CEO Magazine - Volume 41

CEO-MAG.COM / WINTER 2023

THE TOP REASONS TECH PROFESSIONALS QUIT

THE MBA IN THE AGE OF COMPLEXITY: IS TECHNOLOGY THE NEW FINANCE?

ARE MULTIPLE JOB INTERVIEW ROUNDS REALLY NECESSARY?

TOO MANY MEETINGS, TOO LITTLE TIME (TO WORK)

&

At Maine’s premier business school, our graduate programs include unique courses and in-demand concentrations to prepare you for whatever comes next in your career.

Learn more at umaine.edu/mba The University of Maine is an EEO/AA employer and does not discriminate on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, transgender status, gender expression, national origin, citizenship status, age, disability, genetic information or veteran’s status in employment, education, and all other programs and activities. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies: Director of Equal Opportunity, 101 North Stevens Hall, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469-5754, 207.581.1226, TTY 711 (Maine Relay System).

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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THE TOP REASONS TECH PROFESSIONALS QUIT Tenth Revolution

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FORGING FUTURE LEADERS: DEFENCE, SPACE EXECUTIVES UNITE IN GROUND-BREAKING TALENT-BUILDING PROGRAMME UniSA

ceo-mag.com / Winter 2023

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GLOBAL MBA RANKINGS CEO Magazine

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THE MBA IN THE AGE OF COMPLEXITY: IS TECHNOLOGY THE NEW FINANCE? Alon Rozen

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ARE MULTIPLE JOB INTERVIEW ROUNDS REALLY NECESSARY? Chengyi Lin

ceo-mag.com / Winter 2023

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WHY SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION BACKFIRES AT WORK Maurice Schweitzer

36 HOW TO KICK THE REBRANDING HABIT Alastair Hayes

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ceo-mag.com / Winter 2023

*Corporate Knights Better World MBA rankings 2020, 2021, 2022 ^CEO Magazine online MBA rankings 2023

Jennifer Cheung, Finance & Sustainability Specialist and Griffith MBA graduate

MAKE YOUR NEXT STEP MATTER

CRICOS: 00233E | TEQSA: PRV12076

Jennifer Cheung has always cared deeply about better business and sustainability. So when deciding which university to choose for her postgraduate study, Jennifer chose the one that most matched her values.

ceo-mag.com / Winter 2023

Ranked the world’s leading sustainable MBA* and Australia’s # 1 online MBA^, the Griffith MBA armed Jennifer with the responsible leadership skills she now uses in her current role as a Finance and Sustainability Specialist in the fresh food retail sector.

Whether you’re looking to upskill or change your career focus, the Griffith MBA can help you take the next step and have a real impact in your career.

You’ll also enjoy the flexibility to fit study around your life, with the option to study full-time or part-time, as well as online or on-campus. All while being supported by Australia’s most awarded teachers and accessing development opportunities like our MBA For Life program.

As you climb the corporate ladder, make your next step matter. Find out more at griffith.edu.au/mba

Make it matter 5

TABLE OF CONTENTS TOO MANY MEETINGS, TOO LITTLE TIME (TO WORK) Guillaume Roels

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WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS BENEFIT FROM WOMEN MENTORS Rebecca Stropoli

LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS

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40

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ceo-mag.com / Winter 2023

CEO Victor J. Callender Group Editor-in-Chief Alexandra Skinner Designer PENTA Limited Financial Controller Anthony Gordon

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@ceo_mag

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ceo-mag.com / Winter 2023

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ceo-mag.com / Winter 2023

THE TOP REASONS TECH PROFESSIONALS QUIT N

ew research tallies top ten reasons tech professionals leave their employers and what businesses can do.

In the context of a widening digital skills gap, understanding what motivates tech professionals already in the sector, and why they would choose to quit their job is a critical subject for businesses to face.

Addressing the skills gap has to be a twofold initiative: the tech sector needs more new talent, but it also has to hold onto those already present and offer them sustainable career trajectories to avoid net-neutral outcomes.

ceo-mag.com / Winter 2023

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To contribute actionable insights to this vital conversation around retention, Jefferson Frank, a Tenth Revolution Group company, has mined new data to uncover the top ten reasons tech professionals consider quitting their jobs and look to other employers.

Why are you looking to change employer in the next 12 months? #1

Lack of salary increase/earnings increase

#2

Lack of career and promotional prospects

#3

Need new challenges

#4

Lack of leadership and vision

#5

Working environment/company culture

#6

I’m underutilised in my current role/company

#7

Lack of exposure to latest X products

#8

To pursue a better work-life balance

#9

I’m underappreciated in my current company

#10

I’m over-stressed / over-worked

Responding to this new data, Jefferson Frank Chairman and CEO James LloydTownshend commented: “These new insights are like a retention checklist. I’m not surprised to see a lack of salary increase come out on top – fair compensation will always be critical. What’s interesting is that the other top reasons broadly fall into three categories: progression, purpose, and working culture.

Re-invigorating these elements will give businesses the best chance of holding onto their tech talent.”

Retention Tip #1: Think About Progression Tech professionals want clear pathways and career tracks to give them more incentive to stay with a business in the longer term.

This needs to include clarity around new responsibilities and initiatives at each stage in order to avoid any sensation of the work becoming too stale or employees feeling like they’re being underutilised.

Retention Tip #2: Think About Purpose Organisational purpose has never been more important. Professionals want to feel engaged and connected to what they’re doing. Ensuring your business is keeping up with developments in the space is essential here, as tech professionals tend to want to be on the cutting edge. But this 10

is also something that has to be embedded at the leadership level. A clear and wellcommunicated sense of purpose and company trajectory will radiate outwards in a positive way for staff throughout a business.

Retention Tip #3: Think About Culture Burnout remains a serious subject in tech, and that’s reflected in the tally in this study.

Wellbeing, work-life balance, and stress levels all need careful address via the development of a healthy workplace culture that takes the needs of all employees seriously. These things can’t be solved at the individual level and require company-wide solutions that seek to prioritise wellbeing for its own sake rather than for purely utilitarian reasons. Otherwise, burnout will only continue to take people out of the sector.

Methodology Statistics were derived from the latest (2022-2023) Careers & Hiring Guides offered by Tenth Revolution Group and its recruitment brands. The total sample size for this study was 607. The data corresponds to tech professionals working across Amazon Web Services, Salesforce, Microsoft 365, Azure, and Business Applications, as well as NetSuite. ceo-mag.com / Winter 2023

“Wellbeing, work-life balance, and stress levels all need careful address via the development of a healthy workplace culture that takes the needs of all employees seriously.”

“I’m not surprised to see a lack of salary increase come out on top – fair compensation will always be critical.”

Company Profile Tenth Revolution Group is the global leader in cloud talent solutions, uniquely equipped to deliver digital transformation through people. ceo-mag.com / Winter 2023

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FORGING FUTURE LEADERS: DEFENCE, SPACE EXECUTIVES UNITE IN GROUND-BREAKING TALENT-BUILDING PROGRAMME

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n response to increasing global geopolitical instability and the establishment of the AUKUS alliance, the University of South Australia (UniSA) has introduced a trailblazing programme to bolster workforce skills and knowledge.

In partnership with Carnegie Mellon University (USA) and the University of Exeter (UK), the Global Executive MBA in Defence and Space is the first programme of its kind tailored to meet the most pressing challenges facing the two sectors.

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ceo-mag.com / Winter 2023

The AUKUS security pact presents significant opportunities for those working in and servicing the defence and space sectors.

However, skills development will be crucial to the ongoing development of their ecosystems.

While technical skills are required under Pillar 1 of AUKUS to build the submarine infrastructure, sustainment and construction, developing advanced cooperation between the three partners as outlined under Pillar 2 will be required across the supply chain.

Professor Lan Snell, Dean of Programmes (Postgraduate), UniSA Business, says the defence and space sectors need leaders who can navigate complex geopolitical relationships and work across different cultural and institutional contexts.

“The complexities associated with the multi-decade projects require a range of skills and capabilities, ranging from technical skills through to project management and leadership capabilities,” she says.

“The AUKUS arrangement means working with different cultures, agencies, organisations, and teams. This requires technical understanding as well as futurefocused capabilities such as communication, teamwork and problem-solving.”

The Global Executive MBA is designed for uniformed and non-uniformed personnel from small and large defence companies, government, and adjacent industries from AUKUS and other allied nations to bolster capabilities.

Following the partnership between UniSA, the University of Exeter, and Carnegie Mellon University, the inaugural cohort of students commenced the customised 18-month programme designed to teach skills and knowledge for the trilateral security partnership.

(L-R, front row) Prof Willem-Jan van Hoeve, Senior Associate Dean: Education, Tepper School of Business, Carnegie Mellon University; Prof Joanne Cys, Provost and Chief Academic Officer, UniSA; Dr Stuart Robinson, Associate Dean for Business Engagement, Innovation and Professional Education, University of Exeter (L-R, back row) Kellie McCaffrey, Interim Executive Director: Executive Education, Tepper School of Business, Carnegie Mellon University; Professor Paul Cornish, Director: Policy@Exeter, University of Exeter; Prof Lan Snell, Dean of Programmes (Postgraduate), UniSA Business at the public signing of the Education Partnership Agreement for the Global Executive MBA (Defence and Space)

One of the students is Glen Gallagher, Operations Manager at aerospace company Boeing Defence Australia. Gallagher and his MBA peers will undertake residencies in the US and UK as part of the programme.

“I’m thrilled about the opportunity to undertake residential study overseas,” says Gallagher. “There is a solid reason as to why Washington DC and London have been chosen as key residential components.”

“The complexities associated with the multi-decade projects require a range of skills and capabilities, ranging from technical skills through to project management and leadership capabilities.”

ceo-mag.com / Winter 2023

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“In this trilateral arrangement, we are not just educating individuals, we are fostering global collaboration and shaping an intelligent future.”

PROGRAMME PROFILE

With sophisticated technological innovation, globalisation and shifting power balances all changing the face of the defence and space industries, the Global Executive MBA (Defence and Space) is designed to meet the workforce development needs of these rapidly expanding sectors.

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Students from the 2023 Global Executive MBA (Defence and Space)

“Both cities aren’t just ‘cool destinations’ – they are hubs of global influence and thought,” he says. “For me, undertaking an academic residency overseas is going to expand my intellectual horizon whilst also allowing me to forge some invaluable global networks. I find the prospect of a shared global experience and the strategic, collaborative vision offered through the program very exciting.”

Gallagher notes the importance of navigating the delicate balance between innovation, effectiveness, and conscience.

“The Global Executive MBA will also help act as a catalyst for those of us in the defence and space sectors to make informed decisions using the visionary leadership skills gained throughout the course.”

The programme is delivered across three countries – Australia, the UK and the US – reflecting the trilateral AUKUS alliance and features 12 courses covering the organisational functional requirements of an MBA contextualised in defence and space.

Professor Alexandra Gerbasi, Dean of the University of Exeter Business School, comments on the opportunity presented by the Global Executive MBA. “The type of long-term, complex international collaboration needed for successful defence projects calls for high-level management and leadership skills. With one of the longest established leadership research centres in the UK, as well as significant experience in defence work, Exeter is well placed to make a strong contribution to the Global Executive MBA programme and the development of these critical skills,” Gerbasi says.

Isabelle Bajeux-Besnainou, Dean and Richard P. Simmons Professor of Finance, Carnegie Mellon University Tepper School

Prof Lan Snell, Dean of Programmes (Postgraduate), UniSA Business

of Business, comments: “In this trilateral arrangement, we are not just educating individuals, we are fostering global collaboration and shaping an intelligent future.”

The tailored curriculum features internationally recognised industry speakers and guest speakers, allowing the cohort to extend their knowledge and capabilities in relevant fields, including space systems, defence procurement, global security and digital disruption.

Industry guest speakers include star-rank defence force officers, former CEOs and board members of defence primes, and other prominent figures in the defence and space industries.

Applications are now open for the 2024 cohort. For more information on the Global Executive MBA in Defence and Space, visit the UniSA website. ceo-mag.com / Winter 2023

2023 GLOBAL MBA RANKINGS

T

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

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

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

Quality of Faculty:

34.95 %

International Diversity:

9.71%

Class Size:

9.71%

Accreditation:

8.74%

Faculty to Student Ratio:

7.76%

Price:

5.83%

International Exposure:

4.85%

Work Experience:

4.85%

Professional Development:

4.85%

Gender Parity:

4.85%

Delivery methods:

3.8% 0%

5%

10 %

15 %

20 %

25 %

30 %

35 %

*EMBA Weighting: Work experience and international diversity are adjusted accordingly. **Online MBA Weighting: Delivery mode removed.

GLOBAL MBA RANKINGS Business School Australian Institute of Business American University: Kogod Aston Business School Auburn University: Harbert Audencia Business school Bentley University: McCallum Boston University: Questrom Brunel Business School Bryant University Business School Netherlands California State University-Chico California State University-​Long Beach California State University-San Bernardino Central Queensland University College of William and Mary: Mason Concordia University Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins Durham University Business School

ceo-mag.com / Winter 2023

Country Australia North America UK North America France North America North America UK North America The Netherlands North America North America North America Australia North America Canada North America UK

TIER ONE

Business School EBS Business School École des Ponts Business School Emlyon Business School ESADE EU Business School Florida International University Florida Southern College School of Business Fordham University GBSB Global Business School Georgia State University: Robinson Gonzaga University Grenoble Graduate School of Business Griffith University HEC Montréal Hofstra University: Zarb Hult Internatonal Business School IAE Business School

*Some data unavailable

Country Germany France France Spain Germany, Spain and Switzerland North America North America North America Spain North America North America France Australia Canada North America North America Argentina

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GLOBAL MBA RANKINGS Business School Country IFM Business School Switzerland INCAE Business School Costa Rica International School of Management Germany ISEG Portugal Jacksonville North America John Carroll University: Boler North America Kennesaw State University North America Kent State University North America La Trobe University Australia Lagos Business School Nigeria Leeds University Business School UK Loyola Marymount University North America Maastricht School of Management Maastricht University The Netherlands Macquarie Business School Australia Massey University New Zealand Munich Business School Germany Nebrija Business School Spain Nyenrode Business University The Netherlands Oakland University North America Pepperdine University: Graziadio North America Politecnico di Milano School of Management Italy Purdue University-West Lafayette: Krannert North America RMIT University Australia Rochester Institute of Technology: Saunders North America Rutgers Business School North America Saint Joseph's University: Haub North America SBS Swiss Business School Switzerland Seattle University: Albers North America Simon Fraser University: Beedie Canada Suffolk University: Sawyer North America The GlobalMBA (Technische Hochschule Köln, University of Warsaw, Kyungpook National University and University of North Florida)

Germany, Poland, South Korea and North America

The Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) The Lisbon MBA Catolica | Nova* The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Torrens University Australia

Mexico Portugal North America Australia

TIER ONE

Business School Country Trinity College Dublin School Republic of Ireland of Business United International Switzerland, Belgium, Spain, The Netherlands, Italy and Japan Business Schools University of Akron North America University of Alberta Canada University of Baltimore North America University of Chile FEN-UCHILE Chile University of Delaware: Lerner North America University of Denver: Daniels North America University of Exeter UK University of Kentucky: Gatton North America University of Liverpool Management School UK University of Louisiana at Lafayette North America University of Louisville North America University of Maine North America University of Massachusetts-​Lowell North America University of Memphis North America University of Michigan-Flint North America University of New Mexico: Anderson North America University of North Carolina-Charlotte: Belk North America University of North Florida: Coggin North America University of Oklahoma: Price North America University of Oregon: Lundquist North America University of Portland: Pamplin North America University of Pretoria Gordon Institute of Business Science South Africa University of San Diego North America University of South Australia Australia University of Tampa: Sykes North America University of Texas at Arlington North America University of Texas-San Antonio North America University of Western Australia Business School Australia University of Wollongong Sydney Business School Australia Victoria University Business School Australia Willamette University: Atkinson North America Xavier University North America *Some data unavailable

TIER TWO Business School Appalachian State University* Northwest Missouri State University Ohio State University: Fisher*

Country North America North America North America

Business School University of North Texas Virginia Commonwealth University*

Country North America North America

*Some data unavailable

16

ceo-mag.com / Winter 2023

GLOBAL EMBA RANKINGS 2023 Rank Country 1 École des Ponts Business School France 2 Emlyon Business School France 3 University of Ottawa: Telfer Canada = 4 MSM, UMIO – Maastricht University School of Business and Economics The Netherlands = 4 IFM Business School Switzerland = 5 Nyenrode Business University The Netherlands = 5 The Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) Mexico 6 Audencia Business school France 7 SBS Swiss Business School Switzerland 8 INCAE Business School Costa Rica = 9 Massey University New Zealand = 9 Rutgers Business School North America 10 University of Denver: Daniels North America 11 University of Wollongong Sydney Business School Australia 12 Kennesaw State University North America = 13 Business School Netherlands The Netherlands = 13 University of Texas-San Antonio North America 14 Simon Fraser University: Beedie EMBA & EMBA-IBL Canada = 15 AIX Marseille Graduate School of Management France = 15 TBS Education France 16 Hult Internatonal Business School North America 17 Hofstra University: Zarb North America 18 University of Pretoria - Gordon South Africa Institute of Business Science 19 Pontifical Catholic Universityof Chile Chile 20 University of Chile Chile and & Tulane University, North America Global MBA for the Americas = 21 Politecnico di Milano School of Management Italy = 21 Purdue UniversityWest Lafayette: Krannert North America 22 Grenoble Graduate School of Business France 23 IAE Business School Argentina 24 Trinity College Dublin School of Business Republic of Ireland 25 Concordia University Canada 26 Washington State University: Carson North America 27 Villanova University North America

ceo-mag.com / Winter 2023

Rank Country 28 Georgia State University: Robinson North America 29 United International Switzerland, Belgium, Spain, The Netherlands, Italy and Japan Business Schools 30 Oakland University North America 31 Baylor University: Hankamer North America 32 Rochester Institute of Technology: Saunders North America 33 University of Tampa: Sykes North America 34 RMIT University Australia 35 Kent State University North America 36 Jacksonville University North America 37 College of William and Mary: Mason North America 38 Pepperdine University: Graziadio North America 39 Durham-EBS Executive MBA Germany and UK 40 The Lisbon MBA Catolica|Nova Portugal 41 University of Oregon North America 42 Fordham University North America 43 California State UniversitySan Bernardino North America 44 University of Texas at Arlington North America = 45 ESADE Spain = 45 Loyola Marymount University North America 46 Aston Business School* UK 47 University of Bradford School of Management UK and Dubai 48 Lagos Business School Nigeria 49 University of New Mexico: Anderson North America 50 University of Oklahoma: Price EMBA Energy & Aerospace & Defence North America 51 Virginia Commonwealth University* North America 52 California State UniversityLong Beach North America 53 Suffolk University: Sawyer North America 54 Seattle University: Albers North America 55 Auburn University: Harbert North America 56 Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins North America 57 University of Alberta Canada 58 Florida International University* North America 59 Saint Joseph's University: Haub* North America 60 ULACIT Costa Rica 61 Xavier University North America 62 Gonzaga University North America

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ONLINE MBA RANKINGS 2023 Rank 1 EU Business School

Country Germany, Spain and Switzerland 2 SBS Swiss Business School Switzerland 3 OBS Business School with Universitat de Barcelona, Global MBA Spain 4 Hult Internatonal Business School North America 5 MSM, UMIO – Maastricht University School of Business The Netherlands and Economics 6 Nebrija Business School Spain 7 OBS Business School with Universitat de Barcelona, EMBA Spain 8 Business School Netherlands The Netherlands 9 The University of Liverpool Management School UK 10 Politecnico di Milano School of Management: I-Flex EMBA Italy 11 Massey University New Zealand 12 United International Switzerland, Belgium, Spain, The Netherlands, Italy and Japan Business Schools = 13 Griffith University Australia = 13 GBSB Global Business School Spain 14 IAE Business School and Emertitus Argentina 15 University of South Australia Australia = 16 University of Kentucky: Gatton North America = 16 Virginia Tech: Pamplin North America 17 Macquarie Business School Australia = 18 Politecnico di Milano School of Management: Flex EMBA Italy = 18 Torrens University Australia Australia = 19 Durham University Business School UK = 19 Jack Welch Management Institute North America 20 Australian Institute of Business Australia = 21 University of Denver: Daniels North America = 22 Pepperdine University: Graziadio North America = 22 Rochester Institute of Technology: Saunders North America 23 Florida Southern College of Business North America 24 John Carroll University: Boler North America 25 University of Bradford School of Management UK = 26 University of Exeter UK = 26 Florida Southern College School of Business North America = 27 Victoria University Business School Australia = 27 Washington State University: Carson North America = 28 La Trobe University Australia = 28 University of MassachusettsLowell North America

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Rank = 29 Central Queensland University = 29 Central Queensland University Hyperflexible MBA 30 Suffolk University: Sawyer 31 University of Maine 32 Simon Fraser University: Beedie = 33 Jacksonville University = 33 Aston Business School = 34 University of Delaware: Lerner = 34 University of New Mexico: Anderson 35 California State UniversitySan Bernardino 36 RMIT University 37 Kennesaw State University 38 Hofstra University: Zarb = 39 Oakland University = 39 Bryant University* 40 Kent State University 41 Seattle University: Albers 42 University of North Carolina-Wilmington: Cameron 43 American University: Kogod 44 University of Louisville = 45 California State UniversityLong Beach = 45 University of Memphis 46 California State University-Chico 47 University of Michigan - Flint = 48 Auburn University: Harbert = 48 Bentley University: McCallum 49 Appalachian State University* 50 University of Oklahoma 51 University of North Texas = 52 University of Baltimore = 52 University of Louisiana at Lafayette 53 University of Akron = 54 Virginia Commonwealth University = 54 Xavier University 55 Colorado Technical University 56 Florida International University* 57 Saint Joseph's University: Haub* 58 Ohio State University: Fisher 59 The University of WisconsinWhitewater 60 Northwest Missouri State University

Country Australia Australia North America North America Canada North America UK North America North America North America Australia North America North America North America North America North America North America North America North America North America North America North America North America North America North America North America North America North America North America North America North America North America North America North America North America North America North America North America North America North America

ceo-mag.com / Winter 2023

2023 GLOBAL DBA LISTING

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

Business School Country Aberdeen Business School UK Abu Dhabi University United Arab Emirates Antwerp Management School Belgium Aston Business School UK Athabasca University Canada Audencia Business School France Baruch College, City University of New York: Zicklin North America Beirut Arab University Lebanon Birmingham City University UK Bournemouth University UK Business School Lausanne Switzerland Case Western Reserve University: Weatherhead North America Centrum Graduate Business School Peru City University of Hong Kong China Concordia University Canada Copenhagen Business School Denmark Cranfield School of Management England Creighton University: Heider North America Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins North America DePaul University: Kellstadt North America Drexel University: Lebow North America Durham University Business School UK Ecole Des Ponts Business School France Emlyon Business School Global DBA Asia Track China & France EU Business School Germany, Spain and Switzerland Florida Institute of Technology: Bisk North America Florida International University North America Franklin University North America GBSB Global Business School Spain Georgia State University: Robinson North America Grenoble Graduate School of Business France Harvard Business School North America Heriot Watt University Edinburgh Business School UK Hong Kong Baptist University China Hult International Business school North America IE Business School Spain International School of Management France, North America, China, India, Brazil and South Africa International University of Monaco Monaco IPAG Business School France Jacksonville University North America Kennesaw State University: Coles North America Kingston University UK Lagos Business School Nigeria Leeds Metropolitan University UK Leeds University Business School UK Liverpool John Moores University UK London Metropolitan University UK Manchester Metropolitan University UK Massey University New Zealand Newcastle University Business School UK Northumbria University UK Nottingham Trent University UK Nyenrode Business University The Netherlands Oklahoma State University North America Pace University: Lubin North America ceo-mag.com / Winter 2023

Business School Country Paris-Dauphine PSL University France Pepperdine University: Graziadio North America Pontifical Catholic University of Chile Chile Rennes School of Business France Sacred Heart University: Welch North America SBS Swiss Business School Switzerland SDA Bocconi Schoool of Management Italy Sheffield Hallam University UK St. Ambrose University North America St. Thomas University North America Swinburne University of Technology Australia Teesside University UK Temple University: Fox North America The Global DBA Durham-emlyon UK and France The University of Liverpool Management School UK Thomas Jefferson University North America United Arab Emirates University UAE United Business Institutes Belgium United International Switzerland, Belgium, Spain, Business Schools The Netherlands, Italy and Japan University College Cork Republic of Ireland University of Bath UK University of Bedfordshire UK University of Birmingham UK University of Bolton UK University of Bradford School of Management UK University of Calgary: Haskayne Canada University of Dallas: Gupta North America University of Florida North America University of Glamorgan UK University of Gloucestershire UK and Germany University of Hertfordshire UK University of Huddersfield UK University of Manchester: Alliance UK University of Maryland Global Campus North America University of Missouri-St. Louis North America University of North Carolina-Charlotte: Belk North America University of Otago Business School New Zealand University of Pittsburgh: Katz North America University of Portsmouth UK University of Pretoria: Gordon Institute of Business Science South Africa University of Reading: Henley Business School UK University of Rhode Island North America University of South Florida: Muma North America University of Southern Queensland Australia University of Surrey UK University of Tampa North America University of Western Australia Australia University of Wisconsin-Whitewater North America Victoria University Business School Australia Virginia Tech: Pamplin College North America Vlerick Business School Belgium Walsh College North America Washington University in St. Louis: Olin North America Zurich University of Applied Sciences Switzerland 19

THE MBA IN THE AGE OF COMPLEXITY: IS TECHNOLOGY THE NEW FINANCE? 20

ceo-mag.com / Winter 2023

ALON ROZEN

S

poiler alert: the answer is yes! Now, let me explain why I think this is so.

In the 1980s, the primary motivation for doing an MBA was probably a desire to master marketing, as that was seen as the shortest career path to the C-suite. In the 1990s, it was a desire for well-paying jobs in finance that drove many to pursue an MBA (with the exception of marketers who were being promoted and realised that (oops!) they knew nothing about marketing). With the rise of the MBA as a foundational rite of passage for the “serious” (read ambitious) manager, the 2000s blurred the lines as finance and marketing, but increasingly entrepreneurship, equally became the prime motivators for pursuing a business degree.

After the global financial crisis, finance as a career lost much of its lustre; however, a deeper understanding of, and fluency in, corporate and project finance became even more important for anyone looking for a strategic role in any business.

ceo-mag.com / Winter 2023

“While fundamental financial (and marketing) skills are still necessary arrows in a business graduate’s quiver, they will no longer suffice to gain entrance into a C-suite increasingly populated by engineers who are at ease with advanced technologies.”

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“Welcome to the 2020s of business education where tech-aware leadership, rather than finance-adept management, is the primary takeaway of the new MBA graduate.”

Entering the Age of Complexity Fast forward to today’s business reality in which we have fully entered the age of complexity. A new reality in which we don’t (and can’t) even understand the tech we use on a daily basis. A case in point, there is not one person on the planet that understands just the hardware in an iPhone, let alone the software, the interconnections (between hardware, software, apps and services) and the many layers of interoperability. Not even Apple can fathom it all – which is why no matter how much they test a new version of iOS, there are always bugs that need to be squashed (the reality is similar for Android users). This is the new normal, and we need to come to terms with it. If the 737 Max is grounded today, it is largely due to the fact that today, for the first time, the complexity of a plane is such that no amount of computer simulation and controlled flight testing can recreate all real-life circumstances a pilot can encounter. And despite this truth, Boeing or Apple cannot admit that complexity has gotten ahead of us because it would freak us all out. We still want to believe, and pardon the metaphor, that there is a pilot flying the plane.

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Overcomplicated?!

This “overcomplicated” world, as described by Samuel Arbesman in his book of the same name, tries to reassure us. His main message is that technology is now at the limits of our comprehension, such that we need 1) to understand this and 2) take a new approach in our approach to this complexity. We should not fear technology, yet we should not revere it blindly either. Rather, Arbesman suggests we should take a double approach - that of the physicist (who looks for universal theories, rules and frameworks) as well as that of the biologist (who explores nature to understand and clarify the nature of phenomena). This overcomplicated world requires tech-aware leaders and managers who can effectively navigate, communicate and innovate as physicists (top-down) and biologists (bottomup).

A new mindset for a new era This new era and approach require a new mindset. This mindset is similar to what Leonard Mlodinow refers to as an “elastic mindset”. In what he terms our “whirlwind era” – typified by a rapid pace of change, accelerating technological progress, and a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous) environment – flexible thinking is now required to survive.

If, as educators, notably in business schools, we want to prepare a new generation of MBAs to manage and lead in the workplace of today and tomorrow, it is clear that we need to rethink the MBA curriculum. While fundamental financial (and marketing) skills are still necessary arrows in a business graduate’s quiver, they will no longer suffice to gain entrance into a C-suite increasingly

ceo-mag.com / Winter 2023

“Whereas lifelong learning was a ‘nice to have’ business schools offered alumni, it is now imperative to survive and thrive in the new VUCAT business arena.” populated by engineers who are at ease with advanced technologies.

Tech-aware is the new requisite for entry into the C-suite While understanding technology and making technology-based decisions can no longer be delegated to the CTO or CIO (the CEO, Board, and entire C-suite must become tech-aware or suffer the fate of being excluded from the key decisions facing companies today), you would be hard-pressed to present me with any startup founder who does not spend the majority of their time on technology. That is just their reality, whether they like it or not, whether intended or not.

Cloud-based and on-premise technologies, e-marketplaces, e-commerce, e-payments, dematerialisation, digital transformation, coding languages, websites, search engine marketing, database technology, AI and machine learning, chatbots, open-source and proprietary software, applications, apps and APIs – these are just some of the issues and questions facing almost any founder today. And since no one can master all that sits within this highly technical spectrum of technologies, leaders with elastic thinking are required.

As we enter ever more firmly and durably into this new whirlwind and overcomplicated era, it is clear that we need to prepare our managers and leaders differently. Closer to home, as we thought about how to redesign our Global Executive MBA for this new era we realised 1) that technology management and tech awareness need to figure much more prominently; 2) that finance and accounting, and some of the other MBA fundamentals have become sufficiently “commoditised”

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as to be teachable mostly online; 3) that leadership in the form of elastic thinking and neuroplasticity needs to be an integral part of the programme; 4) that innovation, lean entrepreneurship and design thinking are key underlying skills in developing flexible thinking; and 5) that participants should face an array of real-world corporate tech challenges in order to ensure that they can stress test their new skillsets in the workplace rather than in the classroom. Possibly, even more interesting, we realised that the “learning contract” needed refreshing.

The new learning contract – weighing Being heavier than Knowing Whether at university, business school, or any other learning institution, the typical implicit learning contract is that you will learn a lot (Knowing) and, in the process, with the help of soft skills, also improve as a person (Being). There seems to be a Paretolike distribution such that all curricula are designed for 80% knowing and 20% being. We realised that in an accelerating tech world, the half-life of knowledge is rapidly shrinking, such that the curricular balance should be rejigged 80-20 in the other direction with being the main component. Moreover, we realised that the content of both being and knowing needed to evolve.

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In this new era, and given the incredibly prominent role technology plays in complexifying our daily lives, it seems we need to design a curriculum that is adapted to a VUCA new normal. What I refer to as the new VUCAT (T for technological) era. In this era, the learning contract and the content of its components require a serious rethink.

BIOGRAPHY

Alon Rozen is the Dean of École des Ponts Business School and Associate Professor of Innovation & Entrepreneurship.

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to their programmes in recent years, but we think it is necessary to go much further – and we have.

Technology – yes! But in its proper context If a bigger part of knowing must now naturally skew from technical to technological acumen and – due to overcomplication – from mastery to awareness, one can be fooled into thinking From Know-how to Be-how that technology is the centre of the universe.

The Knowing component of education However, what we are really talking about, needs to change. Whereas, until now, business at the end of the day, is effective innovation schools taught hard skills that had a somewhat management. It just so happens that long half-life, the speed of business change, technology has become a powerful catalyst driven by the acceleration of technological for innovation. Technology allows us to do progress, means that the skills we learned more, to rethink business models, to redesign even five years ago are already outdated. So workflows, and to imagine new approaches. hard skills per se are a moving target and, If successful innovation is driven by design let's be frank, are now readily packaged for thinking and lean innovation consumption and accessible online (build-test-learn loops), without more than ever before. So, what is the increased tech awareness I really needed is the new soft skill have alluded to in this article, it is of learning how to continuously like the parable of the five Indians learn new hard skills. Whereas “The CEO, Board, trying to describe an elephant. We lifelong learning was a "nice to have" can fool ourselves that we know business schools offered alumni, it and entire what we are talking about, but we is now imperative to survive and are actually clueless. Innovating thrive in the new VUCAT business C-suite without awareness of what arena. When our technology is too must become technologies can do and are doing overcomplicated to master, the is a form of flying blind (or at least question of relevant skills we should tech-aware with a blindfold). It cannot lead to and can teach business students about or suffer the much. technology is one that keeps many of This is why we take a different us in education awake at night. fate of being approach at École des Ponts If you look at the top business excluded from Business School – deemphasising books being released, many of them traditional aspects of the are focused on the convergence of the key decisions some MBA to emphasise more relevant multiple new technologies that will further accelerate the pace of change facing companies aspects: real-world challenges, new technologies, innovative in domains as varied as agriculture, today.” business models, lean innovation, carbon capture, communication, project-based learning, finance, health, insurance, harnessing collective intelligence manufacturing, and mobility. No to solve current business manager can be expected to master problems, and a new approach to even a sliver of these technologies, yet agile leadership that harnesses harnessing their combined potential advances in neuroscience and emotional will define the winners and losers of the intelligence. coming decades.

Our LeadTech Executive MBA is our best This is why Being needs such a radical attempt to prepare business students for rethink. It now needs to go beyond the usual the agility and understanding necessary to attribution of “socialisation”, which includes assume effective leadership positions in this various soft skills, as well as ethics, to include new VUCAT world. And clearly, we will have the latest developments in neuroscience, to test and learn, listen and react, learn how adaptation, agility, collaboration, creativity, to teach (better), and, of course, change and diversity and divergent thinking, intercultural adapt. We need to walk the talk of the new issues, self-awareness and self-knowledge, business survival toolbox. Welcome to the effective decision-making in uncertain 2020s of business education, where techcircumstances, situational leadership aware leadership, rather than finance-adept and situational followership, as well as management, is the primary takeaway of the articulating a vision. In all fairness, most new MBA graduate …

MBAs have added much on this dimension

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RUTGERS EXECUTIVE MBA Welcome to the Powerhouse!

• Elite faculty • Globally ranked • Dynamic curriculum I feel like this is my program, this is my school, I feel really proud to be here and make the whole class just elevate it’s game.

- Chris Tsakalos, EMBA 2020

business.rutgers.edu/emba

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ARE MULTIPLE JOB I

REALLY NE

“Google’s People Analytics team examined interview data and determined that having four interviews was sufficient to make a reliable hiring decision.”

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CHENGYI LIN

hile it’s critical for companies to thoroughly assess potential hires, the length of the job interview process seems to be increasing. On LinkedIn, you’ll find numerous stories of candidates undergoing anything from nine to 12 rounds of interviews in their quest to secure a role – only for their application to be unsuccessful.

The time it takes for an organisation to make a new hire has reached an all-time high, as reported by human capital advisory firm The Josh Bersin Company and global talent solutions business AMS. Beyond unfavourable macro conditions beyond a firm’s direct control, much of the culpability for drawnout, cumbersome interview processes falls on the companies themselves.

A prolonged process – say, one that stretches over two months from start to finish – doesn’t just cause psychological stress for candidates but also has practical implications ceo-mag.com / Winter 2023

INTERVIEW ROUNDS

ECESSARY? for firms. Vacant roles remain unfilled, which can be a drain on both time and resources.

Candidates can become frustrated and withdraw their application, causing the company to lose out on a good hire.

One reason for conducting so many interviews could be that firms are just not adequately prepared when they begin the hiring process. A lack of internal alignment and entangled politics increase the complexity and slow things down. Leaner headcounts – especially in HR departments – due to recent layoffs could also mean that individuals without the proper knowledge of how to interview candidates are being asked to step up without sufficient preparation.

Inefficient stakeholder management could also be at play. Some firms require multiple individuals to meet and sign off on a hiring decision, which may be advantageous for reasons of equity and diversity. But this can prolong things if too many people with similar profiles are involved. ceo-mag.com / Winter 2023

“Firms should focus on finding a culture and purpose fit for both sides instead of spending countless rounds just assessing hard skills.”

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There is also immense cost and performance pressure to hire the right candidate – one that can execute the role, is an organisational fit and will remain in the firm for at least a year (or, ideally, longer). Hiring managers and HR executives could, therefore, feel the need to put a candidate through the wringer to ensure that they are making the right choice.

Job interviews have fundamentally changed Before making procedural tweaks, companies must reconsider old perspectives in interviewing candidates. In a programme I recently ran with C-suite executives, I asked them to raise their hand if they thought the job interview process had changed. Almost everyone raised their hand while shaking their head – it seemed apparent to them that the purpose and dynamics had evolved in the past few years.

Indeed, job interviews have fundamentally shifted from a one-way assessment to a twoway conversation. Traditional interviews are mostly about fitting candidates’ skills and experiences into a box on an organisational chart. Companies hold most of the power, and candidates need to sell themselves to secure the job.

Elements of this still exist in today’s job interviews, but these have become more of a dialogue with the aim of arriving at a mutually beneficial outcome. Candidates are also assessing whether an organisation – including its approach to the interview process – is the right cultural fit, offers a platform for them to make an impact and will allow them to progress in their careers.

To tailor job interviews to suit this new reality, firms should focus on finding a culture and purpose fit for both sides instead of spending countless rounds just assessing hard skills. Interviewers also need to get ready to “pitch” the organisation to the candidate, connect with them through personal anecdotes and ask the right questions to craft a development plan that suits the individual.

Making the interview process more efficient How can the interview process be made less painful for all involved while still ensuring a holistic and comprehensive evaluation of the candidate?

Attempting to shorten the process by conducting multiple back-to-back interviews on a single day presents logistical challenges and can have several disadvantages.

The intensity and high-stakes nature of this approach may put undue pressure on a candidate to perform and result in

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organisations making hasty hiring decisions.

It may risk catching both sides on a “bad day”.

Instead, organisations can focus on better preparation before interviewing potential hires. Just like they expect candidates to do, employers should be putting their best foot forward when they embark on interviews.

Internal alignment from all stakeholders needs to be established early and should cover the evaluation criteria, delegation of roles and interview format. The candidate should be able to meet with a diverse range of individuals from within the firm to avoid biased evaluations. This can help with attaining clarity and decisiveness, which could shorten the interview process.

Relatedly, companies need to send in the right personnel to evaluate candidates. Not everyone within an organisation is adept at interviewing or trained to conduct interviews well. Firms must, therefore, devote the proper resources towards building this up as a unique capability.

Agreement on the appropriate number of interview rounds and standardising the process are also key. For instance, Google’s People Analytics team examined interview data and determined that having four interviews was sufficient to make a reliable hiring decision. Implementing this reduced their average time-to-hire by roughly two weeks.

Firms should also think beyond the conventional one-on-one in-person interview format. Group and panel interviews, casual chats over lunch and structured office visits where candidates interact with potential future colleagues can offer different perspectives. These may also help companies arrive at a decision quicker.

Remote interviewing techniques – asking candidates to record video introductions or doing video interviews – can also be used for baseline or technical assessments. This can help alleviate scheduling and cost issues, enabling companies to make faster hires across a range of markets.

However, for most firms, I would caution against hiring people based solely on remote interviews. A remote set-up makes it hard for both sides to gauge the culture and organisational fit. It should thus be supplemented by on-site visits or in-person conversations during later rounds.

Adopting a holistic approach to the process can help make it more efficient and effective.

It can ensure that the time spent interviewing is purposeful and empower a company to hire people who will not only perform well but also move the organisation forward.

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Interviewers also need to get ready to “pitch” the organisation to the candidate, connect with them through personal anecdotes and ask the right questions to craft a development plan that suits the individual.

BIOGRAPHY

Chengyi Lin is an Affiliate Professor of Strategy at INSEAD. His research primarily focuses on digital transformation and innovation for global and multi-national organisations.

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WHY SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION BACKFIRES AT WORK MAURICE SCHWEITZER

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f you want to brag about your accomplishments at work without sounding self-absorbed, take a lesson from professional athletes.

From the sidelines and at post-game press conferences, the most admired players talk about their own performance but always mention the strength of their opponents, the skill of their teammates, and the support of their coaches.

“They’ll thank and acknowledge other people and talk about their accomplishments in ways that make them appear much more likeable,” Wharton management professor Maurice Schweitzer said during an interview with Wharton Business Daily on SiriusXM. The tactic is known as dual-promotion, and it’s the focus of Schweitzer’s latest paper with co-authors Eric VanEpps, marketing professor at Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management, and Einav Hart, organizational behavior professor at George Mason University’s School of Business.

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“We’re so focused on our own accomplishments, we’re trying to project how great we are to everybody else, that we often lose sight of the other people who helped us get there.”

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“In cooperative contexts and in competitive contexts, people derive great benefits from dualpromotion.”

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Why Dual-promotion Beats Shameless Selfpromotion The professors point out that everyone is trying to make a good impression in professional, social, and even romantic settings. They broadcast their accomplishments and tout their successes, hoping to be seen in the most positive light.

But that can backfire into braggadocio.

“We run the risk of projecting competence but harming our warmth and likeability,” Schweitzer said. “Here’s something we try to do all the time and we constantly struggle to get it right. It brought us to think about how can we do this better.”

To answer that question, the scholars conducted 11 studies to compare strategies for boasting, and they found that dual-promotion is the most effective.

According to the paper, a person who describes their own accomplishments while complimenting others is perceived as competent because they document their own accomplishments and have the expertise to evaluate their colleagues or competitors, confident because they don’t mind shining the spotlight on others, and collaborative because they speak in inclusive terms. All that makes dual-promoters seem more kind, trustworthy, and intelligent.

“No matter what your competitor does, you’re better off engaging in dual-promotion,” Schweitzer said. “In cooperative contexts and in competitive contexts, people derive great benefits from dual-promotion.”

Dual-Promotion Makes Politicians More Electable In their experiments, the professors measured favorable impressions of dualand self-promotion in the job interviewing process, in joint and independent tasks, and in politics. For the latter, they analyzed 10 years’ worth of annual reports filed by members of Congress to compare the kinds of promotion

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that elected leaders included in their writings.

“These year-in-review statements are particularly well-suited for our investigation because politicians are extremely concerned about the impressions they create,” they wrote in the paper. Congressional members are constantly raising money, running for reelection, have staff to manage their communications, and have a wide range of independent and collaborative tasks.

“As a result, members of Congress have ample opportunities to engage in selfpromotion, other-promotion, and dualpromotion,” the scholars wrote.

After analyzing the reports, they followed up with a survey that found registered voters were more likely to vote for the politicians who engaged in dual-promotion rather than self- or other-promotion.

Less Shameless Self-promotion, More Collaboration Schweitzer — who put his own research into practice by crediting his co-authors during his interview — said dual-promotion should be a significant part of remote and hybrid work. The loss of “water-cooler conversations” and other casual interactions, along with increased use of technology, can isolate colleagues. Yet they need to cooperate to get work done.

“We have to share knowledge. We’ve got to work together. Projects are more complicated,” he said of the challenge of managing remote and hybrid work. “I don’t think we need to collaborate less. We need to collaborate more.”

Schweitzer encouraged people to “take a step back” from self-promotion and take in the perspective of others by listening more intently and behaving more inclusively.

“We’re so focused on our own accomplishments, we’re trying to project how great we are to everybody else, that we often lose sight of the other people who helped us get there,” he said.

BIOGRAPHY

Maurice Schweitzer is the Cecilia Yen Koo Professor of Operations, Information and Decisions, and Professor of Management at the Wharton School.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

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

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eeo

HOW TO KICK THE REBRANDING HABIT Harness the power of your authentic brand through the voices of your customers

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A L A S TA I R H AY E S

n many ways, it’s unsurprising that rebranding is the “go-to” play for the majority of organizations experiencing market turbulence or financial distress.

It’s a seemingly contained project led by a single department, a lightning rod for the organization to vent all the symptomatic troubles and conflicting vagaries of a poorly articulated brand. Almost without exception, it leads to a focus on aesthetics over substance. And marketing carries the load.

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“As the market landscape and customer expectations shift, leaders are more aware of the need to dedicate resources to maintaining, enhancing, and promoting the broader value and reputation of the experience they deliver.”

Yet rebranding rarely results in any meaningful change in perception or growth because it fails to tackle the organizationwide issues that led it there in the first place.

Brand strategy and brand management remain the blind spot despite the undeniable potential to shape organizational identity, results, and long-term sustainability. That is, of course, until financial pressures force the organization to find quick-fix solutions to the broader strategic challenges and inconsistencies.

“Let’s rebrand.” Again.

So, what can be done, and how can it be addressed? These principles can help executive leaders kick the rebranding habit and amplify the authentic brand values of their organizations.

“Politics and culture are major obstacles to change at any organization, especially when times get tough.”

Focus on authentic value for closer relationships As the market landscape and customer expectations shift, leaders are more aware of the need to dedicate resources to maintaining, enhancing, and promoting the broader value and reputation of the experience they deliver.

In a recent multi-industry study conducted by Gartner, more than 80% of consumers stated they would refuse to engage with brands they lack familiarity with or didn’t trust.

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Brand Relevance

Be Here Market Opportunity

Organizational Competence

The Credibility Footprint by David A. Aaker

As options widen, it’s increasingly necessary to find the value the organization provides in a meaningful and consistent way. That’s not rebrand, that’s isolating what your audiences say about the experience of the product or service. Not only does that understanding foster trust, but it also bridges the gap between service offerings and experiences that distinguish it from its competitors.

Balance fresh aesthetics with deeper fixes Human behavior inherently searches for quick fixes and personal rewards. It protects egos and prevents pain. It’s why we hire plastic surgeons over therapists.

Organizations are no different, leaning into the aesthetics of a brand far more enthusiastically than the deeper meaning or causes behind them—call it painting over the cracks.

Working through the underlying issues is often painful, but without knowing how others see you externally or listening to their experiences, things will never move forward. A well-understood and consistently articulated brand has the potential to yield long-term results, not because it looks relevant on the surface, but because it’s based on competency, opportunity, and the relevancy of the voices that matter. Brand Portfolio Strategy by David A. Aaker has a helpful, if slightly drab, diagram (above) that highlights the best place to be.

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Hold back politics with data-led decisions and social listening Politics and culture are major obstacles to change at any organization, especially when times get tough. Politically charged decision-making without data is all too often the cause and solution.

Planning a rebrand or strategic shift in this environment needs a clear external understanding of who you are and how your customers value the organization.

Timely insights that are commonly shared internally offer departments the opportunity to be more transparent and interconnected with their counterparts.

It aligns everyone in a common understanding of the demands of the organization’s customers and offers an opportunity to engage.

Social listening research by Campus Sonar in the higher education market has identified that audience sentiment through forums provides an empirical way of measuring the progress of a brand over time. Expert analysis of over 14,000 online forum conversations revealed that brandweary prospects turned to peers for what they perceive as a more authentic crowdsourced opinion and inf luential advice for their admissions journey and decisionmaking.

So, the next time your organization gets the habitual urge to rebrand, take a beat. Do you know the value of your brand?

BIOGRAPHY

Alastair Hayes is the marketing director of Campus Sonar.

Campus Sonar partners with higher ed campuses and associations that value marketing and communications as a strategic ally.

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TOO MANY MEETINGS, TOO LITTLE TIME (TO WORK) GUILLAUME ROELS

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What if there was a better way to schedule meetings for team coordination?

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n January, Shopify deleted 12,000 recurring meetings from its staff’s calendars. The e-commerce firm also reinstated a no-meeting Wednesday policy. The idea wasn’t to prevent meetings from happening but for staff to be intentional about them. In addition, it sent a clear message that it was OK to protect one’s time.

When I ask managers what the biggest operational frustration in their job is, they typically say: “We have too many meetings.”

Before the pandemic, I interviewed product managers to have a clearer sense of their roles. They described their days as running from one meeting to the next and being interrupted the rest of the time. It’s a familiar experience. You can probably relate.

Indeed, ethnographic studies on software developers, for instance, revealed how chaotic and distressing work can feel. In 1999, Harvard’s Leslie Perlow coined the term “time famine” to describe the feeling of having too much to do and not enough time to do it, largely because of constant interruptions at work.

There is a fundamental trade-off between the time that we could spend working – being productive and adding value – and the time that we spend in meetings. However, it’s not that meetings are completely useless. Teams do need them to resolve issues, coordinate

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“There is a fundamental trade-off between the time that we could spend working – being productive and adding value – and the time that we spend in meetings.”

work, convey information and even socialise workers. There’s a lot of research on these benefits.

However, as UCLA’s Charles J. Corbett and I found, little academic work has been done on the art and science of scheduling team meetings. We felt the subject was relevant to the field of operations management: With a long tradition of scheduling machine work, its principles could be applied to finding optimal rules for scheduling meetings.

For this purpose, we used stylised game theory to generate preliminary insights.

As described in our paper forthcoming in Management Science, a starting point of our model is the need to move towards a more collective perspective. People often complain about having too many meetings, but that's because they only consider their individual perspectives. While a meeting may not be useful for them – for instance, if they are the ones sharing information – it may prevent a co-worker from working in vain for a week.

Our stylised model characterised the best meeting scheduling rule as a function of two dimensions: the team size and how homogenous its members are. In our context, homogeneous means that team members are similar both in terms of their needs for coordination and the value they produce.

If the team is small and workers are relatively homogeneous Let’s imagine a team of two developers working on the same app – one is developing the Android version, and the other the iOS one. They have the same skills and, by and

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large, encounter similar issues. In this case, meetings should be triggered based on the workers’ needs – as opposed to being based on a set frequency, e.g., weekly.

This means that as soon as one team member wants to coordinate, they can take the liberty to interrupt the other team member(s), which is akin to an open-door policy. Alternatively, they could decide that meetings should be triggered only if both say they are available (e.g., in their status on Microsoft Teams), which is akin to a closed-door policy. This is the most fluid approach, but it can get problematic when the team grows larger or when workers are heterogeneous.

With a bigger team, the needs of its members often become dissimilar. In practical terms, the team can soon face a “squeaky wheel” problem. There will inevitably be one worker who needs help and thus asks for meetings or interrupts their colleagues’ flow of work; conversely, there will inevitably be one productive worker who prefers not to be interrupted, even if their input may benefit their colleagues.

When the team is of intermediate size A few options are possible for teams of intermediate size. They can adopt an opendoor policy – where everyone can interrupt anyone anytime – but it should include a provision for the minimum amount of time to be blocked off for individual work thereafter.

For example, if the team meets now, a minimum of X days should be reserved for quiet time thereafter. After that quiet time, the workers should feel free to interrupt each other.

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Alternatively, they can adopt In our simulations, we were a closed-door policy where, surprised to see that teams of by default, time is reserved for ten members were already large quiet work (production) but up enough for a fixed-interval rule to “With a little to a certain limit. That is, after a perform well. predefined maximum number of more data and days of production, the workers Reducing the chaos with robust should avail themselves in case a intentionality, we theory and data co-worker needs help and would When Perlow did her can work better ethnographic work in a high-tech like to coordinate.

Both approaches can be software firm some 24 years ago, and reduce our complicated to implement as the the rules for various forms of individual and time safeguards would need to “quiet time” did not endure after be calibrated to the team. But at she concluded her study. But today, collective time least these options create ways to firms have technological solutions manage the squeaky wheel problem famine.” that enable them to track how that can sap the productivity of the people work and coordinate. Firms team as a whole. can now track workers throughout If these options don’t work, the day, see how often they check the next best thing is to use a their emails, and with whom they hierarchical structure to schedule tend to have the most meetings. meetings. This involves designating a worker That’s a lot of data that can be leveraged.

– ideally, the one most representative of the Our study allows us to build the team’s needs – as the only person who can theoretical background and make call meetings. predictions about which rules would perform best under what situations. Right now, in What to do with larger teams practice, most of us work in an unguided way When the team is large, these needand tend to feel overwhelmed. Some people based policies with time safeguards remain block time on their calendars to prevent very effective, but we were also surprised meetings from popping up and ensure they to discover that a simple fixed-interval can get some work done. This is the most scheduling rule works really well. This fundamental time management technique. means that irrespective of whether the team But it’s also chaotic. needs to meet or not, it should stick to a Instead of setting quiet slots on an set meeting time, be it weekly, biweekly or individual basis, we should synchronise these monthly. This rigid fixed-interval scheduling slots and those available for meetings at a rule works well because it averts the squeaky collective level. With a little more data and wheel issue, which is more pronounced in intentionality, we can work better and reduce large teams. our individual and collective time famine.

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“They described their days as running from one meeting to the next and being interrupted the rest of the time.”

BIOGRAPHY

Guillaume Roels is the Timken Chaired Professor of Global Technology and Innovation at INSEAD and the Research Director of the INSEAD-Wharton Alliance

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WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS BENEFIT FROM WOMEN MENTORS REBECCA STROPOLI

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ore than half of workers in developing economies are selfemployed business owners, and most of their businesses fail.

Billions of dollars poured into training by governments and nonprofits barely move the needle. A yawning gender gap means that female entrepreneurs are even less likely to succeed.

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However, there may be a simple way to tweak training and mentorship programs to give women a better chance, according to University of Notre Dame’s Frank Germann, Texas A&M’s Stephen J. Anderson, Chicago Booth’s Pradeep K. Chintagunta, and London School of Economics’ Naufel Vilcassim. That would be pairing up businesswomen with female mentors.

The researchers’ findings come from a 2015 field experiment in Uganda, where they worked with a sample of 930 male and female entrepreneurs, splitting them into a control group of 400 and a treatment group of 530. They randomly matched those in the treatment group with volunteer mentors recruited by the nongovernmental organization Grow Movement.

About 40 percent of the entrepreneurs were women; the typical participant was 31 years old, married with two children, and had at least a high-school education. Their businesses on average had been open four years, with a small paid staff, and had reported monthly sales of about 4.4 million in Ugandan shillings (US$1,200). Of the businesswomen, about 36 percent were paired up with female mentors from across the world.

Over the next two to six months, the mentors worked with the entrepreneurs, using videoconferencing, phone calls, texts, and

“The results demonstrate a clear advantage for the businesswomen who worked with female mentors.”

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shared documents, sometimes several times a week, on how to expand their businesses.

Two years later, the researchers did a followup survey, reaching 79 percent of the original participants.

The results demonstrate a clear advantage for the businesswomen who worked with female mentors. The impact of men-to-women mentoring on sales and profits was negligible when compared with the control group. Yet the women who worked with female mentors expanded monthly sales by about 1.6 million UGX on average, or 34 percent compared with the control group, the researchers find. Their monthly profits rose by an average of 250,000 UGX, or about 30 percent compared with the control group.

Words of wisdom … and bonding The analysis finds that female mentors used significantly more words that suggest they were more engaged with their female mentees than their male counterparts, potentially improving the effectiveness of their business advice.

The intervention was also effective for businessmen, especially when considering sales growth. However, follow-up analyses showed that businessmen benefitted equally from male and female mentors.

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So why did women in business benefit from working with other women? The researchers speculate that having an aspirational model of the same gender helped the women overcome the sticky stereotypes and genderspecific roles of entrepreneurs in developing countries. Moreover, analyzing written meeting summaries the mentors provided about their interactions with the mentees, the researchers find suggestive evidence that women mentor-mentee arrangements were characterized by more positive engagements.

For example, compared with male mentors, female mentors used significantly more words indicative of engagement (for example, “email,” “phone,” and “schedule”) as well as more words such as “friend” and “family,” suggesting they were more socially connected with their mentees.

In the study’s surveys, women entrepreneurs who worked with women mentors were more likely to have improved their customer relationships.

The researchers suggest that business mentorship programs in developing countries should focus more on matching women entrepreneurs with women mentors.

“A yawning gender gap means that female entrepreneurs are even less likely to succeed.”

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Courtesy of the Chicago Booth Review.

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C A ustralian

C U niversity

Institute of Business CA lso Cloud UK

C É cole des

of Chicago – Booth

C A lastair

Hayes

Ponts Business School C E U Business School

C I NSEAD

CC hengyi

Lin

C U niversity of

Pennsylvania – Wharton

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C G uillaume

Roels CA lon Rozen

C M aurice

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Revolution

ceo-mag.com / Winter 2023

KSU MBA Programs #1 EMBA in Georgia CEO Magazine, 2023 | TIER ONE Evening MBA CEO Magazine, 2023

Become the LEADER You’re MEANT TO BE Kennesaw State University’s MBA Programs are highly-ranked, have world class faculty and prepare you for leadership positions. KSU is among the TOP 2 PERCENT of business schools worldwide featuring dual accreditation by AACSB International in both business and accounting.

WebMBA Part-time, 100% Online Graduate with Your Cohort in 20 Months Program Entry in Fall or Spring Ranked #1 in GA/#36 on the Princeton Review’s Top 50 Online MBA Program List for 2023

Evening MBA

Executive MBA

Part-time, Flexible Rate of Pursuit (Finish in as few as 19 Months)

One Weekend (Sat/Sun) a Month

Four Concentrations (Coming Fall 2023) Three Metro-ATL Locations Program Entry in Fall, Spring or Summer

Graduate with Your Cohort in 19 Months Program Entry in Fall Ranked #1 in Georgia by CEO Magazine (2023)

Nationally Ranked by US News and World Report

coles.kennesaw.edu/mba-comparison/