“I man­aged to put hu­man mo­tiv­a­tion into a for­mula”

Kim Lundberg thrives when he has time to delve deeply and learn something new. Whether he is mixing the ultimate drink from the soft drink fountains in EIFO’s canteen or immersing himself in theories on how humans can be motivated to do their best, curiosity drives him. This is something he explored during the Master of Business Development programme at CBS.

“The Performance Management course is about how we perform well as human beings. That MBD course gave me several eye opening moments through its scientific theory,” Kim explains.

“I now understand why we are more or less motivated, and which buttons need to be pushed. I can see it in myself, in my colleagues in our daily work – and even at home in my children.”

Greater freedom

Kim Lundberg works at The Export and Investment Fund of Denmark (EIFO) as Director for Tech & Venture Lending, where he provides loan financing to young start ups and scale ups. After some years in the organisation, he decided it was time to take the next step in his career.

“At that point, I had an HD2 Regnskab og Økonomistyring (accounting and financial management), and I wanted to study further and pursue a master’s degree.”

Before choosing the MBD at CBS, Kim explored other executive education options. The MBD stood out for a very particular reason.

“My impression was that the MBD has greater freedom – a framework that allows courses to draw on the very latest developments within tech and digital business development, which I found incredibly cool.”

The MBD programme has a broad palette of courses that give participants a holistic view of business development – from leadership to strategy, digitalisation to innovation. 

This broad focus was highly valuable to Kim, even though he works in a specialist role.

“I use it when I assess companies daily. When we dive deep into a case, we look at numbers and data, which are mostly symptoms of what is happening in the organisation’s management. It is important that we can look behind the facade – and the tools from the MBD allows me to do that.”

Clear structure

Today’s world looks very different from just a few years ago. Both individuals and businesses feel the effects of this, and this also became clear to Kim during his time at CBS.

“The MBD focuses a lot on implementation – on what actually happens in practice rather than merely designing a strategy. Things change so fast all the time, so developing five year strategic plans may not always be the right way forward. At the very least, we need to understand that we must revisit and adjust our strategies.”

But in a rapidly changing reality, Kim still finds great value in diving deep into a topic that interests him. With the flexible structure of the MBD programme, he could do this without having to rush.

“For me, it was fantastic that you take one course at a time. Full focus on one subject, one theme.”

Balancing an executive education with work and family life can be a major task and starting the MBD was also a family decision, Kim explains. But having agreed on a framework together with his wife was a great help.

“We agreed that there would be some weekends where I would devote myself entirely to studying, meaning I couldn’t be there for the family. But on the other hand, it meant there were many other times when I could be fully present and undisturbed.”

In the end, it was easier to get through the programme than Kim had expected. 

“I honestly don’t think it was as demanding as I had imagined.”

A sense of accomplishment

Four years ago, Kim completed his MBD, and he still believes it was all worth it. 

“It was a great sense of accomplishment to finish. And I’m happy that, even several years later, I still feel the benefits.”

In his role at EIFO, Kim continues to find motivation to improve and learn more.

“For many years, my philosophy has been that I should, first and foremost, do well in my current job. I haven’t had a specific goal of reaching a particular position or location. I just try to be the best version of myself every day. That way, I know I feel my best – and that I am most motivated."