michigan ross CXO leadership program

The Core of Innovation and Strategy

The most successful companies today are those that have made innovation a fundamental part of strategy. Innovation is the lifeblood of sustainable growth and leading it requires a strategic mindset and a deep understanding of the innovation process. This session empowers leaders to become catalysts for innovation within their organizations. Participants will explore the core principles of innovation, learn to evaluate and prioritize different innovation strategies, and leverage frameworks for assessing and managing risk.

Understanding Value Generation Through Your Customers

In the age of customer obsessiveness, sustainable growth hinges on a deep understanding of customer needs, preferences, and behaviors. This session equips leaders with the frameworks and tools to uncover hidden customer needs, transform them into value-creating strategies, and build lasting customer relationships. Participants will explore the consumer journey, learn to segment and target effectively, and design products and services that resonate with their target audience.

Driving Innovation and Digital Transformation for the Modern Organization

Digital transformation and innovation are not just about new technology implementation but about leading a strategic, cultural, and organizational shift to create value. Today, digital transformation and innovation are imperative for survival and growth. This session will introduce participants to value-generating opportunities provided by the fourth industrial revolution technologies and help them raise their “digital fitness” by exposing them to current and next practices related to information systems and digital strategies. They will learn to use applicable frameworks and draw from practical examples of how to use digital innovation to gain a competitive advantage.

Designing Preferable Futures: Learning from the Future

How can leaders develop strategy in the face of uncertainty? This session will help leaders prepare for this fundamental question and thus the future. The aim is not to predict the future but rather to imagine multiple futures in ways that heighten our ability to perceive, develop, and adapt to the future. This insightful session will include scenario planning as a strategic tool and also include case studies of organizations that have designed preferable futures effectively to survive and thrive in the age of uncertainty.

Generative AI - An Inflection Point in Business Transformation

How will Generative AI reshape the modern business landscape? How can a leader be at the forefront of this change while it unfolds at an unprecedented pace? This session provides a view of Generative AI's current capabilities, limitations, and potential impact across various industries. Participants will explore real-world use cases, and delve into the AI maturity levels of different sectors. This session will equip leaders with critical frameworks to prepare their organizations for an AI-driven future and leverage Generative AI for innovation, efficiency, and competitive advantage.

Future of Work: Challenges and Opportunities for Enhancing Organizational Performance

Technological and social forces are changing the world of work rapidly. This session explores multiple forces transforming modern labor markets and workplaces, particularly emphasizing technology and automation. It will blend theory and practice on how these forces are impacting organizational performance and explore opportunities for enhancing it. Participants will explore new approaches to human capital management, reimagining human capital practices to hire, retain, and incentivize the workforce to build a better future of work.

Executing Strategy in Times of Uncertainty

How can leaders execute strategy in a world where change is the only constant? This session equips participants with the tools to develop agile, resilient approaches to weather unforeseen challenges and capitalize on emerging opportunities rapidly. They will learn to build organizational flexibility, foster a culture of adaptability, and identify early warning signals of potential disruption. Through real-world case studies and frameworks, executives will gain the confidence to make bold, decisive moves ensuring their organizations thrive through uncertainty.

Data-Based Decision-Making for Leaders

Making informed decisions increasingly requires an "intelligent" and "data-oriented" approach, aided by advanced decision support tools and analytics. The ability to leverage analytics tools and derive data-driven insights is crucial for leaders. In this session, participants will explore how to use data to monitor and enhance existing business operations, as well as test and implement new initiatives. They will identify ways in which data can support decision-making and practice interpreting data-based evidence for business contexts, gaining practical skills to bring back to their organizations.

The Power of Storytelling in Leadership

What makes a great story? Why is storytelling a crucial leadership tool? Telling a compelling story is how leaders build credibility for themselves and generate buy-in for their ideas. It's how they inspire an audience and lead an organization. In this session, participants will explore how to structure messages, choose impactful content, and develop a personal style that captivates and inspires. Practicing proven communication techniques will enable leaders to develop a deeper connection with people and lead more effectively.

Personal Transformation as the Catalyst for Organizational Change

Authenticity and personal growth are the foundations for leading transformational change. This session empowers participants to embark on a journey of self-discovery, recognizing that personal change is the catalyst for inspiring organizational change. Participants will explore the power of self-awareness, learn to identify their values, strengths, and areas for growth, and develop strategies for leading with integrity. By embracing personal transformation, executives will unlock their full leadership potential and become catalysts for lasting change within their organizations.

Navigating Power and Politics and Building Social Capital

This session delves into the often unspoken dynamics of power and politics within organizations. Participants will gain a nuanced understanding of navigating organizational politics and harnessing the power of social capital to achieve their goals. Through practical exercises and real-world scenarios, participants will develop the skills and confidence to thrive in complex organizational environments.

Leadership Impact and the Competing Values Framework

As a senior leader, the ability to align and motivate a team to drive business results is crucial to success. The session, through the Competing Values Framework, will challenge participants to adopt new research-backed ways of thinking that will increase their impact as leaders. Participants will learn to make better decisions under pressure, improve their leadership approach in increasingly complex environments, develop talent more effectively, and lead with more creativity, energy, and intensity.

Positive Leadership in Action - Engagement and Empowerment

Top-performing companies around the globe have come to believe that positive leadership is not only effective - it's essential. In this session, participants will discover their leadership strengths and learn new strategies and techniques for energizing and engaging employees, driving change and innovation, and delivering value to customers. They will emerge prepared, confident, and motivated to transform their organization's culture, drive innovation, and radically improve the bottom line.

Leading People to Success: People-Driven Thinking

As leaders ascend corporate hierarchies, their work becomes more and more focused on managing people and organizations. This session will help participants unpack critical people leadership skills. They will gain access to tools that will help them diagnose, reflect on, and improve leadership skills, and then work through evidence-based skills to add to their leadership toolkit, including skills for leading teams and organizations.

Leading with Resilience: Decision-Making Under Pressure

The ability to lead effectively under pressure distinguishes great leaders from good ones. This session equips participants with the resilience and decision-making skills necessary to navigate crises, uncertainties, and high-stakes situations with confidence and composure. Participants will explore the psychology of stress, learn to manage their emotional responses, and leverage frameworks for making sound decisions in the face of intense challenges. The session will also examine techniques for building trust, maintaining a calm and focused demeanor, and effectively guiding teams and organizations through turbulent times.

Scaling Leadership: Building Efficient Teams and Systems

Designed for executives overseeing multiple teams and leaders, this session explores the unique challenges and strategies involved in leading at scale. Participants will delve into systems thinking, organizational design, and process optimization to maximize efficiency and effectiveness. They will learn to foster collaboration among leaders, align goals across teams, and implement scalable leadership practices to drive consistent results across the organization.