What did you study at Uni?

Thanks to a bunch of folks off-line and a couple on-line, I am back! It has been a really busy couple months since I returned from the holiday break. I graduated from my MBA, which was fun, and have recently picked up some work on the strategy for the UK business. All very exciting, although time consuming! Tons of half-written blogs and half-thought through ideas are stored in my e-mail box and written on sheets of paper. Here is one that is simple, and has opened my eyes a bit to where people come from, their backgrounds and how teams work.

It was an insight from one of my professors that started me thinking. He asked us about the training of the politicians of various countries.
– In the UK/Canada the previous training is generally law, with some lifetime civil servants
– In the Middle east the politicians generally come from previous military experience
– In China the majority of previous training is engineering
You then think about the way those three different examples govern their countries; in the commonwealth it is usually through legislation, in the middle east there are clear rules and hierarchy, and in China there are five year plans. I probably did not get all of them exactly right, and

I am not trying to stereotype, just to call out that it has an impact.
If you think of your own team composition, what have they studied, what are their interests? Putting together a diverse team has real advantages to solving problems and working together as a team. What is your ideal set-up and what have you learned about working with people from different backgrounds?

Steve

Recommendations; well quite a few after so many months off! I will start with a few:

Books:
Top books from my book club:
– Things Fall apart by Chinua Achebe: Amazing read, lovely characters and history.
– Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery: Excellent read, interesting narrative style, book gets better as you go
– The Elephanta Suite by Paul Theroux: Usually a non-fiction writer, he tackles fiction set in India through three novellas. Engaging and enlightening, quite a read.

Music:
– On my holiday break I was exposed to Chillout Experience albums, lots of fun, the FLOYD one is amazing