Week 7 just ended with a bang. We started by learning about regulatory control on businesses. The most interesting takeaway from the class was the unfortunate dilemma of compulsory pharma licensing in India and its effects on the availability of innovative pharmaceuticals in the country. We then took a deep dive into market segmentation and pricing through the marketing core course. Interesting strategy cases gave us a sneak peek into the basics behind M&A decision making. . We had two leadership lectures on how individuals harness power and how we can influence people. One of the class exercises on negotiation took me back to memorable days negotiating with Middle Eastern clients. And finally we welcomed alumni from different batches who gave us insightful tips on job search during the year. The MBA office then arranged a delightful fondue evening for us on Friday which gave us much needed relief from the dungeons.
We had a free Saturday after several weeks and everyone took some time off to visit nearby places and get some much needed rest. I took the time to connect with family and friends and roam around nearby Pully to meet my chosen psychoanalyst. We had a deep discussion on my motivations and goals from the MBA. After several weeks of being at war mode and stressed to the maximum, the free Saturday was helpful in reflecting back at what had transpired since I came to Lausanne. There have been many highs and lows in such a short period of time at IMD. I couldn’t help but wonder at make of the course, which is designed to mimic the intensity of a stressful work environment and forces participants to learn how to deal with it and to do so rather quickly. One important aspect of the learning is your secure base, the circle of family, friends and partners who help you through the journey and lift the spirits when needed.
Lifting spirits by Jean and Marianne Bremers
Indeed “Lifting Spirits”, the sculpture by Jean and Marianne Bremers in the gardens of the campus that we pass by everyday in our rush to catch the 8 am class signifies this important aspect of personality development
I will leave you with some welcome comments from my classmates about last week.
Parth
Featured image of a Lausanne sunset by MBA 2018 participant Kshitij Verma
“After some extremely hectic weeks, this Friday’s fondue dinner at “Le Chalet Suisse” and the wonderful skiing day at Verbier, have charged my batteries to tackle next week’s deadlines full of energy” – David Ruiz Garcia
“Hearing from the alumni was very interesting and it was good to hear about their approach to the job search”- Lauren Versagli
“During this week, we enjoyed several insightful moments: from learning about harnessing power and influence others in a workplace, to experiencing from IMD alumni how to search efficiently for a job. We ended the week with skiing on the magnificent slopes of Verbier” – Pierre Ghobril Image below from Pierre’s ski trip
