Editor's note: Watch the video in "full screen" mode for the best viewing experience.
If Larry Miller hadn’t concealed his criminal record, would he ever have been given the chance to turn his life around? Would his talent have taken him to Nike, where he led the Jordan brand?
It’s time for business leaders to rethink their hiring practices and start giving the formerly incarcerated more opportunities to prove themselves, say Hise Gibson and coauthors of a Harvard Business School case study about Miller's life and career. When Miller was a teenager, he murdered another teenager and served time in prison. While incarcerated, he earned an accounting degree, but after a prospective employer rescinded a job offer, he vowed not to reveal his past.
In this video, Gibson discusses why business leaders need to hear Miller's story.
Directed by Jamal Meneide, a filmmaker based in Boston.
Produced in collaboration with Danielle Kost and Dina Gerdeman of HBS Working Knowledge.
Inspired by the case "Larry Miller" by Francesca Gino, Frances X. Frei, Hise Gibson, and Alicia Dadlani.
The Journey of Larry Miller
VIDEO: From Prison Cell to Nike’s C-Suite: The Journey of Larry Miller
Larry Miller shares how education helped him escape a life of crime and why employers should give the formerly incarcerated a second chance.
ARTICLE: A Nike Executive Hid His Criminal Past to Turn His Life Around. What If He Didn't Have To?
A case study by Francesca Gino, Hise Gibson, and Frances Frei shows the barriers that formerly incarcerated Black men are up against and the potential talent they could bring to business.