What sets the IMPM apart?

Reflections

Reflecting does not mean musing; it means wondering, probing, analyzing, synthesizing – and struggling. People have to be engaged, curious and alert, on a personal level and in a social process. Managers have to share their reflections, to learn from each other’s ideas and experiences.

Most executives are action-oriented, always doing, doing, doing... The IMPM is a haven where participating managers step back from their daily pressures and reflect upon the ideas presented in the program.

Each morning, they begin by writing their thoughts silently in their “Insight Book”. From there, they engage in discussions around their table, on a vast range of economic, ethical, business and political issues. This is followed by plenary discussion.

Students find this component enlightening as they come to grips with their own views and discover new ideas.

Reflection Papers – the real issues

Between the two-week modules, participants return home to their regular work life, where they write a Reflection Paper relating what they have learned to their job. This is when much of the revelation – or real learning – actually takes place, as they use the opportunity to explore serious work-related challenges in depth.

See previous Reflection Paper topics

Roundtable format

Rather than the standard U-shaped classroom, which focuses attention on the professor, the IMPM adopts a different format. Sitting at roundtables in a flat classroom, participants “own” the space and can easily workshop, hold discussions and share their insights, unlike in a traditional setting, where participants have to “break out”.

Instant workshops

The seating arrangement in the classroom is designed so that participants can switch easily into instant workshops – in small groups – to discuss the material presented during the class. This is beneficial to the classroom dynamic, as six or seven clusters of people dialogue together, instead of thirty-five individuals expressing their own separate opinions.

Competency sharing

Competency sharing is a facet of the program that makes it possible to tap into the participants’ vast wealth of experience. Here, the focus is not on how a particular managerial skill can be used or should be used, but on how it actually is used. For example, one issue that has been explored is “How do I manage in a job with so much pressure and interruption?”

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