The International Consulting Projects, already in their third dedicated week out of seven, are at full speed here at IMD. An important milestone approached fast: most of the MBA teams had to deliver their first official customer presentation at some point this week. Practice and excitement go hand in hand these days down in our underground and first-floor dungeons (aka study rooms!). Delivering real impact is what we are all aiming for and this is a very good chance to highlight to the company’s representatives and IMD faculty our contributions so far and what they can expect next.
The ICP team I have the pleasure to be a member of has a truly diverse background, as it brings together 5 nationalities and 42 years of combined experience from a wide range of industries and functions: Daniel has background in military engineering, Ronan in private banking, Stefano in telecommunications, Koushik in technology and consulting, and finally myself in renewable energy.
This provides a solid basis for the creative, out-of-the-box thinking that our client, an international science and technology company active in the healthcare space, has asked us to apply. During these seven weeks we will assist them in the operations transformation they are currently undergoing by focusing on mainly two areas: improving governance in the supply chain, and optimising cost performance of a best-selling medical treatment.
The business challenges we are faced with are high. But at the same time, this means that the potential of delivering a meaningful piece of work, both for the company and the customers they serve, is great. As a team, we find great motivation in this.
The ICP also serves as an opportunity to apply what we have learned during this intense year to a real business issue, get a real flavour of a function and an industry that we might not have experienced in the past, and adjust smoothly to the beginning of the next chapter in our professional lives. Still, the lessons we will be learning from this process will not be limited to recalibrating our way of working but also extend to experiencing different team dynamics, sharpening our leadership skills and developing ourselves into a high-performing team. To this end, our daily interactions with our client and the support by our ICP coach, Professor Ralf Seifert, a true reference point in this field, are already proving invaluable.
How do we keep our work, besides structured and goal-driven, also fun? We keep a weekly ranking based on the usage of several business jargon. The winner, the one who uses them the most, has to bring a beverage for the team to enjoy at the end of every Friday!
It is fascinating to see how far we have all gone since the beginning of the program and that everything comes together as we approach the end of the year!
