A Transformative & Character Building Experience

Dave Floyd

If there is one thing that is proving to be incredibly valuable in the Executive MBA, it is the re-discovery of time management and just how much time you do have, IF you plan accordingly.

A funny thing happened in the November 2010 module – the workload increased dramatically as did the number of exams that we needed to prepare for. Add to that work responsibilities and continuous interaction with fellow classmates and you get even better at multi-tasking. Frankly, after a couple of weeks, I actually viewed the whole change as a major positive. For me, I did find that there was time in the day to fit it all in, I now realized that I had not been using my time as effectively as I could have.

Our class is now in the final year of the program and it is bittersweet to be sure. We just welcomed EMBA 8 last module at a fantastic dinner at Trinity College which brought back incredibly fond memories. What is interesting though is that as EMBA 7 you can see the difference in composure and confidence between the two classes.

Studying at Oxford, as Stephan Chambers told me in my interview, is a transformative and character building experience. I am confident that a year from now, the same confidence and swagger will be evident in EMBA 8 as they welcome EMBA 9.

I write this piece at the library after submitting two essays and am now gearing up for the reading list for the February module, so my perspective could not be more real-time. While the days are long and the material quite challenging, each time I leave the library a sense of further accomplishment comes with me and it translates into all aspects of my life. So, while the February module is a mere three weeks away, I will first travel to Estonia to have week-long meetings with three of my classmates and newly minted business partners regarding our new venture, Floyd Gordon & Partners.

When I think back to some of my expectations in coming to Oxford, networking and exploring business opportunities were high on the list. Did I expect that one year into the program I would already have established a complimentary business division to my current company? Initially, no, but it did not take long to realize that my classmates were not ones to simply remain idle in the face of good ideas. At Oxford, ideas are quickly translated into tangible ventures.

Dave Floyd attends the Executive MBA program at the University of Oxford’s Said Business School. He posts also appear on the EMBA Blog at Said.

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