When it comes to professional development, the ambitious exec enjoys an embarrassment of riches. Consider the country's executive MBA programs, now 20 strong: You can get your degree in 13 months or stretch it out to six years. You can lay out a few grand or $90,000. You can jet to Zurich, São Paulo, Hong Kong and Shanghai, or never set foot outside your office. And sometimes it's not about getting the big three letters. From executive coaches to thespian leadership retreats in the Rocky Mountains to eight-week boot camps for aspiring CEOs, the problem isn't too little choice--it's too much. And that's not a bad problem to have. Here's what you need to know.
University of Alberta/Haskayne School of Business, Calgary and Edmonton, http://www.albertaemba.com
Go here if you want to run with the oil barons. The University of Calgary and University of Alberta's joint executive MBA program draws almost 30% of its students from the energy sector. Still, the faculty keeps the coursework hospitable to people who have only a car owner's interest in barrel prices.
In the program's popular major project course, students pitch their employers on a business initiative all the way from budgeting through implementation, with equal emphasis on selling skills and project management.
Best perk A speaker series that has attracted high-profile presenters such as WestJet CEO Clive Beddoe and Petro-Canada CEO Ron Brenneman
Alumni ProjEx Technologies president Barry Brad; Focus Corp. president and COO Ron Hall
Format 20 months, classes every other Friday and Saturday in Calgary, with three week-long residency modules and an international study trip
tuition $55,000
Athabasca University Centre for Innovative Management, Athabasca, Alta., http://www.mba.athabascau.ca
Go here if you can't commit to two consecutive years of study. True, the world's first on-line executive MBA program has graduated almost 1,500 students--including 249 this past year--and its short five-day residency requirement is a bonus for professionals posted in remote cities such as Dubai, Nairobi and Manila. But Athabasca's EMBA program really stands out for its flexibility: Students can defer courses as needed, taking as little as two years and as many as six to finish their degree.
In other words, if you're sidelined by a major work project or pregnancy, you can take a breather and pick up your studies later.
Best perk A globally diverse class, with representation this year from 15 countries on five continents
Alumni Coca-Cola Bottling Co. president Tom Barlow; OurPlane Inc.
CEO Graham Casson
Format As short as 24 months through on-line classes, with a residency module in such cities as Toronto, Calgary and Ottawa
tuition $40,425
John Molson School of Business, Montreal, http://www.johnmolson.concordia.ca/emba
Go here if you want an anglo-Montreal program that balances tradition and innovation. Ranked third among Canadian schools in the Financial Times EMBA survey (behind Rotman and Ivey), Molson completely updated its curriculum a year ago, adding courses in governance and e-business technology. Still, it has retained its focus on preparing promotion-bound executives for the rigours of management in an increasingly global economy. This year, Canada's third-oldest program is celebrating its 20th anniversary.
Best perk A new elective course in which students choose what they'd like to study; the topic is decided by a vote and the school selects an expert to instruct
Alumni CHC Helicopter Corp. CEO Sylvain Allard; Mobilia Group of Cos. president Melanie Kau
Format 20 months, on alternating Fridays and Saturdays, with four breaks and an international study trip
tuition $52,000
Joseph L. Rotman School of Management, Toronto, http://www.rotmanexecutive.com
Go here if you need an MBA faster than you can say "executive." By cutting summer vacations and every other spare second (there's no international study trip), Rotman's One-Year MBA for Executives offers Canada's quickest route to the big three letters. The program's intensity has other benefits: Because it's so demanding, it attracts ambitious execs, so you'll be fraternizing with other go-getters. For internationally focused professionals, Rotman's slightly longer Omnium Global Executive MBA teams up with schools in Europe, South America and Asia. This program punctuates stretches of internet-aided learning with 19-day residency modules on each of the four continents.
Best perk An executive coach for every student in the One-Year program
Alumni Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co. president and COO Simon Cooper; Porsche Design Management GmbH founder and CEO Ferdinand O. Porsche
Format 13 months, every second Friday and Saturday, with four one-week residency modules (One-Year); 15 months, five residency modules in Toronto, Switzerland, Germany, Brazil and China (Omnium Global EMBA)
tuition $75,000 (One-Year MBA); $54,000 (Omnium Global EMBA)
Lansbridge University, Fredericton http://www.lansbridge.com/emba/overview.php
Go here if you're a nudist. Or on a tight budget. Or both. Lansbridge offers Canada's most reasonably priced English-language executive MBA, and it's the only one in Canada that's completely on-line, without any residency requirements--ideal for far-flung managers looking to advance their careers. Still, the course load isn't a breeze: Completing Lansbridge's seven-week work units requires about 18 hours of study per week. At least you can do it in your pyjamas.
Best perk The school's collaborative learning software, Elluminate, which facilitates student and faculty communication through weekly voice-over-IP sessions
Alumni Innovatia director of strategic investment Terry Conrod; IMP Customer Care Centre managing director Michael Estabrooks
format 2 1/2 years of on-line learning
tuition $17,500
McGill University/HEC, Montreal, http://www.mcgill.ca/management/executive
Go here if you'd like a seat at next year's most intriguing EMBA program. Poised to begin classes next fall, McGill and its French-language B-school counterpart, HEC, have an unlikely champion for their joint program: McGill prof Henry Mintzberg, author of Managers Not MBAs and architect of the school's MBA alternative, the International Masters in Practicing Management (IMPM). Details are still being finalized, but Mintzberg touts the program as a new kind of MBA--one that's based on the IMPM's principle of valuing practical training over business academics. The program will explore about a dozen business issues through intense modules--for instance, doing business in China or the intricacies of outsourcing.
Best perk The eats: McGill's graduate business school prides itself on tapping the city's best restaurants and food suppliers--including local institution Fairmount Bagel--to cater its programs
Alumni n/a
Format 18 months, with eight- to 10-week residency modules and an international study trip
Tuition $55,000
University of Ottawa School of Management, Ottawa, http://www.emba.uottawa.ca
Go here if you're gung-ho on big tech or big government. Though Ottawa U plays down its connection to the capital's two major sectors, professionals from those industries account for 70% of the class, a critical mass that's reflected in the curriculum: Each year, the class flies to Silicon Valley to meet with companies on behalf of clients as disparate as the Canadian Senate and the Rideau-Carleton Raceway. And among the most anticipated events is a speakers' series--managed by prof and former auditor-general Denis Desautels--that offers the skinny on the art of lobbying, delivered by insiders such as former Liberal cabinet minister David Collenette and Duff Conacher of Democracy Watch.
Best perk The High-Tech Entrepreneurship course, where students pitch investment plans to local VCs. Typically, one in three receive follow-up consideration
Alumni Ottawa Citizen publisher Jim Orban; Protus IP Solutions CEO Joseph Nour
Format 20 months, on alternating Fridays and Saturdays, with an international study trip
tuition $58,000
Queen's School of Business, Kingston, Ont. http://www.business.queensu.ca
Go here if you want an Ivy League MBA from a Canadian university. Queen's joint offering with Cornell's Johnson Graduate School of Management, which debuted this summer, uses multipoint video conferencing to link students across Canada and the Northeastern U.S. to faculty from the mother campuses. Everybody convenes for three residencies and an overseas trip--and grads receive diplomas from both schools. Queen's also continues to offer its well-regarded national EMBA--in 2005, video-conference outposts included Toronto, Montreal and Calgary--as well as its in-person program held in Ottawa.
Best perk Free access to personal trainers for students in all three programs
Alumni Air Canada Technical Services CEO W.H. (Bill) Zoeller; Yellow Pages Group Co. general manager Patrick DeMeester
Format 15 months, two days every other week, with three residency modules and an international study trip (Ottawa and national); 17 months, three Saturdays a month, with three residency modules and an international study trip (Queen's-Cornell International Executive MBA)
Tuition $70,000 to $75,000 (Ottawa and national); $89,000 (Queen's-Cornell)
Richard Ivey School of Business, London, Ont., http://www.ivey.uwo.ca
Go here if you want the Canadian equivalent of a blue-blood business degree. Relying almost exclusively on Harvard's case-study approach and resisting the temptation to over-accessorize on buzzwords (CSR, action-learning) means Ivey gets ribbed by its competition for not being innovative enough. On the other hand, students are well-grounded in the fundamentals required to become captains of industry--and Ivey graduates a lot of them, providing the school with one of the most powerful alumni networks in Canada. The school also operates a Hong Kong program with an emphasis on doing business in Asia, primarily for Pacific Rim-based execs.
Best perk A month's worth of classes in a convenient four-consecutive-day format (Continental EMBA program)
Alumni TD Canada Trust and TD Bank Financial Group co-chair Tim Hockey; BioWare Corp. joint-CEO Ray Muzyka
Format 17 months, four days per month, with an international study trip (Continental program); 17 months, every other Friday and Saturday, with three one-week residency modules and an international study trip (weekend program)
Tuition $75,000 (Continental and weekend)
Royal Roads University, Victoria, http://www.royalroads.ca/mba
Go here if you want to join a program with a little momentum. New dean Niraj Bhargava, the former co-director of Queen's EMBA, is intent on whipping into shape a school whose reputation has lagged that of other primarily on-line programs such as Athabasca. So Bhargava has overhauled the curriculum--by, among other things, adding a full-day leadership workshop during each residency and hiring a full-time teamwork coach--and increased the focus on practical advanced management skills. Specializations are also available in areas such as management consulting and global aviation management.
Best perk Hatley Park Historical Gardens, a.k.a. the Royal Roads campus: 565 acres of gardens and old-growth forests, as well as a 40-room Edwardian castle that overlooks the Pacific Ocean and Olympic Mountains
Alumni Terasen Gas Inc. vice-president of distribution Dwain Bell; Department of National Defence director of maritime strategy Capt. Kelly Williams
Format Two years of on-line classes, with three three-week residency modules
Tuition $33,000
Schulich School of Business, Toronto, http://www.emba.schulich.yorku.ca
Go here if you want to soak up wisdom from some of North America's top B-school profs. Although most of its classes are held at York University, a 45-minute drive from Toronto's financial district, Schulich can tout its close collaboration with BusinessWeek's top-ranked business school, Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management. Schulich execs are co-taught by faculty from both schools; in their second year, there is a two-week residency at the Kellogg campus in Evanston, Ill., or as of 2007 at a partner school such as the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
Best perk One-on-one consultations with an external career-management firm
Alumni Enwave District Energy CEO Dennis Fotinos; Scotia Capital Inc.
managing director and head of industrial products Philip Lieberman
Format 18 months, three consecutive days every other weekend, with three weeks of residency and an international study trip Tuition $90,000
Université de Sherbrooke, Montreal, http://www.usherbrooke.ca/adm/programmes/cycle2/mbae
Go here if you're looking for a bespoke French-language EMBA. Sherbrooke's EMBA has been criticized for attracting middle managers instead of execs, but this year, pending university approval, the program hopes to correct that reputation by redesigning its curriculum with a new focus on customization. After an intense week of testing, new students will receive individual learning plans that bolster their weaknesses and polish their strengths--whether that's financial accounting or public speaking. And slated for 2007: a move to the swankiest floor in the university's new $120-million building on its Longueuil campus.
Best perk The new program will offer one-on-one coaching services, facilitated by an external firm
Alumni Ubisoft Entertainment president Martin Tremblay; Héma-Québec CEO Francine Décary
Format 20 months on alternating Fridays and Saturdays, with two one-week seminars Tuition $25,000 for current class (new-program fees to be determined)
Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, http://www.sfubusiness.ca/execed
Go here if you want a solid general management program with history. Canada's first EMBA program, founded in 1968, hasn't significantly changed its basic format in years, partly because the only in-person offering in Vancouver is insulated from any pressure to mess with its solid, fundamental approach. The formula has worked for more than 1,500 grads, and it's an inviting environment to hobnob with other B.C.-area movers and shakers--especially in the program's new home, the Segal Graduate School of Business, a five-storey former Bank of Montreal headquarters with the original bank vault still in the basement.
Best perk Popular prof Mark Wexler, whose challenging Ethics of Business classes do much to ensure that SFU students lead in more areas than just the bottom line
Alumni British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell; former AstraZeneca president Gerald McDole
Format Two years, every second Friday and Saturday, with an international study trip
Tuition $45,000
The Sobey School of Business, Halifax, http://www.smu.ca/emba
Go here if you're planning to make it in the Maritimes. At just under 40K, Sobey's practical management-focused EMBA is almost half the price of its Ontario equivalents. And because it's the only English-speaking EMBA east of Montreal, it's the place for degree-seeking Atlantic Canadian executives to network.
The program's biggest endorsement may come from the staff themselves: Both executive director Harvey Silverstein and manager Bonnie Kirby are alumni.
Best perk An international trip that's anything but business tourism; teams go on sales and market research missions to Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia on behalf of such local companies as Glenora Distillery
Alumni CanJet COO Julie Gossen; Halifax Mayor Peter Kelly
Format 20 months, every other Friday and Saturday, with an international study trip
Tuition $38,000
Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, http://www.esg.uqam.ca
Go here if you're on a tight budget and you're fluent in the other official language. Thanks to subsidies from a Quebec government intent on improving the province's managers, UQAM's French-language EMBA is by far Canada's cheapest. But discounting has its disadvantages: The student body is big--between 200 and 300 students if you include specialized streams such as tech and agribusiness--and the low tuition fees restrict teaching budgets, making it tough for UQAM to compete with its better-funded rivals. In its favour: a distinguished alumni network and a convenient downtown Montreal location.
Best perk Quebec grads can work toward a double diploma--one from both UQAM and Université Paris-Dauphine of France
Alumni National Bank of Canada president and CEO Réal Raymond; Bell Helicopter Textron Canada Ltd. president Jacques St-Laurent
Format Two years, three consecutive days a month, with a residency option in Paris
Tuition $4,600
The Wharton School of Business, Philadelphia, http://www.wharton.upenn.edu/academics/executive
Go here if you absolutely must go American. Kellogg may fare better on some rankings, and Columbia and Stern are attractive because they're in New York. The big draw at Wharton, however, is diversity. EMBA programs at other schools can be frustratingly regional, but Wharton's 115-student intake is drawn from all across the country, with a non-American contingent that accounts for over a third of the Philadelphia class. There's diversity in the curriculum as well: After a first year that provides the usual general training, second-year Wharton students choose from a list of 200 electives, from geopolitics to new product development. The school also has a second program in San Francisco.
Best perk Because students spend Friday nights in residence, classes are uncommonly close-knit. Expect lots of family barbecues and outings to Phillies games
Alumni Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. COO Alex Gorsky; SouthCo CEO Brian McNeill
Format Two years, every other Friday and Saturday, with an international study trip
Tuition $128,775 (U.S.) (Philadelphia); $138,450 (U.S.) (San Francisco)
NON-DEGREE EXECUTIVE DEVELOPMENT CENTRES
The Aspen Institute, Washington, http://www.aspeninstitute.org
Go here if you want to ponder life's larger questions in the serenity of nature. The Institute's week-long Executive Seminar--held at one of two bucolic conference centres, in Colorado's Rocky Mountains or the banks of the Wye River on Maryland's eastern shore--isn't concerned with new ways to sell more widgets. Rather, participants explore their preconceptions about the world and their role as leaders. Group debate and meditative introspection are helped along by a reading list that includes Aristotle, John Locke and Martin Luther King Jr.
Best perk For more than five decades, participants have applied their discussions of leadership to a staging of Sophocles' Antigone. Interpretations have ranged from musical comedy to CNN-style news commentary
Alumni The Pritzker Organization chairman and CEO Thomas J. Pritzker; Harvard African and African-American Studies scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr.
tuition $8,500 for the Executive Seminar
The Banff Centre, Banff, Alta. http://www.banffleadership.ca
Go here if you'd like leadership training that takes cues from the arts.
In an unexpected bit of synergy, the Banff Centre's well-known slate of arts workshops profoundly influences its leadership teachings. While many of the Centre's courses employ such standard tools as 360-degree assessments and Myers-Briggs questionnaires, Banff's artists-in-residence often facilitate programs to inject a non-biz perspective. The Art of the Executive Leader, for example, brings in actors and theatre directors to coach managers on how to exude an appropriately patrician air.
Best perk Many courses make use of the Centre's sublime setting in the Alberta Rockies, incorporating nature hikes, ecology lessons and climbing exercises
Alumni STARS Air Ambulance CEO Dr. Greg Powell; Calgary Public Library director Gerry Meek
tuition From $2,700 for the five-day Manage in the Middle to $4,800 for the five-day Art of the Executive Leader
Center for Creative Leadership, Greensboro, N.C., http://www.ccl.org
Go here if you want the world's leadership gurus to dissect your management style, examine it from every angle and rebuild it better than before. The most respected independent exec ed institute, the non-profit CCL puts more than 20,000 business leaders annually through 13 training seminars at campuses in Greensboro, Colorado Springs, San Diego, Brussels and Singapore. The Center's pioneering three-decade-old Leadership Development Program (LDP) is an intense five-day course that begins by immersing participants in feedback from bosses, peers and co-workers; it then attacks an individual's weaknesses by staging team role-playing scenarios such as avoiding a nuclear power plant disaster and surviving a blizzard in the Appalachians.
Best perk The follow-up: Before completing the LDP, participants set goals to address unresolved issues, then report back in three months for another assessment
Alumni Dell founder and chairman Michael Dell; retired U.S. Army general Norman Schwarzkopf
tuition From $3,600 (U.S.) for the three-day Developing Leadership Talent to $9,800 (U.S.) for the five-day Leadership at the Peak
Harvard Business School, Cambridge, Mass., http://www.exec.hbs.edu
Go here if you want a fast and expensive career boost. Harvard may not run an EMBA program, but it has one of the most comprehensive executive learning catalogues in the U.S. The school's flagship offering: the 60-year-old Advanced Management Program (AMP), an eight-week course that provides the necessary tools for senior-level execs on the fast track to chief executive candidacy. More than 45 shorter, specialized courses offer help to, say, senior executives who need to boost their finance IQ or owner-managed companies looking to build succession strategies.
Best perk Full Harvard alumni status for Advanced Management Program grads
Alumni Sun Life Assurance Co. of Canada CEO Donald A. Stewart; Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd. CEO Wayne Sales
tuition From $4,250 (U.S.) for the three-day Audit Committees in a New Era of Governance to $54,500 (U.S.) for AMP
The Niagara Institute, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., http://www.iagarainstitute.com
Go here if you want the CCL experience closer to Bay Street. Founded in 1971, the Institute operates classes in Niagara-on-the-Lake as well as various locations around the country. The best-known offering is the CCL-licensed Leadership Development Program, which is exclusive to Canada. The catalogue recently strengthened its focus on practical leadership by phasing out the remedial-sounding Working with Others in favour of Building Leadership Essentials, a sort of pre-LDP. Also on the agenda: custom seminars. Executive director John Rankin expects Niagara's made-to-order programs to eventually account for half the Institute's business.
Best perk White Oaks Conference Resort & Spa, the site of most Niagara Institute courses, offers spa facilities, a racquet club and 27-hole championship golf course
Alumni Stelco CEO Courtney Pratt; Nortel CFO Peter Currie
tuition From $2,255 for the three-day Optimizing Change to $9,800 for the five-day Executive Leadership Program
leadership lessons
"Jack Welch used the occasional expletive, hated the guys in Washington. His predecessor, Reg Jones, was a statesman--never said a bad word, was welcomed in Washington. What did they have in common? One was tough as nails, one soft as silk, but both were very interested in people"
--Bob Gillespie, former chairman and CEO, GE Canada
FINISHING SCHOOL
The proper size of an executive wardrobe
"Women are lucky--they can mix and match their suits, so they can get five to 10 different outfits from two or three suits. For men, I recommend three suits: a navy, a black or a grey, and a brown. I usually suggest 10 shirts, enough to last two weeks. A sports jacket is casual but still dressy enough to wear to the office on a Friday. At least two pairs of shoes--usually one black and one brown, although sometimes people go with a nice oxblood. And, of course, a belt to match the shoes." --Cathy DeSerranno, wardrobe consultant and personal shopper, First Canadian Place, Toronto, http://www.firstcanadianplace.com. $150 for initial wardrobe consultation, plus hourly shopping rate of $35. (Service is free for clients shopping at First Canadian Place.)
executive coaching
Finding the right executive coach is a little like shoe shopping--the right fit is crucial.
In searching for the best in the business, we consulted dozens of experts--CEOs, HR VPs, B-school leadership profs--and asked them to consider factors that might influence their selection process, such as seniority of the employee and experience of the coach.
Three of Canada's top coaches share their insights on the executive development process.
Wayne Scott, Action Strategies Inc., Toronto
Experience Five years of coaching; 28 years as an executive at IBM Canada
Clients Bank of Montreal, CIBC, TD Bank
The 20-second sell "Often, especially at senior levels, there is literally no one in an organization who the leader can trust.
As a coach, I bring not only my business experience but also a unique combination of deep listening abilities, real caring and the willingness to challenge my clients. Great coaching is actually quite simple, but it's not easy--I meet people where they need to be met."
Shoptalk "Probably the most interesting way I've come across a client happened three years ago when the chief executive of a privately held technology company hired me to review the business, to discover why it had stalled. The first sentence of my report read: 'This company's problem is a vacuum of leadership at the top.' To his credit, the CEO hired me to coach him and develop his leadership ability."
Sharon Flanagan, Ignite Essentials, Toronto
Experience Three years of coaching; 20 years in human resources (former VP of HR at TD Bank)
Clients CIBC, MasterCard, The Katz Group of Cos.
The 20-second sell "I work with two types of executives: visionaries and managers. The visionaries want to be better managers. The managers want to develop their strategic vision. You don't often find someone with both. One side or the other must be learned."
Shoptalk "The most frequent misconception clients have is that their coach will be their adviser. But actually, the coach's job isn't counselling, which tends to be about the past--in other words, 'Why are you like this?' As a coach, I don't care about the 'why.' My job is to help the client solve the problem.
It's future-focused."
Donald Sherritt, Western Management Consultants, Vancouver
Experience 20 years of coaching; founder/director of Western Management Consultants Clients Weyerhaeuser, Raymond James Financial, Terasen Gas
The 20-second sell "I say to my clients, 'I'll be straightforward in my feedback. But the most important part of the process isn't what I say--it's what you do.' I focus on follow-up, helping my clients change and stay changed."
Shoptalk "One of my clients talked all through his employee meetings. I told him that in a half-hour meeting, you should talk 10 minutes, max. He said, 'How do I know when I'm over?' I told him, 'Use an egg timer. Use a chess clock. Anything.' A month later, he sent me a photo of himself in a meeting, with a chess clock in front of him."
leadership lessons
"There's a difference between a manager and a leader. A manager has the power of position. A true leader has the ability to influence people to do more than they think they can do themselves" --Isadore Sharp, founder, chairman and CEO, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts
FINISHING SCHOOL
How to tell if a wine will improve with age
"Most wine produced today is ready to drink. Wine producers believe fewer people have the room or cellar facilities to store wine properly, and they're right: 90% of wine is consumed within 24 hours of purchase. To be age-worthy, a vintage needs a high concentration of two or three of the following: acidity, sugar, alcohol and tannin. Classic age-worthy reds are Barolos from Piedmont, in northwest Italy. They can cost anywhere from $45 up to several hundred dollars."
--John Szabo, master sommelier and founder, Centre for Vine Affairs Wine School, Toronto, http://www.thecva.ca. $180 per person for a three-evening introductory wine class
leadership lessons
"We've been in bankruptcy protection since the end of January, 2004. This has been the biggest leadership challenge, by far, that I've ever faced. I've learned it's important not to sugar-coat things, but creating a sense of hope is also critical. I've tried hard to make sure that in every message, there's a sense of, 'Here's where we may be going'--a message of hope" --Courtney Pratt, president and CEO, Stelco Inc.
FINISHING SCHOOL
The one Mandarin phrase every exec should learn
"If you're doing business in China, when you first meet your business partner you should say 'xing hui': 'Glad to meet you.' It sounds like 'sing hweigh'. And you should say the phrase twice, because that's much friendlier--it shows you're excited to meet your partner."
--Frieda (Ping) He, instructor, Daily Business Mandarin, University of British Columbia Continuing Studies, Vancouver, http://www.languages.ubc.ca.
$295 for nine two-hour classes
DIY B. SCHOOLS
Companies that want a custom-designed development program for their execs can approach an established business school like Wharton, Harvard or Ivey. Or they can do it themselves. Yury Boshyk, a former professor with IMD in Lausanne, Switzerland, works with such companies as Boeing, Alcan and Honeywell to help them design their own in-house curriculum.
The price tag: $80,000 (U.S.) to put six employees through three six-day modules in six months. Here's how Boshyk does it:
1. What's your problem?
Clients typically hire Boshyk to address a specific challenge--for example, entering distant emerging markets. Most recently, he staged a program with Alcan, Honeywell, Johannesburg's First National Bank and Singapore's Pan Asia Paper to boost executives' skills at growing companies through innovation.
2. Partner up To cut costs and increase class diversity, Boshyk groups together non-competitive clients facing similar problems--Boeing, for example, was partnered with India's high-tech Tata Group, the Dutch bank ABN Amro and the Swedish-Swiss engineering company ABB. Students always sign non-disclosure agreements to encourage candid discussion.
3. Stop, collaborate and listen Boshyk's instructors include business leaders, consultants, government reps and senior execs from the participating firms. There's one kind of teacher Boshyk avoids: "We have not been successful with academics," he says. "They don't understand the complexity of the business world." Classes are held in cities relevant to the challenge at hand; Boshyk has taken students to Beijing, Shanghai and Mumbai.
4. Do the homework
After the first module, students research how their companies have approached the issue they're tackling. After the second module, they scout the tactics of competitors and cohorts.
The third module is spent planning strategy, which is then presented to their organizations' higher-ups. "The idea," says Boshyk, "is to solve the problem." A program to enable info-sharing across ABN Amro, hatched in 2003, is still going strong.
leadership lessons
"In the mid-to-late '90s, we made leadership development the centre of everything we do. Now we've developed a whole suite: open 360s, closed 360s, associate feedback, off-site programs, coaching programs, mentoring programs. And for us to go down this path, I had to participate. Now I have two binders behind my desk that tell me everything I want to know about myself. And it's totally unvarnished. If there isn't something in there that makes you uncomfortable, then you should probably do it again" --Michael H. McCain, president and CEO, Maple Leaf Foods Inc.
FINISHING SCHOOL
How to receive a toast
"In North America: Maintain eye contact with the person giving the toast as they're speaking, but don't drink from your glass. Elsewhere, it may be impolite not to drink--it's like you're rejecting the compliment. The Chinese, for example, would be offended if you didn't drink with them, and being pregnant isn't considered an excuse in parts of Eastern Europe. Even if you're seven months along, at least touch the glass to your lips."
--Connie Sturgess, principal consultant, Western School of Protocol, West Vancouver, http://www.westernprotocol.com. Day-long Business Etiquette course, from $175; group rates available
FINISHING SCHOOL
How golf can make you a better manager
"If I need to discover anything about someone's personality, I invite them for a round of golf. One of my recent sessions included a VP and his regional managers. The VP was a great golfer, but one of his managers turned out to be better. And the VP lost it. He got angry because it challenged his dominance. During the debriefing session, it came up that the VP's temper intimidated the managers, so no one ever disagreed with him. They'd been walking on eggshells. It took his behaviour on the golf course to make that apparent."
--Richard Monette, founder, InnerWarrior Consulting, Banff, Alta., http://www.innerwarrior.com. Four-day Beyond Golf seminar, from $2,000, including lodging, meals and 54 holes