REVIEW WEEK –– NEW YORK – September 2007

More photos from review week are now available at http://picasaweb.google.com/Guenter.Blog/REVIEWWEEKNEWYORKSeptember2007





Day 1 – 2nd September

I started my journey to the Review Week in New York from Munich on Saturday 1st September and I was coincidentally on the same flight with Lisa and Hans-Jürgen two of the coaches from the program and so it was a warm and nice hello, a few hugs and lots of talking about the experience we have had as a team and also about my personal story – time was really flying…

I arrived in New York, in this unbelievable lively city and had a splendid day together with my uncle Abraham who picked me up from the airport. I have not seen him for five years and so we had to talk a lot. Sunday morning I then went with Abraham to my cousin’s house and I had the pleasure of meeting also Alan, his wife Kimberly and the two young sons. It is interesting with the Ethiopian experience to be more alert and aware of differences. One difference between Americans and Germans I learned from the young parents is, that in the US children are allowed to do/play with almost everything whereas inside the house in Germany there is much more of a culture of command and control over little children – clearly that has its impact for the coming years – not sure what impact it has had on me….

Kimberly gave me than a lift to Tarrytown, where we had our conference venue. She was very knowledgeable about this little by very atmospheric historic town in the heart of the Hudson River Valley and explained a lot about the rich Americans like the Rockefellers, who still have some mansions in this area.

THe Ulysses teams had scheduled their first informal get together around 5pm and it was great for me seeing all again so many weeks and deep experiences later. I hugged and kissed especially Katherine, Anne-Sophie and Ronaldo, the three Ethiopian team mates, (okay Ronaldo rather not the latter….). It felt very special to meet them again.

Then I mingled with the others and I heard very tough stories from Debbie, a Sydney Partner who was in India on a water and sanitation project, bumped into Darren, one of the three San Francisco partners and heared about his adventure in Mexico working on an environmental project. I talked to Kevin (also from San Francisco), who was in China working on an HIV/Aids project, and then obviously to Frank, my German colleague, who was in Uganda working on a mental health project. The energy bouncing around between all of us was amazing: we all wanted to share stories and compare experiences. This energy was multiplied exponentially at dinner when we met with all our remaining participants and coaches and instructors. I have never experienced a feeling of homecoming at a conference - it was a very special intense feeling. We greeted each other with heartfelt hugs and kisses. There was much joy in the room as well as a sense of anticipation about what would come out of our last week together.

At dinner we just went on with our sharing we talked far into our first night!


Day 2 – 3rd September

We started Monday with our yoga ritual (as usual) at 7am, followed by breakfast and our circle check-in process where we as it was the first morning after coming back all were asked to share our current feelings and emotions. It was a lot of excitement around

The program for today and the theme was very much one of anticipation and questions about how we would be able to maintain our current optimism and take our learning with us into the future. At the first session we put together our story boards and each team took 15 minute turns telling their story of the journey. We presented our story in our Ethiopian dresses and so did team Uganda and India - it was a very colourful morning.

Although we were in different countries working on different projects it was clear that we have common threads running through our experiences. From the connections we made with the people in the communities that we were trying to help, to the fact that we were all with our team mates 24/7 for two plus solid months, to the communication challenges we faced internally and externally and, for many of us, the icky sanitary conditions and difficult food issues. There were however, some significant differences in the way the various teams approached their project partner work versus their Ulysses development work. Whilst I don’t think Team Ethiopia has spent more time on our World Vision work than we should have I believe we could have been spent some more efforts on our Ulysses work. This week may be our chance to really focus more on some of the self reflection areas that we managed to over the last few months.

In the afternoon we explored with Anna – for the last time officially in a 5 people environment - in our teams about what, if we had our time over again in the field, we would do differently in terms of our team and project partner interaction, and shared it with the rest of the group. Interestingly, we Team Ethiopia were the only ones who thought that we should have spent more time working on the Ulysses piece of our project and less on the project partner piece. Several other groups felt they wouldn't have done anything differently but, when pressed, agreed that with hindsight more upfront discussion and coaching versus feedback would be good. Anna talked bout the concept of coaching by using a mirror that is, not coaching by problem solving but rather coaching by working with someone to help them reflect upon themselves and see the truth and a way forward. I fully understand now this mirror concept based on my own experience.


Day 3 – 4th September

During the check-in feelings in general seemed to have shifted from anticipation to more concern about how bring our new perspectives back to the office. Our instructors shared some interesting stories with us about their experiences in becoming better leaders and people and asked us to focus on "what is now, not what is not yet". We spent time talking about different techniques and tools to share our journeys with others including how to focus on storytelling and dialog instead of factual descriptions. Even more importantly, we talked about rituals and practices we could engage in to maintain our current mindsets and new skills. We walked though a process where we were asked questions and wrote in our journals about what we feel has changed within us, how it has changed, why, and what of these changes we wish to maintain most. In the afternoon Otto, who after the Foundation Week came also to New York taught us about a technique called 'Silence in Nature' as way to mediate, reflect and gain clarity. We were directed outside to sit e.g. under a tree and spend 45 minutes individually, in silence, without paper, visualizing our future and our current states and then looking at ourselves moving from one state to the other. I have to say this was quite new for me…

The wrap up meeting is being held in Tarrytown concurrently with the US PwC Leadership Team quarterly meeting. This afternoon we presented our stories to the US Management Committee and various Leadership members. It was interesting to watch their reactions to these strange Ulysses people who are just beginning to surface after a deep dive in the project. Words like love and compassion and joy don't usually feature in discussions with Leadership! Team Ethiopia presented to Dennis Nally, John Carter and Ken Cook and to Rick Stamm, Kelly Barnes, and Jim Henry. After the presentations we hosted a leadership dialog with Dennis Nally, the US Chairman, as well as the Canadian Chairman. We asked questions about how they thought we could best utilize the Ulysses experience in the firm, what their view was of the new direction of our international network and how we as firm are addressing the third element of the triple bottom line (planet). At dinner we continued the discussion around the firm's strategy around leadership, diversity and sustainability. We talked about how we could spread the benefits of the program more widely through the firm and engage our clients to a greater extent in the process.


Day 4 – 5th September

Today the focus was on diversity. Check-in was located down at the tennis courts and we soon found out why. After standing in a circle, and doing our breath in/ put your worries on a little white cloud practices, we were asked to engage in walking meditation. Yes, just when I thought they had tried everything on us! Walking meditation involves walking very slowly and with each barefoot step truly feeling the ground. Like a childhood game of statues we then were asked to freeze position every few minutes and form a human sculpture to reflect whatever emotion was running through our mind at that point in time. This all felt decidedly odd but, but actually was at the same time quite interesting and certainly different to what we usually do in check-in

Our next instructor, Tong Lui-Schraa-, (a Chinese born lawyer, she married a Dutchman, now lives in Holland, got another degree in economics there, did an MBA and now teaches worldwide about diversity) worked with us in helping us think about some of our experiences from a diversity experience. As part of our group experience a part of us was asked to share a story about diversity with and amongst our project partner - Katherine spoke up and referred to one day in Mekele, where Belay brought his view of the developed world society as being socially "sick" and Katherine’s strong emotional reaction to that. Responding to this story Tong told a story of the enlightened Buddha and a man who, after having violent verbal abuse hurled at him, decided to maintain his inner peace by simply deflecting it rather than try to accept it or reconcile the differences. Her message was that absorbing the views of other people is a choice; we can deflect certain views and opinions thrust upon us and remain at peace with ourselves or we can absorb them and be conflicted. It is a choice – I found it a very good aspect of dealing with this kind of situations

This afternoon I met with my coach Anna for our final session of the formal Ulysses program. Our conversations have really evolved over time and notwithstanding my initial skepticism, I think she has really helped me looking into the mirror and she has given me some tools to deal with what I saw then….

The evening we spent having dinner with the full Extended Leadership group from the US and I had a very interesting dialogue with a Senior US HR Partner about my Ulysses experience and what he believed is important for the US. During the evening Mona, an Ulysses alumnus and member of the Extended Leadership team gave a presentation about her Ulysses journey and a real testimony … I think that was quite courageous and I also believe some of her colleagues were quite surprised of some of hear clear comments she made around the leadership vision and personal commitment for change but we from the current Ulysses team quite enjoyed her speech.


Day 5 – 6th September

Thursday's focus was sustainability. We listened to Thomas Scheiwiller who is the Head of Global Sustainability (www.pwc.com/sustainability) and based in Switzerland (I truly wonder if I will ever know all the great things we do at PwC). This global group of about 400 people work with our clients on issues such as carbon emissions, child labour, fair trade etc. and look at how to pursue opportunities around sustainability rather than just trying to manage the problems. He estimated that probably only around 1 or 2 % of blue chip companies proactively think about the strategic opportunities available to them under the sustainability banner (versus just responding to the issues or dealing with disclosure requirements). What a fascinating area to be involved in! We spent the afternoon brainstorming around what we could do in connection with sustainability around our core areas of people, firm and clients. In my group we talked a lot about the firm side and how we could our organization involve in community issues, i.e. CSR based thoughts. Some of our ideas were pretty revolutionary and exciting - it would be an amazing world if we realize some of the ideas we came up with. And I believe it is necessary because he presented facts which should wake all of us up - this is one of them- "if everybody wanted to live the way we do in the OECD countries we would need two extra planets to provide the necessary resources already today." - I believe we have a huge responsibility !

Tonight we the third official evening in a row and had cocktails and dinner with the US Strategy Committee with the goal on answering some of their questions around the Ulysses program and exploring how our experiences and learning could be translated into the rest of the partnership and firm. I was seated next to Barbara Kraft, the US executive communications person, i.e the person who works very closely with the US Senior Partner. Also on the table was Ralf Schneider, the Head of Global Talent Management and Ulysses designer and the US Advisory Senior Partner. I think the dinner was again very successful a success in terms of helping US leadership understands more about the program and the huge benefits for the individual partners involved on the program, as well as the massive potential for the rest of the practice in becoming a truly distinctive firm.


Day 6 – 7th September

Friday was devoted to further developing our ideas around how to become better leaders, utilize our learning from the field and create support networks between ourselves. We went through many exercises to create concrete action plans for what we each want to accomplish.

Tonight we took a boat ride on the Hudson. With Friday night, end of summer and holiday traffic to deal with, it took two painstaking hours to get from Tarrytown to Battery Park. This was a very small price to pay though for the magnificence of the sun setting against the Manhattan skyline, watching the individual room lights blink on in the skyscrapers yawning against the river bank, the sensation of the warm September breeze blowing against the skin and, the deep sense of friendship, support, trust, and thankfulness that radiates from my Ulysses family. Somehow it is a sense of melancholy and sadness combined with a deep feeling of being close pulls gently at us but, for tonight, we resist and luxuriate in each other's support and company and enjoy our last evening together in this atmosphere and with wine and even a little dancing.

After our return to Tarrytown I even managed to challenge Ralf in Pool-Billiard - it was a nice draw - very fair - I fell into my bed around 1am to be ready for the final day!


Day 7 – 8th September

…. our final day together. We shared our personal leadership visions. Many common threads wound their way through our stories. Each thread, with a slightly different colored hue, created a very rich and beautiful tapestry. Mine was about the three pillars leadership, diversity and sustainability and about taking time to liste, respecting diversity and empowering people - The night before I had asked Hans-Jürgen the dialog architect to help me with my final picture and he created a masterpiece. A Mississippi steamer by the name of “Ulysses”, driving through the water in analogy slowly but steadily - the dynamic of the journey. The big wheel at the end is our responsible leader model we have talked so much about over the past weeks. It is very difficult to describe the emotions reverberating around the room filled with our pictures and drawings and, even now, I struggle to write about them without feeling like I am being overly dramatic. We each expressed elements of confidence and uncertainty, clarity and ambiguousness, fear and doubt, blind faith and sheer will, and joy and sadness.

If I was to write in really short words (not like this blog...), what the main message is I have learned from and during my journey and from other Ulysses participants it is:

BE INTERESTED NOT INTERESTING

This is, what I will take with me and will apply for my life!

Saying good bye was more than difficult. Nobody, maybe least of all me, wanted this experience to be over, even though we are all ready to go home to our territories and be with our loved ones, ready to put into practice what we have learned, experiment and continue to grow, change and begin to become what we have envisioned. As the others feeling seemed to be very similar the way we said goodbye was to say "until we meet again". Because we will. I believe that probably none of us has completed their journey and all of us need company walking down the road and guidance on which signs to follow and which turns to take.

And so the journey continues… while my blog will end here

... with mixed, joyous and sad feelings as I admit.
Posting these last three months has been at times difficult and did keep me quite busy, but sharing enhanced my reflective processes. I thank everyone who was with me for the company on a significant piece of my life journey and I hope we walk together again, somewhere, sometime…

God be with you on your journey wherever it takes you. May it be peaceful and may you find what you are looking for.

... and don't forget:
IF YOU JUDGE PEOPLE
YOU HAVE NO TIME TO LOVE THEM

Günter