DomoDomo@INSEAD

Today and tomorrow, we're having our last P2 classes before exams, Christmas Break, and P3.

I'm dangerously sliding towards Left-Tail territory this period, after a brave P1, because there's just too much happening round here.

There are other reasons as well. First, less quantitative courses than in P1. And in the toughest of them, ie. Corporate Finance Policy, Professor Pascal has already warned us that it's going to be soooo hard that nobody will fail. Same for MAC Professor Igor. Obviously, they haven't done OB at INSEAD, otherwise they would know it's not that stimulating.

Talking about OB, today was our last session of Leading Organisation. God, this course was a lot of fun. Throughout the whole period, and definitely this session was the icing on the cake.

Obviously Tom has not done any CFP too, otherwise he never would have suggested that we should all have straight A's too. It's ok to be on a Z-curve. It's ok to be on the left of it too, I think. He felt so sorry that he'd have to give out one 1.0 for one 4.0. He joked about attributing it according to the Resistance to Change distribution of people (2.5% Innovators, 12.5% Naturals, 35% Silent Majority, 35% Cynicals, 15% Resistors).

We had an interesting case about Social Responsibility, whereby the class had to take sides (physically speaking) on a tough subject: Would you, as a Health Care company, finance a project in Africa, knowing you'd save lives, but at an enormous cost. The class divided between 75% yes, and 25% no. I do think there was a kind of a set-up though... Anyway, some were very passionate about Saving Lives, others very passionate about Being a responsible Company to shareholders. Funny enough, the divide seemed to have been along Value Creation, ie. whether the Company would actually create value or not (NPV etc.), until one participant argued that it's not even about Value, it's about saving lives. One researcher interestingly claimed that people were a bit naive to think that research was done for the good of Mankind. From Tom's look of stunned disbelief, I think she is a candidate for the 1.0 grade. I do know where I stand, and it is all what matters in this exercise. Not about Right or Wrong (because even in this case, despite all the set-up, it's not even clear), but about siding in line with your values.

The great closure of the class was Tom's recipe for MBA Happiness.

Ok, it's not a magic formula, but an honest reminder of life's true values.

Happiness equation is: Love somebody x Get an engaging work x Have Dreams.

It's a fair equation, I guess.

Today also is the National Weeks Bid Day. Regions are competing to get most votes, and win the right to select their calendar slot for next semester. The wide range of strategies is quite revealing. Arabs, Balkans bombard us with mass mails. They'd sell anything: super gorgeous belly dancers, camels, bazaars... Italians had a mysterious PhD-level teaser strategy, which they changed for a promise to bring Carla Bruni on Campus (yeah, right!). Israelis give away plenty of gifts at the Cafet. Brits play on their humourous mail campaign. Brits lured Desis, Italians ally with French, Israeli with Arabs, Latina with the Americans... It's UN live over here!

I've selected some pics of the bids.

BTW, as I "steal" pics from the shared drive, if anyone objects to being shown, send me an email.

Ok I really need this last push for Exams.

To know more about OB Cumulative Adoption Curve and Attitude Flows: