Journal : OpenRoadWorks

January kicks off the program, with a running start. By the end of the month, one is deep into the IMD method of kicking butt and changing perspectives: 01 Jan - no entry 02 Jan - Coincidence and Final Preparations 03 Jan - The Mysterious Draw of IMD 04 Jan - Aboard the Swiss Rollercoaster 05 Jan - And Away We Go... 06 Jan - "Chinese New Year Will Kill You" 07 Jan - A History of the World on One Blackboard 08 Jan - "What is Leadership Anyway?" 09 Jan - Working for the Weekend 10 Jan - There's More to Life Than Work (just!) 11 Jan - Candid Camera 12 Jan - Human Dynamite 13 Jan - A Breakthrough 14 Jan - The Birth of a Group 15 Jan - Meet Group 6 "Paradox": Truly International 16 Jan - Meet Group 11 & The Plus-Minus Theory 17 Jan - We, the Partners of IMD Solemnly Resolve... 18 Jan - Celebrating the IMD Family in Different Ways 19 Jan - Get Ready, Start-up, Go! 20 Jan - Understanding communication 21 Jan - Otsukaresama-deshita, Kampai! 22 Jan - Club I...

February is the epitome of IMD's reputation - long, dreary, tough, and uncompromising. This is the heart of the program, deep in the middle of the transformation process: 01 Feb - Investor Flair and Operator Error 02 Feb - Lucky Partners 03 Feb - The United Nations of IMD 04 Feb - To the End of ICA and Back 05 Feb - My Lips Are Sealed... 06 Feb - From Partners to Partnership 07 Feb - The Longest Day 08 Feb - The Case of All Cases 09 Feb - Xin Nian Quai Le! (a Happy Lunar New Year to You) 10 Feb - 4 out of 5 Belgian Dentists Can't Be Wrong... 11 Feb - Welcome to the Stewart Show 12 Feb - Quiz! 13 Feb - IMD and the Art of Zen 14 Feb - A Day for Love at IMD 15 Feb - Welcome to the IMD Family! 16 Feb - Culture Clash in Countries and Companies 17 Feb - Polish Vodka and Pinot Noir 18 Feb - Under Pressure 19 Feb - Just Say No! 20 Feb - Hurry, Worry, and Curry 21 Feb - Just in Time 22 Feb - The Modern Art of Economics 23 Feb - Three Rounds of Finance and a Pack of Cigarettes 24 Feb - T...

March is the end of the first long run through the program - first exams and first mini-break from the extreme workloads: 01 Mar - Clarity 02 Mar - The Aviator 03 Mar - Banc de G7 - "So Friendly, It Hurts!" 04 Mar - Relax 05 Mar - Axel, Rahul, and Todd's Milanese Adventure 06 Mar - Waiting to Exhale 07 Mar - The Calm Before the Storm 08 Mar - The Essence of IMD: Coffee Machine 09 Mar - Silent Night 10 Mar - So, How's the Class Doing? 11 Mar - "I Lost My Head on Moller Floor" 12 Mar - "We Have Nine Cases Next Week" 13 Mar - Reflecting on the Integrative Exercise 14 Mar - PDE (Personal development elective) at IMD 15 Mar - The Essence of IMD: MBA Auditorium 16 Mar - Strange Sense of Accomplishment 17 Mar - And the Winner Is... 18 Mar - So Much "Evil" in This World 19 Mar - Every Man (and woman) of the World 20 Mar - A Lesson in Leadership 21 Mar - 'Twas the Night Before Exams... 22 Mar - The Bonus Diary Entry 23 Mar - The Essence of IMD...

April brings the class back from the first break and set of exams into a new study group, a new module with new coursework - but with the same intensity: 01 Apr - Meet the Groups: The Donkeycrat5 02 Apr - "Dry Your Eyes, Princess" 03 Apr - Afternoon in Paris 04 Apr - All Aboard! 05 Apr - Falling Asleep Over My Computer 06 Apr - The Godfather of Career Services 07 Apr - Pulling Leadership Together 08 Apr - “It’s not the quantity, but the quality...” 09 Apr - My Soul Mate Should Be in Lausanne 10 Apr - Marks! 11 Apr - Welcome Back to Reality! 12 Apr - "You look like crap" (talking about beer) 13 Apr - Checking in on the Start-up 14 Apr - Russia's Mystique 15 Apr - China's Global Role 16 Apr - Simply Switzerland 17 Apr - April Snows Bring... Who Knows?!? 18 Apr - An Ode to the Umbrella 19 Apr - The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men... 20 Apr - The Value of Time 21 Apr - Among Leaders 22 Apr - The Strange Choice of Running 23 Apr - Changing Gears 24 Apr - A Day of...

May is a time for big events and final exams - start-up projects, the design challenge, and our last major tests in the program. It is also a race to the end of the most intense part of the program, when energy levels start reaching their lowest levels: 01 May - Looking Back: The Lausanne 20k 02 May - The Design Challenge 03 May - Finance at the Apollo 04 May - What International Means at IMD 05 May - What International Means at IMD (a Partner's Take) 06 May - Happy Birthday Todd! 07 May - Bonding with Nature - Golfing in Switzerland 08 May - Celebrating Mothers 09 May - "Pedaling Philosophy" 10 May - Enron 11 May - A Brief History of Silicon Valley 12 May - Back in the KKR 13 May - Having a Birthday at IMD 14 May - Tears for Sarajevo 15 May - Using the Lingo 16 May - Lucky 17 May - Episode VII: Dance of the Wookies 18 May - Up Close & Personal: Networking on the Dance Floor 19 May - In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning... 20 May - The Art of the Deal 21 May - Socks ...

June takes the program to a breathless finish, first with the start-up presentations to the VCs and then with the discovery expedition trip to Bosnia: 01 Jun - Back to Brain Pudding 02 Jun - Presentations and Passats 03 Jun - Party Survival Strategies 04 Jun - Trapped in an Elevator 05 Jun - A Day of Rest 06 Jun - A Whole New Dining Experience 07 Jun - Back to Work 08 Jun - Jack is Back for One Last Time 09 Jun - Here Come the Companies 10 Jun - Career Preparation 11 Jun - Vive Le Paris! 12 Jun - Pushing to the End 13 Jun - Thanks Khadija! 14 Jun - Je Suis Indienne et Vous? 15 Jun - The International Management Challenge 16 Jun - Free at Last... Until August 17 Jun - Shooting from the Hip: Introducing Six Pistols 18 Jun - Enjoy Your Time 19 Jun - Bosnia: 10 Years Later 20 Jun - Bosnia, Day One – Moon Over Sarajevo 21 Jun - Bosnia, Day Two – Mostar and Integration 22 Jun - Bosnia, Day Three - The Leadership Puzzle 23 Jun - Bosnia, Day Four – Getting Back to Business 24 Jun - Reflections...

July is a month of rest - finally, a breather from the stresses of the first part of the year: 01 Jul - no entry yet 02 Jul - Desde Soria con Amor! 03 Jul - What IMD Means to Me: Sacrifice and Strategy 04 Jul - Hola, Bon dia, Gràcies 05 Jul - Meet the IMD Class of 2006: Alexey Uzuev 06 Jul - Where Are They Now? Diary Writer Alum Matteo 07 Jul - Meet the IMD Class of 2006: Dr. Ken Schultz 08 Jul - What IMD Means to Me: Confirmation 09 Jul - So Far, So Good! 10 Jul - What IMD Means to Me: Discovery and Learning 11 Jul - Remembering the IMD Army... 12 Jul - Meet the IMD Class of 2006: Stephen Bell 13 Jul - Faculty Take on the IMD Class of 2005: Stewart 14 Jul - Meet the IMD Class of 2006: Jie Yin 15 Jul - Enjoy the Holidays 16 Jul - The Personal Development Elective (PDE) 17 Jul - Love actually... 18 Jul - What IMD Means to Me: A Legacy 19 Jul - Reflections from Bosnia - Srebrenica, 10 years on 20 Jul - Probably the Best Restaurant in the World 21 Jul - Where Are They Now? Diary Writer Al...

Coming back from summer holiday, August is the last concerted push in the MBA Auditorium with an integrated module (this year was the stakeholder module) and the kick-off of the International Consulting Projects (ICP): 01 Aug - Happy Swiss Day! 02 Aug - Rogue Trader 03 Aug - Where Are They Now? Diary Writer Alum Ariwoola 04 Aug - The Career Search 05 Aug - What IMD Means to Me: Real Learning 06 Aug - Visiting the Aletsch Glacier 07 Aug - Coming Back to Life 08 Aug - A Simple Philosophical Question 09 Aug - Bad Companies, Good Companies 10 Aug - Choosing IMD 11 Aug - Five Speeches 12 Aug - The Future of the Manager 13 Aug - Who is Bob Smith? 14 Aug - Coming Down the Mountain 15 Aug - INDIA 16 Aug - Remembering the MBA Auditorium 17 Aug - The International Consulting Project (ICP) 18 Aug - The Dynamic Learning Network 19 Aug - Deja Vu 20 Aug - You've Got a Case 21 Aug - London Calling 22 Aug - Happy Birthday Rahul! 23 Aug - Dispatches from London 24 Aug - Back to Work (again) 25 Aug ...

When September kicks into high gear, the International Consulting Projects (ICP) and the career search become all-consuming. It is in the heart of these stages of the program that the previous learnings start to cement themselves in tangible ways: 01 Sept - Homecoming 02 Sept - Photographs and Memories 03 Sept - Saturday at the Evian Masters 04 Sept - Partners Until the Very End 05 Sept - Ding! 06 Sept - On the Road Again 07 Sept - Out of Leffe Field 08 Sept - A Deep Breath of Fresh (Brussels) Air 09 Sept - Coming to America 10 Sept - Happy Birthday Denisa! 11 Sept - One Day 12 Sept - The Waiting Game 13 Sept - Juggling 14 Sept - Cycling for Sarajevo 15 Sept - How Time Flies... 16 Sept - A Case Study in Interviewing 17 Sept - Quiet Day 18 Sept - Comparing Business Schools 19 Sept - Bonus Diary Entry #3 20 Sept - Ze French Party of Ze YEAR 21 Sept - Sarajevo Beckons 22 Sept - Blogs Blogs Blogs 23 Sept - A Presidential Farewell 24 Sept - The Waiting Game 25 Sept - What Lurks Beneath 26 S...

October finishes the ICP projects and offers time to further explore career options. The hope is that by the end of October, there are some concrete career options opening up, with all the rest of the major assignments wrapping up before heading down the home stretch of November: 01 Oct - Cycling for Sarajevo: The Traveling Circus 02 Oct - Cycling for Sarajevo: Coming Down the Mountain 03 Oct - Reaching the Finish Line 04 Oct - Another Day in the Dungeon 05 Oct - Logistics and Supply Strategies 06 Oct - Back and Forth of Career Search 07 Oct - Hitting the Trifecta! 08 Oct - With a Little Help From My Friends (in Bergamo) 09 Oct - Happy Birthday Becks! 10 Oct - Light at the End of the Tunnel 11 Oct - Atop Mount Quandt 12 Oct - One Night at the White Horse 13 Oct - Congratulations Barbara! 14 Oct - Outdoor Exercise 15 Oct - Out to Lunch 16 Oct - Welcome to the Luminarium 17 Oct - Happy Birthday Tamer! 18 Oct - Happy Birthday Dan! 19 Oct - Happy Birthday Ravi and Gabriel! 20 Oct - Happy B...

By the time that we reach the electives and the program is winding down, there is enough time to celebrate the triumphs and reflect on a life beyond the rigors of the toughest MBA program in the world: 01 Nov - Back to School Jitters 02 Nov - On Capitol Hill 03 Nov - London Deja Vu 04 Nov - Text Messages 05 Nov - Final Bonus Diary Entry - What a Guy (Fowkes) Day 06 Nov - Happy Birthday Meera! (better late than never) 07 Nov - New Faces in the MBA Auditorium 08 Nov - The Journey of the Entrepreneur 09 Nov - Just Like Old Times 10 Nov - Brazil and India and China, Oh My! 11 Nov - The Last Case Study 12 Nov - Advice For The First Time at the White Horse 13 Nov - Night is Falling 14 Nov - Witnessing Undeterred Delhi 15 Nov - Fathers and Sons 16 Nov - The Norden ICP Project 17 Nov - ICP Flashback: Storming the Desert 18 Nov - M+M: An IMD Birthday Salute 19 Nov - Germans in the House (Party) 20 Nov - Coming Full Circle 21 Nov - MBA 2010 22 Nov - MBA 2006 23 Nov - Leaving a Legacy 24 Nov - Th...

For the past year, I have spent my time as an American amidst nationalities. Presented with a minority situation, something strange happens - the ears open wider and gather more of what is said than typical majority situations. When I think about the world after another year abroad, it seems more international (and less American) than before. What is such a phenomenon? In the grand scheme of things, there is a subtle rhyme and reason for the things that we feel and the ideas that we think. Experience counts for a lot, as well as introspection and general analytical skills. But after another year abroad, the differences apparent in the world draw out from the similarities - and new ideas form. That is perspective for you.

It's always fun to dance with a gorilla. Preferably when you are in London for Guy Fawkes Day . For the record, gorillas and Guy Fawkes Day don't go together - unless you happen to think that conspirators should be considered gorillas. Which I hope not because you would be missing the fun of a breakdancing gorilla at a house party in Clapham (near Battersea Park) after the customary fireworks presentation earlier in the evening. Luckily for the monarchy, Guy Fawkes and fellow conspirators were caught before they were able to create anarchy within the kingdom with their plot to blow up the Parliament. The fireworks and burning in effigy are the British way to cleanse the impure thoughts of such an act - cathartic on a beautiful night with fireworks synchronized to music south of London Victoria Station. So, in such moments of purity, it is only natural to lurk with gorillas in the mist, who can re-awaken the soul on a cool London night.

Perhaps it was the jet lag that left me in a state of wonderment. How did I end up 100 meters above London on a crisp fall day at the beginning of November? Designed by architects David Marks and Julia Barfield, the London Eye was first opened in March 2000 as a vision for London of the 21st century. In that amount of time, it has become an elegant member of the Thames River skyline alongside Waterloo train station and facing the Parliament building. I should say that I was more impressed than I expected to be, as I round the experience interesting and exhilirating. The Eye moves at an imperceptible speed, making the long arc in about 35 minutes. All the while, you are either rising or falling as the wheel turns, and the ride is smooth. Along the way, you get a birds-eye view of the city and get a chance to better place landmarks and monuments than the visually distorted (yet graphically brilliant) tube map would have you believe. Eye above London, the jet lag melted away into the sun...