Mike Gleichman doesn’t like idle time. In college, he did a dual program at Tufts University in quantitative economics and majored in jazz performance at the New England Conservatory to blend his passions for math and music. Averaging nine courses each semester and completing his five-year program in just over four, he got used to being overscheduled. He still likes it that way.
Gleichman’s dad—a lawyer by day and drummer by night—spurred his son’s interest in drums at an early age, turning it into a lifelong passion. Gleichman started taking drum and piano lessons when he was seven and gravitated toward jazz. Music filled up his free time in high school. He won numerous competitions, including an international one during his senior year, allowing him to perform at the Panama Jazz Festival in Panama City.
While in high school, a professional musician advised him not to pursue a music career and instead to choose a “day job.” Music felt like an unrealistic career path, given the unreliable income and taxing lifestyle with a lot of travel and odd hours. He turned to his favorite subject, math, but didn’t want to give up on his passion for music, so he applied to colleges that would allow him to do both.
His family moved from New England to the Atlanta, Georgia, area when he was 12, but it never felt like home, inspiring Gleichman to attend college in Boston.
During the summers, he needed to earn money. He got his first job and gained valuable skills.
“My first summer job in college was at Costco, dragging carts and as a cashier,” Gleichman says. “My second job was as a quality control tester at [coffee company] Keurig. I was in a windowless lab pressing a button all day. I must have made 1,000 cups of coffee that summer. Both jobs taught me time management, humility, and empathy for others. No one should be above any job. I think everyone should work in retail at some point.”
As college graduation approached in 2010, Gleichman considered his options. His classmates at the New England Conservatory wanted music careers, but Gleichman thought business might be a safer path. He was drawn to healthcare, yet there weren’t many opportunities.
“I knew I didn’t want to do finance on Wall Street,” he says. “I wanted something more tangible, but there was a recession, so it was a tough job market. I ended up taking a job at Enterprise Rent-a-Car to learn business basics. The days went fast, but when my manager started talking about a branch manager role for me, I knew I had to make a change.”
A friend who worked at the health care information technology company athenahealth convinced him to apply for a professional services role. He got the job and stayed there for more than three years. He loved working with doctors and health system administrators but wanted to break into product management.
“I loved playing with LEGOs as a kid because I was fascinated by building things, so I thought product management would be a good fit,” Gleichman says. “I was right; I loved it. I wanted something where I could constantly be learning.”
After working in several product roles at athenahealth, he was hired as a director of product management at CVS-owned Aetna, the second-largest medical insurance company in the United States. He quickly rose to executive director of product management, leading a team responsible for developing software applications.
“I was leading a large team and realized I had gaps,” Gleichman says. “In my first budget planning meeting, there were terms I didn’t understand. I wanted something short of an MBA because I thought I had missed that window, but I needed some of the skills, so I looked for options and found Harvard Business School Online.”
Gleichman enrolled in Financial Accounting to learn budgeting concepts and later in Organizational Leadership to discover how to lead large teams.
“I had taken some online courses for product management, but the HBS Online courses were very different—far more engaging. You’re not just watching videos,” Gleichman says. “It was great to have a week to finish the work so I could fit it in without taking time off.”
Gleichman says he frequently uses what he learned from HBS Online.
“I was faking it before, but now I’m confident in budget meetings,” Gleichman says. “The cases helped material sink in by learning theories grounded in real companies. And the collaborative activities made it really unique.”
Gleichman described a particular case in Organizational Leadership about General Mills that he could apply immediately to his new cross-functional senior leadership role.
“Someone from General Mills described doing a listening tour to get up to speed for a new job,” Gleichman says. “Although it would take a lot of time, it would be a great way to learn what was going well and what to do to add value. It ended up being a great week and investment of time. I never would have done it if it hadn’t been for the course.”
Gleichman believes the skills he gained from HBS Online have helped him advance his career. He hopes to be a chief product officer and wants to continue filling up his days by learning, working, and spending time with his family. He still has a passion for music and plays drums when he can, but he’s happy he chose the path he did.
Are you interested in learning similar business concepts that can help advance your career? Explore our courses in finance and accounting and leadership and management.
