TCU Executive Education Mini MBA

Business leaders have long faced challenges that intersect with – and at times, test – their organization’s values and ethical considerations. In today’s environment of disruption, uncertainty, and rapid change, these situations are more frequent and complex. This session guides leaders through values-based decision-making by examining contemporary and forward-looking scenarios, and by helping establish a clear ethical compass to navigate complex and unprecedented challenges.

Executive presence is more than first impressions – it’s a leader’s ability to make a meaningful impact in key moments for their teams and organizations. Leaders with strong presence build connections, show up with confidence, and convey a compelling perspective that inspires action. This session explores the skills and capabilities that drive executive presence and offers practical tools and opportunities to practice them in real-world scenarios.

In today’s fast-paced business world, building and maintaining a strong, cohesive culture while scaling an organization is one of the greatest challenges leaders face. Often overlooked during periods of growth, culture can become both a deeply engaging asset and a powerful competitive advantage when addressed proactively. This session focuses on key strategies and practical approaches for scaling organizational culture and creating alignment across functions, departments, and geographies.

Businesses, organizations, and the very nature of work continue to evolve at an accelerating pace. This session explores how growing complexity in the business environment is placing significant new demands on leaders and organizations. The focus will be on how today’s challenges – business, societal, organizational, and environmental – require fundamentally different approaches to leadership and organizational structure, particularly in the areas of strategy, innovation, culture, and people.

In today’s rapidly evolving economy, financial fluency isn’t optional – it’s essential. This session equips business leaders with the financial acumen needed to make informed, strategic decisions. Through a practical, hands-on curriculum, participants learn to interpret financial statements, analyze performance and financial metrics, and evaluate investment opportunities. Ideal for non-financial managers, entrepreneurs, and executives, the course bridges the gap between finance and strategy, enhancing decision-making capabilities across industries.

From digitization and advanced analytics to the rise of AI, today’s disruptive technologies are reshaping industries at light speed. This session equips leaders at all levels with the right tools, strategies, and mindsets to think strategically, assess risk, and seize opportunities in a constantly evolving business climate.

In times of complexity and uncertainty, leaders need a clear framework to think and act strategically – fast. With the pace of change accelerating dramatically, new tools and approaches for strategic thinking are essential. This session introduces strategic frameworks designed to help leaders build strategy and think strategically at the speed of change.

In today’s fast-paced, ever-evolving business environment, uncertainty is inevitable. Whether it’s economic volatility, shifting market dynamics, or unexpected crises, leaders must navigate ambiguity with resilience, adaptability, and foresight. This session explores the critical competencies required to lead with confidence in times of uncertainty, incomplete information and unclear direction. 

In today’s data-driven business environment, leaders must interpret and apply data to make informed, strategic decisions. This session equips participants with practical tools to analyze information, uncover insights, and avoid common data pitfalls. Leaders will also learn how to communicate data-driven decisions clearly, with a focus on people, context, and content.

From securing funding for an innovative project to scaling a new business, leaders must be able to craft persuasive business cases and present them in a compelling way to gain support for new ideas. This session explores the essential components of a strong business case – capturing the relevant information needed to inform, engage, and ultimately persuade key stakeholders. Participants will explore and practice the critical elements of delivering high-impact pitches that influence decision-makers and build support for new initiatives. 

Change agility encompasses the mindsets and capabilities that enable leaders and organizations to quickly and effectively pivot in the face of change, uncertainty, or disruption. For leaders, it involves openness to new ideas, flexibility in decision-making, a systems-thinking perspective, and the ability to maintain energy in the face of challenges or setbacks. For organizations, it requires rethinking structures, processes, and operating principles to better support agility and innovation. This session focuses on key strategies for enhancing change agility in both leaders and organizations.

Leaders at all levels must be able to build strong, trust-based connections with key individuals and groups who influence their work, decisions, and outcomes. This session focuses on using both interpersonal skills and strategic approaches to engage stakeholders, influence decisions, and align around shared goals. It also explores common challenges leaders face with stakeholders – including building trust, forming new relationships and repairing damaged ones.

Jim Roach

Executive Director
TCU Neeley Executive Education

Mr. Roach has 25 years of experience in corporate human resources leading learning and development programs to build leadership capabilities, enhance organizational effectiveness and deliver improved business results. He spent more than 20 years at Verizon leading the organization effectiveness initiative and developing custom leadership and functional development programs. He also spent 15 years leading executive education leadership certificate programs at SMU and five years leading programs for L-3 Link Simulation & Training. He has been honored with several teaching excellence awards and has designed and delivered courses on subjects such as executive presence and communication, authenticity, presentation style, leading in today’s business environment, learning agility, creativity and leadership, retaining top talent, and building and managing the employment relationship. He holds a BA and MS in economics from the University of Illinois.

Michael Sherrod

Instructor III
Director, Innovative Teachers Guild
William M. Dickey Entrepreneur in Residence

Michael Sherrod joined TCU Neeley in 2011 after a successful career of entrepreneurial thinking, innovation and creativity. He began his career in 1976 by starting a magazine publishing company right out of grad school. He transitioned from the print world into the online world in 1985 when he helped manage a video-text news service for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. In his career Michael has founded or co-founded 15 companies, including Black Dove Media, DigitalCity.com, AOL Local and Examiner.com. Additionally, he has served in senior management roles and started new companies inside CapCities/ABC, AMR Information Services, AOL, Ancestry.com, and The Anschutz Companies. In 2010, he served as the first Publisher of The Texas Tribune (www.texastribune.org), a non-profit, non-partisan media site covering Texas government, politics, and public policy and is founding board member.

Michael is Chairman of the Board of the Urban Library Council, Past Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Kinsey Institute, the world’s leading research institute for sex, gender and reproduction, and a former board member of the Craigslist Foundation. He also serves as board member and advisor to a number of online organizations around the world and is an active Angel investor. Michael is an author and frequent speaker on online, cultural and media issues. Michael holds a B.A. from the University of Notre Dame, where he studied in the interdisciplinary Great Books Program, an M.A. in Journalism from the University of Missouri at Columbia and an MBA from The Neeley School of Business at TCU.