Henry ford once said,
Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, working together is a Success.
We are at an interesting point in life as professionals. Doing an MBA in this year has taught us many things. Not only have we had sessions on how classic old business strategies are still gold, but also sessions on how industries are getting disrupted quickly and how technology is redefining the rules of game. This year’s MBA has also taught us how the definition of leadership is changing quickly and, as we are constantly tested on our leadership at IMD, we have learnt a lot about ourselves and therefore the people around us.
If I had the chance to add a phrase to Henry Ford’s above quote I would say, “learning together is the key”. Yes, this is the time to put everything we have learned so far into practice, before we go back to the real corporate world next year.
Our ICP team has the diversity of different cultures and personalities as well as the vast depth and breadth of cross-functional professional experience. Nico and I come with technology backgrounds whereas Siddharth, Jia and Felix come from industry. Last week, when our ICP formally kicked-off, we ended our first day agreeing on certain principles. We agreed to own our differences together and strive to produce a work we all will be proud of at the end of the project. We also made a rule that late comers will do pushups equal to the number of minutes they are late J
We have an interesting consulting project. It’s about how we can leverage technology to identify new revenue streams for our client operating in a classic metal industry in B2B space. Digital has now started shaking old industrial positionings. Soon we will have our first client presentation to mark the completion of the 1st phase of our project. We are looking forward to sharing our work.
From a mentorship perspective, we have our school Dean, Prof. Sean Meehan, as our faculty coach. His vast experience in industry as well as team effectiveness has been quite helpful. We had a trial presentation with him recently and were happy to receive many interesting perspectives through his feedback. While doing company analysis we researched industries, competitors, customers, peers as well as rapidly changing business models. We are trying to discover that space between what is and what’s possible? We are learning that technology has become the biggest enabler after the company’s culture to chase growth. Technology is making companies grow exponentially. The term growth is being redefined now.
While we are moving towards the end of this travel restricted, pandemic- laden year doing our consulting project themed around digital strategy, we are also in the midst of job search and the stress of finding the right job. Every one of us is facing frustrating moments now and then, but as a team we are constantly learning to manage our emotions as well as to be aware of our teammates around us. We are appreciative of each other’s intentions to give their best, while also respecting individual priorities and choices.
