The Changing Road to Executive Education

 

 

 

 

 

 

According to a recent article on the Chief Learning Officer Web site, market forces and technology are changing how business is done, and executive education is adapting to help companies function better. Devin Bigoness, Executive Director for Executive Education at Cornell University’s Johnson School of Management, says that executive education programs must be a more consultative resource in order to stay relevant and provide value.

Since today’s problems are not the same for all organizations, executive education programs need to mold themselves to client expectations. He says, “We look at education not just as an event but as a process.”

Bigoness offered four changes he is observing in the executive education arena:

1. Executive education will be innovation focused – “I haven’t yet met a client that says ‘We want to be less innovative,’ but innovation means something very different to every single organization that we talk to.”
2. Executive education will be a multidisciplinary process, using an integrative approach – Since today’s challenges for businesses do not fall neatly into classic business-school buckets and the environment in which people learn varies, schools must consider time, resources, learner preferences, and learner location as they design executive education courses.
3. Executive education will have a blurred distinction – The line between business schools, consulting firms, and companies’ learning functions is becoming less clear. “The whole industry is twisting, turning, morphing, evolving so that we think there are avenues for unique and dynamic partnerships within those three bodies [business schools, consulting firms, and companies’ learning functions],” Bigoness comments.
4. Executive education programming will be a talent resource – While executive education has typically focused on retention and development of talent management, Bigoness has seen it used as a recruiting tool. In a couple of cases, a program has brought in top undergraduate, graduate, and business-school students to work in cross-functional teams with leaders for an innovation boot camp. In another instance, students served on a panel and participants could ask students questions and students could engage directly with leaders.

For the full article, visit the Chief Learning Officer Web site.

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