By Jason A. Stieg, Managing Director, Penn State Smeal Executive MBA Program (2015 – 2018)

This past week, we held a welcome reception for the candidates enrolled to start in the Penn State Smeal Executive MBA program this fall.  The event, held at the home of one of our alumni, was a great way for our new class to come together for the first time.  Little do they know that in meeting their fellow classmates, they will be meeting people who will end up as life-long friends.  So I took a moment to step back, standing on a rooftop terrace with the sun setting over the Philadelphia skyline, to appreciate the power of new beginnings. For me, this is one of the most rewarding times of the year.  All year, we sift through potential EMBA candidates.  Each one has their own story, background, areas of expertise, and goals.  I work individually with all of the highly qualified candidates to ensure that they are a good fit for the program, and the program is a good fit for them.  Finally, after that year of planning and one-on-one communication, I get to see the class come together.  It is awesome to see people hit it off and begin the process of building their class identity.

This time of year also gives me an opportunity to reflect back on many of the talented people I spoke to throughout the year who decided that the “time wasn’t right.” This is for sure one of the most disappointing aspects of my role.  Seeing these highly capable individuals, who I know would flourish in the program and benefit, fall into the “well, now is not the right time” trap.  I talk to a lot of people who say they know the program would be great for them…but they’ll do it next year.  The statistics for that return do not bode well. On average, 95% of those people never start the program, or any program because their circumstances and story remain the same. 

The truth of the matter is that the group of people that came together last Thursday are almost identical to the talented people that told me “next year”.  They are busy professionals, executive, and business owners.  They have demanding schedules, travel, families, and other commitments to balance.  The key difference is that our incoming students have realized that there is no “perfect time” to start a program like an Executive MBA.  The only thing powerful enough to make it a good time is…yourself.  These EMBA candidates made a choice to make time to invest in themselves (which is a topic for another day).  By the end of next year, they will have enough credit to complete their MBA.  Others will still be kicking that old can down the road, waiting for the time to be right.