Peaks and Valleys

I'm the international marketing manager in the business and marketing division of Somfy, a French company with operations in 45 countries. It produces automated opening and closing systems for things like blinds and garage doors in homes and commercial buildings. I work in the company headquarters in Cluses, 35 miles from the tallest peak in the Alps.

My team consolidates, structures, and enriches the company's knowledge of markets, competition, and international channels. And since no understanding of the global market can be developed from an office building, I travel all over the world for customer and market visits. In the time I have been with the company (10 months on a project as an MBA student and 10 months full-time), I have traveled to more than a dozen countries across Europe, the U.S., and Asia.

Customer and market visits involve meeting with clients in our different offices and across various levels of our distribution channels and product categories. I also attend relevant exhibitions or walk through stores to gain perspective on the current and future market situation. I find these customer and market visits with people from different nationalities are enriching, because they help remove any kind of preconceptions I might have about a country or its people.

Here is a typical day in my life:

5 a.m. -- Wake up and do meditation for one hour. Spirituality has been a daily part of my life for the last seven years, and meditating in the morning is a refreshing start to my day. Over the last few years, I have seen the positive effects carry over to my work life (see BW Online, 9/20/05, "Teaching the Benefits of Balance").

6 a.m. -- Go for a walk or jog for 20 minutes.

6:30 a.m. -- Come back, take a bath, and have a small breakfast with my wife and 3-year-old daughter. We are expecting our second child in a month.

7:30 a.m. -- Embark on my hour-long drive to the office. I could live closer to work, but I prefer the mountains. We live in Annecy, with a beautiful lake and cosmopolitan feel. When I'm traveling, I appreciate knowing my family is in such a nice place.

8:30 a.m. -- Time to start work. I revisit my calendar for the day. At present, I am involved in five different projects at the same time, within different departments of the company. The deadline of the projects determines the priority.

I spend a lot of time planning my travel, ensuring I am able to visit certain countries during specific time periods. I must coordinate with the subsidiaries for these visits.

10 a.m. -- This time is used to have meetings with people from different departments or product groups to discuss the status of current projects.

11 a.m. -- Chat with my boss. I have a lot of freedom regarding my work and travel, and sometimes I only get to talk to my boss during department meetings, so it's important to check in whenever I get the chance.

1 p.m. -- Lunch. Our company has its own restaurant, so that gives me an opportunity to schedule a working lunch with someone when no other time slots are available at other eateries.

1:30 p.m. -- Usually, after lunch, I prefer to keep an hour or two for working on my own, rather than scheduling meetings with other people. I use this time to track the progress on my projects and complete my travel-visit reports, which I then share with the appropriate people.

4 p.m. -- Utilize this time to learn about our product's technology by viewing presentations or spending time with different product managers. Their expertise helps me get to know more intimately the products that we offer.

7 p.m. -- Time to go home. Most of my colleagues leave between 5:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., so staying longer gives me an extra hour to work peacefully without any disturbances. And I encounter much less traffic on the roads.

8 p.m. -- Back at home. Seeing my wife and daughter when I am home makes me forget everything about work.

8:30 p.m. -- Dinner with the family. Tonight we're having an Indian meal.

9:30 p.m. -- Watch some TV. Then, I take another 30 minutes for meditation.

11 p.m. -- Bedtime.

My typical day looks a whole lot different when I travel. It usually involves leaving home early to catch a morning flight, or leaving the hotel early to start the customer and market visits. When I'm on the road, many discussions happen in the car, and they often continue through lunch and dinner. My country visits often involve only a day in the office of the local business unit. The rest of the time is always in the field with the sales and marketing people.

When I made the decision to earn my MBA at HEC Paris, I expected that I would be able to step into an international working environment with enriched knowledge of the changing global business world. In this era of globalization, small changes in faraway markets increasingly affect local economies and organizations. Businesses with global aspirations require global managers who must have the innate ability to deal with flexibility, diversity, and complexity.

RUNNING A GAUNTLET.  I believe I achieved this global understanding during my 16 months at HEC, Paris (see BW Online,2/15/05, "The Attractions of Paris". The curriculum mixed a good amount of theory with professional projects in authentic working environments. Of course, being at the center of Europe enhanced this global perspective. And the diversity of the student body further emphasized the diversity of the program.

The MBA helped me get a foot in Somfy's door. As an international company, Somfy has quite a detailed recruiting procedure. To land a job, you have to pass through many different stages of interviews and assessments. Candidates with varied experience and a solid business education are taken in as managers with potential for international movement. The company places a great emphasis on continuous training, and provides opportunities to upgrade skills.