Running on Diesel

Language skills led to my B-school career in Italy. Now, I'm managing projects at a German multinational and learning yet another language.

As a China native who could speak Italian, I decided to earn an MBA from SDA Bocconi in Milan, Italy, because it offered a wide range of career options postgraduation.

Today, I am a project manager in the diesel division of Bosch Group, a multinational supplier of automotive and industrial technology, in Stuttgart, Germany. I am responsible for sales projects related to diesel engine products, such as fuel-injection systems and exhaust-gas devices, for three clients in Asia. Although Bosch is a big international company, the staff is surprisingly entrepreneurial. Our ambition and initiative makes for a busy schedule. Here's an outline of a typical day at work:

7:00 a.m. -- I'm already in my Alfa Romeo. Luckily, the office is only 20 minutes away. I leave the windows open to take in some fresh air and think about things.

7:30 a.m. -- With coffee and croissant in hand, I arrive at my desk. I quickly go through e-mails to look for information related to the teleconference later. In the meantime, I finish my breakfast.

8:00 a.m. -- Teleconference begins. Our weekly teleconference normally starts at 8 a.m. (German time) because of the seven- to eight-hour time difference between Asia and Germany. We open points from last week, consider new information from the client, and come up with approaches to pursuing projects internally. Catching enough attention and resources within the company is key to sales projects, which have to sell both externally and internally.

10:00 a.m. -- I again go through the notes from the teleconference, adjust my calendar, and answer e-mails. Then it is time for the second coffee of the day. I take 10 minutes off to practice German with my colleagues.

10:30 a.m. -- Back at the desk, I get on the phone to talk to colleagues in China. This phone meeting is a bit shorter because I have only one project there.

11:00 a.m. -- I prepare a report -- market and customer information, major facts about the project, technical details, analysis -- regarding our projects in Japan and China.

12:00 p.m. -- Going to the cafeteria. Some typical foods from southern Germany are on the menu, and I am curious to taste them.

1:00 p.m. -- Preparation for a project meeting. I already prepared the slides and handed them over to the steering committee last week. I have to check facts and figures again to make sure they are up to date. I also need to think about projects from the steering committee's point of view to get ready for tough questions.

2:00 p.m. -- I am in the meeting room in front of 15 people, and the laptop is connected to the projector. I have 30 minutes to show the positives and negatives of the project, both from commercial and technical points of view. I also have to offer proposals to solve problems and persuade these people to give me the green light to proceed.

2:45 p.m. -- The meeting is slightly longer than planned. Now I have to keep the minutes, so I can keep the project team informed even though the official protocol will be written by the meeting organizer. I take the time for short discussions with various development departments. Proposals are approved during the meeting.

4:00 p.m. -- Drinking the day's third cup of coffee outside the office for a brief reprieve.

4:15 p.m. -- Time for SAP, a tool that we use to plan and manage resources for projects. It was introduced to the company two years ago, but many people still feel uncomfortable when using it. Mistakes are not rare, so I double- and triple-check everything.

5:00 p.m. -- Meeting for technical proposal for a component of another project. Together with the department head responsible for that component, I will meet with two colleagues from Japan to decide what to offer to the customer and how to divide tasks between Japan and Germany.

6:00 p.m. -- Back at the office, I send out some detailed e-mails to Japan and China, so they can read them the next morning.

7:00 p.m. -- Already at home and enjoying the nice dinner prepared by my wife. Even though I love to cook, I hardly get to do it during the work week.

8:00 p.m. -- My wife and I take our 30-minute walk in the forest near our new flat on a nearby hill.

8:30 p.m. -- Watch the TV news and a DVD until I feel sleepy. They are the best teachers for those interested in learning the German language.

You don't really need an MBA to get my job, but I have no doubt that an MBA with comprehensive knowledge and skills outperforms colleagues. After all, he or she can better communicate with the folks in other functions.

If I had to do over B-school, I would take more information-system management courses. IT infrastructure is an integral part of today's business, and has enormous impact on daily work. Knowing more about this topic will give you a leg up on the competition.

Wherever you go for a job, you and your potential employer should have aligned goals. For me, the company was interested in experienced Chinese professionals who eventually can assume management positions in China. I am interested in some international experience in the short run but want to pursue a long-term career back home. Therefore, I fit perfectly into the program. Let's just say it was kismet.