Friday, February 25, 2011

Everyday is Monday at IMD

Classes, homework, meetings... they take up most of our time while at IMD. So far, we have our Startup project, an Economy project and an up and coming Marketing Simulation. Three different teams and all great fun! I must admit that there are tough times, but I can feel the knowledge pouring into me. The trick is to retain all of that. It is a marathon and it's a little scary to think that we will hit March next week. Whether we like it or not, the integrative exercise is coming nearer and so are the mid-term exams.

Wish us luck!

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Sunday, February 13, 2011

We are here to make the market fail

In our economy class, we travel from the ancient Greeks to the current crisis. Prof. Ralf Boscheck is philoshopher economist that imparts his knowledge through 7 chalk boards and a string of examples that capture the intricate details and on a global level, invariably linking these intertwined systems to historic thought leaders in economics and philosophy.


Business leaders are here to make the market fail because we are here to create company that is "in-substitutable" and aim to dominate the market by sheer differentiation and value (a monopoly...)

Cheers!

Friday, February 11, 2011

A tale of the dysfunctional geese

Our team contemplated and contemplated: What are our problems? How can we depict our harmony along with the frustrations of not getting the best ideas on the table for discussion?

We finally agreed on this depiction:

We have a difficult time defining the task

We raise concerns, but sometimes not really discussed

In the end, we value harmony over achieving our goals!

We are on a journey of change and what makes good teams is the ability to pick ourselves up from mistakes and continue to strive for both task and relationship.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Cheese to temple

Team Gruyere has transformed to Team MonX! Here is a clip from our outdoor exercise, where we worked as a team and reflected on our behaviors individually and as a group.


It was an amazing end to a long and tiring day. We went back into the dungeons after the exercises and spent the rest of the night reflecting and discussing how roles and group dynamics were represented.

Cheers team!

Thursday, February 3, 2011

No people, no business

This week has been "different" to say the least. Each group was introduced to a consultant (psychology background) who will be working with us till May. The focus for the past few days was to really dive deep into our group and understand how we feel and interact, both among group members and among other groups. A full day of outdoor exercises and competitions ended in some heavy debriefing and reviewing at night till about 1.20am, then followed by a sharing of learnings the next morning.

Watching our own behavior, sharing very personal thoughts and putting everything on the table made me feel a sense of relief, but also made me feel uncomfortable, especially in the larger group setting. We could all feel the tense atmosphere and the "rawness" in the auditorium. Every group is in different stages of evolution, and we will continue to grow. There were tears and there were intense emotions throughout the day, and I can say it was a truly real learning experience. My senses to emotions were sharpened during the past few days and I promise to continue using them and sharpening them throughout my life. I believe this to be important, as without relationships, not only is there no business, we are also denying the most basic of human needs.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Domino Project Street Team!

The Domino project is a new publishing project by Seth Godin powered by Amazon, it represents a challenge to current publishing models. I am part of the street team and a part of this experiment. So here it is, the first book by the Domino Project: Poke the Box!

ref=dp_image_0.jpg
Poke The Box


Enjoy and Cheers!