Taking Your Business to the Next Level
As Director of OPM/OMP Organizational Development, Dobbin Bookman knows the Owner/President Management program as a immersive, vibrant, and highly effective learning experience. Below, he shares insights on OPM's exceptional participants and how the program transforms entrepreneurial leaders and their organizations.
What's the start of a new OPM session like?
Every few months, a new group of owners and entrepreneurs arrives on campus, most for the first time. They arrive from all over the world with a lot of energy because they're at Harvard Business School (HBS). It's amazing to see that even though they are all very successful business leaders, how big an achievement arriving at HBS really is to them.
Even the most successful among them feel some anxiety at first, but then they settle in and begin to reap the benefits of being surrounded by other accomplished global business owners. In a very short time, you are completely immersed in the program and beginning to develop bonds with fellow participants, many of whom are or have faced similar challenges as an owner executive.
Do you have any tips for incoming participants?
First, try to relax. This program is a great opportunity to be hyper-focused on yourself as a leader as well as learn what it takes to bring your business to the next level, so don't allow yourself to become overwhelmed by the experience. Second, engage fully in the program. Be prepared to read, to participate, and to be open as you share insights with your peers. Embrace the opportunity that's in front of you and make the most of Harvard's unparalleled global network.
Third, be introspective. This may be the only opportunity in your professional life to take meaningful time away from your day-to-day responsibilities, focus on who you are as an individual and as a leader and explore how you can expand your impact. And finally, allow your leadership team at work to truly take the helm while you're participating in OPM. I guarantee that you will emerge with a clearer sense of their capabilities as well as a better sense of your capacity to set the proper context as a leader.
What differentiates OPM from other programs?
Based on my own research and on what I've consistently heard from our participants, OPM is unique. It is the only program in the world that takes CEOs/Owners out of their context for a total of nine weeks over a three-year period and brings them together with other Owners. No other program with this type of curriculum is as focused, as comprehensive, and as global. In addition, OPM grants participants full HBS alumni status. OPM is absolutely unparalleled.
When participants are considering OPM, what is a common deciding factor?
It's the quality of the participants. I sometimes host executives who are trying to decide whether OPM is the right program for them. They may sit in on a session or two—and they’re instantly sold because of the people in the room and the conversations that take place here.
We carefully curate each group—and we can do this because of the caliber of people who apply. That's how we enable dynamite conversations in a classroom with 80 people. If you're a successful business principal who is looking to really build your business and you’ve gotten to a certain level of sustainability—this is your global peer group.
Because most who attend OPM bring highly specialized expertise in some specific area, we try to carve out time in each unit when they can share their knowledge through elective sessions that they propose and run while they're here. OPM faculty and staff will often attend these as well.
What are you looking for when you assemble a class?
One of the hallmarks of the HBS pedagogy is peer learning. For this model to succeed, it requires the right combination of experienced, global perspectives in the conversation. That's why my colleagues and I spend a great deal of time carefully constructing each cohort. We specifically look to assemble a globally diverse group of business owners who are active in the day-to-day operations of the business. Everyone in the room is a president, CEO, COO, managing director, or executive director of a company in which they hold significant equity.
The program is designed to help companies grow. We look for people with a growth mindset—who are at a point in their careers where they've accomplished a great deal of success but desire more knowledge in order to achieve their goals. They're ready to advance their business—to branch out and broaden their platform beyond what they're doing today. We give them the tools to do that by expanding their knowledge, skill, confidence, and leadership ability.
How does the modular approach—three units over three years—aid the learning?
We've found that alternating modules on campus with time at work is a very productive way to learn. First, there's real value to the focused learning and deep-dive introspection you can do when you're completely away from the distractions of life, work, and family. Similarly, when you return to work, you have time to absorb and digest that intensive learning. Things surface daily that remind you of something you learned in the program. A few months down the road, you might really begin to understand the importance of something you learned in OPM—those insights come in their own time.
Our participants have a sense of urgency in their DNA, so their instinct is often to come back as soon as possible. But given the importance of taking that time in order to digest the learning, we are quite deliberate about wanting everyone to spend enough time in between units—at least several months—before coming back. OPMers generally trust that process. They tell us the time in between units has been extremely valuable for getting the most out of the program.
How is OPM changing over time?
We're constantly evolving the program in response to changes in the business environment and feedback from our participants. For example, we recently added a faculty-led session on managing in a time of global uncertainty, in which we explore global capital markets and how they can impact business decisions on where to invest or which partnerships to pursue.
In addition, we have expanded our wellness offerings and our coaching module. Entrepreneurial business leaders experience a particularly close overlap among personal, family, and work life that makes it especially challenging for them to strike the right balance. They've asked that we add some guidance on how to keep mentally, physically, and even spiritually healthy. In response to that feedback, we have put more emphasis on health and wellness. We've added sessions on mindfulness and nutrition. In addition, we've expanded our physical fitness programs. Among other amenities, we now have a boot camp, a yoga studio, and personal training that enables participants to focus on their personal wellness while they are on campus and develop new ability to maintain balance when they go home.
What are the goals of OPM's coaching component?
OPMers are often quite isolated at work. That's one reason we have always offered a coaching component. It gives owners a sounding board—allowing them to vent one-on-one about personal and professional challenges. Coaches also help participants understand and act on input provided by work colleagues through a 360-degree feedback exercise.
In addition, our coaches facilitate effective collaboration in the living groups by providing guidance on norm setting and protocols for the group. When OPM participants come into the program, they're used to being the person in charge. But within an OPM living group, they have to work as peers with seven other people. The coach helps participants make that adjustment. In response to participant feedback, we're expanding that facilitation to later modules as well, which will help to re-kindle that productive collaboration after executives have been away for a number of months.
How does OPM change entrepreneurial business leaders?
I think Lynda Applegate, former faculty chair of OPM, said it best. Speaking to executives when they first arrive, she would tell them, "You've all been successful at running your businesses. Here in OPM, our objective now is to teach you how to do that on purpose." I love this message because it encapsulates the essence of the transformation that happens while in this program. Business owners and entrepreneurs emerge from OPM with a better understanding of the mechanisms behind their day-to-day decisions and with greater capacity to reach new heights in their professional and personal lives.