About the Sulzberger Executive Leadership Program

Method

Each Fellow (or a team in the event that a media outlet sends representatives from the business and the newsroom sides) selected for the program must identify a critical performance challenge or project keyed to solving a problem in his or her organization that is likely to require the participation of several people and take from 12 to 15 months to accomplish. This requirement ensures that the effort put forth during the length of the program leads to concrete results beneficial to both the Fellow and the organization. During sessions, Fellows will divide their time between classroom activities and on working on their respective projects.

Performance-driven Change

“Performance-driven change” is a set of principles and practices crafted by Douglas K. Smith, the program’s executive director, who has more than 25 years of experience working with leaders who are confronted by the kind of strategic, financial, marketing, technological, innovation, and other disruptive challenges now confronting news businesses.

Smith is among the worlds’ leading management thinkers and consultants and has authored several books, including On Value and Values: Thinking Differently about We in an Age of Me; Make Success Measurable; and, The Wisdom of Teams. His methodology for using performance to drive change routinely generates more than a 25-to-1 return in financial and non-financial performance. Smith is working with Arlene Morgan, associate dean of prizes and programs at the school, to establish the curriculum. Morgan will oversee the registration and attendance process.

Participant Selection

Participants must be nominated by their news organization. The program accepts only the most senior and highest potential executives from both the business and editorial sides of newspaper, broadcast, magazine, and Internet news businesses. We expect that candidates will also come from companies that are publicly held, family and/or individually owned. Participants must be committed to spending three full weeks and two weekends between January 21, 2008 and December 31, 2008 at Columbia and another off-site location. Candidates must also be committed to carrying out their projects, with the help of an appointed advisor, over the course of the year and provide a report on results at the completion of the project.

Admittance is made by evaluating essays, project goals or performance challenges, and the candidates’ respective roles within their news organizations. Participants must have the authority and responsibility to lead efforts within their own companies against the most pressing challenges facing those organizations. The selected Fellows must demonstrate openness and an orientation to learning and working in a team atmosphere.

Tuition

The program costs $20,000. This fee covers the program registration, costs of a project advisor, course materials, hotel stays and most meals. Travel is not included, and there may be some supplemental fees for field trips.

Important Dates