I thought a good way of signing off from my time in Boston was to share my impressions of the differences between the UK and USA, in business and some other stuff too! I'll start with things the US might learn from the UK - check out my next blog for the other way round!

1. Flatten the cube!
   High walls. Lots of offices. Silence. These are all things that were alien to me before my arrival in the USA, and I hope they were but temporary experiences. It might be traditional, but to me these things stifle creativity, keep people thinking in their own silos, and get in the way of the informal network building that I believe is essential to success.
2. Another MBA? Really?
   This might sound counter-intuitive from someone who has just experienced, I would say, some of the best of the US business school experience, but I find it crazy the number of my colleagues who had MBA's, and the way they are perceived. For me, the best of business school was the privilege of having some time to indulge one's curiosity, and have the space and time to think through the issues that I was interested in. I didn't see this curiosity in many of my colleagues, and an MBA seemed to be seen by many as a box ticking exercise to proceed on the corporate treadmill. This was never how I perceived the Babson experience, ably abetted by the curiosity shown by all the Fellows.
3. Embracing the weird
   I feel on less certain ground here, but my perception of large company culture in the USA (I've seen enough of the entrepreneurial scene to know this isn't true there) is that there is less room for the eccentrics. I've known plenty of peope in my experience who are completely invaluable, and yet also undoubtedly strange! From the engineer who spends far too much time in a darkened room, to the product manager whose chosen approach is to say exactly what she thinks of everyone to their face, these characters have enriched my working life, as well as being pivotal members of the organization. Maybe too many MBA's in America designing the corporate culture?

What did everyone else see that the US could learn from how things are done in the UK? And what do you think of my suggestions?

Ian