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Vision to Execution: EMBA Alumnus Mike Knoelke
Mike Knoelke (Class of 2013), Managing Director of Spyre Group, graduated from Marquette University in 1981 and enjoyed a successful career as a civil engineer for Amoco Pipeline, progressing into sale management with companies such as: USG, Terex, and Altec Industries. In 2010, Mike partnered with his son, Patrick (also a graduate of Marquette), to launch a new venture: Spyre Group.
Mike joined the Bloch Executive MBA within the first year of launching this new venture and credits his experience in the program with the development path that their venture has taken. Class discussions exploring the challenges companies face in translating their vision into strategy, and their strategy into specific sales and marketing activities uncovered a need that many organizations have for expertise that can help them do this in a cost-effective manner. This awareness led Mike and Patrick to focus Spyre group on filling a need for small and medium sized businesses.
Spyre Group provides outsourced marketing services for small to medium sized companies along three pillars: direction and execution; design and development; and cloud collaboration and productivity. The company got its start in brochure and collateral design, but by 2013, they had transformed Spyre Group into a strategic marketing company that collaborates with clients to bridge the gap between “Vision and Execution.”
As they considered options for how to proceed in this new direction, the classes, discussions, and projects in the Executive MBA program provided the perfect environment for Mike to incubate ideas for their venture and test concepts within a community of peers. Mike says this “brought the learning to life” and helped him keep the entrepreneurial energy flowing.
Today, they’ve launched several cloud solutions that support the dynamic nature of sales and provide the sales teams with everything they need to sell efficiently regardless of where they are in the office or in the field. With a solid framework of services and solutions, Mike and Patrick are looking forward to focusing on growth, as well as giving back through guest speaking in Executive MBA classes to share their entrepreneurial experience and insights with others.
Bloch Executive MBA Alumni Feature: Denise Buffington
While in China during the Global Residency, Denise Buffington (Class of 2016) and her fellow female colleagues in the class of 2016, decided to launch a book club to stay connected after graduation. The primary goal of their book club is provide a place where members can discuss issues and opinions in a supportive environment, similar to the cohort experience during the Executive MBA program.
Members can make recommendations for which books to read, and they alternate between fiction and non-fiction. Book selections to date have featured Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandburg, Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee, and Presence by Amy Cuddy. Denise brings discussion guides (often available online) to spark group conversation around key themes from the reading.
To accommodate busy schedules, they meet quarterly and members who are unable come in person are encouraged to join the meetings virtually. Throughout the program Denise, the Director of Energy Policy and Corporate Counsel at Kansas City Power & Light, earned a reputation for organization that is reflected in the Book Club Charter she created to provide a basic sense of social order for the club.
If you’ve ever thought about starting a book club or think this might be a good idea for your cohort, you can find Denise’s recipe (the Book Club Charter) below:
BOOK CLUB CHARTER
- Participation. Members who have not read the book – come anyway! Not everyone can finish every book, but not readers my still have valuable insights. Additionally, this group is as much a professional networking club as it is a book review/exchange club.
- Group Size. Please feel free to invite other professional women that might be interested in participating. We currently have 7 members. We could expand to approximately 12-15 and still be manageable so everyone should think about inviting a friend.
- Non-Fiction/Fiction. We will alternate non-fiction and fiction. This rule can be waived if the majority of the group has a strong preference for a book.
- Timing. We plan to meet approximately every 3 months.
- Book Selections. Please send 2-3 book selections to Denise. The objective is to compile a list for the next year or two. If you don’t like a particular book, as noted above, you do not need to read it participate!
- Discussions. There is never one way to experience or interpret a book. When there are disagreements about the book, be gracious! Differing opinions make better discussions. Try to avoid words like “awful” or “idiotic” or even “like” or “dislike.” These types of words do not move the discussion forward and can put others on the defensive. Instead, talk about your experience — how you felt as you read the book.
- Leader. The person that suggests the book we are reading should be prepared to start and lead the discussion (or delegate the responsibility).
- Limits. We did not set limits on paperback vs. hardcovers or pages, but try to keep the books around 400 pages so that it remains manageable for everyone to finish the book.
Bloch Executive MBA Alumni Feature: Abid Bhat, MD, MBA
Dr. Abid Bhat (Class of 2014) is saving lives in several roles: as a Professor of Medicine, a Medical Director of the Center for Sleep Health, Program Director of the Sleep Medicine Fellowship Program, a Pulmonologist, an Intensivist and now…as an entrepreneur.
When educating the public on the importance of sleep health Dr. Bhat explains that, “Sleep is like food. It’s as important as diet and exercise for our health.” Sleep disorders can lead to depression, anxiety, poor performance at work, high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, diabetes, memory problems, and weight gain. Unfortunately, sleep disorders are exceedingly common but undiagnosed, a circumstance that led Dr. Bhat to dedicate his career to sleep health education and treatment.
Dr. Bhat never thought he would start his own venture, but the spark was lit during his time in the Executive MBA program. Specifically, in the Innovation and Entrepreneurship elective with Instructor Phil Needles, where he competed in the Venture Challenge. During the class, Dr. Bhat and his team took the opportunity to explore how the current healthcare system was failing his patients and worked to design a solution. Though their venture didn’t win, their pitch made it to the semifinals and received valuable feedback that helped him refine the concept and build the connections that made it possible to launch his venture.
Dr. Bhat and his partners opened the Sweet Sleep Studio, LLC this year in Leawood and Shawnee, Kansas to approach sleep health from an entirely new perspective. Their model places the patient at the center of care with access to both Western and Holistic medicine, with the ultimate goal of reversing sleep disorders by identifying the causes rather than simply treating the symptoms. The people served at the Sweet Sleep Studio have access to a physician, a psychologist, a massage therapist, an acupuncturist, and nutrition and exercise support as needed to address their individual needs. His latest interest is working with innovators to design a wireless device for monitoring sleep pattern and related sleep disorders. This will replace the existing intrusive and cumbersome monitoring system.
Dr. Bhat is hopeful that this approach will bring long-term relief to his patients with the added benefits of being both convenient and cost-effective. A patient who had recovered from years of suffering from a sleep disorder once told him, “I didn’t imagine life was so beautiful!” It is moments like these that drive Dr. Bhat forward to continue to improve sleep medicine, and he is excited to have the opportunity to help even more people through the Sweet Sleep Studio in the years to come.
Executive Education in Kansas City: Insights from Kimberly Young
Kimberly Young is the founding director of Bloch Executive Education at UMKC, which was established in 2008. Kimberly also became the Executive MBA Executive Director in 2012. She’s helped build mutually valuable partnerships between the Kansas City business community and the university through Bloch’s executive programs. In her unique roles, Kimberly has her finger on the pulse of the latest trends in talent development in Kansas City. We asked Kimberly to weigh in on executive education and Bloch’s role in serving that niche community.
Through Bloch Executive Education’s custom programs, you’ve worked with some of the top companies in Kansas City and in the region, designing leadership development programs utilizing industry thought leaders at the university to fill gaps and advance organizational goals. What are some of the most common components in those programs?
Our leadership development programs are particularly unique because of our focus on understanding and application. We’re not here to only teach a concept or theory, but to help participants understand why that concept or theory is important and how it can make a difference when applied to their work. Our customized programs are co-created with our clients during a series of pre-meetings to make sure that we are delivering on the outcomes that they expect.
What are some talent development trends you’ve observed in the past few years in Kansas City?
We’re hearing Kansas City companies talk a lot about accountability, risk taking, and innovation. These competencies mean different things to different organizations, but we are very clear that these three things are key to the survival and success of our companies. If organizations are not able to create an environment in which risk-taking is rewarded and accountability is supported, leaders will not do what it takes to cultivate and exercise an innovative mindset. It’s the innovative mindset that drives leaders to scan the environment and think about the opportunities that exist in the complexity of the world today.
What is the value proposition of the Bloch Executive MBA and how is it different from its competitors?
The Bloch Executive MBA is built upon four platforms: Leadership, Civic Engagement, Innovative Mindset, and Global Perspective. The combination of these four platforms makes our program stand out from any other program in the country. We all teach leadership and many programs touch on global perspective, but to add innovation and the impact of policy on business to the foundation of the program, that is uniquely Bloch, and quite frankly, uniquely Kansas City. Our goal to become the nation’s most entrepreneurial city is evidence that our community and business leaders are already thinking this way. As for innovation, it’s the notion that understanding how to scan the environment and leverage and communicate opportunities is important for current positioning for future success. That’s how we view innovation—seeing the opportunity when everyone else sees chaos.
The Executive MBA Council reported that on average 25% of students entering an Executive MBA program in 2014 received full financial sponsorship from their employer. Bloch far exceeds that industry average. Within the Bloch Executive MBA Class of 2016, 42% of students were fully sponsored by their employers. Why do you think Kansas City employers are willing to fully sponsor the cost of a Bloch Executive MBA?
Kansas City employers understand the importance of investing in their leadership and they show it by partnering with Bloch to create a training ground for our next generation of business and civic leaders. I can’t think of a better place to do this than the very place that is the educational home to numerous entrepreneurs across the city. This is a city that believes in investing in and growing its own and we are Kansas City’s university for educating executives.
Leadership Courage
Some days it’s easier to just sit back and take the road that’s been most trampled. Not sure Robert Frost would approve, but there is safety in a well carved out path…regardless if you know where it may lead. You take comfort in that decision because everyone else is heading in the same direction so you can merely put your arms out there and ride the swell. There are few obstacles because they have been removed by those in front of you. You have anticipation about what’s ahead because of the stories that are shared by your “path predecessors”. But, what if the road you are on is the wrong one? What if it’s going to a place that you don’t want to go? What then? How do you gain the clarity and courage to make a turn which could make the difference between a breakthrough innovation and losing ground?
As leaders, the key is not whether we choose the right road to begin with, but how long we stay on a dead-end path before we decide to forge a new one.
With any journey, we must have some clarity about the environment we are traveling in. In the business context, this is environmental scanning, understanding what’s around us in terms of our competitive threats and challenges, our opportunities to leverage our capabilities more efficiently, and, an understanding of any potential needs that are unfulfilled in the marketplace. All these are the signs on any path that many would miss but a proper navigator, or business leader, would notice and study and act upon.
Assess the terrain…current and ahead
What will happen if we take the road less traveled? Who will be impacted and in what ways? What if the idea doesn’t work? Or, sometimes worse, what if it does and your idea is wildly successful?
Lead with confidence and passion.
Passion can create mercy for a multitude of flaws. When we lead with passion, we believe in our actions and, more importantly, the outcome of those actions. If we can see the future and have a picture of what that looks like for the organization, we can begin to communicate the story of this view of the future and the path to get there with passion. When we communicate vision passionately, it is compelling and others can’t help but to join in achieving the common vision. Passion also implies that we have some alignment between our own personal beliefs about the vision and the goals of the organization.
Forge (and Forage) ahead
Once you’ve assessed the situation and made the decision to change course, stand behind your decision. This is different from defending. When you stand behind your decision and it’s a good one, you don’t have to hold it up to defend it. You’ll find that it stands on its own so that you can take a step back and throw out a few questions of your own while you answer inquiries from others. Be honest about the vulnerabilities of your decisions, that will help others to gain confidence that you’ve thought things through. Admit the risk in the course of action. Continue to learn along the path picking up nuggets to use when appropriate.
Leading courageously requires a spirit for adventure that not only expects, but empowers, your employees to consider taking a less populous route. In building this team of pioneers you must lead with conviction, passion and vision. Plotting the course to success is only half the journey. Providing directions through the obstacles and the set-backs effectively is what sets good leaders apart from great ones.
Enjoy the journey!
Kimberly Young
Executive Director