I can still clearly remember my first encounter with the people who would be my mates for the journey through the MBA program at ESMT for the 12 months of 2008. A group in the midst of a befuddling “Survival German” class. Warm smiles, firm handshakes, quick enquiries…but a palpable tentativeness -  natural amongst people still trying to find their bearings in a new world. The freezing German winter outside, with the dim skies and the listless nature, made the upcoming challenges seem even more forbidding.

Soon people were trying to settle into their new lives so that they are ready for the academic challenges about to begin. Information and tips flew thick and fast. Unexpected collaborations and friendships were struck. Support was sought and given. The challenge was changing from individual survival to group survival and the “official” group work had not yet started!

The first school initiated team building exercise was in an outdoor location. We heard it was not as cold as last year…but cold enough for those from warmer climates. We worked in groups and difficult exercises seemed much less challenging. We despaired and rejoiced together with our groups. New friends were discovered and new bonds formed. Strange, but the only time I felt it was winter was when I was alone, away from my group, on the top of the pole waiting for my turn on the “monkey swing”!

The first module was upon us before we knew it. Juggling the challenge of the workload with effective group-work was not easy. We learnt to fight and to compromise. To give way and sometimes refuse to budge. To improve and help others to do the same. To demand help and extend help wherever needed. By the end of the first module we wondered how long some of us in our groups had known the others – 6 weeks or a lifetime ?!

As we strengthened our groups we also reached out to others outside our groups. We had a spate of good news…Gee was looking forward to becoming a father later in the year, Casey had a second son, Mirko was getting married in March… The happiness of each individual reflected on the whole class.

The challenge of successfully completing the module 1 courses transcended all formal boundaries. The adage - one for all and all for one – seemed more true every day. There was hardly any hesitation to share problems, knowledge, advice or strategy. We were determined to overcome every challenge and also take everybody along.

Just the other day, as I walked to school, it started to snow. I could not help but stop for a few minutes to enjoy the falling snow, completely oblivious of the winter chill and I thought – An MBA is a tough program but you can still enjoy it if you have the right friends to walk the way with you.

It seemed the winter is indeed coming to an end.

Every now and again a strange thing happens. As we go about our daily business the phenomenon becomes more and more widespread. Only cynicists and pessimists would unduly make the case for the opposite. As we approached the final thesis week, the glum looks and barely there smiles were replaced by a new found enthusiasm. A joie de vivre!Suddenly colleagues had a spring in their step and some went as far as wearing smug looks at the coffee dispenser in the corridors of MBA ‘plus’ floor. It seems the grey clouds that had hovered for seemingly endless weeks were finally lifting. It is amazing that when one has deadlines approaching and is under pressure opportunities appear. I have always imagined that the greatest opportunity often comes when you most ill-prepared for it. The difference between those who make a mark in history and the also-rans ( or silent majority who just pass through) is determined by that simple moment of courage or cowardice.

Whether it is meeting the girl you fancy the day you forgot to shower and brush your teeth, a night out invitation with the boss when you are broke, a freebie dinner invitation to a swanky hotel when you have just force-fed yourself greasy street takeaways, meeting the chairman of the board the day you are wearing your nasty message t-shirt and other such delights. On this occasion, you have just send in your thesis and copied yourself the email just in case but to your horror you find the transmitted mail went with horrendous errors you had spent hours painfully fixing earlier. I am cool guy under pressure not because i do not care but because If I ever alow myself to panic things would only get worse but I did consider sending in a disclaimer stating that I had nothing to do with the faux-pas. But the difference between teachers and students is not the thesis, nor the paychecks, nor the bonuses you take home, but rather the human factor, the realisation that life is a long learning curve and the willingness to let others learn from your mistakes instead of repeating them. And what is more important than the assignment is what you learnt about yourself in the process of accomplishing the task. Long after the drama and panic are forgotten, the personal adjustments that result remain.

 I had promised myself to not let the thesis momentum fade but to keep going as I turn my attention to other things.

Good luck and Godspeed to all my classmates.

Bothwell

Yesterday 30th September, around 35,000 people had participated in the Berlin Marathon and around 32,000 finished it. I am sure every one of them has a great story to tell, so do I ;-).
Some months back Yvan, Marc and Tilo (TNT gang) were flirting with the idea of participating in the Marathon, I joined them and set a target of participating in half-marathon. Somehow, I was under the impression that, half marathon would also be there on 30th. I filled up some form in German along with Marc and registered with the event, without caring much about what I was signing for. For the last couple of months, Yvan, Marc and Tilo started preparing for full-marathon, and also asked me to practice. I always told them, I am only doing 21 and you guys 42, so I would only start practicing in the last 2-3 weeks. So, I had a good excuse for not practicing ;-). Later on, one day during second week of September, I heard that there is no “Half-Marathon”, there is only full marathon, I confirmed this with Marc and to my shock he confirmed it!! By that time, my longest run at a stretch in Berlin was 3kms. I said, forget it; I don’t wanna screw up myself with 42, it’s too late to practice… I asked Marc if I can chicken out. He checked with the organizers and they told, sorry too late. I thought, there goes my 100 euros down the drain. I became so unenthusiastic about this marathon, that I didn’t practice any running anymore apart from normal 1-2 km treadmill in gym.

Meanwhile, Iciar had also registered and she was on and off practicing with TNT gang, but she wasn’t sure if she would be able to finish 42. So, I thought I should run with her during the marathon, thinking I would feel less guilty if I quit whenever she quits, which I thought would not be more that 10-12 kms. Just on my own, I would have quit as soon as I would have seen the first u-bhan or s-bhan and taken a cool ride back to home. I any case, I had no capacity to do more than 5-6 kms alone…

On Saturday, 29th Sept, I wasn’t even planning to collect the BIB from the Messe, but Marc, Yvan and Iciar were going so I joined in… The moment I entered Messe, I start feeling the excitement the Marathon would be… but still I was clear I would start and quit asap. Unlike others in TNT gang, who slept quite early, I was catching on with a game of RumiCube with Han and others on Saturday night, promising them to take good pictures during the run.

We guys planned to meet at 8 at school and then walk to the marathon start-point, I was sure there would be no one apart from the runners at that weird time on a Sunday morning. Of course, to wake me up Yvan’s calls were very helpful, else I might have overslept :D. Again, to my surprise, there were Liliana, Bothwell, Peter, Larisa, Gung Hui and Mr. and Mrs. Zoltan to cheer us… I think that set the tone for me… it was the first time I felt a little enthusiastic about this marathon!

Luckily, Peter’s brother Marco also joined us for the run, he had an earlier experience, but he was in it just for fun. So, after the photo session we walked down to Brandenburg gate fighting with the chilling cold. As soon as we reached the starting point, we were all amazed to see the thousands of runners… raring to go for 42. The atmosphere was just electric. I saw people from very young to very old, many dressed up in weird dresses, I was sure most of them were like me… here to show up for 5-6kms and back ;-), but the sight was breathtaking. I told Marc, just seeing this sight is enough return on my registration fee, would have been stupid if I had got the fee returned.

At 9:30, we guys started running first, all five Yvan, Marc, Iciar, Marco and me together (Tilo is quicker guy… and we couldn’t find him the huge crowd). Yvan did some photo sessions, but we were sure Marc and him would catch some pace in 10-15 mins, leaving the slower trio behind. As Iciar and I had already planned that we would run together, Iciar asked me which speed we should run with. Since I had never run with her before, neither had I clue about my own speed, I told her do whatever is fine with you, I would do the same. I also told her, I would quit whenever you would, but surprisingly, she said she is all charged up to finish 42! Still, deep inside, I was sure its not gonna be more than 10-12. Meanwhile, Marco joined to our strategy of being slow but steady!

After a couple of kms, I started to feel good about the marathon, nice and easy, looking around at people dressed in amazing ways, great captions on some t-shirts and of course, few nice chicks, including the missed Mexican opportunity at the start line. At 5th Km, we saw Agnes in the cheering crowd, Iciar and I gave her a high-five. I think at that point, I decided that at least, I would have to run till 9th Km where Erland would be waiting for us! During this 5-9 Km, the crowd cheering went from good to Great! There were bands all around playing music for all the runners… There were people clapping and cheering around. I started to forget about my plan to quit. Soon, we met Erland and Mandana cheering us at Km 9, it felt great and we carried on running. At Km 11, near Alexa, we again met with our cheerers from the morning, I wanted to give each one of them a hug as if my marathon was over. They cheered us to go on! We carried on… I wasn’t still sure when is Iciar going to say “enough! Lets go home”.

Now, we started running in a part of the city I had never been, so I kindda enjoyed looking around the place. During this phase, the crowd cheering was great… we were seeing bands, music from all the places in the world… Brazilian drums being the most popular. Marco and I were constantly, applauding the crowds by clapping for them. It felt like the whole world is there to cheer me to fight against myself, the I idea of quitting started looking difficult. Meanwhile, I checked with Iciar if she is fine, she looked even more determined to go for 42. Just to cheer her up, I said, if you can do 42, then I would also! I think I meant that… I also told here that I would now not quit until 25th Km, where I wanna check out the first massage place which is being arranged for the runners. More importantly, wanna check if the massage babes are cool or not :D.
Marco was keeping a check on our timing, if we could make it in time for 42. I think he was the timing planner for our trio. As, we crossed half way mark, I told both of them that I reached my original old target of 21 and anything more is a bonus for me, and in any case massage at 25 is a must! At 25, I did have a massage, the massage girl was also nice but, because of the stop I lost my rhythm. It took me another km to feel normal and carry on; the massage was not a great idea for me. In any case, it was good enough way to tempt me till 25. Once, I got my rhythm back, I could sense the finish. I told myself then… there is no way I am quitting! Although, the pain was growing but I felt I cannot miss on seeing what more the this awesome crowd has to offer… I have to see each and everyone cheering us!! At this point, I got back to my 100% enthusiasm level!

I have always heard people that, Kms 30-40 are the most difficult, but in my case, they were not difficult. May be my late enthusiasm did the trick. During, these kms our trio did walk a few kms, but none of us was thinking of giving up. Around Km 37, Iciar told she is feeling a lot of pain in her knee, where she had surgery sometime back and wants to walk. Marco and I said lets walk, but by Km 40 when we are near school, we would run, just to flaunt off our feet to our cheer gang (Although, I wasn’t sure if they were still there thinking we guys would have quit)! When we were near school, I saw Chester at the back gate and he started running towards the front gate, as if he was a messenger. As, I turned around the main gate, I saw the morning cheer gang plus Marcelo and Kirsten waving towards us. I felt so great… that I sprinted towards them at my top speed forgetting all the pain I was in. It was like homecoming…

At this point, we were still 2 kms away from our goal… interestingly, Guang Hui joined us for this phase. We had a lot fun during this last bit, with people all around cheering “You did it!”. To me that was the moment, when I said, “Lazy bum, you did it!!!” All three of us crossed Brandenburg gate, 42nd km, holding our hands together and later the 42.195 km mark. It was the moment of sheer joy, fun and also surprise for me! I had never imagined nor wished for doing this… but I think it was the atmosphere, crowd, the esmt cheer gang and most importantly, Iciar and Marco, my partners in crime which made me do it. Later, we met Marc and Yvan who were waiting for welcoming us! Yeah… we had nice massage and a great photo session…

Of course, I am in a feeling a lot of pain in all parts of my body at the moment… walking seems such a painful experience, but the spirits are great!! Personally, to me the whole experience taught me humility. In front of so many people’s cheering, even my unpracticed body and laziness ceded. With Iciar and Marco running side by side, it become increasingly difficult to quit. I truly believe now, with right environment and right team, Impossible is Nothing!!!

It’s been a long time since I started telling myself ( and Tendi) that I’m gonna do this. So finally here it goes, my first ESMT blog.

Since this is my first entry, lemme talk about my typical day. I get up at 8 am on normal days ( when I have hit bed before 2 am) and 30 min later on others. I live real close by, so manage to get to classes on time. Check this out. The grey roof at Sclossplatz is ESMT. I live in Poststrasse just across the river. You must have noticed that the Spree ( pronounced “Shprey” for non-Germans) is on either side of the school. Ferries operate on this river all day along and on a sunny day it’s ideal to grab your cases studies and head out on one of those three hour rides, either into the city or out across the eastern suburbs to Lake Muggelsee. I’ve done it a couple of times and would strongly advise you to do these trips, easier with those discounted student passes that makes you love Berlin.

Whoa, this conversation has digressed like a case study discussion . Back to my day’s start, then I usually take three stairs at a time, skip the cargo vans at Maredo’s Spanish Grill, maneuver thru’ morning joggers on the bridge, sprint across Breitestrasse and enter school.

Normal days permit an espresso and a quick snap conversation with someone ( To think of it, most often its Peter Carvalho) at the coffee machine. Tea drinkers dont despair, ESMT has some 10 different kinds of tea at each beverages lounge, besides the supplies from China and Japan (Pray every batch has a Guang Hui and a Russ). You hear doors slamming, realise its 2 minutes to 9 , enough time to deposit your bag in the study room and rush into the class.

To be continued….

Current Book <Travels of a T-Shirt in a Global economy>

Current Main Action Item <Upgrading my RAM, my notebook’s slower than service at Kartoffel House>

Current Class Mood <Job Hunt>

So we are now in the second half of the year. In addition to the courses on governance which Marcello spoke about in the last blog entry, we also started on the elective courses where students get to choose . I have chosen to take a course called ‘Walks in Mergerland’-which looks at the world of M &A, the failures ,what went right, what went wrong and the tidying up to be done after. The POST merger analysis which businesses don’t take as much time to do, why…I guess because the PRE merger is much more hyped about and in the public eye while many firms hardly take time to really to assess the successful implementation of a merger; once the dotted line has been signed. One of the cases is on a company I actually worked for, so that should be quite interesting.

Last Friday, we had an exam on markets and regulations and were all quite exhausted. You think after writing so many exams during the course of the year it gets easier, but its not…. its still the same series of emotions ,preparation and its really just as challenging.

So to unwind, the girls on the MBA programme got together for a ‘girls night in’, some pizza, drinks ,videos and just catching up with each other. We haven’t really met together like this in a while and it was great to get together. The reality is setting in,its just four more months and then we will be parting ways, the one intensive MBA year is over.

Well, lets make the most of the time we have now…

Photo from the girls night in

It finally happened. The long awaited soccer tournament organized by Hertie School of Governance took place last Friday in ESMT’s playing ground. Eight teams joined the venue, including two teams from staff and administration, four Hertie student teams, and two ESMT student teams.

I was playing for ESMT Latinamerica, and having a Brazilian in my team sounded like the right edge to have. However, we were not able to give Porthos all the game he needed to score, and therefore, we couldn’t make it to the semifinals. But the ESMT Europe team showed great spirit on the field, and literally beated every team until the finals, where they played against a mixed Hertie team. The last match was tough and ended up being inconclusive (1-1). For the sake of friendship (and some health concerns arising from playing too long under the sun!), the game was ended after a while and both teams were awarded the first place.

If you ask me, the event was a great success, as both schools (Hertie and ESMT) had the opportunity to meet each other in a very informal atmosphere. The catering was also excellent (thumbs up for Mark and Andreas!)  and therefore we can only hope to see more of this stuff happening in our school..!

On April 16  the women of MBA 2007 class met with Mik Van den Nort at the ESMT Berlin campus. Mik is an independent consultant, specializing in leadership development, executive coaching, and organizational learning. Her consulting career spans over 20 years. As KPMG partner, Mik initiated and managed the firm’s coaching and counseling unit at Ebbingie. In recent years Mik consulted to a vast number of senior professionals at leading international companies.

The meeting’s purpose was to enable MBA class participants to address questions regarding a female role in leadership to the successful experienced professional female. As an MBA student I was glad to have the chance and have a discussion with Mik.

After a brief introduction at the ESMT campus we went to dinner at a unique place - the International Club of German Foreign Ministry - where the majority of the conversation took place. The Head of ESMT admissions office Stephanie Kluth and Jennifer Collier, an external consultant on legal and strategic advisory, joined us and actively participated in the meeting.

During the dinner my classmates raised various questions to Mik, e.g. what the females’ managerial styles, their strengths and weaknesses. We talked about roadblocks that lie on a female’s career path and opportunities that enable a woman to pursue career objectives.

At the dinner Mik recounted notable situations from her working experience and shared valuable insights. The one I liked the most is that a woman leader is not the one who betrays her femininity by accepting a masculine “way of conduct”; on the contrary, she can benefit from capabilities that are intrinsic to her nature. Women are attentive to people’s needs. Most female managers are good at motivating their team members and ensuring a positive working environment. Such an attitude has a great pay off. When a manager needs her subordinates to carry our task she formulated, they are there to act and support her.

Nevertheless, a female leader is not the one to be liked by all her subordinates and peers, she is the one to direct and lead. Mik commented that in certain situations a female needs to take a strong stand when protecting her ideas or actions plan in order to win battles in the sometimes harsh world of business. Being a ‘tough cookie’ is an advantageous strategy for a female leader as it also yields a benefit in the form of appreciation on the part of male colleagues.

The discussion was not solely focused around the leadership topic. Mik shared a story on her career development that led to her current professional occupation. The remarkable fact is that Mik did not compromise her interests when building a career, quite the opposite, her personal field of interests and working preferences led her to further preferment. The majority of her professional career Mik has been involved in the work she admired and this fact contributed a lot to her job and personal success.

I have drawn several conclusions from the discussion with Mik and statements of other participants. They convinced me that in order to attain success in a professional activity and be able to realize your potential, you need to discover your own life interests and values and stick to them when shaping your career.