6 Biggest Lessons You Learn As An Executive MBA

‘Necessity is the mother of invention.’

Attributed to Plato, the proverb reflects a business truth. Innovation rarely happens until a crisis emerges. And organizations rarely take risks until jobs are on the line.

Case studies are filled with protagonists who were pushed to think outside their confines once their backs were against the wall. Look no further than Tyson Foods, says Eduardo Paredes, a 2025 graduate of IE Brown Business School’s Executive MBA program. In a supply chain case, he studied how one crisis – a surplus of turkey that Tyson needed to unload – turned into a game-changing innovation: the introduction of the TV dinner. While the case provided a blueprint for creating a new market, it also served as inspiration for Paredes.

“It got me thinking about all the possible outcomes of what I am doing at work and how I could best find my business TV dinner. What potential failures could I turn into opportunities instead of simply managing the downside. It’s a whole new way of thinking about the world!”

BRINGING WEEKEND LESSONS TO WEEKLY LEADERSHIP MEETINGS

The Global Executive MBA program also changed how Fabien Dumont approached his job as a Chief Technology Officer. After completing a CEIBS module on a Sunday, Dumont says, he would take the lessons to his management team on the following Tuesday. In the process, he saw his role expand while he pursued his MBA, ultimately resulting in a promotion to Executive Vice President.

“I shared the principles with my team,” Dumont tells Poets&Quants. “I even gave them leadership classes along the same lines as the module so then they could reflect and incorporate it into their work process. The biggest risk involved in education or training is not to apply what you have learned. When you don’t apply it, you forget it.”

Proactively seeking disruption and immediately applying what you learn are two takeaways that this year’s Best & Brightest Executive MBAs gained from business school. As part of selecting the 2025 Best & Brightest class, P&Q asked top students to share the biggest lessons they gained from their executive MBA courses. From confidence to curiosity to context, here are six additional takeaways that re-shaped how the Class of 2025 viewed their industries, roles, and values.

1) Ask the Right Questions: “I noticed that in case study after case study, if the responsible parties had taken more time and asked the right questions, they might have made better choices. You don’t get to make the same decision twice, so you better get it right each time. Related, the most powerful question you can ask is a follow-up question. “Could you tell me more about that?” is surprisingly impactful, and has yielded deep understanding and insights. Follow-up questions are also a great way to show interest and build rapport. They do a ton of work for you!”
Arthur Bochner, University of Michigan (Ross)

2) Embrace a Beginner’s Mindset: “In a program filled with high-achieving professionals, it’s easy to fall into the “expert trap” – the sense that you’ve seen it all. But sitting in a room with incredibly smart peers from diverse industries and cultures is humbling. You quickly realize how much you don’t know, and how much you can gain by unlearning, listening, and staying open.

One key moment for me was during a case discussion with Prof. Eric Weber where our group – split across Europe, Asia, and the Americas – interpreted the same situation in completely different ways. After 1.5 hours of discussion, the professor highlighted how this case plays out differently depending on cultural context, and suddenly we understood the disconnect. It was a true light-bulb moment. Since then, I’ve carried this insight into my daily work: global business isn’t just about understanding surface-level cultural cues. It’s about deep listening, recognizing invisible context, and being willing to question your own assumptions. Furthermore, prof. Weber succeeded in challenging some underlying beliefs of mine multiple times in very unexpected situations.

Since then, I’ve applied that insight daily at work, especially when I´m leading cross-border client discussions or aligning internal stakeholders from different regions. Instead of rushing to align on action, I now start by asking: “What assumptions might we be bringing into the room?” That small shift has helped resolve misunderstandings early and build trust faster. It’s also shaped how I coach junior colleagues – encouraging them to see context not as noise, but as signal.”
Sikander Malik, IESE Business School

3) Build Your Self-Confidence: “Yale SOM pushed me to step outside my comfort zone—to speak up in class, present bold ideas, and trust my instincts in high-stakes discussions. Being surrounded by accomplished classmates and professors helped me realize that my voice matters and that my perspective can drive real impact.

I applied this newfound confidence at work by advocating more assertively for ideas I believed could move the business forward. Instead of second-guessing myself, I started confidently presenting strategic recommendations, backed by data and a clear focus on outcomes. This shift allowed me to influence key decisions, positioning me as someone who not only had strong ideas but the confidence to stand behind them.

Building self-confidence didn’t just change how I showed up in the workplace—it fundamentally changed how I led.”
Janitra Taylor, Yale SOM

4) Be Curious Not Fearful: “When I entered the program, I was unsure whether I could manage the workload alongside my career, especially given my limited experience in finance and some other hard business skills. Finance and accounting, in particular, were incredibly humbling—they required extra effort, patience, and grit.

Instead of shying away, I chose to view them as opportunities to learn from my classmates; seek out conversations at work where I could better understand how these skills showed up day-to-day; and embrace the discomfort of growth. What I found was not only competence but real enjoyment.

This shift—to meet challenges with openness and energy—has transformed how I approach my professional work. I now actively seek opportunities to learn in new areas, knowing that curiosity is a catalyst for connection, capability, and continuous improvement.”
Jennifer Collins, Texas Christian University (Neeley)

5) View Challenges Using Multiple Lenses: “Coming from an HR background, I naturally viewed issues primarily through a people-focused perspective. The EMBA, however, expanded my understanding of how all business areas connect and how each department pulls different levers to drive growth and success. This holistic view has helped me build greater empathy and significantly improved my problem-solving abilities. At work, I now better align my team’s efforts directly with our business strategy, clearly seeing how our initiatives impact overall results and identifying opportunities to deepen relationships across functions.

For example, I am currently working on a large-scale transformation initiative that reimagines how employees in my organization learn. A deep understanding of various parts of the business and how their work creates value for the organization helps me drive an initiative grounded in reality and will truly impact the business.”
Danny Canary, Northwestern University (Kellogg)

6) Maintain a Global Mindset: “While I have always been intrigued by developments in international markets, I had not fully grasped the dynamic nature of foreign retail – especially in Singapore, China, India, Peru, and Colombia – until joining this program. Through my MBA experience, I have gained a deeper understanding of the cultural differences between the US, Asia, and Latin America, and learned that bridging these gaps can unlock exciting expansion opportunities with innovative brands. These insights have allowed me to negotiate leases for US malls with rapidly growing concepts from Asia like CHAGEE. I passionately believe that encouraging strong, cooperative relations and promoting global trade with our partners abroad offer far more economic benefits than embracing tariffs, isolationism, and closed borders.”
Stephen Terzolo, National University of Singapore

DON’T MISS BEST ADVICE FOR EXECUTIVE MBAS … FROM TOP 2025 GRADUATES and BEST & BRIGHTEST EXECUTIVE MBAs: CLASS OF 2025

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