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Business in a new age space race
London Business School inspires students to adopt future-ready strategies
John Mullins
With the UAE’s first astronaut set off into space inside the Soyuz MS-15 craft on September 25, it is an exciting time to focus on space and the promising new industries that could arise from it. Astronaut Maj Al Mansouri believes it is just the beginning of the emirates’ ambitions, which he hopes one day will involve the country land a man on the Moon and venture to Mars. The $64,000 question is, as always, how to get traction and build investment opportunities from this new age race into space? Government funding is frequently invoked and regularly appealed for, but perhaps UAE companies ought to consider Tesla and the irrepressible and audacious Elon Musk as better models for generating funds and building businesses. Tesla’s growth provides great instruction on how to make money from space. In his company’s early-stage growth, Elon Musk realised that boatloads of capital were required and decided to get his customers to fund growth. How? If you want to add some flash to your driveway with a brand-new Tesla, you will have to do certain things. First, you will have to put down a substantial deposit, $1,000 for Tesla’s new Model 3. Second, you’ll have to wait. And wait some more. Meanwhile, Musk gathers the deposits that his customers slap down – nearly half a million customers for the
Model 3 – and uses the cash to fit out the factory, make the tooling, and finally begin the manufacturing. Musk knows what many entrepreneurs know instinctively: what matters in a risky but still privately held venture isn’t profit, it’s cash. Tesla’s financing strategy raises an obvious question about the early players in the space technology industry. Here’s a novel illustration of what might be done — having got underway with a modicum of venture capital, a would-be start-up space entrepreneur turns to their customers and asks for deposits for the proverbial Monday morning departure to the moon. To the type of customer who will queue up for the first commercial flights to the moon, what is a few tens of millions here or there? The space industry is undergoing unprecedented technological change, and for UAE investors and companies to catch this exciting new wave of interest in this enthralling industry, a new approach to funding it will be critical. John Mullins, Associate Professor of Management Practice at London Business School, and author of ‘The Customer-Funded Business: Start, Finance, or Grow Your Company with Your Customers’ Cash’ (Wiley, 2014)
Enhanced learning experience Middlesex University Dubai provides academic programmes underpinned by innovative research and professional practice Middlesex University Dubai is the first overseas campus of the internationally renowned Middlesex University in London (UK). The campus, which opened in 2005, has over 3,400 students from more than 100 nationalities and offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in a wide variety of subject areas in-
cluding Accounting and Finance, Business Management, HR, Marketing, Education, Psychology, Law, Computer Engineering, Robotics, Fashion, Graphic Design, Journalism, Film, Digital Media, and Advertising, PR and Branding. It is a global university committed to meeting the needs and ambitions of a culturally and internationally diverse range of students, by providing challenging academic programmes underpinned by innovative research and professional practice. As well as having all the advantages associated with being a British university, Dubai campus students can benefit from all the opportunities afforded by a rapidly developing modern
city in the heart of the Middle East, while experiencing the diverse nationalities and cultures that make up the population of Dubai. The campus is located in Dubai Knowledge Park, occupying spacious classrooms and study areas within four buildings. Find out more at www.mdx.ac.ae
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MBA: Make the right choice There is a growing choice of MBA options, and candidates should look for the best fit in terms of programme content, opportunities to personalise and learning format The business world, workplace and nature of work itself are all changing at an extraordinary speed but business management processes still apply – management and leadership, talent management, ICT, finance, operations, marketing and sales – as well as the corporate governance and ethical framework required to protect reputation and investors. The MBA remains the pre-eminent business qualification but it is changing to meet the new demands of business. Notable trends are the greater personalisation of content; shorter programmes attracting younger students and helping graduates achieve faster ROI; and a greater emphasis on entrepreneurial and soft skills to meet the increasing need to be agile in the face of industry transformation. Business education providers also have to meet the demands of a younger ‘digital native’ population of students who expect learning to reflect their digital view and experience of the world around us. Who needs an MBA? The Middle East region needs skills and access to talent, and the leadership that successful digital transformation and rapid diversification of the economy demands. Talent comes in different forms and soft skills are increasingly valued by business. These skills are easily transferable across industries, but not easily automated. LinkedIn Learning identified the soft skills companies need most in 2019, 57 per cent of senior leaders said soft skills were more important than hard skills — especially Creativity, Persuasion, Collaboration, Adaptability, and Time Management.
MBA students benefit from new knowledge, tools and skills, career support and a professional network of contacts — all essential to maintaining long-term sustainable employability. Students’ motivation for studying an MBA is very personal but there is common ground. In many multinational organisations, the MBA may be viewed as a pre-requisite for a career in senior management and will help accelerate their careers. For other candidates, the trigger may be a plan to switch careers, start a company, or move from a specialist role to general management. Today, there is a growing choice of MBA options, and candidates should look for the best fit in terms of programme content, opportunities to personalise and learning format. Choosing a programme Choosing an MBA should start with research — building an initial shortlist of candidate schools based on reputation and ranking (the Financial Times annual MBA ranking, for example) and accreditation (triple MBA ranking is the gold standard) is a good start. Prospective students may also want to look at global rankings for return on investment in various MBA programmes. Following this, candidates should look for programmes that best suit their personal situations, learning objectives and interests — subjects, study formats (fulltime or part-time/blended learning) amount of face-to-face contact time with peers and faculty, international network and exposure, alumni network, careers support, entry criteria and cost.
Many business programmes are becoming more modular and flexible, offering a greater degree of personalisation and specialisation to meet specific learning objectives – for example through a range of elective courses. For working professionals aiming to consolidate their industry knowledge and accelerate a career, options include specialist part-time Masters programmes. The University of Manchester is already looking at industry-led part-time MSc options for the Middle East, covering leadership in education, and the real estate industry. Other alternatives include the two-year part-time Kelley-Manchester Global MBA, offering the best of British and US-style business and management education, with an MBA degree awarded by each university — Indiana University, US, and The University of Manchester. It is not just about customised content, but also about content delivery. It is no
coincidence that business education providers are delivering learning through channels in a flexible format that reflects the workplace, with learners working remotely in self-study mode online, liaising and collaborating with fellow students through social and other media, and then spending short bursts of intense face to face study time with faculty and peers, while continuing to work and earn. This is the reality of working life for many young and mid-career executives today. The next stage is to go and meet the shortlisted schools — and students and alumni, if possible — for deeper insight into the learning and student experience, as well as different perspectives on the teaching styles, calibre of student peers, and careers support services. Sustainable employability The essential key for business educators
is staying relevant and ahead of the wave of transformations that will no doubt continue to be a feature of business in the region. MBA content is being updated to reflect these rapid technological, social and workplace changes, with IoT, AI and Blockchain, all part of an increasing technology emphasis in business education. Students can now choose to add electives on Big Data Analytics, Digital Marketing Strategy, Information Systems and Digital Strategy, Managing Disruptive Technologies, and the Digital Economy to their core MBA subjects. Students can develop their skills through consultancy-style MBA projects rather than class based exercises, so this more closely mirrors the real business world. This also helps to build the soft skills and the confidence required to build a successful and sustainable career in business. The deeper trend in business education is lifelong learning to upgrade skills. Business executives continue to return to the classroom for the digital view of business, strategy and management, and the aim of building portfolio careers. At the heart of this is sustainable employability and the need to develop and sustain the transferable skills for the 21st century. Ultimately, business people only study for an MBA once in their lives and so prospective students should choose the best school and programme available to them — it should prove to be a career- and lifetransforming experience and a very good investment, whether you’re kick-starting a career or a new business start-up.