The 540 student project

Well, I have had some time off but I cannot stop my brain. As a result I have just written a draft of my 540 project submission for next year. This a three month full time project. The client I have chosen is a software company. I am exploring new market opportunities for them, testing feasibility of the market and the purchasing power of the potential customers. If I nail it, it could provide me a great business venture - exciting times. Will review my draft a few more times and ship it to be accepted. Keen to get things underway....Merry Christmas and Happy New Year by the way!

Otago MBA Student Awards - the real ones!

At the final dinner I was given the honor of saying a few words to recognise the efforts of the class of 2013. I chose to present every student an award - acknowledging them in a humorous fashion. Went down pretty well and no nobody has sued me yet! I have omitted the context of each award but below is the list of the awards and the recipients. When (if) you meet these people one day you might want to ask them what their award means :)

• Samwise Gangee award - Melissa 
• Lost in translation award - Emily
• Magpie award - Tapan
• Chicken legs award - Jarrod
• Richard Branson award - Ankit
• Vocabulary award - Chris
• The Brimstone award - Krister
• IT help desk award - Jerry
• Old man playing young man's sport award - Donovan
• The 'New Idea' award - Mal
• The 'Dove' award - Jason
• Angry birds will get the job award - Diksha
• Lost the Ashes award - Mike
• Bugger study, I am going on holiday award - Tom
• Where did I leave my shoes award - Jenn
• Best in show award - Emma
• Tell us how you really feel award - John
•   Big fish, small pond award - James
• I have my own hard hat award - Lingsong

Enjoy!

Photo time

Well here we are. This year's finishers of the Otago MBA -13 folks punched through the ceiling. Obviously this photo doesn't not include the plethora of part timers who still have a way to go. It was a pretty good crew, a PhD in neuroscience, hospitality experts, health, banking, software and IT, manufacturing, market gardens, exporters, advertising and government just to mane a few areas. These folks have made a lasting impression on me and will not be forgotten.

The end is nigh....

Well, it has been a big week. Two exams, strategy and operational excellence and our final presentation is tomorrow. It has been an awesome year! If you are considering doing your MBA at Otago, don't hesitate - do it! You still have time to apply so get going. Tomorrow night is the final dinner and we had our picture taken on Monday so I will post that as soon as I get it. Also, I have the privilege of awarding each student with a somewhat humorous award based on their contribution doing the year. Should be fun - will post those soon also although I might leave out the reasons :)

7 days until D-Day

Not long now, a couple of assignments, a couple of exams, a presentation, a group photo and a final dinner. Strangely I think I am going to miss this life, the people and of course the surf!

Live case study report handed in!

On Friday all the syndicates handed in their 'Live Case Study' reports. This is the culmination of our learning across the year. My original syndicate C from first term were the team I worked with so I was pretty pleased to have such good folks around me. The report was more than 17,000 words and I was pretty proud of what we handed in. We will present the findings of the report in a 90 minute session with Q&A on our last day on campus - December 12. Not much more now and then we all depart Dunedin and go our separate ways. It will be a bit sad but I am also really looking forward to the next chapter as well.

I love Joseph Schumpeter - the father of creative destruction

This year during my studies I have learned a great many things. One of the highlights was discovering the thinking of the Austrian economist who help us change the world. Joseph Schumpeter was not recognisd by his peers during his seminal period in the 1930s and 1940s but has sprung to fame in the last decade or so. According to Christopher Freeman (2009), a scholar who devoted much time researching Schumpeter's work: "the central point of his whole life work [is]: that capitalism can only be understood as an evolutionary process of continuous innovation and 'creative destruction'. Google, iPhones, and Facebook are perfect examples of creative destruction - destroying existing business models and causing established business to rethink everything they have done. This type of entrepreneurship is not just happening in technology but in everything we do. If we think like Joseph Schumpeter, it is a great time to be in business!  

Life after the Otago MBA

Even though I still have a bit of work to do this year (as well as a bit next year) I have really started to think in earnest about what I will be up to next year. One of my ventures with my wife is Fresh Focus. The business has been running for a number of years now but has primarily been driven by my wife Nikki although I have cameo-ed with a couple of consulting jobs. With my new found knowledge (as well as my old knowledge) we are joining forces to relaunch our market research, insights and strategy business. Check out our new 'pimped up' website - www.freshfocus.net.nz

Otago wildlife

 

One of the best kept secrets about Dunedin is its beaches. Today at our local beach it was sunny but the surf was flat so we went for a walk instead. It was quite eventful as lying in the middle of St Kilda beach was a 2.5 metre leopard seal sunning itself. It was the biggest seal I have ever seen. There were people everywhere but this fellow didn't seem to mind. Just another cool experience of Otago!

Guest speakers from international business

As part of our paper on International Business, we have had a number of really great speakers address the Otago MBA class this week and next. While they all have been really interesting, my particular favourite was Graham Stuart, CEO of Sealord, New Zealand's (and one of the world's) largest fishing companies. While I cannot share all the details of the presentation, his presentation touched on the growth in China, the impact on Sealord, the horizons of leadership and the innovation occurring in the New Zealand. For company details see www.sealord.com

Other speakers were:

• Glenn Tyrrell, Business Development Manager of Silver Fern Farms, New Zealand's Lamb and Venison co-operative, who spoke on the changing world ie growth of China and the impact of the meat industry, particular Lamb. See www.silverfernfarms.com/
• Alex Duncan, General Manager Group Strategy and Corporate Finance, Fonterra, New Zealand's Dairy Co-operative that accounts for roughly 25% of all New Zealand's exports. Alex spoke about the challenge's the dairy industry faces but in particular growth of consumption from China. New Zealand seems to be China's farm! See: www.fonterra.com
• Anne Walsh, a very senior FMCG global marketer with senior management experience with Heineken and Unilever who gave us great insights in to how global FMCG companies operate in markets around the world.

On Monday we will have Graham Budd, CEO, Destination Queenstown speaking - will provide details as they come to hand!

The Otago MBA difference

One of the things I believe makes a real difference to the Otago MBA experience is the 'open door' policy of the staff and in particular, the leadership. Ian Lafferty, Director of Executive Programmes and his team are very accessible. In fact, on Friday, I had a couple of ideas around connecting the Otago MBA to industry in New Zealand and was able to sit with Ian for 45 minutes or so and discuss the feasibility of the ideas. I am not sure other MBA leaders would actually allow you to do that. To me, that open dialogue that ultimately leads to improving the MBA for future years really vindicates my choice to choose Otago.

Job application skills

All the way through the Otago MBA we receive extra curricula training and information to enhance our professional development. One of the cool things we did last week was to go through a job interview process with feedback at each step of the process. Having done a little of this outside the course I know how valuable it can be and also how expensive it is! We were very fortunate to have two international recruitment consultants review our cover letters, our CVs and then interview us as if we were applying for an actual role. The process was pretty simple, each of us found a job online that we would like to apply for then actually submitted a cover and CV to the MBA office. It is activities like this that can be the difference between getting the top job or not!

Otago MBA T20 excursion

Well despite the chilly temperature, 5 hardy MBA folks headed down to the university oval to watch the Otago Volts take on the Northern Knights. The Indian students (who are mental about cricket) were very excited to see the likes Dan Vettori, Jesse Ryder and Neil Broome up close and personal. Unfortunately the Volts failed to reach the score in their allotted 20 overs but the beer was cheap and the sausages from the local Lions Club sausage sizzle were tasty. Ironically, one of our number is Finnish and he struggled with the cold - such is watching sport live at night in Otago. One of the other highlights was the fact that the floodlights were actually hanging from 4 cranes around the ground - never seen that before. Overall, it was a good night and another fun excursion!

5 weeks to go

Its funny, the closer we get to the end the more my motivation is waning. In week six and we are working but no where as hard as last term. I have time to get a surf in most days. I am quite keen to finish now as this term really has started to drag a little. Because we have had our international business subject in 2 x 2 day blocks and our operational excellence course compresses into the first 5 weeks there is a lot of open space in our calendar. It is not helping that my wife and daughter have been away 2 weeks! Oh well, December 12 can't come soon enough.

Movember MBA

 

Hi folks,

It’s Movember and the men of Otago MBA 37 will be growing a moustache for Movember to raise funds and awareness for men's health. It's going to be a hairy journey and we want you to be part of it. A moustache is the mark of a man, and today it is a symbol to spark conversations about important health issues. So guys, pledge to grow a Mo today, or ladies, join the team to support our Mo's. Find out more about why you should join us and Movember, by taking a look at the causes we are fighting for. Thanks in advance for supporting us and helping to change the face of men's health.

United we Mo.

PS. Will be providing photos as this is going to be a quality social experiment with a very multinational participation!

Operational excellence in frozen yoghurt

Well yesterday we got underway with Operational Excellence with a large scale presentation using operations concepts to explore the viability of a frozen yoghurt retail store in Dunedin. Through the exercise, our syndicate, examined the concept, beat it up (and each other :)) to come up with, what we thought was a very solid solution. The whole process was both pretty interesting and enlightening as you don't really think about all the facets of a retail hospitality experience until you are forced to and the process we followed actually allowed us to build and improve the concept. One of the challenges was that all five syndicate members were born in different countries! I suppose frozen yoghurt is pretty universal.

Insight, leadership and initiative

One of my inspirations this year has been the discovery of Joseph Schumpeter, the Austrian economist to save the world! Thank you Richard Higham, our strategy lecturer for introducing him so passionately. As a result, I have had a change of heart about my exchange to Grenoble and decided to complete 3 papers from the Masters of Entrepreneurship of Otago Uni instead. These will be my elective next year. I had a good chat to Richard (if you are coming next year you will love him!) and he recommended three papers - Feasibility analysis, Finance for entrepreneurs and, New venture strategy. The nice thing about these papers is that you come to Dunedin for 4 days of classes and the rest are assignments and self directed learning. I have a bunch of new venture things going on and will be getting started in January so having the flexibility is great. 

PS. I forgot to add - Jo Schumpeter was all about insight, leadership and initiative!

Live Case Study

The culmination of our learning for this year's coursework is our 'Live Case Study' project. Our project first of all brings together our original syndicate C team which is always a good laugh. We work well together and enjoy ourselves in the process. The live case study is a consulting project to help a real client overcome a challenge they are facing in their business. Our client is a coffee wholesaler and retailer. They are great folks and have been very forthcoming with information about their business so we are very thankful. We have divided the project into 4 phases: Discovery; Strategic hypothesis testing; Strategy development and; Report write up and presentation. It is hotly contested between the syndicates as there are cash prizes for the best presentation. We are going pretty hard at ours and it was a very big Sunday at Uni but all for a good cause.

International Business: The Great Debate

 

Every now and again we do something quite fun for assessment. Anyone who knows me well knows I don't mind a bit of verbal sparring and yesterday I got my opportunity. International Business is quite a subjective subject and we got our chance to argue our point. We were grouped in pairs and were asked to take on another pair in a debate. Our topic was "That the giving or taking of bribes or "gifts" distorted international markets and created unfair competition." We felt that this was quite an absolute statement as this actually what bribes or gifts do and had to find a 'semantic' territory because there are numerous document instances where this has been demonstrated to be true. We were really on a 'hiding to nothing' as we say in Australia. As a result, we argued that culture defined what was an acceptable "gift" or bribe as well as many other elements of the playing field and as a result, it was culture, not just the subset of bribes that shaped international markets. I don't think we did too badly :) 

Into term 3 - the home straight!

Week 1 of term 3 down. The dance card of subjects is full again but all new and interesting to me. The picture above is taken from our collateral for 'Leading Sustainable Enterprise'. We are also doing International Business and Operational Excellence. The culmination of our learning is in our Live Case for Strategy Implementation where we put all we have learned into a consulting project for a real client. Our syndicate is working on a coffee retail and wholesale business. At the moment we are gathering information to help inform our strategy. Lots to do as usual but it all finishes this year on December 12. Light at the end of the tunnel!

Otago MBA Beer!

There is a real bond between the students of the Otago MBA. We work hard together but one of our finest class bonding projects was to brew our own beer. Our brew-master, James Nation (dual Olympian for NZ - Hockey) lead the charge. Well, he was the only one who knew what he was doing! If you look closely at the label you may notice a caricature of yours truly and the beer name - 'The Uncoachable'. This was due to a slightly heated public conversation between myself and someone who will remain nameless. At the peak of the conversation it was recognised I was uncoachable by my verbal jousting partner! My classmates thought this tremendously humorous and it became the name of the beer. Actually, if you manage to study at the Otago MBA you will find there is a lot of labels stuck around the place - I am sure you will see them if you arrive in years to come :)

Gearing up for last term on campus

Tomorrow starts term 3 on campus at Otago University. Incidentally, this pic was taken by the Huffington Post who named Otago Uni as one of the top 15 most beautiful universities in the world. Not bad for little old New Zealand. I am a little nervous but excited to be getting to the end of the tunnel. It has been a long cold winter for this Australian and although I have been surfing, sometimes I think I would have liked to be somewhere warmer.

Right now the staff are under the pump a little with new interviews. To anyone reading this blog and going through the process, good luck. I can say the whole process has been very worthwhile. So what next? Well once I finish this term, 60% of the MBA is done. I have a three month work project to do which I am locking in at the moment. Also I have been accepted for an exchange with Grenoble next year but I may do 3 elective subjects locally. I am unsure which way I will go. It is nice to have options. Anyhow, I got to get this term finished first!

MBA fitness: AFL in Otago

Who would have thought I would be pulling on the boots to kick the Sherrin around Logan Park, Dunedin. Tonight I ran around for nearly 2 hours in my beloved St Kilda jersey. I moved alright and was pretty pleased that a lot of the Kiwis were new to the sport so I had a bit of time. Although I slowed at the end and ended up umpiring it was a great lead up to the AFL Grand Final this weekend. We are playing three days a week so hopefully my body will hold out and I will get fit. Well as fit as I can for a gentleman over 40 :)

Check it out: https://www.facebook.com/OtagoAFL

MBA holiday fun: Port Chalmers Seafood Festival

 

The best thing about doing your MBA in Otago is when you get time off there is always lots of things to do. This weekend we went to the Port Chalmers Seafood Festival with the family and a mate and his wife from the course. Port Chalmers is the port for Dunedin which is a short train ride from the grand old Dunedin railway station. For the festival, they powered up the old tourist train which traveled around the the edge of the harbour - a really nice trip. When we got there we unloaded next to the entry on the road - very cool - my daughter loved it. Once we got there, the food was excellent. I had some beautiful crayfish (lobster), blue cod, smoked salmon and chorizo sausage and enjoyed some churros (Spanish donuts) for desert.

Izzie, my daughter got her face painted like spiderman - much to the chagrin of her mother, she had been playing with boys all weekend. The afternoon was capped off with a boat ride across to the other side of the harbour to Portobello. It was a beautiful calm day so we got to see lots of islands and sealife. By the time we had got on the train to go home we were all happy to head home. Another great day in Dunedin!

Top of the world at Treble Cone!

What an awesome day! I have snow boarded myself to a stand still. The highlight was the short but quite tiring hike to the summit of Treble Cone before snowboarding/sliding/falling down a quite steep slope :) Thank you to my guide and snow mentor, Richard Birkby - also the photographer who coaxed, cajoled and pushed me into places I may not have gone on my own. Treble Cone is only 3.5 hours from Dunedin and easily accessible by car - a pretty scenic drive. If you come to do your MBA in Otago, you can't miss coming to this part of the world!

Good-bye Syndicate A, hello Queenstown!

Well yesterday was my last exam for semester 2, accounting! It was a pretty good term although the volume of work really kicked in and the dark winter days were a bit taxing. Now it is Spring, I have 2 weeks off and we are in the mountains. Queenstown is really beautiful this time of year and we were welcomed by the lights on Coronet Peak last night who have Friday night skiing. Over the next few days I am going to unwind, drink wine, have fun with friends and snowboard. A quick note to say thanks to Syndicate A this term for getting through the work - well done to the Beast, the Physio, the Farmers Marketer et al. You all know who you are. Have a good break and I will see you in a couple of weeks. Cheers!

Exam time

Sorry for the boring pic but I am not feeling that inspired. Exam week is dragging on and I have a bit of a cold. I have knocked one over - marketing. It was ok - very B2B focused which is fine if that is what you are into! Strategy for international markets tomorrow and accounting on Friday. The key part of the exam process is essay writing and afterwards I need physio on my right arm! Head down as only 2 to go then off to Queenstown Friday for some snow boarding - can't wait!

Crisp, clear cold sunny days

Spring has arrived but it is still cold. 9 degrees yesterday. Doesn't really matter though because Term 2 exams start next week. I am not doing anything outside, who am I kidding. Three exams - Accounting, Marketing and Strategy for International Markets. Will be interesting but should be fine - we have done so much this semester that I feel pretty good. Once the exams are over we have two weeks off! Very pleased as I am starting to get sick of the study rooms again. This break we are off to Queenstown/Wanaka again. I am ready to snowboard - NICE!

Saturday night with the Investors In People framework

I lead such an exciting life. Today, I have spent the majority of my time compiling a diagnostic report on a previous place of work using the Investor in People framework. It has been both draining but also cathartic as it has allowed me to use a formal diagnostic framework to highlight the weaknesses of the people management of my previous place of work and shape recommendations for how i could improve things. I am not entirely sure they would accept them but it is always fun to be idealistic and righteous!

While I am on the subject, this framework is quite handy. If you were looking to appraise the way you manage your people, this would be a very easy and cost effective way to do it. Investors In People have offices/people all around the world but they seem to be strongest in the UK. If you are looking for cases studies of their effectiveness for your industry - check out www.investorsinpeople.co.uk

Good night!

Happy birthday to my biggest fan

 

Just a quick note to say happy birthday to my biggest fan! Happy birthday Ankit!

Free beer for the best comment...

 

Ok, starting to think about my next step post study in January. What better to ask the masses what I should start to consider as career options post study. I have some good ideas but what better to go to my readers and ask what I should consider as a career options. For going to the effort of commenting I am prepared to shout you a beer the next time I see you. The best advice will get a beer but I will also reward humorous efforts as well! Try to be constructive :)

Comment away!

Check out Mark!

Otago MBA 37 classmate Mark Berryman in the news!

 

Mark in the Otago Daily Times

Down the mine - Accounting mid term exam

Sorry it has been a while since my last post - Maya Culpa!

We have been crazy busy this term and I have completely lost track of time. Tempers have flared and people have been scattered. This little period has probably been more intense than any other time in my work life. As I come up for air we are about to be hit by another wave of assessment.

On Tuesday we have our accounting mid term. The subject is all pretty logical but it is hard to study as it seems to be very repetitive. I am getting a little bored of spreadsheets but I guess that is why I am not an accountant!

I promise to be a little more active in the coming weeks. In the coming weeks I am thinking about having a competition on the blog - any suggestions, post a comment and let me know.

The Jaffa Race!

On Friday at lunchtime, time stood still - well in Dunedin anyway! Above is a pick of my beautiful girls at the finish line of the Cadbury Jaffa Race. Dunedin is the spiritual home of Cadbury in NZ and every year they have a week long festival chocolate festival that culminates in rolling thousands and thousands of jaffas (little coated chocolate balls) down the world's steepest street - Baldwin Street. It is every kids' wildest fantasy. Primary school kids are out in force with shopping bags picking up hundreds of chocolate balls!

Every year the colour of the coating of the balls remains a mystery until they release them in the second race. The first race is standard orange but this year, in the second race, they were lime green - it was mental. In each race there are 35,000 balls each individually numbered. The numbers are sold as raffle tickets and raise money for charity. The person who's ticket number matches the number of the first Jaffa across the finish line wins. 15,000 people showed - the local radio station ran the day and there was even some live music. There was a real community feel with schools and the Lions Clubs running sausage sizzles and bake sales to ensure we didn't go hungry. A welcome relief from study!

2013 Upstart Director Award

As part of the Otago MBA experience, we are encouraged to undertake extra curricula activity particularly with the local business community. Tonight was the announcement of the winner of the NZ Institute of Directors Upstart award. Yours truly was named as one of five finalists but was pipped at the post by another MBA candidate, Mark Berryman. Congrats Mark!!

The Upstart Business Incubator (Upstart) supports high growth start-ups in the lower South Island.  As students represent an important stakeholder, Upstart includes the voice of the student at its board level discussions.

Upstart, in conjunction with the Institute of Directors (IoD), offered up a 12 month directorship with professional development support to a current student of the University of Otago or the Otago Polytechnic.

Criteria
The successful applicant will be someone who can:

• demonstrate experience in organisational involvement and entrepreneurial activity
• demonstrate an insightful and thoughtful perspective on the role of governance in today’s environment
• demonstrate a commitment to developing governance skills as part of their career and professional development, and
• act at all times with integrity and professionalism

A great award to be a part of!!

Parlez-vous francais?

Well, after my exchange interview last week and my last minute change of heart, I have been selected to study at Grenoble Ecole de Management. The reasons for my choice is I really like France, the opportunity to study leadership at a top global and European School and well, there is the wine, the cheese and the food :)

Now comes the hard part, when do I go? I am hoping to get some scholarship support but I still need to self fund. Maybe a little consulting at the start of the year might help me get the cash together. My wife and daughter will be there for part of it too. Bloody exciting.

MBA Exchange Interview week

There are a bunch of things happening at the moment in week 3. This week we begin the process of applying for exchange positions at overseas business schools. The rules of the road are you cannot go back to your home country so Australia is out! Anyway, my interview is on Friday with the International Exchange Office. We have to put down three options. My first pick is the Schulich Business School in Canada. They are red hot on entrepreneurship that that suits me, plus it will also give me a chance to visit a part of the world I have not been as well as practicing a little french (I hope). My second choice is Duke University in the states because it one of the top schools globally. My final choice is Grenoble Ecole de Management in France. I think secretly I am a bit of a 'francophile' so an immersion in French culture, food and wine seems logical :)

Michael Porter Blues

Week 2 and we are into the swing. Probably the subject that has tested us the most has been Strategy Planning in International Markets. Michael Porter's frameworks for competitor strategies has really messed with our heads! The great man is pictured above. I am not sure if he would have been pleased or frustrated with the way we have grappled with his thinking but we are getting there.....

We have looked at his theory in its purist form - Pure Porter and applied it to case studies. It forms an essential part of a strategic framework we will use to deliver effective and efficient corporate strategies. Porter is an economic rationalist who has made us just a little more irrational at the moment.

Term 2 - Look at those lovely folders.....

 

 We enter the MBA classroom Monday morning and we are faced with a mountain of books and notes. I am under no illusion that term 2 is going to be busy but when you see all the material together it screws with your head a bit. I am sure a few of us felt a bit of anxiety when we saw our stacks!

This term we have 4 papers - 

• Strategy Planning for International Markets
• Accounting
• Human Resource Management
• Marketing

All looks good just a lot of it!

Part two of the dramas on the first day was the re-shuffle of the syndicates which happened at the end of the day. I am now in Syndicate A with a good bunch of folks - we will see how good when the pressure piles on.....

PS. Thanks for the photo Melissa

Exploring Otago in the holidays

First term starts tomorrow but we have just come home from a great trip around Otago. First of all we headed south down along the Catlins. The Catlins comprises an area in the southeastern corner of the South Island of New Zealand. The area lies between Balclutha and Invercargill, straddling the boundary between the Otago and Southland regions.It is an amazing coastline with some awesome ocean stretches as well as some pretty rare wildlife. We spent a dusk on the beach - very cold - watching yellow eyed penguins come ashore. The rarest penguins in the world. We went down to Bluff, the southern most tip of NZ and hung out in that boom town - Invercargill (joking :)).

We then headed into the mountains and stayed with friends at Wanaka, over the Crown Ranges from Queenstown. We had two nights of great dinners and laughs as well as two days on the snow at Treble Cone. We got off the snow at lunchtime today and were back in Dunedin 3 hours later. The ski fields are so close - methinks a week in September during the next break.

Oh, well to it tomorrow - Bring it on!

Dunedin Winter Festival

It was cold, it was windy but it was heart warming. I took the family down to the Octagon - the centre of Dunedin to watch the Dunedin Winter Festival. Lots of kids, smiles, lanterns and even a fireworks display.

I stood in the crowd with my 3 year old on my shoulders who shouted at the lanterns going past in the parade. There were stars, fish, ships, people on stilts and even a couple of Yeti! Afterwards, we walked across the Octagon and watched the fire works being launched from the roof of a civic building. All in all, things like this make Dunedin a really cool place. There is always lots on and things to do in the holiday week. In six days we are back into it so enjoying every moment where I can.

Am off on a road trip tomorrow and will be back next Monday to start semester two!

Term 1 finished - Good-bye Syndicate C

Well, today is the end of term one. Four exams in four days and a few drinks yesterday means it might take a few days for my brain to resume normal function. I have loved my first term. The course has been challenging and interesting. Probably the thing that I will value the most from first term that is not in the brochures is the bonds I have formed with my fellow syndicate members. We have been known as the 'circus syndicate' because there is always something entertaining happening in our room!

We have spent a lot of time together, studied hard together, had a lot of laughs and a few tears, found some limits but most importantly, achieved great results. First term has been a blast and the friendships will stay with me forever. 10 days off now until round two starts. I am looking forward to it!

PS. Thanks Melissa for our Syndicate C door sign - all of us have been one of these things at one point in the term!

MBA Exam week procrastination.

 

Exam week. One down, 3 to go. The end of first term is in sight. Already a bit sick of study. Looking for anything that will get me out of the study cave. Luckily, next to the MBA school there is the river, Leith. Today it wasn't a small river, it was a torrent! Standing waves, debris and general mayhem. Great to watch.

What makes it particularly exciting is that for the whole time we have been at school, the Dunedin City Council has been beautifying the banks of the Leith. Unfortunately they have been a little circumspect in their calculations for the bank height. In fact, I would say they have been totally unrealistic! As you can see from the photo, there is nothing left of the work, it has been completely washed away. All good entertainment for people looking to escape from study!

MBA Aches and Pains

I am feeling it. Too long at the desk. My neck is sore, my back is killing me. Must be old age. I am glad I am not the only one. There is illness, headaches and fatigue. All of us are keen to get through our exams and have a break. Last night I read my daughter a story at 7.30pm and woke up at 12pm asleep beside her. First term exams wrap up Thursday and it can't come soon enough.....

MBA Photos

As part of the class's preparation to re-enter the work-force, many things are done to help us to become more polished. Recently we had corporate photos professionally taken. It was good fun. Quite often your profile shot is old or a photo of you with other people cropped out so it is good to have one where you look sharp!

There was lot of kidding around though. Everyone who had photos done had to endure the rest of the class trying to make them crack up for their photo. The group is becoming quite close knit now and the photos, like everything else we do together, is always a good laugh!

Sometimes I get excited about strange things...

I have just finished my first draft of my economics assignment on multi-criteria decision making. I have just basically been typing up a storm for the last 4 hours, not because it was due but because I couldn't stop. My wife has gone to bed, probably thinking I am a weirdo!

Anyway, my assignment is using the decision making software called 1000minds. Check it out at www.1000minds.com . The lecturer, Paul Hansen actually invented not only the software but the actual decision making process behind it - PAPRIKA. It even has its own Wiki. Pretty cool.

Anyway, we had to come up with a decision either within our syndicate groups, with a person we were aligned with or on our own. I took the opportunity to do something very personal and go it alone - very self indulgent I know but you have to make the most of the opportunity especially as when you get to use something like this on a personal decision.

What's my decision you ask? Well based on the preferences (criteria) of myself and a couple mates, we are using the software to decide whether we should go into business together and what type of business we should get into. So you can see why I have worked up a full head of steam. First draft finished - good findings! Will revise this week and see how I go.

MBA Rubberman

Quality surf today but I thought it was worth a pic to understand what surfers go through in Dunedin. Mark and I are in hooded wetsuits with an average thickness of 5 millimetres ( with some six millimetre sections). It is starting to get cold in the water particularly after it snowed this week!

Morning MBA class postponed - Dunedin under snow!

 It's cold! In fact so cold it is snowing. I woke up this morning to this. However, it is hard to get down the hill to the Uni so now classes this morning and maybe none this afternoon. We will see...

Enjoy the pics!