Learning from the giants!

A year ago, I started my 2-year Executive MBA Program at Poznań University of Economics (UE) in collaboration with Georgia State University. One my reasons for selecting this specific program was that the curriculum included a trip to Atlanta, GA. I was waiting for it for over a year and it finally happened this September. This article is meant to share my lessens learned and reflections after this experience.

As part of this trip, together with other 17 Executive MBA Program fellows, I visited the following companies: AT&T, CNN (recently acquired by AT&T), ATDC (science and business incubator in Georgia), The Coca Cola Company, Siemens Mobility, Randstad and Arylessence (private equity family business based in Georgia). We also had a chance to attend classes at GSU.

When reflecting on all of these visits, there are four words coming to my mind: Innovation, Change, Sustainability and People. These four nouns are strongly connected. Let me elaborate on this thought.

Innovation. Everyone claims that this is a priority and a must-have for each business. All the companies I visited in Atlanta put innovation near the top of their priorities list. They manifest that in many different ways. Some open an innovation lab/factory. Some have advanced research and development departments. Some decide to acquire other companies to gain competitive advantage and accelerate innovation. What I missed there? Well… let’s call it a collaborative spirit. For example, how might CNN engage with The Coca-Cola Company to be more innovative? I know it sounds idealistic, however, my point is that innovation can leverage the synergy effect. Perhaps there are initiatives of this type, unfortunately we did not hear about them during out visit.

Change. No surprise here! We live in a fast-paced world and the unexpected should be expected. All companies we visited seemed to be aware of that. The key question here is about how they manage change. Innovation is only one of the elements. Agility is becoming a new must. Not a nice-to-have.

Don’t fight the change! Embrace it and use it as a trampoline for success.

Sustainability. President Trump can keep denying global warning but the facts speak for themselves. Consumers are more and more aware of this problem and expect businesses to act more responsibly. Real actions are needed. Just talking about sustainability and social responsibility is not enough.

People. Let me paraphrase Bob Marley: no people — no business. Yep! In my opinion, the times of outcome-driven management are almost over. Managers are responsible for building a safe, empathetic and inspiring working environment. Easier said than done. Nevertheless, this is the current situation. Companies realize that to retain their talents, a change must occur. Otherwise, people will find a better place to work.

I have been already asked a couple of time what was the value added of this trip for my personal and professional development. Well… I don’t have a scale to put a simple rating or evaluation. I truly believe that each individual experience has an impact on our lives. This particular one definitely helped me improve my curiosity and critical thinking. I am sure that soon I will notice other benefits.