CEO Magazine - Volume 28

CEO-MAG.COM

BECOMING A HIGH-PERFORMANCE CEO

/

WINTER 2018

HOW OLYMPIC ATHLETES AND MANAGERS CAN AVOID CHOKING UNDER PRESSURE

TRENDS SHAPING THE MBA LANDSCAPE

D R A W P U R E V

E

Globally Recognized Nationally Ranked

ctoral o d s s e busin g n i t a c than e Edu r o m r s fo student

years

Ph.D. programs in:

• Accounting • Finance • Information Systems • Management • Marketing • Supply Chain Management

MBA programs:

• Full-time MBA • Online MBA • Executive MBA - Corporate KENT.EDU/BUSINESS 2

ceomag.co.uk / Spring 2016

DO CEOS DESERVE THEIR PAY? Manfred Kets de Vries

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8

2018 GLOBAL MBA RANKINGS CEO Magazine

12

BECOMING A HIGH-PERFORMANCE CEO Dana Cavalea

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EUROPE’S INNOVATION, AMERICA’S BOON Stéphane Garelli

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STUDENT REFLECTIONS Ayan Chatterjee and Victoria Veber

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ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

A BIG FISH IN A BIG POND Joe Handy

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HOW OLYMPIC ATHLETES AND MANAGERS CAN AVOID CHOKING UNDER PRESSURE Jayanth Narayanan

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REWRITING THE RULES OF THE GAME EU Business School

32 36

RIGOR, INNOVATION AND VALUE – THE GEORGIA WEBMBA Faye S. McIntyre

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ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

THE EXETER MBA

Sch o ava larsh ilab ips le

At Exeter we offer a fully accredited, academically rigorous and practical MBA from a top Russell Group University focusing on leadership, technology, and sustainability. n Co-delivered and supported by FTSE 100 companies and other progressive corporate partners n Profound personal and professional development to accelerate your career or explore new directions n Awarded Gold by the Teaching Excellence Framework n Career development, collaboration and learning opportunities from an expanding alumni network spanning more than 80 countries n Ranked best in the world for sustainability and business practice

The emphasis on sustainable business practices ensured my business knowledge was not only up-to-date, but also future-proofed.

The consulting project represented the perfect confluence of academic study and ‘real world’ application, which has subsequently helped me to relaunch my career.

Through the MBA’s focus on emerging business models I’ve been able to appreciate how technology and new business models can contribute to a more sustainable world. My experience with blockchain, big data and artificial intelligence has opened many doors.

Diane Hayman (MBA 2014), Marketing Manager, Hawksmoor Investment Management

Stephanie Lindan (MBA 2016), Management Consulting Manager, Accenture

ceo-mag.com / Autumn 2016

Business School Rankings 2016

3

2017BS504

www.exeter.ac.uk/mba

4

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TRENDS SHAPING THE MBA LANDSCAPE Rouzbeh Razavi

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PUTTING THEORY INTO PRACTICE Jacksonville University

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RAISING THE MBA BAR IN DARMSTADT Ralf Schellhase

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WHY CHOOSE NEBRIJA'S MASTER EXPERIENCE Carlos Cuervo

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ONE QUESTION LEADERS SHOULD ASK THEMSELVES Venugopal Gupta

ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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THE GLOBAL EXECUTIVE OF THE FUTURE Francis Petit

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THE TRUTH ABOUT BEING A WORKAHOLIC: WHY IT ISN’T ALWAYS BAD FOR YOU knowledge@wharton

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WHAT DRIVES BRAIN DRAIN AND BRAIN GAIN? Shlomo Ben-Hur, Arturo Bris, and José Caballero

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LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

CEO Victor J. Callender Group Editor-in-Chief Alexandra Skinner Design & Illustration pentacreate.com Financial Controller Anthony Gordon

Head Office: Communications House 26 York Street London, W1U 6PZ UK Telephone: +44 (0) 870 067 2077 (UK) Fax: +44 (0) 870 067 2078 (UK) Email: a.skinner@ceo-mag.com Web: www.ceo-mag.com

Head of Production Steven Whitaker Features Writer Amber Callender

@ceo_mag

/CEOMagazineGlobal

Published by CEO Magazine.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the expressed approval of the copyright owner. Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information in this publication, the Publisher accepts no responsibility for errors or omissions.

The Publisher disclaims responsibility for the views and opinions expressed herein by the contributors. Furthermore, the Publisher does not give any warranty regarding the accuracy thereof.

For further information on annual subscription rates visit: www.ceo-mag.com

Reach Higher.

On campus. Online. On Track.

MBA

EMBA DBA MS Organizational Leadership

DO CEOS DESERVE THEIR PAY? The myths that drive the CEO pay bonanza MANFRED KETS DE VRIES

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ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

A

ccording to the most recent report from the Economic Policy Institute, the average CEO-to-worker pay ratio in the United States has gone down from 286-to-1 (in 2015) to 271-to-1 (in 2016). This number may disappoint many top executives who were hoping to see it return to its peak of 383-to-1, achieved in 2000, but in spite of this “bad” news, it’s clear that CEOs will not receive a pauper’s wage.

Looking at these figures, it appears that nobody heeded the warnings of management sage Peter Drucker who determined that the proper ratio between a chief executive’s pay and that of the average worker should be around 20-to-1 (as it was in 1965). Drucker believed that larger discrepancies would bring about morale problems within the workforce. As things stand now, many CEOs earn more in a single workday than the average worker makes in an entire year.

In many respects, extremely large CEO compensation packages are problematic.

The practice over-emphasises the impact of a single individual and undervalues the contributions of other employees to the success of a company. What make these ratios even more troublesome are studies that show that companies with high CEO-to-worker pay ratios have lower shareholder returns than companies with lower ratios.

The myths behind CEO mega pay I would argue that extremely high salaries for CEOs are abetted by the following myths:

MYTH 1: CEOs need high pay to motivate them to exceptional performance.

If CEOs were not paid so well, they would not work as hard. Thus, for the benefit of the corporation, it’s essential to offer them generous incentive packages.

REALITY: High achieving CEOs will work hard whatever they are paid.

Given our understanding of human motivation, the kinds of people interested in the corporate game tend to be high achievers - most CEO-types fall into this category. From my experience of working with these people, they will work hard regardless of salary.

Companies that give CEOs grandiose pay packages are wasting resources that could be put to better use. It’s very unlikely that cutting CEOs’ pay would affect the bottom line.

MYTH 2: Large CEO salaries reflect market demands for a CEO’s unique skills and contribution to the bottom line.

According to this argument, talented ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

CEOs possess impressive but very scarce leadership skills. Generous pay packages merely represent the market forces of supply and demand. If there was an oversupply of people with such unique qualities, market forces would bring their salaries down.

Furthermore, they deserve high levels of compensation given their ability to withstand the enormous pressure they are under to create exceptional results for the corporation.

REALITY: CEOs are not that exceptional and it's almost impossible to measure their singular contribution to the bottom line.

“As things stand now, many CEOs earn more in a single workday than the average worker makes in an entire year.”

What may be a downer to some is the fact that most CEOs aren’t that exceptional.

Rare are those who have the impact of a Steve Jobs or a Bill Gates. Although they may imagine that their skills are in scarce supply, many are quite ordinary, fallible human beings who have only a limited impact on their companies. To replace them is not an impossible task. After all, every year, worldwide, business schools crank out hundreds of thousands of MBAs, many with sights on a CEO’s office. In addition, no matter how talented, CEOs cannot run their companies alone. Other qualified people are needed to make it happen.

Given economic upswings and downswings, it’s very hard to determine the exact value a single CEO creates or destroys. A company’s success is always the result of a team effort.

The Greed Spiral In order to understand why extremely high CEO pay persists and why people continue to buy into the illusion that they are getting their money’s worth, we need to look at a number of systemic issues and dynamics that drive the cult of the CEO. In the CEO mega compensation game, peer comparisons play a central role. Both the board’s compensation committee and prospective CEOs are taking advantage of the “above average effect”. When determining the size of salaries, members of the board assume that a prospective CEO must be above average and make remuneration comparisons accordingly. Similarly, in bargaining for their pay, CEOs will not suggest that they are below average. All of them want to be paid more than the median.

Board members may fear that if they don’t compensate CEOs according to the upper quartile of the compensation scale, they could lose them. They may worry that their CEO will be “poached”. These social comparison processes, however, when repeated year after year, have a dramatic, inflationary effect on pay packages.

To put even more oil on this inflationary

“Companies that give CEOs grandiose pay packages are wasting resources that could be put to better use.”

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“Given economic upswings and downswings, it’s very hard to determine the exact value a single CEO creates or destroys.

A company’s success is always the result of a team effort.”

BIOGRAPHY

Manfred Kets de Vries is the Distinguished Clinical Professor of Leadership Development & Organisational Change at INSEAD and the Raoul de Vitry d'Avaucourt Chaired Professor of Leadership Development, Emeritus. He is the Founder of INSEAD's Global Leadership Centre and the Programme Director of The Challenge of Leadership, one of INSEAD’s top Executive Development Programmes.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Courtesy of INSEAD Knowledge.

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compensation fire, many head hunters base their own fees on what a prospective CEO will be paid. And as they are operating in a highly irrational market, they have considerable leeway to jack up the pay package. Furthermore, the remuneration of most compensation consultants is based on a formula tied to their prospect’s pay package.

When we combine all these escalating pressures with the fact that many board members often do not fully understand the convoluted pay structures designed by these consultants, it’s no wonder there has been such inflation in compensation.

Given the existing pay bonanza, it is fair to say that many CEOs have lost their capacity for fair judgement when making a case for their own compensation, acting more like mercenaries than genuine leaders.

They are reluctant to recognise that an excessive compensation package has negative implications. For instance, it destroys the sense of community that a high-performing organisation needs. It demoralises people, and may even motivate some to leave.

Although some CEOs may acknowledge the downsides of exorbitant pay packages (as they prefer to keep their pay secret), greed is one of the deadly sins most difficult to overcome.

Keeping the Compensation Game Within Boundaries Unfortunately, self-policing by the CEO community is quite unlikely. Countervailing pressures will be necessary to keep CEO compensation packages within limits.

For a start, board members need to push back against the “above average effect” and not be tempted to make comparisons with outliers. They should also be very wary of excessively complicated compensation schemes which make it easier for opportunists to rig the system. All too frequently, these convoluted pay constructions turn CEOs into financial engineers – focused on ways to impact compensation formulas instead of investing in the company’s future.

Board members need to face the unpleasant truth that compensation packages can be “gamed” in such a way as to boost a company’s short-term earnings. For example, the emphasis on stock options and restricted stock grants invites manipulation.

Compensation packages should be designed with a focus on the company’s longterm health, taking the various stakeholders into consideration. For example, we can see how the German tradition of worker representation on the board serves as an antidote to excessive compensation.

Publicly releasing information about top executive compensation is one way to offset

excessive salaries. Another suggestion is a shareholder vote on top executives’ compensation packages. The same approach can be used with shareholder approval on all share buybacks – another invitation to manipulate compensation when it is tied to share price. (Often, in taking such actions, the price of the shares is pushed up without actually investing in the company’s capital, R&D or the development of its people.)

Clawback provisions could also reduce the temptation to manage for the short-term.

They force executives to return compensation that – at a later stage – turned out to be calculated incorrectly.

Another way to fight against excessive compensation is to take a hard look at how a company deals with existing tax codes.

Compensation decisions are often attempts at finding “creative” ways to manoeuvre through a maze of tax regulations. In this case, the government needs to play an important role.

For example, implementing higher marginal income tax rates at the very top would have a dampening effect on large compensation packages.

Lastly, a rather innovative measure to prevent pay packages from spiralling out of control would be to set high corporate tax rates for firms that have very high CEO-toworker compensation ratios.

These recommendations may not be received warmly, as many people view the CEO compensation game as an important bulwark of capitalism.

Although this may be true, inflated CEO pay scales are also a sign of impending rot. While capitalism has many positives (in light of the alternatives), free market ideas in unrestrained forms have serious dysfunctional effects on society. Unbridled capitalism only contributes to social unrest. Therefore, it’s timely that the next generation of CEOs thinks more creatively about the challenges corporations face in building sustainable businesses. And a good start to this is creating fair compensation systems.

ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

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T

2018 GLOBAL MBA RANKINGS

he benefits attached to an MBA are well documented: career progression, networking opportunities, personal development, salary... and the list goes on. However, in an increasingly congested market, selecting the right business school can be difficult, which is far from ideal given the time and investment involved.

Using a ranking system entirely geared and weighted to fact-based criteria, CEO Magazine aims to cut through the noise and provide potential students with a performance benchmark for those schools under review.

Weighting of Data Points (full-time and part-time MBA) Quality of Faculty:

34.95 %

International Diversity:

9.71%

Class Size:

9.71%

Accreditation:

8.74%

Faculty to Student Ratio: Price:

7.76% 5.83%

International Exposure:

4.85%

Work Experience:

4.85%

Professional Development:

4.85%

Gender Parity:

4.85%

Delivery methods:

*EMBA Weighting: Work experience and international diversity are adjusted accordingly.

3.8% 0%

5%

10 %

15 %

NORTH AMERICAN MBA RANKINGS American University: Kogod Appalachian State University Auburn University: Harbert Bentley University: McCallum Boston University: Questrom Bryant University California State University-​Chico California State University-​Long Beach California State University-​Northridge California State University-East Bay California State University-San Bernardino College of William and Mary: Mason Colorado Technical University Drexel University: LeBow Florida International University Fordham University Georgia Institute of Technology: Scheller Georgia State University: Robinson Gonzaga University HEC Montréal Hofstra University: Zarb Hult Internatonal Business School Jacksonville University Kent State University Loyola Marymount University Loyola University Chicago: Quinlan Marquette University Mercer University-Atlanta: Niagara University Northern Illinois University Oakland University Pepperdine University: Graziadio Queens University of Charlotte Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute: Lally Rochester Institute of Technology: Saunders Saint Joseph's University: Haub 12

20 %

25 %

30 %

35 %

**Online MBA Weighting: Delivery mode and class size are removed.

TIER ONE

Saint Mary's College of California Seattle University: Albers Suffolk University Temple University: Fox Texas A&M University-​College Station: Mays Texas Christian University: Neeley University of Akron University of Alberta University of Baltimore University of California at Davis University of California-San Diego: Rady University of Cincinnati: Lindner University of Connecticut University of Delaware: Lerner University of Louisiana-​Lafayette: Moody University of Massachusetts-​Boston University of Massachusetts-​Lowell University of Michigan-Flint University of Nebraska-Omaha University of New Mexico: Anderson University of North Carolina-Charlotte: Belk University of Oklahoma: Price University of Oregon: Lundquist University of Pittsburgh: Katz University of Portland: Pamplin University of South Florida: Muma University of Tampa: Sykes University of Texas at Arlington University of Texas-​Dallas : Jindal University of the Sciences University of Vermont: Grossman University of Washington: Foster University of West Georgia University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee: Lubar Virginia Tech: Pamplin

*Some data unavailable

ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

TIER TWO Bowling Green State University Cleveland State University: Monte Ahuja Kennesaw State University Millsaps College Northwest Missouri State University

Purdue University-West Lafayette: Krannert* University of Hawaii-​Manoa: Shidler University of Kentucky: Gatton University of Nebraska -Lincoln

EUROPEAN MBA RANKINGS Country

Aston Business School UK Audencia Business school France Birmingham Business School UK Bradford University School of Management UK Brunel Business School UK Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences Germany Durham University Business School UK EBS Business School Germany École des Ponts Business School France EDHEC Business School France, Singapore and the UK EU Business School Germany, Spain and Switzerland IE Business School Spain ISEG Portugal

TIER ONE

Country

Leeds University Business School UK Maastricht School of Management The Netherlands MIP Politecnico di Milano Italy Nebrija Business School Spain SBS Swiss Business School Switzerland Toulouse Business School France Toulouse Business School (with IIMB) India Trinity College Dublin School of Business Republic of Ireland Belgium, Italy United International Japan, the Netherlands, Business Schools Spain and Switzerland

University of Exeter UK University of Liverpool Management School UK University of Sheffield Management School UK

MBA RANKINGS-THE REST OF THE WORLD

TIER ONE

Country

Country

Central Queensland University Griffith University IAE Business School INCAE Business School La Trobe University Lagos Business School RMIT University The Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) The University of Adelaide University Adolfo Ibáñez

University of Chile University of Otago Business School University of South Australia University of Southern Queensland University of Waikato, Waikato Management School University of Wollongong Sydney Business School Victoria Graduate School of Business Western Sydney University

ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

Australia Australia Argentina Costa Rica Australia Nigeria Australia Mexico Australia Chile

*Some data unavailable

Chile New Zealand Australia Australia New Zealand Australia Australia Australia

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GLOBAL EXECUTIVE MBA RANKINGS Rank 1 University of Ottawa: Telfer 2 Global OneMBA

(Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV-EAESP); Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM); Tecnológico de Monterrey (EGADE); University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC); and Xiamen University, School of Management (SMXMU))

3 SBS Swiss Business School 4 EDHEC Business School

Country Canada

Brazil, China, Mexico, the Netherlands and North America Switzerland France, Singapore and the UK

5 The Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo

de México (ITAM) 6 Temple University: Fox 7 Kennesaw State University 8 EU Business School

Mexico North America North America Germany, Spain and Switzerland

=9 École des Ponts Business School

Global Executive MBA

France

=9 Purdue University-West Lafayette:

North America UK North America North America North America Spain North America The Netherlands

Krannert Leeds University Business School Rutgers Business School Georgia State University: Robinson Loyola Marymount University IE Business School Hult Internatonal Business School Maastricht School of Management Purdue University-West Lafayette: Krannert (IMM)

(Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV), MIP Politecnico di Milano, Tianjin University and Tilburg University)

Brazil, China, Italy, the Netherlands and North America

10 11 12 12 14 =15 =15 16

17 University Adolfo Ibáñez (AMBA)

Chile France 19 Texas Christian University: Neeley North America 20 IfM Institut für Management Austria 21 INCAE Business School Costa Rica 22 AIX Marseille Graduate School of Management France 23 University of California-San Diego: Rady North America 24 Stockholm School of Economics Sweden 25 Maastricht University The Netherlands 26 Northern Illinois University North America 27 Kent State University North America 28 Trinity College Dublin School of Business Republic of Ireland 29 Pepperdine University: Graziadio North America 30 University of Wollongong Sydney Business School Australia 31 University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee: Lubar North America 32 Florida International University North America 33 RMIT University Australia 18 Audencia Business school

TIER ONE

Rank 34 35 36 =37

Country

University of Oregon: Lundquist University of Kentucky: Gatton Virginia Commonwealth University Saint Mary's College of California (Global EMBA) =37 Saint Mary's College of California 38 Bradford University School of Management 39 EBS Business School (with Durham) 40 University of Chile 41 Aston Business School 42 University of Oklahoma: Price 43 University of Tampa: Sykes 44 Jacksonville University 45 Mercer University-Atlanta: Stetson 46 IAE Business School 47 Rochester Institute of Technology: Saunders 48 Bradford University School of Management 49 Villanova University 50 Boston University: Questrom 51 University of Texas-Dallas: Jindal 52 University of Texas at Arlington 53 Fordham University 54 Oakland University 55 University of Nebraska-Omaha 56 University of Sheffield Management School 57 University of Exeter 58 Pontifical Catholic University of Chile 59 Virginia Tech: Pamplin 60 University of Washington: Foster 61 University of Pittsburgh: Katz 62 Texas A&M University-College Station: Mays 63 University Adolfo Ibáñez 64 University of South Florida: Muma 65 Auburn University: Harbert 66 Georgia Institute of Technology: Scheller 67 MIP Politecnico di Milano 68 University of Alberta 69 Loyola University Chicago: Quinlan 70 Lagos Business School 71 University of Hawaii-​Manoa: Shidler 72 Saint Joseph's University: Haub 73 California State University-Long Beach 74 Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management 75 Seattle University: Albers 76 College of William and Mary: Mason 77 Niagara University 78 Millsaps College 79 University of Connecticut 80 Suffolk University 81 California State University-East Bay 82 Western Sydney University 83 University Adolfo Ibáñez 84 Marquette University 85 University of New Mexico: Anderson

North America North America North America North America North America Dubai Germany Chile UK North America North America North America North America Argentina North America UK North America North America North America North America North America North America North America UK UK Chile North America North America North America North America Chile North America North America North America Italy Canada North America Nigeria North America North America North America Belgium North America North America North America North America North America North America North America Australia Peru North America North America

TIER TWO Rank Country 86 Birmingham Business School UK 87 Drexel University: LeBow* North America 88 Bowling Green State University North America

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Rank Country 89 Cleveland State University:

Monte Ahuja

90 University of North Alabama 91 Hofstra University: Zarb

*Some data unavailable

North America North America North America ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

GLOBAL ONLINE MBA RANKINGS Rank Country 1 EU Business School

Germany, Spain and Switzerland 2 SBS Swiss Business School Switzerland 3 University of Otago Business School New Zealand 4 Maastricht School of Management The Netherlands 5 IE Business School Spain 6 United International Belgium, Italy Japan, Business Schools the Netherlands, Spain

and Switzerland 7 INCAE Business School Costa Rica 8 Nebrija Business School Spain 9 University of South Australia Australia 10 Temple University: Fox North America 11 University of Southern Queensland Australia 12 Bradford University Business School UK =13 The EuroMBA (Aix-Marseille, Audencia Nantes, EADA, HHL Leipzig, Kozminski University and Maastrict University) =13 La Trobe University 14 Washington State University: Carson 15 University of Massachusetts-Boston 16 Griffith University 17 MIP Politecnico di Milano 18 Pepperdine University: Graziadio 19 RMIT University EMBA 20 Jack Welch Management Institute

France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain Australia North America North America Australia Italy North America Australia North America

TIER ONE

Rank Country 21 Suffolk University 22 Durham University Business School 23 Colorado Technical University 24 Mercer University-Atlanta: Stetson 25 University of Cincinnati: Lindner 26 University of Massachusetts-​Lowell 27 Rochester Institute of Technology:

Saunders

28 RMIT University 29 Birmingham Business School

North America UK North America North America North America North America North America Australia UK

30 Washington State University:

31

Carson EMBA Georgia WebMBA

(Columbus State University, Georgia College, Georgia Southern University, Kennesaw State University, University of West Georgia, Valdosta State University)

North America

North America UK North America North America North America North America UK North America North America North America

32 University of Liverpool Management School 33 Queens University of Charlotte 34 University of Delaware: Lerner 35 University of Baltimore 36 Niagara University 37 Aston Business School* 38 Saint Joseph's University: Haub EMBA 39 University of the Sciences 40 University of South Florida: Muma

TIER TWO Rank Country 41 California State University

San Bernardino 42 Saint Joseph's University: Haub 43 Cleveland State University: Monte Ahuja 44 American University: Kogod 45 University of Texas-Dallas: Jindal 46 College of William and Mary: Mason 47 University of North Alabama EMBA 48 University of Washington: Foster*

North America North America North America North America North America North America North America North America

GLOBAL DBA LISTING Aston Business School Baruch College, City University of New York: Zicklin Case Western Reserve: Weatherhead Cranfield School of Management DePaul: Kellstadt Drexel University: LeBow Durham University Business School École des Ponts Business School EU Business School Georgia State University: Robinson Harvard Business School

ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

Rank Country 49 Florida International University 50 Drexel University: LeBow* 51 University of Hawaii-Manoa: Shidler 52 Virginia Commonwealth University 53 Central Queensland University 54 University of North Alabama 55 Hofstra University: Zarb* 56 Auburn University: Harbert 57 Northwest Missouri State University

North America North America North America North America Australia North America North America North America North America

Based upon accreditation, quality of faculty, geography, and international standing, this year’s Global DBA Listing is designed to showcase the market’s premier DBA providers.

IE Business School Jacksonville University Kennesaw State University: Coles Maastricht School of Management Rollins College: Crumer SBS Swiss Business School Temple University: Fox University of Dallas: Gupta University of Manchester: Alliance University of Missouri-St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis: Olin

*Some data unavailable

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BECOMING A HIGH PERFORMING CEO Training for the job like an elite athlete DANA C AVALE A

D

o you often feel yourself lacking energy? Perhaps the longer you are on the job, the longer it takes you to recover.

If you answered YES, you are not alone. In a business culture and climate that demands being ‘on’ 24 hours per day, feelings of lethargy from the overwhelming demands being placed on working professionals and business leaders are completely normal.

In spending my entire career training high-level, professional athletes, as well as some top CEOs, I realized that one group was prepared for the rigors of a competitive season, while the other was not.

CEOs are required to work long hours,

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travel across the world, and lead teams to quarterly victories year-over-year with no offseason. There are no ‘recovery’ days, since we all know the type-A, hard-charging CEO doesn't finish work at 5pm on Friday. They are often seen in a daze trying to solve corporate issues while pushing strollers, eating dinner with friends, or sharing lattes on their 'family time' trips to Starbucks.

What CEOs lack is an off-season. But in addition to lacking an off-season, they lack boundaries and the tools needed to recover mind and body.

The typical professional athlete has very few objectives: fuel their body, rest their body, train their body, compete. ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

“The best part of professional sports is that your compensation is performance based, much like the sport of business. If you are not ready to play every day, it will cost you in your pocket.�

ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

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“On days you are mentally and physically cooked, keep the intensity and volume of exercise low. On days you feel like Secretariat, push with higher intensity and high volume.”

Rinse, wash, repeat.

Blended with the above is social time with friends, three-month off-seasons, and high paying autograph signings and appearances that are scheduled for an hour at a time. At most they have to be ‘on’ for an hour, then they can head back to their SUV and get on with the above cycle of objectives.

The buzz words today are balance, worklife balance, mindfulness and ‘pulling back’.

All of these things sound great in theory, but the reality is Wall Street and the Board do not care about your struggles, only results.

Understanding that, rather than trying to put a spin on the fact you need to ‘chill-out’, let’s focus on tools and hacks you can use to compete at the highest level of competitive business every day, 365, year-over-year.

The business season does not end. It never will. Expectations rise with success. Failure is not an option. It’s the same as sports. If you lose, you go home. If you do not perform, you are back on the street fighting for another shot.

In my 12 seasons leading the Performance Initiatives of the World Champion New York Yankees, I was able to learn what makes the Greats… great.

Rivera, Jeter, Pettitte, Posada, Rodriguez: The names of great champions. Whilst these champions had the same schedule as their peers, they found a way to achieve higher levels of excellence while remaining calmer, more focused and more relaxed than their teammates.

How? Objectives and focused work.

These players knew what they had to do to be ready to play. They had their own routines.

They mimicked no-one. The reality for these players was that they actually did more in less time than their counterparts. Usually the last ones at the ballpark and the first ones to leave.

They were focused on efficiency and production. Paying no mind to social norms, trends, and the habits of others, these Greats knew what they needed to do. They knew when they could push harder, but were also very aware of when they needed to do less.

Business can work the same way.

The study of heart rate variability shows us that our system(body) is, at times, in a high alert state. This state is usually present when the body is under severe stress. When you are having ‘one of those days’, focus on work that’s easier on the mind and less ‘stress provoking’. In sport we refer to this as a lower volume day. Do less. Focus more on recovery.

More massage, more deep breathing, fewer heavy foods, and more ‘recreation’. This would be a perfect day to golf with clients, do some ‘vision’ work, or just interact with

18

others at the office.

On the days you feel great and your capacity is higher, dig in on the work that is more taxing. These are the days when your body will have benefited from the recovery and be excited to get the work done. Heck, these are the days to go in early and work late.

This is how we train athletes. We train them based on what they are giving us that day. When they are pain-free and feeling fresh, we push. The days they are fatigued, sluggish, and physically or mentally tired, we make low volume, recovery days.

CEOs should do the same. Just because your day typically starts with three miles on the treadmill does not mean every day has to begin like this. On days when you are ‘burnt’, ride the bike casually, stretch, and take a hot bath before work. Hit a cold shower after that to ‘spark’ your nervous system and bring acute alertness to your body.

Great athletes have a tremendous understanding of their bodies. They are not living in a zombie-like state, just getting through it. If this is how you approach your business and work-life, you won’t make it out alive!

Remember, the longest professional sports season is Major League Baseball: 162 regular season games, 30 Spring Training Games, and potentially another 19 games in the Playoffs.

That totals 211 games. Players need to be ready to play every game. The best part of professional sports is that your compensation is performance based, much like the sport of business. If you are not ready to play every day, it will cost you in your pocket.

I’ve found the tricks to long-term success are simple. I use my Drivers of Performance to get my message across to athletes and executives. These Drivers of Performance are Mindset, Training, Fueling and Recovery.

If you focus on these drivers every day, you will be able to run like a fully charged Duracell battery.

Are you ready?

1. Mindset: Negative mindsets and stress are production and energy killers.

Eliminating these stressors is essential to long-term vitality. We do this using what I call, 'reframing'. Now, it is impossible to live your days as a leader without things coming up. However, it is the leader’s job to not fuel the negatives and put a hard stop to them by reframing the outcomes in their mind.

Stress happens when you apply a worst-case scenario forecast to a situation that has not happened yet. When negatives come up, acknowledge them, but stop there.

The next steps are reframing the positives that will come from the elimination of these negatives. In baseball, Derek Jeter said it best ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

when discussing a hitting slump: “I have just gone 0-30, so I am that much closer to getting a hit.” A master of the REFRAME, Jeter never saw negatives, only winning and positives. So can you.

2. Training: Start and end your day with some sort of physical training. Exercise diffuses stress and changes your body’s thought patterns. My rules to training are simple: Elevate your heart rate in the morning, elevate your heart rate at night, and know how high to elevate it. On days you are mentally and physically cooked, keep the intensity and volume of exercise low. On days you feel like Secretariat, push with higher intensity and high volume. Make this a routine. You have your AM and PM routine. These routines can range from cardiovascular conditioning and weights to walking a trail listening to your favorite podcast. Split your training.

3. Fueling: You are what you eat. You cannot outwork poor nutrition. Negative nutrition is the fastest way to weight gain, negative self-image, and organ stress. Eat a diet that is clean. Drink half your body weight in ounces of water per day.

What is a clean diet? Simple: lean meat, chicken, fish, nuts, seeds, fruits and vegetables. Keep starches to AM and try to use them as a weekend-only treat. I encourage you to have a FAT-SUNDAY where you can indulge in your favorite cheats. The reality is, the cleaner you eat, the worse your treats will taste. Sorry, I only speak the truth. For those who entertain with daily business lunches and dinners, request all of your meals ‘dry’, which will cut the salt, oils, and butters used in typical food prep. Also request no bread at the table. Finally, when ordering, your choices

should contain only proteins and vegetables cut the starches for a leaner body.

4. Recovery: This is a component of health most executives do not include in their day.

If you work hard, you need to recover hard as well. This is not a ‘sometimes thing’ but an ‘all the time thing’. Recovery is essential to eliminating daily aches and pains, muscle fatigue and reducing the number of stress centers in the body. So what type of recovery works best? I am a big fan of using hot bath soaks, steam rooms and saunas at the end of each day to signify completion. At the conclusion of your PM training, or right before bed, marinate yourself with heat.

Heat is calming and relaxing, and in a very different way to meditation. I call this burning off your top layer. The hotter the temperature the better. Just remember to keep yourself hydrated throughout. If you choose to use a bath you can add eucalyptus or lavender essential oils to increase the calm. Finally, once you get out of the tub or heat, take a nice shower. That shower is the capstone of the day. No more emails. No more cell phone.

Nothing. At this point, cut screen usage in favor of conversations with family or reading.

Playing the sport of business 365 days per year is a grind. Most CEOs love the sport.

They love that chase and grind. It is who they are. Do not resist it. Embrace it. Just realize that, if you want to play the game for a long time, you must be strategic and resilient when it comes to your training.

Work hard. Play hard. Train harder.

That’s how winning is done.

BIOGRAPHY

Dana Cavalea is the former Director of Strength and Conditioning & Performance for the New York Yankees. In addition to high performance coaching, he is a sought after Corporate & Conference Speaker, teaching his Drivers of Performance to CEOs, Executives, and Leadership Teams. Website: www.danacavalea.com

ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

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“Being entrepreneurs at heart, they do not want to become managers and take care of the administration of a company that will inevitably become bigger.”

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EUROPE’S INNOVATION, AMERICA’S BOON

P

STÉPHANE GARELLI

ersonal assistant applications and their soothing voices have changed our lives. They listen to everything we say on our phones and tablets, in our offices and living rooms, and predict our wants and needs. Apple's Siri is the most famous. Its story is telling about the relationship between innovation and geography in our times.

Originally, the real Siri (Kalvig) was a weather anchor woman on Norwegian television. She was considered attractive and became widely popular, with half of Norway falling in love with her. And among them was Dag Kittlaus who worked on voice recognition. He went on to name his company Siri. A few years later, Steve Jobs called him and made a deal to buy his company for USD $200 million. A fairy tale? For him, yes, for Europe less so. Siri is just one of many European ground-breaking inventions, such as Skype or DeepMind, bought by major US

technology companies in recent years.

In Europe, entrepreneurs rarely create companies around their inventions; they usually end up selling them. Efforts to support start-ups and to encourage them to grow are obviously commendable. But in the “Old Continent” we fail to transform these new innovations into larger businesses that create jobs and pay local taxes.

In the United States, companies with top market capitalization such as Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, and Facebook have relatively short histories. And while these companies are innovative on their own, they are also extremely competitive in acquiring discoveries made by others.

Between 2001 and 2006, these five companies bought 52 technology startups which originated in Europe. To do so, they have used the huge liquidities from their balance sheets, overall amounting to more than USD $500 billion. In general, US ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

companies are more aggressive in buying companies than European ones. During the same period, 82% of all start-up acquisitions in the United States and Europe were made by US companies; 21% by companies from Silicon Valley alone.

That means that surprisingly, the money that many countries’ government programs provide to support innovation and start-ups are in fact indirectly subsidizing the research of large US technology companies. Many of these internet giants have realized that it is often more efficient to buy a promising start-up than investing a lot of money in endogenous research that may not pay off.

So then, why aren’t our young European entrepreneurs creating businesses around their innovations? Undoubtedly, economic and financial structures do not support them well enough. But it's also a question of attitude. Being entrepreneurs at heart, they do not want to become managers and take care of the administration of a company that will inevitably become bigger. For the most part, they prefer to sell their start-ups, cash in, improve their living conditions after years of hardship, and maybe create another start-up.

Therefore, it is important to connect better managers and start-ups. At Google, Larry ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

“Once upon a time, people emigrated from Europe to the United States to sell their work. Today, it is young entrepreneurs who emigrate to sell their start-ups.”

Page and Sergei Brin hired Eric Schmidt (former CEO of Novell) to free them from managerial constraints. Mark Zuckerberg did the same with Sheryl Sandberg (McKinsey) for Facebook. As for Bill Gates, he left his role as chairman of the board to Satya Nadella to remain Founder and technology advisor.

Siri is not alone in her misfortune. Once upon a time, people emigrated from Europe to the United States to sell their work. Today, it is young entrepreneurs who emigrate to sell their start-ups.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Courtesy of IMD Business School.

BIOGRAPHY Stéphane Garelli is Professor Emeritus at IMD where he founded the World Competitiveness Centre.

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STUDENT REFLECTIONS Looking through the lens of two MBA students at Exeter Business School VICTORIA VEBER

CLASS OF 2018

Q. What drew you to Exeter Business School?

The most important aspect for me was the programme’s sustainable approach to business. It was exactly what I was looking for. Another important fact was the reputation of the University, and of the MBA programme.

Q. Has the programme met/exceeded your expectations?

It’s definitely exceeded my expectations.

The learning process is a permanent experience that is lived in and out of the classroom.

Q. With regards to the admissions process, what advice would you give to potential applicants?

I would strongly advise potential candidates to go through the application process with time, not only to avoid rushing at the last minute, but also to give themselves time to think about what they really want, and about the programme as well.

The personal essay is not just a formal document, but an opportunity to question yourself about your personal motivations and to dig dipper into the programme and how it relates to you.

Q. How would you summarise your experience at Exeter Business School to date?

It’s been a challenging path, but rewarding as well, in terms of my academic, professional and personal growth. I’ve also enjoyed great support from the MBA team, my peers, and my family.

Q. Can you expand upon the make-up (industries, geography etc.) and calibre of your fellow MBA participants and what they bring to the programme and your learning experience?

Over 20 countries are represented in my cohort, and all of my peers are professionals from varying disciplines, ranging from AI and management through to economics and design. This is a unique environment in which to learn from other cultures and experiences.

Q. What is the hardest thing about the programme?

As a full-time student, sometimes it can be difficult to absorb all of the new content as we are constantly dealing with classes and working on more than one essay at a time.

Q. Are there unique elements of the programme that you feel will enhance your career objectives?

Apart from the networking events, which allow us to talk to professionals working in 22

industries and jobs we have an interest in, the practical final project within a real company is an excellent opportunity for us to sample the dynamics of the job we may be applying for.

The Personal Transformation module is also worthy of mention as it provides information on personal development and tips and tools for professional development.

AYAN CHATTERJEE CLASS OF 2018

Q. What drew you to Exeter Business School?

When you consider the issues facing society, be it resource scarcity, radical advancement in technology, or the degradation of the environment, rethinking the way we live and do business is critical.

The MBA at the University of Exeter, via its core focus on sustainability, addresses these issues, which distinguishes the programme considerably from its competitors. This was one of the major reasons I joined the programme.

Q. With regards to the admissions process, what advice would you give to potential applicants?

One of the main things that helped me with my application was starting early. This gives you sufficient time to work on the application, ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

take qualifying exams (if necessary), and complete scholarship applications, where applicable.

Your goals and objectives for the programme should be clear, prior to applying.

You should also have a vision, in terms of what you want to pursue, post-MBA. This can only help with the admissions process.

Q. Are there unique elements of the programme that you feel will enhance your career objectives?

Yes, certainly! In our third term we will be undertaking a consulting project. This means working with an organisation directly and helping them solve a real-life issue facing the company. The experience will be invaluable.

Q. Can you expand upon the make-up (industries, geography etc.) and calibre of your fellow MBA participants and what they bring to the programme and your learning experience?

I feel privileged to be part of such a diverse cohort, both in terms of nationality and experience. The class of 2018 is comprised of 43 students and 23 different nationalities. They hail from various sectors, such as the army, sports, fashion, IT, consulting, education, and more. We also have entrepreneurs and senior management professionals in the class.

Owing to such diversity, class discussions are incredibly enriching and dynamic.

Q. How would you summarise your experience at Exeter Business School to date?

It has been a very pleasant experience.

Leaving my country, and job, and starting a new journey in a foreign country seemed daunting at first, but the way the curriculum has been designed definitely makes the transition process easier.

The other important point to mention in regards to the curriculum is that it is not solely focused on academics but on the overall development of the student, thereby boosting one’s employability and self-confidence.

Finally, the MBA administration, as well as the lecturers, have an open-door policy and are very supportive which, ultimately, makes a huge difference.

Q. What do you consider to be the highlight of the programme thus far?

I’ve found the MBA administration to be extremely supportive. They never hesitate to listen to problems or challenges, both on an individual basis and at the class level, and even provide one-to-one guidance if needed.

The distinguished faculty deliver content in a very accessible way, and the assignments and deadlines are carefully chalked out to avoid any overlaps. More importantly, feedback and suggestions are welcomed and utilised in the development and refinement of the programme.

Q. What is the hardest thing about the programme?

The challenge with a one-year programme is the time crunch. Working on traditional business techniques and concepts alongside contemporary and evolved concepts is a challenge. However, time-management is a skill all good business leaders need.

Q. What has been the most challenging thing about returning to education, and what mechanisms (support from family, time management etc.) have you put in place inorder to manage the increased workload?

Well, I had planned to do an MBA after gaining more work experience, so had kept myself engaged with online courses.

Setting personal deadlines and tracking progress at the end of the day are techniques that I have been using to manage my work load.

ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

ABOUT THE SCHOOL The University of Exeter Business School is one of the UK's leading centres of business education and research, bringing together internationally respected academics with students from over 80 countries.

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24

ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

THE FORDHAM EXECUTIVE MBA PROGRAM • Earn a gold-standard credential in just

22 months.

• Classes meet one weekend per month.

• Study with a close-knit cohort of experienced

professionals who will build your network.

LEARN MORE: FORDHAM.EDU/EMBA

ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

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eeo

JOE HANDY A BIG FISH IN A BIG POND V I C T O R C A L L E N D E R TA L K S T O J O E H A N D Y, PRESIDENT & COO OF THE GEORGIA AQUARIUM

Q. Can you tell me about your slightly unusual path to the Georgia Aquarium?

The shortest distance between points is a straight line. My path was a little less linear.

I started in this industry by working at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Although I knew I wanted to help people, I wasn't yet sure how I would achieve this, so I decided to explore different areas of the Museum: education, visitors' services, exhibit security, call handling, and so on.

Interestingly, around this time, our primary benefactor, Bernie Marcus, wanted to give the city of Atlanta and the state of Georgia this wonderful gift, which we now refer to as the Georgia Aquarium. However, before doing so, Bernie wanted to gather more information, which meant visiting various global attractions. One of those attractions was the American Museum of Natural History and, naturally, Bernie had questions. Given that I'd spent time in pretty much every 26

ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

department, the Museum decided I was probably the best person to speak to.

I later chatted to one of Bernie's team, not imagining what was to come, and was asked to be part of the Georgia Aquarium's opening team. So, although the Georgia Aquarium had not been on my radar, the fit could not have been better in terms of my desire to help people.

Q. As a New York native, you're used to giving and receiving exemplary customer service.

How has this influenced your time at the Georgia Aquarium?

My time at the Museum taught me a lot about people. Whilst you cannot control the external factors that may have impacted someone’s day prior to meeting you, you can control the experience they have when meeting you.

When I meet with my staff, and I meet with all of them, I remind them of this, and that people make a choice to spend time with us and visit our attraction. It's important we recognise and value that.

We also have to be focused on the experience that people leave with, and ‘live’ with. This is how we measure experiences.

If you stay at a fantastic hotel and receive great customer service, you’ll measure the next hotel by this experience.

Q. How has your EMBA guided your management of the Georgia Aquarium?

The EMBA at Kennesaw taught me to work on, rather than in, the business. Working this way, you’re able to step away from the day-today and take a mile-high view in terms of what needs to be done and when.

Take repeat visitors as an illustration.

Through good attendance we’re able to build cash reserves and reinvest in, for example, a new signature animal, gallery, presentation or experience. These are the things we ‘need to do’ in order to keep people coming back. However, it’s also a matter of ‘when’ these things are done.

As a new facility, bringing in high footfall is straightforward, but in three to five years being new isn’t enough, so it’s recognising this and making the necessary investment at the right time.

Q. Why did you choose the EMBA over the full-time or professional MBA? There are a lot of high-quality programmes out there, but as I progressed in my career, I realised that what I really needed was that holistic approach offered by executive schooling; I wanted an overarching view of business tied to those all-important soft skills.

Kennesaw's EMBA programme ticked those boxes. ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

“If you're willing and open to learning more about yourself and others, Kennesaw’s EMBA is the right programme for you.”

27

“Atlanta is a very competitive market, and I considered a number of EMBA programmes, but Kennesaw's was a notch above.”

Kennesaw's EMBA programme has enabled me to be a better leader because my business skills have been honed and my people skills magnified.

BIOGRAPHY

Joe Handy is the President & COO of the Georgia Aquarium.

28

Q. Why Kennesaw?

Atlanta is a very competitive market, and I considered a number of EMBA programmes, but Kennesaw's was a notch above.

The interaction you have with the business school, its staff and the professors is great.

The curriculum’s very rounded approach is also important, because you don’t want there to be gaps in your knowledge. However, the emphasis they place on the human side of being an executive is what really sets the School apart.

Q. Can you talk about some of your instant takeaways from the programme?

For me it was teamwork and communication. The cohort structure of the EMBA programme highlights the importance of working with different people and groups in order to get the job done. As a leader you need everyone looking at the same goal, which is why the teamworking element of a cohort structure works so well.

The second of the takeaways, communication, has been crucial for me. I communicate with my teams and departments using their language, be it marketing, finance, or another aspect of business. Unless you speak the language of that particular area or department, there can be a discontent.

Kennesaw's EMBA programme has enabled me to be a better leader because my business skills have been honed and my people skills magnified.

Q. Can you point to gaps in your pre-EMBA skillset?

Pre-EMBA, I felt I knew things, but going through the programme I quickly realised that I still had a lot to learn.

If there was one skill that I needed to acquire and fine tune, it was an attentive ear.

This was a skill I didn't have, pre-EMBA. It's not just hearing words and responding.

Listening is understanding the motivation behind those words. Listening is not interrupting, letting someone complete their thought, and allowing things to happen organically. It's also about asking the right questions so that you're getting the information you need, but you can't do that without listening.

Kindly expand upon the learning environment and the support you received from Kennesaw on your EMBA journey.

Kennesaw's profiling of students on the programme allows them to create teams which are designed to excel. This in turn creates an open and honest environment in which you can share, and thrive. You also quickly recognise the skills your peers bring to the table, as is the case in business.

Throughout the programme, if there was ever a deadline I was struggling to make because of work pressures, or a topic I was finding heavy going, the professors were always on hand - they want everyone to succeed and recognise that you all start at different points with varying levels of experience and expertise.

Q. Can you talk about the quality of your cohort and how important they've been, post-EMBA? You end up with a battle-hardened second family. It's like being in the military: You go through this process of being stripped back and then built back up with a group of people that are all going through the same thing, so they can empathise.

Going through the programme is a humbling process, because the weaknesses you’re pinpointing and the areas you’re working on are exposed to others. However, this makes you comfortable asking for help.

I still speak to many of my classmates to this day. If I need a different viewpoint or lens, they will happily give me an unbiased perspective, which is invaluable, because it allows me to look at a problem or challenge in a different way.

As you grow your network, you’re also growing your pool of information. The great thing about your network is that they have skills you don't - they also know your strengths and weaknesses.

Q. How did the Kennesaw’s EMBA programme tap into to your entrepreneurial qualities?

Working with, and for, Bernie Marcus planted that entrepreneurial seed and gave me a very solid foundation. So, going into the EMBA, the first floor of my entrepreneurial house looked very solid. However, going through the programme allowed me to furnish the different areas of that house.

Q. What tips would you give to potential students that are thinking about, or have enrolled in, Kennesaw's EMBA programme?

I think ‘acceptance’ and ‘openness’ are the operative words here. You have to be willing to do a self-audit and pay attention to that audit. There are going to be things that you learn about yourself that you didn't know, and you have to be willing to accept them and work on them. You also have to be willing to accept diversity of thought. You have to be willing to appreciate that the person sitting on your right or left may view something differently to you, and it may not be right and it may not be wrong, but it will be different.

If you're willing and open to learning more about yourself and others, Kennesaw’s EMBA is the right programme for you. ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

KENNESAW STATE UNIVERSITY’S EMBA

FACULTY

The facts and figures behind Kennesaw State University’s Executive MBA Programme.

TIME EFFICIENT

“

As we enter our silver anniversary, I'm reminded of the many successful alumni that have passed through this programme over the past 25 years. For 15 of those years, I, personally, have witnessed the growth and development of

our students into the leaders of tomorrow.

n The KSU EMBA

"Our EMBA Programme is uniquely designed to address the

is the only programme in metro Atlanta with a true weekend format

interpersonal needs of professionals and companies alike. Our

n Classes meet, on average, one weekend

next generation of global leaders while providing them with

teaming, coaching, and mentoring model works to create the

in every month

relevant and applicable material in the classroom that they can

n Students are able to complete the

apply in their organisation immediately. Nothing brings me more

programme in 19 months

satisfaction than hearing current students and alumni speak

TEAM-BASED SUCCESS

about the impact this programme has had on their personal lives

n The programme is

team-based in order to promote collaboration, decision-making, resourcefulness, ingenuity, and entrepreneurship.

and professional careers. "

n Students complete a DISC® personality

ADMINISTRATION

ALISON M. KEEFE PH.D., EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR A N D A S S O C I AT E P R O F E S S O R O F EC O N O M I C S

profile assessment before entering the programme and results are factored into the formation of teams.

GLOBALLY FOCUSED

n The KSU EMBA is the

only programme that offers an eight-month global teaming experience, which allows students to gain invaluable global business skills.

“

I am amazed at the growth of KSU since my days as an undergrad in the early 90s. I received my undergraduate degree from Kennesaw when it was a state college; my MBA reads ‘Kennesaw State University’. My deep ties in

the community, history with KSU and research into the EMBA programme are what led me to this role. I certainly feel a sense of pride when I interview prospective students and they talk about the reputation and ranking of KSU being leading factors in

n The global experience includes a 10-day

international residency, programme-long virtual teaming with the largest EMBA programme in Europe, and a cultural immersion.

considering the University for their Executive MBA.” ALLAN BISHOP DIRECTOR OF RECRUITMENT AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

STUDENT STATISTICS

94%

The number of students that report an increase in value to their employer

39

Years of age

ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

9

Years of management experience

88%

Students that reported an increase in promotion prospects

16

Years of work experience

50%

Non-business undergraduate majors

50%

Students that, typically, receive a promotion prior to programme completion

20%

Salary increase after graduation

*The figures indicated denote the average for each area listed.

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HOW OLYMPIC ATHLETES AND MANAGERS CAN AVOID CHOKING UNDER PRESSURE J AYA N T H N A R AYA N A N

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ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

I

to a certain point. High levels of anxiety can magine you are competing at the winter indeed drain mental resources and strongly Olympic games. You have just arrived at impair your performance. The challenge then the starting blocks of the race. All you is to remain in an optimum zone of stress. But need to do is to patiently wait for your how does one do that? turn to get down the hill. Cameras are on Researchers in organizational behavior you. As the current leader, you are expected and psychology have been examining the to win. You know how to do it, after all, you role of mindfulness in helping people manage have executed these manoeuvres thousands their anxiety. Mindfulness is a concept of times. Weather conditions are optimal derived from Buddhism which essentially and training for the race has been going well, trains the mind to remain alert and attentive everything is perfect, but still… This time is focusing on the “here” and “now”. With different. Instead of listening to the last words sustained practice, Mindfulness has been from your coach, you start thinking about all shown to reduce anxiety and improve the people counting on you to perform. Your performance in the workplace. A number of country is still waiting to get its first medal athletes have used this technique to and your family have travelled to manage their anxiety before a big see your live performance. What if sporting event. Most famously, the you miss a gate? Or turn a second basketball player, Michael Jordan, too late and fall? As these thoughts credits George Mumford, the author come streaming in, almost outside of of the book The Mindful Athlete, one’s control, your focus shifts away “While an transforming his ability on the from the task at hand. This leads to increase in your with court. MJ is not the only one. Other choking under pressure on the big stage. Although this is an example level of stress can athletes who have claimed to use mindfulness are Novak Djokovic, from sports, this can happen to have a positive Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Misty anyone who is under high pressure.

May, Kerri Walsh, and Tiger Woods.

The phenomenon of “choking effect on your Organizational actors frequently under pressure” is not new and has performance face situations in which they are been well studied by academics. expected to deliver under extreme It refers to poor performance, (e.g. by high pressure under the spotlight. In relative to what is expected, at increasing your such situations, choking can occur, a time when the incentives for if you are extremely adept and optimal performance are at their level of attention even skilled at the task at hand. A brief highest level. The expectations of the performance, the level of and interest), it moment of mindfulness can help you bring focus and attention back pressure and the timing are key to does so only up to to what you’re doing. This can help this phenomenon. The Olympics is a typical context where choking a certain point.” put you in an optimal performance zone. under pressure can occur. It can be The next time, before that big a particularly stressful period for meeting or presentation, consider athletes, as it can represent a “once doing the following: in a lifetime” opportunity to get national/international recognition n Find a quiet place where you won’t be and is a dream for many sportswomen and disturbed for a few minutes. Set a timer to 10 sportsmen. But this phenomenon applies to minutes if that will help keep track of time. many other contexts, like when you have to n Close your eyes and settle down into a do an important presentation in front of your comfortable position. boss, pitch in front of important investors, n With purpose and intent, take a few deep introduce yourself during a job interview, breaths in and out with your attention focused etc. In all these examples, the stakes are so on the breathing. high that you should be at your best. But when n If thoughts arise about the impending less-than-optimal performance occurs, it is meeting or presentation, allow them to be interpreted as choking under pressure. there, but gently shift your attention back to the breathing.

Mindfulness & stress n As you do this practice, you will notice that The Yerkes-Dodson law of performance is your mind calms down. As your mind calms often cited to explain choking under pressure. down it becomes easier to engage in this It is an inverted-U shaped relationship practice. between performance and physiological or n Becoming aware of the upcoming meeting mental stress. While an increase in your level or presentation with a sense of well-being, of stress can have a positive effect on your open your eyes and you will be ready to take performance (e.g. by increasing your level on the world. of attention and interest), it does so only up ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

“A brief moment of mindfulness can help you bring focus and attention back to what you’re doing. This can help put you in an optimal performance zone.”

BIOGRAPHY

Jayanth Narayanan is Professor of Organizational Behavior and Leadership at IMD. 31

The Art of Reinvention and Leadership in the Digital Age EU BUSINESS SCHOOL

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ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

T

wenty years ago, Reed Hastings returned an overdue film to his local Blockbuster and was hit with a $40 late-fee. Like many Blockbuster customers, he was embarrassed and annoyed.

But Hastings had an idea. An idea that would revolutionise home entertainment.

Netflix is currently the world’s leading subscription streaming service and is even producing its own movies and TV shows. It has changed the way we watch TV and has an annual turnover of $5.5 billion. Hastings, along with co-founder Marc Randolph, created a business model that overhauled an industry.

With a company culture that values honesty, passion, curiosity, judgement and innovation, Netflix is the epitome of a cutting-edge 21st century business. And Blockbuster has sunk without a trace.

We’re in an age of unprecedented technological revolution. The way we live, work and interact is changing fast. With the emergence of new forms of business, the question of what it means to be a leader requires a new answer.

Many traditional methods of leadership and conventional mindsets are becoming redundant. The most influential businesses in the world today are not only coping with complex market changes, but actively shaping them. They are being driven by a new generation of leaders who have a multi-faceted understanding of modern business, together with a certain freedom of creative thought.

These visionaries are harnessing technology to create new business models, new industries and to redefine the customer experience.

As the paradigms shift, a world-class business education becomes increasingly important. The ability to adapt to new situations, to embrace challenges and thrive outside of a comfort zone will make the difference in the modern world of business.

This is where studying an MBA at a top business school comes into play.

Since 1973, EU Business School (EU) has been at the forefront of business education.

Now with campuses in Barcelona, Geneva, Montreux, Munich and online, they offer an internationally recognised, cutting-edge MBA programme that prepares students to become adaptive, innovative leaders, with the ability to inspire others.

Providing small, dynamic classes in English, with the best of both North American and European academic curricula, EU gives students a hands-on, all-encompassing educational experience. Managing director Luc Craen explains their philosophy: “Reshaping and rethinking business education is extremely important”, says Luc. “We need to prepare for jobs that don’t exist yet. At EU Business School, this is achieved through an ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

experienced faculty and experts from different industries, who give an insight into current trends and the future of business.”

It’s this ethos of constant evolution and a willingness to push boundaries that makes EU stand out.

Changing lives Students come to study at EU from all over the world. After completing her high school studies in India, Divya Joshi left behind the comforts of home to study in Europe. The opportunities she discovered changed her life.

“I studied an MBA at EU Business School Montreux, graduating with the award for the highest GPA - 3.9 on a 4.0 scale,” says Joshi. “It taught me to think, act and work like a business leader. My course, and the faculty, helped train me thoroughly to understand complex business issues and to think strategically. EU provided me with the business skills I was lacking and enhanced my soft skills, such as leadership, cross-cultural understanding and teamwork.”

Divya’s studies led her to New York University, where she now works as a content creator and digital marketer. “My growth as a businessperson was structured in a disciplined way, which equipped me with the necessary frameworks and models to analyse real-world business problems and opportunities. Overall, EU built me into a better learner and worker, who now analyses situations more intricately and strategically than before.”

“Reshaping and rethinking business education is extremely important”

International exposure From developing essential life skills to forging life-long connections, the benefits of studying an MBA in an international environment are many. Exposure to different cultures broadens the mind, leading to a greater understanding of the world. This is something that cannot be taught in a classroom, but is instead experienced through open interaction with people of the same age and similar ambitions. Studying an MBA in an international environment gives students a fresh perspective, not only on other cultures, but also on their own, enabling them to see their country through the eyes of another. It builds character and empathy, fundamental attributes in today’s increasingly connected world.

With more than 100 nationalities at EU, students are immersed in a truly multicultural learning environment. An open and adaptive attitude towards foreign cultures is cultivated, enabling students to become more adept at making lasting connections.

Many EU alumni have progressed to play crucial roles in successful international businesses. Julian Baladurage graduated from EU in 2012 and soon founded his 33

“We need to prepare for jobs that don’t exist yet. At EU Business School, this is achieved through an experienced faculty and experts from different industries, who give an insight into current trends and the future of business.”

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

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own company. Regarding working in an international environment, he says “You learn a lot about different cultures, about their way of problem-solving, their work ethics, their way of communicating. I run a company with more than 40 people and we have over 15 nationalities among them. [The international study environment] is quite helpful in building intercultural communication and understanding skills.”

Increasing demand There is ever increasing demand for MBA graduates. According to a recent QS Intelligence Unit survey of employers worldwide, there has been a 13% growth globally in jobs that require an MBA degree.

The countries with the biggest markets for jobs requiring MBAs are the US, India and Brazil, with the majority of openings within the finance, consulting and technology sectors.

A large part of the value proposition for employers is soft skills, such as communication and critical analysis. These are developed during MBA programmes through debates, collaborative activities, case-study analyses and presentations.

Modern employers value open-minded, culturally knowledgeable individuals, with the ability to collaborate with people from different backgrounds and walks of life.

Non-traditional study The education landscape is changing rapidly. Online learning has grown significantly in recent years and, with over 6 million online students in the world, studying online is no longer seen as a radical alternative. In the future, it will be the first concept that comes to mind when we talk about ‘education.’

Studying an MBA online gives students the freedom to study from anywhere in the world. Njáll Andersen, from Iceland, studied an online MBA at EU. The flexible nature of the programme was key. “Having a fulltime job and a family while doing an MBA was obviously challenging. But the Online MBA programme grants you the flexibility to work in your own time. The on-site programmes I looked at before choosing the EU programme all had the disadvantage of requiring attendance, meaning that I would miss days from work during the programme.

My geographical location also meant that I would have to travel each time. An online programme also has the added advantage of having a very diverse student body, which is another source of valuable lessons.”

He is very clear about the benefits of studying an online MBA and how it can influence his career: “The programme opens up a world of leadership and management,

providing you with the tools to tackle realworld issues and advance in your professional career, whichever one it might be.”

Beyond the strong organizational, independent learning and time-management skills gained from studying an MBA, an online degree demonstrates to an employer that a prospective candidate has the confidence to take the initiative and study in their own way.

It also shows that they have the tenacity to harness new technologies.

EU alumnus and rising star at Microsoft, Boris Bugarski, knew that an MBA was the key to opening doors in his career, but he wanted to continue working full-time. “The EU Online MBA was ideal for me. The ability to communicate and the technical knowledge gained from studying an MBA gives you an advantage in the workplace. Your employers know you're someone who has expertise and can be trusted to deliver results. Microsoft really value an MBA and, as an employee, you experience lots of trust and freedom to finish your job best as you can.”

Building a network An often-overlooked aspect of career success is knowing the right people. The ability to make an impression on key players in the business world, and to seize an opportunity when it arises, is paramount.

Studying an MBA opens the door to a wide network of connections.

After graduation, a large alumni network is invaluable. EU’s 25,000+ alumni span the globe, holding top positions in multinational corporations, growing SMEs and innovative start-ups. The EU Alumni Association brings them together by facilitating communications, promoting information exchanges and encouraging international business relations. This international network connects like-minded professionals who share similar business values and visions that stem from the same root: an exceptional global business education. Many alumni come back to campus as guest speakers, to share their experience with current students.

A new age The evolution of business goes hand-inhand with the evolution of education. An MBA at EU Business School is a life-altering choice for students from all over the world; an immersive educational experience that allows them to shape their own future. From mastering the art of reinvention to learning how to communicate with people from all walks of life and being able to learn from failure, EU MBA students graduate ready to break new ground. They will play the game their own way, writing their own rules along the way. ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

Ranked a Top 25 Global Online MBA program - CEO Magazine 2017

Applied Education.

Modern Delivery.

Exceptional Value.

Known for its accreditation, affordability, and commitment to student success, the Georgia WebMBA® is among the top-ranked online MBA programs. Professionals in this accelerated MBA learn in an applied environment without interrupting their work and personal lives.

The Georgia WebMBA® is offered through the following universities: Columbus State University ■ Georgia College ■ Georgia Southern University Kennesaw State University ■ University of West Georgia ■ Valdosta State University

ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

Enroll Today. www.webmbaonline.org35

“One aspect of the Georgia WebMBA that has remained constant is the team-based nature of the program. We consistently hear from students and alumni that working with their peers not only allows for better learning, but that it mimics the virtual team environment prevalent in businesses today.”

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RIGOR, INNOVATION AND VALUE THE GEORGIA WEBMBA F A Y E S. M C I N T Y R E

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tudents in the Georgia WebMBA benefit from the foresight of business school deans who began planning for the program in the 1990s, when most online programs were undergraduate only and little more than a series of correspondence courses.

The revolutionary program was built around the concepts of staffing with the best faculty, curriculum that brings in realworld applications, and an active learning environment where students engage with each other in team-based activities.

We have grown from the first cohort of 29 students in Spring 2001 to 490 enrolled students from around the world this year.

Just as our numbers have increased, so has our quality and the value added for our students.

Today, the Georgia WebMBA remains one of the most well-established online MBAs and one of few consortium programs that can pull resources from multiple schools. The Georgia WebMBA is offered through Columbus State University, Georgia College, Georgia Southern University, Kennesaw State University, University of West Georgia and Valdosta State University, all members of the University System of Georgia, and all accredited by AACSB International (The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business), the leading global accrediting body for business schools.

One key to our success is a solid commitment to continuous improvement.

All professors teaching in the program have doctoral degrees, and the vast majority have industry experience; many also continue to consult with regional or national businesses.

In addition to continued professional development in their chosen fields of study,

faculty receive training in online teaching prior to joining the program and regular updates of those skills at annual workshops.

Just as technology evolves, so do we.

The curriculum of the WebMBA meets the same high standards as on-campus programs, and we continually assess learning outcomes to facilitate continuous improvement. Teams of faculty reevaluate each course for content currency, required assignments, and rigor.

Programmatic and pedagogical innovations are shared with all faculty so we can learn from each other.

An annual workshop for all faculty and staff in the program provides time for dedicated conversations and debriefs of the previous year’s activities and assessments.

One aspect of the Georgia WebMBA that has remained constant is the team-based nature of the program. We consistently hear from students and alumni that working with their peers not only allows for better learning, but that it mimics the virtual team environment prevalent in businesses today.

Students bond with their team members, and they support one another. As a recent graduate noted “Working with the same team throughout the entire program was definitely a positive experience for me. We really got to know one another, supported each other, and held each other accountable. I would not have learned as much without them.”

The Georgia WebMBA provides a highquality education at a reasonable price - as much as one-third or one-quarter of many competitors. However, our goal is not to be the cheapest MBA program, but to be the best. Our value proposition is clear and consistent. We are proud to offer the program and pleased that we received such positive feedback from those who have completed it. ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

BIOGRAPHY

Faye S. McIntyre is the Dean and Sewell Chair of Private Enterprise at the University of West Georgia and Lead Dean for the Georgia WebMBA. ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

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TRENDS SHAPING THE MBA LANDSCAPE: Q&A WITH A RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT FOCUSED DATA SCIENTIST “With more industries now investing in analytics and the current shortage of talent in the market, the demand for programme graduates is very high.”

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C E O M AG A Z I N E TA L K S T O D R R O UZ B E H R A Z AV I

n response to the growing need for data scientists in business, the Kent State College of Business Administration offers a Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA) programme which provides renowned faculty, leading-edge curriculum and various programme offerings.

As part of the School’s ongoing drive to remain current on trends in the MSBA landscape, the College brought Dr Rouzbeh Razavi on board as an assistant professor last fall. Rouzbeh earned a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Essex in the U.K. and has received numerous awards for his extensive experience in the data analytics field. He has more than 60 journal articles, conference proceedings and presentations, has filed 30 patents and has held multiple teaching and research positions. His research focuses on next generation networks, machine learning and predictive algorithms, as well as enhancing credit scores and risk models.

Below, Dr Razavi shares insights on the growing need for data scientists and the skillsets needed for MSBA graduates.

Q. What do you see as the trends in MBA education?

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We can clearly see that MBA programmes are becoming more specialised. Analytics is indeed amongst the areas that are fast becoming part of MBA education.

An ability to understand the basics of analytics is going to be invaluable for a wide array of jobs and functions in the future.

Moreover, there is a significant shortage of people with analytical skills in the market, which is projected to continue in the future.

The rise of MSBA programmes offered by universities around the globe is a natural response to this demand.

Q. Why did you decide to join Kent State’s business faculty?

Upon completion of my Ph.D., I started working as a research scientist at Bell Laboratories, the research arm of Nokia (Alcatel-lucent at the time), where I spent six years. Then I joined SAP as a research data scientist in Ireland and later moved to the United States and joined the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in New York as a Director in the Group Decision Sciences. Over this time, I was never far from academia. In fact, given the research and development nature of my roles, I have always worked closely with ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

partners from academia in the U.S., Europe and Australia.

When I learned about the opportunity at Kent State, I found it particularly interesting.

The College of Business Administration and the Management & Information Systems Department consist of high-calibre researchers and faculty members with very diverse backgrounds and expertise, providing a unique opportunity for research collaboration. Moreover, the Kent State MSBA is a very well-designed programme, and it is in line with my expertise and interests.

Q. What industry experience do you bring to your role as a faculty member?

Working as a data scientist for several years provided me with a solid technical understanding of the field, which I can incorporate in both my teaching and research at Kent State University. In addition, being familiar with job market trends and expectations will be particularly useful in shaping the MSBA programme at the Kent State College of Business Administration.

Q. What role does innovation play in your work?

Innovation is a core element of most research and development roles. Some of my research investigations in previous roles resulted in a number of inventions. I’ve filed 30 patents in the U.S., Europe and Asia, some of which are in existing commercial products. This experience gave me a unique opportunity to develop my critical thinking and problem-solving skills, which I hope to transfer to my students at Kent State.

Q. What is your teaching style?

I tend to have a practical and applied approach in my teaching. From my experience, I’ve noticed that students are more engaged when they understand how they can apply their knowledge in solving real business problems. My background helps me explain sophisticated algorithms and analytical approaches to students in an easy to understand fashion while showing them how to apply the tools and methods in different disciplines to solve challenging problems.

Q. Which industries are MSBA students primarily coming from?

We have students from very diverse academic backgrounds in the programme, including business, engineering, mathematics and the sciences, just to name a few. This diversity strengthens the programme by enabling students to learn from each other through classroom interactions and group projects. ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

Q. What other skills, besides those of a quantitative nature, are learned in the MSBA programme?

Effective communication is a critical skill required for analytics practitioners. After all, they need to be able to communicate the results of their findings effectively, and provide insights from the data to colleagues in order to get them on board and buying in.

Q. What are some examples of courses in the MSBA programme?

The MSBA programme includes courses in applied statistics, data mining, optimisation, database management and big data and incorporates the business function areas where these methods are applied. Upon completion of the programme, students can work with databases to extract required data, implement and optimise machine learning and data mining algorithms, and create an array of visual tools to communicate their findings.

Q. What are the job prospects for someone with an MSBA degree?

With more industries now investing in analytics and the current shortage of talent in the market, the demand for programme graduates is very high. There are a variety of job openings that, depending on their interest and background, our graduates can fill. These range from data scientists and quantitative/ data analysts through to business intelligence analysts and analytics managers.

“Effective communication is a critical skill required for analytics practitioners.

After all, they need to be able to communicate the results of their findings effectively, and provide insights from the data to colleagues in order to get them on board and buying in.”

Q. From your perspective, what are students looking for in an MSBA programme?

Students are increasingly looking for a programme that provides them with an understanding of the fundamental concepts of the analytics field while also equipping them with the hands-on skills required to implement those ideas. This unique training also prepares them for the job market.

With this perspective in mind, the Kent State College of Business Administration’s MSBA programme is designed to provide a balanced mix of fundamentals and hands-on experiences.

Q. Are there plans to offer the MSBA online in the near future?

Yes. We are very enthusiastic about launching the online version of our programme in fall 2019. The quality and content of the programme will be the same as our full-time offering. However, the online delivery mode will make it possible for us to reach more people. For example, working professionals may not necessarily want to take time out to complete a degree and may find the online programme more suitable.

BIOGRAPHY

Rouzbeh Razavi is Assistant Professor in the Department of Management and Information Systems at the Kent State College of Business Administration.

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PUTTING THEORY INTO PRACTICE JACKSONVILLE UNIVERSITY

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he Davis College of Business at Jacksonville University (JU Davis) connects students with meaningful experiences, tools, and connections that enable them to serve their communities with distinction. JU Davis is at the forefront of bringing industry leaders in finance, accounting, and consumer goods into the classroom with an outstanding faculty to bridge the gap between theory and practice.

What We Offer Our full-time, one-year MBA is intended for recent graduates and career-changing adults. Courses meet twice a week during the day, and students have the choice to start in the fall or spring in this cohort-based program. Concentrations include Accounting and Finance, Consumer Goods and Services, Marketing, Management, and Management Accounting. Students also have the option of a flexible class schedule allowing ample time for internships or part-time work while completing their studies.

Our part-time MBA provides impactful business knowledge to working professionals while also meeting their flexible schedule needs. The program is designed for students with a minimum of three years full-time work experience. Courses meet once a week during evening hours, and combine in-class seat time with online, hybrid coursework.

MBA concentrations are also available to parttime MBA students and include Accounting and Finance, Consumer Goods and Services Marketing, Management, and Management Accounting.

Our Master of Science in Organizational Leadership provides a qualitative-focused approach to our traditional MBA. This specialized Master’s best serves those students with two or more years of progressive work experience. The parttime scheduling, and meeting once a week, 40

Technology is a key driver of business success in today’s economy. Organizations that understand that fact are shaping the future, and my MBA from JU Davis helped elevate my understanding of the critical relationship between technology and business success.”

K A T H L E E N B R A N D T, ’8 5 ’0 4, P R E S I D E N T, C S X T E C H N O L O G Y.

provides students with invaluable leadership skills, and the immediate opportunity to put them into action in their professional careers.

The Master of Science in Business Analytics is for those students with a strong technical background in all aspects of business. Subject-matter experts utilize cutting-edge curriculum in this 100 percent online program. Courses meet digitally in six sessions and follow the traditional eight-week semester format. ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

The MBA program was incredible.

Not only were the professors very helpful during the program, but even after.

Jacksonville University’s Alumni run deep in the community, and networking with fellow alumni helped me land a really great career.”

This is fantastic.

Understanding cultural differences in a work environment is critical when so many companies interact globally.

Everyone should experience the U.S. From a German perspective, it’s awesome to get international influence and likewise for Americans to see how Germany is.”

S H R U T I H I R A W A T, M B A ’ 1 6, F I N A N C I A L A N A LY S T AT B L A C K KNIGHT FINANCIAL SERVICES. COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: INDIA.

H A N N E S W I T T E, M B A ’ 1 4, Q U A L I T Y E N G I N E E R AT M E R C E D E S - B E N Z. COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: G E R M A N Y.

Executive Programs Our Executive Programs provide business and community leaders with the tools necessary to break through the glass ceiling of business. Executive Programs are taught in a cohort format at our state of the art downtown campus. New cohorts begin each fall.

The Executive Master of Business Administration is designed for individuals with ten or more years of management or professional experience, preparing to join an executive leadership team or launching a significant new venture.

The 19-month program consists of core competencies, which include the development of a strategic leadership mindset, as well as business expertise and creativity.

Our alumni of more than 30,000 from Jacksonville University, and over 11,000 from the Davis College of Business, successfully lead major international corporations, run nonprofit organizations, and become influencers in their industries.

(GMBA) will complete rigorous coursework on the JU campus and a hands-on internship at a partner institution over 18 months.

Students may also choose a 24-month dual degree, earning two master’s degrees (one from JU and one from a partner institution).

In each program, students will take up to four major-specific courses during their time abroad, allowing them to experience a wide array of coursework without being overwhelmed. Prior to going abroad, students will complete all core MBA courses at JU, creating a solid foundation in accounting, decision sciences, finance, international business, management, marketing and strategy.

What’s Ahead… The Global MBA The Global MBA will give students the opportunity to expand educational boundaries by exploring the global business community. Launching in the fall of 2018, JU Davis has partnered with four highly respected universities located in major cities around the globe, creating a first-tiered international study experience for future thought-leaders. Partner institutions include European Business School (OestritchWinkel, Germany), Kingston University (London, England) and Waseda University (Tokyo, Japan).

Global MBA Program Coursework Students who choose the Global MBA ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION…

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o matter where our students are from, all at JU have the unique opportunity to study on a beautiful riverfront setting in suburban Jacksonville as well as our convenient downtown campus. Located across the St. Johns River from Downtown and just minutes from the Atlantic Ocean, JU students can walk our oaklined campus and experience a mix of historic and new

campus buildings.

With more than 70,000 college students in the area, Jacksonville is a college town that offers many entertainment options, including professional sports, live music, vibrant museums, and the energy of live theatre.

Jacksonville was ranked in the top 20 best college towns in the United States according to the American Institute of Economic Research.

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RAISING THE MBA BAR IN DARMSTADT A L E X A N D R A S K I N N E R TA L K S T O RALF SCHELLHASE Q. Darmstadt Business School’s MBA offering has evolved significantly over the last decade. You now offer full-time and part-time modes and attract students from around the world. To what do you attribute your growth and continued success?

Yes, over the last ten years, and within a very competitive environment, we’ve managed to establish the Darmstadt Business School MBA in the market.

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Our success is based upon the strategic orientation and content of the programme, but also on the intensive care we offer our students.

The students value our relatively small groups (maximum of 30) and their international composition. Our slogan “For your career” is something that we practice daily. The small groups enable concentrated work and detailed discussion. The students know each other well and have very direct and personal contact with the professors, management, and academic director of the programme.

This also benefits us, as it allows us to integrate student suggestions and propositions into the ongoing development of the programme.

One of the key values of our MBA is its focus on long-term perspective. German companies, especially the typical mid-sized ones, think in much longer terms, as is the case in the U.S. This horizon of thinking in generations, rather than in quarters, is key to the success of German and European corporations. We consider it crucial to convey this to our students.

We offer a classical general management MBA which follows a holistic approach to doing business. We centre the programme around strategy, marketing and general management. It provides intensive, relevant and effective preparation for the challenges faced by executives of national and international enterprises. And, of course, we prepare our students to handle current topics: the digitalization of industry, the rising importance of networks, and the challenges of globalisation.

Q. High quality faculty are the cornerstone of any great programme, an area you excel in. However, growing a programme, modalities, and catering for international students can be a strain, even for the very best schools. What measures have you put in place in order to safeguard the quality of your teaching faculty?

Our MBA lecturers are bridge-builders between the academic and business spheres.

A balanced mix of university professors, lecturers with management experience, and business leaders with varying international backgrounds guarantee a scientifically founded management education orientated towards the requirements of management practice.

This is one of the reasons why we constantly evaluate our faculty - it's an area in which you cannot afford to be complacent.

Many of our in-house lecturers, as well as the majority of our industry lecturers, have been active in our programme for several ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

years, and are doing a very good job. However, if an evaluation is not where we would like it to be, the academic director will discuss this with the lecturer in question and together they will work on finding a solution.

In order to maintain and build upon the success of our faculty, we have increased the qualification standard for new lecturers.

Our size also proves advantageous when it comes to communication between the faculty, management and academic director.

We are able to discuss issues swiftly and react with speed.

Q. We have seen greater integration of technology in MBA programmes, both as a subject and as a mode of delivery. To what extent is technology a driving force in your MBA offering?

To ensure that we stay competitive and offer an outstanding MBA experience, we place significant emphasis on things like delivery, which is why our new lecture rooms have up-to-date media technology and equipment, and all lectures are supplemented with online material - some modules are taught in what we call ‘blended learning mode’.

We also pay attention to current trends, which is why we focus on issues like the digitalisation of industry and the increasing speed of technological change within our core courses. Going forward, we will be offering an elective course on Digital Management.

Q. In 2015, 44 per cent of newly registered businesses in Germany were founded by individuals with foreign passports. This should make for exciting reading where your international students are concerned.

Post-graduation, how many of your international students go on to start their own businesses?

Given that 50 per cent of our students have an international background, this is very topical for us. We don’t have precise numbers beyond that, but from my conversations with students, I know that some plan to start companies, or have already done so.

Darmstadt Business school offers a wide range of counsel and support for such startups.

To better prepare our MBA students to launch new ventures we will be offering an elective course on Entrepreneurship.

“German companies, especially the typical mid-sized ones, think in much longer terms, as is the case in the U.S. This horizon of thinking in generations, rather than in quarters, is key to the success of German and European corporations. We consider it crucial to convey this to our students.”

Q. Would it be fair to say that your MBA offering is the spark which ignites a passion in your students for lifelong learning, and how do you support this passion, post MBA? Yes, definitely, for many of our students this is true. The MBA opens them up to 43

new topics, discussions, and points of view, and this starts from the moment their MBA journey begins. So whilst they are busy preparing for the next stage in their career, they are also laying the foundations for lifelong learning.

Post-MBA, our alumni network is an important tool in this process as it allows us to invite our alums to regular events and lectures – alums even have the option to participate in electives… for free.

BIOGRAPHY

Ralf Schellhase is the Academic Director of Darmstadt Business School’s MBA Programme.

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Q. Whilst we tend to focus on elements such as faculty and accreditation when assessing the quality of an MBA programme, price cannot be overlooked, particularly for self-funded applicants.

Your MBA offering is one of the most competitively priced in Germany. How do you keep prices low whilst maintaining quality levels?

Yes, students regularly confirm that we offer very good value for money. Our programme costs €19,800, which includes course materials.

In contrast to many of our competitors, we are a state-owned university, which means

that we are a not-for-profit organisation. This allows us to offer high quality at a fair price.

Our students appreciate that.

Q. Looking ahead, given the stability of the domestic labour market and, as we’ve referenced above, the high level of entrepreneurial activity by non-natives, do you foresee an increase in international applicants?

Thanks to our continued efforts, the pool of international applicants continues to grow steadily.

We aim to be great hosts to our international students, which means offering support across the board. We help them to find accommodation, we offer a buddy system, German language courses, intercultural training, application training, advice regarding visas and work permits, support in finding jobs and internships through our network, and much, much more.

In 2019 we will start our new full-time MBA alongside our part-time programme.

We expect this to make Darmstadt Business School even more attractive to students from abroad.

ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

WHY CHOOSE NEBRIJA’S MASTER EXPERIENCE? CARLOS CUERVO

The Value of an MBA Without question, a master’s degree is now a crucial prerequisite to any successful professional career. Students go through a very broad and comprehensive period of instruction in getting their college degree, but need the prescriptive preparation required to begin their professional careers, hence a master’s degree.

The master’s degree must be grounded in theory but focused on the practical application of the skills and knowledge corresponding to the field of specialisation.

The success of the institution offering this kind of instruction will rest upon their ability to combine a vigorous theoretical framework with the tools and skills needed by their outbound students to successfully develop

and navigate their professional careers.

To better meet these objectives, the best programmes strive to link, whenever possible, their instruction to firms operating in the sector of activity. This type of collaboration exposes students to practical training which can lead to the development of projects which interest both the company and the student.

Relationships with international business schools are also very helpful as they allow students to build up their international networks and, at the same time, experience alternative modes of teaching.

Finally, in today’s integrated world, teaching is international in nature, which means master’s students should expect to connect with their international peers on a daily basis.

What Students Can Expect From Nebrija Business School  A comprehensive period of practical instruction with a noted firm in the field of interest/specialisation  Highly international and diverse teaching groups  Instruction geared to the practical application of knowledge and skills  Links with international universities  Study-abroad opportunities  Duel certification possibilities

ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

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“Without question, a master’s degree is now a crucial prerequisite to any successful professional career.”

The Foundations of Nebrija Business School The Nebrija Business School of the Nebrija University focuses its instruction on three main areas: business education, law and international relations, and tourism. In all three, Nebrija Business School offers bachelor degrees, which provide a solid educational baseline, and specialised master’s degrees in the various aspects of the disciplines involved.

In the area of business education, the Master in Business Administration (MBA) naturally takes pride of place. Both the in-house and executive versions of the programme follow a traditional structure, i.e. they prepare students for the responsibilities attached to the strategic and/or operational management tasks they will be given within their international firms.

It is a distinguishing feature of Nebrija’s MBA degrees that they strive to achieve a superior level of specialisation, linking the basic instruction given on the MBA programmes with specific focus on a variety of fields of special-interest.

Nebrija’s MBA Programmes The University offers an MBA for young, talented people - MBA Jóvenes Talentos (MBA Young Talented People) - critically oriented to furthering their employability with the companies they seek employment from. In addition to the MBA degree itself, students take and receive two certificates while in London from the London School of Economics.

The MBA+Experto en Gestion de la Tecnología (MBA with Expertise in Technological Management) deals with how firms manage the ongoing and pervasive technological revolution.

Businesses need to employ young people skilled in navigating the challenges that a technology in constant motion poses to their viability and long-term success. The MBA+Experto en Gestion de la Tecnología caters to this need, preparing and equipping students with the practical skills and networking capabilities needed to cope with 46

this changing environment.

One of Nebrija University’s longstanding degrees is the MBA + Experto en Creación de Empresas (MBA with Expertise in Business Creation), which boasts more than 20 cohorts over the course of its history. However, last year, the programme was updated and the syllabus completely reworked. An agreement with Babson College was also put in place, which allows students to spend a study-period in Boston obtaining Babson’s Certificate in Entrepreneurship.

Specialised Programmes In addition to Nebrija’s MBA programmes, the School offers three specialised master’s degrees: The Máster Universitario en Direccion y Organización de Proyectos (Master in Project Management and Organization) is a new degree focused on the bourgeoning area of project management, which includes specific preparation for the PMP Certificate, the best introductory credential to employment in this dynamic field. The programme is offered online and is, therefore, open to all students, regardless of where they may reside.

The Máster Universitario en Liderazgo y Dirección de Recursos Humanos (Master in Human Resources Leadership and Management) caters to the needs of businesses pressed to select and maintain the best talent possible in order to safeguard long-term success. The degree is offered inhouse at the Princesa Campus in the heart of Madrid’s university area.

Finally, the Máster Universitario en Dirección Comercial y Márketing Digital (Master in Commercial Management and Digital Marketing) is also new, and is a programme that focuses on the commercial aspects of business with key emphasis given to the digital characteristics of marketing and sales that seem to increasingly dominate the business activity of most firms.

The School of Law & International Relations The Escuela de Derecho y Relaciones Internacionales (School of Law and ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

International Relations) offers a full range of master’s programmes with various specialisations: The Master Universitario de Acceso a la Abogacía (Master of Access to the Legal Practice) is a new degree which provides young legal professionals with an entrée to the practice of law in Spain.

In addition to providing rigorous preparation for the ‘official’ examination, students will enjoy practical training with the best law firms in Madrid.

The MBA+Experto Jurídico Empresarial Compliance Legal-Écija (MBA with expertise in Business Law and Compliance) focuses on business law and legal compliance, a field of increasing importance and employability given the risk and complexities attached to today’s international business environment.

The degree is designed and taught in collaboration with Ëcija Abogados, a prestigious Spanish law firm.

Another specialty degree, and a first in Spain, is the Master Universitario en Derecho Internacional Humanitario, Derechos Humanos y Derecho Operacional (Master in International Law, Human Rights and Operational Law). This deals with the law as it relates to conflict, operational

ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

law, armed conflicts, international law and human rights. The degree is offered entirely online.

In addition to the aforementioned, the School of Law and international Relations offers three specialty master’s programmes of note. The first is the Máster Universitario en Prevención de Riesgos Labotrales (Master in the Prevention of Occupational Hazards), a degree that caters to the increasing demand for skills in this important area of the labour markets (offered entirely online).

The second is the Máster Universitario en Ciberdelincuencia (Master in Cybercrime) which, as the name suggests, is focused on the growing area of crime, its agents, their environment and how to combat it. And the third is the Máster Universitario en Gestión de Riesgos en Conflictos (Master in Risk Management in Conflicts), which is designed for young law practitioners and specialises in conflict resolution through mediation and arbitration.

All of these programmes point to Nebrija University’s commitment to providing the education students need and the skills employers want in today’s constantly evolving labour markets.

BIOGRAPHY

Carlos Cuervo, Ph.D., is the former Dean of Nebrija Business School and a full-time professor with the School.

47

“If organisations want to become future-ready, they cannot force-innovate.

They need to innovate naturally, almost involuntarily.

To do that, they must help their business leaders nurture creativity and innovation naturally, almost involuntarily too.”

ONE QUESTION LEADERS SHOULD ASK THEMSELVES V E N U G O PA L G U P TA

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personal care company that is part of my acceleration portfolio could never have envisioned sharing prime retail space with the giants in its product category. Thanks to e-commerce, it does so today and quite promisingly so.

Traditional size-based and time-based competitive advantages are fast evaporating.

In fact, in many cases, tech-enabled business models are turning size-based advantage into a handicap.

Uber doesn’t own a single car and AirBnB doesn’t own any hotel rooms. In just six years, asset-less messaging app Whatsapp has amassed one billion users, a figure most large telecom companies took decades to reach. Even in the financial sector, peer-topeer lending platforms are hot on the heels of established banks.

Established companies could face an existential crisis as conventional advantages evaporate, entry barriers lower and the rate of disruption grows. However, they must take heart from the one durable advantage they have over start-ups: top talent.

48

Most start-ups struggle to find top talent, an asset successful corporations have in abundance.

Yet, somehow this advantage does not seem to be working as far as corporate innovation is concerned. I’m always amazed by the overwhelming responses I get from senior executives at big companies willing to mentor start-ups free of charge. They find the process extremely rewarding. Their enthusiasm is palpable, but also reflects the fact that they don’t get such opportunities at work.

This is disappointing especially since successful organisations, laden with top talent, could have a vibrant symbiosis of ideas and mentoring.

The missing enablers Since I regularly meet corporate executives developing their ideas in stealth mode (more often in the same sector as their current employer), I feel that the problem lies with senior (and mid-senior) management failing to enable them. ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

most admired business leaders of our time, Rajiv Bajaj, the Managing Director of Bajaj Auto. Credited with executing a mammoth corporate innovation mission that turned around the fortunes of one of India’s largest auto-makers, he is known for his straight talk and uncluttered views.

Many years back, his company brought in an eminent Japanese professor as a consultant for an ambitious and critical product line introduction. As the professor landed in India, Bajaj went to the hotel to welcome him.

And maybe these leaders are not to be blamed either.

After scouring resumes of CxO candidates on global job search sites, I realised that role descriptions often ran to pages (of course, innovation was a frequent key word). These lengthy descriptions, with their multiple sections, gave me a sense of how big organisations make many creative executives feel as free as a railway carriage: free to move, but only on the predefined tracks.

This approach cannot foster the kinds of innovations currently coming from the fringes.

Unleashing talent How do organisations un-bottle their smart, experienced and capable managers so they can be the enablers of an innovation culture rather than the sponsors of a knee-jerk innovation?

Leaders can often help others by asking them questions. But I came across a story that revealed a crucial question leaders can ask themselves in order to become enablers.

This true story was narrated by one of the ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

After pleasantries were exchanged with the eminent but terse academic, the conversation went something like this: Eminent Japanese Professor: “So, what do you do?”

Business Leader: “I am the Vice President of Products.”

“That is your designation. I want to know what you do.”

“Well, I make motorcycles.”

“So, how many did you make today?”

“I do not make the bikes myself, I have people who do.”

“Okay, so what do you do?”

“Well, I sell bikes.”

“So, how many did you sell today?”

“I do not sell bikes myself, I have people who do.”

“Okay, so what do you do?”

“I design the bikes.”

“So, how many have you designed today?”

After an uncomfortable silence.

“So, what do you think I do?”

“Well, you have only one job: helping people be better at their jobs.”

This was an eye-opener which gave the business leader great clarity about his role. The next day, the professor visited the company office and ran into the business leader at lunch.

“So, what do you do?” asked the professor once more.

“I help people become better at their jobs.”

“So, how many people have you helped today?”

According to this story, the role description for all senior managers should simply be: helping people become better at their jobs.

Apart from reducing ambiguity, this role description also brings nurturing and compassion into the professional sphere and allows the battle-weary senior management to find greater purpose.

If organisations want to become futureready, they cannot force-innovate. They need to innovate naturally, almost involuntarily. To do that, they must help their business leaders nurture creativity and innovation naturally, almost involuntarily too.

So, what do you do?

“Established companies could face an existential crisis as conventional advantages evaporate, entry barriers lower and the rate of disruption grows. However, they must take heart from the one durable advantage they have over start-ups: top talent.”

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Courtesy of INSEAD Knowledge.

BIOGRAPHY

Venugopal Gupta runs a venture acceleration programme and is an incubation/ acceleration advisor to prominent institutions. You can follow him on Twitter @venugopal_gupta.

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THE GLOBAL EXECUTIVE OF THE FUTURE FRANCIS PETIT

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ttending Business School should be a transformational experience. The journey should forever change your perspective on creating value in the marketplace, in addition to increasing your network and boosting your confidence. As a Business School student, you should dive right in and take advantage of all the programs and resources your school has to offer. With this as a background, I want to offer you some advice to not only enhance your experience but also your skill set.

First and foremost, your goal should always be to establish and further your Global Mindset. Business no longer has borders and you, as a future leader, must capitalize within this paradigm. Becoming a global business leader is not just about penetrating a new foreign market. More specifically, it is a "mindset". Below you’ll find my thoughts on the mindsets that are required to become the Global Executive of the Future.

Cultural Mindset Furthering your Cultural Mindset is a must. The world does not revolve around your city or region. You must strive to always enhance your Cultural Mindset, and you must have intrinsic motivation to do so.

Deepening your Cultural Mindset requires a historical understanding of a region, its political landscape, its geography and natural resources, along with its language, traditions and surrounding countries.

Enhancing one’s Cultural Mindset must become a priority for Business School students. A robust Cultural Mindset can allow for a deeper understanding of a consumer and therefore increased opportunity for your organization.

Holistic Mindset All too often, organizations operate in silos. This is especially true in the workplace in North America. Decisions are made within functions without taking into account their impact on the entire organization.

Institutions are extremely interdependent, yet today's business leader does a poor job illustrating the importance of this

50

interdependency among his or her employees.

This amounts to waste and lost opportunities.

Business School students must, therefore, deepen their Holistic Mindset. They must understand the root cause of issues as opposed to just addressing "the symptons".

They must discover the interdependence of organizations and create a Holistic Mindset in order to capitalize on this interdependency within today's global economy.

Ethical Mindset By the time a student is in Business School, they believe their ethical framework has been established. This, however, is not accurate.

Ethical decision making is complex and runs deep. The implications that exist from one decision abound, and most ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

their behavior is risk averse at best. CEOs will rarely establish a new product to an entirely new market. They will typically offer "product extensions" to their current customer base as it is the safer bet.

The quarterly dividend is to blame as it unfortunately dictates strategy. Lack of patience, from corporate boards, is also to blame, along with their need to grow the organization at almost any cost.

These factors lead to a mindset which is anything but innovative. Consequently, employees, regardless of their level or status, are afraid to fail and therefore do not take risks.

This is quite unfortunate as innovation is all about risk taking and requires time.

Business leaders must look beyond the quarterly dividend and encourage their employees to take risks.

Business School students must, therefore, take note. To penetrate any global market an organization must offer products and services that create, deliver and sustain value. To achieve this end, risk taking is required, but it is essential that this is paired to long-term leadership and strategy.

business leaders do a poor job reflecting and understanding all the potential implications.

Business School students must, therefore, strive to enhance their Ethical Mindset.

They must analyze all decisions, whether detectable or undetectable, from an ethical perspective. This is a continuous process as one's Ethical Mindset is always evolving. It is also complex as there exists varying degrees of ethical standards globally.

The bottom line is that the leaders at the top establish the tone for behavior. Business School students must therefore look to nurture their Ethical Mindset now and always.

Innovative Mindset Strategy within most organizations is painfully conservative. The average tenure of a CEO is less than five (5) years and ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

“Business leaders must look beyond the quarterly dividend and encourage their employees to take risks.�

Fellowship Mindset Success in global business goes beyond the balance sheets. Product and/or service value is no longer a differentiator but rather an expectation. Consumers, now more than ever, and especially the millennial generation, want to feel a connection with the brands they consume. Purposeful positioning and becoming a "noble enterprise" means everything.

This, in some way, is welcomed news. It is no longer just about the product or service but rather what the brand represents.

The Fellowship Mindset has now become an increasingly important concept and I therefore urge all Business School students to reflect on what this means. There is no set recipe to build a brand. There is an increasing receptiveness, across the globe, on what a brand should represent that goes beyond the product line. The Fellowship Mindset, in business, has and will become more pervasive as we move forward.

Conclusion The Business School experience will, no doubt, be a transformative one. Business School students, however, should not just sit back and take it all in. Rather, in order to maximize their Business School experience and individual skill sets, they should look to nurture and enhance the mindsets listed above. This will facilitate their development in becoming the Global Executives of the Future.

BIOGRAPHY

Francis Petit is the Associate Dean of Global Initiatives and Partnerships at Fordham University, Gabelli School of Business.

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THE TRUTH ABOUT BEING A WORKAHOLIC: WHY IT ISN’T ALWAYS BAD FOR YOU

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“The good news is that if you’re an engaged workaholic, you’re at less risk than you might think given the commonly accepted wisdom.”

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ost people will agree that being a workaholic is a bad thing.

The word itself, adapted from “alcoholic,” implies a compulsive behavior that could eventually kill you. It has even been referred to as an addiction by some researchers, albeit one that’s socially acceptable — even rewarded — in American business.

We think of the workaholic as someone hunched in a cramped office in rumpled clothing, sweating over a hot computer while the hours crawl by and everyone else has gone home. Or someone obsessively on email and the phone while they’re supposed to be relaxing on vacation. We say they are “working themselves to death.” But are they, actually?

Recently, Wharton management professor Nancy Rothbard put this long-held belief to the test, teaming up with Lieke ten Brummelhuis, a professor of management and organization studies at Simon Fraser University, and Benjamin Uhrich, a consultant in learning and organizational development at the Carolinas HealthCare System. “There are so few studies … that really look at the implications of our working life on our health,” says Rothbard. Their paper is titled, “Beyond Nine to Five: Is Working to Excess Bad for Health?”

Surveying 763 employees at a large international financial consulting firm, the team investigated whether employees who worked long hours, and those who reported having a workaholic mindset, had a higher risk of developing metabolic syndrome.

Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of conditions including high blood pressure, high blood sugar, abnormal cholesterol and excess waistline fat that is known to increase one’s risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

The researchers gained access to individuals’ company health screenings and personnel records in addition to the surveys.

Rothbard says that while there has been

some research on workaholics’ self-reported physical and psychological symptoms — things like headaches, insomnia and stress — this study was one of the first to also look at objective health outcomes: actual changes in the body measured by doctors.

Intriguingly, while work hours and workaholism often go hand in hand, not all people who work long hours are workaholics, and not all workaholics work long hours.

What’s more, the researchers found that simply working long hours alone didn’t lead to poor health. In fact, employees who worked long hours but were able to mentally “recharge” overnight were not putting their health at risk. But those who worked long hours and also had a compulsive work mentality significantly increased their risk of developing metabolic syndrome.

Ten Brummelhuis commented in an Academy of Management Discoveries interview, “If you’re working long hours and you are compulsive — so you’re preoccupied with work all the time, you can’t switch off, you go to bed but you can’t sleep because you’re ruminating about your job, that’s the unhealthy version of working excessive hours.”

Happy vs. Unhappy Workaholics There was a second finding, one even more intriguing to the researchers. Within the group of true workaholics — those who worked long hours and also couldn’t switch off from work – – a striking distinction emerged.

Workaholics who were not engaged with their jobs did show signs of increasingly poor health in terms of metabolic syndrome.

However, workaholics who reported being highly engaged and fulfilled in their jobs stayed healthy. It didn’t matter that they put in long hours, drove themselves to work very hard, and thought about their job all the time. In fact, they showed no more risk of developing metabolic syndrome than the average non-workaholic employee. ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

“We just assumed that all workaholics were going to have a higher risk of metabolic syndrome,” says Rothbard. “It turns out that only some of them do: the ones that don’t have that passion and positive energy around their job.”

Another advantage the engaged workaholics had was more personal resources. Ten Brummelhuis explained in the AMD interview, “So they have, for instance, a supportive spouse, or they are more likely to ask for help at work. And maybe that’s why they’re just better at dealing with their work stress.” Rothbard adds: “Interestingly, they report that they have more time management skills, more intrinsic motivation [to do their job], and better communication skills.” Another self-reported advantage was co-worker and supervisor support.

Engaged workaholics’ pleasure in their work — along with these personal resources — seems to act as a buffering mechanism from developing the precursors to disease.

What really excites Rothbard about the study’s findings is “how your outlook and your mindset can affect your body… that mindbody connection.”

“We were able to look at a psychological process … and find that there were effects on our physiological health. I can’t underscore

[enough] how important I think that is,” she says. The team had ruled out other potential risk factors such as heredity and health history, and had gotten the same results. “I was just blown away by that,” says Rothbard.

Recognizing the Dangers Both employers and employees should take heed of these findings, say the researchers.

Workers’ health problems cost businesses plenty in the form of absenteeism, turnover and health care costs. And employees who don’t like their jobs but work like crazy at them should realize they may be actually putting their health at risk. There could be serious long-term health consequences.

“Make sure you do build in the time for recovery, and that you maintain some balance, and draw on the sources of support that you have,” Rothbard advises.

Conversely, the good news is that if you’re an engaged workaholic, you’re at less risk than you might think given the commonly accepted wisdom. So, if rushing non-stop from meeting to meeting, crunching numbers long into the night, or jotting down a brilliant idea at 3 a.m. is what you love, and you feel recognized and supported for your achievements, don’t let people tell you that workaholism is ruining your health. Instead, it may be what helps keep you going.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

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

“There are so few studies … that really look at the implications of our working life on our health.” ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

53

WHAT DRIVES BRAIN DRAIN AND BRAIN GAIN? S H L O M O B E N - H U R, A R T U R O B R I S, A N D J O S É C A B A L L E R O

Based on the extensive data and survey results gathered by the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook (taken from the years 2000-2016), The IMD World Talent Ranking assesses the ability of 63 countries to develop, attract and retain talent for enterprises operating in those economies.

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brain gain). Mexico (MX), China (CN), India (IN) and the Philippines (PH) show somewhat high levels of brain drain but they are able to remain relatively attractive to expat professionals. Meanwhile Norway (NO), the Netherlands (NL), Canada (CA) and Singapore (SG) have lower levels of brain drain and higher levels of brain gain (quadrant 3). Finally, Iceland (IS), Finland (FI), and to a lesser extent the Czech Republic (CZ), experience lower levels of brain drain while experiencing high levels of brain gain (quadrant 4). See graph 1 for more country specific details:

rain drain and brain gain can be key factors determining the level of competitiveness and talent attractiveness of a country. On the occasion of the release of this year’s World Talent Ranking we took an in-depth look at brain drain and gain, and tried to understand what the main drivers of these phenomena are.

First, let’s look at which countries are the most affected. Among the most negatively impacted are Croatia (HR), Greece (GR), Bulgaria (BG) and Brazil (BR). They experience high levels of brain drain without in turn attracting foreign talent (i.e., low Graph 1. Global distribution of talent (2016)

8

QUADRANT 1

QUADRANT 2

VE UA BG

HR

BRAIN DRAIN

6

GR SI

4

SK

HU MN

ZA

CO RU AR PT PE LV BR PL PH EE TO KR MX LT ES CN TW IN IT RO ER JP TR ID TH CZ AT IL IS BE FI

KZ

CL MY

LU NZ

IE QA CA

DE

GB AE

LU

2 DK

SE NO

QUADRANT 4

SG

NL

US

HK

QUADRANT 3

0 0 54

2

4 6 BRAIN GAIN

8

10 ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

From the overall results of our research, it becomes clear that there is a set of key factors driving talent flows. The main areas that affect brain drain and gain are as follows: Legislation : Legislation that effectively promotes scientific research, non-restrictive immigration laws, and a lower risk of political instability, all decrease brain drain. This suggests that more open and forward-looking societies better prevent domestic talent from leaving the country.

"The adaptability of school curricula is vital in facilitating the development of particular skills and competencies necessary to meet the specific talent needs of the economy."

Agility: The agility and adaptability of companies to market changes as well as inclusive corporate values also reduce brain drain. The agility exhibited by companies may be perceived as a trait of innovation thus attracting overseas talent while also encouraging locals to remain in their home country.

Education : The quality of an education system is an important factor in increasing the inflow of overseas talent, or brain gain.

This may be an indication that highly skilled staff consider the quality of schools for their children when making a decision whether or not to relocate. In addition, quality of education, particularly at university level, may entice local talent to remain in their country by reducing the need to search for a better education elsewhere. On the other hand, attending university overseas is likely to lead to permanent relocation increasing the brain drain experienced by an economy.

Health: A country’s health infrastructure is a significant determinant of talent attractiveness. This may be the case because a workforce that enjoys overall health tends to remain in their country of origin thus reducing the need to attract foreign personnel.

Pay: Relatively speaking, remuneration levels appear to have only a marginal impact on the attractiveness of countries to foreign talent. The quality of the education system in a country is, for instance, of greater significance when determining talent flows.

Motivation: Worker motivation is a key factor in reducing brain drain, it also contributes to increasing brain gain. It sends a strong signal to overseas talent that, for example, firms in a particular country offer a work environment highly conducive to maintaining strong employee morale.

To improve their talent competitive advantage, countries should adopt a

ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

three-pronged approach. Institutionally, governments should focus on the furthering of regulation that encourages scientific development, openness (particularly to foreign labour) and that strengthens political stability. The private sector should further adopt strategies that increase the flexibility of enterprises to adapt to changes thereby bolstering a culture of innovation. In addition, business strategies should advance a work environment that increases job satisfaction so as to boost the motivation of staff.

Academically, it is important to strengthen the role of education in targeting talent flows. To this end, increasing the quality of the system is paramount. Furthermore, the adaptability of school curricula is vital in facilitating the development of particular skills and competencies necessary to meet the specific talent needs of the economy.

This approach can invigorate talent-related factors which our research results show to be significant “traits” to attract and retain local and overseas talent.

To be sure, our research does not capture certain country-specific characteristics which may undoubtedly affect talent flows, such as language, geographical location, climate and historical legacies. There are obvious barriers to talent attraction, for example, when a country’s language is spoken by too few people, or when the country is geographically remote from areas where population tends to concentrate (e.g., Iceland). To the extent that such factors cannot be managed in the short/ middle term, we have not taken them into account in this study.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Courtesy of IMD Business School.

BIOGRAPHIES

Arturo Bris is Professor of Finance at IMD and directs the IMD World Competitiveness Center. Shlomo Ben-Hur is Professor of Leadership, Talent Management and Corporate Learning.

José Caballero is Senior Economist at the IMD World Competitiveness Center.

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n Arturo Bris n Jacksonville University n Kent State University

n EU Business School n University of Exeter

n Shlomo Ben-Hur

n IMD Business School n INSEAD n ISEG

IST OF CONTRIBUTORS

n José Caballero n Don Capener n Dana Cavalea

n Faye McIntyre

n University of Nebrija

n University Darmstadt

n Georgia WebMBA n Stéphane Garelli n Venugopal Gupta 56

ceo-mag.com / Winter 2018

KSU EXECUTIVE MBA YOU BRING YOUR DRIVE TO SUCCEED; WE’LL PROVIDE EVERYTHING ELSE. You need an EMBA to accelerate your career. So we’ve designed a unique program that will help you quickly achieve your goals. Starting from day one, you’ll meet coaches and mentors who will support and advise you, and be immersed in a team designed to help you hone your management and leadership skills. KSU’s EMBA program was ranked #1 in Georgia and 9th in the world by CEO Magazine in 2017. One reason is because no other EMBA program will work harder to get you started right, right now.

“KSU helped instill in me a belief that it is critical to be a lifetime learner. You have to keep challenging yourself if you want to find success. I am so thankful for the time I spent at the University and for the impact the program has had on my career.”

– Jennifer Van Buskirk, Northeast Regional President for AT&T Mobility EMBA Class of 2004

ceomag.co.uk / Spring Coles College of2016 Business | Aspire to More™

KSUEMBA.com3

Viktor Göhlin Founder, Nokadi Alumnus 2006 Emilija Petrova Managing Director, Trade Resource GmbH Alumna 2002

Bart van Straten General Manager, Van Straten Medical Alumnus 1996

YOU! Roxana Flores Founder, BeCaridad Alumna 2011

Supareak Charlie Chomchan

Peter von Forstner Managing Director, Häusler Automobiles Alumnus 2010

Managing Director, Pacific Rim Rich Group Co., Ltd. Alumnus 2003

At EU Business School, you don’t just learn from entrepreneurs, you become one!

Business school is where you build good habits, learn the theory, pick up practical skills and obtain the knowledge necessary to put your ideas into action. You need a business

4

BARCELONA | GENEVA | MONTREUX | MUNICH | ONLINE

school that will help you develop both as a businessperson and an entrepreneur. At EU Business School we make a difference in students’ lives and propel them to success.

PEOPLE HAVE IDEAS. ENTREPRENEURS MAKE THEM HAPPEN.

ceomag.co.uk / Spring 2016