Five questions with Carey Business School Dean Bernard Ferrari

Bernard T. Ferrari, who took over as the second dean of the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, recently spoke with The Baltimore Sun for a Q&A that appeared in the Sunday edition on Oct. 21.

Among the topics—Ferrari's emphasis on a "humanistic" approach to business at Carey; his new book, "Power Listening: Mastering the Most Critical Business Skill of All;" and how Ferrari made the career change from surgeon to management, and now to head of a business school.

From The Sun's interview:

For many people, being a surgeon would be enough of a lifetime achievement. Why leave the operating room for consulting and advising top corporations?

After I became a physician, which was something I'd wanted to do since I was very young, a series of serendipitous events took me from medical administrator at Ochsner to consultant at McKinsey to, now, dean at Carey. There was no grand plan. I went to law school because I was curious to know more about the law, and then I went to business school because I was curious about finance.