Aine O'Dwyer, CEO of engineering firm Enovate Engineering (f/k/a Conti Professional Services), is familiar with the challenges of running a startup venture. Looking to enhance her understanding of growth strategies, and having previously attended the Leading Professional Service Firms (LPSF) program at Harvard Business School (HBS) Executive Education, she attended Driving Profitable Growth. She discusses what she learned in her return to campus.
Working as the CEO of a startup, I wanted to refresh my knowledge of organizational growth. My past executive education experience in LPSF led me to HBS and Driving Profitable Growth, and it turned out to be the perfect fit.
I was pleasantly surprised by the connections I made with fellow participants as well as the content, the case study method, and the faculty. Regardless of industry type or company size, the struggles that business leaders face in terms of growth and profitability are the same. The program exposed this reality and allowed company leaders from different industries to share approaches and lessons that are applicable to all.
I learned that there are many different approaches to growth, and this program dives into the details of each. One thing I discovered is that no matter how big or small the company, the growth challenges tend to be similar and the solutions to overcome issues are often similar too.
No other executive education program compares to my experience at HBS. This program offered exposure to other industries, networking, case studies, and great content. The brilliant minds and diverse range of industry experience are extremely valuable and hard to find anywhere else. I have taken courses in other Ivy-level executive education programs, and none of them have provided the combination of benefits—in-depth knowledge, relationships, and direct impact to my role in the company and my industry—that I found at HBS.
