An Integrated Consulting Model's Usefulness During a Pandemic

Possessing a doctor of education degree from the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, Dr. Ari Betof oversees Organizational Sustainability Consulting in the greater Philadelphia area. Currently pursuing his executive MBA at the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University, Dr. Ari Betof appeared on the Koinos Podcast, which introduces the perspectives of those taking part in high-profile executive MBA programs.

Asked about the reasons why organizations - whether educational, nonprofit, or corporate - are reaching out to his firm during a pandemic, Dr. Betof noted that his integrated consulting model is increasingly in demand. His firm effectively brings together the organizational and financial sustainability aspects of operations in ways that most consultants are not equipped to achieve.

In particular, he combines qualitative engagement that drives people’s actions with quantitative analysis that boosts the bottom line. Within this matrix of executive coaching and governance, he is particularly aware of the complex ways in which group dynamics need to be navigated in order to attain buy-in from diverse stakeholders.

The disruptive context of COVID-19 makes this of particular importance to small liberal arts colleges and independent schools, which find their “health and vitality” threatened. Finding a way to achieve sustainable growth within a challenging landscape has brought Dr. Betof back to issues that were a focus when he was pursuing his EdD. Taking these practical insights and working with a set of professional cohorts in the executive MBA sphere bring an added dimension and new perspectives to the table.

For the full Koinos Podcast transcript, visit https://medium.com/org-sustainability-insights-by-ari-betof/transcript-koinos-podcast-interview-d3f88edbe345.

 

Dr. Ari Betof - Motivations for an Executive MBA Beyond Grades

Dr. Ari Betof guides Organizational Sustainability Consulting, LLC, and provides nonprofits, private educational institutions, and corporate clients with pathways toward financial sustainability. Reflecting his status as a Cornell Executive MBA candidate, Dr. Ari Betof appeared recently on the Koinos Podcast, which brings together entrepreneurial voices from various executive MBA programs.

Speaking about his motivation in pursuing an MBA, with a graduate degree and significant consulting experience already behind him, Dr. Betof emphasized that his academic work is grounded in self-motivation. With a top-tier program like Cornell’s, which attracts students with established leadership records, he asks, "How much are you going to care about things like grades?”

The approach that Dr. Betof has taken is one of focusing on outcomes, with practical skills that he has defined from the outset as being worth attaining. Having focused on math and physics in his undergraduate studies, he is now exploring content areas that he taught himself during the economic upheaval of the 2008 Great Recession as he was completing his doctoral research on organizational stewardship and financial sustainability..

This basis of the MBA in personal experience informs his rigorous approach to understanding the dynamics that drive contemporary organizational and business decisions. As Dr. Betof puts it, the MBA is a way of “committing [a] career to a deepening understanding and engagement with [an] area of expertise.”

To access the full Koinos Podcast transcript, visit https://medium.com/org-sustainability-insights-by-ari-betof/transcript-koinos-podcast-interview-d3f88edbe345