2 April 2019
A short walk through the park overlooking beautiful Lake Geneva on a crisp March morning was the perfect start to a thought-provoking day at IMD Business School. We were in Lausanne as guest lecturers in one of IMD’s signature executive education programs: Digital Execution. This program is part of a broader Digital Excellence Diploma, and offers executives leading digital transformations a practical focus on how to lead and deliver their strategies.
Partner with real-world experience
The collaboration between IMD and SparkOptimus was born out of several interactions over time between IMD faculty and Tom Voskes, SparkOptimus co-founder and one of our managing Partners. Tom first joined IMD’s Digital Execution team in October 2018, and previously had been a guest speaker at other executive programs. We at SparkOptimus were enthusiastic about the clear focus on digital that IMD was leading, and the way they were building much needed skills in digital leaders. In turn, IMD saw SparkOptimus as a great partner to bring practical, real-world examples to life in the classroom, enriching the learning experience for leaders in the program.
Tackling challenges with ‘SparkOptimism’
During the Digital Execution program, Tom led a half-day session highlighting our knowledge on how successful companies organize and execute digital transformations, building in case examples from our experience with clients. I took the group through a practical exercise to assess their own transformation organization and see how they could apply the best practice lessons we shared. We had a lively discussion where participants shared their own stories of how they could see the impact of making changes in line with our best practices. This was my first time working with the IMD Digital Execution program and it was great to see how our work helped to infuse the participants with our ‘SparkOptimism’, as they tackle the challenges of leading digital transformations in several top multi-national companies.
Sharing knowledge
Our great day in Lausanne wrapped up with group photos and a lovely lunch overlooking the lake. I’m already looking forward to the next time! Sharing our knowledge is a key part of our values at SparkOptimus. If you’d like to partner with us to develop knowledge programs, do get in touch via info@sparkoptimus.com!