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Management Education

The Missing Link in the Value Chain™

 

The best dividends on the labor invested have invariably come from seeking more knowledge rather than more power. — Wilbur and Orville Wright

The Wright brothers established the fundamental principles of aircraft design that are still in place today. They not only created the technology of flight but, of equal significance, invented the practice of aeronautical engineering. Their talent and genius lies as much in their approach to solving problems as in the assemblage of wood, wire, and fabric that rose off the sand on that momentous December day in 1903. For all the current-day advances in the tools of aircraft design, the fundamental problems to be solved and the basic practices for addressing them, have little changed since Wilbur and Orville pioneered the field at the turn of the century. The performance elements they identified, the integration of flight test data from actual field trials of their aircraft, and the process of feeding information back into a continually evolving basic design are all examples of the aeronautical engineering technique that was developed by the Wrights and that became standard practice for the engineers who followed.

I believe that many of today's fledgling and well established businesses crash and burn because their control techniques are not coherent with the fundamental principles of business design.


Experience without theory teaches nothing — W. Edwards Deming

The Wright brothers' success at discovering the principles of controlled flight, was due to their scientific approach. Those principles allowed them to accurately predict the success at controlling their future flying machine. Samuel Langley and his contemporaries on the other hand, practiced experimentation; an empiric approach that we know today as Best Practices. Their trial and error attempts were of little consequence.

Similar to Samuel Langley, many CEOs of today's fledgling and well established businesses struggle controlling their business; counteracting for a turbulent economy and changing strategic direction. This condition will be perpetuated until CEOs gain insight into the basic principles of business governance!

The Missing Link in the Value Chain™ helps CEOs discover that insight into business governance enhances their creativity and innovation for the essential renewal and re-invention of the business system under their command & control. Subsequently, CEOs that acquire this new level of thinking instill a need in their C-suite colleagues and other managers for acquiring that same mind- and skill set. Once leaders become aware of what their business knows and does not know, there is an opportunity to interest them in training their managers on the proven practices of change management, supply chain management, business process engineering, and many other areas of vital expertise that are fighting for recognition as a discipline in their own right. This is the beginning of a real Master Mind!

By the way, CEOs are not only ultimately responsible for the success of the business system under their command & control, they also carry ultimate authority for making changes; the allocation of funds. Teaching CEOs how to be effective at meeting their pressure to perform head-on increases their tenure at the top while enjoying peace-of-mind. The decision and authorization to enroll is theirs to make!


"B-School Deans in the Hot Seat" says Forbes Magazine — Matt Symonds 05.13.09

Cool New ProgramWHY?
• Deans today have their budget slashed.
• B-Schools are competing for Funding & Faculty as never before.
• Deans are busy defending the role of B -Schools in the Financial Meltdown.
• Students re-evaluate the benefits of obtaining a MBA-degree.
• One-in-four Deans of top B-School was replaced last year.

Mutual Need

Mutual Need: In The Hot Seat

B-School Dean
    &
Chief Executive Officer
• Shorter Tenure
• Dismissals for under -performance
• Shareholder Derivative Action suits
• Learning by Osmosis

Solution

Solution: Cool New Program

The Missing Link in the Value Chain™
• Unique, Innovative & Original Program
• Recognized Industry Expert Faculty
• Highly Relevant, Practical and Inter-Active
• Attracts Under-Served Target Audience
• With New Deep-Pocket Funding Source
• Possibility of long-term Commitment
• Potential Industry Sponsor Interest
• Obvious Choice for Business Education

Copyright © 2011 by Hans Norden. All worldwide rights reserved.
Image source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wrightflyer.jpg
Image source: The "Aerodrome" by Samuel Pierpont Langley

 

 

Materials & Resources

* Boyd Business Innovation Conference

* The Missing Link in the Value Chain™

Postcards: