Out with September and into the Fall...

It’s October, and the weather has taken a sudden turn toward winter. The mornings and evenings are cold and I’ve pulled out the old fall leather jacket to cope. It’s been a really interesting two weeks to say the least. We’ve started the GLOBE module in the Ivey MBA program. One week into this module and we’ve already overviewed macro-economics; who knew that economics would come so naturally to me? I guess having two parents with PhD’s in economics has rubbed off on me as much as I hate to admit it ;) GLOBE has been a nice break as I assumed it would be based on the word of previous outgoing students. There’s far less preparation and I feel like I’m getting more time for myself.

We had a week off in late September for recruitment activities. I spent the majority of the week in Ottawa. It was a crazy week. First off, a piece of good news; I successfully managed to throw Geeta a surprise birthday party….wow who knew that it would take so much coordination! The important part is that Geeta was surprised and we all had a great time; it was really nice catching up with friends and family. I figure it was time I surprised her with a bday party considering that she threw me a surprise birthday party three years in a row! The funny thing is that in all of those surprise bday party’s, I was in fact caught by surprise ;) As a joke, one of my best friend’s thought it would be funny to throw me a fourth surprise party in a row, and yes I was fooled again. I guess I’m just gullible.

Life at Nortel has taken a dramatic change to dark side in the last two weeks. The company is selling a major business unit and is enduring difficult times. The stock has plummeted over 50% and additional restructuring is likely pending. It’s heart-breaking for me to watch. I feel very passionate about Nortel and I want to see it succeed. I really wanted to be a part of the rebuilding process of that company post-MBA, but I'm feeling like it’s too late for this Canadian icon. Nortel gave my first job in high school, gave me a scholarship for my undergrad engineering studies, hired me back as a full-time employee after graduating, promoted me quickly, put me through their accelerated leadership program, and gave me a leave of absence for a year while I pursued my MBA. Do I feel loyal?....you bet and it hurts to watch this company falter. The full impact of the news was quite visible during my visit to Ottawa, Nortel’s R&D headquarters. I’m still on a leave of absence from Nortel while I pursue my MBA, and I spent three days out of my recruitment week catching up with colleagues, executive mentors, and my internal network. Having lunch with my former Leadership program teammates was an eye opener. We were supposed to be the cheerleaders for Nortel; the bunch that represented the new leadership and that motivated others to make Nortel a great Canadian company again. We were supposed to help make a difference. It was really hard for me to witness that even our most enthusiastic future Nortel leaders had suffered from the morale blow. Mind you, the news release is fresh in everyone’s head and I realize that with time the morale will go up but something seems different this time. Moreover, meeting with some of my executive mentors was also an eye-opener. When talking about my post-MBA plans with them, I was told off the record by multiple mentors that I should probably start considering companies beyond Nortel. That was really hard for me to hear, but I appreciated the non-bias advice. I have started looking beyond Nortel but am sticking to my guns when it comes to finding a position that aligns my strengths with my passions. I started interviewing with a few companies…keep you posted. On a side note Lauren Flaherty, CMO of Nortel, has had to cancel her visit to Ivey as a result of all that’s happening in Nortel. I’m hoping to reschedule her for a visit sometime in 2009.

The topic of friendship versus acquaintances has been a topic on my mind lately. Over the years, I’ve developed a lot of acquaintances (i.e. people that I socialize with but don’t consider close enough to open up to). Over that same time period, I would say that I’ve developed few ‘close’ friends and lost many others. I feel lucky to have married my best friend and I know that I can talk to her about anything, but I realize that it’s healthy to have and to keep good friends beyond one’s marriage. Throughout my life I’ve had many solid friends; mostly childhood friends that I continue to stay in touch with to this day. The unfortunate part is that many of my friends have become acquaintances over time and I’ve become more closed off and less trusting as a person as I’ve gotten older. Recognizing this, I’ve made a conscious effort this year to become a more open person, and I guess this blogs serves as part of that purpose. I’ve also made a conscious effort to make new friends and I feel that the MBA program has allowed me to make new ‘close’ friends. One thought that has been on my mind lately is how I’ve seemed to lose a few good friends over the years for really shitty reasons. It bothers me that I’ve let some friendships go over the years. Four years ago I stopped talking to one of my best friends after having a really dumb argument on a camping trip. Knowing that she and I are both stubborn in nature, it doesn’t surprise me that we still haven’t talked to each other four years later or that we threw away our friendship over an insignificant argument. I decided to put aside my stubbornness and finally reach out to her last week. I haven’t heard back and I guess I was a bit disappointed. It did however put things into perspective for me; it’s not worth throwing away a good friend because you’re too stubborn or because you want to prove a point. Good friends are hard to come by and I know that moving forward I’m going to make more of an effort to not let the little things get in the way.

Since the MBA program started, there have been a few people that have really influenced me both inside and outside the classroom. Without mentioning names, I though it would be neat to reflect on three of these individuals and how they’ve impacted me. I hope to follow-up with some descriptions of some others that have influenced me in a few blog entries from now down the road…here are the first three.

The first person is someone I respect and admire very much. She comes from a prominent Canadian family, but you’d never know it based on her grace, her diplomacy, and her tact. She’s modest, she’s confident, and she’s down to earth. She works hard, and puts a lot of pressure on herself to perform and seek excellence. She’s there for her classmates when they need her, and she takes on a lot of extracurricular responsibilities not because she has to but because she likes to add value. She’s nice, but gets strong when she needs to; the right mix of softness and strength. She’s serious, she’s professional, but she knows how to have fun as well. She’s a got a bright future written all over her. I find myself learning from her everyday.

The second person has taken a prominent class role; a tough job with little recognition. Few people realize the amount of work that is required for the job, yet he continues to work long hours to ensure that things run smoothly. He responds to emails late at night, with the Ivey brand on his mind at all times. He doesn’t need recognition or fame; he just wants the class to succeed and it is. His work ethic and responsiveness are contagious and I’m glad that I gave him my vote on class election day. I know that he’ll keep it up and I hope everyone recognizes his work.

The third person is an entrepreneur. She knows what she wants, and she’s driving forward with her dreams. She’s not concerned with all the others; she’s focussed on her objectives and you know she’ll get there. She’s appreciating the program and absorbing as much as she can get out of it. Her passion and energy make me that much more excited about the program. She’s an energy booster and she works long hours into the night to ensure that she’s learned what she’s needed to learn…my type of person.

Until next time.

Sacha