To succeed in today’s rapidly changing business environment, Professor Andres Terech believes there are 2 fundamental skills that managers must acquire: curiosity and the ability to face uncertainty.
What’s certain is the Marketing Professor at UCLA Anderson School of Management wants his students to come out of his courses with a curious mindset, ready to encounter the unknowns of managing a business in a post-covid world.
Professor Terech currently teaches 2 courses at UCLA, Marketing Strategy oriented towards MBAs and marketing students, as well as a New Product Development course with a focus on innovation and design thinking. He also advises MBAs and Executive MBAs with field work. He strives to encourage innovative thinking by looking outside of traditional contexts, and believes that curiosity is at the crux of innovation.
“Businesses are not an exact science. What I want my students to get out of my classes is the sense of ‘how do I look for new theories, new frameworks, new activities where I can learn and limit the risks I am willing to take in my business.”
To get students curious, he likes to make his courses as interactive as possible. It also comes down to sometimes focusing on the process of arriving at a decision. As Professor Terech puts it, getting students to see themselves in the shoes of the decision makers. For many years he has been using cases, which he also likes to write, to promote decision making with a limited set of data. He also uses simulations and encourages field work to try to come up with ideas and solutions never developed before.
How cases fit into an interactive teaching approach
Some marketing elements will always stay constant, fundamental questions like why a consumer buys. But Professor Terech likes to also focus on updating these fundamentals and create new, more relevant situations, so getting inspiration from industry experts and updating cases is essential.
While cases, field work and speaking with industry executives all provide valuable insights for his Marketing students, he believes business simulations, such as Markstrat, do 2 things no other innovative tool can in the classroom.
Professor Terech describes how simulations like Markstrat link decisions to outcomes
How Markstrat creates an unmatched competitive environment
Professor Terech believes to get students engaged in learning there needs to be a strong emotional link in the classroom. His top teaching tip to do this is to show empathy to students. In other words, having a deep understanding as to what gets students excited and what drives them. Simulations can play a crucial role in this.
Why simulations can be a great way to connect with students
Markstrat is designed for experiencing strategic marketing concepts, such as brand portfolio strategy, segmentation and positioning strategies.
Key learnings
Learn more about Markstrat