Balancing Practical Experience with Powerful Frameworks

Who benefits most from PLD?

The PLD curriculum is very comprehensive. It serves people from many different backgrounds because it offers something for everyone. I've observed that four types of people come to PLD. Depending on which category you fall into, your most important lessons and your value will be different.

The entrepreneurs—people like me who have started their own businesses—will put their practical experience into a larger context and gain frameworks for making decisions. The corporate citizens who are on the fast track within a large organization will learn how to influence others and drive change. The next generation in family businesses, who will someday take over from the current leaders, will develop a deeper understanding of what may be holding their organization back and how to create structures for future success. Finally, the explorers who are trying to decide what's next in their careers and lives will be exposed to new industries, gain perspective, and expand their network.

How would you describe the PLD learning experience?

PLD is disruptive. It challenges your thinking and the way you operate. I learned something new in every case discussion and lecture. But PLD isn't passive learning. The more you put into PLD, the more you will get out of it.

In my view, the learning in PLD boils down to two perspectives. First, there's the outside-in perspective: understanding what motivates different stakeholders; how to structure organizations, decisions, and processes; different tactics you can employ; and so on. Then there's the inside-out perspective: understanding who you are, what you are passionate about, what motivates you, and how you can transform yourself over time.

How will the program help you day-to-day?

As an entrepreneur, I've always had a ton of passion in what I do every day. What I got out of the program was a structured method to think about the outside-in piece—deeper knowledge about business structures and frameworks.

But I've also met people who see only that outside-in perspective. They study a case and learn about the structures but don't realize the importance of that other piece—the passion and values that have enabled those structures to succeed. In the cases presented during PLD, we saw how successful leaders bring the outside-in and inside-out perspectives together to accomplish important goals in a sustainable way. You see corporate failures again and again because the business rationale was there, but the soft-skills side of culture, passion, and leadership was missing.

How will PLD contribute to your future success?

Without formal business education, I've always been challenged with how to put a clear and crisp frame around my ideas. PLD gave me a theoretical framework for the hands-on work I've been doing. By sharing my thoughts in a more structured way, I can communicate more effectively.

All of the PLD participants came from different backgrounds, but what we had in common was that all our industries are changing rapidly. PLD provides the tools to keep up with those shifts and to be a catalyst for disruption so your company can capture value from emerging opportunities.