BEACON Program
Charting Your Next Phase
Program Dates: July 21 - 25, 2013
Application: Registration closed on May 15.
The Beacon program is designed for Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) alumni who have achieved career success and are contemplating the next stage of their lives. Many GSB alumni have primary careers that wind down in their early 60s, 50s, and even 40s. However, statistics show that you can expect to remain fully vibrant and capable well into your 80s. The question is: how best to spend the next few decades of your life?
Created to meet the unique needs of a talented and ambitious cohort, the Beacon program is aimed at GSB alumni who have the time and freedom to pursue new endeavors that leverage their skills, experiences, and relationships. Your talents and experience are your greatest assets. Beacon will help you harness them into a path that is personally meaningful and fulfilling.
How Will You Benefit?
The Beacon curriculum combines cutting-edge academic research on what drives happiness and meaning with tools and processes for unleashing innovation. Class sessions are led by faculty from the GSB and the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design ("d.school"), and guest speakers share insights and lessons from their own transitions.
Beacon is unlike traditional executive educational programs. You, along with 19 hand-picked peers, will be expected and encouraged to spend a significant amount of time applying the learning and tools to create your own plan for the next phase of your life. During the interactive sessions, you'll work in small groups and on your own to:
- Gain a stronger understanding of your values, passions, and sources of happiness;
- Identify personal goals and objectives, in the short- and long-term; and
- Develop concrete action steps to achieve your goals.
Throughout the program, you'll collaborate with accomplished colleagues in a similar life stage. You'll also receive support from the program faculty and coaches, and you’ll have the opportunity to learn about other Stanford resources that may be helpful for your transition.
"I expected the tools, knowledge, and processes to help me discover a new and bigger way to contribute. The experience was four intense days filled with new information, research, and findings on what might be considered the esoteric subjects of happiness and meaning. Those were interwoven with both individual preparation and workshop interaction in a way that they became tangible and useful. The faculty, facilities, and other attendees were fantastic. I came away with everything I expected and more -- new connections, new ideas, and a new set of Stanford family." - Barbara Bishop, MBA '81 and 2012 Beacon participant
Who Should Attend?
GSB alumni whose next steps are driven by a desire to pursue projects and ambitions that they find personally meaningful will gain the most from this program.
Beacon is for those who:
- Have considerable time and energy to dedicate to the activities that yield joy and meaning, and who wish to explore how to go about this deliberately and purposefully
- Want to leverage their experience and skills to continue to make a difference;
- Are ready or close to ready to take concrete steps to move in this new direction;
- Seek to connect with and contribute to a group of colleagues in a similar life-stage;
Beacon is not for alumni who are looking for new ways to further their careers, nor is it for those who are looking to re-enter the job market after a considerable break. Rather, it is for alumni who have already achieved significant career goals and are now seeking new ways to achieve fulfillment.
Advice for Interested Alumni
Watch our Webinar
Happiness & Meaning
contact us
Sandy Yujuico
Associate Director of Programs
Phone:+1.650.736.3455
Email: ayujuico@gsb.stanford.edu
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