About Our Learning Products
With our experienced faculty of practitioners and academics we are creating a range of learning products and services for directors and executives of businesses and organisations in all sectors.
Learning Programmes
Our first programmes were delivered online due to the COIVID pandemic. They included Critical Systems Thinking and the Management of Complexity, which we developed in association with Michael C Jackson, author of the book with the same title. He recognised internationally as an authority on the subject of systems thinking and practice.
After two cohorts completed the programme many participants wanted us to develop a Deep Dive, project-based version. So, we now offer: An Introductory Programme that assumes no prior knowledge of the topic; . an Exploratory Programme that assumes some prior knowledge or completion of the introductory programme; and the Deep Dive project-based programme.
The programmes are based on a blended learning approach that includes a mix of pre-recorded content in several media formats, plus live online sessions related to each module, and facilitated study groups.
This example provides a model for how we will develop all new learning programmes with members of our Faculty and guest contributors.
Subject to demand we will also offer the introductory and exploratory versions of each programme in-person, as both open enrolment and private / in-company programmes.
Retreats
Beginning in early 2025 we will be offering Director and Executive retreats. Initially they will be one or two day events that take place at a country house venue in the Cotswolds, where the Paul Barnett, Founder of the Enlightened Enterprise Academy lives.
Cerney House, a 17th Century house and gardens, is just 90mins door-to-door from London Paddington and within easy reach of the international airports and major motorways (M4, M5 and M40/A40).
“The Better Way” Retreats
The first two retreats (related to each other), and the date and details of them will be announced soon.
The first, “The Better Way: Enlightened Enterprise,” is related to the related book project Paul is currently working on. In it Paul will host dialogues that explore what he believes to be some of the key features of a more enlightened approach to enterprise, and why they are urgently needed. Topics to be covered include:
Understanding the thinking behind classic management theories and practices, where they come from, and why they are outdated.
Appreciating how these outdated ideas negatively impact the performance of boards, executive teams, and the organisations they serve.
Introducing and envisioning The Better Way: Enlightened Enterprise. And contrasting it with the ways that hinder us.
Outlining some of the mindsets. methods, tools, and changes directors and executives need to consider to embrace The Better Way if they are to lead enlightened enterprises.
The focus is practical, not academic, and will be illustrated to make it very real. We will produce insights that lead to immediately actionable takeaway ideas.
The second of the two related retreats will be “Change, Transform or Transcend: And Where to Start.” It will pick up on themes outlined in day two of the the first Retreat. It will go into much greater detail about the mindsets, methods and tools, but also address:
The new capabilities 21st century directors and executives must have, but have probably not acquired as part of a classic business education programmes.
The better ways of governing, structuring, organising, and leading an Enlightened Enterprise in the face of today’s pressures on, and expectations of, businesses and organisations.
How to overcome the problems caused by organisational siloes, by overcoming the “systems thinking and practice capabilities gaps” which enlightened leaders recognise are a dangerous.
The need for a radically different approach to leadership, to ensure leadership is dispersed. This is essential so that self-directed employees and teams can be trusted to make timely, effective, ethical decisions under intense pressure, faced with constant rapid change.
Again the focus will be practical, not academic. The insights will be illustrated to make them real. And participants should be able to apply the takeaway ideas quickly.
The Better Way Publication
These two retreats and the book project they relate to are supported by The Better Way publication on Substack, a subscription to which will be free to delegates.
Members of the Enlightened Enterprise Academy of subscribers to any of our publications, will be offered a discount on the cost of the retreats (members of the academy getting the largest discount rate).
The Salon
The Enlightened Enterprise Academy's online Salon, launched in 2024, aims to be a catalyst for the New Enlightenment. It brings together the world’s leading thinkers from all relevant disciplines.
The concept it modelled on the Paris Salons of the 18th century which brought together the leading thinkers from a broad range of disciplines to explore the issue of the day, and to share their thoughts on how to address them. They shared progressive, emancipatory, and radical ideas.
We believe progressive, emancipatory, and radical ideas are needed to catalyse a “New Enlightenment.” if we are to stand any chance of transcending the existential crisis we face. The crisis is characterised by highly complex large scale problems. So, transcending them will require collaboration between many disciplines.
The Salon is supported by a separate publication on Substack. DETAILS
Subscription to it, and all our other publications, is free to members of the Enlightened Enterprise Academy, and includes access to the live online dialogues that are the core Salon offering. Alternatively, subscription is $8 monthly or $80 annually.