Part of our IMD experience so far has been the tremendous line-up of guest speakers. From executives within top brands and organizations, to venture capitalists, to entrepreneurs. This extremely varied and compelling set of speakers have joined us in the auditorium or via Zoom throughout Module One. For every subject we have studied, an industry expert has taken the time to join our class and provide the context of the real application of the concepts that we have been learning.
Last week, for example, we had Scott McDonald – President & CEO of the Oliver Wyman Group – join our strategy class. We discussed the importance of strategy relative to how companies were coping and evolving out of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a brief presentation, he discussed ten key takeaways that he has had from the past year. He then opened the floor for nearly an hour of questions from the class. We casually jumped from topic to topic, with Scott providing insights from his 25+ year career with the consulting group. From the future of globalism vs. nationalism trends, to whether the current will for Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion measures will be sustained long-term, to what is the future of consulting. The discussion was lively, varied, and informative.
The true value from these experiences is very difficult to quantify. Often times the greatest insight comes from a casual comment. For me, the biggest takeaway from Scott’s zoom conversation with our class was one of the first things he said:
“If there are things you want to change, but are impossible to do so, keep them in the top drawer of your desk and execute on them when the next crisis hits.”
