Working with Indian MBA Students from IIM Calcutta - The Power of Integration

So, this Tuesday I got to spend the afternoon with 23 MBA students from the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta ...

What an interesting session we had :-)

I loved their energy and inquiring, open, spirit. They threw themselves into the session - and we explored some of the unorthodox creative edges of strategic thinking together.

To the music of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Massive Attack Remix, we did a "line up" of who they admired most and might emulate: at one end of the line Vinoba Bhave and Rabindranath Tagor, and at the other end of the line Mukesh Ambani, richest man in India. What do you think happened? Where on the continuum did the students stand?

This led to a fascinating discussion about the role of unorthodox ideas in refreshing strategic thinking. The fusion of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Massive Attack, the integration of perspectives from entrepreneurship and spirituality ... Each of these are powerful because they challenge a deeply held and rigid framing. Our orthodox conception of "strategy" is too small, and by playing with the framing we can open  our eyes and ears to more richness.

We looked at the importance of "exploring" in strategic thinking, and at the many ways in which strategic exploration can start.

We took a look into "artful knowing" (using more than just words and logic, we drew images of strategy and saw the unstated metaphors we all hold come to life in the room). A huge amount of energy was unleashed as the students made and remade "clusters " of the images, seeing the many different and previously unstated perspectives on strategy held even within an MBA group from IIMC.

We looked at different psychological impacts on strategic thinking - from linguistic framing to deeply held world views - and we saw many ways of making these more obvious, less hidden .... and by challenging and shifting them we made new options, new ways of seeing, become more possible.

I left the room feeling we had done some really interesting work together - and sad only that we didn't have another day to explore together. At the heart of our work was the place of richer and diverse ways of seeing, and of the creative energy and potential that comes from bringing together views, perspectives, models of seeing or action, and allowing them to emerge into new forms, just like Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Massive Attack .... together they change the frame and something different and special emerges.

I was left wondering whether maybe it will be India that brings us a new way of seeing sustainable business, from a genuine fusion of big business and deep spirit, the fusion of  Bhave and Tagore with the entrepreneurial energy of these MBA students.

Anything is possible when people, openness and energy come together.