CEOs and other
senior executives know better than perhaps anyone in their organizations the
need to stay current and prevent the kind of inertia
that can hold their companies back. The problem is finding the time for
a rigorous learning experience when day-to-day demands require their constant
presence.
“This is the
challenge Wharton Fellows: Master Classes and Networking for Senior Executives
was designed to meet,” says Jerry Wind, Wharton marketing professor and faculty
director of the innovative program. “In three-day Master Classes, we visit and
learn from some of the world’s most innovative companies, meeting with the
leaders who are at the center of the action.”
Most recently,
the Fellows’ three days were spent in New York, where they learned about open
innovation from one of the Museum
of Modern Art’s chief curators and the president of the
ground-breaking advertising agency Victors & Spoils. During a visit to the
headquarters of Bloomberg, the former mayor and founder of the company Mike
Bloomberg spoke to the group, explaining who the company’s competition is
today, and who they’re watching for the future.
“It’s not easy
to find programs like this that not only make you think, but change the way you
think.”
John MacDonald,
President and CEO of Canada’s EnerCare Inc.
Many of the
Wharton Fellows who met in New York also attended Master Classes in Silicon
Valley in 2013, where they visited with senior leaders at Facebook, Samsung,
Google, Andreessen and Horwitz, Genentech, HP, and Cisco. This year, additional
programs will be held, first in Seattle in May, where interactive sessions are
scheduled at Boeing, Microsoft, Costco, the Seattle Sounders soccer team,
Amazon, a number of startups, and famous glass innovator Dale Chihuly; and then
in Tel Aviv in August, with sessions planned with various start-ups, the
R&D operations of leading multinational firms, and unique innovative
Israeli organizations. Victor Edozien, CEO and president of SET Enterprises
Inc. (an Asaba Group Holdings Affiliate Company) and managing partner of Asaba
Group Holdings, notes, “I clear out my calendar for the Fellows Master Classes.
They’re like a shot of adrenalin, of new knowledge and enthusiasm. They help me
stay on the right course.”
Although the
sites are international and the companies visited are diverse, Master Classes
all focus on the future, recognizing that today’s most successful organizations
must push the boundaries of their industries to stay on top. In commercial real
estate, that means in part a rethinking of space and talent management.
“The right space
helps to attract and retain talent,” said John Santora, president of Cushman
and Wakefield’s Corporate Occupier & Investor Services. “But open space
isn’t just about talent retention. It fosters creativity and collaboration, and
it reduces the overall cost of occupancy. Today, real estate and business are
working together in new ways.”
For advertising
agency Victors & Spoils, open innovation means reaching beyond in-house
creative teams to foster collaboration with creative people everywhere. The
industry-disrupting agency is built on opensourcing principles, reaching out to
a wide network for campaign ideas. “We embrace the fact that we don’t have all
the answers,” says president Jonathan Balck. Victor Edozien notes that the
variety of industries makes it clear that challenges facing today’s
organizations are very similar. “The Master Classes trigger a lot of ideas,
making me think about how we do business in my sector. In my company and in my
industry, how do we challenge what we are doing and change our mindset? To do
that you need to have access to knowledge and see how different companies have
very similar challenges, and how they look into the future and come up with
solutions. This is a significant competitive value add to me as I grow the
companies in our holdings.”
One of the final
sessions in New York included an executive vice president of an investment
company. As he addressed the group, he described the current challenges faced
by his organization. They were formidable, but it was the kind of frank talk
the Fellows expect. When he was finished, he turned the tables on them.
“Here is where
we are, here is where we think we’re going. What do you think we should do?”
The exchange that followed brought insights from pharma and retail, banking and
technology. It was a typical Fellows dialogue, where learning comes from
presenters and from other participants.
“Fellows shows
you what the textbooks don’t,” says John MacDonald, president and CEO of
Canada’s EnerCare Inc. “It’s here and now. You get in front of people who are
at the edge of innovation, and have a dialogue with them. It’s not easy to find
programs like this that not only make you think, but change the way you think.”
