furniture. Sometimes, simply bringing in new furniture to replace the old does not improve the room. Sometimes, the room needs to be empty for a while before new possibilities can emerge. I wanted to explore what else might be possible with a fresh and open mind.
Outside of coaching:
Being an effective teacher meant knowing when to provide targeted guidance, such as stepping in to clarify a concept or redirect a discussion, and when to create space for exploration, such as stepping back to let students teach and learn from one another. I bring the same balance to my coaching. Sometimes a client benefits from a targeted observation, a new perspective, or a concrete suggestion. At other times, the most productive thing I can do is let the conversation unfold spontaneously, allowing insights to emerge through open-ended questions.
To deepen and strengthen both forms of engagement, I bring two additional dimensions to my coaching: intuitive insight and mindfulness mentorship.
When I decided to leave academia, I did not have an immediate alternative plan.
over time, I realized that what energized me the most was not publishing papers or teaching abstract concepts, but helping people solve concrete challenges that lead to tangible benefits in their lives.
When I decided to leave academia, I did not have an immediate alternative plan. I just knew that I wanted to explore something different.
The path I was on was conventionally measures
When I decided to leave academia, I did not have an immediate alternative plan. I just knew that I wanted to explore something different.
Over time, I realized that what motivated me was ,,,,. not ….
Being an effective teacher meant knowing when to provide targeted guidance, such as stepping in to clarify a concept or redirect a discussion, and when to create space for exploration, such as stepping back to let students teach and learn from one another. I bring the same balance to my coaching. Sometimes a client benefits from a targeted observation, a new perspective, or a concrete suggestion. At other times, the most productive thing I can do is let the conversation unfold spontaneously, allowing insights to emerge through open-ended questions.
In my coaching sessions, I combine active listening, guided questioning, and other proven teaching techniques to create dynamic conversations that inspire original insights. Different from a classroom, the purpose of the conversation is not to understand a given subject (often an abstract concept) but to solve a concrete problem. We examine the situation from multiple angles, identify the assumptions and constraints shaping it, and explore possibilities that may not be immediately obvious. The goal is to arrive at a clearer understanding of what is happening, what matters most to you, and what course of action makes sense.
To deepen and strengthen both forms of engagement, I bring two additional dimensions to my coaching: intuitive insight and mindfulness mentorship.