Last day of Module 1!

Eeekkkkk...module one is almost over!!! What?! Just five modules left till graduation. ;)

See you soon Seattle!

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Gratitude

Five things I am grateful for today: 1) slide deck in 2) going to the world bank 3) hometown coffee 4) education 5) sleep in any increment


In 2007, back in MySpace days, I started writing my status update with-
Five things I am Grateful for today: and then started filling in the list for each day.

I stopped once I fully converted over to facebook and deleted my MySpace account and then restarted with Facebook again in 2010.

I don't remember the day I began in 2007, but I do remember the mood. I was drained, emotionally exhausted and felt defeated. I don't remember the cause- maybe it was something simple like the weather-too many grey days in a row in Seattle, or maybe it was something fierce like a broken heart. I have no idea. I remember being in this mood, and turning on PBS (when tv traveled through the air and we didnt have to buy cable).

I started watching a pbs program on either how to be successful in life or how to unlock your happiness or something of this up lifting nature- and one of the keys the program touched on was the Neuroscience of gratitude and how being grateful has the highest impact on your well being and how gratitude aligns you with your success (how ever you define success).

I thought -genius- so simple. I can even do this.

So every day I was on MySpace and now facebook I usually will fill my status update on what I am grateful for. Sometimes my friends follow along and post their own grateful list on their status, sometimes they post their list on my status. Sometimes they just comment on my list- sometimes they say nothing for months and then when i see them they say something or dont- either way-its just there for a reminder of gratitude.

Tonight I got an email from a friend asking me if I would mind if she would start posting her own list on her status... And I replied "Please do!!!" I find it sweet and very silly she asked me - I think she was just being overly polite in asking- as if I own or think that a gratitude list is somehow me or mine. [I got the idea from someone really smart on PBS.] There would be nothing more that would make me happy then a world where all our Facebook statuses read a list of things we were grateful for. The power of gratitude is immense - and I would love to see gratitude flowing out of everyone.

Imagine a world that we were all consciously aware of the things were were grateful for- even starting with water-access to clean water. That thought makes me realizing how lucky I am to be in an area that has a system for delivering fresh drinking water to all my taps in my home- so many people in this world are living with out fresh drinkable water. Something happens inside of me and I get that feeling of gratitude and that immediate reaction of how can I help. In DC there is an art exhibit going on of empty school desks to represent the fact that a high volume (I forget the numbers) of kids dropping out of high school each hour. [due to my school schedule I am missing the art show]- imagine if our high schoolers knew how lucky they are to be educated. Education is not a right in many parts of the world. Some areas- women are not allowed to go to school- or maybe less severe -just discouraged.

What if we were grateful for the stuff we had?

Would we take better care of it?

Would we be more inclined to find solutions for people that don't have access/opportunity?

What if you wrote a list every day- how would you change? Would you change?

The tool of writing down three to five things you are grateful for each day has scientific evidence for improving your life! I encourage you, if you don't already - just try it out. It won't make Seattle sunny but it has for me aligned my life with my priorities and reminds me of my privilege, my responibility, my accountability and my dedication of service to make this world a better place.

Gratitude. The most powerful force for good we got. Truly.

Much love and gratitude,
Elizabeth

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MY GEMBA FAMILY

This is my GEMBA family :)
[I am kinda the where's waldo in this picture-but hey that kinda works for my camera shy personality.]

 A few little fun facts:
We are the 5th Cohort of the GEMBA program. The program is the brain child of Paul Almeida and Pedro Parada. You should google them-they are not only impressive-but also on the cutting edge for executive education - knowledge management and strategy-etc.

In only 14 classes I think I might want to get my PhD in policitcal economic theory.

Understanding Game theory is my summer side project- why wasn't this taught in conjunction with Biochem or Philosophy at Seattle U-I will never understand.

Accountants deserve much more respect in a company.  Business/Operations/RD etc.. are important. but I have a new found deep respect for accountants.  Financial Statement Management is not easy.
I think I have found the connection though between ThermoDynamics and Accounting by comparing the two:

Cash = Liabilities - All other asssets + Stockholders Equity

is the same as

   So G = Cash

U = Liabilities

TS = All other Assets

PV = Stockholders Equity

Once I put this association together, I somehow felt better about accounting class-and all was okay with the world again. Phew.


Sometimes when I go to sleep I hear my classmates accents in my head. I like the way different cultures use tone, pitch and frequency.  It is like little melodies.  I think Seattlelites are monotone in comparison.

Georgetown coffee is not very good and they still use styrofoam cups. I like Seattle's ban against styrofoam for restaurants.
 
I have no idea the most efficient way to write notes-in word-in the power point note section or with paper and pen. I hope to figure this one out by next module. 

I like group projects-it makes me feel like I am actually in school again.  One project is on Danone and understanding their financial statements and drawing conclusions from those. And the other project is on Amrut, an Indian Whisky company, and finding a non market strategy to solve one of their problems.

To prepare for the Amrut presentation we had the Scottish Whisky Association come to Georgetown for a whisky tasting.  I am not a whisky drinker normally, but I had a few sips. ;)  And all I can say is that I could taste a difference between the regions in Scotland-and I don't think I had a favorite.


It is hard for me to sleep-I am so energized being here that I am still trying to find a way to unwind and sleep. I feel like one thought builds on another and another.. and before you know it-I have been traveling the world in my mind looking at these issues and trying to apply them to my past and to then create new things in the future.

So maybe I will just quit there for tonight-before I start dancing with more ideas.

Much Love,
Elizabeth



 

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First week of school!

School has officially started!

Instead of climbing on the bus to go to school, I took the midnight flight out of Seattle to DC. I landed in DC after a layover in Boston around noon on Sunday June 10th. Leaving me a few hours before I met my cohort in the lobby for orientation.

I was nervous. The elevator doors open and there was my first classmate Miquel -with the welcome packet held in hand. He has a PhD in Biochem and works for a large Pharma in Spain. I was immediately relieved- Business school contains my science peeps!

We exited the elevators- and my life had been a blur ever since. A blur compromised of constant motion, colors, sounds, accents, little sleep, and many new friends.

The GEMBA 05 cohort is diverse.
My cohort is 39 people-from over 17 countries-11 are females. Ages range from me at 30 to others that are wise. The companies represented here range from big banks, IT, Pharma, government, world organizations, foundations, media and public relations- large multinational firms, to small private companies. Job titles range from CEO, VP, Directors, Managers with concentrations in all different functions-Finance, Operations, HR, IT, Marketing, R&D, Program Management, etc.

The common thread between each person is the desire for knowledge, wanting and understanding the need for the global perspective, and a true respect for others.

The typical day goes from 9:30am to about 6:00pm, then an evening activity to about 9pm or 11pm and then studying/work till late in the night.

In the DC module we are taking four classes: 1) Business, Government, and the Global Economy 2) Financial Statement Management 3) International Business Management 4)Integrated Course and then we have Special Topics throughout the two weeks.

While we are here we had one paper due, and 2 group projects. After I leave I will have 2 more papers and a take home test that will be due roughly two weeks after I return.

Once I am done with that, I will start my reading for module 2 which will be in Spain in September.

I have so much to do-so that is a simplistic recap for now :) Just know that I am loving learning-my teachers are top notch! I love the diversity of my cohort and enjoy everyone's company and their stories of experience.

I am deeply thankful for this opportunity and feel like I won the lottery because the tools I am gaining is sparking fires inside of me ready to create, connect and facilitate. Temperance. Temperance. Temperance.

Love you & goodnight,
Elizabeth

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