As I started my daily self reflection a few evenings ago, my immediate thought was how blessed and fortunate I am to be a part of Kellogg. 

In just the past month I have had the opportunity to teach in the full-time, part-time, and weekend MBA programs; the EMBA programs in Chicago, Miami, and Hong Kong; various Kellogg clubs and executive programs for family businesses, CMOs, physicians, finance executives; and finally, several custom programs for companies based in the U.S. and around the world.  I also had a great “fireside chat” over lunch the other day with the Kellogg Christian Fellowship (KCF). 

The diversity of experiences is phenomenal. I can now truly appreciate what my teachers meant when they used to say that as teachers they were “learning more than the students.” I realize that I never really understand something until I can explain it to a group of bright people who ask me a lot of penetrating questions. In addition to in-class learning opportunities, there are multitudes of out of class opportunities as well.  For instance, as I mentioned in my last blog post, two weeks ago I had the opportunity to participate in the Kellogg Greater China Conference. I gained some interesting new perspectives on the issues and challenges facing China and its interactions with the world economy. 

Last week, for my evening MBA class I was fortunate to have Karen May, the former EVP of Kraft and Mondelez, as my guest speaker. In addition, Laurie Byrne and Isabel Alfonso from Performance Health contributed to the class discussion on setting a clear direction for the organization, motivation, and team building: 

And I cannot forget to include some of the crazy fun!!! Last weekend, EMBA112 (yes, that “wild and crazy executive MBA Group”) invited me to an establishment in Evanston called Evanston Rocks. The only advice I received from Neeraj Chopra was to “bring your ‘balle balle’ shoes.”  I will admit I did a lot of dancing. The good news is that there were no pictures taken of me (that I know of at least), but here’s a few to give you a sense of the evening.  

I am now down in Miami for another EMBA113 class, and the rumor is these folks also know how to party!!! Stay tuned!!