IMD Assessment Day and the end of an era

I kind of feel like I am sending my kid off to kindergarten, even though he is 33. It’s been a long process preparing my candidate…as of late, for his interview at IMD…but also so rewarding, navigating all the questions has allowed us bring about a more concrete vision and path for his future.

So, by preparing for interview, it has been a quest into many other areas. how is your post-MBA goal job going to make you happy? Why aren’t you just going for it now? How can you do more of what you love and less of what you don’t? Given that IMD is known as highly introspective leadership program I’m glad for it.

Now he’s in Switzerland, prepping for the case analysis tomorrow and Friday is Assessment Day at IMD. It’s so surreal that he made his way from the middle east to Geneva to Lausanne in a matter of a few hours and now he’s sitting in a hotel room, eating his $22 burger, practicing his French, looking out on to a lake.

So much work has gone into this process, some days easier than others. We have done a ton of introspection, figuring out his brand, values, what separates him and now he’s standing at the station waiting to get on the train (figuratively.) 

I can’t imagine how I would feel being in a foreign country and then being asked to deliver a presentation, do a case analysis with your competitors, do a 1-1 interview, then the alumni interview over lunch…..it’s a long a$$ day y’all.

Maybe I can imagine it; I had to argue my thesis in front a panel of French professors but it was at the end of the semester, when I could finally speak the language fluent-ish. So, I am sure it is a bit like that but they are asking for him to jump, hum, bark and dance all in the same show.

Then, back to work on Monday and he’s interviewing with IESE on Friday, thankfully via Skype. I think the bulk of the work is behind us thankfully. I am feeling a bit confused like now what? We have been saddled up side by side for several months, it will be a little weird to put this level of focus on other clients. Maybe I will feel better once he has his first acceptance letter; or maybe it will be that much harder.