Chris Dalton's Personal Development Blog

Dear all,

in what seems to have become something of an annual ritual, this newsletter is coming to you from Johannesburg, South Africa, where last weekend we launched the programme to a new intake consisting of 80 people, and where this Thursday I’ll be meeting the class that began in 2007 to begin their Stage 3. I’m also pleased to announce that a new intake just started in New Zealand, so welcome to all.

This visit I’ve been lucky enough to spend some time speaking with some of the managers on the programme and it’s given some impression (though always dangerous to draw conclusions from so little data) of the effect of the worldwide recession here, too. The verdict? Aside from the usual (halt on house buying and selling, uncertainty around job retention and liquidity in the banking sector) the ability to emigrate has been reduced and though the idea is still a strong one, fewer seem to be leaving and some are actually returning. Crime, at least in some areas, has gone down and for the visitor there is a growing sense of expectation that the 2010 World Cup will make a difference to the way the country is viewed elsewhere. I’m really glad that the Henley name is promoted here. The calibre of candidate is diverse and consistently high, and Africa is a place which has so much to offer the rest of us, problems notwithstanding.

LinkedIn

Those of you who are already on LinkedIn and members of the Henley Group will already know that this weekend we broke the 4,000 mark for group membership. It might also interest you to know that ours is now one of an elite number of “Supergroups” on Linkedin, and perhaps even more interested to hear that there is a group for managers of Supergroups, which shares ideas on how to use the site better and gangs up to lobby the people who run LinkedIn to improve the service. If you haven’t yet joined, or have not got a LinkedIn account, you can request to join. Please do make sure that your profile information about Henley is complete and accurate first, though.

Electives up-date

Last month I advertised the creation of bookable, guaranteed slots for DL MBA members on the elective workshops for the taught programmes. I managed to jump the gun by about a week, for which I am sorry and for which the admin team at Henley may possibly one day forgive me. But I’m happy to announce that this has been a huge success. We have now filled most of the slots, with two (Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management) full up. Thanks to Tracy Clyburn for all her hard work. We hope to repeat the opportunity later in the year (no details yet, though).

Also, a quick thank you to those who came to Hungary for the International Business Environment elective, which was a great success.

AMBA re-accreditation visit

Just so you know, one of Henley’s three MBA accrediting bodies, the Association of MBAs (AMBA) are conducting a periodic re-accreditation visit at Greenlands on April 28th and 29th. Though hard work (you pay a fee for the privilege of spending hours assembling everything you know about your degree) these events are actually very useful and the feedback we get should help us as we evaluate our new MBA curriculum and make appropriate revisions and innovations.

Home Straight news

Richard and Mike report that their numbers fell last month, due in part to people completing, which is great. But they also note that a very high number of people simply have not yet put in a proposal, and this is the critical first task in getting from dream of MBA to reality of graduation! It’s been a topic for Henley-Based programme members in the discussion on the Home Straight group on Linkedin. Don’t forget that the next Henley Home Straight event is on Sunday May 17th.

I know a lot of you are at the dissertation stage and are studying via an Associate Partner and are excluded from these Home Straight events and groups. Where it makes sense, we are looking at encouraging local versions to be set up for those of you behind schedule, and I may also set up another Linkedin group for mutual support, though this will not be tutor led. More info on those next month.

Events at Henley

Amanda Proddow has asked me to mention the following event: Emerging Markets and International Business – where next?

The Global Credit Crisis – Reforming Governance, Rebuilding Economies, Date: Tuesday 28 to Wednesday 29 April, Location: Royal Garden Hotel, Kensington, London

Henley Emerging Markets and International Business Forum is delighted to partner with the Global Emerging Markets Summit to invite members of the Henley community – students, faculty and alumni – to the 2009 Summit to be held in the same month as the G20 in London. GEMS is brought to you by an independent not-for-profit research institute, Asian Strategy & Leadership Institute (ASLI), and Perception Management International Group and supported by the London-based ASEAN UK Business Forum. The Founder & CEO Perception Management International is Ms Millicent Danker who is undertaking a DBA at Henley. One of the speakers will be Mr Arif Zaman, Co-Chair, Henley Emerging Markets and International Business Forum, a member of visiting faculty and Adviser, South Asia & Corporate Governance, Commonwealth Business Council. Henley delegates – who should cite ‘Henley’ in their booking – will be able to attend for only £160 for the full 2 days – a saving of £235 on the full price!

Family Day 2009

This year the Members Day at Henley will run on Sunday July 5th. Irina Woodford writes:

“As this event will run on a Sunday, we have decided to start the fun earlier, with gates open from 11.00 am. Boat trips and cream-teas will be booked on a first-come, first serve basis, with the first boat trip leaving Greenlands at 11.30 am. Please visit our website on http://www.henley.com/alumni/membersday2009 for a full Programme of Events and to download a booking form.

EIU MBA rankings – your chance to vote

You may know that EIU Economist produced the first ranking of DL MBA Programmes in 2008, and we were ranked 6th in the world and 2nd in the UK. The ranking is due for up-date in 2010 and they are collecting data now. I hope you will have some time to complete the survey. I am convinced that we can boost our place in the ranking, though the 10 schools on the 2008 list were not exactly comparing apples with apples. Certainly I think we should be ranked 1st in the UK!

Stephen Lee, Faculty Director, Strategy, writes: “It is now ranking survey time again by the Economist. I therefore invite you to take part and contribute your views to the survey. The Economist has asked us to forward the attached online questionnaire which needs to be completed by 22 May 2009 at the latest.

The rankings provide external testimony to the quality of our programmes and therefore the value of your MBA particularly against other MBAs in the market. I would really encourage you to spend just five minutes completing the survey to ensure you provide the responses that both accurately record your views of the programme and reflect how you expect your MBA to be viewed by the outside world – now and in the future. The questionnaire can be found at: [removed from blog]

I would be grateful for your assistance in helping us to achieve even better results than in 2008. Remember that responding to the survey is one of the only ways you have to influence the reputation that the Henley MBA has in the employment market. Please could you also confirm to Margareta Koter when you have completed and submitted the survey, so that she is able to check that we have received sufficient responses.”

A Bull elephant in Pilanesburg National Park. Not going anywhere.