The Rotman School’s curriculum is based on a thought process called [Integrative Thinking]. We are trying to teach our students how to think like business leaders as we believe setting the trends is more valuable than following the trends. This is the creative, innovative part of the curriculum. We look at past models and rather than adopting them as a whole without questioning, we use the parts that will work for our unique business problem and create better solutions for the unresolved parts.

The Rotman School’s curriculum is focused on the future, not on the past. We use the past to learn from mistakes, to hone analytical skills and then shift our focus to the present and see how we can create a better solution. This brings up many questions because despite the conventional use of case studies in business schools, only 35% of our curriculum is based on case studies. We do not define ourselves as a “case study school” because it conflicts with our [Integrative Thinking] model.

Why don’t we use case studies extensively?

We think case studies are good exercises, certainly a good practice to hone analytical skills but we do not believe that one can find answers to current issues by using past models. It is good practice to learn from past but business is evolving on a daily basis. What was popular yesterday might be well on its way to being outdated today. If we do offer something different from the competition, we will always be following others. For the Rotman School, creating a sustainable business and challenging the status quo and ourselves many times are keys to becoming creative and innovative.

Roger Martin stated in his interviews many times, “’Prove it‘ is the absolute enemy of innovation.” If you want to experiment with things, you will need to take risks and maintain an open mind to challenge and be challenged. Throughout the program, we ask our students to constantly challenge themselves. [Integrative Thinking] is especially important at this point as it provides our students with the tools to look at a business problem from different perspectives and create an optimum solution.

In case you would like to learn more…

Roger Martin and Hilary Austen (author of “Artistry Unleashed”) are discussing case studies and Integrative Thinking among other things in this BBC podcast. There are many other great interviews on Integrative Thinking and Business Design on Rotman TV.