DomoDomo@INSEAD

Today we finished analysing "Ordinary People", a 1980 movie by Robert Redford. During the show, most people were very moved, some girls even cried. What fascinates me in this movie is how, when you dig deep, villains are not so much villains, and nice people have their dark sides too. Prof. Bartholomé summarised well the dilemma: you can either shy away from your feelings, and risk breakdown, or open up to them, and discover the positive and the negative ones.

Maybe I'm a perennial enthusiast, and find most of INSEAD classes awesome and insightful, but I'm enjoying PIM very much indeed. It resonates to situations I'm seeing around me, or have experienced before... Excellent stuff. And yes, I like most INSEAD Professors; yes, I've never given less than 3 out of 5 to any of them, and yes Bartholomé is a super awesome guy. As he recognised himself, he'll stay at INSEAD as long as feels welcome, so hopefully the School will not succumb to excessive political correctness (I have already mentioned a few examples for which I was in total disagreement to the Dean's caving in to some PC pressure).

Today, Fernando showed how changing patterns in marriage have made it so crucial to be in touch with feelings. Because you'll live with your partner for 30 years after the children have left. Because there's economic and social pressure to be selfish. He advocated motherhood for female participants, in a very touching way. Maybe I'm what the French call "good public", but I bought it, and I liked it.

Some quotes for today:

Prof: Can you tell me why you people don't want to share an experience in which you felt happy about yourselves?

Student: Because I don't want to dilute it.

Prof: Do you make love with yourself only then? You don't want to dilute it? Now that's a very sophisticated piece of crap...

"Being concerned for the growth of the other is a sign of love for them", Prof. Bartholomé making an analogy between wanting children to grow, and significant half too.

"Is she a lesbian??", my favourite Jordan student, on Fernando's hats off to Jodie Foster for making babies despite her being a lesbian, as a sign of courage.

On the Job search front, today was BCG interview day. Lots of cases cracked...