By John Hollfelder, First-year MBA, Marketing
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| My team presenting our early plans to the group |
Having completed my first semester of business school and having the recruiting process behind me, my attention has shifted to developing the necessary skills to be successful in my summer internship. One way I decided to grow those skills was through a
GLOBASE consulting engagement in Ghana.
Working with a client that resides over 5,000 miles away in a foreign business environment has required me to apply all of my skills to produce a tangible recommendation. Our group has been forced to overcome daily obstacles from technological difficulties to cultural differences. To be successful, we have had to draw equally on our soft skills to build trust with our client and our analytical skills to decipher the the root causes of the large, ambiguous business problems presented to us to solve.
The project has been equally challenging as it has been rewarding. We have been working long days and nights to ensure we understand our client's business and that we do not provide a domestic solution to a Ghana business problem.
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| Ghana clients visit to the US to meet us at Kelley |
Working with a diverse team under a finite time constraint to maximize our relationship with our client’s cross-functional teams has pushed me to become a stronger business leader. Upon conclusion of our seven week project work and a two week in-country visit, we will provide our client with a sustainable business recommendation. Knowing the client and her business are counting on our solution enforces the desire to exceed her expectations.
The perseverance and skills I am learning will transcend beyond this project to the work and challenges I will face in my upcoming internship.
