CEO Magazine - Volume 20

INNOVATION AWARDS

2015

Cutting-edge Leadership in a STEM Environment CEO20_OFC_Cover.indd 1

Global Entrepreneur leads KSU’s Graduate Business Programmes

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CONTENTS

Table of Contents 8 11 11 18

14 18

Science Agrees With Obi Wan: Trust Your Feelings Mark C. Crowley

From Application to Graduation European University

Global MBA Rankings CEO Magazine

Ethics is Back... But it Should Never Have Gone Away Bert Wolfs, SBS Swiss Business School

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20 25 26

Innovation Awards: Innovation in Entrepreneurship CEO Magazine

Sharks, Cats and Coffee ISEG

Cutting-edge Leadership in a STEM Environment Reggie J.Caudill, New Jersey Institute of Technology

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CONTENTS

32 30 32 35 36

How Data Analytics is Shaping what you Watch Knowledge@Wharton

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A Prescription for MBAs in Health Australian Institute of Business

Are you impatient?

Then you’re also more likely to procrastinate Capital Ideas, Chicago Booth

Global Entrepreneur and Expert Researcher Leads Kent State’s Graduate Business Programmes Robert D. Hisrich

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CONTENTS

40

40

Negotiate Your Way to Career Flexibility

Horacio Falc達o, INSEAD Knowledge

42 46 48

Mastering the MBA Millsaps College

Real World Leadership Korn Ferry

List of Contributors

42

46 8

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CONTENTS

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TRUST YOUR FEELINGS

Science agrees with Obi Wan:

Trust Your

FEELINGS Mark C. Crowley

Go to your bosom: Knock there, and ask your heart what it doth know.

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

I

magine you're giving a presentation tomorrow to a group of your organization's top decision-makers.

Your job will be to persuade them to approve, and invest in, a new initiative you've worked over a year to develop.

Heading into the meeting, you’re convinced you have a fantastic business case. You’ve studied the competition, run several lengthy pilots – and developed a keen sense that the venture will become a run-away success.

But if your company operates anything like most traditional businesses, you know you’ll need to stick to the analytics while making your pitch; sharing any of your informed ‘feelings’ about the potential outcome could potentially derail your project and even harm perceptions about your own managerial prowess.

And why is it that one’s feelings can’t be brought into the boardroom without drawing concern? It’s because we remain highly squeamish about the reliability of human intuition.

Nearly 400 years ago, René Descarte famously declared, “I think therefore I am,” and an emphasis on rational thinking has dominated business operations ever since. In the modern era, MBA programs have intentionally focused on developing left-brain, rational abilities – and to teaching future business leaders how to figure everything out. Even the high-compliment of saying that someone has great ‘business smarts’,

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inherently means they possess an unusually developed intellect – a good ‘head’ for business.

Intuition: friend or foe?

But, curiously, some of the world’s greatest ‘thinkers’ of the past century – a list of acknowledged geniuses that includes Thomas Edison, Bill Gates, Nikola Tesla and Albert Einstein – all very consciously leveraged intuition in their work. And so convinced that intuition had profoundly influenced his entire life’s success, Steve Jobs repeatedly said that it wasn’t just potent, it was “more powerful than intellect.”

So there lies the conundrum. Most of man, mere mortals, steer clear of allowing any feelings or intuition to influence their business dealings, while the stunning achievers of society clearly chose to operate from an entirely different manual. Whose lead should we now follow?

For nearly three decades, the Institute of HeartMath has been researching intuition and running numerous experiments for the purpose of better defining what it is and how it works.

I recently met with its director of research and co-founder, Dr. Rollin McCraty, and asked him to share some of the key insights he and his colleagues have acquired. As you might suspect, along with other researchers, McCraty has been able to show that folks like Jobs and Tesla figured out something long before the rest of us, and that intuition – when fully understood – can surely help us be more successful in our careers and lives.

Here’s what you need to know:

HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL SERIAL ENTREPRENEURS ACT ON INTUITION Over a period of many years, the Australian Graduate School of Entrepreneurship conducted in-depth interviews with repeat entrepreneurs – people who had built businesses multiple times with great success.

Noting that Gallup already had shown that over half of all new enterprises fail in five years, they met with business creators in Great Britain, the US and Australia in hopes of identifying the commonalities of people who repeatedly defied the odds.

And they found two. Most importantly, they discovered that 80 per cent of the successful entrepreneurs intentionally relied on their intuition and knowingly integrated it with their cognitive processes in making all final decisions. Contrary to what you might imagine, they were highly practical people who routinely employed a rigorous system of financial analysis and business projections. But, in the end, they acted on their hunches, and repeatedly relied on feelings to indicate what choice was best.

While unrelated, it’s nevertheless interesting that the second correlation researchers found is that the serially high-achieving entrepreneurs were characteristically generous with all the

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TRUST YOUR FEELINGS

1. Implicit Knowledge

people who helped them. Consistent with what Wharton Professor, Adam Grant, discovered about people who find uncommon success in life – they were “givers.”

THERE ARE REALLY THREE DIFFERENT KINDS OF INTUITION The basic concept of intuition is ancient.

Throughout history, human beings have had the experience of knowing more than was given to them by their five senses, and derived insights and understanding with no input from rational thought.

But our grasp of what intuition is beyond this basic explanation is greatly limited, says McCraty, primarily because he’s discovered there are actually three different forms of it, not just one.

The most commonly understood form of intuition is what neuroscientists call “implicit knowledge.” We learn something and we forget we learned it, and it sneaks up from our unconscious into our conscious mind when we’re driving or in the shower – and, voilà, we have the insight, the intuition.

As Nobel Prize-winning economist, Daniel Kahneman, also explained in his book, Thinking Fast and Slow, McCraty says that implicit knowledge can occur in an instant – or after we’ve let our minds chew on a problem for a while.

In the ‘fast’ example, an experienced nurse walks into a hospital room and tells a new nurse that that patient is about to “code.” And in the next hour, it frequently happens. Ask the nurse how she ‘knew’ this would happen, and she’ll likely have no idea. But what the research shows is the nurse learned to identify subtle clues – things she’s associated with future problems like slow breathing or pallid skin – and unconsciously stored that information.

McCraty calls the ‘slow’ process, “Yen-sight.”

This is when we encounter a new problem and don’t have the prior experience of solving it.

Challenged to come up with an answer, we think about it, scratch our head over it a bit – and finally give up after putting more work into it.

And then, generally – a day or two later – while cooking or out on a run, an insight pops in with a solution, or who might be able to help. “Intuition will tell the thinking mind where to look next,” said Polio vaccination inventor, Jonas Salk.

While Nikola Tesla was dreaming up the world’s first alternating current-driven motor, an idea one of his college professors ridiculed as impossible, he and a friend went out for a walk to discuss poetry. It was during this casual conversation that the key insight he needed came to him. “The idea came like a flash of lightning,” he later wrote, “and in an instant, the truth was revealed.”

McCraty says our brains are wired to mull over our obstacles unconsciously and, through this slower process, will often find ways for us to connect the dots. “We’re therefore very wise to sleep on our problems,” he told me.

2. Energetic Sensitivity HeartMath calls the second form of intuition, “energetic sensitivity,” noting that our nervous systems are literally sensitive to environmental signals. “They’re like big antennas,” McCraty says, “as we walk into a room and immediately can tell that there’s stress there, or whether there’s been an argument.” If you’ve ever met someone and immediately had a bad feeling about them – and then later learned you had good reason to respond as you did – this is your energetic sensitivity at work; and it’s scientifically real.

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McCraty also suggests that whenever we have important information to communicate to other people, especially those we manage or lead, that we get very clear on what our intended message is beforehand. What we want to avoid is a misalignment between what we’re saying and what we’re really feeling inside, because everyone who receives our communication can instantly detect when we’re sending a mixed message. Said another way, our authenticity and trustworthiness come into question every time we say one thing, and our audience feels something very different.

3. Non-Local Intuition Even though it’s likely they were convinced far earlier, HeartMath conducted 2,400 various trials and experiments before publishing its first article confirming the existence of “Non-local intuition.”

“We’ve all had an experience of it,” McCraty told me, before describing a classic example of it. “You’re driving your car in a place you travel all the time, but suddenly have the instinct to slow down – and you don’t know why. But as you keep driving, you see a small child run into the street, or an accident that just happened. In these instances, the gut tends to get the credit, but surprisingly, the future event is first perceived in the heart which sends a neuro-message to the brain and then the body responds – all before the future event occurs.”

How could this be possible? According to McCraty, “this intuition stuff about unknown future events that we cannot explain through implicit learning and energetic sensitivity processes is real and has been verified.

Ultimately, it comes from the higher-self – a larger human capacity.”

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Recently, the US Navy proposed a far-reaching study on intuition after numerous examples came forward on how it had saved military lives.

During the Vietnam War, for example, soldiers on patrol had the experience of being with leaders who had a knack for sensing where the danger was. “It became so well known,” McCraty said, “that troops didn’t want to go out unless one of those guys was showing the way.”

In another example, a Chicago police officer told HeartMath researchers that he routinely kept the window down in his patrol car, even in the coldest winter days. He wanted to hear things and have greater awareness of his environment.

But one time, he suddenly rolled up the window – a change in behavior his partner immediately noticed and called out. But just as they turned the corner, the police car was shot and a bullet ricocheted off the now-closed window, saving his life. “I’ve literally heard hundreds of stories like that,” said McCraty.

“There will always be skeptics to ideas like this,” McCraty says, “but 90 per cent of Americans believe there is some kind of higherguiding form of intelligence. And although we’ve tried to find a connection, non-local intuition cannot be explained by the other two types.”

Long before any research on intuition had been conducted, Einstein insisted that “there are no logical paths to these [natural] laws.” And over a century ago, Emerson urged us to, “trust instinct to the end, even though you can give no reason.”

CONCLUSION Much of implicit knowledge is based on pattern recognition – a knowledge of past experiences. And because our brain circuitry is wired to seek out what’s familiar over what’s unfamiliar, there’s always the risk that we will inappropriately apply familiar patterns to a current problem or challenge, and end up with a bad decision. HeartMath believes our success rate here improves with practice.

But McCraty believes the guidance we receive from non-local intuition is essentially flawless, and is therefore invaluable to rely upon when making life’s most important decisions: “Do I take this job, invest this money, marry this person or buy this house?”

In making these kinds of choices, “we need to be sure they’re aligned with what’s best for us and the wholeness of our lives,” he says, “but we only can perceive that intuition if we are paying attention to it.” And all people can relate to a time when they had very strong feelings yet allowed their head to override it based on money, ambition or security. “But by not listening,” McCraty says, “we often pay the price in time and energy in cleaning up the mess afterwards.”

So convinced that intuition had profoundly influenced his entire life’s success, Steve Jobs repeatedly said that it wasn’t just potent, it was ‘more powerful than intellect.

Biography  Mark C. Crowley is the author of Lead From The Heart: Transformational Leadership For The 21st Century. His work has been published by Reuters, LinkedIn and the Huffington Post; he’s also a frequent contributor to Fast Company Magazine. Connect with Mark through his website: www.markccrowley.com, Facebook: www.Facebook.com/leadfromtheheart or Twitter: @markccrowley.

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FROM APPLICATION TO GRADUATION

From

APPLICATION to GRADUATION EU Business School

Why study at EU Business School?

Learning Outcomes

The EU Group (EU) is made up of a collection of

Our MBA students can expect to develop and explore

triple-accredited international business schools found

the key skills that are required to excel in a top leadership

in Europe’s most business-oriented cities. At our English-

position in the modern business world, across a number

speaking campuses in Barcelona, Munich, Geneva and

of business disciplines.

Montreux, our MBA students hone their business skills

There are two key academic facets that contribute to

in small, dynamic classes alongside motivated, talented

the success of our students: our pragmatic approach,

and international classmates. We are proud to offer our

and an experienced and thought-leading faculty.

MBA students the opportunity to transfer between our

Our pragmatic approach to experiential business

campuses, and absorb the best business practices from

education places an emphasis on the case study method,

each of our campus cities.

which is proven to effectively prepare students for

Our graduate programs are tailor-made to accommodate each of our students’ needs. We offer a variety of degree

leadership positions in the modern business world.

The faculty members at EU are leading innovators who

specialisations, from the traditional to the most up-to-

work both inside and outside of the classroom to guide our

date areas of the international business world. With the

business students’ education. Our faculty is made up of

desire to offer maximum flexibility to our students, we

full-time academics with doctoral degrees as well as part-

give students the option of studying their MBA for one year

time instructors who are also members of the international

full-time, or across two-years following the part-time path.

professional community. They possess experience as

We are focused on equipping our MBA students with

entrepreneurs, consultants and business leaders.

the business acumen that they require to forge careers as

This combination of the academic and business worlds

leaders in a variety of fields of business. Our student body

supports a unique and exceptional quality of learning.

hails from over 100 countries, and upon graduation from our graduate programmes, alumni secure senior management

The Learning Environment

positions in top companies around the globe.

All of our study complexes are equipped with modern, comfortable fittings and the best contemporary

Applying to EU At EU, we want students to be able to access the information that they need about their prospective course and business school conveniently, and in the manner that suits them best. Therefore, there are a number of ways in which students can learn more about our MBA programmes.

Firstly, we invite prospective students to explore our websites and course description booklets at their leisure. Here, students can find the most up-to-date information and practical details that they need, such as the dates of open days, contact details of admissions staff and ways of getting in touch with key members of the EU team.

We frequently host open days across our network and should a student require an individual visit or tour, our admissions staff are happy to help and arrange this with them. In addition, our extensive alumni network has members who are willing to share their experiences.

Students must have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university, and intermediate level English level to apply.

instructional tools. In these settings, our MBA students are able to focus on interacting with their best-in-class faculty and international classmates.

Our faculty are unique in that they embody our educational philosophy; a fine balance of academic knowledge and practical, real-world experience. Faculty members are accomplished academics and also influential and well-experienced business professionals.

In an effort to compound the real-world knowledge that is explored in the classroom, we regularly organise complementary activities that give students a real-world focus. These seminars, presentations and trips to the headquarters of some of Europe’s leading businesses give students the chance to put theory to the test, and bring business knowledge to life.

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FROM APPLICATION TO GRADUATION

Our 25,000 plus alumni network already spans the globe, and its members hold top positions in multinational corporations, growing SMEs and innovative start-ups.

International Exposure

Personal Support

Given the way in which the modern business world is

Studying an MBA can be challenging at times,

interconnected, we endeavor to continuously explore

particularly for those students who have elected

exciting affiliation opportunities with other leading

to study abroad. This is why, in addition to

educational institutions. Through these partnerships,

comprehensive and on-demand career support,

we offer our MBA students the option to attend classes,

our students are supported with any other decisions

participate in exchanges and obtain additional qualifications

or problems they might face. Our staff is available

from higher education institutions around the world.

to help students with any personal or administrative

In their teaching, faculty members habitually present

As well as being available to answer students’

the world. This comprehensively global approach to

queries and questions, our staff regularly assist the

academia gives our MBA students a privileged insight

student board in organising social activities throughout

into international business.

the course of the academic year to encourage students

In addition to international academic opportunities, our students and staff regularly organise international events which combine exploration and academia. For example,

to socialise, and give them a social and relaxed outlet when they need a break from their studies.

Given the nine to one student to faculty ratio that

an annual study tour is organised by the head of the

we maintain across our network, our MBA students

Leisure and Tourism Management Department, Dr. Johnny

can be confident in the knowledge that they are able

Kim. This trip gives students a chance to get a different

to access and discuss their work and progress with

perspective on Asian culture and business while getting to

their faculty members at short notice. With smaller,

network and also bond with their fellow classmates.

more intimate class sizes, faculty members are better

Networking Opportunities One of the key advantages of studying an EU MBA is

able to direct their attention and time towards their MBA students.

the path that it opens up to numerous business sectors

Career Support

around the world. It is of the upmost importance for

We believe that our MBA students should be able

us to provide our students with the links and business

to focus primarily on their studies to ensure their

relationships that they need to prosper and build their

academic success. To help our MBA students do just

own professional network.

that, we have a dedicated Career Services Department

MBA students have many networking opportunities during their time at EU: during industrial visits; with guest speakers; through companies they might study

(CSD) that is available to help students with their extra-curricular professional activities.

Our CSD serves students, alumni and

as part of their dissertation, for example. Our dedicated

organisations by addressing individual

Career Services Department is on hand to assist students

development and employment needs. Individuals

with extra-curricular professional activities, and

receive assistance in formulating, exploring and

facilitating the growth of professional networks is

implementing career options. The CSD assists with

one of their specialties.

choosing career paths, preparing CVs, improving

The EU Alumni Association is a powerful and ever-

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problems they might encounter.

case studies based on real-world events from around

interview skills, evaluating the job market,

increasing tool that has contributed to the growth and

developing a network of contacts, conducting job

success of our alumni’s professional networks. Alumni

searches and negotiating offers of employment. In

are encouraged to maintain contact with their classmates,

addition, EU organises career fairs, which serve as

and to meet and interact with students who studied with

opportunities for students and companies to meet

EU both before and after them.

and exchange ideas, details and employment offers.

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FROM APPLICATION TO GRADUATION

As a group established in 1973, we have long-standing

Our 25,000 plus alumni network already spans the

relationships with local and national companies who

globe, and its members hold top positions in multinational

regularly host visits at their offices, or seminar sessions

corporations, growing SMEs and innovative start-ups. The

delivered by their senior staff. The CSD call upon this vast

international reach of the association brings alumni together

network of small, medium and large businesses to assist

by facilitating communications, promoting information

students in identifying vacant opportunities that they

exchanges and encouraging international business relations.

might apply for.

Return on Investment

In Summary Students who choose to continue their academic

Our priority is ensuring that our MBA students receive a

journey with the EU Group can look forward to studying

stellar education which, ultimately, leads to profit and

in a professional environment designed to equip them with

senior positions in their future careers. To this end, we

the skills they need for success in their future careers.

are ranked fifth in the QS Return on Investment Report for salary uplift in Europe.

EU offers two study methods: the traditional on-campus option and an online, blended

While we are pleased to see our various initiatives

experience which combines a tailored virtual

to maximise the value of an EU MBA degree have been

learning environment with on-campus weeks.

successful, we are also determined not to rest on our

With our Online MBA, students

laurels; we continue to make both investments and

are not restricted by location, and

improvements across the EU Group to ensure that we

can study online using our 24-hour

are providing students with added-value as they graduate

web portal, which also allows

and take up their new status as alums.

them to meet and interact with other

With our MBA students finding employment within

students. The on-campus weeks offer

six months of graduating, prospective students can be

the ideal opportunities for participants

confident in the knowledge that their time spent studying

to attend guest lectures, sit exams, visit

with EU can propel them to success in their future careers.

international corporations, and bond with

An investment in an EU MBA is one that extends into the future, as the alumni network and EU Group grow together.

Alumni Network

fellow colleagues and faculty.

EU’s Online MBA mirrors its on-campus counterpart. Through flexible schedules and multimedia tools, students are able to obtain a fully-accredited degree in one year without

It is no secret that one of the most valuable and precious

affecting their work schedule. It is a study option

tools developed while studying for an MBA is a large

designed for the fast-paced, busy, international

and well-connected professional network. In addition to

business worlds of today and tomorrow.

meeting leaders of business on a regular basis, we believe that it is imperative that students have access to a strong, well-organised and reliable platform through which to interact with their fellow classmates in the future.

The EU Alumni Association is a tool for EU Business School graduates to discover new opportunities, explore career paths and cultivate connections. This international network brings together like-minded professionals who share similar business values and visions that stem from

Biography ØØ EU Business School is a triple-accredited, multicampus, international business school. EU offers various programmes at the bachelor’s (BBA/BA/BS), master’s (MBA/MSc) and doctoral (DBA) levels, all taught in English.

the same root: an exceptional global business education.

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MBA RANKINGS

CEO MAGAZINE AUTUMN 2015 MBA Rankings

CEO Magazine’s annual MBA rankings have been compiled based upon key performance indicators considered to be of interest and value to potential students. Thus, international diversity, class sizes, student work experience, faculty-to-student ratios, and faculty qualifications – both academic and professional – have been given considerable weight.

With competition between business schools continuing to increase, it is important for schools to understand what students really want. Schools ranked highly by CEO Magazine have been successful in this goal.

Global MBA Rankings

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Global MBA Rankings (continued)

Arizona State University: Carey

North America

International University of Monaco

Europe

Ashridge Business School

Europe

Kennesaw State University: Coles

North America

Audencia Nantes

Europe

Lancaster Management School

Europe

Australian Institute of Business

Australia

Lehigh University

North America

Birmingham Business School

Europe

London Business School

Europe

Brunel Business School

Europe

Lorange Institute of Business

Europe

Carnegie Mellon University: Tepper

North America

Loyola Marymount University

North America

Ceibs

Asia

Macquarie Graduate School of Management

Australia

CENTRUM Católica Graduate Business School

South America

MIT: Sloan

North America

Columbia Business School

North America

Nanyang Business School

Asia

Cornell University: Johnson

North America

National University of Singapore

Asia

Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences

Europe

New York University: Stern

North America

Dartmouth College: Tuck

North America

North Carolina State University: Poole

North America

Duke University: Fuqua

North America

Northwestern University: Kellogg

North America

Durham University

Europe

Northwestern University: Kellogg/Hong Kong UST

Asia

École des Ponts Business School

Europe

Ohio State University: Fisher

North America

Elon University: Love

North America

Reykjavik University

Europe

Emory University: Goizueta

North America

Rice University: Jones

North America

ESCP Europe

Europe

Rollins College

North America

European University

Europe

SBS Swiss Business School

Europe

Fordham University

North America

Shanghai JiaoTong University: Antai

Asia

Georgetown University: McDonough

North America

Southern Methodist University: Cox

North America

Georgia Institute of Technology: Scheller

North America

Stanford Graduate School of Business

North America

Griffith University

Australia

The Lisbon MBA

Europe

Harvard

North America

The University of Adelaide

Australia

HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management

Europe

The University of North Carolina at Greensboro: Bryan

North America

HKUST Business School

Asia

Trium: HEC Paris/LSE/New York University: Stern

Europe/North America

IE Business School

Europe

Tsinghua University/INSEAD

Asia/ U.A.E./Europe

IESE Business School

Europe

UCLA: Anderson/National University of Singapore

N America/Singapore

IfM Institut für Management

Europe

University of Business & International Studies (UBIS)

North America

IMD

Europe

University of California, Berkeley: Haas

North America

Indiana University: Kelley

North America

University of California, Los Angeles: Anderson

North America

INSEAD

Europe

University of Cambridge: Judge

Europe

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MBA RANKINGS

Global MBA Rankings (continued)

Global EMBA Rankings

University of Chicago: Booth

North America

Ashridge Business School

Europe

University of Maryland: Smith

North America

Audencia Nantes

Europe

University of Massachusetts, Amherst: Isenberg

North America

Australian Catholic University

Australia

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor: Ross

North America

CENTRUM Cat贸lica Graduate Business School

South America

University of Minnesota: Carlson

North America

Durham University

Europe

University of Nebraska, Lincoln

North America

ENPC Fox Executive MBA

Europe/North America

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill: Kenan Flagler North America

ESADE Business School

Europe

University of Notre Dame: Mendoza

North America

European University

Europe

University of Pennsylvania: Wharton

North America

Florida International University

North America

University of San Diego

North America

Fordham University

North America

University of Southern California: Marshall

North America

HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management

Europe

University of Texas: Austin

North America

IE Business School

Europe

University of Virginia: Darden

North America

IfM Institut f眉r Management

Europe

University of Washington: Foster

North America

INDEG-IUL-ISCTE Executive Education

Europe

University of Wollongong Sydney Business School

Australia

International University of Monaco

Europe

Victoria Graduate School of Business

Australia

IESE Business School

Europe

Vilanova University

North America

Jack Welch Management Institute

North America

Wake Forest University

North America

Jacksonville University

North America

Warwick Business School

Europe

Kennesaw State University: Coles

North America

Washington University in St. Louis: Olin

North America

Kent State University

North America

Winthrop University

North America

Lancaster Management School

Europe

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

North America

Lorange Institute of Business

Europe

Yale School of Management

North America

Millsaps College: Else

North America

MIP Politecnico di Milano

Europe

Porto Business School

Europe

Queens University of Charlotte: McColl

North America

Reykjavik University

Europe

RMIT University

Australia

SBS Swiss Business School

Europe

University of Business & International Studies (UBIS)

North America

University of North Alabama

North America

* Data Sourced from the Financial Times Global MBA Rankings 2014, Business Week MBA Rankings 2014, US News & World Report MBA Rankings 2014 and CEO Magazine MBA Rankings 2015. Top 20 full-time, part-time and EMBA programmes have been considered.

University of Washington: Foster

North America

University of Wollongong Sydney Business School

Australia

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MBA RANKINGS

NORTH AMERICAN MBA RANKINGS

ONLINE MBA RANKINGS

TIER 1

RANK

SCHOOL

REGION

Appalachian State University

1

European University

Europe

California State University, San Bernardino

=2

The Open University Business School

Europe

Colorado Technical University

=2

Durham University

Europe

Florida International University

=2

University of Business & International Studies

Europe

Fordham University

3

IE Business School

Europe

Jacksonville University

=4

International University of Monaco

Europe

Kennesaw State University: Coles

=4

CENTRUM Católica Graduate Business School

South America

Kent State University

5

Australian Institute of Business

Australia

Le Moyne College: Madden

6

SBS Swiss Business School

Europe

Millsaps College: Else

7

Jack Welch Management Institute

North America

Queens University of Charlotte: McColl

8

Deakin University

Australia

Simmons College

9

Griffith University

Australia

University of North Alabama

= 10

Georgia WebMBA

North America

University of the Sciences

= 10

University of the Sciences

North America

University of Washington: Foster

11

Colorado Technical University

North America

University of West Georgia

= 12

MIP Politecnico di Milano

Europe

Winthrop University

= 12

RMIT University

Australia

= 13

Appalachian State University

North America

NORTH AMERICAN MBA RANKINGS

= 13

Queens University of Charlotte: McColl

North America

= 14

La Trobe University

Australia

TIER 2

= 14

Swinburne University of Technology

Australia

Fairfield University

15

University of California, San Bernadino

North America

Northwest Missouri State University: Booth *

16

Florida International University

North America

Syracuse University: Whitman *

17

University of North Alabama

North America

University of Alabama in Huntsville

18

University of Memphis: Fogelman

North America

University of Florida: Hough

19

University of Nebraska, Lincoln

North America

University of Memphis: Fogelman

20

Northwest Missouri State University: Booth

North America

University of Nebraska, Lincoln

21

Syracuse University: Whitman

North America

Wake Forest University*

22

University of Florida: Hough

North America

AUSTRALIAN TOP 10 MBA RANKINGS

EUROPEAN MBA RANKINGS

1

University of Wollongong Sydney Business School

Ashridge Business School

2

Macquarie Graduate School of Management

Audencia Nantes

3

Victoria Graduate School of Business

Birmingham Business School

4

Australian Institute of Business

Brunel Business School

5

The University of Adelaide

Carlos III University of Madrid

6

Griffith University

Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences

=7

RMIT University

Durham University

=7

Australian Catholic University

École des Ponts Business School

8

La Trobe University

ESADE Business School

9

Swinburne University of Technology

European University

10

Deakin University

HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management IE Business School IESE Business School IfM Institut für Management INDEG-IUL-ISCTE Executive Education International University of Monaco ISEG Lancaster Management School Lorange Institute of Business MIP Politecnico di Milano Porto Business School Reykjavik University SBS Swiss Business School The Lisbon MBA University of Business & International Studies (UBIS) *Incomplete data

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02/12/2015 17:49

SBS SWISS BUSINESS SCHOOL

is Back...

But it should never have gone away Ethics, Big Business, and the MBA Bert Wolfs

W

hether you watch the news on TV or you read it online, you would be forgiven for thinking that the world consists only of cheating multinational or transnational corporations.

The global automobile industry is only the newest victim of disregarding fundamental codes of ethics. VW Group has publicly admitted that it installed software to manipulate CO2 emissions in millions of cars! The banking industry has manipulated the LIBOR rates and helped wealthy clients to hide their money from tax authorities!

We could go on and on.

Why are multinational corporations acting in such a way? What is the motivation of such behavior?

In 1999, we, at SBS Swiss Business School, introduced an MBA course called Business Values and Ethics. At that time, many of the stakeholders were opposed to such a course and suggested that teaching ethics was “boring” and should be divided among the different subjects – “You should teach two hours of ethics in the accounting course and two hours in finance, and that will suffice,” they told us. But the reality has proved that there is a pressing need for this course.

20

The main question is this: Can ethics and big business go together? The Milton Friedman approach; that the corporation’s only duty is ROI, is valid but outdated. Ethical and socially responsible conduct of a multinational corporation (MNC) is an important concern in strategic management, and proper conduct leads to a sustainable competitive advantage. The core ethical values and priorities may be of greater concern for the MNC headquarters for a broad global scope.

Ethics are defined as the process of distinguishing the right and good from the wrong and bad, and they imply a moral duty to pursue the right and the good. Business ethics are concerned with the right and good, and bad and wrong behavior in a business context. International business ethics apply to the varying business ethical issues in diverse countries and cultures.

American MNCs have a tendency to impose their rules and regulations across the entire company, including their subsidiaries around the world. Through working with our MBA students in Kazakhstan, I’ve witnessed that when the American oil giant declares their rules and regulations to be followed by all, the subsidiary gets upset. The Kazakh partners are given rules on how to deal with diversity, gender differences, bribery and discrimination at work. Students always respond that these rules are too specific and not applicable in their country, while the company wants to ensure that the same rules apply across the different countries of operations. So after having a great many discussions with the MBA students, they understand that ethics are usually thought to be universal. It is suggested that MNC headquarters should take a greater lead in

Ethical and socially responsible conduct of a multinational corporation is an important concern in strategic management, and proper conduct leads to a sustainable competitive advantage.

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SBS SWISS BUSINESS SCHOOL

coordinating, integrating and communicating the overall core ethical and social responsibility values to their employees worldwide. A process should be set in place, and top management must be actively involved in an on-going review and evaluation of the core values. This should also include local changes and trends as well as industry norms.

Another example can be drawn from E-commerce. The fastest growing market in the retailing sector is the online segment.

Realising this, Coop Genossenschaft, a Swiss supermarket chain with 28 billion CHF in turnover, decided to experiment with differential pricing on their website. As Coop soon found out, all strategies should be online-offline-inline these days. Coop wanted to create a model where the price of an item was determined based upon the device you use and the location where you are. People living in a richer area of a city, they argued, should pay more than people living in a poorer area. People using an Apple device might pay more than Samsung users. Our MBA students found this approach very unfair. Perceptions of fairness matter, and this is also true in marketing.

Coop decided to stop the experiment after a couple of weeks.

The Internet has changed the world.

Openness and transparency make it more difficult to hide so-called “secret” transactions.

If continents negotiate free trade agreements, it should be a win-win situation and not one where only the multinationals benefit, or one where farmers don’t have enough income to pay for the education of their children. We do lack a culture of European Whistleblowers.

The main reason for that is that most whistleblowers ultimately end up worse off, after sharing malpractices, than before. This does not encourage people to speak up and indicate wrongdoings. Here is an urgent need for politicians and lawmakers on the continent to establish a proper legal framework.

In the wake of the influx of refugees in Europe, a challenging topic will be the integration and education of these refugees into our European society. The different cultures and backgrounds pose management issues, such as styles of supervision, creation of policies, decision-making processes, and communication styles. As a whole, they pose interesting challenges on how to effectively manage the workforce and this should be of central focus of the headquarters in a MNC. Finally, I understand that plenty of challenges make our world more volatile and

complex. We have a tendency, usually after a scandal, to overregulate a similar situation so that we avoid a repetition of the incident in the future. I strongly recommend making rules, but there is enough academic research available that proves that rules alone do not work. Ethical behavior begins in the mind of the people. The VW scandal was only able to happen because of ambitious top managers who wanted the group to become the world’s largest auto manufacturer, and who were willing to pay any price for that goal. Engineers and employees were living in a culture of fear, and that is never good thing when you want to reach common objectives. We always remind MBA students that remaining humble is a beauty in business, and is a universal value!

What is acceptable and what is unacceptable is a matter of opinion. Or, as Henry V Shakespeare once said; “There is nothing good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”

Biography  Bert Wolfs is Academic Dean of SBS Swiss Business School, Zurich, Switzerland.

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02/12/2015 17:32

CEO MAGAZINE INNOVATION AWARDS

INNOVATION AWARDS 2015 INNOVATION IN

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Alexandra Skinner

T

here are a lot of very good business schools out there, as evidenced by our MBA rankings, but what sets apart the great schools? When you can boast world class faculty, unparalleled research capabilities, and networking opportunities that open doors to the upper echelons of industry, what's left?

Well, what we do know about the very best schools in the world is that they tend to be highly innovative. So, in considering innovation as a point of difference when looking through the prism of technology, delivery, sustainability and entrepreneurship, the CEO Magazine Innovation Awards celebrate those schools which have successfully created new ideas, processes and, in some cases, products which, when implemented, have led to positive, effective change.

In this issue we look at schools that have stood out for Innovation in Entrepreneurship. And the winners are:

The very best schools in the world tend to be highly innovative.

22

MIT: Sloan School of Management

London Business School

The Martin Trust Center for Entrepreneurship:

The Entrepreneurship Summer School:

The center offers a suite of courses right

The summer school gives students the chance

through from understanding the fundamentals

to explore a business opportunity in a practical

of entrepreneurship, to getting to grips with

format. Students test the feasibility of their

strategy and applying advanced techniques to

ideas through active research in their proposed

your venture. The center also offers a selection

markets and learn what it takes to turn an idea

of industry-specific courses, focusing on

into an attractive investment opportunity and a

ventures in the areas of neurotechnology,

thriving business.

media, energy, imaging and fabrication,

Enterprise 100: Enterprise 100 is London

development and healthcare.

Business School’s (LBS) angel investor

Entrepreneurship and Innovation Track:

network. Enterprise 100 has played an integral

MIT’s MBA program caters to those

role in establishing the school as a center of

seeking an entrepreneurial career path.

entrepreneurial excellence for the past 15

The Entrepreneurship and Innovation Track not

years. Today, the club bridges the gap between

only immerses student in MIT’s ‘entrepreneurial

what’s happening in the classroom, the school’s

ecosystem’, it also provides a jump-start in

successful entrepreneurs and the business

entrepreneurship with a focus on emerging

community at large.

technologies, set against a backdrop of theory,

Entrepreneurship Electives: The LBS MBA offers

team building and real-life practice.

a number of innovation and entrepreneurship

MIT Entrepreneurship Competition: For

electives, including; Discovering Entrepreneurial

those students wanting to pitch their start-

Opportunities, Entrepreneurship in Emerging

up, they need look no further than the $100K

Markets, Financing the Entrepreneurial

MIT Entrepreneurship Competition. Since its

Business, Managing the Growing Business, The

inception, the competition has generated more

New Revolution: Social Entrepreneurship in the

than 85 companies and created more than

21st Century, New Technology Ventures and New

2,500 jobs.

Venture Development.

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CEO MAGAZINE INNOVATION AWARDS

Babson College: Olin Business School

INSEAD

A History of Entrepreneurship: Babson College’s

The ICE was founded in 2003, and for the past

history in entrepreneurship education began

12 years they have inspired, educated, and

in 1919 with the vision of its founder, Roger

empowered INSEAD entrepreneurs as they

Babson, an accomplished entrepreneur. Babson

innovate and create business ventures worldwide.

introduced entrepreneurship as a discrete

The centre is dedicated to accelerating the

academic discipline nearly 50 years ago and it

entrepreneurial ambitions of INSEAD students

remains an integral part of their DNA.

and alumni by providing inspiration, driving team

The Arthur M. Blank Center of Entrepreneurship:

formation, and facilitating venture development.

The center focuses on expanding the practice of

Entrepreneurship Bootcamps: The Start-Up

Entrepreneurship of All Kinds® through innovative

Bootcamp is an intensive, interactive weekend

co-curricular programs and global collaborative

of training designed to test participant’s

research initiatives that inspire and inform

entrepreneurial appetite and jump-start their

Entrepreneurial Thought and Action®. Outside

entrepreneurial adventure. Participants learn

the classroom, students live entrepreneurship

the building blocks of what it takes to create

through the comprehensive John E. and Alice

their own venture from the ground-up, including

L. Butler Venture Accelerator Program, more

idea generation, team formation, business

than a dozen student-run entrepreneurship

validation, pitching to investors and more.

organizations and forums, and the Boston-area

INSEAD Venture Competition (IVC): The IVC

entrepreneurial ecosystem.

is a dynamic, multi-stage competition where

The Babson MBA: Babson provides MBA

INSEAD MBA and EMBA participants compete

students with the proven tools, real-world

for cash prizes to support development of their

perspectives, and the focused knowledge

new ventures. Teams receive mentoring from

required to become successful entrepreneurs.

successful alumni entrepreneurs along the way

With guest speakers who lead some of the

and pitch their ventures to seasoned investors.

world’s most successful ventures, Babson is a dynamic hub for entrepreneurs.

Columbia Business School

INSEAD Centre for Entrepreneurship (ICE):

Northwestern University: Kellogg School of Management Kellogg Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Columbia Startup Lab: The Columbia Startup

Initiative (KIEI): Rather than launching start-

Lab is co-working facility that provides subsidized

ups based upon business plans alone, the KIEI

space for 71 Columbia alumni entrepreneurs to

curriculum was redesigned in order to build

house and nurture their fledgling ventures. With

agile, high-value ventures using the lean start-

over 40 start-ups from all over the Columbia

up methodology. The Kellogg entrepreneurship

campus, the lab is the result of a unique

track, ‘Discover. Test. Launch.’, steers students

partnership between the deans of Columbia

through the lean methodology via experiential

College and the Schools of Business, Engineering,

learning coursework and real-life experiences.

Law, and International and Public Affairs.

Levy Entrepreneurial Institute: The Levy

#StartupColumbia Entreprenuership Festival:

Institute for Entrepreneurial Practice provides

Started by Vince Ponzo, the new director of

the foundation for entrepreneurship curriculum

the Eugene Lang Entrepreneurship Center,

and engagement activities for Kellogg students.

the annual #StartupColumbia Festival is

As part of the greater KIEI, the Levy Institute

Columbia University’s two-day conference

works in tandem with like-minded centers,

that brings together the Columbia, Barnard

alumni networks and organizations across

and Manhattan entrepreneurial community in

the Kellogg network to foster entrepreneurial

celebration of innovation, entrepreneurship, and

success for both Kellogg students and alumni.

the creation of new ventures that make lives richer

MBA Impact Investing Network and Training

and address the world’s most vexing problems.

(MIINT): Aimed at future impact investors and

Innovation and Entrepreneurship @ Columbia:

aspiring social entrepreneurs, the MIINT program

IE@Columbia is a cross-university program that

is a venture lab designed to give students a

nurtures and leverages ideas and technologies

practical, hands-on experience in being an

within Columbia University that have the

early stage impact investor. Students create an

potential to generate returns in the form of

investment thesis, source and conduct diligence

new products or services, processes, licensing

on early stage impact investing opportunities,

revenues, and strategic alliances. Faculty

prepare an investment memo, and present on a

members, staff members, and students from

selected early stage company, culminating in an

across the University are invited to compete for

investment committee selecting one company

admission to IE@Columbia.

for a $50,000 investment.

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CEO MAGAZINE INNOVATION AWARDS

Harvard Business School The Arthur Rock Center for Entrepreneurship:

The University of Pennsylvania: Wharton School

The Rock Center was created to empower

Venture Initiation Program (VIP): VIP is an

student and alumni entrepreneurs to create

educational incubator program assists students

ventures that revolutionize markets. It is the

as they build businesses. VIP students become

hub of the school’s entrepreneurial education

part of an entrepreneurial community that

activities. The Center provides unrivaled

provides office space, educational programming,

support as students and alumni transform

professional advising, seed funding awards,

their ideas into successful start-ups.

and a support system of fellow VIP members.

The Entrepreneurs-in-Residence Program:

Entrepreneur in Residence Program: Since its

The Rock Center hosts the EiR Program, where

inception in 2001, Wharton Entrepreneurship’s

accomplished entrepreneurs and seasoned

‘Entrepreneur in Residence’ program has provided

investors spend a year offering counsel on a

over 1,700 Penn students with the opportunity

wide range of entrepreneurial and start-up

to meet one-on-one with over 170 successful

topics. Entrepreneurs-in-Residence serve

entrepreneurs. Open to all students at the

for the entire academic year in a part-time

university, the program facilitates the expansion

capacity, meeting with students in group and

of networks and allows students to gain critical

one-on-one sessions and collaborating with

and immediate feedback on their ventures or

various faculty members on cases, courses,

entrepreneurial career goals and aspirations.

research, and other activities.

The Wharton Business Plan Competition:

The Student New Venture Competition:

A comprehensive platform that helps student

This year-long entrepreneurial journey

entrepreneurs and their teams develop and

culminates with a capstone event for those

launch their businesses, and provides a network

who have worked to develop new ventures while

for brainstorming, feedback, and future business

at HBS – a competition where all participants

opportunities. Teams develop their ideas with

present live to top investors and entrepreneurs

guidance from top business leaders who serve

and receive invaluable feedback at each round

as mentors and judges. After three rounds of

of the competition.

competition, the top three finalists receive

Stanford Graduate School of Business The Center for Entrepreneurial Studies

24

national press attention and share more than $125,000 in cash and in-kind prizes to help them jumpstart their businesses.

(CES): The CES focusses on demystifying

IE Business School

entrepreneurship, and cultivates an

Founded by Entrepreneurs: Entrepreneurial

understanding of the issues facing

spirit forms an integral part of IE’s day-to-day

entrepreneurs and growing companies.

fabric – from the teaching methods used in

The CES works to encourage collaboration

the classrooms and the manner in which new

among MBAs, engineers, lawyers, and medical

programs are developed, to how the school

school students through joint classes, events,

communicates with investors, government

and collaborative programs.

agencies and start-ups. Each year more than

The Stanford Venture Studio: A learning

250 start-ups become part of the ecosystem.

facility for Stanford graduate students

‘Incubator in Area 31: IE Business School’s

across all disciplines who want to learn

Incubator in Area 31 is designed specifically

about designing and creating sustainable,

for start-ups, and offers free office space,

high-impact ventures by testing what they are

mentoring, training, technical support and

learning in the classroom. The studio provides

extensive networking opportunities. Partners

a supportive, resourced environment, where

include Microsoft, Amazon Web Services,

students benefit from being immersed in the

PayPal, and Talentum Startups, amongst

Stanford entrepreneurial community.

others. Area 31 can accommodate up to

Stanford Institute for Innovation in

100 start-up teams per annum.

Developing Economies (SEED): Forming part

IE Venture Network: The network holds a

of the Stanford Entrepreneurship Network,

weekly event open to the entrepreneurial

SEED bridges a critical gap in global efforts

community where three innovative start-ups

to address prosperity around the world by

pitch to a panel of investors. This weekly

focusing on the private sector as the engine

pitch slam is an invaluable resource for early

for sustainable growth. Their goal is to

stage entrepreneurs, a forum for engaging the

transform the lives of people in poverty

entrepreneurial community, promoting a start-

through innovation, entrepreneurship,

up, and even securing an investment from IE’s

and the scaling of businesses.

Investors in Residence – Vitamina K and Wayra.

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CEO MAGAZINE INNOVATION AWARDS

IESE Business School

world settings. Through courses, experiential

The Entrepreneurs Club: The club’s main

learning, labs, and competitions, students

objective is to promote entrepreneurship as

get the practical tools and experiences

a valid career path after the MBA. The club

needed to start, finance, and manage their

organises events where students can network

own business, or to embark on a career in

with successful entrepreneurs and learn

private equity.

from their experiences. Members can also

The Chicago Innovation Exchange (CIE):

attend panels, lectures and breakfasts with

CIE is a hub supporting start-up

entrepreneurs. The club also collaborates

collaborations between faculty, students,

in the organization of IESE’s Global

and Chicago-area entrepreneurs. The facility

Entrepreneurship Week.

houses flexible co-working space for up to 150

Summer Entrepreneurship Experience:

students, faculty, and community members

IESE’s six week Summer Entrepreneurship

with passions for entrepreneurship and

Experience allows MBA students to immerse

innovation, meeting spaces supporting formal

themselves in all things entrepreneurial,

and informal collaboration for groups and an

whether they’re already working on an idea

adjustable immersive-technology classroom.

or wish to pursue entrepreneurial projects, post-MBA. During the six weeks, students will

ISEG Lisbon

pursue their own projects, and also have the

Silicon Valley Immersion Program: The

opportunity to work with carefully selected

ISEG MBA program includes a one-week

external teams and opportunities in sectors with high growth potential.

immersion in Silicon Valley. The experience is designed to help entrepreneurs, business

Business Angels

owners and corporate

Network: The

venturing executives

Business Angels

to recognise

Network at IESE

opportunities

brings together

and to develop

more than 140

ideas into

investors and

successful new

projects so

ventures inside

that expertise

or outside their

and coaching

corporations.

opportunities

It provides

may be shared and

participants with a

networking fostered across a community of investors and entrepreneurs.

deep understanding of and access to the unique and vital ecosystem of Silicon Valley.

Since 2010, it has invested upwards of

Participants benefit from visits to high-tech

€25 million in over 100 companies,

start-ups, coordinated to “connect the invisible

creating over 2,300 jobs.

dots” between lectures and the real-world.

The University of Chicago: Booth School of Business

The lectures, panel discussions, individual and group exercises, case studies, short simulations, network sessions and student

The Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship

projects and presentations offer a dynamic

and Innovation: The Polsky Center

curriculum focused on entrepreneurship,

advances the knowledge and practice of

innovation and global scalability.

entrepreneurship and innovation through a

Entrepreneur Executive Program: Offered

broad range of activities including academics,

in conjunction with the University of Iowa,

research, conferences, competitions,

this innovative program is designed for

and global and community outreach.

participants with an entrepreneurial spirit

Entrepreneurship is now the largest

who aim to thoroughly explore business

concentration at the school.

opportunities in a practical way. During the

The Full-time MBA: Booth’s full-time MBA

program, diverse teams of students will develop

provides an entrepreneurship curriculum

a plan for commercialising a new product or

that integrates all business areas including

service for an existing organization or a new

marketing, finance, operations, and strategy,

venture. The plans are presented to a panel of

and takes students beyond the classroom,

academics and prominent managers, venture

allowing them to test themselves in real-

and angel investors.

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ENTREPRENEURSHIP AT ISEG

SHARKS, CATS AND COFFEE Alexandra Skinner learns how the ISEG MBA empowered one of its graduates to launch her business start-up.

C

atarina Mendes, a graduate in information systems, has had a fascination with cats ever since childhood, yet it was only when she enrolled for the ISEG MBA in 2012 that her passion for cats began to provide the inspiration for a potential business.

The skills that students learn during the MBA, such as entrepreneurship and business project management, in addition to ‘traditional’ finance-focused subjects, allowed Catarina begin a new adventure launching a project that she had been dreaming about for years.

The immersion programme at the end of the ISEG MBA takes place in the cluster of the most active companies in the world – Silicon Valley in the US, and is available to all students.

The programme provided Catarina with the opportunity to present her business project, ‘Coffee with Cats’, to a panel of evaluators and investors from San Francisco, who supported and incentivised the launch of her business.

With motivation running high, on returning to Portugal Catarina went to work and after designing a project for the company in its entirety, she began to seek funding, and it was at this stage that she decided to apply to compete in the ‘Shark Tank’ television show, where start-ups canvass investors.

Catarina presented her project, and, after the success of her television performance, the business was financed by the ‘Sharks’. Coffee with Cats is launching soon in one of the trendiest areas in the city of Lisbon, and has plans to expand to other parts of the country. This is a true success story of an entrepreneur who was inspired by their ISEG MBA experience.

Catarina Mendes: Founder, Aqui há Gato!

I undertook the MBA at ISEG at an ideal time in my life. I was at a stage where I needed to develop and invest in management and leadership skills at an executive level, focusing on stress management, negotiation, motivation and teamwork. I embraced the challenge for 18 months at ISEG – a prestigious institution, known for its excellent teaching methods.

The MBA offered a good balance in the teaching of soft and hard skills, and provided a well-structured curriculum. I was able to meet and network with students from a range of professional backgrounds which made the experience even more positive and enriching.

The MBA gave me the opportunity to learn a new set of innovative and creative skills that were very different from my field of work. The entrepreneurship course had the greatest impact on me. It allowed me to put my efforts into developing a business plan and launching my start-up. I was able to use the knowledge that I received in my work in public administration, especially concerning leadership and human resources.

I presented my business plan on two separate occasions – in Silicon Valley, through an immersion programme organised by ISEG and the University of San Francisco, and at ISEG, as part of my final project. The positive feedback I received on these two occasions gave me the confidence to apply to present my business idea on ‘Shark Tank’, here in Portugal.

I can honestly say that if it wasn´t for the ISEG MBA, and particularly the opportunity to visit Silicon Valley, this project would never come to fruition. As a result, 2016 will be the opening of Aqui há Gato!

Catarina is an ISEG MBA graduate.

Biography  Based in Lisbon, the ISEG MBA is an AMBA accredited programme designed to empower students to not only develop leadership and analytical skills, but also a strong entrepreneurial spirit and the confidence to make ideas come to life.

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NEW JERSEY INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Cutting-edge Leadership in a STEM

Environment Alexandra Skinner speaks to NJIT’s School of Management Dean, Reggie J. Caudill

T

he world of business is changing rapidly, being driven by the many new digital and information technologies that are all around us. Companies are looking for people who understand business fundamentals and have the technology skills to succeed. This is the future of global business! That's why getting an MBA from an outstanding engineering and science university like New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) is so important.

28

Within its STEM-based (science, technology, engineering and maths) academic environment, the School of Management (SOM) at NJIT delivers distinctive, high-valued BS, MSM and MBA academic programmes that are business focused, technology integrated and experientially driven.

The MBA is offered on campus, fully online and as an accelerated executive programme in blended format with a variety of concentration areas ranging from finance and marketing to MIS and healthcare management, and technology

administration. Our online MBA programme is built for maximum student flexibility for any time, any place engagement and interactive environments with faculty-student interaction, analytic and simulation technologies.

The School of Management is committed to providing students with internships and co-op experiences with major corporate partners in the greater New York City metropolitan area, including Bloomberg, Goldman Sachs, Federal Reserve Bank in New York City, and Providence Health Services.

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NEW JERSEY INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Modern Leadership Principles Our EMBA programme is designed to provide the skills necessary for business executives to advance their careers through an innovative curriculum that links theory and practice; participating faculty with real-world experience; the development of entrepreneurial thinking with experiential learning; and the application of STEM concepts applied to business. Our outstanding faculty members have PhDs from some of the best schools in America and are actively engaged in teaching, research, economic development and service.

We aim to equip our MBA students to meet the demands of today’s employment market, and focus on real-world relevance and differentiated value within a STEM-MBA environment: 1. Real-world problem-solving within a multidisciplinary team environment 2. Extracting business insights and value from overwhelming streams of data 3. Integrating business domain knowledge with entrepreneurial thinking The ability to disseminate big data and to use those insights to improve the customer’s experience is a key competence that is required of today’s leaders. From marketing and sales to production, financial strategies and distribution, all aspects of business operations and decision-making are being driven by real-time data and the need to respond almost instantaneously. Social media and the fusion of digital devices have created streams of business data characterised by five V’s: volume, velocity, variety, variability, and veracity. The challenge to business leaders is to understand what the data is telling you through data analytics, extracting insights through business intelligence systems, and then taking action to deliver value to your customers and share knowledge across your

STUDENT PERSPECTIVE The NJIT Online MBA Working full-time, I have found the NJIT Online MBA workload both challenging and rewarding. I have found that learning to balance these two areas has pushed me to be very focused and efficient, and has allowed me some respite from the stress of my profession. I find it very rewarding to get feedback for a well-done assignment or exam.

For me, the best thing about the NJIT program is the value and timeliness of the education in relation to my career and livelihood.

In my previous role, as head of operations at a high tech manufacturing firm, I was able to bring several MBA take-aways to my everyday job: capital investment decisions, the benefits of leverage, cost of goods sold management, and accounting principles to name a few. This knowledge increased my value to the corporation, and enhanced my credibility with fellow business leaders.

Having recently resigned from my corporate position to pursue other opportunities, I am evaluating different technical career options. With the training and skills gained in two courses – entrepreneurship and management consulting – I was able to create my own consulting business and provide better services to my clients with knowledge gained at NJIT. In addition, Professor Cesar Bandera coached me in the creation of a business plan and introduced me to potential clients at the NJIT Enterprise Development Center. My NJIT experience has been more than video clips, readings and exams – it has also been personal interaction with professors and classmates. The fact that I have gone back to school to learn new skills has impressed potential employers and has made me more relevant in today’s workplace.

Douglas Dopp, Managing Partner, CASE Solutions, LLC. Douglas is an NJIT Online MBA student, specialising in finance.

Companies are looking for people who understand business fundamentals and have the technology skills to succeed.

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ALUMNI PERSPECTIVE Life after the MBA When searching for a university to pursue my MBA, I was looking for an institution with diverse course offerings, networking opportunities, career services support, and a high potential return on investment. After considering these factors, it became evident that the NJIT was the best choice for me. After completing the TIAA-CREF IT Technical Associate (TA) program last year, I am now able to look back and fully appreciate how instrumental NJIT was in helping me to develop the skill-sets necessary to thrive in IT within the Financial Services Industry.

Over the past few years, TIAA-CREF has come to the NJIT campus to actively recruit for summer interns as well for its entry-level technical associate development program, which I completed last year. NJIT has been recognized by my employer, a Fortune 100 financial services organization, as one of its preferred schools of choice in terms of recruiting. By leveraging the resources provided by the NJIT career services center, I was able to connect with TIAA-CREF, be accepted into the TA program, and ultimately graduate from the program.

The lessons I learned at NJIT left a profound impact on my professional development, as well as laying the foundation for my career advancement.

As a student of Management Information Systems and Finance, both the technical and business skills acquired at NJIT enabled me to effectively liaise with both the IT and Finance organizations. The ability to take what I learned in the classroom and apply it to the workplace was pivotal in helping me attain a promotion less than one year after completing the TA program. I am proud to be able to bring enhanced financial transparency to internal IT consumers within TIAA-CREF. As the cost of higher education continues to rise, NJIT provides a great return on investment for motivated individuals who are looking to either advance their current careers, or to pivot their careers in a different direction. To any potential students considering where to pursue their MBA – NJIT provides the right environment to enable success at any level, all at a reasonable cost and with a fantastic return on investment.

Frederick Sia, Senior Financial Analyst, TIAA-CREF. Frederick is a 2013 graduate of the NJIT NBA program.

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organisation. The NJIT MBA core curriculum provides the background and understanding of today’s digital environment and exposure to the most advanced and widely used business software tools.

Innovation and Entrepreneurship The School of Management leverages resources in NJIT’s Enterprise Development Center and its 100 small technology start-up companies, and brings practicing entrepreneurs to work with students in graduate innovation and entrepreneurship courses and partnering marketing courses.

Course deliverables include primary market research for new products or markets pursued by the companies, financial projections, and grant proposals to government programmes, foundations, and investors for research funding.

Entrepreneurship and innovation extend beyond the walls of the classroom making experiential learning an essential part of the development of such endeavors.

SOM student clubs sponsor student business competitions, including TechQuest and the Newark Innovation Acceleration Challenge with over $50K in awards annually. Other hands-on, team experiences include the Business Plan Competition, United Athletics Foundation/ Microsoft Hackathon, Shark Tank-Inspired Competition, Startup Weekend, Pitch Deck

NJIT has been recognized by my employer, a Fortune 100 financial services organization, as one of its preferred schools of choice.

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Competition, and American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS) regional student case competitions. In addition, students have access to 3D printers and other equipment to prototype new product ideas and innovations.

Into the future...

The School of Management provides a strong foundation in business and management principles with a focus on the analytic and technology skills necessary to succeed in today’s data-driven world of global business. This goes well beyond traditional business programmes into a new world of business intelligence and data analytics, management information systems and technology innovation and commercialisation. Studying business and management at a technological university is a powerful combination that creates a competitive advantage for our graduates not only for today, but also for the future.

STUDENT PERSPECTIVE The NJIT EMBA I’ve worked in technology my entire career and I wanted to expand my knowledge in the areas of change management, technology forecasting and global impact. Many business schools can open doors that most people would never imagine. However, after several conversations with different business schools about their curriculum, I realized that a specialized ‘niche’ school like NJIT would give me the strongest shot at my goals.

Once I selected NJIT as my school of choice, the application and registration processes were seamless. The team in charge of graduate management programs worked together to ensure that my enrollment went without a hitch. The billing and finance team worked with me directly to understand my financial needs and how the courses would be funded.

I’m currently finishing up my first two courses in the Executive MBA program and it’s been exhilarating. We’ve immersed ourselves in real-world scenarios that I’ve been able to directly relate to my current position as a Team Leader at Bloomberg, LP. The professors are industry leaders who bring hands-on experience to the classroom. This allows for a broad range of discussion and scenarios that are not found in a text book. In my Organization Management class we are reading the biographies of current industry executives Marissa Meyer and Elon Musk. In my opinion, these discussions are highly thought-provoking – we actually get to see these leaders in action, analyze their leadership styles and predict how their tenure might play out.

NJIT has demonstrated a successful EMBA program in a technology driven environment. Their philosophy of management will continue to generate innovative and strategic leaders and help me exceed my professional goals.

Tesha Gary, Team Leader, Telecommunications Vendor Manager, Bloomberg, LP. Tesha is an NJIT EMBA student.

Biography  Reggie J. Caudill is Dean of the School of Management at New Jersey Institute of Technology.

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DATA ANALYTICS: KNOWLEDGE@WHARTON

DATA ANALYTICS isSHAPING What You Watch How

W

hen Netflix decided to go into the entertainment-producing business by commissioning the streaming series 'House of Cards', there was a lot of data to be crunched before the first download ever took place, said Dave Hastings, Netflix's director of product analytics, data science and engineering.

“You do not make a $100 million investment these days without an awful lot of analytics,” Hastings said at the recent Wharton Customer Analytics Initiative Conference in Philadelphia.

While some may claim that Netflix overanalyzed “House of Cards,” Hastings is adamant that it was the way to go. “We have had a whole catalogue of things we did not make. We wanted early on to be careful, and it has worked out.”

Just four years after the March 2011 release of that first season of “House of Cards,” Hastings said Netflix has as many as 60 series seasons in the works or soon to arrive, from season two of comic book adaptation “Marvel’s Daredevil” to another “House of Cards” season to a new comedy talk show with Chelsea Handler.

All of them will undergo thorough analytics before release.

“We live and breathe the customer,” said Hastings. “We want to be the world’s leader in Internet TV. When you have aspirations of being the largest, that means shaping demand. What is Internet TV and how does it differ from linear TV – the questions around that are what we use analytics for.”

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In terms of corporate manoeuvring, the speed at which Netflix has altered course in its business practices could give anyone along for the ride whiplash. Started in 1997 after CEO and co-founder Reed Hastings got irked about a $40 video store late-fee for the movie Apollo 13, it rapidly became the No.1 DVD-by-mail rental service, shipping out its billionth DVD by 2007.

However, recognizing that streaming video would eventually displace physical movie rentals, its management team slowly de-emphasized the DVD mailing business and expanded into streaming. By 2010, that business had become its calling card. The move into producing entertainment, said Hastings, was the natural next step, and it was heavily planned, taking into account a lot of big data. “‘House of Cards’ is an outstanding show, but it was a huge bet from the company to get into that business,” Hastings noted. “We were a technology company, and it took some highly creative education to move into entertainment production. There was a lot of analysis.

“But it was not what urban legend had it,” he added. “People said the whole show concept was made analytically – that we needed Kevin Spacey as the lead in a political drama, and so forth. I mean, in theory you could do those things with analytics, but there is a large gap between that and what we did. On the other hand, we hope now to be the biggest original studio in a few years.”

Netflix had to establish a strong analytics infrastructure early on, Hastings noted.

The company, for instance, had to determine how many DVDs of which movies it would need on hand to meet demand. And that focus only became more important as the company moved to streaming.

“The foundation of the streaming business was analytics,” he said. “Our catalogue was extremely limited when we started streaming. We had to be right in what we were trying to deliver.”

Getting to Know Your Customer Hastings said that currently the company is using analytics to see how to expand services in a variety of ways. For instance, it uses data on different regions to see what to promote in the American South or in urban areas or in Australia – Netflix’s newest streaming market.

The company also needs to know what sorts of customers are using the service on televisions versus those who are using hand-held devices.

“You integrate all this together, and you really get to know who your customer is,” he said.

Bill Franks, chief analytics officer for Teradata, which works with Netflix on big data, was on the dais with Hastings, and noted that it’s not enough for a company to have powerful analytics tools; applying them correctly to an end product is the key.

“Analytics cannot replace execution,” said Franks. “If you can’t deliver a good experience, analytics are irrelevant. Netflix made sure those videos were delivered and they were not stopping every 10 minutes.

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DATA ANALYTICS: KNOWLEDGE@WHARTON

Republished with permission from Knowledge@Wharton (knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu), the online research and business analysis journal of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Analytics cannot replace execution.

If you can’t deliver a good experience, analytics are irrelevant.

BILL FRANKS

“Sometimes you go overboard on theories, but Netflix was pragmatic and looking for the best solution with the data they got,” he said.

Hastings said Netflix can use as much data as it can get on customers, distribution and the like, and it’s always looking to improve its algorithms.

He noted that Netflix’s streaming services are so vast that the company is the largest user of downstream North American web traffic, accounting for as much as a third of traffic.

“It is a huge amount of data to wade through,” he said. “You have an issue then of scale with the analytics you do.”

Though Netflix has $5.5 billion in sales, it has only 1,600 employees. Hastings said the company hired 187 people last quarter, which seemed a lot to those there, but was, he realized, a small number for a company with its reach.

Because of that, Teradata’s Franks said, Netflix has to be careful in what its staff does with analytics to ensure that it does not overreach.

“We are getting to the point, with all the data we can have, that there will be trade-offs,” said Franks. “The focus has to be on achieving a gain, not just analytics for its own sake.”

That said, according to Hastings, there is little in the new entertainment realm that will go online without a lot of advance study.

“I can say that no changes in Netflix’s products are not tested and validated, and we do not just test to test,” he said. “If we do not believe it will improve, it will not be tested. We have 300 major tests of products and dozens of variations within.

When you go into Netflix, hopefully we are improving your experience. How do we increase streaming? How do we increase customer retention? We mine lots of data for those sorts of things.”

‘Morphing and Twisting’ Sometimes, though, Hastings admits, the results of analytics get overruled at Netflix.

For instance, he said, data would indicate that the company should make it hard to cancel its service – that making it difficult to quit would increase retention rates. But, he said, the founders of the company early on knew they wanted to make it easy for a customer to cancel: It would, they hoped, give the company a good reputation, and they realized that ultimately, making their customers frustrated would not be a good thing.

“The data said we should not have done that,” he noted, but he admits it worked, enhancing Netflix’s reputation in the long run.

Teradata’s Franks said that if it wanted to, Netflix could almost be a stand-alone analytics firm.

“It is getting blurry out there as to what companies are in,” said Franks. “AT&T is not just a phone provider. It is providing TV, and then has its own data. Nike is now manufacturing high-tech electronics and housing data in its data center, not just doing knitted sportswear.

Companies can commercialize the use of their data outside of their core business. It is a fascinating time, and a lot of companies will be morphing and twisting.”

Hastings said, however, that despite all the change the company has gone through in its 18 years, Netflix is not looking to be constantly shifting businesses.

“We are really careful about doing things outside our core,” he said. “If you are distracted, you waver from being the best. There are [ways to use our data that] could theoretically make money, but it would be a distraction from using those analytics to be the best we can be in our core businesses.”

According to Franks and Hastings, there are sometimes things analytics cannot measure effectively, at least at not given the current state of the art.

“Mood is an interesting thing to try to go after. When you sit down in front of your iPad, we do not know what your mood is. There is only so much information we have,” said Hastings.

“Maybe we can tell certain things by the time of the day, but I don’t know what I am going to do tomorrow and I don’t know what I will want to watch tonight, so getting that mood right is not part of analytics right now.”

Franks agreed, but said that outliers in analytic data have to be expected.

“Even if I go to such-and-such restaurant every day and order such-and-such sandwich all the time, today I might decide to go with the other submarine sandwich,” said Franks. “Even perfect data will not always lead you to a perfect conclusion. But, like Netflix, if you go with the aggregate, you will be successful.”

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AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF BUSINESS

n o i t p i r c s e r AP for MBAS in

HEALTH As the health industry’s demand for MBA graduates continues to rise, the Australian Institute of Business investigates the degree’s increasing popularity with health practitioners and managers worldwide.

Three key themes emerged from the research, including the growing demand for MBA degrees in health, the advantages the degree is providing the industry, and how those working in healthcare are today overcoming the time commitments required to study an MBA while working full-time.

1. Healthcare’s demand for MBAs is on the rise Thanks to an aging population, the healthcare industry is booming, and with it has come a rising need for competent managers to make the tough decisions at the top tiers of businesses. Faced with the challenge of controlling business costs while continuing to provide high-quality care, many healthcare providers are today looking at business degrees to give them the necessary skills to support them in leadership positions.

Recruiters are also responding to this trend, with big brands such as Johnson & Johnson reporting a 20 per cent increase in recruitment of MBAs and undergraduates in 2014 (Murray, 2015).

As most health practitioners are hired for their years of technical experience, those working in the industry are recognising that completing an MBA can give them an edge over competitors and help prepare them for management positions. Not only can the MBA help formalise management lessons learnt through experience, but by its very nature the degree provides graduates with an overarching view of business and a useful framework for senior staff to make strategic decisions.

2008 MBA graduate Simon Boag completed the AIB MBA to gain technical skills on top of his previous experience. Now the CEO of SA Heart, 34

one of the largest cardiology and heart diagnostic imaging providers in Australia, he continues to use the skills from his MBA on a daily basis.

“I come from a technical background, and I found that although I had quite a lot of experience in management, I didn’t have the framework and the structure behind the decisions I was making – and that is what I was seeking. Studying the MBA through AIB helped me achieve that,” he said.

Others in the healthcare industry have found that the greatest benefit of the MBA has been in helping them to manage challenges not just their current business but also within their current industry – such was the case with Dr Jacky Tiang, a Pharmacy Manager who completed his AIB MBA early this year.

“I used my MBA project to pick the right strategy for our pharmacy to remain competitive in today’s climate, and the result gave a clear-cut view of the strategy we should adopt,” Jacky said.

“The major challenge that the community pharmacy industry is facing is that it’s mature and moving towards the declining stage, but my MBA provided me with a solid base to face that challenge. It confirmed our suspicions and proved that what we were doing was correct.”

MBAs can also help those without a business background to be better prepared for managerial positions later on in their career, gaining skills that translate directly into the boardroom, allowing them to make business decisions and communicate effectively with other managers.

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2. MBAs open doors to areas not always accessible to health practitioners Another reason for the MBA degree’s rising popularity with health providers is that it provides graduates with a host of skills and opportunities not otherwise open to them, teaching them how to think outside the box, and giving them the opportunity to learn from and interact with facilitators and students from both the public and private sector.

It’s no wonder that the healthcare sector’s demand for MBA graduates increased by 9 per cent in 2014 according to the QS 2014/15 TopMBA.com Jobs & Salary Trends report.

While the report found that a host of ‘global players’ are dominating the field as active MBA recruiters, it also found many smaller pharmaceutical and healthcare companies are today aggressively pursuing MBA hiring to help them meet their growth potential.

According to the report, the appeal of hiring MBA graduates lies in the competencies the degree gives to graduates, with healthcare employers saying MBA graduates’ “communication, multitasking and teamwork abilities” make them valuable.

For Karen Cole, a 2015 AIB MBA graduate and Education Manager at Epworth Rehabilitation, the MBA has given her skills her previous education didn’t provide.

“I have a masters in professional studies (nursing education) and I wanted a postgraduate qualification that was broader than just healthcare. Before my MBA I had a narrow, education-focused view, but now having completed the MBA, and particularly the leadership, marketing and finance subjects, I can solve daily problems from a more holistic view,” she said.

“Completing my MBA gave me another language to use – when I sit in meetings now I understand exactly what our executive director is saying and, with the confidence that the MBA has given me, I’m now more willing to speak up because I have a better understanding of the business and more credibility amongst senior staff.”

3. Time is the biggest challenge for health sector MBA students Finding the time to complete an MBA without sacrificing the commitment required by full-time work is a challenge faced by many students. This is made even more difficult by those working in shifts or under an intensive workload, which is typical of the health sector. However, despite the time challenge required to fit the MBA into a busy workload and family life, many healthcare workers are managing to complete their degree by choosing a flexible provider.

Opting for a study load including only weekend workshops or studying solely by distance learning are amongst the most popular options chosen by healthcare practitioners and managers. AIB’s distance learning MBA programme was the preferred choice for recent graduate Linda Winn, who chose the mode of study as it meant she could complete the programme within her own hours.

As Deputy Director of the New South Wales Health Emergency Management Unit, she leads a team responsible for the prevention, preparedness, response and recovery of all major disasters across the state.

Starting her working day at 5am and finishing at 7pm each weeknight, distance learning was the most appropriate option for her to fit the degree around her busy work life and home schedule, the latter of which includes two children and a husband, and pets including two horses, a dog, three cats and bees.

“Because the AIB MBA distance learning programme is so flexible, I did it when I had the time. While I believe work and professional

Completing an MBA can give them an edge over competitors and help prepare them for management positions.

development should always come secondary to family, family time needs to be about quality not quantity,” she said.

“When you’re a busy professional working full-time, a mother and wife, having the flexibility to study when I wanted without the commitment of set lectures made completing the MBA so much easier for me.”

Now having completed the MBA, Linda’s work-applied qualification has given her the ability to apply each subject to her current role and organisation, which is saving them both time and money.

“I focused my MBA project on succession planning, and we have applied the findings to our interview process, which has greatly improved the process and resulted in at least one high performer working in the position we had been interviewing for so far,” she said.

“When I first started the MBA my biggest concern was that in doing a generic MBA with a health focus no-one would have a clue what I was talking about, but my supervisors and markers were always open to the ideas I was putting forward.”

The MBA has several advantages for health professionals, and may even prove most beneficial to those who can use the degree to complement their years of experience in industry. Despite the time commitments required to complete the study, the increased skills, confidence and credibility gained as a result of the degree make it a worthwhile pursuit for many practitioners and managers. Completing the degree may also mark the beginning of an increasing return on investment from the MBA throughout a graduate’s lifetime.

Biography  Australian Institute of Business is a 25 year old business school based in Australia, offering degrees, undertaking research, and providing consultancy services globally. AIB was the first, and remains the only, private institution in Australia to be government approved to confer the full suite of business degrees, including the prestigious PhD.

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PROCRASTINATION AND IMPATIENCE

Are you impatient?

Then you’re also more likely to procrastinate

Alina Dizik

O

ddly enough, being an impatient person means you're also apt to put things off rather than get them done sooner. That's because being a procrastinator and being impatient are both personality traits that are based on a need for immediate outcomes and rewards. People who put things off to enjoy more speedy rewards are also more likely to be less forward thinking when making instant demands.

The connection between impatience and procrastination is not entirely new. It has long been an unproven theory of economists.

Now, in a series of field experiments, Columbia University’s Ernesto Reuben and Northwestern’s Paola Sapienza, along with Chicago Booth’s Luigi Zingales, have uncovered evidence that furthers the association.

The researchers studied MBA students’ tendencies for procrastination and impatience.

Their findings indicate that those who want immediate rewards actually procrastinate more on tasks. “Highly impatient individuals weigh immediate costs more and delayed benefits less and thus postpone activities where costs are upfront and indulge in activities where costs are delayed,” the researchers explain.

During one of several experiments, participants from a cohort of MBA students at Chicago Booth were asked whether they wanted to collect a check immediately for a smaller amount or wait to collect a check later for a larger amount. More-impatient students accepted the check for a lower amount, but actually procrastinated cashing the check for more than two weeks – the amount of time they otherwise would have waited to yield the larger amount. Almost 58 percent of students who received a smaller check took an average of 3.71 weeks to cash the check, according to the researchers. “Individuals who are impatient will procrastinate more than those who are patient when delay is costly,”

the researchers write. The MBA students did not know they were part of the experiment, and only later were asked to opt in or out of the study by the researchers.

The students were also asked to do three additional tasks – fill out a mandatory online survey, complete their MBA application to get an early response as well as save on the costs of applying to other schools, and play

an online game with prizes for early application submission. The researchers coupled the results from the three experiments with those from the check-cashing experiment. They find that those who procrastinated when completing the three tasks were also likely to be those who requested an earlier payout.

The researchers find no statistical differences in procrastination and impulsiveness between men and women, but they do consider the possibility that intelligence may be a factor.

They point to other research demonstrating that people with higher IQ scores are more patient and receptive to delayed gratification.

So, impatient procrastinators: you could take the advice of other researchers who say being aware of your tendencies can help keep them in check. Or better yet, heed procrastination scholar George Ainslie, who describes procrastination as a natural occurrence that’s only turned into a modern problem but doesn’t always cause harm.

And if all else fails, Herman Melville’s procrastinationelimination device, chaining himself to his desk, worked wonders for him while writing his masterpiece Moby Dick.

Ernesto Reuben, Paola Sapienza, and Luigi Zingales, “Procrastination and Impatience,” Working paper, July 2015.

Acknowledgement  This article was originally published on the University of Chicago Booth School of Business’ Capital Ideas website www.ChicagoBooth.edu/capideas

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KENT STATE UNIVERSITY

GLOBAL ENTREPRENEUR and EXPERT RESEARCHER leads

Kent State’s Graduate Business Programmes In March this year, Dr Robert D. Hisrich was appointed Associate Dean for Graduate and International Programs at Kent State University’s College of Business Administration.

A well-known entrepreneurship scholar and widely published author, Alexandra Skinner had the opportunity to speak to Dr Hisrich to discover more about his plans for the college.

Background My career has always been focussed along three key areas. The first is teaching. I have taught all over the world, not only here in the United States, but Slovenia, China, Russia, Austria and Australia.

I’ve always enjoyed getting to know students and teaching them, particularly in the field of entrepreneurship.

Secondly, I love writing, and have written several books and articles that have done well, one of them (Entrepreneurship, by Robert Hisrich, Michael Peters, Dean Shepherd) is going into its 10th edition in a few months and has been published in 13 languages. This also creates opportunities for travel, as I am often invited to give talks.

Finally, I really enjoy ‘doing’. I’ve started several businesses, some of which have done well, others not so well. I currently have businesses in several countries outside of the US and two within the US, and I also continue to undertake consulting work.

I really enjoy this aspect as it allows me to practice what I teach and publish.

How did the opportunity come about?

Life is really funny in how things unfold. I’ve always believed that you go from something, to something. I’ve been teaching, consulting and writing for quite a few years, and I’ll never forget what one of my mentors from my time at MIT (Dr Hisrich was a professor at MIT’s Sloan School of Management for ten years) said to me, “every one of you has a dean in you – you just don’t want to let it escape too early”. At the time, I really didn’t know what he meant, though I tried to appear as though I did!

My last role was at Thunderbird (Dr Hisrich was the Garvin Professor of Global Entrepreneurship and Director of the Walker Center for Global Entrepreneurship at Thunderbird School of Global Management), which was considered to be the best global entrepreneurship centre in the world.

Having achieved this success, I thought that perhaps it was time to look for the next step.

I interviewed for four different positions in four different locations across the United States, but Kent State University really appealed to me for several reasons.

Firstly, the level of intellectual capacity is outstanding. I think that one of the things that KSU hasn’t done well until now is to promote the level of intellectual capability of their faculty.

They have very, very strong faculty, and that makes for a fun and rewarding work environment.

Secondly, my forte is at the graduate level, especially global – these are my two loves – and the opportunity at Kent State to build a strong graduate programme, one that is unique, not just run-of-the-mill, is quite exciting. I’ve noticed over the last 10 years that Europe has really taken hold of different modes of delivery and the MBA is not necessarily the ‘prize’ degree any longer. More and more students are beginning to look at masters, particularly ‘verticals’ (where you combine a bachelor’s degree with a master’s in the final year). The US is beginning to adopt

We are poised for expansive success and innovative evolvement.

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these views so there is a lot of opportunity to create very unique and distinctive graduate programmes that offer value to students by stimulating their intellectual muscle, and building practical business skills.

The third aspect again brings in a global element. I have the opportunity to establish more relationships with universities in different parts of the world, such as South Africa and Indonesia, as well as strengthen relationships in Europe where Kent State already has a presence.

We currently have business students, at both the graduate and undergraduate level, who take advantage of education abroad opportunities and actually become ‘global citizens’. I would love to see every Kent State student graduate with a diploma and a passport.

I would not have taken the position if Dean Deborah F. Spake, PhD was not here. She is in the unique position of being both a leader and understanding what needs to be done. Dean Spake really has what it takes to drive this school to greatness.

The Kent State faculty

Vision for Kent State

At Kent State University we are fortunate to have faculty who not only have the skill-set and work experience to deliver substance, but also possess valid research experience and are on the cuttingedge of knowledge. This, in conjunction with the right leadership, is a powerful combination.

We are revitalising our MBA programme.

We are moving to a 30-37 hour programme with eight-week modules rather than a traditional semester schedule. Students tend to perform better when they can focus on fewer courses for a shorter period of time. We will CEO MAGAZINE

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KENT STATE UNIVERSITY

also provide online delivery of our part-time MBA programme, and we will offer more of our Executive MBA (EMBA) programme online as well, to allow executives to balance their class schedule with work and home life more easily.

As I mentioned earlier, vertical degrees are very innovative and quite valuable. Our Master’s of Science in Accounting and Master’s of Arts in Economics are both currently offered this way.

These kinds of programmes are very appealing, will attract high-level students, and create a distinct advantage for the college. My vision is to strengthen the graduate business offerings as a whole, so that if a student is considering a graduate business degree, they will instinctively look to Kent State University as an innovative provider in this area. This is where I predict we will be in five years.

Student Engagement The students that I have worked with at Kent State display a high degree of intellectual curiosity – they question things, and they make me really contemplate my answers. I find they are a very down-to-earth, highly motivated group of students who want to learn not only in the classroom but through internships, professional development courses and networking opportunities. They want to have a competitive-edge in the job market and work hard to make it happen. There is a significant international presence here as well; in fact, I was surprised at the global presence. In the college we have over 4,300 students representing 50 countries. It’s a great place to learn and share ideas with global peers while improving skills, creativity and knowledge.

Innovation and Entrepreneurship Companies go through lifecycles just as products do, and companies that do not innovate in response to their customers and the world around them will not be in the same place in 10 years as they are today. It is the same with colleges of business. Competition is significant and people chase change. People are beginning to realise that the key is not to set ‘innovation’ aside for the research and development department, but to encourage everyone in the company to contribute ideas to new ways of doing things. This allows you to implement innovation broadly – through new methods of delivery, different ways of advertising, or introducing a new product or service. When you have everyone thinking innovatively and creatively; you empower ideas, maximise potential and bring about innovative change.

International Business Trip I consider an international business trip to be an absolutely essential part of an EMBA. I really can’t imagine an executive programme without one. I believe the experience abroad greatly enhances the students’ education and life.

They are immersed in a different culture and country that expands their thought process and knowledge. While abroad our EMBA students visit companies and venture capitalists to not only learn about their businesses, but they are also presented with an opportunity or problem to discuss, ideate and ultimately solve. We find that senior management is very open to hearing our students’ opinions, feedback and solutions. Our EMBA students actively learn onsite; handling business issues in a new culture with sensitivity to the global environment. This process is then taken back to the United States as they finalise a ‘360 degree’ report. When you combine this with faculty who are very familiar with these countries and have strong industry connections, it is an invaluable experience.

The addition of Dr Robert Hisrich to the College of Business Administration further elevates an already successful slate of graduate programs. His global experience as a scholar and entrepreneur helps better position the college to prepare students to compete in a global economy.

DEAN DEBORAH F. SPAKE, PHD ON DR HISRICH’S APPOINTMENT

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Professional Development I think professional development, particularly at the EMBA level, is very important. When you are planning to move up in your career, you need to experience new things. Soft skills can be as important as classroom knowledge.

I would encourage classes in mastering oral presentations, business dining etiquette, and to possess the confidence and grace to conduct business whether it is in a boardroom or social setting. These are skills executives highly value and utilise throughout their career as they excel upward. In addition, we now include professional services to all of our

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Biography  Dr Robert D. Hisrich, PhD is Associate Dean for Graduate and International Programs and Bridgestone Chair in International Marketing at Kent State University. Dr Hisrich has authored or co-authored 36 books and written more than 300 articles on entrepreneurship, international business management and marketing.

Photos © Bob Christy, Kent State University

EMBA students with a dedicated Concierge Services Office. The office handles all course registrations, textbooks are delivered to class, VIP parking is provided and meals are catered during class sessions. We are committed to providing a very convenient and stress-free learning environment to fit executives’ busy lifestyles.

Future of Executive Education I think that over the next few years we will see the traditional MBA will decrease in popularity, and there will be an increased interest in focussed master’s, as well as vertical

graduate offerings. In addition, as more people look to advance their careers at a faster pace our EMBA programmes will grow as well.

I think Kent State’s Executive MBA format will lead the market – with global experience, concierge services, an inclusive, well-priced tuition, quality faculty who conduct cutting-edge research backed-up with business experience, and a leadership team that possesses innovative ideas and all the qualities necessary to succeed.

We are poised for expansive success and innovative evolvement.

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CAREER FLEXIBILITY

NEGOTIATE YOUR WAY to Career Flexibility

We’re familiar with the idea of negotiating a salary, but negotiating for greater time and task diversity may be just as important for our emotional and professional fulfillment.

Horacio Falcão

N

ot long ago, a successful executive – let's call him Dr. DK – sought my advice on an issue of major life import. Approaching the age of 50, he found that his job as head of HR for a large European multinational had lost some of its savour. "I don't know if I'm excited by this anymore," he told me. "I do make money, but I cannot do another 20 years of this." Dr. DK was considering abandoning his long-time company for a new love – executive coaching, for which he had just obtained certification.

He had even picked up a few high-profile clients from his extensive personal network.

After hearing him out, I thought for a few seconds. Then I said, “You’re crazy.”

“But, Horacio,” Dr. DK replied, “isn’t happiness worth everything?”

“Right now, you have a good social standing, and you have enough money, but not enough savings to go the next 20 years without making the kind of money you’re used to,” I said. “Do you need to do only what you love? How about you also do what you love?”

Making “also” work It’s important that we professionals move beyond the zero-sum thinking that underlies conventional career paths. Assuming that 42

financial and emotional fulfillment are opposing concepts causes a kind of schizophrenia. We end up getting less than we should of both. In addition, the standard linear career path of our parents no longer offers the security it once did, while the risks of striking out on our own – as Dr. DK wanted to – are in most cases higher.

We need more flexible, adaptable career options. That’s why I’ve been exploring a new career strategy based on the concept of “barbell investing”. The idea is that professionals can maximise money and happiness, while minimising risk, by investing a small slice (not more than ten percent) of their time in a speculative project, or “Specbell”, without letting go of their steady paycheck, or “Safebell”. At the very least, they’ll add a pinch of spice to their lives; at most, it might be a safer way to start transitioning to a whole new career phase.

The importance of negotiating To make my point, I challenged Dr. DK to go out and find four more clients. I knew that his first few, attracted by his standing and reputation, came without much effort. We’d see whether he had the taste for the high-stakes, constant selling that being a full-time executive coach demands. Sure enough, Dr. DK discovered that chasing clients and managing a business didn’t suit his personality.

So the next step was to negotiate with his company to achieve the barbell arrangement.

My advice to him was to be as transparent as possible with his boss, laying out all the potential implications (both positive and negative).

Dr. DK’s proposal was to spend four to eight hours a week on coaching, some of that during work hours. At the same time, he emphasised that the firm would always be his top priority and that his deliverables would not suffer.

Dr. DK’s boss replied that the proposed arrangement wouldn’t work with Dr. DK in his current role – but if he were willing to make a lateral move and head up another related department...

It was the best of both worlds: Dr. DK ended up breaking out of a job that was becoming confining, staying at the same salary, and making more room for coaching in his life.

Eventually, the arrangement proved so successful that Dr. DK increased his coaching time to ten hours a week (including preparation and logistics). He capped it there, as he felt he had found the right balance.

An unlikely advantage In the case of Ms. IN, a high-flying Londonbased lawyer, she was devastated after being told she would not make partner. After years of putting everything she had into the firm, she was

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exhausted and ready to quit and become a yoga instructor. I counselled her to look for something fulfilling she could do that drew upon her valuable legal talents. We researched together and found an NGO in the legal space that was looking for lawyers to work pro bono.

Not making partner turned out to be advantageous for Ms. IN in negotiating with her company, in that it helped her better understand what she truly wanted. For her bosses’ part, they were loath to let such a good lawyer go, especially since she was one of the firm’s only senior women and diversity was an important issue they were promoting internally. She told the partners, “I don’t need to leave, but I want to start doing more pro bono work.” They hammered out an arrangement whereby Ms. IN would work eight months per year for the firm, commit to mentor younger female attorneys, take a month’s vacation, and spend the remaining three months working for the NGO in Tanzania on her company’s behalf, receiving her full salary, while promoting the firm’s pro bono agenda.

When “Specbells” pay off For Dr. DK and Ms. IN, getting a Specbell was more about avoiding a sense of career stagnation than starting a second career. Others I know, however, have a Specbell that could one day

become a Safebell. Mr. BR is a banker whose dream was to start an inexpensive urban bedand-breakfast designed to help new arrivals adjust to life in his city. The idea is taking off, and he now owns four B&Bs in São Paulo, Brazil and is currently planning on expanding the model to other cities in Brazil.

Tips to remember Barbell careers aren’t for everyone. If your goal is eventually to become CEO at your current firm or a company like it, you may need to put all your energy into that climb. By the same token, if the Specbell you have in mind is the next Google, you should jump in with both feet.

There are also transition costs involved.

Having a Specbell allows you to learn and grow by taking contained risks and perhaps making small, “right” mistakes, but you need to invest in those mistakes. That means a certain amount of lost time and potentially lost resources.

If you do decide to negotiate a barbell arrangement with your employer, here are some things to keep in mind: Conflict of interest. Think about any potential areas or scenarios where your proposed Specbell could compromise your company down the line.

Are you putting yourself in a position where

you could one day potentially poach clients, or jeopardise company IP? Even if your boss doesn’t anticipate these situations, you should, in order to prevent future unpleasantness.

Look for synergies. Specbells can yield knowledge or special skills that would benefit your employer. In Ms. IN’s’s case, her Specbell played into her law firm’s pro bono agenda.

The win-win aspect can be a compelling selling point in the negotiation.

Be open to experiment. The negotiation can be a great tool if you don’t have a definite Specbell in mind. Perhaps your boss can recommend you to his or her counterpart in another department, who could use your help. Your Specbell may be much closer than you think.

My research into this new career path is ongoing.

If you have negotiated a similar arrangement with an employer, I’d love to hear about how it went.

Biography  Horacio Falcão is Senior Affiliate Professor of Decision Sciences at INSEAD.

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MILLSAPS COLLEGE

MILLSAPS COLLEGE

Mastering the MBA Alexandra Skinner speaks to faculty and alums to discover the qualities that define the Millsaps MBA.

The Millsaps Difference One of the challenges facing a small business school dedicated to quality instruction is that every professor MUST be a master teacher; there’s no room for anything less. The faculty of the Else School of Management at Millsaps College meets this challenge head-on. Resting on a solid foundation of disciplinary expertise, business professors are not only active scholars but are also active participants in the business community, where they serve on boards, provide business advice and consulting or are themselves entrepreneurs.

Perhaps more importantly, professors at the Else School understand what it takes to be an effective teacher – connecting with their students, connecting students with materials and skills and connecting students with businesses.

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With small class sizes, every graduate student in the Else School works closely with faculty. The classroom relationships are friendly and informal, highlighted by the close interaction between faculty members and their students. Whether working through an assignment, considering a problem at work or looking for a new job, students find that the business professors are accessible, thoughtful mentors through their educational experience.

Relationships built between professors and their students tend to extend long after graduation.

Kimberly G. Burke, Dean of Else School of Management and Professor of Accounting, Millsaps College.

Faculty Quick Facts

94%

of faculty hold a terminal degree

80%

of faculty have a business background

75%

of faculty are currently involved in business or consulting outside of teaching

7%

of classes are taught by adjunct faculty

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“We prepare our students to work in any environment and to embrace the changes they face.”

Millsaps students are enthusiastic, creative and curious – qualities that fit perfectly in the Else School of Management’s MBA programs. With changes in careers common, we prepare our students to work in any environment and to embrace the changes they face.

My area of expertise, the study of business law, provides an ideal training ground for flexible and agile thinking. Since there are rarely legal issues which are no longer up for debate or analysis, we focus on exploring the limits of those business law questions and encourage our students to apply those skills to the world around them. In classes taught on campus to classes overseas, our students work directly with business in our communities to practice and enhance what they learn.

In Neuroscience and Business Law, students reach out to business owners, judges, lawyers and even incarcerated criminals to explore the intersection of brain research and its current applications to today’s business world. In Minds to Markets, our classes navigate through the crowded streets of Merida, Mexico, learning to create product ideas from the unusual or curious.

And each year our EMBA class travels to an international destination to work on-site with a local business for a seven-day immersive consulting project that provides innovative solutions to a problem the company is currently facing.

I left a partnership at a law firm to join the Millsaps faculty, and I have never looked back.

The graduate programs of the Else School of Management allow me to bridge the gap between theory and practice for my students, and encourage them to never stop learning. Every day our students demonstrate their intellectual curiosity and their problem-solving abilities in ways that are meaningful to businesses and their communities. For me, that’s the best part of this extraordinary adventure we call Millsaps.

ALUMNI PERSPECTIVE “I put my Millsaps MBA to the test, and have never looked back.”

I credit my MBA from Millsaps College with instilling in me the confidence to pursue my desire to become an entrepreneur, foregoing the comforts of corporate employment to start and build my own company.

I began my career as a petroleum engineer for a major international oil company in 1980. Climbing the ranks of the corporate world may not be for everyone, and working in this environment it became clear that it was not for me – I knew I wanted to build my own company. During my corporate training as a petroleum engineer I realized an indepth knowledge of corporate finance with advanced skills in accounting, statistical analysis and quantitative economic skills were necessary for building a successful company. The Millsaps MBA program enabled me to fulfill every expectation I desired to accomplish professionally in my life. My decision to spend the personal and monetary capital to earn my MBA from Millsaps ranks as one of my personal best!

Even though undertaking the MBA program directly after completing one’s under graduate studies may be an opportunity in one’s lifecycle, the application of an MBA’s educational materials while employed full-time is invaluable and I highly recommend considering it. I appreciate first-hand the difficulties of pursuing an MBA while employed full-time with a family but, in my case, the on-the-job application of the advanced business skills I was studying proved an invaluable part of my success. Shortly after receiving my MBA from Millsaps, my ‘corporate’ job played out as so many others do today. I was faced with either moving my family across the country to chase an ever changing ‘corporate’ career, or putting my newfound skills to use and creating my first start-up. I chose the latter, put my Millsaps MBA to the test, and have never looked back.

Graduate academic programs are not measured by an institutions bricks and mortar, nor a prestigious location in a ‘big’ city. Discerning graduate students are inspired by the quality of, and interaction with, its program’s faculty. Faculty lectures, debates arising from the case studies and presentations, and faculty mentoring still remain useful tools twenty-seven years since attending Millsaps. Millsaps’ small class sizes lend themselves to a level of interaction with faculty and fellow graduate students that is unmatched in developing the skills one will need to succeed in today’s business world.

Millsaps’ MBA program was in its infancy when I enrolled in 1985.

Millsaps’ reputation as a nationally recognized liberal arts and sciences college provided me certainty that its investment in a graduate MBA program required academic standards of a comparable caliber. Accolades earned by the Millsaps’ MBA program are a testimonial to its tenure and success, but are surpassed by the many graduates with whom I share an enduring appreciation for the professional and economic success we have achieved. My work now involves travel around the globe, and I am amazed at the success and global recognition of the Millsaps MBA program, and I am proud to be one of its graduates.

Richard Hugh Mills, Jr. is Founder and CEO: Tenrgys, LLC and Tellus Operating Group, LLC. Millsaps College MBA, 1988.

Harvey Fiser, Assistant Professor of Business Law, Millsaps College.

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MILLSAPS COLLEGE

“We enroll students who have a record of substantial accomplishments and contributions to organizations.”

The key distinction of the Millsaps Else School of Management’s EMBA program is the students enrolled. We enroll exceptionally qualified and gifted students, those who have a record of substantial accomplishments and contributions to the organizations for which they currently work or have worked in the past.

This experience base changes the dynamic in the classroom between professor and student in ways that push both to excel. By pulling from students’ significant experience, the quality of questions addressing text material and cases adds a rich dimension to class discussion, enabling all involved to be better at what they do. The Else School of Management has a classroom culture of openness to new ideas, of free expression of those ideas and of the willingness to challenge old ideas – a key distinction that has been nurtured and sustained over many years.

My background is in the banking industry, having worked for a bank in some capacity all of my adult life. I continue to consult with banks, and currently serve on the Board of First Commercial Bank in Jackson, Mississippi, Chair their Risk Management Committee and serve as a member of the Asset/Liability Management Committee and the Trust Committee. By remaining active in banking, I have many experiences to bring into the classroom. While my banking experience gives me depth in a single industry, my consulting experience gives me breadth across many industries and many types of organizations.

I approach my students from a perspective of mutual respect, and with an expectation that they perform with excellence in all they do. As EMBA students, I expect them to take responsibility for their own learning and, in fact, they expect this of themselves. I give general direction for each class, but the EMBA student is required to execute a paper or a presentation, for example, within the confines of only general instructions. After all, we are about to call them “Masters” – they should be able at this point in their academic studies to execute class activities and requirements with excellence, and to do so with general guidance. For the EMBA Seminar in Leadership I use a combination of text, movies, and cases. For the EMBA Capstone Course in Business Strategy, I use a simulation, requiring the students to make decisions modeling an 46

STUDENT PERSPECTIVE “Today I own three successful companies that I attribute to my MBA experience at Millsaps.”

After completing my Bachelors in Business Administration degree at the University of Mississippi I went straight to work in the management training program at Deposit Guaranty National Bank (DGNB), the largest financial institution in the state of Mississippi. I was a women working at a time when women were on the radar and the banking industry was going through deregulation. It was a treasure hunt at the time.

I had no desire to settle for a low end typical ‘female’ banking position.

I wanted to differentiate myself and create as much value as possible for the organization. I knew I had to do something to stand out. I quickly figured out that an advanced degree was the ticket to set myself apart.

The Millsaps curriculum and reputation were so impeccable that once I started investigating I quickly came to the conclusion that I wanted to pursue an MBA at this ‘Ivy School Clone’. I applied and was accepted.

I was working full-time and going to classes every night of the week.

It was hard, but I could not get enough. The material I was learning at Millsaps and my job at the time were so in concert that I felt empowered eating lunch at my desk every day studying and learning all the new concepts that actually made me more effective in my job. I felt the energy and the power of gaining new knowledge and putting it into action. At the time, women were talking about the ‘glass ceiling’ and how they wanted to break through it. I was not one of those women. I was thinking about being the best I could be and using my new found knowledge to improve Deposit Guaranty and one day open my own company.

My Millsaps education and experience – and it truly was an experience like no other – gave me wings to fly when DGNB sold very quickly, twice.

I was in the ‘catbird seat’ on the first sale, but quickly landed in the back seat in the second. I don’t sit in the back seat very well. I left at that point and started my own company with Millsaps at my wing. I used all my experience, the faculty and resources at Millsaps to formulate a plan and execute. It worked out pretty well as I look back on it. I have two multi-million dollar companies today working in the heart of the technology industry with partners including Cisco and Dell.

Today I own three successful companies that I attribute to my MBA experience at Millsaps and the invaluable exposure to faculty, entrepreneurs and a curriculum that mirrored real-world business experiences. Millsaps impacted my life in ways that are not quantifiable.

Thank you Millsaps College!

Jill M. Beneke, CEO & President Pileum Corporation, Metrix Solutions, LLC, and Beneke Consulting, LLC. Millsaps College MBA, 1987. executive team. Both classes require the students to not only learn but to also perform.

My view of EMBA students is that of colleagues as much as students. I regularly meet current and former students outside the classroom to discuss issues of importance to them and me. Many former EMBA students are now friends.

Ray Grubbs, Professor of Management, Millsaps College.

Biography  Located in Jackson, Mississippi, the AACSB accredited Else School of Management at Millsaps College offers the Master of Business Administration, Executive MBA and Master of Accountancy.

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REAL WORLD LEADERSHIP

Study reveals gap between NEED to drive strategic change and leaders’ ABILITY to deliver it Korn Ferry global study of over 7,500 executives shows they would discard half of their current leadership development approach.

J

ust 17 per cent of business executives are fully confident their business has the right leaders in place to execute their strategy, according to a comprehensive global study by Korn Ferry, the global leadership consultancy. Korn Ferry's Real World Leadership study of more than 7,500 executives from 107 countries found that executives' top leadership development priority is developing leaders who can drive strategic change.

However, there was a lack of confidence in business leaders’ ability to drive this change – just over half of the respondents (56 per cent) were only “somewhat confident”. Sixteen per cent did not believe their teams had the necessary leadership capabilities and a further 11 per cent were unsure.

“If I were a CEO, being only ‘somewhat confident’ that I had the right leaders in place to drive my company’s strategy wouldn’t be good enough,” said Steve Newhall, Managing Partner at Korn Ferry’s Leadership and Talent Consulting Practice, EMEA. “That’s why effective leadership development is critical to the success of any organisation, and yet it is so often neglected as a means of driving strategy change.”

The study found a significant lack of executive satisfaction with the leadership development programmes in existence in their organisation.

Respondents said that if they could, they would discard nearly half (48 per cent) of their leadership development approach. Over half (55 per cent) judged the return on investment on their leadership development programmes to be only fair, poor or very poor.

Steve Newhall explained: “Executives we talked to said that if they could start over again they would throw out half their current leadership development strategies. To me this illustrates that while the business agenda has moved on, the development agenda has remained static.

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“The ability to drive strategic change was one of the biggest skills gaps that the survey uncovered which is not surprising given the pace of change and transformation organisations are trying to deal with. Yet executives reported that they buy in those skills from the outside more than half the time. That’s just too high and it indicates that there’s an issue with their ability to develop those skills internally. Going externally to bridge key skill and experience gaps and to bring fresh perspective is a critical part of an organisation’s talent strategy, but companies need to get the balance right between their build and their buy strategy in these areas. Going outside for talent because you want to is very different to doing it because you feel you have to.”

The study also found that executives may be their own biggest barrier to achieving leadership development success. Respondents cited a lack of executive sponsorship as the largest barrier to successful implementation of leadership development programmes.

Steve Newhall continued: “Leadership development has to have senior stakeholder involvement – not just sponsorship but actual involvement. Crucially, it also has to have measurement and follow-through to ensure that the desired changes, both in terms of the development of an organisation’s leaders and the business challenges they are responsible for tackling, are successfully delivered.”

The survey also found that below the senior executive level, there is a significant lack of engagement in driving strategic change.

Nearly half (46 per cent) of mid-level leaders are not active in driving change.

Steve Newhall continued: “Connection to the organisation’s mission is getting lost at various levels of the workforce. Without organisationwide engagement, strategic change initiatives will not fully succeed. Senior leaders need to understand how to engage the whole business and ensure everyone within it understands what they are trying to achieve.”

About the Study Korn Ferry commissioned a comprehensive, global survey of views on leadership development in July and August of 2015.

The survey generated more than 7,500 responses from 107 countries.

The breakdown of the respondents is as follows:    

C-suite (26 per cent) VP/SVP/EVP (31 per cent) Director (27 per cent) Other (16 per cent)

Biography  For nearly half a century, clients have trusted Korn Ferry to recruit world class leaders. The firm currently operates in 78 offices in 37 countries and has approximately 3,900 colleagues.

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LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS

List of Contributors A Alina Dizik Australian Institute of Business C Chicago Booth D Deborah F. Spake E

K Kent State University Kim Burke Knowledge at Wharton Korn Ferry L Laurie Walker M

European University

Mark C. Crowley Millsaps College

H

N

Horacio Falc達o

New Jersey Institute of Technology

I

R

INSEAD Knowledge ISEG Lisboa

Reggie J. Caudill Robert Hisrich S SBS Swiss Business School

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