Monday, January 24, 2011

Week 3: It's Getting Very Real

Preparation:
Very tough week of schedules, not to mention allergies.  Three debate papers and one current events paper due for marketing and a group problem set due for Economics.  Much more of my study time was spent on economics.  I tried to "clock out" on Tuesday and Wednesday, but know now that can never happen again.  It was hard trying to do all the reading and the assignments from Thursday - Monday.

Reflections and Expecations:
This was really a tough week.  Working in teams can be completely exhausting.  I love my learning team and appreciate them more and more each week as we learn more about each other.  But, it's that getting to know and trust one another's work that is completely draining.  Personalities, work schedules, backgrounds, learning styles, strengths, and weaknesses all come in to account as you try to unify as a team.
I'm having high hopes that light bulbs will come on this week on some of the economics material.

Class Time:
Marketing was great this week, but also overwhelming.  Both group projects have now been assigned as well as our individual projects.  The sheer amount of work required to pull those off is inconceivable at the moment, but starting is the hardest.  Hopefully, once we get started the projects will come together quickly.  Starting this week!
In Economics, we did a thorough review of Chapter 3 and lots of great questions from the cohort.  I am happy to say that the light bulbs did light up tonight and I'm starting to get a grasp.  This is thanks to Dr Estrada's unique way of walking through the material.  Very practical and applicable.  It should also be noted that he also is very good at learning people's names.  Last week, he was still confirming people's names as he addressed them, but was right on everyone's names tonight.

Personal Thoughts:
The team leader for the week did a great job of trying to get the week scheduled out.  We picked a team name and even created a logo.  We are putting "Learning Team 4" behind us and will now be called Paradigm Shift.  While that may seem silly, it proved to help give ourselves a short commercial break to do something fun that we all had input.  Tonight as I write this, I realize just how completely exhausted I am from the week and from sitting 5 hours (1 hour with the team and 4 hours in class) learning marketing and economics.  I've also had several people ask why I chose to go back to school for this MBA.  The only way I can answer that is to let you read my admissions essay.  I tried to make that as transparent and real as possible.  So, I will post as a part of my profile this week.

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for sharing John. I think we are both on the same "schedule" as far as our feelings. It is reassuring to know I am not the only one to feel this way. Good luck to you and your team.

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