You already have talented people. To retain them you must give them opportunities to grow.
Teaching classical leadership as a cost center is not enough. The MicroMBA equips them with skills that turn them into proven change agents — and generates measurable profits in the process.
It does not import external ideas. It surfaces and structures the innovation potential that already exists in your organization, and turns it into concrete projects that return more than the cost of the training.
Most organizations that run a first cohort run many more. Not because it is a good program — but because it delivers. And because it pays for itself.
Create business-savvy change agents
Turn your managers into change agents who deliver real innovation projects that pay for themselves.
Your best people want to contribute more. Give them a program that lets them prove it — and lets your organization reap the benefits.
Most organizations have talented managers capable of driving innovation — but no structured channel to direct that energy into real projects. They attend training programs. They come back inspired. Nothing changes.
The MicroMBA is different. It is an executive education program engineered around one premise: participants do not just learn about innovation — they deliver it. Every cohort generates four to six fully analyzed, real innovation projects that are deployed in the field. In most cases, the business value of those projects exceeds the cost of the program. A guaranteed return on investment.
In 20+ years, more than 300 projects have been delivered across dozens of programs. The program does not just develop leaders. It pays for itself.
What It Is
Executive education programs typically separate learning from doing. Participants acquire frameworks in the classroom — through exercises or case studies — and are expected to apply them later: in their own time, with no structured support, against the full weight of their day-to-day responsibilities.
The MicroMBA / AgilityBooster closes that gap by design.
It is a compact, highly customized executive education program in which participants develop business acumen and intrapreneurship skills — and immediately apply them to real strategic or operational challenges that support the organization's strategy. The program runs in cohorts. Participants work in groups on a real project they have identified themselves. Each project is analyzed using the IpOp Model — the most rigorous pre-project methodology available, recommended by ISO 56007, the international standard for managing opportunities and ideas.
By the end of the program, participants have not just built new skills. They have:
- Delivered a fully structured Opportunity Case and a validated action plan ready for organizational decision-making
- Learned to build buy-in for a bottom-up initiative inside a real organization
- Navigated stakeholders and organizational complexity to move their project forward
- Internalized the stakes of the organization's strategy and the constraints that shape it
- Expanded their internal and external networks in ways that accelerate future collaboration
- Developed a proven ability to identify relevant opportunities, exploit them, and drive change
- Grown in self-confidence and personal engagement
For the organization, the output is twofold: a pipeline of bottom-up innovation projects ready for decision, and a cohort of managers who now think and act as change agents.
Deployed at Nestlé (10 cohorts, ~230 participants, ~50 real innovations), hospitals (20 cohorts, ~400 participants including physicians, ~80 innovation projects), Swiss banks (15 cohorts, ~320 participants, ~60 innovation projects), and industrial companies (8 cohorts, ~50 innovation projects) — as well as Microsoft, Sanofi, and public sector organizations. Developed and taught by Raphaël H Cohen, Academic Fellow of the University of Geneva and creator of the IpOp Model.
What participants say about their MicroMBA experience
of MicroMBA participants gained tools and concepts useful in their day-to-day work
of MicroMBA participants feel more capable of leading their teams and progressing professionally
of MicroMBA participants are better at spotting and seizing opportunities
of MicroMBA participants increased their self-confidence
Source: 2021 survey measuring the long-term impact of the MicroMBA across the first four cohorts.
Raphael H Cohen has been instrumental in the success of the Nestlé Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program. With 10 cohorts representing about 230 people, we now have a community of agile and audacious change agents. The program has delivered close to 50 real bottom-up innovations. Thanks to these projects, the program pays for itself.
His passionate and professional approach to the MicroMBA program was a major reason for its success. Raphael went above and beyond his role to personally mentor every student in the class. I cannot thank him enough for the contributions he has made to our business through this program.
The biggest gain for my teams from working with Raphael has been the ability to think outside the box. Raphael has truly helped us become a learning organization. His humility and compassion make him a great sparring partner with whom you want to spend time, as you know it is time well invested for the benefit of your employees.
Raphael H Cohen has definitely introduced the concept of Intrapreneurship in our organization. By using the IpOp Model that he has designed, he has brought a tangible and effective process which is now identified as a key contribution to our company innovation practice. I recommend without restriction Raphael H Cohen to any organization wishing to increase its agility.
Examples of MicroMBA projects
Real projects delivered by MicroMBA participants inside their organisations — from hospital operations to cross-industry innovation.
Go deeper
Videos & Podcasts
MicroMBA-Oniris
Some clips are in French. To watch with English subtitles, play the video, click the CC button, then open Settings (⚙) → Subtitles/CC → Auto-translate → English. If an English audio track is offered under Settings (⚙), you can also listen to the video dubbed in English.
Download instructions (PDF)
What Sets the MicroMBA-Oniris Apart From Other Continuing-Education Programs? (Qu'est-ce qui différencie le MicroMBA-Oniris des autres formations continues ?)
Why Should an Employer Train Its Talents in the MicroMBA-Oniris? (Quel intérêt a un employeur de former ses talents au sein du MicroMBA-Oniris ?)
What Will I Gain From Participating in the MicroMBA-Oniris? (Que vais-je retirer de ma participation au MicroMBA-Oniris ?)
Why a Project in the MicroMBA-Oniris, and What Is the Benefit? (Pourquoi un projet dans le MicroMBA-Oniris et quel intérêt ?)
MicroMBA Projects
Some clips are in French. To watch with English subtitles, play the video, click the CC button, then open Settings (⚙) → Subtitles/CC → Auto-translate → English. If an English audio track is offered under Settings (⚙), you can also listen to the video dubbed in English.
Download instructions (PDF)
Articles & Research
MicroMBA Training ROI
Rentabilité de la formation MicroMBA
2021GovernPreneurship: Intrapreneurship at Geneva University Hospitals
How to Boost Bottom-up Innovation
Innovation émergente et MicroMBA
Teaching Management Skills to Health Providers
Gestion Hospitalière — Formation des cadres
Methods & tools
IpOp Model — Pre-project analysis and selection tool
The state-of-the-art methodology for improving project selection and outcomes. Validated by ISO 56007, the international standard for managing opportunities and ideas. A proven game-changer for organizations of all sizes and sectors.
IpOp Model Canvas — Free Download
A structured PDF form for capturing the full output of an IpOp Model pre-project analysis. Used by teams and individuals as a rigorous thinking tool before any significant project commitment.
IpOp Tools — Professional Web Software
The software built on the IpOp Model that transforms weeks of pre-project analysis into a streamlined, guided process. Used by MicroMBA participants to build their Opportunity Cases — and by organizations to standardize project governance at scale.
What We Do For You
Training — MicroMBA™ / AgilityBooster™
A fully customized cohort program in which participants learn to innovate, lead, and deliver — by doing it for real, inside your organization. Designed and facilitated by experienced entrepreneurs and executives, not theorists.
Participants leave with:
- A measurably improved ability to lead and foster engagement
- A proven ability to identify and seize genuine opportunities inside the organization
- A rigorous, structured approach to pre-project analysis using the IpOp Model
- A completed, decision-ready Opportunity Case for a real project
- Stronger stakeholder management and cross-functional influence skills
- Greater agility, resilience, and self-confidence
- A significantly expanded network that accelerates future collaboration
- A much deeper understanding of the organization and its strategy
The organization receives a pipeline of bottom-up innovations and a measurable return on its education investment.
Consulting
We help organizations design the internal governance structures that make intrapreneurship sustainable beyond a single cohort:
- Structuring an internal innovation pipeline and project selection process
- Embedding the IpOp Model into your standard project governance
- Designing intrapreneurship programs adapted to your strategic agenda, sector, and culture
- Turning executive education from a cost center into a profit center
Keynote Speaking
A high-energy, humor-driven talk on intrapreneurship and bottom-up innovation — illustrated with real project outcomes from programs across sectors and countries, and a frank account of why most corporate innovation initiatives fail to produce measurable results.
Mentoring
One-on-one guidance for executives who want to build or scale an internal innovation capability, design a bespoke MicroMBA-style program, or systematically improve the success rate of strategic projects in their organization. Based on 20+ years of designing and running intrapreneurship programs across industries, geographies, and organizational cultures.