The design of Smith Executive Education senior development programs is generally based on four underlying principles.

First, adults learn best by doing; that is, by taking new concepts or approaches, actively integrating them into their sets of current experiences and using, or playing with them.

Second, learning occurs on three levels: individual, group, and organization. Different concepts, skills, and applications are learned - and learned differently -- at each level. Our customized courses account for various learning styles and promote both individualized and collective modes of learning.

Third, to be effective, a custom program must not only teach the capabilities it is targeting, it must also model those capabilities. For example, the decision-making component of a leadership development program must be structured to enable the participants to practice critical thinking, consider alternatives, and assess the impacts of their decisions vs. looking to faculty for the "correct" answers.

Finally, some capabilities are more effectively "experienced" than "taught." Risk taking, for example, is best learned when individuals have multiple opportunities to take small, medium, and large risks and are given a structured process for learning from their experience.

These underlying principles guide how we architect a program and inform many of the considerations that arise in the development process. A company creates a precious opportunity when it brings together key managers from across its operations. We recognize that this opportunity is not merely goodwill, but rather a strategic decision to invest in the company's most valuable asset: people.

Therefore, this opportunity must be seized and used to advantage. For Smith, that means building into a senior development program real-time examples from the business. It means structuring processes by which the executives work across divisions. It means encouraging and modeling information exchange and facilitating professional networks. It means inspiring the participants to explore how the concepts, strategies, and capabilities taught within the program can help propel the business forward.