In a post-modern society, a post-industrial economy and a post-End-of-History politics, strategic thinking, strategic leadership, and strategic management represent—for better or for worse—a new winning approach to human relations. The Bringing Objectives, Options and Strategy Together Program, or BOOST, is an experiential program that equips students with deeply practical managerial and strategic tools, helping them to transition into highly effective leaders.
The Program introduces participants to cutting edge techniques in strategic management, tailored to the context of planning an impactful individual career and fulfilling life. These tools will be offered against a broader background of applied sociology and psychology of performance and professional success. We will also pay attention to gender, ethnic and racial biases and injustices related to the notions of professional success.
The strategic tools and techniques are presented in an interactive fashion, using the cases of real organizations, and people, as well as including highly successful BOOST alumni. Every participant needs to be prepared to candidly discuss their career plans and strategies and be open to receive constructive, friendly but also realistic feedback.
BOOST is run by a multidisciplinary team, and it is based on research on success and high performance in a variety of professional settings. That research confirms the value of clear objectives and a broad scope of options in an individual's professional and career endeavors. Yet, above all, it highlights that professional success depends critically on both the ability to commit to and to execute a chosen professional path in a disciplined manner. In a world of increasing specialization, mastery in any field requires a vast investment of time, energy, and passion.
Psychologists refer to this ability to focus, to resist boredom and burnout, and not to be discouraged by failure, grit. Yet grit is an attitudinal component of what management science has long regarded as an essential prerequisite of organizational and individual strategy and associated strategic mindsets.
While BOOST is based on research, it is not a traditional graduate course. Interactive, multi-disciplinary, case-oriented classes will be supplemented with intensive group work and frequent interactions with highly experienced and well-connected Executive Mentors.
