The art of good judgement

This interview originally appeared in the 2026-27 Access MBA Guide and we reproduce the interview in its entirety here.

Dr Mahdi Tavalaei is a Senior Lecturer in Strategy and Digital Transformation and an MBA Director at Surrey Business School. He is also a Senior Fellow at The Higher Education Academy (UK). He holds a PhD in Business Studies (Strategy) from IE Business School.  His research is mainly on competitive strategy in digital markets. He teaches AI and decision intelligence and AI and analytics tools for business in the Surrey MBA programme.

Why sound decision-making is the skill that outlasts every disruption

Surrey positions itself at the intersection of business and sustainability. How does that shape the way MBA content is taught and how students engage with it?

I describe our MBA as an MBA for change and an MBA for good. Responsibility runs through the Surrey MBA as one of its defining pillars, from Sustainable Operations and Supply Chain to Responsible AI for Business. Students also put these ideas into practice through our Global Impact Residency, where they work on international consultancy projects for organisations with a social or environmental mission. As a signatory to the UN Principles for Responsible Management Education, we treat environmental and social factors as embedded in business decisions, not as constraints on the profit function. Our aim is to develop leaders who create value while considering the wider consequences of their decisions.

What mechanisms do MBA programmes use to close the gap between academic theory and business reality, and how do you know when they are working?

The critical mechanism is a feedback loop with practice. Our faculty members combine research with consultancy, advisory work, and industry partnerships, bringing both rigour and relevance into the classroom. We reinforce this through guest speakers, live projects, and resident executives. In the final Integrative Applied Project, students apply what they have learned to a specific problem, either by building a business plan or by solving a company's challenge as a consultant. We know these approaches work when graduates move into leadership roles, drive change within their organisations, or launch ventures that began as ideas during the programme, of which our alumni offer many examples.

How central are real company challenges to the way learning takes place at Surrey, and what do business partners get out of that relationship?

Real organisational challenges sit at the heart of the Surrey MBA. We benefit from a unique ecosystem that includes: the University of Surrey Research Park, a thriving cluster of start-ups and SMEs; SETsquared, a world-leading business incubator; and Surrey Hatchery, our student-focused incubator. Companies bring real challenges into the classroom and, in return, receive fresh thinking, rigorous analysis, access to future talent, and solutions backed up by research. Students gain real experience applying theory in complex settings, and the relationship keeps the learning relevant for both sides.

How does the mix of professional backgrounds and cultural perspectives change the quality and depth of learning for everyone in the room?

An MBA is essentially a peer-learning experience, which is why we keep cohorts diverse in terms of nationality, industry, and professional background. Our students range from science and engineering to business and finance, and work across sectors including IT, banking, healthcare, hospitality, and government. A strategy that succeeds in one market may have failed in another, and those contrasting experiences enrich every discussion. When a founder, an operations manager, and a consultant analyse the same problem from different perspectives, the learning becomes deeper and more practical. In many ways, the cohort becomes a co-lecturer. Our block teaching format strengthens this dynamic by giving students extended, focused periods to work closely together and learn from one another.

Data fluency, AI literacy, geopolitical volatility — how do you decide what to prioritise within a fixed programme length?

Of course, AI, as a defining element of the new economy, has an important place in the Surrey MBA, which has recently been revamped as a future-focused programme. That is why every student takes the AI and Decision Intelligence core module, while those seeking deeper expertise can follow an AI elective pathway covering generative and agentic tools and their responsible use. Geopolitical challenges are explored specifically in the Global Strategy in Disruptive Markets module. However, we ultimately aim to focus on capabilities rather than headlines. AI, data literacy, and geopolitical awareness matter because they all contribute to effective decision-making in a rapidly changing world. The key question we ask is: what will still matter ten years from now? AI and data skills are becoming basic literacy, but what matters most is making sound decisions in a world of constant disruption, drawing on an abundance of evolving tools and technologies.

Can the MBA classroom meaningfully prepare someone for failure, or is it something only experience can teach?

A classroom cannot reproduce the real cost of failure, and I would not pretend otherwise. What it can do is rehearse the response to it, equipping students with adaptability, resilience, and resourcefulness. For instance, we run business simulations in class where teams run a company over several rounds, learning from each outcome before adjusting in the next. I have always loved Samuel Beckett's line: “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” Students in our class learn how to respond to setbacks, adapt quickly and, in Beckett's words, “fail better” on the path to success.

If you had to name the one thing you most want MBA graduates to carry with them for the rest of their careers, what would it be and why?

If I had to choose one, it would be the judgment to act responsibly when the information is incomplete. Technology can provide more data and better tools, but leaders still need the confidence to act, the wisdom to weigh competing priorities, and the ability to bring others with them. Frameworks will evolve and technologies will change, but sound judgement endures. Ultimately, that is what we aim to develop at the Surrey MBA: graduates who combine technical capability with responsibility, human insight and the confidence to lead through uncertainty.

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