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Kevin Alm

Kevin Alm

EMBA 2012

Principal, Edward Jones

"I learned how to draw out the best thinking from a broad range of talented individuals."

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Immediate knowledge application

How does Alm apply what he learned in the program to his work at Edward Jones? “Broadly speaking, the program refined my approach to ‘question-based leadership,’ a distinct advantage for an organization rooted in Peter-Drucker-style, responsibility-based management. Learning how to draw out the best thinking from a broad range of talented individuals encourages much better decision-making.”

Alm also provided specific examples. “The timing of Anjan Thakor’s Business Communication course was perfect for me. I used his communication framework in my final presentation for a new performance and recognition system for our 12,000 financial advisors.

“About 15 pages into my Q&A proposal, our managing partner stopped me. ‘Looks great; go get ‘em,’ he said. It was a beautiful thing.”

In addition, Alm credits program takeaways with his leadership team’s effectiveness in restructuring his current division. “We’re now more than a year into the new structure, and we’re having good success.”

Return on investment

“The process of going through the Executive MBA program was positive for my family in a number of ways. My wife was on board from the beginning, ready, willing, and able to carry the water for both of us when it came to personal responsibilities.

“I still remember my mother working on her master’s and Ph.D. degrees when I was young – and how proud I was of her. Now, my three children have the same memory. We actually had study hours together.”

Alm says the program delivered an equally strong professional return on investment. “My Executive MBA degree has given me a foundation for increasing the scope of my leadership and responsibility.”