After spending the last four days immersed in the CMM program I am both overwhelmed and impressed. It was intense, in a good way. I had read some of the drama around the evolution of the course and wasn’t sure what exactly to expect. I can now say with confidence that the level of professionalism is above and beyond anything else meetings and events related that I have experienced outside an actual college/university course.

It’s not cheap, and that is for good reason. You are immersed for 4 straight days with your peers and three faculty from the Darden School of Executive Education from the University of Virginia. And there is lots of reading, group exercises (not the lame ones where you can ignore the directive and just gossip with your table either, actual deliverable conversations!) and even more introspection, and (for me, the first time in like 20 years) homework. And that was just the four-day part.

As I got back into the groove at work today (which I would strongly advise not doing – take a vacation day – you will need it!), I took a moment to Link-In with my classmates and begin digesting some of the valuable lessons learned during the first phase of my CMM experience. I look forward to involving my whole team at work in my CMM project and sharing the results with all my MPI Indiana friends.

My advice to you, if you are considering making the leap and applying for the CMM program, is to just do it. I get it, you’re busy, two work days out and a weekend away from friends and family is no small sacrifice. But I would argue that investing four days in your own personal and professional development has a much higher payout than simply 96 hours. Henry Ford had it right – if you are willing to commit your time and talent to life-long learning, then what you can achieve is limitless…but you have to take the first step.