It’s been a week now, but I still find myself reminiscing about events that set June in motion. It started with an adrenaline-filled simulation on Crisis Management. We then had an insightful session on sustainable finance with Annika Falkengren (see post here). And finally, company presentations from Hilti, Salesforce, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Werfen, Microsoft and Danaher capped off the week.
The crisis management simulation submerged us in a very intense, albeit simulated, business world. During this time, we had to manage a crisis, address organizational bureaucracy, make responsible decisions and manage stakeholders while protecting the company’s reputation.
Why Crisis Management?
The IMD MBA aims to develop well-rounded leaders. This is achieved through a combination of intensive leadership courses as well as real life simulations. Every day in the real world, companies are faced with some sort of crisis or the other. What sets great companies apart from the rest is their ability to handle crisis situations in the most responsible and ethical manner.
In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.
Theodore Roosevelt
Learnings
Some of our key takeaways from this activity were the need for:
- Swiftness in addressing volatile situations and owning the narrative
- Understanding the importance of the various stakeholders, addressing their critical concerns, and inspiring confidence
- Taking responsible actions to curb volatility, even when such actions affect bottom line
- Developing robust crisis management plans to aid resilience
Crisis affects us both in professional and personal settings. For example, as MBA candidates, what would happen if we left our job search and career plans till the last minute? A crisis for sure!
Luckily for us IMD career development team has been relentlessly working on preparing us for the future. They have been equipping us to intelligently start making career decisions to mitigate the possibility of a job crisis. Thus far we have engaged with reputable companies and learnt what they do, what it’s like to work with them and the qualities they look for in MBA candidates. I am positive that very soon, we will all receive multiple offers from our dream companies.
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.
Eleanor Roosevelt
What’s next for Centium Fortes?
This week promises to be another intensive and adrenaline filled week, including another integrative exercise. The exercise will see us immersed in a growth management simulation. This time the aim is to sharpen skills and knowledge acquired throughout Module Two in finance, accounting, marketing and strategic decision-making as we compete amongst ourselves.
On a lighter note, thanks to Switzerland entering stabilization mode and easing restrictions for indoor gatherings, for the first time since commencement of the program the entire MBA class had a combined session.
Looking forward to the magic this week will unveil!
