Over 4,000 companies have corporate universities. Some of the most famous are run by GE, Disney, and McDonalds. Their purpose is to instill the company’s vision and values and cultivate critical skills and competencies.  The best ones are permeable membranes that transfer knowledge from the outside in: Steve Jobs recruited the Dean of Yale’s Business School to run Apple University, while  Jeff Weiner recruited business coach and thought leader Fred Kofman to lead leadership development for LinkedIn. Some of the best programs are said to rival traditional business schools.