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‘Conducting the virtual orchestra’ – The future of management education

16 September 2022 • by David Bach, Peter Lorange in Videos

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the use of technology in management education. IMD Honorary President Peter Lorange discusses the impact of hybrid learning on leadership training and shares his tips on how to...

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the use of technology in management education. IMD Honorary President Peter Lorange discusses the impact of hybrid learning on leadership training and shares his tips on how to apply learnings once you leave the classroom.

As the American industrialist and business magnate Henry Ford once said, “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.”

Staying true to this adage, IMD Honorary President Peter Lorange took part in three IMD programs earlier this year – at the age of 78 and 79 – to sharpen his own leadership and business skills.

“Although I know more or less quite a lot, and things are going quite well business-wise, good can always be done better and that’s why I came to IMD to get more input for the better,” Lorange explained in a conversation with Professor David Bach, Dean of Innovation and Programs.

In the past, a professional qualification or an MBA might have set you on course for a stellar career. But the rapid advance of new technologies and growing demands on leaders to make sense of complex issues – from escalating geopolitical conflict to the supply chain crisis – mean executives today need to constantly upskill.

Lorange was particularly interested in the intersection of management and technology. He took part in Driving Strategic Innovation, a joint program with MIT Sloan designed to change the way you think about innovation and technology strategy, as well as a Leading Digital Business Transformation. Lorange and members from his family investment company also spent a week at IMD in June for the flagship Orchestrating Winning Performance which allows participants to select a personal learning program from a smorgasbord of IMD’s latest thought leadership.

How to get the most out of executive education

Over the course of the Digital Dialogue, Lorange shared his tips on how best to prepare for a program and ensure that the learnings stick. He praised the virtual learning for enabling participants to get up-to-speed with program content before setting foot in the classroom. This enables faculty to drive discussions among participants very similar “to the conductor of an orchestra.”

During the programs, Lorange appreciated the exchange with other participants in the corridors and understanding diverse perspectives. “It gave me much more of an appreciation that it was a phenomenon I was studying; It was a matter that A was B and B is C,” he explained.

Each evening, Lorange convened with his family members, who also participated in the program, to discuss their top-line takeaways.

As any lifelong learner will know, attending a program will serve to stoke your curiosity. Since completing the programs, Lorange has read more than 60 books to try to cement the learnings and understand further.

He has also signed up to attend three more IMD programs next year: another installment of Orchestrating Winning Performance also with his family business members, High-Performance Boards, and the Blockchain and the Future of Finance program which helps executives uncover new opportunities to create value and revenue from fintech, such as blockchain, cryptocurrencies and the tokenization of tangible/intangible assets.

You never cease to be excited about learning if you have the right mindset. I don’t think it’s fair because of age that you should no longer be at the table

The future of management education

While many executives may find it hard to justify taking time out of their day jobs to pursue professional development, Lorange sees executive education as an essential way for leaders to “recharge the batteries.”

“We want leaders and CEOs who embrace this idea that we must continue to learn. Good can always be done better and learning on the job can be supplemented with learning in some other setting.”

Lorange, who served as president of IMD between 1993 and 2008, believes technology, quality of faculty, the global reach of participants and the cost-effectiveness of programs will be the four main trends driving the future of executive education.

Bach and Lorange also discussed how age was often an overlooked aspect of diversity.

“You never cease to be excited about learning if you have the right mindset. I don’t think it’s fair because of age that you should no longer be at the table,” Lorange explained in a conversation with Professor David Bach, Dean of Innovation and Programs.

Experts

David Bach

David Bach

Dean of Innovation and Programs

An expert in strategy and political economy, David Bach holds the Rio Tinto Chair in Stakeholder Engagement at IMD. Through his award-winning teaching and writing, Bach helps managers and senior executives develop a strategic lens for the nexus of business and politics.

 

Peter Lorange

Peter Lorange

Emeritus Professor of Strategy and Honorary President of IMD

Peter Lorange is Emeritus Professor of Strategy and Honorary President of IMD. He served as the President and Professor of Strategy for IMD and has held the Nestlé Chair for Strategy and the Kristian Gerhard Jebsen Chair for International Shipping. His areas of interest includes global strategic management, strategic planning, and entrepreneurship for growth. He has written or edited more than 30 books and 120 articles on multinational management, planning processes, and internally generated growth processes.

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More to explore

Digital Dialogues: Executive Education

How management education is evolving to meet the changing needs of leaders

Professor David Bach and Emeritus Professor Peter Lorange

 Register below 

In the past, a professional qualification or an MBA might have set you on course for a stellar career. But the rapid advance of new technologies and growing demands on leaders to make sense of unfathomably complex issues mean executives today need to constantly upskill.

To arm leaders with the tools they need to navigate this new business world, executive education is evolving too.

In this webinar, IMD’s David Bach and Peter Lorange will discuss the increasing importance of lifelong learning.

To sharpen his own skills, Lorange took part in three IMD programs between April and July this year. He will share his first-hand experience on how best to prepare for a program to get the most out of your learning and to effectively apply it within your organizations after you leave the classroom.

Speakers:

  • David Bach, IMD Dean of Innovation and Programs, and Professor of Strategy and Political Economy
  • Peter Lorange, Emeritus Professor, Honorary President of IMD, and Founder, Chairman and CEO of digital educational provider, the Lorange Network (now part of IMD)

Register for the webinar on 15 September at 15:00 CEST

Executive Digital Dialogue with Peter Lorange

Learn Brain Circuits

Join us for daily exercises focusing on issues from team building to developing an actionable sustainability plan to personal development. Go on - they only take five minutes.
 
Read more 

Explore Leadership

What makes a great leader? Do you need charisma? How do you inspire your team? Our experts offer actionable insights through first-person narratives, behind-the-scenes interviews and The Help Desk.
 
Read more

Join Membership

Log in here to join in the conversation with the I by IMD community. Your subscription grants you access to the quarterly magazine plus daily articles, videos, podcasts and learning exercises.
 
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