The days are blending into each other. I really don't know what day it is. It's a good thing that there is a flip chart by the door that has the date on it to remind me.
Yesterday just flew by... Pilates was actually Yoga yesterday. And let me tell you that while it felt OK at the time, my body is in pain today.
We had our last Finance & Accounting class before our exam next week. I think I'll manage OK. Things blended into meeting with the team and personal coaches while eating lunch. Then we went over how to read a case. That'll take some practice. From there, right into meeting as a team with our coach. Somehow, we got the director of the program as our coach. Not quite sure how that happened. That took us to 9:30 at night...
Now I am off to Pilates and then will have a full day of Finance and Accounting...
Monday, August 31, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Thoughts on Day 3
Day 3 kinda flew by!
Let me tell you about the breakfast... It was a warm breakfast, outside of the norm of continental breakfast that we had been having the first two days (which felt like at least a week). We had sweet potato frittata with roasted baby potatoes. For carnivores, they also had ham and bacon and a ton of breads for toast and a fruit platter. Having not slept much the night before, I also had 2 coffees... And they were the only two I had all day. Andrew (in the Cornell-Queen's program) popped by to say hello. It's his school weekend, too. (Of course, I don't have any concept of time. Don't quite realize it is the weekend given the surreal nature of being in school all day.)
We had a morning of Team Building. This was us working on a couple of cases do deal with conflict. The cases were based on real-life examples of students in the program. One was a freeloader, riding the coat tails of the team and not contributing. (The team let it go on, so they were all at fault.) The other was this guy who had just never been told of the niceties of being on time for meetings and so on.
After lunch (beef or vegetarian stew with celeriac mashed potatoes and spinach salad), we started some of the more concrete work: Finance and Accounting. Nearly everyone in my team was picked to answer a question on the case we worked on. I think we'll be doing fine with numbers.
Got home early (around 6:30pm) and I was grateful that Alan had delayed dinner so that we could all eat together. I watched a movie with the kids, got them to bed, made my moves in my ongoing games in Lexulous (version of Scrabble in Facebook), and then worked on setting up a calendar in Word for a bit. Glanced at my accounting homework and read the case for today's "How to Read a Case" workshop.
Now I am getting ready for my first-ever Pilates class. It starts in 45mins, so I better get moving!
Let me tell you about the breakfast... It was a warm breakfast, outside of the norm of continental breakfast that we had been having the first two days (which felt like at least a week). We had sweet potato frittata with roasted baby potatoes. For carnivores, they also had ham and bacon and a ton of breads for toast and a fruit platter. Having not slept much the night before, I also had 2 coffees... And they were the only two I had all day. Andrew (in the Cornell-Queen's program) popped by to say hello. It's his school weekend, too. (Of course, I don't have any concept of time. Don't quite realize it is the weekend given the surreal nature of being in school all day.)
We had a morning of Team Building. This was us working on a couple of cases do deal with conflict. The cases were based on real-life examples of students in the program. One was a freeloader, riding the coat tails of the team and not contributing. (The team let it go on, so they were all at fault.) The other was this guy who had just never been told of the niceties of being on time for meetings and so on.
After lunch (beef or vegetarian stew with celeriac mashed potatoes and spinach salad), we started some of the more concrete work: Finance and Accounting. Nearly everyone in my team was picked to answer a question on the case we worked on. I think we'll be doing fine with numbers.
Got home early (around 6:30pm) and I was grateful that Alan had delayed dinner so that we could all eat together. I watched a movie with the kids, got them to bed, made my moves in my ongoing games in Lexulous (version of Scrabble in Facebook), and then worked on setting up a calendar in Word for a bit. Glanced at my accounting homework and read the case for today's "How to Read a Case" workshop.
Now I am getting ready for my first-ever Pilates class. It starts in 45mins, so I better get moving!
Saturday, August 29, 2009
...And Welcome to Day 2.
Reflections on day 2...
It feels like we've been together a whole lot longer than 2 days. Certainly that is a function of the team building exercises that we've been doing.
I was less tired at the end of day 2 than I was at the end of the first day. I now realize that it was because I became wired (not as a result of drinking coffee - I had only one cup after lunch) which resulted in not falling asleep when I first went to bed and then lying awake watching the clock starting around 4am.
What we did
We worked on an Arctic survival exercise where you rank order 15 items needed for survival. I was not very good at it as an individual. As a team we worked great together! That means that we got a WAY better score. It helps to have engineers who have been in the terrain that the "crash site" was in. That's how we learned that a compass is useless if you are surrounded by iron ore. And having a forester on the team who said you would wander around forever lost if you tried to navigate around the lakes.
Then we set the groundwork for establishing our team's Mission, Goals and Norms. Once we were set loose to actually do the work, we decided to go for a walk and get some fresh air. It was after 4:30pm and we had been going pretty much non-stop. So, a little stroll along Sparks Street got us moving and some fresh air into our bodies. We then worked on our Mission, Goals and Norms and finished a little bit earlier than we had scheduled. I wonder if we sacrificed effectiveness for efficiency. I guess we'll find out when we meet with our team coach on Sunday night.
Notes to self...
Girly shoes are not good for extended walks on city streets. Especially with fast walking guys.
Work on finding your voice... Those guys can really take over if you let them.
It feels like we've been together a whole lot longer than 2 days. Certainly that is a function of the team building exercises that we've been doing.
I was less tired at the end of day 2 than I was at the end of the first day. I now realize that it was because I became wired (not as a result of drinking coffee - I had only one cup after lunch) which resulted in not falling asleep when I first went to bed and then lying awake watching the clock starting around 4am.
What we did
We worked on an Arctic survival exercise where you rank order 15 items needed for survival. I was not very good at it as an individual. As a team we worked great together! That means that we got a WAY better score. It helps to have engineers who have been in the terrain that the "crash site" was in. That's how we learned that a compass is useless if you are surrounded by iron ore. And having a forester on the team who said you would wander around forever lost if you tried to navigate around the lakes.
Then we set the groundwork for establishing our team's Mission, Goals and Norms. Once we were set loose to actually do the work, we decided to go for a walk and get some fresh air. It was after 4:30pm and we had been going pretty much non-stop. So, a little stroll along Sparks Street got us moving and some fresh air into our bodies. We then worked on our Mission, Goals and Norms and finished a little bit earlier than we had scheduled. I wonder if we sacrificed effectiveness for efficiency. I guess we'll find out when we meet with our team coach on Sunday night.
Notes to self...
Girly shoes are not good for extended walks on city streets. Especially with fast walking guys.
Work on finding your voice... Those guys can really take over if you let them.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Day One Is Complete!
WOW! What a day!
The theme for the next few days is High Performing Teams. Shawna O'Grady is our professor and she is good. And she throws in some jokes from time to time to keep us listening.
After an overview of the objectives and an overview of the Queen's model for high performing teams, we found out who our team members were and did a "getting to know you" exercise. In our teams, we each had to talk for one minute about an assigned topic, with four topics to cover. For example, the first round was stating our name, where we come from, where we work, our job title and what a typical day looks like. Stuff like that times four.
Then we got sent to another breakout area where we did a Bombardment Exercise. We had to talk about 6 successes (which we identified prior to going to the breakout area) and our team members had to come up with five positive qualities about us. And then they had to tell us the qualities while kneeling in front of us and then put a sticker with a caption for each one onto a bullseye chart. That was very humbling for everyone. Imagine getting praised for roughly 15 minutes straight by people who barely knew you. Imagine if you could do this at work! That would certainly break down any barriers that currently exist and you find a more positive platform to operate from. Of course, now we have to live up to our team members' "ideal" of us formulated from this exercise.
Oh yeah. There are 28 people in the program; 4 groups of 7. There are only 5 females in the group. My calculator says that's 17.8% of the group. If you are doing your math one degree further, you'll realize that one group would have two women. That's not my group. I am the sole chicky with 6 guys. Two are engineers (one is the president of his company), one is a seasoned executive, one is a surgeon (cancer is his specialty), one is a junior general manager, and one is an internal consultant to the federal government.
My group was so involved in the bombardment exercise that we almost missed lunch! Sure, Tracy came to remind us that lunch was available, but we decided to go through with everything first. Fortunately, they extended lunch by 15 minutes, so I had time to wolf down some cold chicken (it was supposed to be cold) and a stuffed zucchini (it was hot) and some salad. And I grabbed a bit of chocolate cake to keep my energy up.
We spent the rest of the afternoon learning about our HBDI profiles and talking about the different colours. My profile has changed since I first did it a year ago with work. I went from a 2121 to a 2112. I joked with the two engineers on my team (who sit in my row) that they must have knocked the socks off of "blue" (analytic) and they weren't too surprised to see my green-red profile.
Anyway... It was a long day. And tomorrow will be even longer. We go to 9:45pm. Yikes!
Inspiration for today:
"You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear. Do it! Develop an appreciation for the present moment. Seize every second of your life and savor it. Value your present moments. Using them up in any self-defeating ways means you've lost them forever."
Wayne Dyer
The theme for the next few days is High Performing Teams. Shawna O'Grady is our professor and she is good. And she throws in some jokes from time to time to keep us listening.
After an overview of the objectives and an overview of the Queen's model for high performing teams, we found out who our team members were and did a "getting to know you" exercise. In our teams, we each had to talk for one minute about an assigned topic, with four topics to cover. For example, the first round was stating our name, where we come from, where we work, our job title and what a typical day looks like. Stuff like that times four.
Then we got sent to another breakout area where we did a Bombardment Exercise. We had to talk about 6 successes (which we identified prior to going to the breakout area) and our team members had to come up with five positive qualities about us. And then they had to tell us the qualities while kneeling in front of us and then put a sticker with a caption for each one onto a bullseye chart. That was very humbling for everyone. Imagine getting praised for roughly 15 minutes straight by people who barely knew you. Imagine if you could do this at work! That would certainly break down any barriers that currently exist and you find a more positive platform to operate from. Of course, now we have to live up to our team members' "ideal" of us formulated from this exercise.
Oh yeah. There are 28 people in the program; 4 groups of 7. There are only 5 females in the group. My calculator says that's 17.8% of the group. If you are doing your math one degree further, you'll realize that one group would have two women. That's not my group. I am the sole chicky with 6 guys. Two are engineers (one is the president of his company), one is a seasoned executive, one is a surgeon (cancer is his specialty), one is a junior general manager, and one is an internal consultant to the federal government.
My group was so involved in the bombardment exercise that we almost missed lunch! Sure, Tracy came to remind us that lunch was available, but we decided to go through with everything first. Fortunately, they extended lunch by 15 minutes, so I had time to wolf down some cold chicken (it was supposed to be cold) and a stuffed zucchini (it was hot) and some salad. And I grabbed a bit of chocolate cake to keep my energy up.
We spent the rest of the afternoon learning about our HBDI profiles and talking about the different colours. My profile has changed since I first did it a year ago with work. I went from a 2121 to a 2112. I joked with the two engineers on my team (who sit in my row) that they must have knocked the socks off of "blue" (analytic) and they weren't too surprised to see my green-red profile.
Anyway... It was a long day. And tomorrow will be even longer. We go to 9:45pm. Yikes!
Inspiration for today:
"You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear. Do it! Develop an appreciation for the present moment. Seize every second of your life and savor it. Value your present moments. Using them up in any self-defeating ways means you've lost them forever."
Wayne Dyer
It's the BIG DAY!
I have been awake since 4:30am. I guess am either anxious or excited or a bit of both. I finally decided to get up after an hour of watching the clock.
Breakfast starts at 7:30am. Yes, they feed us. Class "stuff" starts at 8:30 and goes until 6:15pm. I've been warned by Alan - who works with a guy who is in the Cornell-Queen's MBA program - to expect that there may be an impromptu dinner with my new team afterwards. So, I don't know when I am getting home tonight.
Many thanks to Alan who will be shouldering many of the responsibilities while I am in Boot Camp. And many thanks to my girls who will be brave while they miss me. I will miss all three of you, too!
Well, I best start getting ready! Wish me luck!
Breakfast starts at 7:30am. Yes, they feed us. Class "stuff" starts at 8:30 and goes until 6:15pm. I've been warned by Alan - who works with a guy who is in the Cornell-Queen's MBA program - to expect that there may be an impromptu dinner with my new team afterwards. So, I don't know when I am getting home tonight.
Many thanks to Alan who will be shouldering many of the responsibilities while I am in Boot Camp. And many thanks to my girls who will be brave while they miss me. I will miss all three of you, too!
Well, I best start getting ready! Wish me luck!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Tomorrow's the BIG DAY
I start my MBA studies tomorrow. I must be a little stressed because I have have a kink in my neck and can't turn my head very far. I am still excited, though!
We don't need our laptops and I've been told that it is advisable to wear pants. And since the first day is spent on "Creating High Performance Teams", I can guess that we'll have some team-building activity that would not be all that fun if I was wearing a skirt.
I need to test my new pens and mechanical pencils to make sure that they work.
I hope that future posts will be more entertaining for you all!
We don't need our laptops and I've been told that it is advisable to wear pants. And since the first day is spent on "Creating High Performance Teams", I can guess that we'll have some team-building activity that would not be all that fun if I was wearing a skirt.
I need to test my new pens and mechanical pencils to make sure that they work.
I hope that future posts will be more entertaining for you all!
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Getting back into it
Well, I've been away from this blog for a while. Mainly because I start my MBA studies this coming Thursday. I've been either reading the books that Queen's sent me or trying to take care of the things that would distract me from my studies (like washing baseboards...)! Anyway, I was visiting a friend's blog and she had this "meme" on hers, and I thought it would be a good way to jump back in!
10. Sang a solo.
11. Bungee jumped.
12. Visited Paris. (Can I put it in italics if I want to go back?)
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch. Knitting
15. Adopted a child.
16. Had food poisoning.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty.
18. Grown your own vegetables.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
20. Slept on an overnight train.
21. Had a pillow fight.
22. Hitch hiked.
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill.
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb.
26. Gone skinny dipping.
27. Run a marathon. Oh you must be joking.
28. Ridden a gondola in Venice.
29. Seen a total eclipse.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset. Several.
31. Hit a home run. ...Being able to hit a ball first would be good...
32. Been on a cruise.
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors.
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language. Tried to learn German once.
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied.
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing. Only at a rock climbing gym.
40. Seen Michelangelo's David in person.
41. Sung Karaoke. Don't ask.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt.
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant.
44. Visited Africa.
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight.
46. Been transported in an ambulance.
47. Had your portrait painted.
48. Gone deep sea fishing.
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling.
52. Kissed in the rain.
53. Played in the mud.
54. Gone to a drive-in theatre.
55. Been in a movie. (I might have been in an obscure IMAX film that was being filmed when I was in St. Anthony, NL.)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen. I have sorted food for the Food Bank.
61. Sold Girl Guide cookies.
62. Gone whale watching.
63. Gotten flowers for no reason.
64. Donated blood. My veins are small. They asked me to not come back.
65. Gone sky diving.
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp.
67. Bounced a cheque.
68. Flown in a helicopter.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt.
73. Stood in Times Square.
74. Toured the Everglades.
75. Been fired from a job. It was really downsizing. They closed my office.
76. Seen the Changing of the Guard in London.
77. Broken a bone.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person.
80. Published a book. (I have had an article published in a magazine!)
81. Visited the Vatican.
82. Bought a brand new car.
83. Walked in Jerusalem.
84. Had your picture in the newspaper. Lots of times when I was a kid. I must have been cute!
85. Read the entire Bible.
86. Visited the White House.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating. (Do fish count?)
88. Had chickenpox. Twice. Really.
89. Saved someone’s life.
90. Sat on a jury.
91. Met someone famous.
92. Joined a book club. Started a book club no less.
93. Lost a loved one.
94. Had a baby.
95. Seen the Alamo in person.
96. Swum in the Great Salt Lake.
97. Been involved in a law suit.
98. Owned a cell phone.
99. Been stung by a bee.
99 things meme
Nicked from Kniterary.
Things you've already done: bold
Things you want to do: italicize
Things you haven't done and don't want to - leave in plain font
1. Started your own blog.
2. Slept under the stars.
3. Played in a band.
4. Visited Hawaii.
5. Watched a meteor shower.
6. Given more than you can afford to charity.
7. Been to Disneyland/world.
8. Climbed a mountain.
9. Held a praying mantis.
Nicked from Kniterary.
Things you've already done: bold
Things you want to do: italicize
Things you haven't done and don't want to - leave in plain font
1. Started your own blog.
2. Slept under the stars.
3. Played in a band.
4. Visited Hawaii.
5. Watched a meteor shower.
6. Given more than you can afford to charity.
7. Been to Disneyland/world.
8. Climbed a mountain.
9. Held a praying mantis.
10. Sang a solo.
11. Bungee jumped.
12. Visited Paris. (Can I put it in italics if I want to go back?)
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch. Knitting
15. Adopted a child.
16. Had food poisoning.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty.
18. Grown your own vegetables.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
20. Slept on an overnight train.
21. Had a pillow fight.
22. Hitch hiked.
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill.
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb.
26. Gone skinny dipping.
27. Run a marathon. Oh you must be joking.
28. Ridden a gondola in Venice.
29. Seen a total eclipse.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset. Several.
31. Hit a home run. ...Being able to hit a ball first would be good...
32. Been on a cruise.
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors.
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language. Tried to learn German once.
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied.
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing. Only at a rock climbing gym.
40. Seen Michelangelo's David in person.
41. Sung Karaoke. Don't ask.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt.
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant.
44. Visited Africa.
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight.
46. Been transported in an ambulance.
47. Had your portrait painted.
48. Gone deep sea fishing.
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling.
52. Kissed in the rain.
53. Played in the mud.
54. Gone to a drive-in theatre.
55. Been in a movie. (I might have been in an obscure IMAX film that was being filmed when I was in St. Anthony, NL.)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen. I have sorted food for the Food Bank.
61. Sold Girl Guide cookies.
62. Gone whale watching.
63. Gotten flowers for no reason.
64. Donated blood. My veins are small. They asked me to not come back.
65. Gone sky diving.
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp.
67. Bounced a cheque.
68. Flown in a helicopter.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt.
73. Stood in Times Square.
74. Toured the Everglades.
75. Been fired from a job. It was really downsizing. They closed my office.
76. Seen the Changing of the Guard in London.
77. Broken a bone.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person.
80. Published a book. (I have had an article published in a magazine!)
81. Visited the Vatican.
82. Bought a brand new car.
83. Walked in Jerusalem.
84. Had your picture in the newspaper. Lots of times when I was a kid. I must have been cute!
85. Read the entire Bible.
86. Visited the White House.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating. (Do fish count?)
88. Had chickenpox. Twice. Really.
89. Saved someone’s life.
90. Sat on a jury.
91. Met someone famous.
92. Joined a book club. Started a book club no less.
93. Lost a loved one.
94. Had a baby.
95. Seen the Alamo in person.
96. Swum in the Great Salt Lake.
97. Been involved in a law suit.
98. Owned a cell phone.
99. Been stung by a bee.
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