A Letter from Dean Robert J. Dolan

As you consider whether to pursue an Executive MBA, you will be presented with a number of quality programs offering a range of options and formats. Quite a few programs offer a good broad management education. Many emphasize leadership. Most make a point of connecting theory to practice. So what makes Ross different?

The Ross difference is action-based learning. We are committed to an approach to business education that provides challenging opportunities for students to apply the skills they learn in our core classes -– as well as the experience our EMBAs bring to the program -- in team-based multidisciplinary projects. Ross EMBA students work with peers and faculty in real time for real stakes for real companies in locations around the world.

Ours is an innovative approach. It's not always neat or easy. Action-based learning requires a great deal of open-mindedness, agility, and teamwork to succeed. This is especially true in our EMBA Program, in which high-potential leaders from different industries learn together in a tight-knit cohort. Together, our EMBA students deal with uncertainty, with asymmetries of information, and with the stubborn ways the real world intrudes on the best-laid plans of organizations and teams.

From that experience, they gain invaluable insight into themselves and, often, into the organizations for which they work. And, through personalized coaching, Ross EMBA students learn to understand and adapt their leadership styles.

We want our EMBA students to leave us with more resilience than when they arrived. We want them to be among those leaders who have the insight to ask the right questions, identify the real challenges, and solve the important problems.

Sincerely,

Robert J. Dolan
Edward J. Frey Dean of Business
Stephen M. Ross Professor of Business