We recently welcomed back and congratulated our CEO Paul Smith. Paul has successfully graduated from the Harvard Business School Owner/President Management (OPM) program.
The program consisted of three semesters in three consecutive years and is targeted at Business Owners, CEOs and Entrepreneurs from all over the world. Around 170 people from 42 different countries and a wide variety of business experience come together and share common goals and issues in relation to running a family owned organisation.
The way the course is structured with the break of approximately ten months between each unit allows ample time to apply learnings from the program and then by the time the next unit starts students are ready to reflect on actions they have taken and look into what worked, what didn’t work and construct a plan going forward. To keep the momentum going between units Paul was given several reading books on a variety of topics (for example Strategy, HR, Marketing) and notes were distributed a month before commencement.
Of the final year of the program Paul commented “this year was all about joining the dots and bringing it altogether, the first two years set the ground work for this final unit”. Paul feels the program has been invaluable and has certainly challenged the way he views both problems and opportunities. He’s come out of it with some new strategies and different ways of thinking.
Overall Paul found the highly relevant topics of ‘Family Business Succession Planning’ and ‘HR’ one of his highlights – “learning from an undoubtable world leader on these subjects was both a thrill and a privilege”. These topics were very beneficial and “have certainly opened my eyes to how successful operations should be run and I have taken home with me many learnings which are already being applied among our business”.
Paul looks forward to sharing his insights taken from Harvard with staff and customers and feels the experience can help in ensuring the KSE Group is a pleasurable place to work as well as servicing our growing number of customers even better.
He reflects on the experience “To be able to spend time at Harvard the most prestigious business school in the world amongst the leading professors was definitely surreal and something that I know myself and my class mates will cherish forever!”
Well done Paul! We are all very proud of you.
