Wk5, Day 6 @HBS. The big picture..

Wk5, Day 6 @HBS.  The big picture..

Did I forget to tell you, on Thursday, we had our Group photo taken. Well dressed ladies and gentlemen of GMP14, made it to the steps of the Baker Library for the Big picture (GMP14) to be taken. Was a nice sunny day, optimal from a photographers view.

So the classes, that we missed yesterday came back to haunt us today. The day began with the first lecture at 0820 am and cramming three lectures by the mid day. Well we finally did get to the end of the tunnel.

The big picture - Macro-economics

• Learning macro-economics is one thing. 
• Learning macro-economics, at Harvard is yet another thing - to know, these walls have shaped the planet's macro-economics in more ways than can be counted, gives you a nice feeling :)
• It's a completely another thing, when the professor teaching you macro-economics has been a minister of planning for a country.
• It's indeed, quite another matter, when the professor goes the extra mile to ensure, that you actually understand what the big picture is all about.

That is the kind of macro-economics I like.  Yes !!

Needless to say, the class is actually quite interesting. I am already looking forward to it.

Changing the big picture.
Most of us who have been agents of change in our organisation, have learnt it the hard way, that you need to address the team differently for different situation.

• Willing and able to change
• Willing and unable to change
• Unwilling and able to change
• Unwilling and unable to change

Its important to include these team members in the execution of plan, and also the discovery of the big picture. The "Unable to change" set of folks, need your support to make them able. Education, communication, incentives, flexibility in your plans are some of the enablers you may try. The quadrant of unwilling and unable to change are the people you would have most trouble with engaging.  Identify them, and help them move to the next levels, where the willingness and the ability changes. 
Irrespective of who you are addressing, the ability to see the big picture and identifying the big picture as it relates to me (the person impacted), is perhaps the single most important thing in terms of resistance management.


Things I learnt today
1. Macro is not the sum of Micros.

2. Y = C + I + E + (X-M)

3. Y = f (K,L)

PS: I will leave these scary little equations here...  for those of you who have done the basics of macro-economics, just glance over it.. and for those, who have not, standby for the answers on Monday. :)

Gotta go, we have a summer shack planned...need to be on the bus in 15 minutes... I cannot miss the date with the lobsters !! (slurrp..)


Alok