A company’s relationship with a good education partner will closely resemble that of a client to a consultant. To help potential clients determine which type of executive education program best suits their needs, a good education program will delve into the specific problems faced by a company and its employees, assess the capabilities of the people involved, and conduct a root cause analysis. Then they’ll make recommendations based on their findings.Young tech companies can help their future leaders fill those gaps by investing in business and management education. Given that these individuals will be leading large portions of the business either as department heads or executives, some form of executive education will help prepare them for their new and expanded roles. There are different kinds of executive education programs and determining which one is the most suitable depends on the depth of an individual’s knowledge gaps and a company’s particular needs. For a smaller group of employees, ones that have already been identified by the company as potential future leaders, a full executive MBA program may be the best fit. But if the company has a larger group of employees that need executive training – whether there are a few business topics that they need to focus on in-depth or if there is a broader range of issues that they need to cover – the better approach might be a customized program, bringing in faculty members who are world-class subject matter experts. With the help of such education partners, companies can develop programs that provide specific training for their employees in the skills and knowledge areas where gaps have been identified. A company’s relationship with a good education partner will closely resemble that of a client to a consultant. To help potential clients determine which type of executive education program best suits their needs, a good education program will delve into the specific problems faced by a company and its employees, assess the capabilities of the people involved, and conduct a root cause analysis. Then they’ll make recommendations based on their findings. Good programs are also designed to accommodate professionals who have demanding schedules. This is especially important for a future leader at a young tech company who may be clocking long hours at the office or frequently traveling on company business. While flexible, courses are also academically rigorous, and they focus on drawing students from their comfort zones with practical, hands-on scenarios, which allow them to quickly apply what they are learning. Students are in classrooms with others they consider their peers, and they are taught by faculty who have real world experience and can apply their knowledge to tangible workplace situations. Young tech companies that invest in their future leaders and give them the right educational tools to prepare them for the executive suite are not just ensuring a smoother transition between rapid spurts of early growth. They are laying the foundation for the organizational structures every mature company needs to sustain strength and continued growth across generations of leadership. By William T. Valenta William T. Valenta, Jr. is Associate Vice Provost for Professional Programs at the University of Pittsburgh and Assistant Dean of MBA and Executive Programs at the University’s Katz Graduate School of Business.