Cogito_ergo_sum:The_Dean's_vision_2007.qxd 20/02/2008 15:41 Page 2
ON INNOVATION
Glenn Sykes - Chicago Graduate School of Business (GSB)
GLENN R. SYKES is the London-based Managing Director for Europe at the University of Chicago’s Graduate School of Business
(GSB). Upon assuming his current position in 2002, Sykes focused on increasing the marketing activities of the school in Europe
and strengthening the school’s corporate relationships. Prior to being named Managing Director of the Europe Campus, Sykes was
Associate Dean of the school’s MBA Career Services office. Before joining the GSB, Sykes was with the Wharton School at the
University of Pennsylvania.
Can innovation be taught?
Yes, I think you can teach it. I think you can also create a setting where innovation is stimulated and encouraged, and where diversity of thought is welcomed. This
encouragement sets the stage for innovative thinking, which I think is much more important than following a scripted path to being innovative.
Innovation is also interesting because with the rapid rate of information exchange that occurs these days, it’s really hard to be innovative. Best practice lists are
published, meaning that by the time something becomes a best practice, it is probably already copied and widely available. It therefore isn’t innovative anymore.
You may not have even heard of it before, but it isn’t even innovative anymore.
So where does true innovation come from? I think it comes from being in a place that allows innovation to happen. There are always going to be people who are
more skilled at innovative thinking than others, but I still think educational institutions have a responsibility towards fostering innovative thinking; creating the group
of people where that can take place. What I mean by that is putting together a diverse group like our recent EMBA class for example, where we had 40 countries
and over 20 functions or industries represented. That is really where you begin to stretch your thinking.
In the corporate world, what does innovation mean and why is it important?
I think innovation means to be at the front of the pack, to be coming up with the ideas that have not been tried before. Not just being innovative for the sake of
being innovative. You must be innovative in respect to your business objectives. You have to marry creating new ideas with an understanding of how your business
works and be able to apply economic principles to your innovative techniques: does it or does it not have commercial potential?
Do corporations expect EMBA participants to bring back innovative thinking to the workplace as an acquired skill?
Absolutely! It would be silly for a corporation to sponsor someone in an EMBA program and not have that expectation. At the same time it would be unreasonable
for an EMBA student to not want to take what they are learning, and their new way of thinking, and bring these skills back to their organization and apply them.
I’ve met with some students who, as a precondition to their support for being in the program and after they have been in the classroom for a week, must sit down
with their colleagues and talk about what they have learned. In that way those back at the office are able to benefit from what the student has learned. It’s a great
way to address the question of why the company supports one person in their education and not another. It makes no sense for an EMBA participant to come here
and then just hold on to knowledge and keep it secret. That is not what they are here to do.
How does Chicago GSB help participants face the challenge of innovation?
From talking to our students, one of the things that they get out of the curriculum and from our faculty is clarity about the basic principles at work in the disciplines
of economics, sociology, psychology, and statistics, in a way they have never met before. They can then take those principles back to their work place with a new
vision, which will enable them to be innovative in how they carry out their responsibilities.
Do innovation and leadership go hand-in-hand?
Yes, I do see that they go hand-in-hand. You can have great leaders who have demonstrated their leadership skills on many fronts, a nation even being one of them.
Then there are people who are innovative but not necessarily great leaders. When you do combine them and they go hand-in-hand, it is a powerful force in an
organization, especially one that values innovation. When people talk about business leaders who stand out, in their minds they say, “There was someone who
demonstrated exceptional abilities in a lot of categories, but mostly innovation”. Think back to Henry Ford who created the assembly line, now that was innovative
thinking.
Nathalie Lugagne - HEC Executive Education
NATHALIE LUGAGNE is the HEC Executive Education, Executive Degree Program Director. Since 2005 she has been designing and
developing cutting edge executive degree programs with HEC and the famous TRIUM Global Executive MBA program
(a groundbreaking alliance between HEC, NYU Stern and the London School of Economics). In her 11 years with the prestigious
French University, Nathalie has focused on creating innovative HEC program offerings with a special focus on Finance and
Management.
Can innovation be taught?
Of course it can. Innovation means many things though. As I see it, there are three kinds of innovation we can focus on in relation to an Executive MBA program:
Operational - you need a system in an enterprise to foster innovation; Strategic - through new business models and concepts taught in the Executive MBA; Individual
- in the way an executive carries out his or her responsibilities.
Speaking of a person’s mentality, innovation is difficult to teach but it can be trained. When students are placed in workgroups, and they have the opportunity to
learn and share with their peers, they can begin to “open the box”. They are able to look outside their current mindset and work situations. In their workgroups they
are exposed to different backgrounds, cultures and theories. There is often a real transformation process for students as they begin to explore these new ways of
thinking.
In the corporate world, what does innovation mean and why is it important?
Innovation helps to keep a competitive edge. Innovation is not just technological, it can take place in all aspects of an organization. Innovation is key in global
competition.
Can today's rising executives learn how to be innovative, or are they too set in their ways?
You have to find new pedogogical methods, especially when working with the already very successful type of professionals found in our EMBA group. Certain ways
of working have been very productive in the past, but they have to learn new ways of working as well if they want to be truly innovative.
In our program they can learn from their peers as well as through their course work. The class mix and diversity is a key element for exploring new ideas and theories.
We use case studies as a way to benefit from the experience in the class room, with each member bringing his or her unique perspective. The teams are very
important for creating an ambiance of support as students begin to explore new directions.
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