I attended a breakfast this morning at which Roger Martin and Jennifer Riel spoke about the Rotman iThink programme, an initiative to teach the philosophy and tools from their flagship Integrative Thinking © MBA program in local secondary schools. This initiative started as a pilot in one progressive private school in Toronto, Branksome Hall and has expanded to encompass teaching in both private and public sectors within Toronto and across Canada.

What has surprised and delighted Roger and Jennifer is the quality of the solutions that these 16 year olds have been able to generate. Reflecting on this quality Roger has observed that the quality is just as good as that which they see from a typical MBA class, which leaves him wondering what six years of additional formal education and several years business experience have delivered.

More than any other Integrative Thinking © initiative this has captured the imagination of Roger and the team not only because of the significant and immediate shifts it has created for these pupils but also because of the life skills that is provides them with and which over time they might use to transform the way Canada and perhaps the rest of the world think about problem solving, decision making and creativity.