Old-world leader, new world vision

Old-world leader, new world vision

By Della Bradshaw

Published: February 4 2008 02:00 | Last updated: February 4 2008 02:00

On first meeting Leonard Lauder it would not be too difficult to mistake him for a venerable Hollywood character actor. However, it is in the world of business, rather than film, that he has made his name.

Now in his seventies, Mr Lauder was responsible for much of the growth and overseas expansion of the Estée Lauder cosmetics company, which was founded by his father and mother Estée. Since joining the company in 1958 he has been president, chief executive and most recently chairman.

In spite of his old-world manners, Mr Lauder is undoubtedly a man who was ahead of his time, particularly when it came to management education. In the early 1980s, while chief executive, he proposed a new type of postgraduate university programme that would combine business knowledge with a world perspective, through travel and languages.

The problem was that at that time, nobody seemed to think it was a good idea. "They didn't get it," says Mr Lauder. "Now they understand it absolutely."

It was the appointment of a new provost at the University of Pennsylvania, with a more global view of the world, that eventually led to the establishment of the Lauder Institute in 1983, with money from the Lauder family.

Mr Lauder wanted the eponymous programme (see far right) to educate managers to run global businesses. "When we set out to create the programme I knew what was lacking in my own education. It was too narrowly focused. You have to be internationally-minded."

He showed remarkable prescience. As top US schools such as Stanford, Columbia and Yale have revamped their MBA programmes over the past few years, much of the changes they have implemented were integral to the Lauder programme nearly 20 years ago.

At the top of the list is the emphasis on communications skills, as well as analytics. "I was required to do public speaking and it was probably the single best part of my education," he says. "By being able to communicate I have been able to sell my ideas to people who have not been open to them."

Alongside that is an understanding of global business. "Most people don't understand what globalisation means and they don't understand the globe," says Mr Lauder. "How can you be influential in the world if you have never been exposed to it?"

For Mr Lauder, the sociopolitical dimensions of international business are paramount. Recalling his own undergraduate days, he talks about taking lessons from Alexander Kerensky, who was Russian prime minister for just four months following the February 1917 revolution. The sort of insights expressed by Mr Kerensky should be part of the education of all today's global managers, believes Mr Lauder. "World vision - that's what it's all about."

With an undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania, Mr Lauder went on to study for an MBA at Columbia University but left three credits short of getting the degree. His "PhD", as he puts it, came from his time doing National Service in the navy, where he signed up for an extra year. "I felt as an officer in the navy I would learn leadership skills I had not learnt at Wharton. It was the single best thing I did in my life."

Mr Lauder is dismissive of those who argue that leadership is a skill people are born with, a skill which cannot be taught.

"Leadership is a social skill, not a business skill, that allows you to manage people and to convince people that they should adhere to the values and standards that you have established or believe in."

Mr Lauder clearly believes the Lauder programme still delivers the education he envisaged at the outset. "I believe we teach communications still probably better than anyone else. And for world vision? There is no one like us. What we are continually trying to do is to make the programme so relevant to today's and tomorrow's needs that it is a unique programme."

Imitation is the best form of flattery, they say, so it is little surprise that much of what constitutes the Lauder programme has been emulated by other business schools. The biggest concern for Mr Lauder is clearly the competition from the growing number of one-year, globallyorientated programmes, exemplified by European schools such as Insead and IMD.

He clearly needs to persuade would-be applicants that the 24 months needed to complete the Lauder programme is time and money well spent. And he uses his well-practiced art of persuasion to do it.

He continues: "I don't think there is one of our alumni - not one - that regrets the extra money and the extra time. The loss of one year does not make a difference but the gain is phenomenal."

Since stepping down as chief executive, Mr Lauder has turned his own hand to teaching within the company, using case studies and business articles to teach topics such as brand management. "I enjoy it," he confides. "And I make them work really hard."

Lauder learning

With its emphasis on language-learning and global immersion, the Lauder programme at the Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania is as much a programme for the 21st century as it was for the 1980s.

Participants on the 24-month programme are enrolled in both the Wharton school, from which they receive an MBA, and the School of Arts and Sciences, from which they receive an MA in international studies.

Specialised language teachers coach the students in a non-native language in which they already have some functional knowledge. There are eight languages available: Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.

Requirements of the course include an overseas summer immersion of corporate and cultural visits and a consulting project.