Why have you enrolled in an executive development program?
I now have time on my hands and redundancy has given me the impetus to go ahead and do it. In fact, the decision came very quickly after the first couple of hours of the redundancy. I decided I had to move ahead and decided what I was going to do and off I went.
It's something I wanted to do for 10 years, I'd actually set myself a task of doing an MBA at that time, but I got promoted to management. All the roles I've had since have taken an ever-increasing demand on my time. For a number of years my past employer and the one before that thought it was a good idea to do a course. Trouble was it was always budgeted for next year, and then the next year would come around and I'd be too busy, things would be happening, or the budget would be blown. And then next year never comes.
I also decided that it was easier to have MBAs work for me than doing one myself. I still wanted to do a short course, not only that but I wanted to do one at an overseas business school. There's nothing wrong with Australian business schools, but with the increasing globalisation of business, I felt that my education should be global as well. I wanted to do something overseas and I wanted to do something top tier, so a short course was the solution. I looked at who were the best business schools, researched some of the qualitative data, looked at the rankings, where they had been over the years and Kellogg [School of Management] was a no-brainier.
What is the focus of the course?
It's basically a mini-MBA, so you start with leadership, strategy, strategic marketing, financial statement analysis, new business strategy, valuation of financial results, investment projects, negotiation strategies, IT and decision-making, to mention a few. The course goes from 8.30am to 9pm most days, seven days a week, for three weeks, but it is the only MBA-like course I can afford in terms of time.
It is an investment in my future. I'm 45 and want to be working for another 20 years. I love financial services and, apart from a short stint, have been in the industry for the whole of my working life. This is my passion; this is where my network is, so this move is about skilling and sharpening up for the next part of my career.
Is it scary?
It's around 25 years since I finished my undergraduate degree so it's been a long time, but no, no it's not. I've got a healthy attitude and a healthy ego, and I'm not really scared of anything. I'm excited as it's a bit of an unknown, but that's great.
Is it at least daunting?
Well there must be something wrong with me as I'm not fearful at all. I've quietly gone about this, I've talked to a lot of people, ex-colleagues, competitors, customers and perhaps spoken to potential future employers. I have a reputation as a high achiever with integrity and I'm confident.
What are you trying to get out of it for when you come back?
In fact, that's what the school asked me in the application and they quizzed me on it as well, so it's a very good question. The answer is many things. I want to get the global skills and knowledge that aren't Australia-based. If you look at some of the things that we are doing we are doing case studies of businesses from all over the world: in Europe, in South America, in North America and in Asia, so that means I'm going to have a global perspective from the course material. Most are international students, in fact there is only one other Aussie on the course of 45, so it means I will also get exposure to a network of people from around the globe.
How do you think you will measure your success through the course?
Success will be measured by if I feel I'm breaking new ground. Having been in management for so long, you can just say, 'well I've heard all this before', so I need to be pushed, picking up new ways of thinking and challenging my current thought process. At the end of the course the relationships, the networks and the contacts are of secondary benefit; the main benefit is the problem solving and new ways of thinking.
What's next after you finish the course?
I have a number of irons in the fire and seeing that this is on the record, I'm talking to a number of organisations. It's been an interesting journey for me, I've never been in this position where I don't have a job. Should that affect me? Well, I'm feeling quietly confident in my abilities and my reputation in the marketplace.
