The Cook
One of my all-time favorite films is The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover by Peter Greenaway. It’s a great story and the cinematography is excellent. I would’ve loved to have been able to render my own small homage to this film, but unfortunately there are no thieves I can think of around here to work into the script. The cook only won´t do!!!
Joking aside, I’m delighted to say that what I do have is an excellent cook, namely Leadership Professor Balvinder Powar. He is not only capable of masterfully mixing ingredients to create a delicious dish out of almost nothing, but also of using cooking as a metaphor to talk about leadership, Gandhi and life in general.
I enjoyed listening to Prof. Powar as much as I enjoyed tasting the dish he prepared during the shoot. I just love Indian food…
P.S. If you get the chance, try the Indian food at Tandoori Station, where we shot this video. You’ll like it, believe me.
Take Me Way Up
I’ve known Entrepreneurship Professor Max Oliva for some years now, and he’s always struck me as someone who stands out from the rest for one reason or another. When I first knew him it was because I thought he was insultingly young for what he was doing and saying. My mistake, of course, because he always gave due and intelligent consideration to everything and knew exactly what he was talking about. More recently, it was because when I proposed to him that we shoot this video he immediately said that he would like it to be about skydiving.
Well, as you know, parachuting, or skydiving, is the action sport that involves exiting an aircraft and initially letting gravity take its course as you plummet towards earth, and then using a parachute to slow down the latter part of the descent. Well, the older I get the more I enjoy more earthly pleasures, so I confess that I didn’t have the guts to jump with him. I did, however, get to share in the excitement all the way.
Enjoy his beloved Mexico, the impressive skydiving shots, and everything he has to say about skydiving and entrepreneurship.
Viva Mexico!!!
Tango
IE Business School leadership professor Margarita Mayo uses tango dancing as a metaphor to speak about leadership.
In this video IE Business School leadership professor Margarita Mayo uses tango dancing as a metaphor to speak about leadership. She draws an interesting comparison between the two from the perspective of the dancer’s role in tango.
The origin of the word tango has always intrigued me. There are many theories about its roots. One is that it is actually an onomatopoeic term because the word tango sounds like the drums used in early forms of the dance. Opposers of this theory say that the drum was never a typical tango instrument. The first tango instruments were the violin, guitar, flute, and later a concertina-style instrument called the bandoneon.
Another theory is that the word tango originated from the Italian word tangere, which means ‘to touch’. However, considering that early tango did not feature the close embrace it is known for today, the word tangere is hardly likely to be the origin.
Some say that the most plausible theory is that which claims the word tango has African roots. In several African languages, tango means indoors – the closed space which was used for dancing… Well, who knows. The fact is that tango has become a dance form that is admired the world over.
Maybe we can’t be certain about the origin of the word tango, but one thing is for sure and that is that the world needs meaningful leadership. Listen to what Prof. Mayo has to say about both. You might end up wanting to dance with her just like Prof. Burak Konyuncu from Rouen Business School did.
Snow Woman
IE Business School Prof. Conchita Galdón talking about Social Entrepreneurship while skillfully skiing.
Cherchez la femme is a French expression which literally means “look for the woman.” If I had to look for Entrepreneurship Prof. Conchita Galdón, I don’t think I would ever get hold of her. You only have to watch her ski to know what I am talking about.
The expression was coined by Alexandre Dumas in the novel The Mohicans of Paris, in 1864, and offers a succinct definition of any piece of detective pulp fiction, namely that no matter what the problem is there is usually a woman behind it. In the world of cinema it has come to refer to explanations that are always based on the same root cause, no matter what the problem is. Anyway, don’t get me wrong. There was no problem with Prof. Conchita Galdón, apart from finding it impossible to keep up with her without the help of skilful and friendly ski instructor Jorge Sánchez-Seco, who you’ll see at the beginning of this video.
Prof. Galdón is thoughtful and conscientious as a researcher, as she is focused on helping people. She co-founded Puentes Global which uses the power of social entrepreneurship to help individuals and organizations make the most of their international mobility experience. She studied economics, holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration and International Development from Harvard, and is real fun.
She said that “nothing beats nature”. That’s definitely one to remember!
A Turkish Fan
Strategic management professor Daniel Blake speaks about non-market strategies while watching a football match: Atletico de Madrid against Betis.
Strategic management professor Daniel Blake is articulate, efficient, focused, Turkish, and, most importantly of all, a fan of Atletico de Madrid. He says he picked Atletico because it’s too easy to be a Real Madrid fan. He tends to support the underdog, and is ready to fight and suffer just like any real Atletico supporter. Don’t forget that Atletico’s fans are called sufferers, sufridores in Spanish, because they face an uphill struggle all the way, except this season that is…
We went together to watch Atletico play against Betis from Seville. So far this season Atletico hasn’t lost a home game, so, thinking it was high time it did, I bet Daniel 10 euros that Betis would win. But I forgot that professors always win, and that’s exactly what happened. Apart from that we had a nice Spanish tortilla sandwich and a really good time, which is what it is all about, of course.
I’m going to leave you with a quote by Turkish Nobel prizewinner Orhan Pahmuk: “Life can’t be all that bad. Whatever happens, I can always take a walk along the Bosphorus”. I spent my summer holidays in Istanbul and have included some of the shots I took of the city in this video, but unfortunately I could not share that particular experience with Prof. Blake.
The international Art Fair ArcoMadrid has this year as one of the major attractions of the Fair FOCUS TURKEY, a section which enjoys the collaboration of the Turkish Embassy to Spain and the participation of the curator Vasif Kortun, director of research and programmes at SALT Istanbul,who have selected the 10 Turkish galleries which will take part in the programme.
P.S. Prof. Blake teaches non-market strategies and has a lot to say about external factors that dramatically affect businesses.
