When you decide to go for an Executive Master’s degree in your forties, you go in with tempered expectations. After all, after a dozen or more training programmes, and 20 years of professional experience, you’ve learned a lot of what there is to know about your field. Your goal will probably be to build on that experience with some of the latest knowledge and research that a university like INSEAD can provide.

• Read more about A Mid-life Breakthrough

“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing there is a field. I'll meet you there”. These words were written by Rumi the, 13th-century Persian poet. Did you know that these words were written after Rumi fell in love with a man in the later years of his life? These lines remind me of my EMC experience. 

• Read more about Rumi, Roger, and I

‘The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.’ - Carl-Gustav Jung When I was admitted to the EMC programme in Wave 22 of June 2016, I had no idea that nothing was to become more real than the above quote by CG Jung.

• Read more about Thoughts & Reflections on My EMC at INSEAD

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” - Confucius

• Read more about Rethinking Resilience: Lessons From the Poles

Trying to explain what the Executive Master in Change (EMC) programme is like trying to explain the taste of a mango. I will try, but if you are an executive, business owner or consultant, I hope you have the opportunity to taste it for yourself.

• Read more about Can You Explain the Taste of a Mango?

As a former EMC participant I was asked if I’d like to contribute a testimonial of my experience. And I did it the “classical” way by sharing my own story and by listing some of the benefits so that you can better evaluate if this programme would be right for you. But I would not be an EMC alumna if I did not share with you THE main takeaway from this programme for critical times like these.

• Read more about Benefits of the EMC Programme: Leading Yourself in a Crisis

I have been asked that question numerous times by people from all different professions and corners of the world. And my first reaction often is a typical consultant answer: “It depends”, and it particularly depends on what you want to get from the programme and why you want to attend it.

• Read more about Is the EMC the Right Programme for Me?

When I wrote Evolutionary Leadership: A Holistic Perspective, I was introduced to Prof Manfred De Kets Dries at INSEAD. He encouraged me to consider the EMC (formerly EMCCC) programme that INSEAD was running. But for me to commit to a diploma was too much at the time.

• Read more about How INSEAD Helped Me Deal With the Changing World

Applying for the INSEAD Executive Master in Change (EMC) programme is a process of reflection in itself. We try to make it as simple and smooth as possible, and our step-by-step guide really helps candidates tick off all the items from the checklist.

• Read more about INSEAD Executive Master in Change (EMC): The Benefits of Applying Early