Monday, September 2, 2013

Sunday 1st September: What I learned this week

The last week of school was filled with many challenges that tested us as a group. As I reflect on what I learned, I am reminded of the fact that entrepreneurship is a journey of continuous learning, failing and improvement. Here are my top 3 lessons of the week:

1. Quantity vs. Quality: Some times we get trapped into thinking that being busy=being productive but that is not always true. This week has shown me that quality is so much more important than quantity. As a group, we planned multiple “rehearsal sessions” for our pcu orals. However, the quality and effectiveness of those sessions in terms of actually preparing us for our presentation, leaves much to be desired. The question is: aside from the group rehearsals, did each of use dedicate enough time to prepare by ourselves to ensure that our individual performances would be up to par?

2. After-action reviews: As a group, I believe it is important to do a quick and objective/ non-judgmental after action review after every major project. Regardless of whether the performance was good or bad, the review is helpful because it brings the group together and serves as a learning tool for the future. I noticed that after our orals, the general consensus in the group was to avoid talking about our performance. I don’t think this was a good idea because we failed to take advantage of an opportunity to boost the team’s morale and encourage one another, despite our poor performance. As a group, I believe we need to learn how to be positive and not shy away from addressing the hard issues.

3. The way forward:  Now that we are on vacation, we each have a lot to think about in terms of the way forward for the business. The time is soon approaching for members to decide whether or not they want to carry on with Azura beyond the semester.  There are some members of the group who have already made up their minds while others are still on the fence.  Obviously this is not a decision that should be taken lightly and it’s a good thing that we all agreed to use the vacation to think about it in more detail. Despite our differences, we all feel that azura as a business has amazing potential and it would be interesting to see how far the product can go, if given a chance.  


I’ll end here for now and pass the blogging baton to Dave. Till next time….



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