AMP Class Graduates With the World in Its Hands
Spanning the Globe

IESE´s new version of the Advanced Management Program for top executives has recently concluded. The program – the only one of its kind – will continue to build on its global perspective.

The Case: Senior executives from 14 different countries gather in Barcelona over a five-month period for an intensive series of discussions, simulations and small-group learning experiences.

Assignment Questions: Would this group of high-flyers – all top business people in their respective countries and fields – manage to juggle the demands of running their companies, while taking time out to reflect on new business phenomena and the opportunities or threats they present? Would they update their knowledge of key management concepts, and learn how to apply these ideas directly to the workplace?

More importantly, would this diverse group – representing nations from Germany to Japan to Moldova, and ranging in age from 35 to 57, with three women and 20 languages among them – actually manage to get along?

The answer to all these questions is a resounding "yes." And it is more than a theoretical case study. This is exactly what happened when IESE Business School ran its first-ever Advanced Management Program (AMP) during 2003-2004. So successful was the pilot program that IESE is offering another AMP for 2004-2005, which will improve on the format of the last one. IESE also plans to launch a new Program for Management Development (PMD) in 2005, aimed at cultivating those who exhibit high leadership potential.

This news thrills Idunn Jónsdóttir, who runs the AMP as part of her job directing IESE's General Management Programs, which the business school has offered since 1958. The programs give managers an opportunity to step back from their careers and to learn new skills, gain fresh insights and reflect on how they are leading their organizations. While most of the programs have thus far been offered in Spanish, the new AMP is the first of its kind to be offered exclusively in English, representing what some have called a "coming of age" for the Barcelona-based business school.

Something Different

Jónsdóttir feels that IESE is offering something special and different. A native of Iceland, she herself earned an MBA at IESE six years ago, and has worked for the university ever since. "In my experience of working with companies and running short-term programs, I have never seen people connecting on this level before, or having been impacted to such a degree.”
But don't just take Jónsdóttir's word for it. Read what Silvia Radu, one of the first AMP participants, had to say: "In the AMP, we not only received advanced education in management and finance, but education in life! IESE has inspired us to want to effect change – from whatever position we hold, whatever responsibility, whatever company and country and social environment – to make a difference within ourselves and among others."

Radu, corporate vice-president of Union Fenosa, an electricity distributor in Moldova, was nominated by her peers to act as their class president. The AMP class of 2003-2004 gelled so well that they are planning to meet every year. Their next reunion will be hosted by a fellow participant in Moscow. They have become part of IESE's global alumni network, boasting one of the highest alumni membership rates in the world, which allows them to maintain vital business contacts for years to come.

Jónsdóttir attributes the development of these close relationships to the fact that the program is spread over several months, rather than just four or five consecutive weeks, like many equivalent programs run by other business schools. "Reflecting and keeping up-to-date takes up the one thing that all senior managers are short of: time. That is why we designed a program that combines a series of one-week residential modules held in Barcelona, interspersed with Internet-based distance-learning modules, over a longer period of time."
Flexible structure

This flexible structure seems to strike the right balance between maximizing the time top managers spend together, while minimizing the time they spend out of the office.

Another important element was the chance for participants to be paired up with a top-level IESE professor for personal consultation, feedback and coaching, to help guide individual progress. While initially offered as an optional extra, this opportunity was taken up by virtually everyone, and has now been incorporated as an essential part of the next AMP.

"The self-leadership session with Prof. Steven Poelmans was optional but for me it proved very valuable," commented one participant. "I look forward to continuing this work – with him, if possible."

Barcelona itself is also key to the AMP's success, according to Jónsdóttir. "Extracurricular activities in Barcelona provide an ideal setting to break away for reflection and exchange experiences and ideas with other participants," she says.

Jónsdóttir organized a varied social program to supplement the eight hours a day of classroom time and small-team work. "We use the city of Barcelona itself as a frame for the AMP. We organize activities to facilitate the participants to get to know each other better, which contributes overall to a healthier dynamic for the more structured learning experiences."

Activities included a bicycle tour of the Gothic Quarter; guided tours and dinners at the Picasso and Miró museums and Gaudi's Casa Batlló; a winetasting and dinner at Torres Winery; a day trip to the Costa Brava; and a gala dinner with spouses of the participants. These events fostered cross-cultural interaction and collaboration, which is so essential in today's multinational, globalized business environment.

"We take care of all the practical arrangements, including hotel accommodation and meals, so participants don't have to worry about anything while they are here," says Jónsdóttir. "We also do our best to fulfill personal wishes, such as getting tickets to concerts and arranging Spanish lessons. We are constantly responding to their feedback. We don't wait until the program is over. For example, one day someone mentioned they would prefer a stand-up buffet rather than a sit-down lunch, so we arranged for that to happen the very next day. We didn't say we would think about that for next year's program."

This level of service was noted by AMP participants. "I have felt a key point in the success of the program was due to the very customer-responsiveness approach towards all of us," said one executive. The group even banded together and commissioned a marble sculpture of two hands holding up the world, with all their names engraved in a plaque on the side. They presented the sculpture to IESE Dean Jordi Canals upon their graduation from the program in March.

IESE is now recruiting for the next AMP, which begins in November 2004 and runs through May 2005. It has been expanded by an extra month, and a fourth Barcelona-based module has been added. The learning experience will be much more hands-on and action-oriented, says Jónsdóttir. In addition, participants will be asked to bring one of their own personal projects for scrutiny and mentorship by top IESE faculty. English, as in the business world, remains the lingua franca of the program.

Jónsdóttir says that some of the 2003-2004 AMP participants have taken the program so much to heart that they are keen to be involved in the selection process for the 30 business people who will participate in 2004-05. Oops, there are only 28 places left: Jónsdóttir says that Nissan, which had two managers on the last AMP, has already spoken for two places.

"IESE Business School offers executive education with a truly global perspective and cutting-edge knowledge on management," says Jónsdóttir. "With world-class faculty hailing from 17 countries, IESE programs focus on the most relevant issues facing international managers in the world today."

Indeed, the AMP class sculpture of business leaders holding the world in their hands is a symbol of what the program strives to be.