Three Weeks Later
I arrived home on the Wednesday, 4th November and worked part of Thursday and Friday.
It was great to be home and to see family and friends.
Three weeks later I have had time to reflect on the course, re-assimilate to New Zealand, work and home.
People ask a few similar questions.
Q. How was it?
A. It was fantastic, a great experience, I worked very hard, but that didn't mean I didn't enjoy myself, the work wasn't stressful, it was enjoyable and I had a ball. It was a privilege to attend.
Q. Did you learn plenty?
A. Can't you tell?
Q. Was it valuable?
A. I learned a lot, the question is can I transfer that to value? Ask me again in 12 months and I will tell you.
Q. What was the best part?
A. The people I met, the learning, the experience of being at Harvard and the opportunity to be self focused for 2 months.
If anyone is wondering was it really worth it, the answer is emphatically yes, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. If it is ever offered up to you grab it with both hands!!!
END
29 November 2009
01 November 2009
Getting Home - San Francisco
Sunday, 1 Nov 2009
I had a great day in the city today. I woke early and was confused as to what time it was, with my iphone and table-side clocks showing different times. I finally worked out that California had finished daylight saving over night and while the iphone was smart enough to work it out, the bedside clock and my wrist watch needed to be adjusted manually. Having ascertained that the correct time was 0700, I extracted myself from bed and went for a walk east along the waterfront for a few kilometers. The bay was majestic as the fog was still clinging onto its position first thing but gradually receded as the sun chased it away.
I did a couple of hours work then went for a look at the shops. I had decided that I was going to buy a new camera as the little Sony I have has been a disappointment. I was very impressed with the Canon G10 that Philippe had on the course so I purchased one of those.
It really was a cracking day with a temperature in the low 20s and very sunny, so I decided I needed to do something rather than just sitting around inside. I hired a push-bike and pedelled my way around the bay over the Golden Gate bridge then onto Sausalito on the north side of the bay a distance of about 13 kilometers. I had a late lunch there then caught the ferry back to town. It was a pleasant and picturesque trip back across which included tracking very close to Alcatraz, and the ride over the bridge was memorable. I didn't realise they had pedestrian/bike access on both sides of the bridge. No wonder it is so easy and convenient to throw yourself off, and it is very high.
:
I had a great day in the city today. I woke early and was confused as to what time it was, with my iphone and table-side clocks showing different times. I finally worked out that California had finished daylight saving over night and while the iphone was smart enough to work it out, the bedside clock and my wrist watch needed to be adjusted manually. Having ascertained that the correct time was 0700, I extracted myself from bed and went for a walk east along the waterfront for a few kilometers. The bay was majestic as the fog was still clinging onto its position first thing but gradually receded as the sun chased it away.
I did a couple of hours work then went for a look at the shops. I had decided that I was going to buy a new camera as the little Sony I have has been a disappointment. I was very impressed with the Canon G10 that Philippe had on the course so I purchased one of those.
It really was a cracking day with a temperature in the low 20s and very sunny, so I decided I needed to do something rather than just sitting around inside. I hired a push-bike and pedelled my way around the bay over the Golden Gate bridge then onto Sausalito on the north side of the bay a distance of about 13 kilometers. I had a late lunch there then caught the ferry back to town. It was a pleasant and picturesque trip back across which included tracking very close to Alcatraz, and the ride over the bridge was memorable. I didn't realise they had pedestrian/bike access on both sides of the bridge. No wonder it is so easy and convenient to throw yourself off, and it is very high.
:
Getting Home - Boston to San Francisco
Saturday, 31 Oct 2009
I caught the 0800 bus from McArthur Hall to Boston Logan for a flight that my itinerary said was 1130. I had considered waiting for the 1000 bus but thought that might be cutting it a bit fine. I ended up as the only person on 0800 so I was chauffeured to the airport in style. The driver was friendly and we had a bit of a chat. Once he had determined my nationality he asked me me "What is the difference between an Australian and a New Zealander?" I looked him straight in the eye and said "We're smarter!". For some reason the flight UA177 was actually scheduled to depart at 1244, so I ended up spending about 4 hours in the United lounge, but it wasn't all bad as there was a reasonably steady flow of AMP participants over the period I was there, so I had the opportunity to chat with them and reflect on the program.
The flight was around 6 hours and I was flying economy and the plane was full. I sat next to a guy that spends his professional life trying to invade the physical and IT infrastructure of firms in the U.S as a way of determining where there are gaps and therefore hopefully allowing patches to be put in place to make the firms more secure. He will attach the IT systems from the outside, he will physically break into buildings by cracking locks or bullshitting the front-desk staff.
My flight arrived about 4pm (San Francisco is 3 hours behind Boston). I caught up with Mark Young and his wife Bev for dinner. Mark and Bev had decided to meet up in San Francisco for a few days and have a bit of a holiday.
Accommodation is once more at the Holiday Inn, Fishermans Wharf.
Oh and the other peice of news is that I think I am going blind. All this reading has meant I am struggling to read small text etc (becoming a bit long-sighted). So I went and bought myslef a set of +1.00 reading glasses. They make a difference and I have become quite found of them.
I caught the 0800 bus from McArthur Hall to Boston Logan for a flight that my itinerary said was 1130. I had considered waiting for the 1000 bus but thought that might be cutting it a bit fine. I ended up as the only person on 0800 so I was chauffeured to the airport in style. The driver was friendly and we had a bit of a chat. Once he had determined my nationality he asked me me "What is the difference between an Australian and a New Zealander?" I looked him straight in the eye and said "We're smarter!". For some reason the flight UA177 was actually scheduled to depart at 1244, so I ended up spending about 4 hours in the United lounge, but it wasn't all bad as there was a reasonably steady flow of AMP participants over the period I was there, so I had the opportunity to chat with them and reflect on the program.
The flight was around 6 hours and I was flying economy and the plane was full. I sat next to a guy that spends his professional life trying to invade the physical and IT infrastructure of firms in the U.S as a way of determining where there are gaps and therefore hopefully allowing patches to be put in place to make the firms more secure. He will attach the IT systems from the outside, he will physically break into buildings by cracking locks or bullshitting the front-desk staff.
My flight arrived about 4pm (San Francisco is 3 hours behind Boston). I caught up with Mark Young and his wife Bev for dinner. Mark and Bev had decided to meet up in San Francisco for a few days and have a bit of a holiday.
Accommodation is once more at the Holiday Inn, Fishermans Wharf.
Oh and the other peice of news is that I think I am going blind. All this reading has meant I am struggling to read small text etc (becoming a bit long-sighted). So I went and bought myslef a set of +1.00 reading glasses. They make a difference and I have become quite found of them.
31 October 2009
Harvard Business School - Day 55 - Final Thoughts
Saturday, 31 Oct 2009
It is 7:00am and I am due to catch the 8:00am bus into Boston Logan Airport. The living group area is deathly quiet, every one has gone. The Charles River looks pristine, regal, and surreal outside the window as dawn breaks over Cambridge, MA. I will miss this place, it is so full of enthusiasm and hope; all the bright young people at the various schools of Harvard, all striving for their place in the world, with a few program participants such as ours where the enthusiasm is retained but the average age grows considerably and so (hopefully) does the collective experience (and the waste lines!).
Having spent time in the U.S. before it is hard to see Boston as American, it is different, more old world, more European, with a sense of grace and poise that comes from age and perhaps wisdom. The coffee is still bad, the food is better than elsewhere in the States but is still pretty bland. America for all its problems is a great country, full of diversity, but united in an incredibly patriotic way. The American's I have met have all been fantastic people, great hosts, proud people, intelligent and generous.
So I say goodbye to Boston, Cambridge and Harvard. I hope I get the chance to come back some day soon.
The photo above top is of our team (minus Steve who had his family in class and Ajay who is just out of shot) at the final lecture of the program, set through to me by Philippe. The second one (also provided by Philippe) as is the one take on the final dinner which includes us all.
It is 7:00am and I am due to catch the 8:00am bus into Boston Logan Airport. The living group area is deathly quiet, every one has gone. The Charles River looks pristine, regal, and surreal outside the window as dawn breaks over Cambridge, MA. I will miss this place, it is so full of enthusiasm and hope; all the bright young people at the various schools of Harvard, all striving for their place in the world, with a few program participants such as ours where the enthusiasm is retained but the average age grows considerably and so (hopefully) does the collective experience (and the waste lines!).
Having spent time in the U.S. before it is hard to see Boston as American, it is different, more old world, more European, with a sense of grace and poise that comes from age and perhaps wisdom. The coffee is still bad, the food is better than elsewhere in the States but is still pretty bland. America for all its problems is a great country, full of diversity, but united in an incredibly patriotic way. The American's I have met have all been fantastic people, great hosts, proud people, intelligent and generous.
So I say goodbye to Boston, Cambridge and Harvard. I hope I get the chance to come back some day soon.
Harvard Business School - Day 55 - Course Summary
Saturday, 31 Oct 2009
Last night was my final night at McArthur Hall and HBS. About two thirds of the participants left on Friday to all points of the globe. Saying goodbye was actually quite brutal, emotionally tough. We grew to like each other and then were cleavered apart. Last night I went out with a few of my Indian colleagues for a meal (Indian of course) and a last supper. The Indian's are fantastic people, they always seem to be happy, they are smart, hard working and everyone seems to be a born philosopher.
I thought for the record I would plagiarise some of my Australian friend Mark Young's overview of AMP177 and the AMP program in general.
Week 1
Two days devoted to the evolution of the Nike Company over time, using an integrated series of cases. Serves as an introduction to the case method and the faculty. Highlighted a number of themes and ideas covered in detail during the remainder of the program.
Living Group Acceleration Exercise
An interactive exercise providing a series of challenges aimed at developing the living groups as teams capable of enhancing one another’s learning.
Introductory module in Accounting and Finance
Skills required to analyse and solve business problems, An intensive review of basic accounting and finance techniques.
Weeks 2–6
The next four weeks included seven courses, running simultaneously. These courses covered the different subject areas in depth, although many of the issues covered overlap. The subjects (and their associated Professors) are:
Business, Government and the International Economy (Richard (Dick) H.K. Vietor)
This course examines regional trajectories of growth, development, and governmental strategies that are leading the world economy toward globalization. In the process, it teaches the essentials of competitive analysis—national income accounting, balance of payments, fiscal and monetary policy, and real exchange rates. Participant develop an analytical framework for analysing national economic management and international competitiveness in Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and the United
States.
Financial Management (William (Bill) E. Fruhan, Jr.)
This course does not assume a background in finance beyond that developed in the Week 1 module, but progresses rapidly toward the frontier issues of the global financial marketplace. The objective is to build a framework for understanding the financial dimensions of a company’s competitive strategy, and to use this framework to manage more effectively in the difficult environment of the current global financial
crisis.
Leading Innovation and Organizational Effectiveness (Michael L. Tushman)
Focusing broadly on organisational effectiveness, this course is broken out into three modules. This course is closely tied to AMP’s Personal Development Module and its culminating Re-entry and Leadership Modules (weeks 7–8).
Module 1: focuses on organisational alignment and change, including the identification of key success factors, necessary conditions for change, and different strategies for effecting change.
Module 2: focuses on the role of leadership in corporate transformation.
Module 3: deals with individual effectiveness.
Marketing (Sunil Gupta)
How do you create value for customers in this highly competitive environment? How do you manage two key assets of a firm—its customers and brands? How do you launch new products to maximize their odds of success in the marketplace? How do you create effective marketing strategies in the new digital world? This course discusses these and related questions from a top management perspective across a wide range of industries.
Leadership and Corporate Accountability (Lynn S. Paine)
This course focuses on the responsibilities of companies, their leaders, and their boards. Its aim is to deepen understanding of the economic, legal, and ethical dimensions of these responsibilities and to provide practical guidance on how leaders drive responsible performance. Through a series of difficult dilemmas set in different
regions of the world, a framework is built for accountable decision making and explore the elements of good governance. Participants have opportunities to consider the role of business in society and to reflect on their own philosophies of business leadership.
Negotiations (Max H. Bazerman)
The course provides executive negotiation skill building and allows Participants to evaluate their own negotiation behaviour. Participants will plan, negotiate, receive feedback, and discuss negotiation strategy. Additionally, the course seeks to improve analytical abilities in understanding the behaviour of individuals and organisations in competitive situations.
Strategy (David B. Yoffie)
What are the competitive forces at work in industries today and how can firms create and sustain competitive advantages through strategy? This course explores how to analyse industries, how firms can create superior competitive positions, and how to anticipate competitor moves. In addition, the course explores the complexity of strategies in times of crisis, in highly diversified settings, as well as strategic
problems associated with the Internet and Web 2.0.
Leading High Performance Operations (Amy C. Edmondson)
This course examines the challenges faced by the General Manager when leading operations to achieve extraordinary performance. Operations are the core activities though which an organization’s work gets done, and can be understood along a continuum from high to low volume, and from repetitive to unique tasks. A
distinctive feature of the course is the variety of teaching material—including multimedia and paper cases, featuring executives in private and public sector organizations, in settings ranging from the U.S. Government to patient care delivery to space exploration. A core theme is the central role of learning in achieving high
performance, and the three modules explore the varying forms learning takes in differing operational contexts.
Weeks 7–8
The last two weeks focus, other than completing the above subjects was more on personal renewal and the process of effective reentry into your company.
Special Topics in Executive Leadership
As the program moves toward closure, the emphasis shifts to integration and action planning for re-entry to business and family life. During these final two weeks and on specifically identified days throughout the program, AMP addresses special topics that are of importance to executives at the top level of the organization including: restructuring, leadership values, and corporate responsibility, and challenges facing
particular parts of the world.
Week 8 also provided an opportunity to finalize a personal case linking the content and ideas developed at AMP to issues back at your organization.
The program concluded with a Graduation on Friday October 30th.
170 participants / 43 Countries / Many and diverse enterprises.
Networking opportunities
– Many dinners
– Many informal gatherings and group sporting “challenges”
– Social and Professional networks established
– Potential to leverage these networks in the future
Some other interesting things about the program.
Approx 160 case studies (you have to read in your sleep), covering numerous organisations and 30 countries Case study methodology reinforced by;
– Independent reading / research
– Living group discussion
– Class work on case studies with some overview lectures
Opportunity to listen to external speakers / other faculty ;
– Robert Kaplan (Senior DirectorGoldman Sachs – not Balanced Scorecard)
– Niall Ferguson (“the Ascent of Money”)
– Clay Christensen
– Paul Volker (Chair of the Economic Recovery Board former Chair of the Fed)
– Robert Mueller – Director of the FBI
– Michael Porter (18 books – foundation for strategy and competitiveness)
Last night was my final night at McArthur Hall and HBS. About two thirds of the participants left on Friday to all points of the globe. Saying goodbye was actually quite brutal, emotionally tough. We grew to like each other and then were cleavered apart. Last night I went out with a few of my Indian colleagues for a meal (Indian of course) and a last supper. The Indian's are fantastic people, they always seem to be happy, they are smart, hard working and everyone seems to be a born philosopher.
I thought for the record I would plagiarise some of my Australian friend Mark Young's overview of AMP177 and the AMP program in general.
Week 1
Two days devoted to the evolution of the Nike Company over time, using an integrated series of cases. Serves as an introduction to the case method and the faculty. Highlighted a number of themes and ideas covered in detail during the remainder of the program.
Living Group Acceleration Exercise
An interactive exercise providing a series of challenges aimed at developing the living groups as teams capable of enhancing one another’s learning.
Introductory module in Accounting and Finance
Skills required to analyse and solve business problems, An intensive review of basic accounting and finance techniques.
Weeks 2–6
The next four weeks included seven courses, running simultaneously. These courses covered the different subject areas in depth, although many of the issues covered overlap. The subjects (and their associated Professors) are:
Business, Government and the International Economy (Richard (Dick) H.K. Vietor)
This course examines regional trajectories of growth, development, and governmental strategies that are leading the world economy toward globalization. In the process, it teaches the essentials of competitive analysis—national income accounting, balance of payments, fiscal and monetary policy, and real exchange rates. Participant develop an analytical framework for analysing national economic management and international competitiveness in Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and the United
States.
Financial Management (William (Bill) E. Fruhan, Jr.)
This course does not assume a background in finance beyond that developed in the Week 1 module, but progresses rapidly toward the frontier issues of the global financial marketplace. The objective is to build a framework for understanding the financial dimensions of a company’s competitive strategy, and to use this framework to manage more effectively in the difficult environment of the current global financial
crisis.
Leading Innovation and Organizational Effectiveness (Michael L. Tushman)
Focusing broadly on organisational effectiveness, this course is broken out into three modules. This course is closely tied to AMP’s Personal Development Module and its culminating Re-entry and Leadership Modules (weeks 7–8).
Module 1: focuses on organisational alignment and change, including the identification of key success factors, necessary conditions for change, and different strategies for effecting change.
Module 2: focuses on the role of leadership in corporate transformation.
Module 3: deals with individual effectiveness.
Marketing (Sunil Gupta)
How do you create value for customers in this highly competitive environment? How do you manage two key assets of a firm—its customers and brands? How do you launch new products to maximize their odds of success in the marketplace? How do you create effective marketing strategies in the new digital world? This course discusses these and related questions from a top management perspective across a wide range of industries.
Leadership and Corporate Accountability (Lynn S. Paine)
This course focuses on the responsibilities of companies, their leaders, and their boards. Its aim is to deepen understanding of the economic, legal, and ethical dimensions of these responsibilities and to provide practical guidance on how leaders drive responsible performance. Through a series of difficult dilemmas set in different
regions of the world, a framework is built for accountable decision making and explore the elements of good governance. Participants have opportunities to consider the role of business in society and to reflect on their own philosophies of business leadership.
Negotiations (Max H. Bazerman)
The course provides executive negotiation skill building and allows Participants to evaluate their own negotiation behaviour. Participants will plan, negotiate, receive feedback, and discuss negotiation strategy. Additionally, the course seeks to improve analytical abilities in understanding the behaviour of individuals and organisations in competitive situations.
Strategy (David B. Yoffie)
What are the competitive forces at work in industries today and how can firms create and sustain competitive advantages through strategy? This course explores how to analyse industries, how firms can create superior competitive positions, and how to anticipate competitor moves. In addition, the course explores the complexity of strategies in times of crisis, in highly diversified settings, as well as strategic
problems associated with the Internet and Web 2.0.
Leading High Performance Operations (Amy C. Edmondson)
This course examines the challenges faced by the General Manager when leading operations to achieve extraordinary performance. Operations are the core activities though which an organization’s work gets done, and can be understood along a continuum from high to low volume, and from repetitive to unique tasks. A
distinctive feature of the course is the variety of teaching material—including multimedia and paper cases, featuring executives in private and public sector organizations, in settings ranging from the U.S. Government to patient care delivery to space exploration. A core theme is the central role of learning in achieving high
performance, and the three modules explore the varying forms learning takes in differing operational contexts.
Weeks 7–8
The last two weeks focus, other than completing the above subjects was more on personal renewal and the process of effective reentry into your company.
Special Topics in Executive Leadership
As the program moves toward closure, the emphasis shifts to integration and action planning for re-entry to business and family life. During these final two weeks and on specifically identified days throughout the program, AMP addresses special topics that are of importance to executives at the top level of the organization including: restructuring, leadership values, and corporate responsibility, and challenges facing
particular parts of the world.
Week 8 also provided an opportunity to finalize a personal case linking the content and ideas developed at AMP to issues back at your organization.
The program concluded with a Graduation on Friday October 30th.
170 participants / 43 Countries / Many and diverse enterprises.
Networking opportunities
– Many dinners
– Many informal gatherings and group sporting “challenges”
– Social and Professional networks established
– Potential to leverage these networks in the future
Some other interesting things about the program.
Approx 160 case studies (you have to read in your sleep), covering numerous organisations and 30 countries Case study methodology reinforced by;
– Independent reading / research
– Living group discussion
– Class work on case studies with some overview lectures
Opportunity to listen to external speakers / other faculty ;
– Robert Kaplan (Senior DirectorGoldman Sachs – not Balanced Scorecard)
– Niall Ferguson (“the Ascent of Money”)
– Clay Christensen
– Paul Volker (Chair of the Economic Recovery Board former Chair of the Fed)
– Robert Mueller – Director of the FBI
– Michael Porter (18 books – foundation for strategy and competitiveness)
30 October 2009
Harvard Business School - Days, 52, 53, 54
Wednesday, 28 Oct 2009 to Friday, 30 Oct 2009
And then it was over, so suddenly, so abruptly; that I am sitting in my room trying to put it all together, with a sense of both excitement and loss. I have just graduated, had a very nice lunch, drunk a bottle of Burgundy with my living group members and I have said a hundred good-byes, and now it is over. Finished, complete....
Last night we had dinner at The Four Seasons which is one of Boston's top hotels. The food was nice but the camaraderie was spectacular. The AMP program could just as easily be labeled the program to turn strangers from different countries, different cultures and different religions into life long friends. We returned to the school and the participants had organised a DJ and with-it another impromptu Karaoke night back at McArthur Hall.I truly hope my version of Willie Nelson's "One the Road Again" was better than Mike the German's rendition of "Almost heaven".
Friday we had the final two final lectures and then it was off to graduation which was conducted in military like fashion and wrapped up in around one hour. They say that nothing that happens on AMP happens by accident and I belive that. So I miss home but am sad to leave Boston, I have loved being here, but I have had enough, I've enjoyed learning, but I need to work. I have made life long friends with my colleagues but I am sick of them. I crave a life more normal, I want to apply what I have learned. Anyone that hasn't done a program like this just wouldn't understand (and I am not trying to be smart or elitest).
And then it was over, so suddenly, so abruptly; that I am sitting in my room trying to put it all together, with a sense of both excitement and loss. I have just graduated, had a very nice lunch, drunk a bottle of Burgundy with my living group members and I have said a hundred good-byes, and now it is over. Finished, complete....
Last night we had dinner at The Four Seasons which is one of Boston's top hotels. The food was nice but the camaraderie was spectacular. The AMP program could just as easily be labeled the program to turn strangers from different countries, different cultures and different religions into life long friends. We returned to the school and the participants had organised a DJ and with-it another impromptu Karaoke night back at McArthur Hall.I truly hope my version of Willie Nelson's "One the Road Again" was better than Mike the German's rendition of "Almost heaven".
Friday we had the final two final lectures and then it was off to graduation which was conducted in military like fashion and wrapped up in around one hour. They say that nothing that happens on AMP happens by accident and I belive that. So I miss home but am sad to leave Boston, I have loved being here, but I have had enough, I've enjoyed learning, but I need to work. I have made life long friends with my colleagues but I am sick of them. I crave a life more normal, I want to apply what I have learned. Anyone that hasn't done a program like this just wouldn't understand (and I am not trying to be smart or elitest).
28 October 2009
Harvard Business School - Days 50 & 51
Monday, 26 Oct 2009 & Tuesday, 27 Oct 2009
The final week of the course arrived and we had two days of formal lectures remaining, with the final two and one half days (through to midday Friday) focused on wrap up and re-entry.
Monday night my living group when out to dinner at Legal Seafood, which is the restaurant where we first attended as a group at the beginning of the course all those weeks ago!
Tuesday night we had a citizenship dinner with the ANZACs congregating. The atmosphere is interesting, and emotional as there is a huge sense of excitement about going home, being with family and getting back to work. There is a overwhelming sense of achievement at having reached the end of the course. Yet these positive feelings are collectively juxtaposed against the knowledge that the course is nearly over and the diaspora that congregated for AMP177 and became colleagues then friends over the past eight weeks will dissipate and disperse as seamlessly as they arrived, and therefore an underlying tone of sadness taints or emotions.
The following are a selection of Harvard area photos taken by my living group colleague Philippe Robert.
The final week of the course arrived and we had two days of formal lectures remaining, with the final two and one half days (through to midday Friday) focused on wrap up and re-entry.
Monday night my living group when out to dinner at Legal Seafood, which is the restaurant where we first attended as a group at the beginning of the course all those weeks ago!
Tuesday night we had a citizenship dinner with the ANZACs congregating. The atmosphere is interesting, and emotional as there is a huge sense of excitement about going home, being with family and getting back to work. There is a overwhelming sense of achievement at having reached the end of the course. Yet these positive feelings are collectively juxtaposed against the knowledge that the course is nearly over and the diaspora that congregated for AMP177 and became colleagues then friends over the past eight weeks will dissipate and disperse as seamlessly as they arrived, and therefore an underlying tone of sadness taints or emotions.
The following are a selection of Harvard area photos taken by my living group colleague Philippe Robert.
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