PBW – Patrick’s Blog World

Reflections of a short long year

Time is running

Signed up over a year ago for the MBA with Henley Business School I think it’s a good point to reflect what actually is this MBA all about.

Started in June 2009 I didn’t have any clue what to expect. Of course the output of the MBA has been more or less clear: Gain new applicable and relevant knowledge, extend my business network, get new views on issues, get new approaches sound understanding of models and principles. Basically, get the tools to be prepared for the future; be it career progression or social life. So, has the first stage equipped me with the aforementioned kit? Yes it has. In many ways. Far beyond from what I initially thought would be relevant.

Surprisingly it’s not about the models, principles etc…these are means to an end. It’s more the way we learn, how we exchange information, how we perform when pressure is getting more and more. And it’s about personal development. Henley’s strong focus on personal development throughout the whole MBA is one of the most important insights I have been able to gain. Started as learning journal entries in a way of “Let’s try and see what happens” it really emerged into a valuable source of reflection. I must admit that we’re especially lucky as our tutor is doing a fantastic job. She really supports us and really triggers our thoughts to think outside the box and approach issues etc. differently. I’m really looking forward to the next 2 stages and my personal development as well.

People tend to ask me what kind of impact the MBA had on my professional life. Well, this can’t be answered conclusively. I’m still on a journey which hasn’t ended yet. However, with hindsight I’m able to say that the MBA really opened up my mind to approach situations holistically, question habits and mindsets, use different lenses and show empathy. Basically I would claim that I’m a way better manager than a year ago but I guess this is not up to me to assess.

Focus and Discipline

Let me write a couple of lines about the Flexible learning style I have chosen for my MBA. Is it hard? No, it’s not hard, it’s very hard. Does it affect your private life? Yes it heavily affects your private life. See, the syllabus says that 12-15 hours is the required time to go through the materials. In my experience this number is way too less. It’s even hard to get through the core readings within this time. It’s more or less impossible if you want to read further and have a look at the supplementary readings. I guarantee you that there are plenty of articles etc. you would or should like to read apart from the core readings. This has always been a trade-off for me. How far can I go but still finish in time? I guess once my MBA is over I have to read hundreds of articles saved somewhere on my drive. Additionally, I have bought quite a lot of books about some topics of interest which filled up my book shelve but were not “core” readings. Apart from the quantity to read I really can advise you to take thorough notes of what you have read. I use a mind map tool to be able to capture all relevant information of the articles, books etc. It’s fun to use it albeit the fact that you need some time to get used to it. (You can download a sample of my mind maps here) They have been a great help when we prepared for the exams. Finally, use the power of your group. My group might not have been the most hardworking group in the intake but our discussions were quite useful. Especially for the exam preparation it is more than recommendable to work together as people have different approaches and specialities. By the way we entirely rely on Skype to have our discussions. However, for the exam prep I flew over to spend one week in London to exchange thoughts with my fellows. So after all what’s been said would I go again for a Flexible learning course? Yes I would, as it’s how companies work together nowadays as well. They have to cut costs etc and therefore lot’s of conferences, projects etc. are done virtual. This is nothing else than what a Flexible MBA offers as well. To conclude this paragraph I just want to tell you that the most important ability you need to have to get through is: DISCIPLINE. Even if the weather is more like going for a BBQ or you are tired from work, or you would like to see some friends etc etc…..it’s all about discipline to plough through no matter what circumstances.

I hope this short reflection gives you an insight if you hesitate to go for a MBA. It’s worth but it’s lot of work as well. If you have any questions etc. don’t hesitate to leave a comment so that others will be able to join the discussion.

Just a brief entry today for you.

I have finished and already sent in my 2nd assignment about Managing People and Performance. I have to admit that it was quite a hard journey. Having a look at my previous entry about managing people I guess that I found a reasonable way to apply all the required materials. By the way I decided to come up with the introduction of a balanced scorecard to broaden the approach how performance is measured and secondly to use the BSC as a tool to steer strategy.

Kaplan & Norton did a fantastic job with the invention of the balanced scorecard. I can really recommend all the materials about it. Just ask yourself the following questions:

Is your HR linked to your business strategy? Do you measure performance in accordance to your business strategy?

If the answers are no, or “partly” etc. then it might be an idea to have a look at what Norton & Kaplan suggest with their Balanced scorecard. The BSC therefore expands the way how you measure performance at your company because it includes 4 dimensions of measurement:

1. Financials (no, a BSC is not undermining financial measurement, but extends it)
2. Customers (Yes, a very important fact to keep an eye on your customers as well)
3. Internal processes (How can we contribute with internal processes to business objectives)
4. Learning & growth (How can we improve our performance in future)

Balanced scorecard by Kaplan & Norton

In conclusion, the Balanced scorecard is a useful tool to measure performance holistically and to steer and a review your business strategy regularly.

If you want to know more about the BSC I can recommend Kaplan & Norton’s articles on Harvardbusiness.org or just drop me a line….

And now I have to immerse into my next module called: Managing Processes, Systems and Projects which I’m really looking forward to, although the timeline is more than tight and Christmas season is almost here.

HBS yard

Well, it’s been quite a few weeks since my last entry. To be honest, I’m a bit snowed under with work and the piles of required materials to read for my Henley MBA.

I’ve finished the second workshop at Henley Business School a couple of weeks ago. It was again a rewarding experience. I don’t know exactly how to explain the magic of being at Henley. As soon as you pass the entrance you’re in a completely different world. There is a kind of spirit which immediately embraces you and subsequently you just feel energized.

It was good to meet my group fellows from all over the world to discuss with them about the materials, thoughts, fears and feelings. Although we’re thousands of kilometres away from each other there’s an existing connection which I personally found extremely intriguing.

Topic of the workshop were the ongoing 2 modules: Managing People and Performance, Managing Projects, Systems and Processes. Useless to say that these topics really matters every day. We heard a lot about different kind of models and their application. I really enjoyed the content and the conversations and group work. I guess, I now understand some critical points about my company as well .

In the end time went by way too fast….I assume this is how it is if you’re truly immersed in something.

Anyway, I have to dig through the materials now knowing what’s required for the upcoming assignments. I wonder if especially MPP will have an impact on my company.

I would like to close with a citation about motivation at work:

There aren’t many motivating forces more potent than giving your staff an opportunity to exercise and express their idealism.

Anita Roddick / Business as usual

Took the first hurdle like Obama

I’m happy that I eventually have submitted my first assignment as part of Dynamics of Management. It was a long way towards the assignment, I have had to get used to the way I need to approach the topic etc. Wasn’t easy since my last studies are quite a few years away . However, I have managed it and have to wait until I’ll get my marks. Hopefully they won’t be too bad but I’m confident they will be sufficient.

Nevertheless, it was a fascinating start of the MBA journey and reinforced my wish to soak up all the materials.

As a reward I haven’t done anything but tanning and swimming today. Take some time for recreation is important otherways you will struggle throughout your studies.

So, tomorrow I’m going to start with Managing People and Performance and Managing Processes, Systems and Projects. According to the programme handbook it’ll be a  bit thougher and more time consuming than Dynamics of Management. That in turn means that I’ll have to improve my time management further. I guess it’s because one shouldn’t rest on its laurels.

Emotional intelligence

Have you guys ever thought about what’s required to climb up the career ladder? What particular skills and abilities are necessary to become a manager with ambitions?

Well, as far as I have thought there is no linear “do this and you get that” approach. Nevertheless, there are some common features successful middle and top manager seems to share. More about that later…

What comes to your mind if you think about career success? I assume there are quite a lot of internal and external factors that influence these thoughts. Maybe because of personal experiences. However, there is a high probability that you might throw in things like : Resilient, Skilled, Experienced, Philanthropic, Determined, Autocratic, Empathic, Communicative etc.  Of course you are all right. Nevertheless this seems to be pretty vague…

So, let’s explore what is this one hidden secret which is getting more and more important as one’s getting up within a company. No, it isn’t your intelligence quotient. Although, there is a certain importance of having a high IQ in terms of being able to link facts and information together.

The magic word is: “Emotional intelligence”

What the heck is emotional intelligence? Let me explain to you in bullet list format what it’s all about.

• Self-awareness (Being able to recognize one’s strengths and weaknesses)
• Emotional resilience (Perform even under inhuman pressure)
• Motivation (Abilities to motivate your employees to perform like rising stars)
• Interpersonal sensitivity (Being able to show empathy & sensitivity)
• Influence (Present your notions in a persuasive way)
• Intuitiveness (Make decisions based on intuition which put the company forwards)
• Conscientiousness (Behave with integrity, being consistent in all kind of situations)

Actually pretty easy, isn’t it? You just have to excel in all of these points and you’ll automatically climb up the career ladder. What’s my proof that emotional intelligence is really the key to become a good manager? Let’s have a look at this study about emotional intelligence conducted by Victor Dulewicz and Malcom Higgs which has been the biggest study ever about this topic. It’s fascinating to see which skills are required at what kind of level and how they evolve when one raises higher in companies. Additionally, you obtain some insight why IQ is not the most important prerequisite.

Dou you have any thoughts or additions? Don’t hesitate…the forum’s open.