As Director of Operational Excellence & Quality at technology corporation ABB, Warminster, Varghese Thomas was looking for new ways to approach the challenges he and his organization are facing. His search brought him to Harvard Business School (HBS) Executive Education's new program Reimagining Strategy, which opened his eyes to the importance of addressing customers' issues to gain long-term competitive advantage. In this interview, he shares some thoughts about his on-campus experience and what he learned in the program.
When I learned about Reimagining Strategy on the HBS Executive Education website, I was particularly excited because I am part of a team spearheading change management and strategy redesign within my organization. I was confident that I could link the case studies from the program to business situations and develop optimum solutions for the existing challenges and opportunities that I face daily. I also appreciated that the program offered both case studies and workshops focused on how strategies and business solutions can eliminate customers' pain points.
This program exceeded all of my expectations. One of my biggest takeaways was learning the importance of committing to solve our customers' pain points. The case studies were very informative, showing us that successful businesses are usually customer-centric and work continuously to remove problems for customers. Another insight that resonated with me came from Professor Srikant Datar, who spoke about breaking away from functional fixedness—that is, fixed thinking—when dealing with any challenging situation in life. This lesson is about breaking the norm of operations and completely redesigning the logic. When I applied this logic to some of my current initiatives, I found my team was more engaged and produced more innovative ideas. Finally, I learned that when the optimum solution cannot be achieved under present conditions, we should explore other avenues for creating the conditions that will enable the best results. The case studies generated several thought-provoking conversations on our current business environment.
I have been able to apply several concepts from the program back at my company. Breaking functional fixedness is now part of my foundation for approaching business challenges. Additionally, the customer-centric strategies and solutions we'll develop will contribute to our long-term market success. As a team, we have taught ourselves to discover newer ways of designing a process. We are always challenging each other's thoughts, which helps drive improvement projects. For example, my team and I recently identified a large cost savings at one of our facilities. Finally, I participate in daily meetings to talk about customer issues and work diligently to eliminate those pain points.
The on-campus experience at HBS offered advantages such as networking, building long-lasting business relationships, learning from renowned instructors, engaging in face-to-face interactions in business challenges, and helping one another through brainstorming sessions and workshops. Everything about the experience—including the service and the amenities—was world class.
The living group set the stage for focused discussions on case studies and our own business challenges. My living group and I were able to brainstorm ideas, learn from each other, share personal stories, and understand different businesses and personalities at a deeper level. This aspect of the program enabled us to learn diverse business concepts and different ways of thinking from a multi-talented group of professionals.
This program teaches you new ways to approach a strategy, a project, or a business challenge. Some of the best takeaways from this program have to do with breaking barriers in your mind, understanding the importance of building around customers, and finding innovative solutions for customers. My advice to future participants—study the cases in advance and absorb every concept from them, build as many networks as possible, openly talk about your business challenges among the members of your living group, share your opinions openly in class, and welcome feedback from colleagues and instructors. All of this will help you gather valuable ideas to apply to your daily life.
