Training under fire: Making executive education work in a downturn

May 14, 2009 11:50 am

In the current downturn, many companies have adopted a slash and burn approach to executive development. While a bit of pruning may well be in order, a wholesale dismantling of management training is short sighted. Well-designed programs provide benefits well in excess of their cost: They help managers who have never seen a recession avoid common mistakes; they allow top executives to drive their agenda. Employees, moreover, are highly motivated to learn anything that will help them navigate the current downturn.

Continue reading: “Training under fire: Making executive education work in a downturn”

Posted in creating value in a downturn, execution, executive education, performance culture, talent | Permalink

Executive education in a downturn: Opportunity not luxury

May 10, 2009 11:01 pm

Companies can hire stars in a downturn, but they can also develop existing employees. A recent survey of European HR executives found that the three least effective ways to cut costs in past recessions all entailed cutting back training and management development. Despite their negative impact on organizational effectiveness and employee commitment in the long-term, companies continue to rely on them to trim costs in the short-term. This is a mistake. In a downturn, management development is not a luxury to cut, but an opportunity to seize. Talent development in a downturn can create a sustainable competitive advantage in three ways:

Continue reading: “Executive education in a downturn: Opportunity not luxury”

Posted in creating value in a downturn, execution, executive education, talent, turbulence, value creation, Why good companies go bad | Permalink

Leading in turbulent times

This blog is no longer active but it remains open as an archive.

Don Sull is professor of management practice in strategic and international management, and faculty director of executive education at London Business School. This blog is dedicated to helping entrepreneurs, managers, and outside directors to lead more effectively in a turbulent world.

Over the past decade, Prof Sull has studied volatile industries including telecommunications, airlines, fast fashion, and information technology, as well as turbulent countries including Brazil and China, and found specific behaviours that consistently differentiate more, and less, successful firms. His conclusion is that actions, not an individual’s traits, increase the odds of success in turbulent markets, and these actions can be learned.

Don Sull’s blog: a guide

Comment: To comment, please register with FT.com, which you can do for free here. Please also read our comments policy here.
Contact: You can find contact information for Don on his website.
Time: UK time is shown on posts.
Follow: Links to the blog's Twitter and RSS feeds are at the top of the page. You can also read the blog on your mobile device, by going to www.ft.com/donsullblog
FT blogs: See the full range of the FT's blogs here.

Elsewhere on FT.com: Dear Lucy

Lucy Kellaway, FT columnist and associate editor, offers her solution to your workplace problems in a column in the Financial Times. In the online edition of her Dear Lucy 'agony aunt' column, readers are invited to have a say too.

FT Business School videos

Managing in an Unpredictable World
A series of video lectures by Professor Don Sull

Part 1: Fog of the future
Part 2: Future reconnaissance
Part 3: The strategic agility loop
Part 4: Executing with commitments
Part 5: Leading into the fog

Don Sull's blog

executive education