We needed executive programs that deal with these problems. He and his colleagues had already tested similar programs in Asia, Africa, and Europe, and the time seemed right to bring it to Silicon Valley. The new Managing Technology short course, as all of the executive education short programs at the GSB, relies on faculty teaching principles based on their research so executives can go back and apply them to their organizations. The week begins with Professor Robert Burgelman talking about strategy and strategic inflection points, the places where technology shifts such that organizations have to stop what has made them successful in the past and move in a new direction. The program covers how technological imperative plays itself out in terms of innovation and product design, moving the notion of strategy down to how individuals think about innovation in their organizations.
Culture is addressed as a major advantage or disadvantage in managing innovation.
Applying that principle at home, O'Reilly believes that's all the more reason to introduce new executive education programs, including some that are customized for specific organizations. O'Reilly has been joined by Stanford faculty members Jeff Pfeffer and Maggie Neale in this program. This is not just an example of a partnership in executive education by universities. The World Bank was fascinating to him because it is extraordinarily multicultural, with 72 nationalities represented in management. Through his involvement in this in-company program, O'Reilly developed a case study describing the kind of challenge faced by the president of the bank as he tried to change the institution.