Last weekend I was at the reunion of the Senior Executive Program, cohort 85, of the London Business School. We graduated in 2015. We met on Friday in the Samy Ofer Center, one of the LBS campuses. It was great to meet once again and check how we all were doing.
A reunion is often a nostalgic occasion. But we had the feeling that the program we started back in 2015 has never finished. We kept on learning because we had to, or we wanted to. The SEP 85 program was for many of us mind-blowing, sometimes even life-changing. We were all drawn into an augmented awareness. And more important than the content of what we have learned, was the collision of minds, thoughts, and backgrounds.
And this is what I have learned from the conversations of the past three days.
Disruption
- In 2015, Costas Markides and Peter Hinssen talked a lot about Disruption. Disruption is here to stay.
- Since 2015 we have witnessed an unprecedented sequence of events: Brexit, the war in Ukraine, the events in the US, and a pandemic. We should not forget what happened in Afghanistan. Let’s not forget that Europe had an unprecedented period of peace and prosperity.
- We see more and more digitalization, accelerated by Covid. It’ll never stop. But it is not about tech. It’s about human behavior.
- Climate change and the need to go through an energy shift is shaping our world. Only in the past 7 years, climate change has been higher on the agenda, even though the first warnings were emitted back in 1972. We are in denial.
- Many professors talked about VUCA in 2015. But what we were seeing in 2015 was small beer compared to what we are seeing now. If the world was VUCA then, it has become “vucissima” now.
- Maybe Peter Hinssen’s idea of chief disruption officers is not that bad.
- And let’s assume that digitalization gets more than one day’s attention.
The Quality of Leadership is Important
- In 2015 we spent a lot of time on Leadership and personal development, together with Randall Peterson. This was a year before Trump got elected. There was no Boris Johnson around, and Putin did behave (we ignored what Russia had done in Tchechnia or Ukraine).
- Since 2015, we have seen an increase in autocratic leadership which worries all of us. What happened in the US on January 6th 2021 was a warning that democracy is not only messy, it is also fragile.
- We seem to be electing leaders who are not fit and proper. Humanity keeps repeating itself.
- When looking at leadership, we should not focus on the confidence and charisma of people, but on their competence. There is a big problem that we confuse confidence for competence and that is often at the disadvantage of women.
- Leadership should remain a dominant topic in the SEP.
Diversity and Inclusion are ultimately about Fairness
- In the past 7 years, there was growing attention to diversity and inclusion. Movements like #BlackLivesmatter and #metoo were ignited and fueled by shocking events and many examples of inappropriate and scandalous behavior.
- In some – too many – parts of the world, women have a difficult time. They are subject to unfair treatment, are being tested more than men, and are expected to be much better than their male counterparts.
- As a “boutade”: half of the people want to be themselves, the other half does not want to grant the other half that right.
- Diversity and inclusion is ultimately about fairness. But there’s a long road to go. Our children might be better at this, as they have no tolerance for intolerance. And that gives us hope.
- Inclusiveness is not so much a performance topic, it is more an ethical issue. And it’s not about gender equality alone. It’s about a diversity of ideas.
- Probably, this topic has become more important for SEP students now.
Greed
- During the reunion we recalled a discussion we had with the Finance Professor Henri Servaes. Back then, we thought he was too much focused on shareholder value. We had a big debate about that 7 years ago.
- We still think we should go for multistakeholder value, and have a balanced approach. Cash is king. But Ethics and Long Term thinking should prevail.
- Nader Tavassoli’s message about brand equity still resonates. And we have seen the past years how intangible value seems to influence valuation more than ever. But this is probably a bubble problem. More greed?
- I can only hope, that the notion of multi-stakeholder management has taken root in the SEP.
The value of Collaboration
- Rebecca Homkes , Costas Markides were clear: collaboration is needed for strategy execution. Alignment alone, will not do.
- Strategy is about behavior. And I do hope that in the next editions of the SEP, the behavioral side of strategy get even more attention. If not, there’s always the Leading Change program 😉
- Boards become increasingly important. Some of us, have gone through additional training as board member. The book that Randall Peterson has published about board dysfunction is enlightening.
The Quest for meaningfulness
- In all the turmoil and changes, we are all searching to find a spot and do meaningful work. As we grow older, meaningfulness becomes even more important. We are less prepared to put up with the crap that we find around us.
- Many of us have changed jobs since we graduated 7 years ago.
- Some of us have taken the step into entrepreneurship. And that has been both a liberating and a rocky ride for those who did. One of the biggest challenges is to find the right partners. Like in marriage: in case of doubt don’t do it.
- We need to work longer, that was the message of Andrew Scott. That has not changed.
- We have all shown resilience, even though some people have been confronted with personal hardship. I guess resilience will be a bigger topic in the new editions of the SEP program. And I am sure that the personal coaches will focus on that.
Exceptional
The SEP85 was a small cohort. We were just over 30 participants. But the bonds that were created back then, last a lifetime and we continue to help each other on this learning journey called life.
Our micro-experience is a lesson: as long as we can bridge differences and build relationships, things go well. Unfortunately, too many people focus on the negative, the differences, … To say it with LBS Professor Daniel Cable‘s words: we are all exceptional. Let’s acknowledge that before we’re dead.
These reflections are my own and are based on the conversations I had with the SEP85 participants.
First published on https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/vuca-vucissima-david-ducheyne/
