Stephen Bell, MBA 2006 and President – McCrometer Inc (a Danaher operating company) was back on campus last Friday to give a company presentation to the current class. His guest blog links past to present and tips for the future.
As an IMD Alum, every time we set foot back on campus we are greeted by friendly faces and smiles from the IMD staff; little did I know when I walked on campus last week, I’d have the luck to reconnect with two friends/MBA classmates from 2006 (@Stephan/Aaron: great to see you both again!) – its a small world, and with us travelling from US/California, Malaysia and Switzerland, we’d pretty much randomly met in the closest location. All roads lead back to IMD.
Returning to IMD to lead a company recruitment presentation, I was left thinking back to 2006 when I was sitting on the other side of the table – trying to make sense of all the different companies coming on-site. At that time, what I’d be doing post-IMD in 6 months time was front of mind; reflecting about where I’d be 10+ years later was not even on the menu card. In our post-IMD working lives, we face transitions throughout our careers, those transitions making us what we are, how we think and act as people and leaders, making us stronger – but the transition, or even transformation that everyone goes through at IMD is probably one of the largest most people will experience. A great preparation for things to come.
Listening to the questions coming from the MBA’s earlier today, I could hear echo’s from 10 years ago and it struck me that we all work through the IMD transformation with similar thoughts and feelings – trying to find the right fit, the best location, THE JOB OF ALL JOBS, to understand our true/authentic selves in that same period – and a reasonable work/life balance (NB: everything is relative after the long days/nights at IMD).
At Danaher, one of the key mantras we live by is “Best Team Wins” – that means we look for leaders who work well in teams, not individuals (the painful late-night hours spent in the IMD underground dungeons are great training) – and that is one of reasons we love coming to recruit at IMD.
@Ralf Boscheck: being honest in response to your question last week, I’m sure I didn’t finish top of your economics class and Economics was not my favorite topic. But, I still remember some valuable advice you shared with our class: “be careful what you wish for, because if you work hard enough it will probably come true – that can be a good and bad thing”. Spot on Ralf.
To the class of 2017 – make the most of the few months you have left at IMD and put together the pieces as you take a breather over summer; there’s no right or wrong answer, and everyone’s answer is different. The friends, experiences and learnings from IMD will stay with you for years to come – enjoy!
Stephen Bell
MBA 2006
President – McCrometer Inc (a Danaher operating company)
Stephen and his Danaher team, including Daniele from the 2015 class
