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31 Jan 2014, 05:03
31 Jan 2014, 16:00
| FROM IMD Admissions Blog: Team Dahu |
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What’s Dahu? A legendary Swiss mountain-goat type animal with two shorter and two longer legs, which is perfect to climb mountains in one direction, but turning to the other direction is problematic for him from balance point of view. (If you would like to see a picture or learn more about catching a Dahu: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dahu.) What’ Team Dahu? This is the winner team of the today outdoor experiment: Dmitry, Ernst, Juris, Konstantin, Marc-Etienne and me. Why we chose this name? As you can remember, our startup has this name, and due to this special background connecting to the mountains we all agreed in a second, that this will be our group’s name, when we had to choose it yesterday. I cannot share with you how we presented it to the others, but you can believe, it was a lot of fun. What’s the outdoor day? That’s a key part of our 1st leadership experimental session. We were at an amazing place, where we had some very interesting and challenging group exercises (of course I cannot disclose more information, as other classes may have similar challenges in the future) and debriefings afterwards. These debriefings were really key parts of the program. Without this part, the day would be a great team building event, but with these very honest discussions it became a perfect leadership experiment. I believe our team had really interesting features. We had a very dynamic problem solving method, which helped us to pass all of the exercises successfully. Although we did not win any specific parts of the competition, we were the first at the final ranking, because in all exercises we could be among the first three teams. But I believe it is more important, that we have earned a lot of positive memories and good experiences we can build on during the coming challenging weeks. I waited very much the outdoor day. It was totally different from my expectations, but I’m sure it was a key event of my IMD experience. What’s next? I don’t know exactly, but I’m absolutely sure, that Team Dahu will do its best to handle all the difficulties and become even better during the next steps of our IMD journey. Have a nice weekend! András |
01 Feb 2014, 01:49
02 Feb 2014, 08:48
02 Feb 2014, 13:20
02 Feb 2014, 14:00
| FROM IMD Admissions Blog: Juggling |
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As I try to think about what to write in the blog today I am perplexed as to how to summarize everything. My mind is also distracted by other things, namely, all the work that I still need to do. It is Sunday evening, 9:45pm. I spent most of the day reading, researching and writing in my apartment, apart from a quick trip to the grocery store and a longer-than-estimated trip to the school to do some printing. I have been trying to avoid printing all of the documents that we need to read and the slides that the professors present at each class, but I see no other way! I wouldn't say that the pace has picked up, it is still 2 subjects, 4 hours each, each day. I would say that the work is piling up with readings, homework, projects, leadership and career search.... and then there are extracurricular groups, which are mainly handled over lunch. We are all beginning to juggle with more and more balls in the air. I am trying to estimate which balls are more important than others, which ones can be dropped from time to time, and which ones can't. I also think this is at the discretion of each individual: where I may find certain things more important, other classmates may feel differently. Some say you have to pick 2 out of 3: Class, Career and Social endeavors. I am trying for the first two, but I feel like I am missing out on valuable time to learn from my classmates and all the unquantifiable networking. Decisions, decisions.... Ashley Silver |
02 Feb 2014, 20:30
03 Feb 2014, 07:49
03 Feb 2014, 16:00
| FROM IMD Admissions Blog: What makes IMD unique? |
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What makes IMD unique? Most students here wouldn’t hesitate in saying IMD’s zeal for self-awareness and leadership development when answering this question. Before arriving at IMD I really loved the sound of it, but I often wondered, what does it mean? How does IMD do this differently from other schools? Well, last week I was able to experience it for the first time. The MBA class participated in the first “experiential” leadership exercise – where we went through a number of outside-the-classroom activities where we observed group dynamics, authority and leadership at work in our study groups. We were guided by an impressive staff of leadership coaches. What was amazing about the experience was the attention that the coaches paid to every single individual. Going into it, they had carefully read our PPINs; they had studied the results of our personality tests; then they observed us in action working in a team. Using all of this information, the coaches knew just the right question to ask. They made just the right observations to point us to new insight on each of our tendencies and behaviors, individually and as a team. The part I enjoyed the most came after all the outdoor activities were completed – it was the feedback session with our group the next day. After building a foundation of trust, safety and respect within our team, we each received and delivered feedback on each other’s helpful and unhelpful behaviors. It was an uplifting, humbling and insightful experience which I won’t soon forget. I then had a chance to discuss the feedback with the coach on a one-on-one session, and walked away full of ideas on how I can leverage my personality traits to become a more effective individual. On my first blog entry I talked about the “a-ha” moments I was excited to encounter – I certainly had a few of those during the experiential, and I am looking forward to the next ones! |
03 Feb 2014, 20:12
04 Feb 2014, 12:58
04 Feb 2014, 17:00
| FROM IMD Admissions Blog: Less sleep, more experiences |
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We are in the middle of a very demanding week. It started with the Outdoor day on Friday, and then came several leadership sessions with very serious group feedback sessions and individual coaching. These required a lot of energy investment ("going to scuba dive instead of sitting in the boat"), if you intended to take out the most from the program. This was a really essential experience, because I have learnt a lot on team dynamics among people with different personality. I’m also sure, that we received a strong basis in our group to be able to handle the conflict situations coming with the increasing pressure in the coming weeks and months. Unfortunately after these intensive days we did not have any time to take a rest, but we jumped again into the world of classes with long lists of readings and other assignments. The program is really becoming more and more intensive, and we have to clearly learn how to prioritize among tasks. Fortunately we have professors, like Benoit Leleux, who can make his classes so interesting (and sometimes shocking), that you forget everything else, and you concentrate solely to understand the story of the given startup company on the agenda. It was hard to believe when I heard first time, but he can really convince everybody, that you should be an entrepreneur, if you would like to enjoy your life in the business world. We will see, how many of us will choose this direction at the end. András |
04 Feb 2014, 18:00
| FROM IMD Admissions Blog: Introduction to Leadership experiential |
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This was an interesting and intense week of exploring one’s own behaviours and group dynamics. It involved some early mornings, many late nights and a lot of reflection. We got a great deal of insight into our own behaviours out of this experience, especially analysing our team dynamics. 
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05 Feb 2014, 05:02
05 Feb 2014, 16:00
| FROM IMD Admissions Blog: "Hitting the IMD Wall" |
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Speaking with my fellow classmates at lunch today, many agreed that last night was the first time that many of us "hit the IMD wall." The stories of IMD from alumni and spectators alike, are those of extreme stress and work overload. One friend of mine in Uganda referred to it as "the pressure cooker". Perhaps we are all masochists in our own way because after hearing about the IMD lure we couldn't resist the curiousity that it imbued. We have been waiting at IMD for the past few weeks wondering what in the world people were talking about. The past few days we have seen the light! I came home last night to my apartment after not wanting another moment of work in the dungeons. I sat at my desk in wonderment about how I could ever possible manage the work piling up before me. Luckily, a planned de-stressor was in the works. I just returned from a lovely dinner with the women of IMD; this year there are 23 of us from every corner of the globe. Now I am off to bed, tomorrow there is much work to be done! Ashley |
06 Feb 2014, 16:00
| FROM IMD Admissions Blog: Networking |
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This week we had a very interesting class on the subject of networking. I had always considered networking as something that I you’re either good at or you’re not. As an introverted person, l had always resigned myself to the fact that networking isn’t my biggest strength. In class our professor set out to dispel that myth. He showed us that with a bit of knowledge and training, networking anyone can become a better networker. In fact, we even discussed how certain personality types might be better suited to different approaches to networking. We dissected the different dimensions that networking can actually take. For example, you can be good at connecting with the right people who have a lot of influence in a certain group or organization; you can be good at match-making, where you identify opportunities for people to meet and help each other out; you could be good at maintaining a wide, diverse network; you could even just be an amiable person who can forge new friendships in work settings. I also found it interesting to analyze network structures – which provided some great food for thought. We asked ourselves, for example: of the people you know, how many know each other? How many people in your network are about the same age/gender/nationality/region? Is most of your social network also your professional network? All these characteristics may have an impact on how far-reaching and effective one’s network can be. I walked away from that lecture very intrigued. It was refreshing to hear such useful insight, and gain some tangible new knowledge on how I can improve. I'm happy I'll have some time to practice before these skills are put to the test when recruiting begins! Marcelo |
08 Feb 2014, 03:00
| FROM IMD Admissions Blog: Two entrepeneurs, five wines |
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We are over this long week, and at the end Benoit could make again a perfect choice, as he invited two real entrepreneurs to our class. Both of them were former IMD MBA students and they shared their experience on the way to build their own idea into a real company. The first one was the founder of Poken (www.poken.com), Stéphane Dotriaux. Maybe you have already met with Poken at conferences or trade shows, as this company is revolutionizes the conference organizer industry via Near Field Communication Technology. This was a very interesting story, as they are somehow integrating both hardware and software development in an industry, which you would not think to be very technology intensive. The second presenter was Serena Shamash, who dreamed the concept of Eat Me (www.eat-me.ch). This is a restaurant (guess where- in Lausanne!), which offers culinary experience with meals from all over the world. It was amazing to see, how passionate she was about her dream to open a unique restaurant even when she faced huge challenges or the risk of losing everything she worked for. After solving many smaller and bigger issues she could manage to develop the number 1 restaurant of Lausanne according to tripadvisor.com. Both of them shared very honestly all the ups and downs of their entrepreneurship journey, but were also very convincing about their view, if you feel that you would like to be an entrepreneur, you should do it. That was great to see, how these dreamers could make their dreams reality. After this very long week we decided to make our second „Wine Class” yesterday evening, dedicated to Swiss wines. We had five types of wines from different regions of Switzerland (Valais, Lavaux, and Ticino), among them a good Fendant and a Pinot Noir from the winery of Carmen’s, our classmate’s family. Many classmates and partners joined the event, which so became a friendly and relaxing evening closing the week. András |
09 Feb 2014, 23:00
| FROM IMD Admissions Blog: Taking a Break |
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I have just retruned from the train station where I said farewell to my partner after having spent a wonderful weekend together. He is returning to Uganda and we will meet up again in 6 weeks over the 4-day IMD "spring break". He arrived on Friday while I was still in classes, but thanks to the strong IMD partner network, he was kept busy. One of the partners happened to be at the school and took him out to meet some other partners for the 5 hours I had left of class. This was much appreciated and it helped him feel very welcomed. My partner and I spent the weekend exploring. We travelled to hot springs up in the mountains and spent the day in outdoor thermal pools with snow falling around us. One of my IMD classmates was kind enough to lend us his car so it was easy to travel around. Yesterday we walked all around Lausanne and saw some beautiful views of the lake. I had arranged to not have to do any class work over the weekend and I think it has really helped me to clear my head and realign myself. I had not taken a day off since the program began and I can now see how that was probably counterproductive. It is 6:45am and I am getting ready for a week of hard work, which I feel prepared to do after my weekend away. Ashley Silver |
10 Feb 2014, 11:00
| FROM IMD Admissions Blog: Balancing act |
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Before coming to the IMD, I had heard many times that getting through the year would be a balancing act. I made an effort to talk to alumni, read blogs and try to learn as much as possible about what I should expect. What I learned was that I would have so many academic and social opportunities that I would have to be selective in what I choose to spend my time on. Those expectations are definitely proving to be true! Students are forming a number of groups like the finance cluster or the public speaking group, and interesting events are popping up all the time. The coursework is in full swing, and each professor makes a point to add supplemental materials and readings for those who are particularly interested in the topic of the class. The MBAs are all becoming good buddies so there are always opportunities for going out for a drink and socializing. The group projects are interesting and the discussions could go on all night. It’s a shame there are only 24 hours in a day! The balancing act is an especially tricky task for those that – like me – come to Lausanne with their family. I often find myself wanting to be in two places at once. I want to be part of everything that is going on at IMD, but I also want to spend as much quality time with my wife and son as possible. I’m lucky that my wife has been extremely supportive, helping me find the right balance and always encouraging me to make the most of the experience. I am also happy that my group mates have been inclusive and understanding when I need to head home to see my family. All in all I must say the experience has really forced me to budget my time. I find myself trying to take advantage of every free minute I have because I know what I am missing whenever I procrastinate! Marcelo |
12 Feb 2014, 02:00
| FROM IMD Admissions Blog: Teaching by movies |
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Yesterday we had a special occasion, as one of our teachers, Anand has finished his part of the leadership course. This also shows, how quickly the time runs, as we could hear the first closing speech. During the last class, he made a fantastic case for us. He seems to be a passionate movie fun, and he uses movies in his course very well to illustrate the theories of leadership. Yesterday our topic was persuasion, and we have followed the process via the movie, 12 angry man. This famous movie helped us a lot to understand the theories regarding persuasion and have a more lively experience to memorize all the elements. Fortunately I have not seen the movie earlier, so I could be involved very much into the class and have felt at the end that I have received again very important insights into leadership and group dynamics. Due to the special teaching method, I’m sure, I will remember easily on these parts of the class hopefully in real life situations as well. I would like to thank Anand for the leadership class and the great movies in the name of the whole class! András |
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