3 secrets to success from Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley is a very special place. Established companies such as Apple, Google or Amazon constantly reinvent themselves, and startups with new ideas, products, technologies and business models emerge all the time - driven by ambition and an optimistic attitude when it comes to achieving breakthrough success. Yet, what is the secret of success to this dynamic ecosystem? What can we learn from it? In the following article, Prof. Nikolaus Franke, Academic Director of the Professional MBA Entrepreneurship & Innovation, analyzes the 3 most striking elements from an academic point of view.

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Wanted: Change of perspective - the reinvention of the oil industry

The oil and gas industry is in a phase of profound transformation: the search for alternative solutions for fossil fuels, new digital technologies, and the merging of entire industries. National oil companies (NOCs) play a special role in this far-reaching transformation. In order to prepare managers for these new challenges, the WU Executive Academy has developed the short program "Reinventing National Oil Companies" together with Arthur D. Little. The aim of the program is to connect stakeholders and decision makers from the global energy industry, encourage them to talk, and provide a platform for co-creating new strategies.

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FT’s business book of the month: March edition - Blockchain Babel by Igor Pejic

With his concept Blockchain Babel, Igor Pejic, Marketing Head at BNP Paribas PF AT and Professional MBA Marketing & Sales alumnus, had already made it to the finals of the best 3 submissions for the prestigious Bracken Bower Award in 2016. Now his book has been published and it combines management strategy and scientific research into a blunt, insightful and practical handbook on one of the most disruptive technologies of our time.

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Markus Müllegger, Managing Director at Vienna Residence and Global Executive MBA alumnus

In our March issue, Markus Müllegger tells his really unusual Career Story: How the former school dropout became an achiever hungry for learning, who never hesitated to go the extra mile: "Talent might help, but motivation and willingness to really put effort into something is even more important," says Markus, who has meanwhile left his corporate career and is now self-employed with two innovative companies.

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Apply now: EUR 25,000 scholarship for the Executive MBA Bucharest

Together with the leading Romanian daily newspaper, Ziarul Financiar, we are again awarding a partial scholarship of EUR 25,000 for the start of the Executive MBA Bucharest in autumn 2019. Take your chance now and apply until May 20, 2019.

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Trying out freestyle leadership - 6 practical approaches

From old to new? When it comes to leadership, you can't just say, "This is good and that is bad." Things are more complex than that. As we all know, there is no magic formula for “getting leadership right.” However, trailblazers and pioneers do occasionally provide us with inspiration for modern and forward-looking leadership beyond the traditional methods found in management manuals.Helga Pattart-Drexler, Head of Executive Education at the WU Executive Academy, has taken a closer look at the pros and cons of 6 unusual leadership methods.

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Online panel discussion: Next stop South Africa? – Europe’s strong, but still vulnerable partner

After many successful years in CEE and Asia, European companies are looking for alternatives. Yet, where is the journey going? With over 50% of all multinational companies, South Africa is one of the strongest and most stable countries on the African continent; nevertheless, with an economic growth of just over 1%, it belongs to the group of "slow growers". In the run-up to the parliamentary elections, renowned South Africa insiders will discuss online on April 23, 2019, why the EU sees South Africa as their strategic partner in the future and why it is worth investing in Africa's largest country. Register now and join the live discussion online!

Register here

As practical as an MBA can get

When you ask candidates - anywhere in the world - why they decided to study for an MBA degree, their answers will be the same: Apart from enhanced career prospects and the acquisition of new knowledge, the practical relevance of their education plus the new network are aspects of particular importance. The WU Executive Academy's Professional MBA Entrepreneurship & Innovation, which will feature a number of new practical elements as of fall 2019, is a prime example of how close to the real world an MBA actually is. In the following article, Prof. Nikolaus Franke, the program's academic director, explains what the new elements are and, more importantly, what benefits they will bring to MBA students.

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International Women’s Day: Female vs. male careers – where’s the difference?

On the occasion of International Women's Day on March 8, we asked Doris Hofmeister, Partner and Director International Business at Mercuri Urval, to illustrate the differences between female and male careers from an executive search perspective at our Female Leaders Breakfast. In the run-up to this event, she gave the Austrian business magazine "Trend" an in-depth interview.

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Self-control problem: Do not lead us into temptation! by Prof. Manfred Frühwirth

Psychologically speaking, the self-control problem can be explained as follows: two forces fight against each other within us all the time: the rational planner and the irrational doer. The doer makes impulse decisions. The foresighted planner tries to keep the doer under control - and fails repeatedly. In the 9^th part of our GEWINN/WU Executive Academy series "The biggest investor mistakes", Prof. Manfred Frühwirth, Academic Director of the Professional MBA Finance, explains how the self-control problem affects your financial decisions and what tricks you can use to beat your inner, irrational doer.

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