Coaching to the Finish Line

Coaching provides a safe space for MBA participants to explore challenges that may be causing interference by focusing on personal development in a programme that is by nature competitive and challenging. It allows space for thinking, reflection and exploring more of the emotional intelligence aspect of leadership.  Now in my second year of coaching MBA participants at UCD Smurfit, I have found the participants to be very smart people from a range of countries, backgrounds and industries.

All have a shared ambition to be the best that they can be and to reach their potential. There is a formula in coaching from The Inner Gameby Tim Gallwey which reads:

Performance = (potential – interference)

At the heart of the coaching work that I do is a conversation. This conversation is led by the coachee’s agenda and my primary role is to listen and understand the coachee’s story. That story can include career development, values, patterns in their working life, motivation, managing stress and managing opportunities.

For the coachee, the sessions provide time and space to talk out loud about what is top of mind for them, in other words what is their inner game. We all have an inner game, so exploring aspects of this with a coach allows the coachee to bring into focus what they are thinking about and how they can work on it.

There is always an inner game being played in your mind no matter what outer game you are playing. How you play this game usually makes the difference between success and failure.Tim Gallwey

Working with a coach, they explore reality, look at goals for the short term and longer, explore options for change and agree on actions for the future.

The beauty of the programme is that each coachee has access to three coaching sessions, which allows time for the coaching relationship to develop, for reflection, for actions to take place and be reviewed, and for themes to emerge.

Pamela Fay

As we start 2014 I am looking forward to my coaching sessions in the coming weeks with the MBA participants. I am excited about what actions they have taken since their last coaching session and what new challenges and opportunities we will be working on together over the coming months.

Pamela Fay is a business and executive coach. Pamela has run her own business for ten years and qualified in 2009 as a coach.

Baby Got Back – Smurfit and the School of Life

An MBA is designed to put one to the pin of their collar. For me, this was never more so the case for last few weeks of semester 1. Deadlines, assignments, heated debates, sleep deprivation and the small but not insignificant matter of the impending arrival of my first born during exam week! Suffice to say it has been a bit of a whirlwind!

Despite best laid plans of finalising group projects, submitting assignments and preparing for exams, it all changed at short notice as our baby daughter decided to arrive early for Christmas. Everything went out the window and all sleep deprivation training throughout the semester kicked in for real. Suffice to say exam preparation was difficult to say the least as concentration levels were variable. But through both the flexibility and the patience of my long suffering team members and the Programme Office, I came out the other side. Although the results have not been published yet I feel like I have passed a module in achieving a work-life balance.

Attention now turns to semester 2 and a slightly bigger juggling act than before Christmas. The balance between the academic, leadership development, networking and nappy changing is a mystery, at least until we start back. Who knows it may still remain a mystery by the end of the semester? Let’s see what awaits.

Before semester 2 suddenly creeps up on the class, I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy and successful new year.

PS: For any of you interested, I highly recommend it. I would not change the experience for the world, the MBA or fatherhood!


Ken Barry, Class Rep Semester 1

FT MBA 2014

Ireland

Congratulations to the MBA classes of 2013

The MBA graduation for the MBA classes of 2013 took place last Friday in the O’Reilly Hall, Belfield.  It goes without saying that it was an important for the graduates and their families as it is the culmination of a long journey through the programme for them but conferring is also a significant day for those of us who work on the MBA programme.  We get to know the students by name during the applications process, we first meet them during the Foundation Week module at the beginning of the programme, we all attended  the Welcome Dinner given for all incoming classes, and then over the course of the next year or two year depending on the programme that there are lots of formal and informal contacts, good times and bad and all of it ultimately aimed at getting them to this day and the moment when they get that MBA parchment into their hands.  It’s a great day, the end of the journey for our MBA and we all wish them to very best and hope they keep in touch with us and the School.

In addition to the graduation of the MBA and Masters in Accounting students at this ceremony, honorary degrees were also awarded to Ciarán Murray, CEO of ICON plc, and Frank Ryan, who has recently stepped down as CEO of Enterprise Ireland.

Roisin O’Loughlin, EMBA Programme Manager

If you are ever in Paris……

Some of you are likely to visit Europe during the MBA. If you visit Paris, here are some tips that will surely help you.

Traveling with a low-cost company could be a good deal. Thus, if you travel with RyanAir, you will land at Beauvais. There, you will have to take the bus to go to Paris. You can buy your ticket on line and save time on this website http://www.aeroportbeauvais.com/bus.php

The bus takes you to Porte Maillot in western Paris. Feel free to travel with friends or MBA mates to reduce your expenses such as hotel stays. You can also live in homestay accommodation. Websites such as www.airbnb.com will give you some ideas. In Paris, you can travel with public transport. You will find all information on the website of the RATP http://www.ratp.fr/en (price, map, route calculation …).

I expect you will visit museums and major monuments. The famous ones remain Le Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, Le Sacré Coeur, which overlooks Paris, Le Château de Versailles, Le Musée d’Orsay, Le Grand Palais, the Carnavalet Museum of History in Paris, the National Museum of Natural History, Notre Dame of Paris. Do not hesitate to have tea (the great mint) at the top of the Arab World Institute (near Notre Dame de Paris). You will not find a more beautiful sight for free.

In winter, do not hesitate to walk along the Grands Boulevards (Boulevards Haussman ) to see the Galleries Lafayette or Printemps bright and lively. It is very beautiful especially at dusk. You can go shopping too, of course!

Some museums are free on the first Sunday of each month. For example, you pay nothing to visit the Louvre, but make sure to arrive at opening time.

Do not forget your student card. It entitles you to discounts at museums and sometimes even in MacDonald’s .

I hope this information makes your life easier and you will enjoy your stay in Paris.

Erwan

PS: I have no interest in the websites I’ve given you ;)

How big is the “scroll bar”?

The scroll bar; it’s been present in life for many years without ever having noted its power. Now that I find myself in the world of pre-readings, further readings and case study readings I find the size of the scroll bar a key component in the equation of my life.

It works something like this; you receive an email from your lecturer that is suspiciously upbeat and conspicuously encouraging you to have a nice weekend or evening. The email finishes by telling you that the attached article is to be read before our next class which just happens to fall directly after your evening/weekend.

You download the article, double click on the icon and hold your breath………..it opens, it’s from the Harvard Business Review, “good it’s going to be relatively interesting” but, crucially, how big is the scroll bar? Is it so microscopically small that the article is at least 50 pages, or, is it wonderfully large, so large that the article is no more than 4 fantastic pages? On the rare occasion that it’s the latter you feel like you just won the lotto where the prize is some time to spend on yourself or your “personal stakeholders” (read – family or loved ones).

Cases and reading are a key part of the MBA learning process just as they are a key part of the undergraduate learning process that many will be familiar with.  They key difference for me is:

1) you can’t get away without doing it…but,

2) you do enjoy the reading.

The social pressures and social norms mean that many students considered their undergrad almost an extension of their secondary school education. You had to do it, you had to get through it and you really needed the end result as a minimum requirement in life, as opposed to enjoying the journey or the learning. If you have signed up to do an MBA you want to be there, you are genuinely interested in business and you will thoroughly enjoy the vast majority of the readings. It is a hugely different and vastly more enjoyable learning experience.

If you sign up for an MBA, you should have a thirst for knowledge and a huge interest in the business world. If you have both of these attributes coming into the programme, then no amount of “workload” or “grind” will phase you.

Notwithstanding the above, you will still dread the size of the scroll bar like the rest of us!


Trevor Whelan.

FT MBA 2014.

UCD Smurfit MBA Golf Society goes from strength to strength!

REVIEW OF EVENT on 19th July.


Word is spreading fast throughout the streets (of Blackrock mainly) that the MBA Golf Society is becoming one of the most popular clubs in UCD Smurfit history. With yet another increase in participation from the last outing in Druids Heath, the prestigious K Club served as the backdrop for the club’s penultimate event of 2013. As the temperatures reached a tepid 27 degrees, the competition for Player of the Year continued to heat up, with a noticeable air of excitement (and camaraderie) building in the Clubhouse.


The K Club, home to the Ryder Cup in 2006, certainly lived up to its reputation as an exclusive venue, with Andrew Bourke kindly reminded early on that “shorts, if they absolutely must be worn by visitors, should be tailored”. To avoid any risk of offence caused by his combat style pocketed shorts, Andrew was safely placed in a pair of black slacks for a meagre €110 (apparently all that was available in the Pro Shop on the day). With this minor obstacle surmounted, all players arrived suitably early for their respective tee times to discuss strategy and double up on their sun cream dosage. Some, namely Andrew Bacon and Declan Griffin, (believing it to be Ascot) were aiming for Best Dressed Male, putting the extravert golfer Rickie Fowler to shame. Also notable for his dress sense was David Kelly with his all black number (black shorts, black shirt and black cap). Among many overheard comments in the changing room were, “There’s a ninja on the course” and “He’d use black golf balls if he was allowed”.


With the prizes again graciously sponsored by the University, the battle to obtain these much coveted accolades was ready to commence. Ray O Gorman, Andrew Bacon, Declan Griffin and Cormac Dunne took to the first tee with all the bravado and showmanship of prize fighters… with only one decent drive between them as a result. Already the heat was wreaking havoc. This did not stop an intense driving rivalry from developing; Griffin Vs Dunne. They just could not wait until the 16th for the Longest Drive competition. By all accounts, Cormac was the victor, probably using the strength he’s been developing while training for Gaelforce West!


Next up were the intellectuals: Kieran Dowling, David Joyce and Jim Gannon. “Fresh” from his holiday in Spain and fully acclimatised to the heat, Kieran was ready to take on the top two players from the last outing. David Joyce, our resident scratch golfer, was using this round as a mere practice session before an epic 54 hole weekend that lay ahead, while Jim was using his excessive IQ to course manage his biggest challenge yet, the River Liffey. Rumour also had it that David continuously had one eye out for the Course Manager with a view to becoming the resident course professional. This threesome impressed throughout with touches of elegance around the green coupled with shots unseen since Padraig Harrington’s numerous final round collapses during many, many Majors! It should be noted that these lads admirably lost the least amount of balls during their round with a mere 26 balls!


The time to let the more mature gentlemen enter the fray was upon us with Chris O Connor, Ciaran Hynes and David Kelly looking relaxed and in control. However, by Hole 4, they looked dishevelled and forlorn. Actually in fairness, David Kelly was making the K Club look like a pitch and putt course! By all accounts it was one of the most enjoyable rounds of golf he has ever played, possibly a direct correlation to him just finishing the full time MBA course.


Unaware that a new champion was playing ahead of them, Ronan Sheridan, Conor Ryan, Joe Kenny and Andrew Bourke looked the epitome of MBA class approaching the first tee. Andrew seemed a little shaken though, quickly revealing he had committed the cardinal sin of drinking the night before a competition. With a pitiful 5 points in the first 8 holes, and being driven around in a buggy by a factor 70 wearing Joe, he looked desperately for the drinks cart (for water people, for water). Conor Ryan, on the other hand, playing off 28, used the first 3 holes to rack up 8 points, and was notably the first person to wear a sleeveless extra small polo shirt to the K Club! Ronan, who had moments of brilliance, could obviously not stop thinking about his future wife long enough to string two decent holes together, while Joe attempted to capitalise on his team mates’ weaknesses, waiting until the back nine to demonstrate his true golfing panache.


Finally, Steve Kelly (the reigning long drive champion), Emma Fagan (the current female champion) and Charlie Weijer (the champion for 2nd year MBA causes) aimed to challenge right up to the gallery that awaited them on the 18th. Emma, arriving just one minute before her allocated tee time brought her mother along for support (that’s how serious these competitions are taken). And she still found time to change out of a black and into a pink top during the first hole. Steve, having secretly played nine rounds in the previous two weeks maintained a quiet confidence throughout, racking up points while keeping the natives behind the final threesome at bay. Meanwhile, Charlie who earned a free baseball cap (resulting from a welcome credit card machine malfunction) was thoroughly enjoying a little freedom from his Capstone Project. It seems that these three were not the only players to enjoy this course.


As the summer sun started to make its way deservedly to the horizon, the final few joined the jubilant masses enjoying a drink in the luxurious clubhouse. With the numerous buggies safely parked and sun cream long gone (due to persistent sweat), talk turned to longest drive and nearest the pin. It seems that, yet again, hitting the fairway and green respectively would have been sufficient to win either award, with only two participants managing both. Charlie Weijer waited until the 12th to bring his best work, pinging a perfect 6 iron 970mm from the hole while Jim Gannon smashed his drive across the 16th chicane to claim yet another prize (we’re starting to realise we’re fund his outings).


Meanwhile, the point’s race was again slightly unflattering with only two players achieving 30 points or over. Thankfully David Kelly, with 39 points, led by example for next month’s Captain’s Day in Powerscourt on the 23rd August. Second with 30 points was David Joyce, with Cormac Dunne claiming third with a modest 27 points.


Yet again, it was recognised by all that the MBA Golf Society, although created upon the premise of networking, presented an arena for witty banter and adolescent regression (where the relaxed atmosphere spilled over onto the wee hours outside the Dame Tavern, hosting a band and many many pints!)


With representatives from midweek, weekend, full time, first and second year MBA classes present at the K Club, the society is certainly gaining momentum. It should also be noted that the club cannot keep giving the female prize by default to Emma Fagan (step up to the challenge ladies). And there’s always room for more male contenders, considering the relatively low winning scores.


Finally, a little note from the creators of the MBA Golf Society: We (Andrew Bourke and Cormac Dunne) started this club on an absolute whim, from a conversation that started in the canteen during our first week. However, as this club goes from strength to strength, we endeavour to create a club befitting the ethos of MBAs worldwide. Therefore we thought, “Why not use the society’s popularity to showcase Ireland as one of the best golfing destinations on earth?” To this end, we would like to announce at this juncture that we intend to present Ireland the hub of the first ever MBA Golf World Trophy, a competition that invites every nationality sharing our educational experience to join us as host in one of the most prestigious events on the MBA calendar, rivalled only by the MBA Rugby World Cup. More will follow, and thank you again for your support.


The next outing, is our “Captains Day” and our Captain Andrew Bourke is keen to see a large number attend our first, end of season event. Our target is 25 golfers, and we appreciate your assistance in making this happen.


The event is on the 23rd of August 2013 on the West Course of Powerscourt. A minibus will be running with further details on our website.


Greens and Fairways

UCD MBA Golf Society

Alum Dave Byrne uses UCD Smurfit MBA as platform to set up “Buzzoo”.

The June 2013 Business eConnect magazine (official e-zine for UCD Business Alumni) features one of the FT MBA ’12 students…

In Profile: Dave Byrne FT MBA ’12

Taking a year out to do a full-time MBA helped fill in the gaps in Dave Byrne’s (MBA 12) business knowledge and gave him the space to come up with the idea for and set up his online music technology company Buzzoo. For Byrne, the company – a social music service for bars and retailers that play background music – is the perfect combination of his dual interests in technology and business.

Byrne’s primary degree was a bachelor of science in computer applications in DCU, which he graduated from in 2001. “That really sparked an interest in technology for me,” he says. “Ireland had become a major player in IT so it was an exciting degree to be studying at the time.”

After graduating, he joined PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) as a management consultant. “It sounded like it would be an interesting job and the graduate induction programme involved a three-month training programme in Florida. It was a fantastic experience and a great way to kick off my career in consulting.”

He spent two years with PwC, before the consulting arm was bought out by IBM. After two years with IBM, he moved on to Accenture for the next six years. “I had the opportunity to work with some really talented people over the years and to learn a huge amount from them,” he says. “I saw consulting as ideal for my early career because it allowed me to work across a vast array of projects in a variety of roles. Every project started as a bit of a trial by fire but you quickly adapt. I always viewed them as very good learning opportunities and the constant challenge and change kept the work very interesting.

“Consulting really teaches you to figure out how things currently work and how they can be improved. That’s the basis of most of the projects. The work brought me to some interesting locations like Arizona and South Africa.

“Consulting can be pretty demanding so I took a six-month career break in 2008 to travel around the world with my wife. It was a once in a lifetime experience and really helped to recharge the batteries.”

While technology consulting offered a good mix of technology and business, he felt there was a lot he still needed to learn. “I’d always wanted to do an MBA to fill in the gaps in my business knowledge, to learn about things like strategy, marketing, accounting and entrepreneurship. The MBA at UCD Smurfit has a great reputation so I was thrilled to get a chance to do it. I guess it was a difficult decision to leave a very good job at a very good company but I’m glad I did.”

That decision was helped by the fact that he was awarded a full scholarship. “I was on the fence up until then. I decided to go for the full-time programme to really throw myself into it and get the most out of it.”

He describes the experience of taking a year out to go back to college after 10 years of working as refreshing. “It opened up a lot of opportunity outside of what I’d done previously. I think the MBA really helps you to think about business at a higher level, to think more strategically and have more of a commercial focus. It’s a great way to look at opportunities outside the area you have worked in to date and maybe to bridge into a different career in a different area. As a learning experience, I would say it’s second to none and I think anyone in a professional career is really lucky if they can get the chance to do an MBA.

He came into the programme without definite plans around his future direction. “I was quite open. I knew that as part of the MBA I needed to spend the year exploring the opportunities and trying to figure out what it was I was going to do afterwards.

“I’ve always felt I like to work with business and technology, which is quite a broad scope so I was looking for something that would marry those two together.”

Beginning Buzzoo

The idea for Buzzoo came to him during the year. “One day we were in a bar complaining about the music that was playing in the background. I noticed that we had our smartphones on the table in front of us and suddenly wondered if we could solve this problem with our smartphones.”

The solution itself is aimed at any business that plays background music, including bars, restaurants and retail. “It enables everyone on the premises to control the music by using their smartphone,” says Byrne. “It’s like moving the jukebox onto the smartphone so that the crowd becomes the DJ.  You can vote up the tracks you like and vote down the ones you don’t like.” The product as it is now includes an admin application that allows venues to schedule and play music from any location, while a smartphone app allows visitors to influence the playlist.

Byrne asked two of his fellow MBA classmates to come on board and, as part of the entrepreneurship module, the three developed a business plan which ended up winning the UCD business plan competition for 2012.

Byrne says that new job opportunities that came up during the course of the year made it a tough decision to launch the start-up after the MBA. “It was a bit of a risky decision, but the challenge and the excitement of it was too much to resist,” he says.

After graduation, Buzzoo was accepted onto the National Research Centre Launchpad Accelerator programme. “The programme provides investment and mentorship to help early stage digital technology companies to get their business off the ground. They’ve a top team of mentors and you’re surrounded by likeminded people going through the same process.”

Over the last year, Buzzoo has also received EnterpriseIreland support and been accepted onto and completed the Irish Times Fusion programme. In January 2013, it was selected as a finalist in the Best Irish Startup category at the Europa Awards. Most recently, the company won bronze in the Food & Drink Entrepreneurial Startup of the Year category at the Startup Awards 2013.

“We’ve built out a really solid team,” says Byrne. “We’ve built the minimum viable product and we have some great partners and customers lined up.”

Alpha-testing has now been carried out in a couple of bars in Dublin and a commercial launch is planned in the next couple of months. “We’re looking at Ireland as a bit of a testbed and the hope is that we can go to a couple of key reference sites in Ireland and then start looking at overseas markets. We’re working with a big drinks company on a proposal that would see a fully branded version for one of their products rolled out in 10 bars on a pilot. So we have the ability to offer a fully branded version of the application as well.”

Future developments of the product may include integrating video, he adds.

Outside influences

Byrne says that learning has always been a key driver for him and that he has learned the most from the people he has worked with. “My family is also a big influence on me. I’ve a great wife and I’ve two fantastic girls and they’re very important to me. Between my family and some of the guys I’ve worked with, they would be the key influences rather than a public celebrity.”

His advice for anyone considering starting a business is not to be afraid of taking risks and to give new things a shot. “If you fail, it’s no big deal. You’ll still learn from it. Sometimes the things that scare you the most are the things that are most worth doing.

“With regard to starting a new business, the first thing to do would be to talk to lots of potential customers and sketch out a one-page overview of the business using a business model canvas. Get advice from people in the know, figure out what gaps you have, build a strong team and go for it.

“I think it’s important to be as lean as possible so you can give yourself as long a runway as possible. And I think you need to experiment and be prepared to pivot the business as required.

“I’ve no idea what the future will bring but that keeps things interesting I guess. As long as I’m doing something that has a focus on business and technology I’ll be happy.”

More about Dave’s experiences on the MBA Programme