The Live In-Class CEO Intervention

Abstract

This article describes a pedagogical technique that has been used successfully for more than 35 years in business education, primarily as a capstone experience in MBA and Executive MBA programs: the live in-class CEO intervention method. This method consists of a CEO bringing to the classroom a strategic issue that she or he is currently struggling with and addressing it real time with a team of students. The technique is most effective when used alongside a strategic framework of the instructor’s choice. The authors have used the method with an organization development and change framework that is described and that provides a blueprint for the student team to address in real time the CEO’s strategic issue through a question-and-answer format. The ensuing dialogue and analysis become a living example for the benefit of the whole class of how the CEO thinks and makes decisions. The authors describe the live intervention method in detail, examine process considerations, and discuss its advantages and limitations. They argue that the resulting active participation in the CEO’s thought process as she or he seeks to solve a significant problem, that is, the opportunity to “see the wheels turning” and follow all streams of thought (including those with a dead-end), is helpful in the development of a leadership skill-set. The authors further argue that a by-product of participation in several of these interventions is an expanded ability to engage in systemic thinking and bridge theory and application in an open way. The authors also report anecdotal evidence that both students and CEOs who have gone through this process have benefited substantially.