Elon Musk
A Leader in Motion
10 Reasons why Social Entrepreneurs Matter CEO15_OFC_Cover.indd 1
Are Bosses Becoming Extinct? Hierarchy within the workplace
Leadership Lessons from Five inspirational leaders 14/07/2014 16:35
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CONTENTS
Table of Contents 8
COVER STORY Elon Musk A Leader in Motion
Alexandra Skinner
CEO Magazine
Mark C. Crowley
Alon Rozen
10 MBA Review 13 Five Profound Insights on Success 16 Transform Yourself, Impact Your World 19
Emotions Are Data, Too Gianpiero Petriglieri
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22 25 27 28 30
The Leadership Advantage Joe Turek
10 Reasons why Social Entrepreneurs Matter Emad Rahim
Leadership Lessons from Five inspirational leaders Amber Callender
Leadership Spotlight Dr Dirk Craen
Are Bosses Becoming Extinct? Phanish Puranam
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38 32 Paris Students Experience La Dolce Vita
Valerie Haie and Alberto Campagnolo
Australian Institute of Business
Lars Mathiassen
Don Capener
35 A World of Alumni Events Like no Other 38 Debunking the Doctor of Business Administration 42 There’s a New Doctorate in the House
35 4
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46 48 50 54 56
Challenges and Opportunities in the New Business Education World Dominique Turpin
The MBA Career Path Less Travelled Pan Pan
The Millsaps College MBA – Stakeholder Perspectives Millsaps College
The Fallout of CEO Narcissism Guoli Chen
List of Contributors
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ELON MUSK
Elon Musk A Leader in Motion
Alexandra Skinner
A
t the age of 43, South Africanborn US-based Elon Musk has already created, sold, invented and pioneered more businesses than most people do in a lifetime. Regularly cited as the most important business and technology visionary of the age, his first enterprise was a journalism website called Zip2, sold to Compaq for $307 million in 1999. He then co-founded PayPal in 1999 before selling to eBay for $1.5 billion in 2002, and ploughed his $180 million share into a series of ever more wild and futuristic enterprises. Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) emerged in 2002, planning to build space launch vehicles. After a series of failed attempts, the technology proved successful enough for NASA to award the company a $1.6 billion contract in 2008 for flights to the International Space Station (ISS). This has indeed taken place, making Musk’s company the first private business to launch and dock a vehicle at the ISS.
8
Also in 2008 (as if he wasn’t busy enough), Musk founded, and became CEO and product architect of Tesla Motors, the foremost company developing electric cars. Once again, there have been numerous hitches, both technical and financial, as the global car market suffered a profound recession in the late 2000s and investment dried up. Yet once again, Musk has proved commercially indestructible and Tesla has now sold tens of thousands of its revolutionary cars, beginning delivery of its four-door Model 5 sedan on 22 June 2012, with the new Model X scheduled to begin production in early 2015. Thousands of charging stations are being introduced in the markets where Tesla is sold, including across North America and the UK. Ever restless for new challenges, Musk founded Solar City, investing in solar energy on a scale far beyond most of his commercial peers, to the point that the company is now the second largest solar equipment provider in the US. For once, there is
a close tie-in between the business model of this enterprise and another Musk creation: solar power is among the best means to power electric vehicles, generating power in a specific location that can easily be transferred to a Tesla car. The most recent idea he has introduced is the Hyperloop system, using a vacuum technology to whisk passengers from San Francisco to Los Angeles at 800 miles per hour. Still on the drawing board, the system aims to undercut commercial air travel between the cities and could, if it works, be replicated between urban centres across the world. Although there are doubtless a thousand other business ideas spinning furiously in Musk’s head, there is one other venture in which he has invested alongside co-investors Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, and the actor Ashton Kutcher (but does not run, so far): Vicarious, an artificial intelligence company based in San Francisco. Vicarious aims to build a ‘neural network’, replicating the brain’s control of vision, movement and language; effectively ‘a computer that thinks like a person, except it doesn’t need to eat or sleep,’ as described by the company co-founder, Scott Phoenix. Besides pushing at the boundaries of space, travel, energy and intelligence (a formidable combination), what elements link these many endeavours into which Musk has poured his extraordinary talents and drive? As he explains in some of the rare public pronouncements, he read a lot of comic books as a child. Bullied at school for his fanciful ambitions, Musk took refuge in encyclopaedias, comic books and computers. Living in Pretoria in the 1970s, he read about the X Men, about superheroes whose task was always to save the world. The scrawny, brainy kid with the big ideas figured that he could be that surprise package. He could end up saving the world. Teaching himself to code, he developed a computer game called Blastar which he sold for
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ELON MUSK
Musk has proved commercially indestructible and Tesla has now sold tens of thousands of its revolutionary cars. $500 at the age of 12. Already living with his British father after his parents separated, Musk emigrated to Canada at the age of 17, since Musk senior was determined to get his family to the United States and this was a good prospective route. After studies in both Canada and at The University of Pennsylvania, gaining degrees in both physics and economics, Elon Musk embarked on a PhD at Stanford University where the founders of Google had studied. But he was by this time hungry for commercial life and quickly dropped out to launch his first enterprise. Although he has won countless awards and plaudits for his multiple CEO roles across his multi-billion dollar companies, Musk appears to be far more of a visionary, inspirational, catalytic figure than someone who is concerned with the ‘E’ and the ‘O’ of the role. His time spent actually being an executive or operating any of these businesses is surely minimal. Instead, Musk concerns himself with the biggest of big pictures. He speaks of the necessity for the human race to become a ‘multi-planetary species’ as a form of insurance against catastrophe, whether man made or natural, occurring to our current planet. He is
committed to colonising Mars, predicting that the first manned flights will take place in the mid-2020s (though he has rowed back on that in later comments) and sees Tesla cars as a means to reverse climate change, saying that we need to make more than 800 million electric cars by 2040 to make a difference. Reports from Musk’s SpaceX plant in California describe a working environment similar to many a start-up, with bearded young guys in t-shirts and trainers, women in Indian print dresses and an informal, relaxed and almost playful mood to the enterprise. Indeed, his whole business ethos from the beginning has been more about transformation, creating extraordinary outcomes and benefitting humanity. “Engineering is the closest thing to magic,” says Musk. “A lot of my motivation comes from looking at things that don’t work and feeling a bit sad about how it would manifest in the future. And if that would result in an unhappy future, then it makes me unhappy. And so I want to fix it.” So far, he has fixed an extraordinary number of things, using technology to make payments
easier and cheaper, electric cars practical, space travel cheaper and more efficient (he’s working on a reusable space module, which wouldn’t have to be jettisoned into the sea) and more efficient solar power. Technology has allowed Musk to perform all these roles, including his multiple CEO positions, without any of the thousands of employees or shareholders making any public complaint, that he is spreading himself too thin, for example, or not committing his energies sufficiently to a business when it most needs his attention. There have already been difficult times, but somehow, he’s emerged still smiling, still coming up with new ideas, designs and technological advances, leading businesses which change the world. With half of his lifetime still to go, Musk surely has many more surprises in store.
Biography Ø Alexandra Skinner is CEO Magazine’s Group Editor-in-Chief.
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MBA REVIEW
International Graduate Forum MBA Rankings Summer 2014 The International Graduate Forum’s (IGF) Summer 2014 MBA Rankings have been compiled based upon key performance indicators considered to be of interest and value to potential students. Thus, international diversity, class sizes, student work experience, facultyto-student ratios, and faculty qualifications – both academic and professional – have been given considerable weight. With competition between business schools continuing to increase, it is important for schools to understand what students really want. Schools ranked highly by the IGF in CEO Magazine have been successful in this goal.
NORTH AMERICAN MBA RANKINGS
EUROPEAN MBA RANKINGS
Tier One
Tier One
Appalachian State University
Ashridge Business School
California State University, San Bernardino
Audencia Nantes
Colorado Technical University
Birmingham Business School
Fairfield University
Brunel Business School
Fordham University Graduate School of Business Administration
CEU Business School
Georgetown University, McDonough
Copenhagen Business School
Jacksonville University
Cranfield School of Management
Kennesaw State University
Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences
Kent State University
EADA
La Salle University
EIPM
Le Moyne College, Madden
École des Ponts Business School
Lynchburg College
ESADE Business School
Millsaps College
ESMT
Niagara University
European University
Northwest Missouri State University
HHL Leipzig
Queens University of Charlotte
ICN Business School
Simmons College
IE Business School
The University of Memphis
IESE Business School
University of Alabama in Huntsville
IfM - Institut für Management
University of Rochester, Simon
International University of Monaco
University of the Sciences
ISEG - Lisboa School of Economics & Management
Wake Forest University School of Business
Lancaster Management School
Tier Two
Lorange Institute of Business Zurich
Berry College, Campbell * Boston College, Carroll Carnegie Mellon University, Tepper Columbia Business School * Georgia Southern University Grand Valley State University McNeese State University College of Business Roosevelt University UCI Merage School of Business University of Alaska Anchorage University of Denver, Daniels College of Business
Mannheim Business School MIP Politecnico di Milano Paris School of Business Porto Business School Reykjavik University Rochester-Bern SBS Swiss Business School The Lisbon MBA (Nova and Católica-Lisbon) * University Carlos III of Madrid University of Strathclyde Warsaw School of Economics
University of Texas at Austin McCombs *
Tier Two
University of Washington, Foster
INDEG-IUL ISCTE
Washington University in St. Louis * Willamette University, Atkinson 10
*Incomplete data
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MBA REVIEW
AUSTRALIAN MBA RANKINGS
ONLINE MBA RANKINGS
Tier One
Tier One
1
Victoria University Graduate School of Business
Colorado Technical University
=2
Australian Institute of Business
Deakin University
=2
Monash University
George Washington University
4
University of Wollongong, Sydney
IE Business School
5
The University of Queensland Business School
Imperial College Business School
=6
University of Sydney Business School
Indiana University, Kelley
=6
Melbourne Business School
International University of Monaco
=8
Macquarie University Graduate School of Management
Jack Welch Management Institute
=8
Australian Catholic University
Northwest Missouri State University
10
Deakin University
SBS Swiss Business School
11
University of Western Australia Graduate School of Management
Temple University, Fox
12
University of Ballarat
Thunderbird School of Global Management
13
Swinburn University of Technology, Australian Graduate School of Entrepreneurship
University of Liverpool
14
The University of Adelaide
University of Westminster
15
RMIT University Graduate School of Business and law
16
University of Technology Sydney
17
University of Western Sydney
18
Murdoch University Business School
19
Southern Cross University *
University of North Carolina, Kenan-Flagler
Tier Two
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MBA REVIEW
Global TOP 20 MBA Rankings
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Global EMBA Rankings Tier One
1
Copenhagen Business School
Europe
Ashridge Business School
Europe
=2
ESADE Business School
Europe
Audencia Nantes School of Management
Europe
=2
Audencia Nantes
Europe
California State, San Bernardo
North America
=3
École des Ponts Business School
Europe
CENTRUM Catolica
Peru
=3
EADA
Europe
Copenhagen Business School
Europe Europe
4
La Salle University
North America
Cranfield School of Management
=5
ESMT
Europe
EADA
Europe
=5
University of Strathclyde
Europe
ENPC Fox Executive MBA
6
Victoria University Graduate School of Business
Australia
Europe/ North America
ESADE
Europe
7
Queens University of Charlotte, McColl School of Business
North America
Euromed
Europe North America
8
Ashridge Business School
Europe
Fordham University Graduate School of Business Administration
9
IE Business School
Europe
HHL Leipzig
Europe
10
Cranfield School of Management
Europe
ICN Business School
Europe
11
Rochester-Bern
Europe
Jacksonville University
North America
=12 Kent State University
North America
Kent State University
North America
=12 Lancaster Management School
Europe
Lancaster University
Europe
=13 Australian Institute of Business
Australia
Millsaps College
North America
=13 Monash University
Australia
Porto Business School
Europe
=13 International University of Monaco
Europe
Queens University of Charlotte McColl School of Business North America
=14 University of Wollongong, Sydney Business School
Australia
Reykjavick University
Europe
The University of Memphis
North America
=14 Jacksonville University
North America
University of Rochester, Simon
North America
=14 Lynchburg College
North America
University of Strathclyde
Europe
=14 University of Rochester, Simon School of Business
North America
University of Sydney Business School
Australia
=14 IESE
Europe
Warsaw School of Economics
Europe
=15 The University of Queensland Business School
Australia
Australian Catholic University
Australia
=15 HHL Leipzig
Europe
Carnegie Mellon, Tepper
North America
=16 Fordham University, Graduate School of Business Administration
North America
CEU Business School
Europe
=16 Paris School of Business
Europe
Columbia Business School *
North America
=16 University of Sydney Business School
Australia
Concordia University, John Molson
Canada
=16 Melbourne Business School
Australia
EIPM
Europe
=16 The University of Memphis
North America
ESMT
Europe
=16 Porto Business School
Europe
European University
Europe
=16 Mannheim Business School
Europe
Georgetown University, McDonough
North America
=17 Macquarie University, Graduate School of Management
Australia
IfM-Institut fĂźr Management
Europe
INDEG-IUL ISCTE
Europe
=17 Australian Catholic University
Australia
Kennesaw State University
North America
=17 CEU Business School
Europe
Lorange Institute of Business Zurich
Europe
=17 Birmingham Business School
Europe
Mannheim Business School
Europe
=17 ICN Business School
Europe
MIP Politecnico di Milano
Europe
18
North America
RMIT University Graduate School of Business and Law
Australia
=19 Appalachian State University
North America
Saint Mary's University, Sobey
Canada
=19 Reykjavik University
Europe
University of California, Irvine
North America
=20 Deakin University
Australia
University of Regina
Canada
=20 California State University, San Bernardino
North America
University of Technology Sydney
Australia
=20 Brunel Business School
Europe
University of Texas at Austin, McCombs *
North America
University of Washington, Foster
North America
University of Wollongong, Sydney
Australia
Washington University in St Louis, Olin *
North America
Kennesaw State University
Global EMBA Rankings Tier Two
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5 PROFOUND INSIGHTS ON SUCCESS
Profound Insights on Success From a Wharton Professor devoted to understanding it
When Wharton business school professor Richard Shell was faced with a life-threatening illness, he was forced to think about the big picture. What was success to him? Since then, Shell has dedicated his life to helping folks find true meaning in their own lives and work. Mark C. Crowley
If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavours to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with success unexpected in common hours. Henry David Thoreau
L
ast summer, Parade magazine and Yahoo! Finance jointly surveyed 26,000 Americans and discovered that nearly 60 per cent of them fully regretted their career choices. That’s an incredibly sad statistic, of course – especially when you consider that job satisfaction has become the most critical factor to a person’s sense of wellbeing and overall happiness with life. So how is it that so many people have found themselves in careers that leave them feeling empty and unfulfilled? According to Wharton business school professor Richard Shell, one likely reason is they didn’t ask the right questions at the start. “I think that for a lot of these people,” says Shell, “they hadn’t thoughtfully defined what success would look like in their own terms before pursuing work that aligned more closely with family, social or cultural expectations. They hadn’t thought at the beginning to look for a suit of clothes that would fit them.”
The Working Weak Shell speaks from experience. In the early 1970s, immediately after earning an undergraduate degree at Princeton, he had no clear idea of the work he wanted to do – or to which he was ideally matched. He took jobs as a house painter, a social worker and a fundraiser, and found himself miserable in all of them. Lost and unsure of what to do next, he became a modern-day Odysseus traveling aimlessly around the globe. That is until he fatefully contracted hepatitis in Afghanistan.
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5 PROFOUND INSIGHTS ON SUCCESS
It was the sudden and life-threatening illness that ultimately shifted Shell’s perspective, and influenced him to dive deeply into understanding his own motivations, interests, and talents. He learned the basics of Buddhist meditation and devoted himself to long stretches of contemplation and soul searching. From this pivot point in his late twenties, he enrolled in law school, went on to work as an attorney and, at the not-sotender age of 37, began a university teaching career that has proved to be his life’s calling. Over the 27-year span since he first became a professor, Shell never stopped thinking about the concept of success – and the process by which people best discover their own values and purpose. He read Aristotle, Plato, Charles Lindbergh, Dale Carnegie, Benjamin Franklin, and myriad others before finally distilling the collective wisdom into a university-wide seminar called The Literature of Success. With clear intention, Shell designed the curriculum he “would have wanted to have taken when I was a senior in college” to ensure his students left school far better prepared to make the important life choices that lay ahead for them. After teaching his course to students and faculty for more than a decade, Shell now has documented his lessons in his recently released book, Springboard: Launching Your Personal Search for Success. Regardless of whether you are just about to finish college or are at the threshold of considering a career change, Springboard is written to help you discover what gives your life the greatest meaning – so you can set your own path and define success on your own terms.
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Here’s what I found to be five of the author’s most profound and helpful insights:
1. You must decide what success means for you Shell is convinced that the career choices many of us make are greatly (and often unconsciously) influenced by family expectations and cultural beliefs. One reason so many people are unhappy and disengaged in their jobs today is because they took on work that fails to match with their skills, interests, and passions. Consequently, Shell insists we ask ourselves: “What makes my heart sing?” “What is success for me?” “One of the great ironies in the study of success,” Shell writes, “is that many people believe the secrets to achieving it lie ‘out there’ somewhere – in a far-off, hard-to-find place. The truth is much simpler: The answer lies within yourself.” Even when armed with sufficient self-knowledge, however, it’s all too easy for people to still take the safe career path--rather than one they find more deeply inspiring. In hopes that we’ll all choose to be far braver and more daring with our choices, Shell invokes Steve Job’s poignant observation: “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life . . . And, most important, have the courage to follow your own heart and intuition. They somehow know what you truly want to become.”
2. We discover our purpose by trial and error “Finding out what success means to you often involves trial and error,” says Shell, “not just theoretical contemplation. It involves taking risks and experimentation. Success is not a static, one-done process; it’s dynamic.” To that end, Shell directs us to become observers of our own lives and to the unfolding of our experiences. “Your activities allow you to experience life – and from these you learn what works, what excites you and fulfils you,” he says. “You also recognize when things feel empty, hollow, cynical, or materialistic in a way that doesn’t satisfy you, and you learn to reject those things.” In my recent conversation with Shell, he emphasized that devoting focused time to this kind of reflection is
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5 PROFOUND INSIGHTS ON SUCCESS
We learn a lot when we see ourselves reflected in the looking glass of other people’s perceptions. essential to the process. “The amount of stimulation that’s available today via social media can easily distract people from having the kind of discernment that will help them discover what they might do in their lives.”
3. Discover what you do better than most “Success starts with the things you do better than most,” says Shell. “It usually resides in the unique combination of capabilities you bring to what you do. The future opens up when your past interests, experiences, and skills start resonating perfectly with an opportunity you find in the present.” Shell believes that it is human nature to assume our own unique talents are far more widely shared by other people than they actually are. When making an inventory of our abilities, therefore, we must resist the impulse to negate any of them and scratch them off our list. Shell also suggests we solicit the observation of our peers, friends, and even bosses, as they each have a unique optic into our strengths, weaknesses, personality, and capabilities. “We learn a lot when we see ourselves reflected in the looking glass of other people’s perceptions,” he says, “and gaining a greater and more accurate self-understanding is essential to finding the kind of work that will fulfil us.”
4. There are two sides to success In evaluating the success we’re having in our lives, we tend to employ two different scorecards. The first relates to the inner feelings of fulfilment, satisfaction, and happiness that we derive from our families, relationships, and having meaningful work. The second, outer perspective, ties directly to our desires for achievement, social recognition, and respect. While some people measure their success primarily in terms of achievements – and others specifically in terms of inner satisfaction and fulfilment – most of us seek some kind of balance between the two. After arguably spending more time pondering the concept of success than most people on the planet, Shell makes clear which side of the fulcrum he believes leads to the greatest happiness in life.
He tells the story of a lecture where he asked his students to share their ideas on what a happy life would look like. After several students contributed, an elderly man (obviously not a student) stood up and said, “Happiness is just three things: good health, meaningful work, and love.” From Shell’s perspective, this “wise angel” was basically correct. “Although earning a lot of money can be very good for your sense of pride and self-esteem, money has very little effect on the day-to-day joy you experience, and none whatsoever on the larger, more spiritual dimensions of happiness that many consider the most important in their lives.”
5. Ask the lottery question Acknowledging that not everyone reading this holds a workplace leadership position, Shell’s final insight, nevertheless, is fascinating and useful to us all. He advises managers to ask this one important question every time they interview candidates for a job on their team: “Imagine you’ve won the lottery, and money no longer is a primary motivator. Your family is now taken care of, and you’ve earned a certain amount of notoriety by having the winning ticket. What would you do next in your life?” Shell believes that the candidate’s answer to this one question provides direct access into their hearts. “If they want to be of service to something, that tells you the kind of work they find very meaningful. If they want to teach, this tells you what people find fulfilling right now.” Having “meaningful work,” philosopher Bertrand Russell once wrote, makes all [people] happy in their soul, in spite of all outward troubles and difficulties. So, before you ask the lottery question in a job interview, you might first ask it of yourself.
Biography Ø Mark C. Crowley is is the author of Lead From The Heart: Transformational Leadership For The 21st Century. His work has been published by Reuters, LinkedIn and the Huffington Post; he’s also a frequent contributor to Fast Company Magazine. Connect with Mark through his website: www.markccrowley.com, Facebook: www.Facebook.com/leadfromtheheart or Twitter: @markccrowley.
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ÉCOLE DES PONTS BUSINESS SCHOOL
Transform Yourself,
Impact Your World Alexandra Skinner speaks to Alon Rozen at École des Ponts Business School about the new Solvay Ponts MBA.
Please can you provide CEO Magazine readers with an overview of the offering and some of its unique highlights?
values and a similarly rich history of academic
Firstly, it is probably useful to remind your
excellence. The histories of both schools are
readers of the format of the programme – five
fascinating and extremely modern in the sense
months in Brussels, five months in Paris and
The new Solvay Ponts MBA programme was
that they were both way ahead of their times.
then two to five months of professionalisation
created with a clear intention: to offer MBA
Solvay Brussels School is the business school
(a consulting mission, internship, special
participants something unique. We created a
of ULB, founded in 1834, based (already at the
research project or business plan for a start-
programme that alternates between Brussels
time!) on the principles of critical thinking and
up), which can be done anywhere in the world.
and Paris, two cities in the heart of Europe, with
freedom. ENPC MBA Paris is the business school
a strong focus on innovation, design thinking,
of the École des Ponts Business School (ENPC),
MBA programmes of the two schools, we have
new business development and using technology
which was founded in 1747 (by edict of King
opened our network of sister programmes to all
as a lever for superior performance.
Louis XV) based on the principles of (believe it
MBA participants, which means participants can
or not) a model of peer-to-peer learning without
take courses in Brussels (Belgium), Casablanca
study trips to the hotbeds of new businesses –
professors! As such, both schools embraced,
(Morocco), Cali (Columbia), Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh
the Silicon Valley and the Shanghai region of
early on, the principles of the MBA – peer-
City (Vietnam), Hong Kong and Shanghai (China),
China. This is complemented by a new course
to-peer learning, critical thinking, academic
Paris (France), Philadelphia (US) and Singapore.
offered together with the new Design School
excellence and freedom of expression.
Naturally, we included two experiential
Beyond the storytelling, and it is a good
of the École des Ponts.
Secondly, as part of the merger between the
Thirdly, we offer participants the option of participating in various international
story, participants benefit from the combined
exchange programme opportunities in Canada,
in a modern MBA programme should be the Career
academic excellence of four schools (the two
Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Israel,
Advancement Programme, as better jobs are
business schools and the two mother schools),
Mexico, and the UK.
what our participants really care most about. As a
a dual diploma, world-class facilities on two
result, both schools have decided to aggressively
campuses, life experience in two high-profile
invest several thousand euros per participant in a
European cities, total immersion in two rich
personalised career-advising service.
cultures, and the ability to take advantage of the
In addition, we have decided that a key element
multitude of international exchange agreements
What strengths does each school bring to the programme, and how does this add value to students’ learning experience? The more both schools worked together to further the merger of our full-time MBA programmes, the more we discovered shared
both business schools have developed.
Students have the opportunity to take advantage of strong international partnerships through participation in classes abroad. Kindly expand upon this.
Personalised Career Programme
16
Fall: Brussels
Spring: Paris
Summer: Your Choice
`` 7 Core Courses `` 6 Electives + 1 Study Trip
`` 8 Core Courses `` 5 Electives + 1 Study Trip
`` Internship or Consulting Project or Business Plan
Sept to Jan
Feb to June
July to Aug/Nov
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ÉCOLE DES PONTS BUSINESS SCHOOL
Fourth, we offer participants two experiential learning trips, one in the US and one in China.
universities like Berkeley and Stanford; the thought leaders in design-thinking, as well as companies like IDEO and Google, who are putting these ideas
Finally, even for those who don’t wish
into action. In China, we also adapted our study trip
to take advantage of these travel
this year to venture further outside of Shanghai,
opportunities, our
and include dynamic nearby cities where start-ups
visiting faculty model
abound, with visits to start-ups, incubators and
brings professors
venture capitalists, as well as multinationals that
from around the world
are succeeding in doing business in China thanks
(Africa, Asia, Australia,
to an entrepreneurial and adaptive mindset.
Europe and North America) to the classroom, bringing with them their own cultural perspectives, worldviews, schools of thought and, more challenging for some participants, a wide variety of accents in English.
What can students expect from these trips? What our participants get from these trips is first-hand experience interacting with the leading companies, top managers and thought-leaders that they have read about, analysed and discussed in class via case studies, textbooks and videos. They get to experience the theory, to see how
Were the locations of your study trips chosen to reflect your focus on entrepreneurship and innovation? Good question, Alexandra! As we changed the focus of the
companies are applying it; they get to challenge top management about their strategic decisions and vision for the future. They also get to hear from leading professors, to debate with local politicians and to network with a wide range of local alumni. At the end of the programme we are often told these trips were the highlight of their learning, and an unforgettable experience.
new joint programme this year, we moved our study trip from the East Coast of the US where we had an innovation, banking and finance theme to the West Coast, namely the Silicon Valley, the global hotbed of innovative business models. We took our participants to
Given the events of recent years, and their ongoing impact across national and global markets, do you feel entrepreneurship and innovation should be a key element of every MBA programme? That is a trick question, in the sense that you are preaching to the converted! We strongly believe that the way forward for all nations today, and the solution to most problems – be they demographic challenges, youth unemployment, the need to boost local economies, the challenge of helping emerging markets emerge or ensuring developed countries maintain their quality of life – is through creating new, vibrant and sustainable businesses. A business school’s responsibility is to create ethical managers and leaders, who can think creatively and critically on how to create new businesses that help solve the world’s problems. Our motto has always been “In business to build a better world,” and we believe that people are conscious of this imperative and of the important role business, and thus MBAs, have in ensuring a better tomorrow for all, starting today!
We included two experiential study trips to the hotbeds of new businesses – the Silicon Valley and the Shanghai region of China.
Individuals who possess the ability to make ethical and responsible decisions are in high demand by employers, and many hold the view that CSR should start at business school. What role does CSR play in the Solvay-Ponts programme? Our programme has been strongly influenced by the vision of the founder of the ENPC MBA, Dame Celia Russo, who in 1987 made CEO MAGAZINE
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ÉCOLE DES PONTS BUSINESS SCHOOL
corporate social responsibility a cornerstone of
makes our jobs so special, is that we get to see
the programme and a core course, long before
these transformations happen, again and again,
most people knew what this term even meant, and
to people we truly care about.
well before it came to be ‘abused’. Both business
Based on the aforementioned, what exciting innovations can we expect from The Solvay-Ponts MBA over the coming 12 to 18 months? Well, first of all, we just launched a co-branded
This remains a core course in our programme, in
How will you ensure you are able to keep up with these demands and maintain an attractive proposition for students?
a course we call social responsibility of business.
That is a challenge for us and for all business
your readers based on the above: “Stories of
As you can see, the name of the course already
schools. However, the merger of the MBA
transformation”. The idea is to allow recent
translates our view of the world. That said, it
programmes of both schools is just a first step.
graduates to say, in their own words, how the
is always interesting to teach ethics in an MBA
We plan to merge additional programmes and
MBA transformed their thinking, their lives and,
programme, as there are no absolute answers.
we hope to offer joint and dual degrees, new
especially, their careers. We feel that prospects
As such, this course is always a source of putting
courses, streamline networking opportunities
don’t want to hear anything that sounds like
critical thinking skills and cultural intelligence
and ensure international exchanges are a bigger
marketing. Rather they are interested in the
into practical application. The debates are always
part of each programme. We will continue to
stories of people like them, who are looking
fascinating and the cultural insights from any one
listen to what our recent alumni have to say
for a better job, for an international career, to
course are incredible.
(they are our best source of information on how
change career paths, and how the MBA helped
to further improve our programmes) about what
them to achieve their goals. We are very excited
Do you feel MBA programmes have become unrecognisable from the traditional ‘management degrees’ they were once thought of as?
they feel the job market is looking for in terms of
about this new approach that we developed
new skills, and where they think our strengths
together with the Boondoggle advertising
and weaknesses lie. Today, participants in our
agency. Beyond that, we will be working
joint programmes can be part of and/or leverage
closely with the first graduating cohort in
You know this as well as we do, the MBA market
eight different alumni networks worldwide. This,
order to explore options to tweak the
is fast-paced, highly competitive and, as such,
in itself, is an unparalleled value proposition for
programme to make it even better. The
business schools must constantly innovate
our participants and graduates. However, we
first year of anything is always a learning
and adapt to meet the demands of today’s
have to work harder to deepen the links between
experience, and we know we can apply
participants. What we are trying to offer,
these networks. To that end, our present alumni
the same design-thinking and critical
and this is expressed in our newly re-crafted
association has been fantastic at organising
analysis that we teach in our curriculum
marketing message, is an MBA programme
international events (a recent example being
to optimising our programme. With the
which offers participants a truly transformative
“Doing well by doing good” on May 5th in
input of our soon-to-graduate cohort,
experience, a year they will never forget, mind-
Philadelphia with the Fox School of Business))
I am sure we will further improve what
changing and perspective-shifting encounters,
that are creating the “active ties that bind” across
we feel is already a wonderful and
and a newly-informed view on business, their
alumni and across continents.
unique value proposition.
schools, and both mother schools, believe strongly in CSR and in sustainable development.
website (www.solvaypontmba.com), with a new communication axis, which won’t surprise
personal career objectives and what leadership means to them. So yes, I think not only have the programmes changed from the traditional perspective of being “management degrees” but what schools are offering and what participants are looking for have gone beyond management and now include leadership, critical thinking, innovation and, if I may stretch the metaphor, understanding the box in order to think outside of it. The true pleasure in education, and what
Biography Ø Alon Rozen, PhD, ADP is Acting Dean at École des Ponts Business School, Paris.
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EMOTIONS ARE DATA, TOO
Are Data, Too Gianpiero Petriglieri
H
ardly a day goes by that I don't meet it, the struggle with emotions at work. The misunderstood colleague, filled with frustration, attempting not to show it; the executive wondering how to confront her team's lack of enthusiasm; the student hesitating to confess his affection to a classmate. It has been two decades since emotional intelligence became a cornerstone of managers’ self-improvement projects. Meditation has broken into the C-suite. Alpha males and females extol the virtues of mindfulness. And still we remain unsure about what to do with emotions at work. One moment we do not have enough emotion, the next we have too much. We want work to ignite our passion but we don’t want our passions to affect our judgment. We want cool heads and warm hearts – as long as they remain apart. The pursuit of passionate equanimity in the office might look like a valid remedy for the consuming pace of business in our day and age. I’d like to argue, however, that it might be a symptom as well – of a work culture that views emotions in ways that keep us struggling with them in the long run. We have come to regard emotions as assets – precious or toxic as they may be – rather than as data. Therefore we focus on managing them, which often means trying to exploit, diffuse, or sanitize them, far more than staying with them long enough to discern their meaning. And when we do the latter, we usually interpret them as revealing something about their owners alone.
Meditation has broken into the C-suite. Alpha males and females extol the virtues of mindfulness. And still we remain unsure about what to do with emotions at work.
Treating emotions this way, as spill-overs of our inner worlds, leaves us with acute, even obsessive awareness of them – and yet limited insight. Not because we’re neglectful of our emotions, incompetent at managing them, or simply, hopelessly human. Not because emotions are neither always conscious nor easily named. Not just, at least. It is because our emotions at work are more than echoes of our history, expressions of our virtues and neuroses, or shadows of our longings. While those always play a part, emotions are seldom ours alone. What you and I feel at work has as much to do with what we are doing, and what others expect of people in our roles – and of someone who looks like us – as it does with our own inner lives. We readily accept that work shapes how we act and how we see ourselves, that others’ expectations subtly corner us. We rarely think the same may be true of our emotions – even private ones – as well. But if we play a part at work, more or less willingly, a part more or less fitting with the person we believe we are, why should we not feel that part as well? What if emotions were another element in our role’s unwritten script, which our history merely prepares us for and our aspirations only make us more willing to perform? What if the assumption that emotions are ours – alone – to mind and tame made us more likely to torment ourselves than to question how that script casts us and who its authors and intended audience are? Take an energetic executive who was wondering if he had become depressed when I met him, shortly after a big promotion. He had been asked to turn a division around, and had relished the challenge at first. Months later, however, his reviled predecessor was thriving in another company while he himself was deeply dispirited. Despite his good progress, he could not exorcise a lingering fear of failure with the usual enthusiasm and determination, and worried that it might be catching up with him. Reflective as he was, he could easily link his fear and shame to certain disappointments of his youth. What he found harder was to see that his feelings also spoke of something broader than his unresolved sense of inadequacy. They reflected the status of his division, whose problems were blamed for everything that threatened the company’s viability in the marketplace. CEO MAGAZINE
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EMOTIONS ARE DATA, TOO
His well-disguised fears and old sensitivities made him a perfect match for the position, psychologically speaking. They made him more likely to carry the sense of inadequacy on behalf of other executives, who could thus feel blameless for the company’s difficulties, than to challenge the arrangements that evoked them. Taking a more systemic (and less conformist) view of emotions, as sources of intelligence about the work and culture of our organizations, does not make us any less responsible for them. Quite the contrary, it calls for us to use the insight we gain for more than improving our effectiveness or achieving peace of mind. How would we go about extracting systemic insight from our emotion? Here are three questions to get us started.
How do we show (which) emotions? Stop asking whether you show enough emotions. Ask how you show them. We are always expressing emotions, even if we are not talking about them. Particularly when we are not talking about them. There are no emotions we express more than those we are trying to hide, especially from ourselves. (It’s when we believe that we have no emotions that emotions can most easily have us.) It is not always unpleasant emotions that we deny – or hide in plain sight. I know workplaces where aggression is acceptable while needs for comfort and recognition make people uncomfortable. So fighting, for all it is bemoaned, becomes a safer form of intimacy – a way to connect and show that one cares. Silencing emotions breeds mistrust and loneliness. Acting them out without talking about them safeguards the status quo. Silence makes it harder to recognize, make sense of, and challenge the division of emotional labor, so to speak, that keeps us feeling the same way over and over again.
Who gets to feel what? Emotions are seldom distributed equally. They are often bundled with certain roles. Consider hope and despair, confidence and concern, pride and shame, poise and agitation, vocal outrage and silent contempt. The former in each pair is usually assigned to, and expected of, people in powerful and visible roles. The latter is consigned to those in less powerful and visible ones, to nurse on behalf of those who must avoid them. “Be yourself,” and “get a grip,” are common ways we are nudged into those places, as both often translate into, “Feel and show more of what I expect you to.” This runs counter to the common belief that our emotions are what funnel us into different roles, and that by managing those emotions we make ourselves more suitable for certain assignments. In fact, our roles often elicit our emotions. And we don’t often realize that until, when we move on from one role to the next, the emotions we felt dissipate, only to capture our successors. Needless to say, such divisions of labor, never explicit but respected by most, do not bode well for problem-solving, mutual understanding, and collaboration.
What is the purpose of these emotions (and who benefits from them)? Assume that which emotions are silenced and which are voiced, and who gets to feel and express what, is neither random nor affected by our character alone. 20
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EMOTIONS ARE DATA, TOO
The heartless CEO, the guilty working mom, the ambitious middle manager, the frazzled assistant. Consider them assignments, albeit unconscious ones. Then you have a lens to examine what purpose, and whose interests, those assignments may serve – what they enable, what they avert, who they protect – and what everyone, including you, gets out of them. It may be safety, righteousness, approval, achievement, or relief. It may be the illusion that everyone gets what they deserve rather than what they can afford. It may be the familiarity, if not comfort, of experiencing what we are used to – within and around us. A sense of knowing our place and what it feels like. Interpreted that way – tied to ourselves in a role, in context, doing work – emotions can help us learn about and manage more than just ourselves. They give us hints about what keeps us in our place, how we may change places, and even what it might take to change the whole place. When you find yourself thinking, “Here I go again,” because you sense that you are getting caught up in a familiar pattern, ask where in your past that pattern comes
from, what it says about you, and how you may ease its grip. But don’t stop there. That’s only half the work. Ask also what evoked those emotions here, in these circumstances, now. Unless we use our self-awareness to examine the system more dispassionately, reflection is just another form of withdrawal. Unless we turn our hardearned equanimity into resolve to change our surroundings as much as ourselves, the struggle with emotions never ends. Any practice to manage them becomes at best a coping mechanism – at worst an instrument of the status quo. We can’t be saner, or at least freer, until we stop sanitizing emotions. We can’t make workplaces fairer if we lock people into managing them alone. Yes, emotions are personal. They are just not all about us.
Biography Ø Gianpiero Petriglieri is Associate Professor of Organisational Behaviour at INSEAD, where he directs the Management Acceleration Programme, the school’s flagship executive programme for emerging leaders. He also has a Medical Doctorate and a specialization in psychiatry. You can find him on Twitter @gpetriglieri.
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LYNCHBURG COLLEGE
The LEADERSHIP
ADVANTAGE Alexandra Skinner speaks to faculty and students at Lynchburg College
Leading from the Top: Dean Joe Turek What does leadership mean to you? Leadership means different things at different levels in an organization. Most people usually think of leaders as being at the top of the organization. At that level, leadership involves
The moral tone of an organization is set by its leadership.
setting a direction and then aligning the
As you move down within the organization,
Do you feel that MBA programmes have a responsibility to influence a culture of ethics, sustainability and CSR in leaders?
the line between leadership and management
Absolutely! Our mission statement
becomes blurry, but the idea of influencing
places character-building at the
others is still central. Leadership takes place
heart of all we do. The moral tone of an
at all levels and, the more effective you are as
organization is set by its leadership. Leaders
a leader, the greater the likelihood that you’ll
model acceptable behaviour for others within
move up within the organization.
the organization. If we don’t get it right at the
organization’s resources to bring about the desired change. Good leaders at this level will seek to create buy-in by allowing broad participation throughout the organization.
very top, we shouldn’t be surprised to find the
What qualities have you found to be most helpful during your management career?
rot spreading throughout the organization.
Being open to new ideas and willing to
to influence the attitudes and values of our
challenge conventional wisdom are two
students, we have a responsibility to prepare
essential leadership qualities, especially in
them to lead with integrity, and to recognize
times of dramatic change. In terms of values,
that the way they achieve their goals is at least
there’s no doubt in my mind that honesty and
as important as the goals themselves.
To the extent that business schools are able
respect for others are most important.
Richard Branson’s entrepreneurial spirit,
Some critics have accused MBA programmes of being too focused on finance and accounting, and less about management and strategy. Do you agree?
boundless energy, determination, and creativity
No, I don’t agree. I can tell you that it’s
put him squarely at the top of my list.
certainly not true of our program, which
Are there any leaders, past or present, that have inspired you?
consists of such courses as Organizational
22
Are there any leadership qualities that you feel today’s professionals are lacking?
Behavior and Management, Marketing
Sadly, I think that too many leaders are willing
Management, Management Information
to compromise standards and cut corners in
Technology, and Managerial Economics.
order to “stay in the game” when the going
The problem is not too much emphasis
gets tough. These compromises wouldn’t be
on finance and accounting, but rather
our program capstone, is based in part on
necessary if more businesses were committed
insufficient focus on the many ways in which
a computer simulation that forces students
to finding creative solutions to seemingly
uncertainty impacts managerial decisions.
to break down disciplinary silos and make
intractable problems.
Global Business Competition and Strategy,
connections across the curriculum.
Management, Production and Operations Joe Turek
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LYNCHBURG COLLEGE
Leadership at Lynchburg College The School of Business and Economics was ranked number 10 among US colleges and universities for Leadership Development in 2014 by Leadership Excellence magazine. Our focus on character development, which emphasizes ethical decision making and valuebased leadership, is a hallmark feature of our MBA program. We also stress the importance of: (a) being open to new ideas and treating individuals with respect, (b) being able to see the world through a variety of different lenses and the organization through multiple disciplinary perspectives, and (c) personal reflection, continuous improvement, and lifelong learning. These are practices, or ‘habits of mind’, that leaders need to navigate the turbulent waters of a rapidly changing marketplace. As part of the Gifford Lecture in Business Ethics and Leadership, we feature prominent speakers who come to campus to share their experiences and insights with our students, who are then better able to connect curricular content with real-world situations. Most of our courses rely heavily on the case method, and we’ve studied companies such as Southwest Airlines and Enron. Bringing in people, such as James Parker and Sherron Watkins, to talk about their companies really helps to bring these lessons to life. Several courses focus explicitly on leadership development. In Global Business Competition and Strategy, the program’s capstone course, students develop an understanding of the strategy-making process and, through the use of complex simulations, gain an appreciation for the need to think about business holistically. In Innovation and Change, they develop the ability to think speculatively using alternative planning scenarios and how to work successfully with people in a rapidly changing global market. The School of Business and Economics is currently in the process of developing training programs for business professionals in several countries, including China and Saudi Arabia. Through this initiative, we’ll be leveraging our considerable experience in developing customized curricula. Part of the training will be delivered on the Lynchburg College campus and part will be delivered onsite in partner countries. While preparing these professionals to cope with the demands of a modern economy, our faculty will be gaining valuable insight into the workings of international firms, which will then be imparted to our regular MBA students.
RENE BALLOWE “Without the MBA, I would not have obtained my new role.” The program has transformed my career immensely. I specifically left a better paying job in another state to move back to Lynchburg to complete the MBA program at Lynchburg College. I have recently been promoted to a managerial position and am already using the skills that I learned in the program. I believe that without the MBA, I would not have obtained my new role. I am now able to understand all of the financial calculations that make our company tick. While I had a broad understanding of the concepts before, with the help of the MBA program I feel like I can speak confidently about how the work we do effects the company overall. In our capstone class we had to write a scenario analysis on an industry. I chose the insurance industry and did a deep dive into it. I was able to work with leaders and industry professionals to gather concepts for my analysis and I plan to share my findings with my company once complete. In the MBA program you are constantly doing work in groups. These group projects are invaluable, because you get to meet and work with others from a very diverse range of professions. Since we are not an online school, you are able to work firsthand with these individuals. I learned a lot about not only being a good leader of a group, but also being a good follower. The program has definitely influenced my view on what it means to be a good leader. Previously, I believed that as long as a person was able to connect with others on a personal level and had charisma, they would be a great leader. But that is not enough. You have to have the technical knowledge to back up the soft skills, otherwise you are setting yourself up for failure – while people may like you, they may lose faith in you. The most valuable leadership lesson that the Lynchburg MBA program taught me is that you are in charge of your own career. I could have elected against an MBA and continued on my chosen career path and hoped that I would get to where I wanted to go. However, I took charge and spent countless nights and hours working hard and obtaining the necessary tools to succeed. Rene Ballowe, Operations Coordinator, Genworth, U.S. Life Companies. Lynchburg College MBA graduate, 2014.
Guest Speakers
James Parker
James Parker, former CEO of Southwest Airlines (2001-2004) Sherron Watkins, former VP for Business Development at Enron and the “Enron whistleblower” Jon Landau, producer of Avatar Rob Lebow, author, A Journey Into The Heroic Environment Doug Lennick, author, Moral Intelligence 2.0 Janet Reno, former US Attorney General William Cohen, former US Secretary of Defense Lance Secretan, author, executive coach, and former CEO, Manpower Ltd.
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LYNCHBURG COLLEGE
TULANE PATTERSON “I understand that my role as a leader is to make my employees successful.” I graduated from the Lynchburg College MBA program in 1991. I now own several companies and have bought and sold companies in the process. I am in the home health business in two Virginia cities, Lynchburg and Roanoke. I found that the program enhanced not only my accounting and financial analytical skills, but also gave me a better understanding of the legal process – especially in human resources. As I have purchased and sold businesses and made decisions for my on-going businesses, I have had the need to read and understand financial reports and forms to analyze the health and value of a business. I have been able to look at a business from a strictly numbers standpoint which has been very helpful. I work with a ‘global mindset’. The program helped me understand the interlinking of the world of banking and finance, which is connected, inseparable and dependent on the workings of other countries. International trade, international interest rates and international stability affect the national economy and each business within that economy. The most valuable lesson I learned regarding leadership is that business is all about people – their ability to perform and to work as an employee base, and to be persuaded and to purchase as customers. Regardless of the type of business, people that work and people who purchase are the key to success. This makes the ability to lead instrumental. I understand that my role as a leader is to make my employees successful. If I can make them successful I become successful. Tulane Patterson, Owner of Generation Solutions. Lynchburg College MBA graduate, 1991.
PETER J. GOUMAS “The program has taught me to lead with humility and inclusiveness.” The Lynchburg College MBA has given me refined skills and broader exposure to management practices that have enabled me to transition my career; from over 25 years in government contracting and manufacturing, to an executive role in our commercial and industrial business segment. It has equipped me with skills in forensic accounting that I did not previously have. Today, when reviewing financial statements, I am able to view the statements with a critical eye and identify potential weaknesses that are not immediately apparent. My skills in economic and financial analysis have also been honed through the program. In addition to learning economic theory we learned to apply the principles of economics to real and relevant business problems. Throughout the program we collaborated in teams, providing thorough analysis of various alternatives to arrive at decisions. The program influenced me to consider alternatives, get additional input and perform a critical analysis. From a leadership perspective it has taught me the importance of being thorough and decisive in order to lead and earn the respect of your peers. The program involved extensive use of case studies that were focused on a wide variety of global companies and situations. Through this case work, the knowledge and experience of the professors, and the individual research required to understand the cases, I gained a very good foundation for understanding the dynamics of global business and how to apply that to various situations. The program has taught me to lead with humility and inclusiveness; to work in a team, and to consider other people’s ideas while standing firm on the ethics and values of the organization. Peter J. Goumas, Vice President and General Manager, Operations, Babcock & Wilcox Power Generation Group, Inc. Lynchburg College MBA graduate, 2014.
Biography Ø Dr Joseph Turek is Dean of the School of Business and Economics at Lynchburg College, Virginia.
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SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS
10 Entrepreneurs
Reasons why Social
Emad Rahim
What is social entrepreneurship and why is it important? In a global business world replete with economically oriented announcements, social entrepreneurs bring another perspective to social trends, highlighting key factors that promote social welfare or launching initiatives that improve living conditions in specific areas. In essence, social entrepreneurs improve people’s lives by spearheading essential projects that initially don’t have a profit motive – even if, later, these initiatives bear economic fruit. Social entrepreneurs play a key role in today’s society, and here’s why:
1. They Draw Attention to a Pressing Problem Social initiators – another term for social entrepreneurs – improve the lives of citizens by highlighting pressing problems that might plague a neighborhood, country or group of people. A case in point would be Rafael Alvarez, founder of Genesys Works – a Houston-based organization that teaches low-income high school juniors basic IT skills they can later use to land jobs post-graduation.
Matter
renewal of the region or country in which they live and operate. One should also factor in the multiplier effect, where employees of socially oriented organizations have the opportunity to spend their income and grow the local economy.
3. They act as Catalysts for Social Change Muhammad Yunus, the founder of Bengladeshbased Grameen Bank, epitomizes the ability of social entrepreneurs to spearhead positive changes not only locally, but also globally. The Grameen Bank has received plaudits for promoting microfinance and microcredit, lifting millions of underprivileged customers out of poverty by funding local projects at favorable conditions.
4. They Generate Social Value
2. They Create Economic Value
“Social value” is the general improvement you see in a society – typically across the board. We already mentioned the direct economic impact social entrepreneurship has on people. Other advantageous influences include sustainable environmental practices, high literacy for the underprivileged, a free flow of information among citizens, reduced health hazards, and increased innovation from educated and healthy citizens.
By creating jobs, producing income and
5. They Inspire Others
nurturing an entire network of business partners – suppliers, shipping companies, lenders, utilities companies – social entrepreneurs contribute to the economic
Social initiators inspire others to do good, and sometimes, great things – simple as that. Their ability to espouse great ideas and bring others
on-board serves as a powerful catalyst in the creation of a virtuous circle. Take Bill Gates, for example, who after several years in the business world decided to embark upon a global campaign for better literacy, access to basic healthcare, and increased innovation in the key sectors of health, the environment, education and democracy. Besides the most prominent cases, there are lesser-known, but also highly effective, social entrepreneurs who bring about change every day in the communities where they live and work. Examples range from New York-based leadership entrepreneur Jean Desravines to William Foote and Sara Horowitz, respectively founders of Root Capital (a lender to farmers in poor countries), and the Freelancers Union, which provides reasonably priced health insurance to the self-employed.
6. They can Influence Government Policy All around the world, movements inspired or spearheaded by social initiators have gathered strong popular support, which in turn has helped the political willpower needed to make fundamental changes. Whether it is in public health, environmental awareness, occupational safety or education, socially oriented initiatives have transformed the way we live, work and vote on the fundamental issues of the day. The example of Benjamin Rattray – the founder and CEO of the online petition website Change.org – is enriching in the sense that it shows how a simple platform can serve as a powerful lever for social change and influence at the federal, state and local levels. CEO MAGAZINE
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SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS
7. They Create Unique Opportunities Social entrepreneurs, by their very actions and initiatives, can provide unique opportunities for millions of individuals around the world. For example, Sam Goldman and Ned Tozun created D.light Design to provide portable solar lamps to the world’s 1.5 billion people who don’t have access to electricity. In lieu of dangerous and dirty kerosene lamps, D.light provides users with solar lamps that are clean and can deliver up to 12 hours of light, thereby lifting millions out of poverty by facilitating study, access to the Internet and TV, and the launching and running of businesses.
8. They Reshape Corporate Social Responsibility Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has gained momentum in the business world recently, but some social entrepreneurs want to make sure companies don’t use CSR simply as a publicrelations ploy. The concern for real and sustainable CSR has prompted Jay Coen Gilbert, Bart Koulahan and Andrew Kassoy to launch B Lab. The organization certifies businesses complying with a variety of social and environmental criteria, emphasizing things like financial transparency, employee ownership and Fair Trade certification.
Social entrepreneurs, by their very actions and initiatives, can provide unique opportunities for millions of individuals around the world. Recap Social entrepreneurs matter for a host of reasons, from the mundane to the significant. They save lives, transform local economies and influence government policy. They usually venture into industries where traditional capitalism doesn’t want to go, reshaping the way we live, think, consume and interact at a national and global level.
Biography Ø Emad Rahim is an award – winning entrepreneur, educator, author and community leader. He currently serves as the Assistant Dean of Business at Strayer University and Professor at the Jack Welch Management Institute. He is the appointed Endowed Entrepreneur-in-Residence for Oklahoma State University and Visiting Scholar at Rutgers University. You can follow him on Twitter @DrEmadRahim.
9. They can Change People’s Behaviors In their quest for a better world, social initiators often come up with simple and easy-to-implement solutions that change or improve people’s behaviors. Daniel Yates, for example, has created Opower to help people reduce their energy consumption. The organization’s system allows customers to easily compare their electricity and gas consumption with their neighbors, then provides energy saving advice on everything from LED lighting to equipment monitoring.
10. They Save Lives Perhaps the most noteworthy impact of social entrepreneurs is their ability to save lives... literally. Not the lives of seniors, young adults, teenagers – you name it – but new lives in difficult and impoverished environments. Jane Chen’s Embrace Global initiative has received accolades for creating the Thermpod, a device that keeps low-birth-weight babies warm even when there is a power outage in hospitals and clinics. Looking like a miniature sleeping bag, the Thermpod provides a lifesaving four to six hours of heat on a single 30-minute charge. 26
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INSPIRATIONAL LEADERS
Biography Ø Amber Callender is is a Features Writer for CEO Magazine.
Leadership Lessons from Inspirational
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Amber Callender
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he phrase 'leadership skills' is often thrown around in the work place, yet there is no required skillset for being a leader. Over the past twenty-five years we've seen a number of inspirational leaders in a variety of different fields, each with their own unique set of skills, and from each of these leaders there is a little something we can take away to add to our own individual skillset.
Nick Vujicic: Perseverance A leader can be defined as a ‘guiding or directing head’, and this certainly describes Nick Vujicic, who has guided thousands of people with his motivational speeches, and in leading the non-profit organisation ‘Life Without Limbs’. Vujicic was born in Australia in 1982, without four of his limbs due to a rare disorder called tetra-amelia syndrome; yet despite his physical condition he refused to allow it to restrict his lifestyle. From a young age Vujicic struggled with depression, having to face both physical and emotional challenges. However, after speaking about his faith and overcoming adversity at the age of seventeen, he channelled his energy into creating the company ‘Attitude is Attitude’ and launching the organisation ‘Life Without Limbs’. If there’s one thing we can learn from Vujicic, it’s perseverance; to choose to carry on despite the obstacles life may place in our paths. Now this may be starting to sound a little cliché, but Nick is right when he says, “defeat happens only to those who refuse to try again.”
Leaders Richard Branson: Dream Big
Angela Merkel: Be Brave
An entrepreneurial mind-set is essential for most leading business-people, and none more so than Richard Branson, who began pursuing business ventures at the ripe age of sixteen, setting up the magazine Student. In the simplest of terms, Branson can teach us to ‘dream big’ – as we all know, as a result of his ambition and determination, he went on to become founder and chairman of Virgin Group. Robert Drayson, Branson’s headmaster, once told him that he would either end up in prison or become a millionaire – so never fear! If your business ventures don’t quite work out, there’s always prison to fall back on. All jokes aside, there really is a lot to be said for ambition.
Bravery is a quality we can all use in everyday life, and no, I’m not referring to the daily struggle to strive fearlessly onto the battlefield that is the platform of a London bound train at seven in the morning. What I’m referring to is a fundamental sense of bravery, something we can learn from Angela Merkel, the first woman to hold the position of both Chancellor of Germany and leader of the Christian Democratic Union. Merkel has never feared expressing her opinion, writing an editorial article in 1999 criticizing Chancellor Helmut Kohl for his involvement in a slush-fund scandal, branding her the first member of his cabinet to break with him. This lack of inhibiting fear is one of the key qualities that has enabled Merkel to pursue the political career which she continues to expand to date.
J.K Rowling: Learn from Failure J.K Rowling has played a lead role in the movement of modern fantasy literature, with sales of over £238million, yet the record breaking Harry Potter series would not be in print today if Rowling had not taken that initial risk in publishing the first Harry Potter novel. Twelve publishers rejected the manuscript Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone before it was published in 1997, which substantiates that failure can in fact lead to great success. Often as humans, we’re afraid to take risks due to the threat of failure; however, it is usually past failures which fuel future success. So maybe try taking a little risk today, even if it’s deciding to have that slightly dodgy looking tuna sandwich for lunch.
Tim Zagat: Embrace Change Last but not least is Tim Zagat, the lawyer turned entrepreneur, who co-founded and led the company Zagat, the restaurant survey site, alongside his wife Nina Zagat, until it was acquired by Google in 2011 for around $151 million. As a leading entrepreneur, Tim Zagat can teach us to embrace change, demonstrating that it’s never too late to switch career paths. Despite working as a litigator for twenty years after law school, Tim Zagat was still able to radically change his career and succeed. From this we can learn that change is a positive thing, no matter how daunting the move may seem. CEO MAGAZINE
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LEADERSHIP SPOTLIGHT
Leadership Spotlight Dr Dirk Craen
What distinguishes a good leader from a great leader?
How did you become a leader?
Margaret Thatcher famously said: “Being
yourself with people who are smarter than
powerful is like being a lady – if you have to
you in their field.” And she is right. A leader
tell people you are – you aren’t.” And there is
needs great people around him, who know
another great saying: “A leader is a dealer in
more than he does, but who share his ideals
hope” – from Napoleon Bonaparte. I often use
and enthusiasm. If my marketing director has
these quotes at conferences, because they
the same opinion as my financial director, there
show the scope of the term ‘leadership’.
is one person too many on my payroll. You pay
My wife said it to me, “You have surrounded
people to have different opinions; the era of
In between these quotes lie a mere 150 years. How has leadership changed in recent times?
autocratic leadership is over.
In the 1970s, the hot topic in business
Because knowledge is no longer a limited resource?
schools was the four famous Ps: price, place,
Yes, what makes the difference today is the ability
promotion and product. That covered the
to evaluate information and make decisions that
complete philosophy of the market. This is
take all the important details into account. This
completely different now. Today leadership
requires both a new concept of leadership and a
has other ‘Ps’ – the first one is people. This is
new understanding of a networked world.
the most important one. Your customers and your employees – they should always be at
Is the world growing together then?
the center of everything you do. The second
Yes and no. On a large scale, yes; you can
‘p’ is performance. People have to perform –
communicate and trade more easily with people
and your job as a leader is to transform your
from around the world. But keep in mind; in
employees into great performers. The third ‘p’ is
Europe there are 27 countries with hundreds of
planet. Respect for the planet is our fundament.
different tastes. You make the difference in the
The final ‘p’ stands for profit – a manager is an
details, and so both an international knowledge
entrepreneur without capital. Without profit
base and education are key. You know what
you cannot reinvest.
illustrates this cultural diversity?
It seems that money isn’t everything anymore. That’s right. A great leader today needs to inspire, as both a businessman and a storyteller. His enthusiasm must be infectious. Entrepreneurs are the rock stars of today – because they can change the world for the better. 28
Your customers and your employees – they should always be at the center of everything you do.
Quick-Fire Questions A leader without vision is like... a consultant. Someone who knows the job but has no personal responsibility to change anything. A real leader must be an agent for change. You have to give something back, give more to the world than you earn. Then you can say: I did a good job. A leader without responsibility is like... a football player without a ball. A leader without a great team... is a one-man business. And a team without a great leader... is like a ship in a wild storm: it has no direction. A leader without a sense of sustainability is... a pure egoist.
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LEADERSHIP SPOTLIGHT
Hip hop? The Internet? No. Mayonnaise.
Mayonnaise? In the US, there is basically only one type of mayonnaise. They have so many states but essentially the same taste. In Europe you have 200 different tastes. People in the north like it more salty and the more you go toward the south, the more sugary it is. A real leader is aware of differences like these and acts accordingly. If you know these little details, you will be loved by your customers. I learned this as a salesperson and it has helped me ever since.
How can leadership be taught? Through examples and real-life stories. Learn from the best. And of course, a certain skepticism helps – against anyone who seems to know every answer. A true leader is willing to engage in discussion without knowing the outcome.
So a leader tries new things? Absolutely. Take food. Some people say, “I don’t eat that.” How people eat can be really revealing sometimes – it shows their attitude to life.
So you can tell great leaders by their restaurant orders? I was in Hong Kong once and met people who always went to an Italian place there. Imagine that! Do you need more proof of their inability to seize opportunity? As an employer, I would think twice before hiring people like that.
Do you remember good advice from a leader that you respect? Jean-Claude Biver, the CEO of the watchmaker Hublot once told me, “I don’t need marketing tests, I just try new ideas, and if it doesn’t work, I won’t do it anymore.” He had some great ideas. He was the guy who wanted to sponsor soccer – and found a perfect place for his logos: the signs that the referee holds up when a player gets changed and when the overtime is being announced. These things are shown in every game, but much more dynamic than plain ads or posters. Brilliant.
Biography Ø Dr Dirk Craen is President at European University and UNESCO Chair in International Relations, Business Administration and Entrepreneurship. Dr Craen is also a member of the International Association of University Presidents.
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ARE BOSSES BECOMING EXTINCT?
Bosses
Are Becoming Extinct? Hierarchy is often viewed as hindering innovation, but getting rid of hierarchy carries risks of its own. Savvy organisation design can help you strike a successful balance. Phanish Puranam
I
magine working at a company without any bosses. No powerful voice to veto your best idea before giving it a fair shake. No micro-management getting between you and the completion of your work. No door to knock on to get a burning question answered, or to smooth over a conflict. For that matter, no one to bail you out or take responsibility for your mistakes… As I wrote previously, an egalitarian zeitgeist and frustration with bureaucratic hierarchies has led to a handful of “boss-less” firms – tech firms Valve and GitHub and tomato processor Morning Star among them -- being hailed in the business press as the wave of the future. These companies have dismantled traditional multi-layer hierarchies and granted employees well-nigh total freedom to align themselves into self-organised teams. And for these few firms at least, the approach seems to be working well:
One GitHub employee wrote on his blog, “The vast majority of the time... [e]veryone is happy, everything is great. We don’t run into a lot of paralysing problems all too often.”
Warning Signs But it’s important to note that the “boss-less” model may have a significant scalability problem, and the successes we see may be rather special cases. To see why, it is useful to ask why the multi-layered authority hierarchy came into existence in the first place. When it takes the expensive contributions of many to produce something, and their contributions have complex linkages between them, bosses play critical roles in motivating and coordinating contributors, as well as resolving disputes between them. But they have limited spans of control, which gives rise to layers in the hierarchy. It follows that to dispense with
the hierarchy of bosses for the production of complex products, peer-to-peer dispute resolution through consensus will be critical. That’s where scalability constraints begin to bite, because consensus decision-making is very hard to scale. That’s probably why manufacturer W.L. Gore splits off certain divisions that grow beyond 250 or so people. Growing pains at Valve reportedly were a contributing factor to an early-2013 round of layoffs. This is also why supposedly non-hierarchical communities such as those associated with Wikipedia and Linux, have been found to have a strong informal hierarchy. Mid-to-large-sized companies looking to follow in these firms’ footsteps would be wise to tread very carefully. It is worth noting that all start-ups look like self-selected teams, but most switch to conventional authority hierarchies as they grow. There are other potential problems too. Consensus wisdom may be preferable to conventional leadership in many ways, but time efficiency isn’t one of them. Hierarchy provides a useful “stopping rule” – which can terminate debate and reach decisions fast (though these decisions may not necessarily be the best ones). And with everyone following their bliss and seeking glowing peer reviews, what becomes of necessary but less visible projects? Without task assignment being handled from above, talent may migrate toward the most conspicuous project options available, not necessarily the most critical. This is a problem that Nature, in the design of ant-colonies, has solved beautifully. But it took millions of years of evolution to do it.
The Sincerest Form of Flattening Steamrolling the hierarchy is neither feasible nor advisable for most businesses, but there are ways 30
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ARE BOSSES BECOMING EXTINCT?
Imagine working at a company without any bosses. No powerful voice to veto your best idea before giving it a fair shake. No micromanagement getting between you and the completion of your work.
the principle of self-selection into teams may be very powerful indeed. This is where the traditional hierarchy may offer very little advantage. Yet, even here there is an implicit role for authority; it creates the context within which the spontaneous interactions necessary for selfselected teams can occur.
Uncharted Territory to tame the wild beast of “boss-less”-ness and perhaps make it work for you. The right question may not be whether one should dismantle the hierarchy or not, but instead where to do so (and how much), as the classic organisation theorists Burns and Stalker observed several decades ago. In certain parts of the organisation, where projects require complex large scale interactions, critical projects may not necessarily be attractive, and consensus within projects is difficult to achieve, the hierarchy should continue to reign. In others, where the inputs of a few key individuals are sufficient for a project, where such individuals may have a better sense of which projects are critical than their bosses, and where peer-to-peer consensus within projects can be relatively easily achieved because of professional norms and reputation concerns,
The best of both worlds may belong to companies that tear down the hierarchy around certain departments and leave it intact elsewhere, essentially creating “boss-less” firms within a hierarchical structure. After all, most would agree that manufacturing departments might be bogged down by the freedom a “flat” structure affords, but that same freedom may prove to be a wellspring of innovation for an R&D department. The opportunities and challenges lie in taking these ideas beyond the traditional R&D-manufacturing dichotomy to unusual contexts. For instance, rather than impose its views on how synergies must be realised between divisions in a multi-business firm, what if headquarters instead encouraged divisions to self-select into synergy projects and form internal alliances to manage them, based on their own estimation of mutual benefit? Courtesy of INSEAD Knowledge.
Biography Ø Phanish Puranam is the Roland Berger Chair Professor of Strategy & Organisation Design at INSEAD.
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PARIS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
Paris Students
EXPERIENCE
La Dolce Vita Alexandra Skinner speaks to staff and students at Paris School of Business
T
he Paris School of Business MBA in Luxury & Fashion Management is a practical and hands-on programme, balancing a top, academic framework with real-world tools such as entrepreneurship and networking. After completing the foundation courses, students then choose a specialisation in Luxury & Fashion or Luxury & Lifestyle for in-depth study. In addition, students have the opportunity to complete an optional internship for a thorough academic and professional experience. The programme also comprises several study tours, and in April this year, the latest intake visited Florence, Italy, to discover more about Italian fashion.
Key Facts Full-time, 12 month MBA programme Two specialisations: Luxury & Fashion and Luxury & Lifestyle Located in Paris, the global capital of luxury and fashion Exclusive company visits and luxurious VIP field trips in France and other parts of Europe Specialised and experienced professors Optional internship of up to six months Unique professional networking opportunity
Course Professor: Alberto Campagnolo I teach the Italian Luxury & Fashion Management course as part of the Paris School of Business MBA in Luxury & Fashion Management. I also undertake work as a Marketing and Communications Consultant for international brands in the luxury and fashion market. Both of these roles follow a long-term professional career, much of which was spent as Marketing and Communication Manager within a division of Giorgio Armani in Milan, where for more than eight years I was responsible for leading training courses for a variety of stakeholders across 75 countries. My course aims to map strategies within the fashion world – mostly in Italy, though not exclusively – in order to identify not only how a brand becomes a trend, but also how a company’s heritage creates a narrative that translates into real, everyday culture. For this, the dialogue must be charming, long-lasting, and focused on a proper idea. It is this idea that then becomes a trend, thanks to its loyalty, visibility and image. A luxury brand is immediate, reliable, long-lasting and meaningful. It always has something strong to say. My ultimate mission as professor at PSB is to help students explore their own uniqueness and strengths. Whilst many students are able manage several tasks, very few can contribute with an original and intriguing vision. To me, harnessing that spark remains my main goal, and I believe that Paris School of Business is one of the very few business schools in the world where you can not only find these ‘sparks’, but actively help to bring students’ visions to life. Alberto Campagnolo is Adjunct Professor of Master’s Courses at Paris School of Business, and Marketing and Communication Consultant for Luxury, Lifestyle, Fashion and Design brands.
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Programme Dean: Valérie Haie Luxury and, more precisely, the fashion market are specific areas, whose rules are unique. You can’t be trained by ‘chance’. It is indeed a spirit that gets shaped step by step. Like craftsmanship, it needs time; a one-day course would not be sufficient to gain a deep understanding. If a student wants to work in the luxury industry, they need to immerse themselves in some training on the subject, such as Paris School of Business’ specialised MBA in Luxury & Fashion Management. The programme has the advantage of combining the knowledge of both academic and hands-on experience. It is the combination of both that will enable a student to meet the requirements of excellence within a luxury company. The vision behind the Florence trip was really a return to the past, and the roots of luxury. Florence has played a vital role in the development of French fashion and craftsmanship. It is essential to understand this in order to fully appreciate and understand the French luxury of today. Our trip was articulated to showcase crafts and fashion. The brands we visited each have a personal way of highlighting their DNA, and communicating it accordingly. It is very informative for a luxury and fashion student to be aware of this. Student trips and management seminars are beneficial for several reasons: when students are taken out of the ‘usual’ work context, they become proactive and enthusiastic. They find themselves suddenly facing the reality of business. They are often amazed by the know-how and expertise that feed the luxury field. As a result, they are forced to challenge themselves by changing both their vision of luxury and their way of working. This is a great advantage. Students with an MBA in Luxury & Fashion Management go on to work as International Brand Directors, International Product Managers, International Purchase Managers in Luxury Goods, International Luxury Business Development Managers, Buyers, and Fashion Consultants to name a few. Valérie Haie is Dean of the Luxury & Fashion Management MBA, Paris School of Business.
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Study Tour Diary
Florence: the place where Italian fashion was born DAY ONE
Florence tour students
09:00 Leave the hotel to travel by city bus to Lisio “Florence is one of the capital cities of art and culture. It is known not only for its historical heritage, but also for its focus on the arts. Florence is a special city that everyone should visit at least once in their lives. When you first step onto this cultural ground, you immediately feel its atmosphere. There are very few places like it in the world.” Euan Shao
DAY TWO
10:00 Fondazione Lisio – Conference topic: The most precious silk weaving structures: damask, velvet, brocade and lampas. Their use in historic and contemporary textiles.
11:00 Gucci Museum
“The silk weaving textile manufacturer, set in the Firenze
the jewelry shoes – it is the chicest of the chic! When
countryside, was almost exactly how you would picture
we took a closer look at the pieces on display, we were
it. Tucked away in the Tuscan hillsides, and surrounded by
finally able to understand the true beauty of ‘handmade’.
greenery, the manufacturer seemed somewhat old-fashion
Frida Gianni is a genius.” Ma Rui
“Here I had the chance to see the other side of Gucci and to better understand its vision; elegant, graceful and timeless. All of the bamboo clothes, the floral scarves,
with maybe just five well-seasoned employees. Famed for creating the fun patterns and silky prints of Fendi’s iconic
“Beautifully located in a historic building, this venue
‘Baguette Bag’, the highly-skilled textile techniques – that
showed the importance of ‘heritage’ in their brand image.
are employed by hand – most certainly justify the pretty
Excited by the Gucci Cadillac, we slowly made our way
price tag one would pay for such a high-ticket item.”
through the periods of Gucci history, observing how the
Alyssa Nelsen
brand has developed overtime.” Katayana Kulkarni
14:30 Museo Salvatore Ferragamo
13:00 Fondazione Capucci
“Being an admirer of shoes, this was the most interesting
The Foundation aims to preserve and promote the work of
excursion for me – I felt like a ‘kid in a candy shop’. The
Roberto Capucci, and to reaffirm the supremacy of quality
museum creates the impression that you are in fairytale.
and the importance of experimentation in fashion.
Salvatore Ferragamo was inspired by fairytales, and fairytales are also a very important part of life in Italy. As a result, the inspiration for many artists and fashion designers comes from legend and stories from the past.” Irina Belyava
17:00 Alberto Campagnolo’s lecture on Italian fashion. Debate. “Professor Campagnolo taught us that most Italian brands
Luxury and, more precisely, the fashion market are specific areas, whose rules are unique. You can’t be trained by ‘chance’.
have very different targets to French brands. Whilst French brands like holding exhibitions as a way of sharing their brand culture, Italian brands prefer to build their brands like a museum, and maintain something timeless.” Zihe Wang
Evening: free time 34
Biography Ø Paris School of Business offers Bachelors, Masters, Doctorate and Executive Education programmes to students from all over the world.
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AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF BUSINESS
A World of
ALUMNI EVENTS Like No Other Australian Institute of Business (AIB) alumni events are fast becoming the go-to events for business students and professionals around the globe who are eager to hear from leaders in their field.
A
s any entrepreneur or business professional knows, the best way to learn is to learn from the best with expertise from those who have climbed to the top of the corporate ladder. Built firmly on a foundation of practical learning and cutting-edge business advice, AIB holds a series of events each year designed to give students, alumni and faculty cutting-edge advice from leaders in the field. With a line-up of guest speakers spanning the globe including top CEOs, executives, business owners, entrepreneurs and coaches, the events form a fantastic opportunity for students, alumni, staff and faculty to gain professional development from the best. But the institute isn’t stopping there, according to AIB Joint-CEO, Joel Abraham, who says the biggest and the best is yet to come. “AIB’s line-up of national and international alumni events are going from strength to strength, drawing larger crowds, bigger names and interest from heads of local and international corporations,” he said. “Our students want to leave a legacy, build a brand and lead an office with the same success as Roger Rasheed, Cibo Espresso and Mahela Jayawardena,” Mr Abraham said.
In the spirit of professional development and community-building, each AIB guest presentation is followed by a networking session for attendees.
“Each speaker is carefully selected as they share first-hand experience and advice, taking the valuable opportunity to reflect on their journey to the top, while inspiring our students to become greater leaders and business professionals.” Attendees around the world have a lot to gain from the wealth of experience that these leaders in the field have to offer, with many of the institute’s global teaching centres holding alumni events this June. “Gaining practical, real-world advice from industry experts gives our students and graduates the best chance to apply these learnings in the workplace both during their degree and after it,” Mr Abraham said. “Practical learning is the cornerstone of AIB’s learning approach and goes hand-in-hand with our accelerated business degrees, which are built for working adults.” In the spirit of professional development and community-building, each AIB guest presentation is followed by a networking session for attendees, giving students, alumni and faculty the chance to build industry connections and enhance their career prospects. Current students and alumni looking to connect via digital platforms need look no further than AIB’s recently launched LinkedIn page, where graduates can get in touch with their peers and receive news and events updates from AIB. For more information about AIB’s alumni events and guest speakers, please visit the AIB website, or search for the Australian Institute of Business on Facebook and LinkedIn. CEO MAGAZINE
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A Global Learning Hub Tips from Top Guest Speakers Roger Rasheed
Founder of Roger Rasheed Sports Foundation Former coach of some of the biggest names in tennis including former World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt and previous French No. 1 Gaël Monfils, Roger Rasheed stopped by to coach AIB’s alumni on creating elite performance and leaving a legacy. With tips including ‘challenge yourself’, ‘overcome your opposition’ and ‘use mentors to progress,’ the presentation provided an inspiring insight into how to win in the field of business.
Roberto Cardone
Founder/Director of Cibo Espresso Cibo Espresso is a favourite in Adelaide, South Australia, enjoying more loyalty from the locals than its bigger global contenders including Hudsons Coffee and Gloria Jean’s. The focus of guest presenter and Cibo Espresso founder Roberto Cardone was what makes the Cibo Espresso brand, which was built on great Italian food, such a long-term success. This alumni event, unlike any other, was held as a cocktail party in the early evening in the middle of an iconic South Australian shopping outlet.
Martin Haese
Director and CEO of Retail IQ International Once a large retail chain owner, Martin Haese was the CEO of a retail company with 16 locations across Australia, 220 employees and annual sales of AUD$25M. Having completed an MBA through the Australian Institute of Business, Martin Haese shared his insights into the importance of education in entrepreneurial success and how it adds to his more than 25 years of experience in retailing, innovation and entrepreneurship. 36
Mahela Jayawardena
Former Captain of the Sri Lankan Cricket Team Combining cricket and the corporate world, the former captain of the Sri Lankan cricket team was the main speaker when he addressed more than 200 executives and managers from many of Sri Lanka’s leading organisations. During the presentation entitled ‘Leading your team when the chips are down,’ Mahela Jayawardena drew on his wealth of sporting experience to stress the importance of good team dynamics, making bold decisions when it’s required and respecting the differences of your team mates. The event was organised by 361 Edge with the Oxford College of Business (OCB) Alumni. It was held at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) on the 21st of March 2013. Oxford College of Business is an AIB approved Teaching Centre that delivers AIB’s MBA program in Sri Lanka.
Matthew Michalewicz Entrepreneur, speaker and writer
This serial-entrepreneur has built and sold three businesses in the past 20 years, making multi-million dollar profits on each one. With a track record of success in entrepreneurship and the belief that nothing is impossible if you want it badly enough, Matthew Michalewicz shared his science of success with AIB, backed up by extensive research and experience drawn from his professional and family life.
Learn from the best with expertise from those who have climbed to the top of the corporate ladder.
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Matthew Michalewicz
Other guest speakers Glenn Cooper A fifth generation Cooper, Glen Cooper is the Chairman and Marketing Director of Coopers Brewery, Australia’s largest independent brewing company and the only remaining family-owned large brewery in Australia
Richard Turner CEO and Founder of Zen Home Energy Systems, Richard Turner is a serial entrepreneur who has founded four successful companies and taken Zen through two years of 600 per cent growth during the Global Financial Crisis. He has built the business from a start-up into Australia’s leading renewable energy company.
Alister Haigh Fourth-generation South Australian chocolatier Alister Haigh is part of a family who is widely recognised in Adelaide, South Australia, with a name that is synonymous with fine chocolates.As Chief Executive of Haigh’s Chocolates, Alister Haigh is working to continue the success of the family business across Australia and cites education, work-life balance and having a good mentor as keys to his success.
Andrew Daniels CEO of Adelaide Oval in South Australia, Andrew Daniels has experience across the sporting, tourism and events industries and leading high-profile South Australian organisations including the state’s Motor Sport Board, Tourism Commission, and the Australian Formula One Grand Prix Board.
Phil Di Bella
Biography Ø Australian Institute of Business is a 25 year old business school based in Australia, offering degrees, undertaking research, and providing consultancy services globally. AIB was the first, and remains the only, private institution in Australia to be government approved to confer the full suite of business degrees, including the prestigious PhD.
Phil Di Bella is a successful entrepreneur and the Founder and Managing Director of Di Bella Coffee. His success story, fuelled by passion, commitment, and innovation, is one he came to tell the AIB community in his alumni presentation last year.
Kelly Baker Jamieson 2011 Businesswoman of the Year, Kelly Baker Jamieson is Managing Director of Edible Blooms, which she established in September 2005. She has built a business by creating floral-like bouquets made from fresh fruit, gourmet chocolates and home-baked cookies.
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DEBUNKING THE DBA
Debunking
the Doctor of BUSINESS ADMISTRATION Alexandra Skinner speaks with the Executive DBA Council’s Lars Mathiassen.
The fundamental differences between a DBA and a PhD Both the DBA and the PhD are terminal degrees in business, and they are both focused on developing an individual’s research capabilities. The PhD aims to create academic researchers for a career in top business schools, the degree is within a specific discipline, and the focus is on developing new theory through rigorous research. In contrast, the
DBA aims to develop practitioner researchers for a career in industry, the degree is interdisciplinary (hence the name) and the focus is on solving practical problems through rigorous research. In addition, a PhD student is typically engaged fulltime, while DBA students study on a part-time basis while having a full-time job.
The DBA aims to develop practitioner researchers for a career in industry.
DBA Vs PhD
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Executive Doctoral DBA
Academic PhD
Senior executives who:
Students with limited work experience who:
Hold an MBA or relevant postbaccalaureate degree Work full-time Will use the knowledge required to address problems and issues in contemporary business
May or may not hold a post-baccalaureate degree Typically enroll as full-time students Seek to position themselves for careers in academia
Career differentiation and advancement
Developing new skill sets and capabilities
Objective: To develop practitioner researchers
Advancing leadership skills in mentoring tomorrow’s champions
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DEBUNKING THE DBA
One of the key challenges that we face at the Executive DBA Council is that there is some confusion surrounding degree names. Some schools have offered a PhD for years and referred to it as a ‘DBA’, and some new DBA programs are known as an ‘Executive PhD’. In addition, the notion of two different terminal degrees in business studies is relatively new outside the Commonwealth. It will still take some time before degree names become more homogeneous, and the market comes to understand the specific features of a DBA.
Why undertake a doctorate? The key question when considering a doctorate is ‘what are your goals’? Do you want to become a recognized, international business researcher at a top business school, or, are you more interested in solving practical problems using rigorous research methods? Also, to qualify for a DBA program, you need significant high-level business experience, and you’ll have to pay tuition rather than receiving a grant, as PhD students do. The DBA degree is relevant across industries and a variety of high-level roles, including executives, R&D managers, CEO MAGAZINE
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DEBUNKING THE DBA
Motivational profiles for doctorate degrees Name
Career Stage
Objective
Comments
D0 Traditional
Early
Entry to academia
Traditional academic doctorate
D1 Advanced Entry
Early
Professional development
Doctorate is intended to advance the individual’s professional career prospects. Particularly common in countries like Germany, where doctorate is viewed favorably in many professional contexts
D2 Continuing Development
Mid-career
Professional advancement
Degree serves to enhance the individual’s skills and reputation
D3 Transition
Mid – or late-career
Entry to new career
Doctorate serves as a try path to a new career, most commonly academia. The nature of the degree would depend upon whether the principal motivation was change of field, desire to research, desire to teach or desire to administer (e.g., join institution as a practice qualified dean)
D4 Personal Fulfillment
Any
Self-enrichment
Little or no extrinsic motivation; motivation to pursue a doctorate is entirely intrinsic
professional leaders, innovators, and consultants. However, you need to have relevant industrial knowledge within your field of study, you must have strong academic skills (critical reading, analytical capabilities, writing and communication), and you must, very importantly, be intrinsically motivated and disciplined. It is very difficult to balance work, family, and a DBA study over several years. Students will only succeed if they have strong support from colleagues at work and from family. Having created this foundation, they will then need to stay persistently engaged in the program, every week, throughout its entire duration. Typically, a DBA will require 25-30 hours a week of study time for three years. Some students don’t finish on time and they will have to put in some extra effort and possibly pay more tuition.
The Role of the Executive DBA Council The Executive DBA Council was founded in 2010 by six business schools from Europe, Asia and the US. The mission of the Council is to foster excellence and innovation in executive doctoral degree programs worldwide. The Executive DBA Council is hosting the 4th Annual Conference on Engaged Management Scholarship in Tulsa September 2014. We have had great success with these annual conferences which are really the backbone of the Council’s activities. The Engaged Management Scholarship 40
You must, very importantly, be intrinsically motivated and disciplined. conference is the premier international meeting place for students, alumni, faculty and managers involved in professional business doctorate programs around the world. Our purpose is to promote the value of engaged management scholarship and to raise its profile internationally. Since we founded the Executive DBA Council in 2010, we have grown from four member schools to 34 in 2014. These schools represent Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, South America and the US. I strongly believe that the DBA will follow a similar trajectory to the one that the MBA followed several decades ago. At first, there were few MBA programs available, and even fewer Executive MBA programs. Now, it is commonplace for business professionals to acquire an MBA or EMBA degree at a relatively young age. In this day and age, with increasingly fast-paced and partly unpredictable changes in government, markets and technology, an increasing number of experienced business professionals will supplement their MBA with a DBA degree to promote their careers and, at some point, possibly to engage with universities in some capacity.
Biography Ø Dr Lars Mathiassen is Chairman of the Executive DBA Council; the only organization globally that focuses exclusively on executive doctoral degree programs and their issues. Dr Mathiassen is also Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar, Academic Director of DBA program, Professor at the Computer Information Systems Department and Co-Founder of Center for Process Innovation at Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University.
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JACKSONVILLE UNIVERSITY
There’s a
New
e t a r o t c Do in the House Alexandra Skinner speaks to Don Capener at Jacksonville University The Doctorate of Business Administration (DBA) at Jacksonville University is a logical addition to the Davis College of Business’ suite of highly regarded, and ranked, programmes.
When and how are the DBA courses taught? DBA candidates will meet every other weekend for 10 months of the year. We feel that this will allow current executives to manage their study within their busy day-to-day and travel schedules. We have the chief administrative officer from the Mayo Clinic in Florida, the CEO of Prudential
What can applicants expect from the Jacksonville University DBA?
Commercial real estate in Northeast Florida, a
Successful candidates for the Jacksonville
company based in Atlanta, Georgia, and many
University doctoral program in business
other prominent DBA students in our first class.
administration are seasoned business
senior vice president from a global informatics
Because of our one million-dollar technological
executives that have demonstrated their skills
investment in making graduate education more
outside of academia and seek a terminal
flexible and attainable for those who cannot
degree along with the research skills that will
afford to come back for traditional classroom
enable them to contribute as thought leaders.
instruction, we are launching a series of “hybrid”
We expect our graduates to start consulting
graduate courses which combine the best of an
businesses, successful blogs, leadership
in-class experience with the flexibility of an online
institutes, and become best-selling authors
platform. I myself am teaching Entrepreneurial
of business books. Mostly, our DBA graduates
Thought Leadership this fall, using a hybrid
will help their current employers take their
format. Assignments will be preloaded into the
businesses to even higher levels of success.
blackboard learning platform and we will provide a
Many graduates will also find part-time or
Microsoft surface tablet that is preloaded with the
adjunct opportunities at business schools
course text and courses assignment information.
around the world. Our objective is to develop
With this preparation, DBA candidates who travel
practitioner researchers who apply analysis
extensively can utilize their tablet and the online
to current data sets rather than performing
environment to keep pace despite the fact that
basic or fundamental academic research.
classroom time will be minimal.
Who is the programme aimed at? Jacksonville University’s DBA program is targeted at successful executives with seven or more years of managerial experience. Each candidate will have earned a master’s degree in business or an area closely related to business. In the case a master’s degree was earned in an area outside of business, candidates can
Participant Benefits
Benefits to Firms
Learn new tools for evidence-based decision making:
Analyzing business problems with multiple tools
Business analytics International business Career differentiation and advancement
Developing new skill sets and capabilities
Enhance leadership skills
Advancing leadership skills in mentoring tomorrow’s champions
take one or two terms of MBA courses to gain the knowledge and experience they will need to begin the DBA program. 42
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JACKSONVILLE UNIVERSITY
Our DBA graduates will help their current employers take their businesses to even higher levels of success.
At a Glance: Key Facts Scheduling The doctoral program admits students in two “in-takes” annually: May and September. The first cohort will begin Fall 2014 Cohort based – three years to graduate DBA classes are offered two weekends a month; Friday 2:00 – 5:00 p.m., and Saturday 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Schedule is pre-set and cohort proceeds in lock-step fashion
Admissions Completed application. Application fee of $50. An earned master’s degree from an accredited institution. Official transcripts from all undergraduate and graduate coursework. A statement of purpose explaining the candidate’s professional goals for pursing the DBA and experience in the English language. A vita or resume detailing a deep professional understanding of business. GRE or GMAT scores if previously taken. Three letters of recommendation. Corporate letter of support. All participants must be willing to participate in an interview if requested. Video conferencing available.
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JACKSONVILLE UNIVERSITY
ANDRE J. VAN RENSBURG
How much study time is required for the DBA?
“Knowledge is power. Always strive to improve your knowledge.”
Study time outside of the every other weekend residency commitment is roughly 10 hours per week. Once a candidate reaches the dissertation phase, the time commitment
We have to recognize that with the advent of increasingly sophisticated technology, we as CEOs have a huge opportunity to capitalize on the collection and analysis of data within our respective fields. Corporations, who have the knowledge and skills to collect the relevant information and use it effectively, will undoubtedly set themselves apart from their competitors. I obtained my Master of Business Administration at Jacksonville University. This gave me an insight into Jacksonville University’s commitment to providing the absolute best educational experience possible. I believe that from Tim Cost, President of the University, to the Dean, to the faculty and staff of the Davis College of Business; everyone is committed to this goal. The program is AACSB accredited and as I evaluated a number of alternatives, I could not find a program that could compete with JU. My research is related to the understanding of why teams in businesses succeed while others who seemingly have all the right ingredients, such as capital resources, great leadership and capable employees, end up failing. Why do teams who have little or no resources succeed? What sets them apart? This research could not only be helpful for the future health of our organization, but for all businesses. We hope to include approximately 300 regional business teams in this research. As far as taking on the extra workload, I am fortunate that I am able to endure with less sleep than most. I am already active at 4.45am every day and have found that much can be accomplished before most people arrive at work. This will be a function of efficient time management. In addition, my whole team is very supportive. This includes my wife and family as well. I love what I do, but one never knows how the ‘butterfly affect’ of this program will influence my path in the future. I believe it will make me a better informed, better equipped and more efficient and capable leader. I truly believe that for leadership to impact an industry they have to ask big questions, be clear about their vision and goals, live intellectually and be brave enough to make the difficult decisions that go hand in hand with change. Knowledge is power. Always strive to improve your knowledge. I am sincerely looking forward to this program commencing.
will increase substantially. However, once the research is complete, and the analysis done, the writing phase can be completed by most candidates within a four to six month time window.
Typically, how long will the programme take to complete? We expect our candidates to graduate within the three year time frame. However, job situations and family support can change suddenly, so that timetable may not apply to all candidates. It is our goal that a tuition investment in Jacksonville University’s DBA program will return dividends shortly after graduation, if not before. Candidates will learn new analytical tools, gain skills working alongside data scientists, and work closely with some of this region’s most successful academics in the area of scholarly research and publishing. Many DBA candidates will have the opportunity to publish scholarly material well before they begin the dissertation phase of their program.
Are students able to use a real, complex problem that they may currently be facing at work as the subject of their DBA research? Because our DBA students are working with complex data sets every day, they will have the opportunity to use those data sets in their analysis and research for doctoral level coursework. This is a unique and important aspect of Jacksonville University’s DBA program because it demonstrates the applied nature
Andre J. van Rensburg is CEO of Prudential Commercial Real Estate Jacksonville 44
of the coursework and the potential value to sponsoring employers.
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JACKSONVILLE UNIVERSITY
ROBERT BRIGHAM “The schedule for this program recognizes the demand on an executive’s time.”
Would a DBA help someone who is planning to start a consulting business? Yes, it is certainly a likely scenario that DBA candidates will have the background and preparation to launch a successful consulting business based on their own experience and the skills gained in the DBA program. As a terminal degree, it’s an impressive credential. But most importantly, the practical nature of the program lends itself to consulting opportunities worldwide.
What skills are required in order to be successful in the programme? Although prior success in a traditional
The healthcare sector is under tremendous pressure to change, and all members of the sector – providers, payers, employers, and patients themselves – will need to change paradigms and engage in transformational change. My research question will directly relate to issues facing healthcare providers addressing the healthcare system reform currently underway. The program at Jacksonville University has a focus on applied learning and on the use of big data in assessing and responding to a dynamic business environment. The schedule for this program recognizes the demand on an executive’s time and provides some flexibility in managing the workload. It is designed for students who have demanding roles in the work world. My employer is extremely supportive of my decision to pursue a DBA. Mayo Clinic is an academic institution in its own right, and recognizes lifelong learning as essential. I feel the insights gained in this program will be directly applicable to my challenges as a healthcare administrator. It is an important driver in my desire to participate in this program. Post-study, I plan to continue my work in healthcare leadership and in driving change in the delivery system. Robert Brigham is Chief Administrative Officer at the Mayo Clinic, Florida.
classroom experience demonstrates intellectual capabilities, we thoroughly interview every DBA candidate based on their success in
What kind of opportunities are there for someone who completes a DBA?
faculty here at Jacksonville University –
This program orientation is rooted in our belief that project management skills, along
We expect most of our graduates will
level research requires it. The first-year
with a successful track record of leadership
continue to be employed by the companies
participants will be part of a cohort of
in organizations, are the keys to success in
that sponsored their participation in the
12 to 14 students and work individually and
and out of academia. We place a premium on
first place. However, our graduates will
as teams over a series of 22 weekends. This
candidates who can demonstrate that they have
have new capabilities in the area of analysis
pattern will be repeated in the second year
created unique products or systems that solve
and international business. They will have
for the DBA candidates. The third year will be
problems and create value.
deepened their knowledge of how to best
much less structured, but the attention and
lead teams and solve complex organizational
support will actually increase, since these
Is a high-level of statistical knowledge necessary?
problems. It is safe to predict many graduates
candidates will be working one-on-one with
will find new employment opportunities
the chair and other faculty mentors in their
Candidates are not required to have a high level
in consulting, not-for-profits, think tanks,
academic area of choice. We structured this
of statistical knowledge. However, because
and, yes, academia. The attractiveness of
program to maximize the opportunity for
statistics is one of the critical elements of data
our candidates for academia is based not
DBA candidates to learn from faculty and
analytics, we will coach each candidate and
on their academic achievements, but on
their peers, while allowing flexibility for
help develop skills in this area. Graduates will
how they can apply their experience to
busy professionals.
not be qualified as data scientists from our
their newfound knowledge of research
DBA program, but a number of our candidates
and thought leadership.
creating, managing and launching products.
do already have qualifications in information
experience in areas outside of one’s own
Given the challenging nature of the DBA programme, how much support will students receive from the University?
responsibilities will create an ideal learning
DBA students will receive all of the support
environment for our DBA students.
and attention they need from the graduate
technology, programming, and data analytics. Learning alongside peers who have deep
this DBA program is a priority, and doctoral
Biography Ø Dr Don Capener is a former marketing agency CEO & Dean of the Davis College of Business at Jacksonville Univeristy, Florida.
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CHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITIES IN THE NEW BUSINESS EDUCATION WORLD
CHALLENGES OPPORTUNITIES
in the New Business Education World Dominique Turpin
T
he world of business education is facing its biggest opportunities and challenges in history. Four major forces are starting to shape the future of business schools over the next five, ten or 20 years. The first issue concerns public funding. This is becoming more difficult to obtain as governments have less money to spend, at least in some parts of Europe. As a result some schools are having to merge, as we have seen already in France, for example. The second issue is demographics. Europe and Japan in particular face the challenge of an ageing population. When you want to predict the future, the only sure thing is that tomorrow you will be older than today. Consequently, you only have to look at demographics to know that some countries are going to face problems. The third challenge is economic. Economic problems in Spain, Italy, Greece, Cyprus and elsewhere are seriously affecting job opportunities for business school graduates and participants. The fourth factor is technology, and this will become even more important in the
46
future. We all know that e-learning will be a massive challenge as well as a huge opportunity for business schools around the world. “MOOCs” (massive open online courses) are a reality, and e-learning could reshuffle the cards in a way that may well change the fate of a number of schools. Technology will most likely mean that an increasing number of new competitors enter the management education market. And there will be a new type of competitor that approaches companies with executive education “solutions” and says: “You don’t need to send all your people to those big expensive business schools. We will go onto the web for you and find all the good stuff that is available, package it and sell it to you at a fraction of the price that traditional business schools would charge.” The questions for anyone entering the e-learning field are still how to finance it and how to develop a sustainable competitive advantage. Many people have become very used to getting lots of things free from the internet. So, how do you price your offering? And how do you develop a competitive edge? What will be
the key success factor? The school’s brand? The faculty’s reputation? Or a combination of both? Obviously a big name can attract people to a website more effectively than a lesser-known brand. But there are still many questions to be answered. As competition intensifies, differentiation becomes crucially important. Every business school has a different mission—regional, national or international. But the question of how to differentiate yourself from other schools occupying a similar niche is becoming a major challenge. These are the challenges facing business schools. But what is the view in the market? When I talk to companies about executive education, two issues come up. The first is that customers are increasingly looking for “the best deal”. They take longer to decide if they will take up a particular programme; they want shorter programmes; and cost is becoming an issue. But the most important factor, at least for IMD and our customers, is impact. Companies often ask how relevant the academic world is today. Last summer I was in America talking to
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CHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITIES IN THE NEW BUSINESS EDUCATION WORLD
deans of major business schools, and some of them believe that the academic world is indeed becoming more and more academic. What impact do we want to have on the businesses of tomorrow? An expression used a lot at IMD is the importance of the “Lifelong Learning Journey”. In the past, especially on the executive education side, you used to go to a GMP (General Management Programme) at Harvard Business School, Wharton, INSEAD or IMD and you would be (or thought you were) educated for life as a manager. This is over! The world is changing too fast. We see an opportunity for repeated short-term courses and, since we deal with many global companies, their managers want to have the choice to go to a school in a certain part of the world and do another module or course in another part of the world. What are the implications? As I mentioned earlier, schools have different missions. I think, therefore, that each school has to draw lessons from all these factors and forces for itself. The ultimate goal of business schools, I believe, is to produce responsible leaders who can deal with an increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world: the socalled VUCA market. At the top of any corporation, people are smart and have proven that they can run a business and be successful. In the end, authentic leadership and personal values will increasingly make the difference. It is also our job to shape and nurture a curious and
open mind. I have seen too many executives and students living in their small world and not thinking enough about what is happening in other parts of the world or in different industries. Of course, we need some local companies. I recently met an entrepreneur in Switzerland who was tired of fighting Chinese and Indian companies. One evening he listed a number of criteria for the business sector of his choice: first of all, he didn’t want to compete with the Chinese and the Indians; second, he didn’t want to have to explain what the product was about; third, he wanted the customer to come back every day; fourth, he wanted them to be non-price-sensitive. Which business fits? He came to the
conclusion that he should open a chain of bakeries and he has been doing that very successfully. However, even if you are a local baker, you should have an interest in different perspectives about communication or the way you design your shop. Curiosity about life in all its aspects is still the secret of great creative leaders. Intelligence without curiosity, in my view, does not mean much. I may be biased because back in the early 1980s, I did my PhD in Japan, my wife is Japanese and I spend a lot of time in Asia. I think that the future is going to be in that part of the world. If you see where the world is moving to today, the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India, China) are the growth markets of today and tomorrow. However, executives now also talk about new opportunities in the “Double MIT” (Mexico-Indonesia-Turkey and Malaysia-India-Thailand) as well as Africa. Having faculty who are curious about the world is critical. Before you teach you have to learn, and in order to learn you need to have curious faculty. The challenge will be to stimulate faculty who are very comfortable and very successful teachers and researchers to go and look for something different in other parts of the world. Business schools are living in interesting times. Public funding, demographics, economics and technology are the main forces that are going to influence our medium – and long-term futures. In terms of the impact business schools try to have on their participants, whether students or executives, the shaping of responsible leaders is absolutely key. So is making them curious about the world in general. Getting these things right is vital for future success. Courtesy of IMD
Before you teach you have to learn, and in order to learn you need to have curious faculty.
Biography Ø Dominique Turpin is the Nestlé Professor and President of IMD.
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THE MBA CAREER PATH LESS TRAVELLED
The MBA Career Path
Less Travelled For MBAs who haven’t mapped out their entire career plan, the best path to fulfilment is found by stepping out of the HR waiting room. Pan Pan
A
ll things considered, 2003 was not the greatest time to be leaving business school. It wasn't long after the internet bubble had burst. Times were tough and job opportunities scarce, even for top MBA graduates. Although many companies still came to campus to make presentations, they weren't actively hiring. For the few jobs available, competition was fierce and those with experience and sector expertise were favoured. For those looking to change industries as well as geography, the challenge was even bigger. Over the last few years, I have seen many fellow MBA graduates, ex-colleagues and friends looking for jobs. Some were laid off during the financial crisis and the subsequent bank restructurings. Some want to change industries or careers. Some are looking for more work/life balance or meaning in their work, and some are still trying to figure out what they want to do. For many, especially in Europe, the job search has been more difficult than expected, due to slower overall economic growth, a lacklustre job market and increased competition from emerging markets. In today’s globalised world, stable career paths are disappearing, – even for people with top MBAs – and managing one’s career has become a lifelong process, accompanied by an uncertainty factor that is likely here to stay. That uncertainty is exponentially worse for those who haven’t decided on every rung of the ladder they want to reach for. It took me fifteen years to realise what I wanted to do and above all, what I didn’t. In the ten years since I left INSEAD, I have changed jobs four times. Having now found my groove, I have learned some life changing lessons along the way. 48
Nurture your network
Change the question
First, in any job search, leverage your network. The more senior you are, the more you will find that you get jobs via people, not job applications. Generally the people making key hiring decisions are not sitting in HR departments. HR merely does the screening, and often selects only the “perfect” candidates, those with all the boxes ticked. My very eclectic CV would never pass most HR assessments. When I left INSEAD, after several unsuccessful interviews on campus and in London, I found myself a summer internship at a successful creative branding agency called StrawberryFrog in Amsterdam (by cold emailing the founder/CEO via their website). While in Amsterdam, I followed up with a contact at Unilever, who I hosted when the team came to campus, and got an interview for a position in their corporate strategy group which eventually led to a job offer in the fall. For INSEAD graduates, you have an amazing global alumni network at your fingertips. Reach out to alumni in industries and sectors you are interested in. When you are looking for an opportunity, you are really looking for a person – a person who can help you and give you a chance. This means proactively reaching out and meeting people and following up once you do, which takes time and effort. But it is worth it – you only need one good opportunity to succeed.
Second, focus on your competitive advantage. In today’s rapidly changing world, competition is fierce and coming from every corner. Rather than asking questions like: What is my passion and how do I follow that in my career? What is the most popular industry to go into right now?
I took positions where I made less money, but gained tremendously in learning about the sector or the craft.
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THE MBA CAREER PATH LESS TRAVELLED
Ask yourself: What am I good at? What are my key skills and assets?” What do I enjoy doing? Focusing on your strengths will not only make you a better candidate, it will also make you happier in your job. More and more, studies are finding that traits that lead people to love their work are less about the job’s specifics and more about the soft factors like a sense of autonomy, a feeling that you are good at what you do, having a positive relationship with one’s boss and colleagues and making an impact. Of course, your assets need to meet the needs and environment of the employer. This could be something very practical and specific like a language you speak or a common background you share with your future boss. For my last job, one of the main reasons I got hired was because I spoke Chinese and my boss happened to be a trained pianist, just like me, which made us click right away. I had no sector expertise for the job itself but I was referred by an INSEAD alumnus.
Take the plunge Finally, one of the most important things about a job search is to take calculated risks. This means being open to opportunities, even if they are not “perfect” opportunities. I have come across many stories of people who want to change jobs but rarely seek opportunities because they generally believe they do not meet all the criteria or the jobs on offer don’t meet all of theirs. Others are not willing to take a pay cut in order to change industries or careers. The important thing is to act. Action leads to opportunities, not plans or aspirations. I took positions where I made less money but gained tremendously in learning about the sector or the craft. Last year, I volunteered to work as an iCats Fellow with a social organisation of the LGT Venture Philanthropy investment portfolio because I wanted more first-hand knowledge about impact investing and social entrepreneurship. Almost all iCats roles are
based in emerging markets and the role I initially applied for was to be based in the USA. Although I knew I did not want to move from my home base in Geneva, I applied for the position anyway and when I got the role I was able to negotiate with the organisation and LGT Venture Philanthropy to be based in Geneva and work with the Berlin and Zurich based teams for the fellowship. In a constantly changing world, not taking risks could be the most risky thing one can do. Networking, persistence and taking risks do pay off. And of course being in the right place, at the right time – something called luck – always helps. Courtesy of INSEAD Knowledge.
Biography Ø Pan Pan is the Founder and Managing Partner of Pantèra Ventures (INSEAD MBA ’03J).
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THE MILLSAPS COLLEGE MBA
The Millsaps College MBA
Stakeholder Perspectives Located in Jackson, Mississippi, Millsaps is a privately supported national liberal arts college founded by members of the Methodist Church in 1890. Millsaps Else School of Management offers an MBA and EMBA program, both of which are AACSB accredited. CEO Magazine’s Alexandra Skinner spoke to graduates of both programs, as well as one of the school’s key corporate partners, to discover their true value from those with first-hand experience.
“A personal connection and a support system.” I graduated from the Else School of Management at Millsaps College in December 2012, and continued to work with ELSEworks an entrepreneurial initiative within the business school, for a short period to finish a project while looking for a job. The career services department at the Else School was pivotal in my search for, and my evaluation and selection of, my job. Knowing my preferences, my counselor introduced me to the firm that would become my employer, Wealthview Capital, an independent wealth management firm challenging the status quo within the financial services industry for the benefit of the client. Even though I did not have the experience desired for the job, my boss says he hired me for my potential, a credit to my professors’ work to help me develop at the Else School. In my spare time I run a small company partnered with a nonprofit to help feed the hungry in Mississippi. The company sells high quality 50
apparel with subtle, graphic messages representing service to others. A portion of the sales proceeds go to the Mississippi Food Network. The idea was developed and brought to fruition after engaging both my professors and fellow students. The company, S.O. TEREC, is now three years old and continues to grow. My experience at Millsaps College was empowering, not only as a first-rate, nationally recognized education, but also from the incredible relationships with the faculty, which have transcended graduation. I continue to interact with professors and other faculty members on both a personal and business level. They continue to truly care about me and my career, and my last tuition check has long since been deposited. Millsaps College has also been a significant resource for networking, business consultation, and personal advice in my career. Much more than a diploma, the people at
Millsaps created both a personal connection and a support system invested not just in the training process, but also in my success afterwards. As I write this, next to me on a picture frame there is a sticky note on which the words of Herbert Spencer are scribbled: “The great aim of education is not knowledge but action.” This concept is a core principle at Millsaps. There, students and faculty act in the community through entrepreneurial initiatives, outreach programs, and volunteerism. To go to Millsaps is to be inspired. Many projects through the school emphasize the use of business as a vehicle, not just for personal gain but also for social improvement. And the professors don’t just teach it, they also live it, side by side with the students. To lead is to act; to act is to lead. When the books in the classroom closed, I knew I was ready to lead because Millsaps taught me to act. Russell Morrison AIF®, CRPS®, Wealthview Capital, LLC. Millsaps College MBA graduate, 2012.
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THE MILLSAPS COLLEGE MBA
“The Best Investment I Have Ever Made? It Was in Myself.” I was approaching forty years of age and had been working as a device sales rep for twenty years, with the last sixteen of them being with the same company. Even though my job was very challenging, I needed and wanted to be challenged in a different way. I had a desire to develop my leadership and business skills and to simply grow as an individual. I also believed that by developing these skills, I would be in a position to pursue management opportunities within my company as well as expanding my reach for professional opportunities if I decided to look elsewhere. This is when I began my search for the right EMBA program. I decided that Millsaps would be the best fit for me based on its reputation for small class sizes, the high level of interaction between students and professors, and the Millsaps writing-heavy style of learning. As it turns out, I was right! Near the end of the sixteen-month EMBA program at Millsaps, I was given an opportunity with my current company to interview for a position that would put me on a management track. I was chosen for the position the same week that I graduated from Millsaps. When I asked the VP of Sales why I was chosen for the position, he commented that in the last two years he had watched me take personal responsibility in developing myself through the EMBA program, and as a result had seen a change in me and my level of focus and now felt that I was ready for management. The EMBA proved to be a great return on my investment. Specific Returns on Investment: I committed to something that was going to require a complete change in how I spent my time and energy. There was fear of the unknown, but the lesson here is that in life you have to continue to grow, learn, and try something that is uncomfortable. Without doing this, we all risk becoming complacent and lose our ability to perform at our best. I expected to learn about leadership, accounting, management, marketing, and finance. The real learning, however, came from the projects and papers. As a result, I gained confidence in writing, became proficient in PowerPoint, and honed my Excel skills. These skills have had a major impact on my ability to perform at a much higher level than I was capable of prior to obtaining my EMBA degree.
The class of 2013 was a small group of 13 students, all of whom came from different backgrounds. I learned to appreciate that we all had something significant to offer. Where I feel the program was most beneficial was in working with classmates on group projects. In my current job, I typically like to take a lead role, but I found it beneficial, in this setting, to give all group members an opportunity to lead. This has been a great lesson that has been useful in my new management position. When you give others a chance to lead, it can be surprising what you can learn from them. The exposure to and application of new business concepts, such as, Porter’s Five Forces in Microeconomics, Environmental Scanning in Marketing Research, SWOT Analysis in Marketing Strategy, and the Balanced Scorecard Concept in International Studies have proved to be highly beneficial in my new management role. I now have the ability to draw from these concepts when discussing business strategy with my coworkers. In addition, the study of Apple and Google and determining whether or not they would be a good investment, and acting as a Federal Open Market Committee member in understanding how decisions are made at the Federal Reserve, have given me the ability to engage in discussions to which I would not otherwise have been able to significantly contribute. Now that we have graduated, I am left with a group of trusted advisors to draw from – both my classmates and the Millsaps faculty. The faculty is not only there for you during the program, but is also committed to every student’s progress throughout the rest of his or her career. I learned more than I could possibly relate in this article, but most importantly, my EMBA propelled me into a mindset of ‘wanting to learn and do more’ and not ‘settling for complacency’ and that is why this has been the best investment I have ever made in myself. Julie Tauzin, National Account Manager, Alcon Surgical. Millsaps College EMBA graduate, 2013. CEO MAGAZINE
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THE MILLSAPS COLLEGE MBA
“My degree from Millsaps has allowed me to go after my goals.” I chose the Millsaps MBA program for the small class sizes, dedicated faculty, and the diverse background of students that the program attracts. The admissions process could not have been easier and the scholarships offered provided me with the ability to pursue my degree within my own means, both financially and academically. The flexibility of the MBA curriculum allowed me to prepare for the CPA exam while developing skills that go beyond the audit industry as a whole. I began the MBA program at Millsaps in the summer of 2013. My first class was a seminar in leadership with Dr Ray Grubbs. Throughout the course of the summer class, we focused on identifying leadership qualities through classic film and literature. I quickly recognized the similarities between fiction and real-life in relation to what makes someone a leader. I later used what I had learned from Dr Grubbs and these classic films in many areas of my education here at Millsaps. Over the course of the program I discovered my individual leadership skills through group work, presentations, written reports and my position as a graduate assistant in the graduate admissions office. From decision trees with Dr Blakely Fender to the colorful history of accounting with Dr Jesse Beeler, I gathered the necessary skills required of me to fulfill my current position with Ernst & Young. With much help from both my professors and the Else School’s career center, I interviewed with Ernst & Young and accepted my starting position at their San Antonio, Texas office.
At Millsaps, classes went beyond the typical PowerPoint lecture and focused on interaction among peers and the Jackson community. One of my favorite projects was gathering marketing information for a brewery company relocating to Jackson and opening its own brewery in the downtown area. My final semester consisted of a class involving teams competing in a mock business industry selling sensors, and focused on all aspects of the decision-making process in a company setting. The professors were mentors beyond the classroom and worked to put theory into practice for each of their students. They offered advice and resources that sought to benefit the student in all aspects of their education and career. I begin my career in August 2014, and while I wait to start my dream job, I am currently studying for the CPA exam. I have not yet transitioned out of ‘school mode’ but obtaining my degree from Millsaps has allowed me to go after my goals, both in my career and personal life. Two things sum up the benefits of getting my degree here at Millsaps: receiving my MBA and accepting a full-time position at one of the Big Four accounting firms. Millsaps has afforded me the opportunity to pursue my career and develop myself into the kind of leader I learned about in my first class here. Allie Cortes, Assurance Services Practice, Ernst & Young, U.S. LLP (San Antonio). Millsaps College MBA graduate, 2014.
The Millsaps College MBA: Key Information
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MBA
EMBA
Duration
12 to 36 months
16 months
Schedule
Classes meet during the week, in the evening
Classes meet biweekly on weekends
Entry Requirements
Two years of work experience preferred, none required
Seven years of managerial experience
Start Dates
Fall, Spring or Summer
January 2016
Application Deadline
Rolling admission dates
October 15, 2015
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THE MILLSAPS COLLEGE MBA
Partnership Focus
Entergy
The program has exceeded our expectations and the employees who have gone through it have excelled in the workplace. Entergy is committed to training our employees
encourage student engagement and teamwork
and making sure they have the tools they need to
scenarios that are consistent with business.
get to where they want to be. The Millsaps MBA
The knowledge and skills gained from those
and EMBA programs are a big part of the career
classroom instructions are readily transferrable
advancement equation, which is apparent when
to the workplace.
you look at our leadership throughout the state,
The reputation of the Millsaps MBA and EMBA
many of whom are graduates of the program.
programs, and the weight the diploma carries,
The program has exceeded our expectations and
is widely known and respected throughout the
the employees who have gone through it have
community, state, region and nation. We know
excelled in the workplace.
that when our employees successfully complete
Entergy Mississippi and Millsaps College
the program they will be well-prepared to meet
have a long history with many of our employees,
the demands of our competitive industry. We
and many of those in leadership positions are
believe the Millsaps MBA and EMBA programs
Millsaps alumni. We know when our employees
are exceptional offerings, and are two of the
enroll at Millsaps, they are going to receive
best programs in the nation.
a quality education and graduate with the
Haley Fisackerly, CEO of Entergy, MS Inc.
knowledge and skills necessary to make an impact and be leaders within our organization. We are also pleased to be a community partner with Millsaps in Jackson and work very closely with their faculty and leadership to help improve the Jackson community and surrounding areas. The level of education and expertise our employees get from the Millsaps MBA/EMBA program is second to none. The location to Entergy Mississippi's corporate headquarters is also an added bonus - it allows our employees to maximize their work and study time. We have been impressed at how well Millsaps prepares our employees for the real world. The faculty goes to great lengths to stay up-to-date with the challenges and needs of business today, and do a great job of not only staying informed but, in many cases, being ahead of
Biography Ø Entergy Mississippi, Inc. provides electricity to more than 441,000 customers in 45 counties and employs nearly 2,000 people in the state of Mississippi. The company has invested millions of shareholders’ dollars in improving communities in its service area (more than $2 million given to philanthropy in 2013 and 2014 alone), aided the state in recruiting industry and creating new jobs (helping recruit almost 19,000 jobs since 2002), and been a major economic engine for Mississippi with an estimated $1 billion economic impact to the state. Entergy Mississippi’s partnership with the state of Mississippi has been beneficial to customers for more than 90 years.
those challenges. The courses and instruction CEO MAGAZINE
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THE FALLOUT OF CEO NARCISSISM
The Fallout of
CEO Narcissism Self-assured, charismatic and brazen, highly narcissistic CEOs can undermine strategic decision-making. Guoli Chen
N
arcissistic people think they know best; they have a tendency to be assertive and excessively confident about their intelligence and judgment. Noted for their charisma, they can rise rapidly through the corporate ranks and tend to be noticed and often favoured by company directors to turn troubled companies around. Once considered a personality flaw, narcissism is now seen as a fundamental personality dimension present (to varying degrees) in all of us and one of the most influential traits when it comes to processing information and making decisions. Highly narcissistic individuals believe they can learn from experience better than others around them and seek continuous affirmation of their inflated self-view by exhibiting their superiority, devaluing others and reacting aggressively to criticism. Highly narcissistic CEOs can be so blinkered by their own experience and this need to feel superior they may disregard the valuable advice and experience of other board members, having a significant impact on their company’s decisionmaking process and the way the board functions.
CEO narcissism and a board’s interlocks Organisations have a tendency to imitate each other when it comes to strategy, particularly in times of uncertainty. Copying what other companies do gives their decisions legitimacy and saves, or at least reduces, the cost of search and experimentation. Firms are especially likely to imitate the practices of companies to which their board or CEO has interlocks or ties. The more interlocks a board has the greater the wealth of experience it brings when making tough decisions. When CEOs fail to make use of this combined experience they can substantially undermine the comprehensiveness of strategic decision-making. 54
Our latest research, ‘CEO Narcissism and the Impact of Interlocks on Corporate Strategy’, analysed the relationship between narcissism in CEOs and this interorganisational imitation of company strategy and found that when narcissistic CEOs are at the helm, company decisions are more likely to imitate corporate strategy used by organisations where they have previously worked and are less likely to be influenced by strategy witnessed by other directors on the company’s board. In fact results suggested highly narcissistic CEOs may tend to do the opposite of what other directors experienced to demonstrate their superiority.
Demonstrating superiority The study, of 300 public companies on the 1995 Fortune 500 list between 1997 and 2006, measured CEO narcissism using an unobtrusive approach adopted by Chatterjee and Hambrick (2007;2011)
calculating the number of times the CEO’s photograph was featured in annual reports and their prominence in company press releases, as well as the cash and non-cash compensation of the CEO relative to other top executives of the firm. While we expected to find narcissism had some impact on decision-making, the magnitude was surprising. Results showed CEOs whose narcissism was one standard deviation above the mean were five times more likely than an average CEO to be influenced by their own experience, and
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THE FALLOUT OF CEO NARCISSISM
Biography Ø Guoli Chen is an Assistant Professor of Strategy at INSEAD and David H. Zhu, Assistant Professor of Management, Arizona State University.
Highly narcissistic CEOs can be so blinkered by their own experience and this need to feel superior they may disregard the valuable advice and experience of other board members.
a CEO whose narcissism was half a standard deviation higher than average was likely to demonstrate superiority by adopting corporate strategies directly opposite to what other directors’ prior experience would suggest. The results also suggest the more power a narcissistic CEO had compared to the company’s board of directors, the more likely the firm’s focal strategy reflects the CEO’s experience, and the less influence the board’s ties had on the decision making process. Similarly the higher the status of the companies with which the CEO had interlock ties, the more influence he or she was able to exert.
Controlling board interactions Narcissism has both cognitive and motivational elements. On the cognitive side, narcissists tend to believe they are extraordinarily talented with superior qualities such as intelligence, competence, innovativeness and leadership. On the motivational side narcissistic individuals seek to have their inflated self-view continuously reaffirmed. They look to garner attention by outperforming others. Highly narcissistic CEOs are increasingly likely to be more dominant in making visible and task-related decisions to demonstrate their authority and superiority. They also tend to favour bold actions, such as large acquisitions, that attract attention. While there’s no direct evidence to indicate CEOs are more narcissistic than others (there was a huge degree of variance between levels of CEOs studied in our research), companies need to be aware of the challenges that can come with appointing a highly narcissistic CEO, no matter how competent and inspiring they may be. But there are steps which can be taken to reduce their influence and atone for the challenges they present. Boards can ease the CEO’s grip on power by making boards more involved in decision-making through committees or appointing a lead director to coordinate board members’ actions to present a united front. There’s a lot of research looking at how directors and CEOs interact and we now know that the narcissistic side to a CEO’s personality has a strong impact on this relationship.
Self-moderation These findings also have important implications for strategic leadership research on managerial discretion and can help explain the diffusion of innovative practices and strategies. CEOs themselves should be aware of the narcissistic dimension of their personality and take care to control it when making decisions by taking into consideration experience of other board members. Whether CEO narcissism can be moderated over time by this self-awareness is yet to be proven. Courtesy of INSEAD Knowledge. CEO MAGAZINE
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LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS
List of Contributors A
J
Alexandra Skinner Amber Callender Australian Institute of Business
Jacksonville University
D
Lynchburg University
Dominique Turpin
M
E
Mark C. Crowley Millsaps College
École Des Ponts Business School Emad Rahim European University Executive DBA Council G
L
P Pan Pan Paris School of Business Phanish Puranam
Gianpiero Petriglieri Guoli Chen I INSEAD Knowledge
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