Well, we are now at the start of week # 20 and I really do not know where to begin.  I started this journey in January with 'Eyes Wide Open' and I have thoroughly enjoyed every minute!  The 16 weeks at Babson College seem so long ago now and it is amazing to think how much I learned in that short period.  I always thought of myself as a fairly switched on individual with good business acumen........I was brought to question that.  The recipe being surround yourself with 13 other individually talented individuals from various backgrounds along with a mix of great entrepreneurial minded Faculty and you can truly learn!!!!  I am not an Academic, yes I have a Degree but I cannot believe how much I enjoyed learning on a daily basis.  I feel that I have sharpened the tools that I may have already had to make me a brighter and more systematic Business Leader.

I am now into week three of working for Liberty Mutual Insurance.  At first I found it very strange working in a cubicle with no natural daylight and crunching numbers hour after hour!!!!  As my trusted colleague Ian Webster has said, he believes I have now become a 'Data Monkey'.  This is a good learning as in my previous career I would pretty much take new product to market without really thinking through the mechanics and science behind the programme.  I always relied on gut feeling and Company policy.  I am realising as I try to role out a 'Test Market' that great communication and patience is required on a daily basis to be highly successful.  I am getting there and feel that I may be spending a number of weeks out on the road, training and supporting the Test Campaign.  This is the part I am really looking forward to.

On a more personal note I really love Boston as a City.  I am very much enjoying living in Cambridge with Ian W, Verna and James.  We seemed to have settled into a nice routine now and it creates a great environment to live in.  This past weekend was Memorial Day weekend so we had an extra day off.  Verna, Mubbasher and I went to visit friends who own and run a Summer Camp for Special Needs Adults in the Pennsylvanian Mountains.  We had a great social visit but we also spent quite a lot of time talking with the Directors about their daily challenges of running a business in a very difficult field.  Cat and Todd run a great social entrepreneurial business and have a great vision. However, at the moment they are struggling to see how there vision will pan out and we spent many an hour talking through the complications of a Family Business and what they need to do to move forward.  I think that many of the conversations we will have over future years with small businesses in Scotland will be very similar.

Until the next time……….

Paul