Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Nervous anticipation

My INSEAD life begins in a matter of days; this morning I am starting to realize it. I have a bit of a knot in my stomach...not sure if it is more nerves or excitement. Nerves because I am going from a VERY relaxed summer break to a VERY hectic INSEAD schedule where even Saturdays and Sundays are fair game for scheduled classes. It feels like I'm waiting for the starters gun at a big race...I can't even enjoy these last moments of tranquility.

The nerves also come from the huge expectations I have for myself to come away from this experience with not only great memories and friends, but a career that I am for once fulfilled by. For me, at this moment, this means something very entrepreneurial. IDEAL SCENARIO: I meet the partner of my dreams (business partner that is) and launch some business or start a small turnaround operation. A less risky alternative would be to do a stint in Private Equity although I'm not sure how many openings for these jobs will be around next year (it is a very closed industry and no formal recruiting programs on campus, plus the industry has peaked and there's no telling what toll the credit crunch will play on upcoming deals). A more practical alternative would be to do a stint in a corporation in business development. So where do I dedicate my energy over the next year... how do I juggle my dream with what's practical so that I don't fall short on all options???

Also nervous because I move away from my true partner, the most important person in my life! Luckily she is incredibly supportive and we will no doubt make it through the MBA (a.k.a. divorce degree) as we have made it through similar challenges in the past. Finally, that 3rd language test lingers in my mind...test is one week from tomorrow, let's see how it goes!

But finally, I think it is more excitement than anything. I'm already hearing (and seeing on youtube) great stories from the Fundamentals program which I chose not to attend. Plus, many of my roommates have already moved in leaving me now very anxious to join the fun. The packing is almost complete, France here I come!

Thursday, August 9, 2007

P0 is coming to an end

The first day of welcome week is just over 2 weeks away. There are so many things I want to do in this calm before the storm...

- update CV and convert to INSEAD format
- conduct serious homework on PE field, deals, players, etc
- brainstorm entrepreneurial options
- connect with boss of 3 years and 2 jobs ago (there may be an ingesting project in Europe post-INSEAD and, anyways, I've got to start fine tuning the networking skills!)
- study more for my exit language test (I now think a 3 week intensive course is just shy of what I need to pass)
- plan first house dinner/party
- play lots of golf (great success on this one!!)

Unfortunately, my average daily productivity has been languishing at < 4 hours per day of value added work. While the average resident of France may consider this crazy I-banker type of hours, it won't cut it once P1 begins... I've been browsing past intake blogs to get a feel for what I'm in for come August 27. It seems that welcome week will be no walk in the park; aside from lots of administrative work, there are introductory lectures and even an initial group project to complete. Combine this with trying to make 400 witty first impressions and I anticipate a seriously hectic time. Plus, the first weekend will be comprised of only Sunday...we've got 10 hour days lined up Monday through Saturday.

Hectic but sure to be an exhilaratingly fun week as well. I'm especially interested in who will end up in my group! Got my fingers crossed that it will be a likable group, but given the administrations aim at creating a dysfunctional mix, there are sure to be challenges ahead. All part of the fun and something only INSEAD can bring given the diversity of the class!

Friday, August 3, 2007

Career Leader Results

I sat down today to take the Career Leader test. INSEAD career services recommends that all incoming students take this online assessment because...

"Most MBA students (typically 70-80%) don't know what their career goal is when they enroll - you come here to discover options! Don't be afraid to admit that you don't know...."

That's funny, is it just me or does this message differ significantly from what we were told when going through the application process. Essays were supposed to show a well thought out and quite specific plan for what we were going to do with our MBA degree. Anything less than that showed a "lack of focus". In retrospect, I think that whole exercise was just to show the admissions committee that we at least were realistic about what the MBA could do for us even though most of us weren't really sure what we wanted to do post-MBA.

My Career Leader Results

Most promising career paths:
General Mgmt, Private Equity, Entrepreneurship, Strategic Planning & Business Development

Here's how the test works. It matches both your ability & interest in various business activities to those required in various fields. For example, I showed a high level of interest in Enterprise Control (enjoy setting strategy and seeing it carried out, want to have ultimate decision-making authority for complete operations, etc) which is exactly why I am really keen on the first 3 career paths above. Contrarily, I did not score high on Investment banking because I place value on having a life outside of work. OK, so a lot of it is common sense, but I'm sure it can be very useful to those with less an idea of what is involved in the various business fields.

On the improvement side, the test thinks I may be too honest, sensitive, and modest. I do agree to an extent, luckily I have picked up a step or 2 in the great corporate politics dance. However, it does point out real improvement areas.... negotiation, influence, self-marketing.

In the end, I think it was a well spent 1.5 hrs. Sure, a lot of it one should already have a feel on, but I think there can never be enough introspection over the next year and this test definitely helps add a little structure.