Whoa what a week it’s been- I don’t really know where to start!
In work I have been continuing work on developing the global marketing strategy for Lab49. This is a large scale project that needs to take into consideration the needs and objectives of all the individual Practices and the overall strategic direction of the company for the next 12-18 months. Lab49 have grown at an exponential rate over the past few years which means the plan needs to factor in both marketing to new clients as well as attracting potential employees of the right caliber. We are managing this project using the agile management method which essentially gives Chris and I the power to dictate which work we conduct when and are able to track our progress daily against the planned burndown. At the start of the week we had to create our full product backlog- a list of every deliverable we are aiming to produce throughout the course of this project, and then break this down into individual tasks and iterations. Sounds easy enough right? But for a girl who has been trained in Price2, Event-Chain and Lean project management this was rather hard for me to get my head around! However, thanks to Ross’ patience and brainstorming sessions I think I have finally got to grips with it and I fully see the benefit of conducting projects in this manner. With our plan in place we started conducting several interviews with the Practice Heads to speak about their business and recruitment needs. It can be quite challenging getting tech guys to think marketing but we got some innovative ideas to take forward as well as learning much more of the work each Practice is involved in and some of the ‘cool stuff’ they are developing (afraid I can’t disclose what this is!)
I have also been continuing work with the strategy team. Each member of the team has been given a market segment which we need to research and produce a deck to inform us about the various trends and technologies impacting that market. It has been really interesting learning how advanced the technological requirements of trading have become and seeing how it has evolved into an arms race to have the fasted and most efficient systems- which the work of Lab49 enables its clients to achieve. The next steps on this are to further research some of the key points and produce a first draft of some content for the website.
Outside of work has been super busy also. Last Monday night Matt and I took a trip up to Columbia University to hear a talk about their MBA program. One of the big things they were pushing was how close the course is tied to industry- giving students the opportunity to work with real companies on projects and internships to bridge the gap between theory and practice. Given the fact that these students are paying tens of thousands of dollars to gain this experience just made me appreciate even more the opportunities I have been given both through the Saltire Foundation and the Management Science department at Strathclyde who ensure we work on live client projects as part of our course.
Mid week saw my parents land in town so I turned into tour guide for the week to show them where I have been living and working for the last month. Friday night we headed to Madison Square Garden to watch NY Liberty take on the Washington Mystics. There was a great atmosphere with lots of live entertainment and the Liberty’s managing to hold their lead in the final seconds. Saturday morning I headed down to Pier 40 on the Hudson River for my first Flying Trapeze class (for those of you familiar with SITC you will have seen this). After a brief safety talk and introduction into the basics I headed up the 30 foot ladder for my first jump! This was a tremendous experience and the instructors were excellent. By the end of the class I was even able to perform a catch where you fly off one trapeze and get caught by someone on an opposite one! (Have some great video footage and photos which I will try to upload soon). I have become so addicted to this new sport that I have got myself 6 more classes to squeeze in before I return home so I have set myself a challenge to see how many new tricks I can learn before I leave and will hopefully have some more impressive photos and videos! The weekend also saw us pack in some shopping, lots of eating, a brief relax in Central Park and a trip to Coney Island, where I once again put my body through an adrenaline fuelled afternoon by taking a ride on what looked like a relatively gentle, albeit old and wood, Cyclone rollercoaster- how wrong I was!!
Monday saw me turn the big 2-1, which over here is a much bigger deal than back home. Whilst sitting in a strategy meeting I was suddenly interrupted by a chorus on Lab49 colleagues singing Happy Birthday with a large tray of 21 cupcakes each with their own candle! The cupcakes were delicious and it was a lovely surprise so a big thank you to everyone at Lab49 J Night was filled was delicious dinner and cocktails, with the celebrations continuing throughout this week with my fellow interns.
Overall it’s been a fantastic week and the diary for this one looks just as busy!
Shall leave you with one final thought:
“If doing what you dream is impossible, don't change the dream change the rules.”
C x