Delivering the Best of Both Worlds

Why did you apply to the General Management Program (GMP)?

Erica Stricker: It was time for me to take the next step in my career path, and my company and I both thought that GMP would help me further develop skills and round out the strengths I have from my current and previous roles. CBRE offers a lot of internal training and development opportunities, but I also think it's important to leverage external experts like Harvard Business School. Three of my colleagues attended the program with me which allowed us the opportunity to collaborate in a different setting.

Pape Ndaw: GMP was a great opportunity for me to catch up on the latest management thinking and best practices, and then figure out how to leverage those learnings with the leadership challenges I face. I was also interested in learning how companies and leaders are navigating through the pandemic and in expanding my network.

Maria Carolina (Caro) Ruiz: To continue to grow professionally, I needed to expand and broaden my knowledge, especially in the finance and accounting side. When I read about the General Management Program, it aligned with what I was looking for, and I was excited about connecting with different executives and the HBS network.

Roop Bhadury: I applied to GMP to hit an inflection point of where I was professionally. There is a real benefit to finding another tribe that you can connect with that are like-minded and achievement focused. It's been brilliant so far in terms of connecting with a group of people who are very friendly and intellectually aligned.

During Module 2, there were two different sections. Section A attended class sessions from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM ET and Section B from 6:00 PM to 9:30 PM ET, along with a joint session from 9:00 AM to 10:30 AM ET. Which section did you attend in the HBS Live Online Classroom? Why did you choose to join that section?

ES: I'm on the West Coast of the United States. If I took Section B, it meant that I might not have to get up as early, but my day would be split. I thought quite long and hard about how I wanted the experience to feel for me and what the integration with my life at home would be like. I chose Section A so I could spend time with my family in the evenings, which allowed me to prioritize both the program and my family. I'm thankful to CBRE for the flexibility and support that allowed me to share my regular work responsibilities with colleagues and better balance my family and the program's coursework.

PN: It was important for me to have dinner with my wife and kids, so Section A was a great opportunity to still have class and not miss that family time. Of course, you have to do a lot of work very early in the mornings and sometimes in the evenings, but it was the right balance for me.

MCR: Section B was easier for me. In the morning, I meet with my learning group, then the joint session, close one laptop and open the other one, work until 6:00 PM, close that one and go back to my personal laptop, attend the class session in the HBS Live Online Classroom, and then continue reading at night. It took a lot of discipline, but I put a routine in place that worked for me.

RB: I'm located in Australia. If I attended Section A, the day would finish at 5:00 AM, so I selected Section B. Our learning group met in the evenings at 8:00 PM, and joint sessions finished up at midnight. This worked well for me as I had the chance to put my kids to bed and get some rest before attending class the next morning.

Were there opportunities to interact with GMP participants from the other program section?

ES: There were some great opportunities that the program delivery team put together for us to collaborate in the main sessions, which is one of the biggest challenges in a virtual environment. The class set up other channels, such as Slack, and put together a WhatsApp group. There was a lot of reaching out to people who were local, so you could have that in-person engagement even though we weren't on campus.

If somebody made a point that was really great in class, I would direct message them on Slack. So when I arrived on campus, I already had some individual connections that were outside of my learning group, and it made entry into the on-campus portion of the program easy.

PN: My learning group was a mix of Sections A and B. During our morning discussions, we had the opportunity to reflect on how the cases were being analyzed in the two different groups. The one-on-one interactions that my fellow peers and I initiated were also beneficial, and we connected on common areas of interest.

How did you manage the balance between work, the program, and your home commitments?

ES: Part of the reason for taking on this challenge was to prime myself for whatever the next step might be. That also provided the opportunity for me to get my current team ready for their next step. This enabled me to pivot my direct involvement from work to mentoring my senior leaders with expanded responsibility for the time being. In the evenings, I prioritized my family, and getting sleep was very important. For anybody who thinks that they can burn the midnight oil or do work at the same time, I would highly advise against that. I prioritized sleep, classwork, working out, and spending two hours with my girls and my husband in the evenings.

PN: I was working, but delegated a lot. GMP is a strong commitment in terms of time. When you allocate time to reading or preparing your cases, you have to make sure you’re not distracted by work. When you work, you have to optimize your time; and when it's time for family, don't do anything else.

RB: In one word: family. My wife bought into the entire thing. None of this could have happened without my family's support. My kids are relatively young, so they would stay up till I finished at midnight, and then I would put them to bed. We knew this was going to be a bit intense, and we all stepped up to the plate.

What was the virtual experience like in Module 2? What surprised you most about the HBS Live Online Classroom?

ES: I was impressed by how engaging the Live Online Classroom was, and how different it felt from any other technical live engagement I've experienced. We were all on the wall and engaged, so there was this community being built virtually. From an accessibility perspective, not everybody can come to campus for seven weeks. Many participants I know said that if all the modules had been in person, they wouldn't have applied—and these are people who have been so impactful to my learning.

RB: What impressed me most was the innovation and scale of the effort to create a personalized experience where you have dedicated screens and microphones. This experience, given the constraints that we're in, is the best you can achieve. The Live Online Classroom is designed really well. Rather than feeling that you're wasting time in front of a screen, you feel immersed in it.

Can you describe the connection you built with your Learning Group?

ES: My learning group was the best. My experience was that the team rallies behind you in a big way. Within a week, you're consumed by this program. You're in it to help these other individuals out, which is fantastic. It couldn't have gone any better for me because I've built a network of incredibly diverse and strong relationships that I believe will stand the test of time.

PN: It's amazing how this program makes us feel like we built a family. Everybody is engaged, sharing and caring. In my learning group, we had discussions about our respective career paths, and coached and mentored each other.

How did the full-time virtual module prepare you for full-time on campus?

ES: As much as GMP is about learning, it's also about making connections with the professors and the program participants. In Module 2, I learned that if I only showed up to the classes that were mandatory and didn't communicate to anybody outside, I would only get what I put in. I came into Module 4 planning to be as prepared as I could and read as many case studies as possible, so that I could dive head first into the social and engagement aspect of the program.

PN: The virtual classroom is just outstanding in terms of how it enables interactions between the faculty and the participants, and among the participants themselves. We were able to easily do the breakout sessions in separate rooms and have one-on-one dialogues within a small group. I didn't realize how real the virtual setup was until we came here on campus. As you watch the way the professors run the class and interact, you can barely see a difference between the virtual and the on-campus experience.

MCR: I think all three modules have prepared me for Module 4, which requires a lot of discipline because the number of case studies is much higher. In some instances, juggling work and family life has been challenging but I created a routine.

What advice would you offer other executives who are considering GMP?

ES: Be honest with yourself about how you learn, the breaks that you might need, and what engagement with your family or your social life is going to look like. The virtual Module 2 is only three weeks, so plan around how to stay as engaged and as sharp as possible.

PN: Immerse yourself fully. Prepare for the cases and talk to your classmates. The more prepared you are, the more you can contribute to the conversation and the more you'll get out of the program.

MCR: GMP will push you out of your comfort zone, and you'll get to know other areas and industries. The network is amazing—I've met 150 great people and look forward to connecting with them for the rest of our lives.

RB: All I can say is just do it. Get a move on and apply to GMP!