Abstract/Summary

Both academic and professional researchers have identified significant challenges in moving from business strategy to operational execution. A key tool to close this gap is business design, with both entrepreneurial start-ups and large enterprises desiring innovation seeking to design new business and operating models. The big gap between strategy and execution highlights a need for management education that is both rigorous and relevant. Academic theories are a key component but need to be combined with practical leadership insights. According to researchers, business schools face significant strategic challenges in delivering management education. The pedagogical design principles with programs for experienced professionals and managers are different to those of pre-experience students. There is a need for demand-driven offerings, particularly in custom education yet academic integrity must be safeguarded to retain credibility. This represents a key opportunity for business schools, particularly if they can work in partnership with organizations seeking to enhance their business design capability. To-date, there are few published examples of successful business design custom education programs. This paper provides a longitudinal review of one such program run over more than 5 years, covering more than 10 cohorts of 250+ partners and senior consultants from an international innovation and transformation consultancy. The case study explores the initiation, design, execution and results of the program from the perspectives of the customer organization and the supplying business school. The program deliverables have led to successful outcomes for both the consultancy and their clients. This result was predicated on a strong partnership between the organization and the business school, achieved through an evolutionary delivery. Insights and recommendations were generated that cover the leadership, design and evaluation of the program - which the authors believe have wider transferability, both for research and education purposes.