First Dip in the Lake

Strategy went well today and, to celebrate, Mario (Brazilian), Martin (Czech), Tomas (Slovakian), and I forewent studying for tomorrow's IPE exam to play some beach volleyball. The weather, ~55 degrees F and drizzling rain, was hardly ideal, but we didn't let that stop us. We played for about two hours straight and all of the games were really close. It wasn't the best volleyball any of us had played but, by the end, it felt great.

Instead of using the showers by the courts, Martin insisted on taking a dip in the lake. In that I'm pretty sure the shower water is just lake water anyway, why not? I followed him in and Tomas and Mario weren't far behind. The water wasn't too cold . . . for a lake fed by glacial runoff! So it was pretty bracing to say the least. It was very clear and we could see the bottom as far out as we went (not very far). We only stayed in for maybe five minutes but, for those five minutes, there was no exam to study for, no job search, no pressure at all. We were just four boys splashing around in the water; it's a memory of my IMD experience I will definitely take with me.

Now it's back to the "real" world, however. Most of the other students don't seem to be studying for the IPE exam claiming that there is nothing to study. I think there is plenty to study and will be spending tomorrow morning pouring over our semester's worth of presentations on the issues faced by every region of the world. Tomorrow's exam should be less about regurgitating facts and more about analyzing global issues to make sound policy recommendations. Still, it can't hurt to have the facts fresh in my mind!

Strategery

Finance went well today. I and Gong Ping, my Chinese classmate, finished first so we spent some time playing ping pong before studying for tomorrow's Strategy exam. He is much more accomplished than I at ping pong (He's been playing since he was 3!) so he coached me on my forehand smashes. It was very helpful and I appreciate his willingness to work with me instead of just beating me mercilessly. The spirit of collaboration at IMD extends all way to recreational sports!

Now I am wading through 100+ pages of a Strategy case (plus supporting materials) in preparation for tomorrow's Strategy exam. The case, unfortunately, was written at Harvard Business School. We have noticed all year that HBS cases tend to be much, much longer than IMD cases, requiring much more time to read and much more focus to distill out the relevant details. No wonder it takes American programs two years to finish an MBA!

Bring on the Exams!

This weekend was pleasant and relaxing. I took care of many chores, wrote some papers, and, most importantly, played some beach volleyball. On Saturday our play was cut short by a scary storm that rolled in out of nowhere: very low, very dark clouds, high winds, and lots of lightning. No problem, though; we ran and took refuge in a nearby sailing club, where we had drinks and waited out the storm. The sunset after the storm was brilliant; pictures are in my facebook album. Sunday there weren't many people at the courts, which was no problem for me and Tomas. We were able to play for about two hours straight before returning to our studies.

On another, extremely positive note, the mighty Rice Owls baseball team defeated Sam Houston State, St. John's, and UT (the most gratifying) to advance to the Super Regional tournament of the College World Series. To see what a blast we had at last year's Super Regional and why I miss Rice baseball so much, check out my album. Looking at those pictures again brings a smile to my face.

We have today off to prepare for our four days of exams: Accounting, Finance, Strategy, and IPE. Today will mostly focus on Accounting preparation with some Finance mixed in as well. Strategy will be a case-based exam so not much preparation is possible until Wednesday evening, when we receive the case. The IPE exam will involve taking and defending a stance on a major world issue, citing evidence from disparate regions. It is open book/notes/Internet so, again, there isn't much preparation I can do in advance.

The weather looks great today--not bad for beach volleyball! No, bad Bryan! Focus, focus . . .

Today was another great day!

Arturo correctly identified T2 as the "best movie ever" in Finance this morning. I can't think of a better way to learn about real options. Strategy was very interesting this afternoon as well. We covered strategies for multi-business corporate entities: how many businesses can a conglomerate reasonably manage and which ones should it keep/grow/divest? These are issues I never considered in the software startup world! I love this school.

On another note, my train for Paris leaves in 8 hours--vive la france!

Burning Platforms of Change

Today was our second Strategy class with Canadian professor James Henderson. He's a bit goofy, using accents and emphatic gestures in class, but he is already impressing me with how little I apparently know about strategy--which is ostensibly one of my strong suits! Jim led the case discussion of my IMD application interview (Part of everyone's application is a case preparation and discussion with other interviewees moderated by an IMD professor.) and the insights to which he led us constituted a major reason I decided to come to IMD. I found myself thinking and approaching problems in new ways; I realized that I had quite a bit to learn and, as much as I learned during my IMD interview day, I knew this was the place for me to learn it.

Today's case discussion was built around the French wine industry and what strategy it should take--as an entire industry--to fend off competition from the New World, especially Australia. Sometimes doing homework is a real pleasure; I've been preparing this case for at least 10 years!!!