Personal MBA Paris is not a big idea, it's not supposed to be the "next big thing". Rather, it's the sum of many things that have been accumulating in my mind over the past 3 or 4 years :
- Back in 2009, this life-changing day happened, where I decided to actually use all the tools and concepts I knew about personal goal setting: we sat with a friend in our living room, with an almost blank sheet in front of each of us, and for six hours straight we were trying to reach deep inside our respective minds and pull out some great ambition for our lives and make up our minds on how we would change the world. The sheets were not entirely blank, they had some questions on them, some powerful questions that helped direct the "soul-searching" process. After that day, we still had to continue and refine the ideas separately, but I had already defined a broad plan for what I wanted for my next 3 to 5 years. It included a radical shift of career towards sustainability, working in a highly multicultural and multilingual environment, and graduating from a world-renown MBA program.
The point about the MBA is that I saw it as a way to help quicken my career shift, and I was meeting some MBA graduates at the time who explained it had impacted their lives in "oh so many ways" and had been critically instrumental in making them land exactly where they wanted to. On the other hand, I could already perceive that another thing all MBA graduates said was "you know, in the end it's not about the classes, hey let's say it, it's not even about the job you land afterwards : it's all about the people you meet during the experience, and the network: if I get an assignment next month that sends me to Kuala Lumpur, I can just pick up the alumni directory, phone up some of the guys who live there and I'll be crashing their couch and we'll sip French wine while discussing local business and globalization as if we'd been old friends, because we share the [insert business school name] MBA experience." And they had stars in their eyes when they said that last part. And when I heard them, I had stars in my own eyes... because I already knew exactly what they were talking about: I had that experience from before already, and I had that network, that kind of bond to a worldwide community of strangers. I got it all with Aiesec.
So I thought : if that's really what it brought them, what they think was a good part of the value they got for the money... do I really need to put in tens of thousands of dollars for something I already have? True, it's not the same network: MBA alumni have a business dimension that is hard to match. But the Aiesec network is quite an entrepreneurial too, and with 60 years of existence and over 110 countries today, it beats most MBA networks in terms of multiculturalism and global presence.
Already a few months after deciding I wanted to do a prestigious MBA, I was having doubts. This was a problem.
- Early in 2010, the first TEDxParis was organized, and I was lucky enough to get a free seat there, and the experience totally lived up to its promise. The quality of the speakers, the interaction allowed with them during the intermission, the mindset of the attending crowd. After seeing so many TED talks online, some of which did really blow my mind, the experience of the actual event, the energy in the place, set the bar at a whole new level. I thought this kind of events should have existed since long ago, and wondered if the open classes the top Greek philosophers had among themselves, being peers and challengers to one another, somehow resembled a TEDx event. I made a resolution to follow up on this TEDx concept and see how it could be done some other way, even more open to the public, or replicated at a smaller scale, but more often.
- Just after the event, I was so enthusiastic about the idea of learning directly from other people that I actually organized something like a TEDx, with my flatmates and a group of friend. I was sharing a flat with three totally amazing people, all former Aiesec members (!) and in no time we had rounded up a dozen of people who wanted to participate to the "home made TEDx", at least as test-audience! The initiative was short-lived as we only had one session, but the feedback was still great and we had a chance to be impressed by our friends about how they presented a topic they were truly passionate about, and the talks actually had some impact on our lives at the time.
Since then, I've had this thought at the back of my mind that I want to try a few other things around the concept of "education among peers".
- Some time later in 2010, I stumbled upon a French professional blogger who had done a Personal MBA. As I read more about the concept, and saw what it could bring and how it delivered value, I thought I had found something really. I made a resolution to take a more serious look at it when I was ready to start my MBA education.
It was around that time that I started discussing more and more a crazy idea: the idea of a world tour to revolutionize social innovation and accelerate the up-scaling of social businesses.
Well, that happened, and during the world tour I thought that I should start a personal MBA as I came back.
After a few months of reverse cultural shock, I was ready, so I started this in January 2013, expected to finish in 52 weeks.
I'll be posting, here or there, at the pace of 1 each week, the summary of the business book I read.
But because I can never do things like they are supposed to, I'll try and gather a group of friends around this initiative, so that we can :
- discuss and augment the list of books to have in the curriculum
- make their own summaries of the books they read, and we'd comment each other's reviews
- buy some of the books, so we share the cost between all of us
- review progress and keep each other accountable.
This is the start, it's gonna be great :)
Showing posts with label leadership. Show all posts
Showing posts with label leadership. Show all posts
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Living the right life
For the past weeks and months, I thought I had it figured out.
I thought I had everything, or most of it, under control: manage work before it gets too big, keep time on the side for personal interests and projects, and enough social interaction to produce new opportunities regularly.
It was without counting with family! Family gets happy or gets sick, relatives visit you or they need you at their bedside. Family needs to talk, and you'd better be there to listen, because they have been there for you before.
I need to be honest here: oftentimes lately I feel like I should just send whoever to hell, go traveling round the world. I feel hindered by my relationships to a certain place, a certain history, and that it's gonna keep me from realizing my dreams.
Luckily, I have been reading a bit. "The 7 habits of highly effective people" and Dan Buettner at a TED conference provide me with an answer for this situation:
- be trustworthy and caring with those close to you and you'll build up an "emotional account" that is beneficial both to you and to those people, by making the relationship easy and a source of positive feelings
- live by principles, so that when you disagree with someone, you have enough confidence and wisdom not to make it personal or aggressive; it's just that you are different, and if you are mature enough you'll respect each other for having different views on some topics
- the moment I start feeling "hindered" by my family, I know that I need to change perspectives, and see the opportunity. My life balance principle tells me I should not try to avoid all contact and responsibility just because I feel like being on holiday.
It is a huge opportunity to:
- show your gratitude to the people who raised you up. It is not about "I sacrifice for them because they sacrificed for me". I don't like the idea of sacrifice, there is guilt and regret associated to it. It's about openly, proactively, extending a generous hand, lending time, feeling actually glad to be able to help.
- listen. We like to talk, we fill our living rooms with the sound of music and TVs. But to have the chance to listen to someone, who has lived a rather long life, share some of the wisdom and talk about insignificant event of the daily life makes you reflect on your own life. And think twice about what you really want to give priority to.
- connect. I believe when you manage to listen and empathize, and as you are here you have shown your involvement and caring, a connection between you and another individual simply happens, that participates to the feeling of fulfillement of someone's life and sense of purpose and achievement.
What do you think? I'd like to read your thoughts about it.
I thought I had everything, or most of it, under control: manage work before it gets too big, keep time on the side for personal interests and projects, and enough social interaction to produce new opportunities regularly.
It was without counting with family! Family gets happy or gets sick, relatives visit you or they need you at their bedside. Family needs to talk, and you'd better be there to listen, because they have been there for you before.
I need to be honest here: oftentimes lately I feel like I should just send whoever to hell, go traveling round the world. I feel hindered by my relationships to a certain place, a certain history, and that it's gonna keep me from realizing my dreams.
Luckily, I have been reading a bit. "The 7 habits of highly effective people" and Dan Buettner at a TED conference provide me with an answer for this situation:
- be trustworthy and caring with those close to you and you'll build up an "emotional account" that is beneficial both to you and to those people, by making the relationship easy and a source of positive feelings
- live by principles, so that when you disagree with someone, you have enough confidence and wisdom not to make it personal or aggressive; it's just that you are different, and if you are mature enough you'll respect each other for having different views on some topics
- the moment I start feeling "hindered" by my family, I know that I need to change perspectives, and see the opportunity. My life balance principle tells me I should not try to avoid all contact and responsibility just because I feel like being on holiday.
It is a huge opportunity to:
- show your gratitude to the people who raised you up. It is not about "I sacrifice for them because they sacrificed for me". I don't like the idea of sacrifice, there is guilt and regret associated to it. It's about openly, proactively, extending a generous hand, lending time, feeling actually glad to be able to help.
- listen. We like to talk, we fill our living rooms with the sound of music and TVs. But to have the chance to listen to someone, who has lived a rather long life, share some of the wisdom and talk about insignificant event of the daily life makes you reflect on your own life. And think twice about what you really want to give priority to.
- connect. I believe when you manage to listen and empathize, and as you are here you have shown your involvement and caring, a connection between you and another individual simply happens, that participates to the feeling of fulfillement of someone's life and sense of purpose and achievement.
What do you think? I'd like to read your thoughts about it.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Get Control
I used to feel that I did not have time for anything.
Between high-school and business school, I think I was late for almost every appointment I ever had. I'm not the most punctual person on earth, but I think I can safely say that I got better.
I was delayed a bit today as I left my office, and therefore got slightly late at the presentation I went to attend.
5 years ago, or maybe just 3 years ago, I probably would have ran like a madman to catch up with time, and win a couple of minutes. What I have understood is that time does not control me. I am in control of my life, of my actions, of my priorities.
Reaching that comprehension has taken me a lot of time, and quite many years of running, getting shorter of breath, and yet another day closer to death. I see today that it's okay to be one day closer to death without running. Be it to gain a few seconds on a travel, or to fit more things in one day.
Even though I cannot do everything that there is to do on this earth, even though I cannot possibly go through the complete span of life experiences, I can take my time. In fact, I feel it's because I know that I cannot do everything, I can allow myself to take control of my time.
Currently, I am reading The 7 Habits of Highly effective people.
Random trivia: in French the title reads something like "The 7 habits of people who successfully realize everything that they set themselves to endeavour" (don't worry, it's actually shorter when you write it in French. otherwise it simply would not even fit in the front cover :p ).
It is a highly useful book, as it provides guidance in leading a life more centered around principles and values, rather than appearance and personality, as is often the case in our current times.
After setting out to explain that:
- if you want to change, you need to want to change: the "what if", "I wish" won't ever do you no good
habit 1, "be proactive"
- all things are created twice: before you act, you must first produce an image of the expected result in your mind
habit 2: "begin with the end in mind",
so after those two habits he gives an opinion on the difference between leadership and management. If leadership is about going in the right direction (habit 2), habit 3 is about management: "Put first things first".
By consistently prioritizing on what is important for us, and not only on what is urgent, we can get more results on those important things.
And what is important? well, there can be quite a few things. I had some trouble understanding the whole point of this habit until I found out about the "roles" perspective. In our lives, we all hold several roles: child (of our parents), sibling (of our siblings), friend, colleague, student, etc.
And the first thing to do is, regularly, to assess which of our roles are most important to us. Then we can start prioritizing on the things we have to do. Well that is how I do it, in fact, and it is doing it that way that has helped me significantly in better managing myself (rather than better managing my time).
I undertook a"paradigm change", as Aiesecers would have it: I changed my perspective and understanding on a topic, on a given part of the world, therefore allowing myself to interact differently with that part of the world that I now see differently.
So that was it! First post since the last one, where I stated my new ambition: more personal, shorter and more to the point, and hopefully more practical, less philosophical than usual.
Cheerioos,
Jonhjonh soon at large in Cyproos
Between high-school and business school, I think I was late for almost every appointment I ever had. I'm not the most punctual person on earth, but I think I can safely say that I got better.
I was delayed a bit today as I left my office, and therefore got slightly late at the presentation I went to attend.
5 years ago, or maybe just 3 years ago, I probably would have ran like a madman to catch up with time, and win a couple of minutes. What I have understood is that time does not control me. I am in control of my life, of my actions, of my priorities.
Reaching that comprehension has taken me a lot of time, and quite many years of running, getting shorter of breath, and yet another day closer to death. I see today that it's okay to be one day closer to death without running. Be it to gain a few seconds on a travel, or to fit more things in one day.
Even though I cannot do everything that there is to do on this earth, even though I cannot possibly go through the complete span of life experiences, I can take my time. In fact, I feel it's because I know that I cannot do everything, I can allow myself to take control of my time.
Currently, I am reading The 7 Habits of Highly effective people.
Random trivia: in French the title reads something like "The 7 habits of people who successfully realize everything that they set themselves to endeavour" (don't worry, it's actually shorter when you write it in French. otherwise it simply would not even fit in the front cover :p ).
It is a highly useful book, as it provides guidance in leading a life more centered around principles and values, rather than appearance and personality, as is often the case in our current times.
After setting out to explain that:
- if you want to change, you need to want to change: the "what if", "I wish" won't ever do you no good
habit 1, "be proactive"
- all things are created twice: before you act, you must first produce an image of the expected result in your mind
habit 2: "begin with the end in mind",
so after those two habits he gives an opinion on the difference between leadership and management. If leadership is about going in the right direction (habit 2), habit 3 is about management: "Put first things first".
By consistently prioritizing on what is important for us, and not only on what is urgent, we can get more results on those important things.
And what is important? well, there can be quite a few things. I had some trouble understanding the whole point of this habit until I found out about the "roles" perspective. In our lives, we all hold several roles: child (of our parents), sibling (of our siblings), friend, colleague, student, etc.
And the first thing to do is, regularly, to assess which of our roles are most important to us. Then we can start prioritizing on the things we have to do. Well that is how I do it, in fact, and it is doing it that way that has helped me significantly in better managing myself (rather than better managing my time).
I undertook a"paradigm change", as Aiesecers would have it: I changed my perspective and understanding on a topic, on a given part of the world, therefore allowing myself to interact differently with that part of the world that I now see differently.
So that was it! First post since the last one, where I stated my new ambition: more personal, shorter and more to the point, and hopefully more practical, less philosophical than usual.
Cheerioos,
Jonhjonh soon at large in Cyproos
Thursday, December 18, 2008
The ambition of leadership
After a few trials here and here, for specific occasions, this is "the" blog, the one i am going to keep writing on, wherever I am.
My ambition is to bring to you, family, friends, aiesecers, unknown readers, some mind-opening facts and ideas.
I look at life with eyes standing sometimes very close, sometimes very far, from the daily events that everyone encounters. I believe there is something to get, to learn from most of what happens. Not a lesson, in an off-putting way; rather inspiration, new points of view, paradigm-bending ideas. Dont worry, we will talk later about what a paradigm is ;)
I believe no single approach, like economic or social, encompasses the whole of the Human Condition. It is not possible to look at just one of those topics and aim to understand some key rules that will be sufficient to make the world work.
On the contrary, I believe in a global, all-inclusive approach. One has to take in everything, all that is now and all that has been before, and all the interactions between all things to understand how the world works and how to make progress on our "big problems".
Of course it is impossible to achieve ultimate knowledge. Let's leave that for superior entities, whichever belief (or non) you embrace.
But I think we should try. Let's try to find out more about how our planet works, our society develops, what it means to be human. Here as in many other situations, the final destination - ultimate knowledge - is not as interesting as the path towards it.
My ambition is to bring to you, family, friends, aiesecers, unknown readers, some mind-opening facts and ideas.
I look at life with eyes standing sometimes very close, sometimes very far, from the daily events that everyone encounters. I believe there is something to get, to learn from most of what happens. Not a lesson, in an off-putting way; rather inspiration, new points of view, paradigm-bending ideas. Dont worry, we will talk later about what a paradigm is ;)
I believe no single approach, like economic or social, encompasses the whole of the Human Condition. It is not possible to look at just one of those topics and aim to understand some key rules that will be sufficient to make the world work.
On the contrary, I believe in a global, all-inclusive approach. One has to take in everything, all that is now and all that has been before, and all the interactions between all things to understand how the world works and how to make progress on our "big problems".
Of course it is impossible to achieve ultimate knowledge. Let's leave that for superior entities, whichever belief (or non) you embrace.
But I think we should try. Let's try to find out more about how our planet works, our society develops, what it means to be human. Here as in many other situations, the final destination - ultimate knowledge - is not as interesting as the path towards it.
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