When he asks them about the tone of the internal back-order reports, nobody speaks up. Johnson waits a moment or two, then steps in: "I would like to have ideas on how to make this more positive, because to me, this is too much like a report card. Some things went real well this week. I don't think we want to focus just on the negative.'
Before the meeting breaks up, they talk about rolling back the no-back-order goal from a year to three months, about whether money is the best motivator, or, say, a trip to New Orleans, and then they bog down on precisely how to define a back order.
Late that afternoon just before heading home, Johnson is sitting in his chair. He's tired. His wife and kids are sick. The business needs a lot of attention. Running his life and his business seems so complicated. Leaning back, he reflects upon the morning meeting. He says he wishes he'd let a few of the silences last longer. "I've got to develop them more to come up with the ideas instead of telling them the answer," he says.
"When you're at Harvard," he continues, remembering the emotions of a month earlier, "you feel now you can control these problems -- and you need to believe that in order to make any attempt to do so. When I came back, I was all charged up. But then you hit this wall, and then that wall. Now, it's the third week, and. . . . " In voice and body he imitates an old-fashioned record player in need of a good crank.
He mentions he's planning to have dinner sometime soon in Chicago with a few OPMers. And he says if he runs into any trouble with the employee evaluation he'll soon be trying, he won't hesitate to call Archie Roberts, the classmate who shared his technique. At the moment, next January and the second unit of OPM seem a long way off.
* * *
John Grossmann is a free-lance writer based in Lansdale, Pa.
COLLEGE CATALOG
Who's offering executive education programs
The following are some of the best executive education programs for small businesses:
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Owner/President Management Program (OPM) (founded 1972)
Boston, (617) 495-6450
Program length: Three units of three weeks each, held over a three-year period
Cost: $7,500 per unit
Class size: 120
Next session: April 30-May 19, 1989
Remarks: Case method, study groups, and intensive, three-week schedule help cement strong ties; professors very accessible
STANFORD UNIVERSITY
Executive Program for Smaller Companies (founded 1975)
Stanford, Calif., (415) 723-3342
Program length: Two weeks
Cost: $6,300
Class size: 132
Next session: July 23-August 4, 1989
Remarks: Case studies and lectures cover finance, marketing, control, human resources, and policy-making; company size is 50 to 1,000 employees; good international representation
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
Wharton Seminars for Family-Held Businesses (founded 1981)
Philadelphia, (215) 898-4470
Program length: Four to five days
Cost: $1,450 to $1,595
Class size: 35
Next session: August 28-September 1
Remarks: Sessions focus on family businesses; a trio of seminars are held twice a year: summer sessions at Wharton, winter sessions in Florida or California
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
The Program for Developing Companies (founded 1988)
Los Angeles, (213) 743-2098
Program length: Three or four annual units of two weeks each
Cost: $7,500 to $8,000 per unit
Class size: Initial class planned for 50; thereafter 100
Next session: November
Remarks: New program designed by former Harvard OPM professor John Davis
DARTMOUTH COLLEGE
Minority Business Executive Program (founded 1980)
Hanover, N.H., (603) 646-3740
Program length: One week
Cost: $1,500
Class size: 60
Next session: August 28-September 2
Remarks: Black, Hispanic, native American, and Asian-American businesspeople, $250,000 to $4 million in sales
UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
The McIntire Entrepreneurial Executive Institute (founded 1987)
Charlottesville, Va., (804) 924-0898
Program length: Five days
Cost: $2,000
Class size: 25
Next session: July 1989
Remarks: Last summer's inaugural session had 11 students, mostly from mid-Atlantic companies; $500,000 to $20-million range in sales
BABSON COLLEGE
The Smaller Business Association of New England (SBANE): Entrepreneurial Management Program (founded 1958, in third year with Babson)
Wellesley, Mass., (617) 890-9070
Program length: Four days
Cost: $1,800 for SBANE members; $1,950 for nonmembers
Class size: 42
Next session: October 23-26
Remarks: Attracts CEOs, COOs, and CFOs; 90% of businesses are members of SBANE; $300,000 to $10 million in sales
