Institution: Harvard Business School (USA)
Course: Owner President Management Program
Like many people who are dedicated to their current job and employer, I never sought out training and development opportunities other than those offered as part of work. I can’t recall the exact circumstances, but Geoff Vogt contacted me in early 2018, had a conversation and the ball started rolling. I think it was a case of me needing to hear advice that would be similar to what I might give to others. In short – make the time! We can all do better and sometimes that means pushing yourself beyond what is comfortable.
I spoke with several people about which course to consider, and after a further discussion with Geoff applied for the OPM program at Harvard. There was, of course no guarantee I would get in, but I thought it was worth a try given the strong endorsement by many that it had received. In parallel I began the ILF application process, which was relatively straight forward from a paperwork perspective. ILF and HBS interviews followed, and I was fortunate to be successful with each – although the former had a later start than was ideal given the popularity of the course. In the end, COVID pushed the first of the three modules even further back until the beginning of 2022.
The OPM program is essentially three blocks of three weeks onsite in Boston over roughly two years. The cohort is from all around the world, with roughly 30 countries represented in the 150 participants of OPM61. The learning method is largely via case studies. These are papers written about real events, primarily business evolution stories that are distributed mostly before the on-campus sessions. Be forewarned, there is a LOT of reading, and students expected to be ready to publicly discuss their answers in classes of either 75 or 150 … and be challenged by the lecturer. In the first module most students are overwhelmed at many levels. The sheer volume of work, being intimidated by the capability of your classmates, the topics often being outside your comfort zone (what would I know about selling washing powder in Serbia!) and the newness of being a student again.
Early on the team at HBS let you know that the expectation is that the course will provide benefits in three ways:
- Learn from the Curriculum: Readings, classes and class discussions, professors, guests.
- Learn from small groups: Living group, lunch, dinner, industry networking groups, casual conversations
- Learn from yourself: Make time for self-reflection.
Whilst the proportions may not be even, I can certainly attest to the above being correct.
Each visit has participants assigned to an eight-person living group. These people you will get to know very well as you are expected to help each other study and prepare, but also (where time permits) socialise with. It may not be surprising that as the course progressed the volume of socialising grew … and grew. Despite the heavy workload. I honestly do not know how some did it.
This course is unusual in its make-up as it targets mostly owners of private businesses. The company I work for had around 120 people at the time of my enrolment and would have been in the bottom few percent in terms of size represented. This can be a little intimidating, but it is therefore also a great source of wisdom from those that have already grown their businesses. The environment is a great leveller, and great friendships and collaborations have been struck between those in small business and owners/managers of entities with many thousands of employees and billions of dollars in revenue. I cannot imagine another circumstance where such people would meet and engage to anywhere near the same degree, which indeed made this experience special for all.
It goes without saying that I learnt a great deal, but for me perhaps it was mostly about the people and their stories – both business and personal. Whilst at first it was intimidating, in time you realise that there isn’t that much difference between us all, and each can learn from all others in some way.
I’d like to thank the ILF and Geoff for giving me the gentle push that I needed. We are all busy, but making time for such experiences and learning can pay back many times over.
