Monday, November 13, 2006

Madagascar...


"Madagascar? Is it the Bingo word of the day?" was Pascal's -Finance star Professor- answer to a student asking whether a solution to the Fat Tail problem of Black-Scholes model could be diversifying in Madagascar stock. (It turned out that "No" was the answer.)
Very quickly, as the game is still not in place, the Bingo word consists of asking question using words from a given list. The Professor of course is unaware of that, and the list is a tough one. Silly questions get red-carded, while fun or intelligent ones get credit-red-carded. The Madagascar question was red-carded, by the way, which was a bit tough considering the contents was very much valid. I guess the audience is becoming harsh and punishes the delivery as well, in which case it is true the question was a bit muddy.
The point of this Madagascar thing is, diversifying is good. It is very good when it comes to networking. Leading Organizations class today was all about networking, and being aware of pros and cons of each networking pattern. Basically, it's always a trade-off between cohesiveness and centralisation of the network, depth and breadth, spider web, snow crystal, and hub-and-spokes designs. The starting point of the analysis was a survey of INSEAD participants about their current networks, and how people tended to stick with same, and avoid "competent jerks", risking to lose on opportunities.
As key take-aways on networking, there are 2 dimensions one should be aware of:
- sociability -you need to explore
- and think long-term -build before you need, and recognise the reciprocity of the relationship.
Now a tricky/subtle quote for you, still related to Madagascar, in a way...
"Think of that next time you go on a date...", Professor D'Aunno on why dog owners and dogs look alike.
This Professor is so un-PC, and I think it's a lot more fun like that.
On the funny and informative side, from the INSEAD mail, by a Student:
"For those of you like me who may need some supernatural help with their GPA this period, I wanted to let you know that the are 3 English speaking church options available close at hand.....

- Sundays at 10.30 am in Fonty
http://www.fontainebleauchurch.org/Chaplain.html

- or if that is a little too early you can try St Michael's in Paris at 7pm
http://www.saintmichaelsparis.com/

- and if you want to be in church with some good looking australians and south africans try friday night at Hillsong Paris
http://www.hillsong.co.uk/london/default2.asp?pid=783"

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2 Comments:

At 6:00 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

HI DomoDomo, I will be starting INSEAD next January in Fontainebleau. Congrats on your blog. Are you gonna be in Fonty Jan to June?

BTW, I have started a blog myself... at http://felidelafunte.wordpress.com

 
At 6:05 PM , Blogger DomoDomo@INSEAD said...

Hi Felide, thanks for your encouragements. Congrats on your acceptance! I may not be in Fonty in Jan-Feb, but definitely after until July for sure. We'll get to meet... Where will you be living?

 

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