Product rollouts, marketing plans, quarterly reports- at the end of the day, who’s got time for executive education? Many leaders feel that spending time on professional development is a chore, yet a necessary part of managing their teams and staying cutting-edge. We recognize that it’s important to stay at the top of the game in a competitive marketplace, and when companies decide to enroll their teams in an executive education program, they want to learn tactics that are immediately relevant and useful. Our goal is to help leaders be better at what they do by fitting the learning experience seamlessly into their environment.

We always begin by asking, “What does success look like?” We want to understand the client’s primary goal, which drives the content, format, and instructor expertise.

As managing director of the UC Davis Executive Education Program, I’m very excited to be launching this new initiative! Having been a former CEO, I can confidently say that I’ve been there- I’ve both experienced and developed executive programs, and I know that value received for the time and money spent are what businesses are most concerned with in today’s environment. My background helps me bring a unique perspective to the table, and gives me the ability to select the right content for the right solution with each client.

A Client Focused Approach

We believe that a new, client-focused approach to executive education is absolutely necessary. Building an exceptional experience means carefully assessing a client’s needs to deliver actionable results. We interview both stakeholders and employees to pinpoint competitive issues and opportunities for their company. We always begin by asking, “What does success look like?” We want to understand the client’s primary goal, which drives the content, format, and instructor expertise.

An Experience. Not an Event

Even before the program starts, we encourage leaders to engage with the program by working together and using techniques such as case study discussions and other interactive exercises. After the program, we work with clients on accountability measures to assess the effectiveness and ensure that participants use what they’ve learned. Staying in close touch with clients is essential in order to demonstrate quantifiable ROI for the program.

The programs we create are designed for groups of employees, rather than sending individual managers to conferences and hoping they pass along their knowledge to colleagues. It’s a much higher return on investment for the company because an entire team can learn a common language and common skills simultaneously. Ultimately, what we want to create is a real experience that adds value to a company’s bottom line, as opposed to just creating a one-time event.

More to Come!

I welcome you to revisit this blog for news on the UC Davis Executive Education Program, commentary on trending topics, as well as thought leadership from industry leaders. Our goal is to facilitate candid conversations about Executive Education and to collaboratively find ways to improve our processes to create exceptional learning experiences for our clients. Feel free to explore our website to learn more about our Customized Programs, our process, our experts, as well as some case studies that demonstrate the caliber of the programs we’ve created!