In the Classroom I
 Return on Education: "We Moved Our Business Forward"

Brad Schneider, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of MicroSat Systems, Inc., knew it wouldn't be easy for his startup company to land lucrative commercial contracts for its satellites. But within 6 months of implementing an evaluation system learned in Wharton's The CFO: Becoming a Strategic Partner, Schneider's company finalized a multimillion-dollar commercial contract, is in negotiations for international contracts, and is pursuing other international work with the federal government. "Through aggressive marketing, we were able to bring our business plan forward by about 5 years, relative to the commercial and international business sectors," Schneider said.

While those contracts were under negotiation long before he attended Wharton, the knowledge he gained in the classroom has reinforced and reinvigorated the company's strategic analysis process. "Brad came back from Wharton with some new ideas that we hadn't looked at before," said John Roth, President and Chief Operating Officer. "He's gotten our whole management team thinking in new ways about the future of the company."

"Most of our employees at MicroSat Systems have years of experience with well-respected companies, but in this industry you have to earn your wings," Schneider said. "No one in the commercial sector wants to take risks with young companies. We knew the biggest barrier would be getting into commercial contracts."

Last summer, Schneider organized an offsite meeting with the company's CTO, its director of marketing, and Roth, where they implemented the inquiry techniques outlined in the Wharton classroom. "I was able to take what we did in the classroom and help our management team narrow down on the specifics of what we need to accomplish this year," Schneider said.

One of those methods was "not discounting any ideas. We got everything up on the board and then began isolating the key drivers of the business," Schneider said. "From that meeting, we opened up this process to our first-line managers — those who actually lead the engineering and manufacturing functions — and were able to get a more diverse understanding of what we're faced with in the competitive arena." The company has now incorporated this process in its quarterly offsite planning sessions. "We've gained insights into how to better market our products and how to capture new business," Roth said.

It was Roth who encouraged his CFO to attend Wharton's program. "I'd attended a class at Wharton before and wanted my CFO, my right-hand man, to do the same," Roth said. The 5 days Schneider spent at Wharton has helped bridge the gap between his "day-to-day tactical issues, such as current projects and cash flow" and more long-range, strategic-level thinking, Roth said.

"The CFO is the linchpin that makes sure your business' financial side grows along with your technical side," he said. "As a small company, we're always in a change mode. We can't afford to be static if we want to be a big company. Brad came back from Wharton much more motivated to look at new ways of growing the company."

    

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