Concept
Interview with Dr. Heyndrickx, founder of the Grand Tour
What was your approach? Why this Grand Tour ?
We’ve all been to seminars where some of the speakers were not up to scratch or even boring. Definitely a waste of time and money. Nowadays in harsh economic times, even large corporations find it difficult to justify high rates for management trainings. So we set up to present a world class event at accessible tuition fees. We succeeded beyond our expectations, gathering exceptional speakers from Europe's finest business schools. Furthermore, we propose a flexible curriculum.
What do you mean by flexible?
In typical programs, participants have to subscribe to the entire package, which might include subjects they are not interested in or already familiar with. The Grand Tour is different in this regard. Participants have the freedom to choose the specific sessions they wish to attend.
What makes this initiative so exceptional?
You mean apart the affordable tuition fee and the flexibility? Well, for the first time 4 world authorities from 4 of Europe’s leading business schools are brought together. This is no small feat. As those business schools compete with each other it took an outsider to organize The Grand Tour. Now we can propose the best of the best. Each of the business schools has a particular approach to people management. For each topic we wanted a world authority, someone who proposes innovative insights to leadership so participants can go back to their job with fresh ideas to manage their team. At first glance we identified topics you will find in most similar events. Don’t be fooled, if you read the abstracts you will notice each Professor has a very original approach to his subject matter. We didn’t want academic lectures.
Most international events focus on one or two keynote speakers from a top business school. For our initiative we wanted no less than 4 keynote speakers, one for each topic, one from each of the 4 top business schools.
Can you tell us someting about the experts?
We selected for a unique panel of world authorities who have an impressive track record in advising companies, training and accompanying executives/managers around the world. Their expert guidance is based on actionable data gleaned from extensive research, consulting and assessments. This guarantees our programme incorporates real-world business challenges and delivers skills and insights that can be put immediately into practice. Each speaker offers innovative insights on leadership, making the sessions highly valuable for participants to apply fresh ideas to their team management. Additionally, we've made sure the sessions are interactive and relevant to day-to-day management practices, avoiding dry academic lectures.
Who should attend, and why?
Obviously high ranking civil servants or managers in charge of a team, for the skills you need to manage your people either in the public sector or the private sector are universal. As for why, well I already indicated the exceptional set up of the Grand Tour. Attending this event is a career-boosting opportunity. Not many professionals get the chance to follow a program from just one top business school, let alone have access to experts from 4 leading European business schools. The Grand Tour is a pioneering initiative that promises to be a valuable asset for one's career development.