Rushing, pacing, choosing & slowing down.

We were driving through the hills of Elba, a little island off the west coast of Italy. The sun was setting, turning the sky a brilliant, saturated orange. The air tasted salty, and the cicadas were buzzing in the trees, signalling nightfall. July is the IMD MBA summer holiday, and I enjoyed this month to recover from and reflect on the frantic, challenging, and inspiring first half of the program.

My partner and I had decided to do summer in Italy, eating blistered, wood-fired pizzas laden with roasted artichokes and bubbling cheese. The beaches of Elba offered a refreshing escape from the Mediterranean sun, and strolling through the narrow lanes of Florence inevitably led to the discovery of the perfect afternoon dolce.

Some days a velvety Caffe Crema, and other days a generous cone of gelato melting quickly in the warm Tuscan air.

Our team won the data analytics challenge! 🎉

I expected to start my third IMD blog by writing about the Singapore discovery experience, but here I am writing about slowing down (and pizza). Having lived and worked in Singapore’s for the years prior to IMD, returning ‘home’ felt like a good time to shift gears. With less FOMO to see all the sights, my intention was to shift towards more intentional pacing. But Singapore had different plans, and June was filled with socialising with new friends, old friends, and Claude.

We vibe-coded apps, analysed mountains of data, and visited two dozen companies. The whole cohort lived together in the same building, and evenings were packed with sightseeing, rooftop bars, and food with flavour (sorry Switzerland). In hindsight, “well-paced” is not how I’d describe my month.

Singapore is a masterclass in execution. The nation excels at getting things done efficiently, from the flawless, world-class operations of Changi Airport to the robotics efficiently serving food at Swee Choon Tim Sum (my fav). Yet, the one-month timeframe forces choice. You simply can’t see everything (or eat everywhere). This necessity for choice was mirrored in our academics.

Naomi Haefner, Professor of AI and Innovation, ran a memorable session on the governance of AI solutions. In a few hours, we unpacked which of the 25 different AI tools posed the greatest risks for a bank, and discussed which guardrails needed to be in place. The ultimate takeaway? AI and its risks aren’t always predictable (ironically), and in a world of abundant output, prioritisation is more important than ever.

At a Singapore MRT station I was surprised to run into a free health kiosk which measures blood pressure for anyone during their commute. A month prior, my group had pitched PodDoc in our entrepreneurship class: a medical booth to be placed at Swiss train stations for clinical diagnostics, telemedicine, and medicine dispensing. While we imagined a complex device, Singapore ran a pilot with a simple prototype and started validating. Besides “people-centred” and “prioritise”, Singapore Minister of Health Ong Ye Kung advised us: “Don’t go crazy” (with AI). The HealthKiosk was a great example of starting simple to innovate for the most impact.

Trying out the HealthStation blood pressure testing

PodDoc, entrepreneurship project video

If you’re familiar with Singapore you’ll know that there are a million and one places to eat. One mall probably has more eateries than all of Lausanne put together (can you tell I’m a foodie?). The Singapore hawker centres provided the backdrop to fulfil on advice from a guest speaker: “use this MBA to understand other cultures, how others have grown up, what it means to be where they’re from”.

What does it mean to be where you’re from?

Exploring Singapore with MBAs of six different nationalities.

It was a good reminder that despite all the learning about AI and innovation, the reflective conversations getting to know peers over a meal can also be a valuable part of this MBA.

I’ve found it hard to find time to slow down this year. It’s hard to find time for intentional recovery between the exams and starting the next exciting thing. It is a lot easier to get hypnotised by the rhythmic clicking of 90 keyboards, vibe-coding abundant output. But it is the conversation about how it is to go to school in Colombia, the conversation about parenting in India, and the conversation about why hawker centres don’t sell oat milk lattes that I’m still thinking about a month after. Those conversations were not with Claude.

Back to my holiday.

On that cliffside in Italy there was a particular car that was aggressively riding my bumper, chasing us down that mountain road during a beautiful sunset. I glanced in the rearview mirror and thought: Where is he rushing to?

Where am I rushing to?

We pulled over to enjoy the sunset. Pacing requires making choices.

Italy had its own frantic and challenging moments. Like endless user friction with rental bicycles and different parking rules for every city. But it has something figured out that Singapore hasn’t: the ability to slow down.

Sometimes the best decision is to pull over, let the noise pass by, and watch the sun go down.

Felix Mollinga is part of our 2026 MBA class.

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