Lessons in Leadership and Teamwork
Laurence Pepping brought rich experience to his role as head of marketing for Mexico's largest department store chain—and gained even more in the HBS General Management Program (GMP). There, Pepping sharpened his leadership skills and found new insight that will help his company improve the customer experience.
Which aspects of the GMP curriculum were most valuable for you?
At GMP, we studied many cases related to service and how to make adjustments to the culture to deliver superior service levels in a sustainable way. I experienced not just one "aha" moment, but more like 25! At certain points, I would suddenly connect the dots and understand how I could apply the learnings to my own business.
What surprised you most about your GMP experience?
I was impressed with the quality of the professors. It was such a joy to sit down and listen to professors like Mihir Desai, Bharat Anand, and Sunil Gupta. It was like watching a fantastic and exciting movie. You just didn't want it to end. But more important, they made complex concepts easy to understand and to apply to your own business.
The workload was very intense, with very little free time—not so different from our real lives! I was also surprised by the diversity—135 people from over 30 different countries.
How did your peers enhance the learning?
The concept of the living group was new and interesting; it provided the opportunity to meet accomplished executives from around the world and exchange points of view. Also, it provided an opportunity to practice communication, leadership, and teamwork skills.
I feel very fortunate to have been part of Living Group 53, where I met very talented individuals from incredibly diverse backgrounds—who were diverse in their thinking as well. That made the entire experience more relevant. I will definitely keep in touch with them.
How will you apply what you've learned?
I left the program better prepared to lead organizational change. The program sharpened my leadership skills and also provided real-world experience from other industries and companies that I can apply to my own business.
I plan to focus my attention on two things over the next six months. First, I will play a more proactive role in helping to enhance the service culture in our company. I expect that effort to have very significant returns over the long term. Second, I plan to apply what I learned to accelerate growth in our e-commerce business.