According to Dennis
Langley, executive director of the MCAA Leadership Initiative,
MCAA has been a strong provider of training and education for its
members. But two years ago, the organization decided to take a
look at where they could further strengthen their educational
offerings.
“Back in 2000,” says Langley, “we looked at where we had gaps
in our training. And we discovered that we had not done anything
in the area of CEOs or people running the companies.”
With that realization, MCAA decided to launch a project that
would be exclusively for members who do the primary decision
making for their company. This initiative would put MCAA on a path
that would require a great deal of research and dedication.
Langley says that MCAA did extensive research into what its
members needed and wanted in a new educational program. The
association also started looking for an educational partner to
provide the training.
MCAA started by looking at 58 different universities to provide
the leadership training. Over time, the applicants were narrowed
down to eight. During the entire process, Langley said that one
college kept popping up. That college was Babson College in
Wellesley, MA. Babson is a small private school that is strictly
geared towards business degrees.
After MCAA and Babson agreed to work together, the curriculum
and structure to the ALI was put into place. Some of the topics
that are introduced during the program include business
strategies, leading vs. managing, high-impact communications, and
negotiation skills.
These topics are presented to students over a two-week time
frame. ALI’s first graduating class took part in the program from
March 10-15 and May 19-24, 2002. Langley says that this scheduling
is perfect for business owners and other participants who cannot
take two consecutive weeks off for the course.
Before taking part in the program, MCAA members must apply for
the course. According to Langley, the institute is very selective
about who will take part in the program. “Everybody has to be able
to not only take from the class, but give back,” he says.
And so far, Langley believes that the ALI students have taken a
great deal of information from the program, as well as provide
beneficial information to each
other.
