My Path to leadership

Blogging from my ipad

2011-12-06T01:34:00.001+01:00

I am now blogging from my ipad. Lets see if this will make any sense

journaling...

2011-07-30T20:12:00.005+02:00

It's a strange feeling as I am sitting in my room in Rotterdam. It's on the 11th floor, and since I washed the windows this morning, I can actually see the view it provides. This made me think I should write down some of all my thoughts. This post is just a journal of my those, as they come to me..

It's been one of the toughest week of my life, our lives, in many ways. Last Friday, 22nd of July 2011, is a date that no Norwegian alive will ever forget. It was the day when a very different reality was imposed on our dear little country than what we are used to. I have been quite reflective since then, especially about the politicians in my country, who I often criticize. What has struck me more than anything is that they have led the country. Emotionally, rationally, steadily. In fact, I have felt very blessed. Every political party has shown why Norway, in the bottom of things, is a wonderful country to be from, even though it's easy to complain about. It has been particularly difficult being away from Norway in these days. I felt, more than once, that I should just go back, just to be with my people, with my family. However, I chose to stay here, and rather use the wonders of modern technology to stream Norwegian television 5-6 hours a day at home to feel like being in my Oslo.

Often, when talking about Norway, people from abroad speak about oil-money and an "easy life". Of course, this has its merits. But in the end "being Norwegian" has nothing to do with wealth, nor with material goods at all. It's an approach to life. A way of being. A way of seeing the worl. Nothing to do with "having it easy".

This strip of land in the very North of the world has always been one of the toughest places on Earth to survive. Hard. Weathered. Cold. Windy. Stormy. Dark. Bad soil. It is not where the great civilizations of the past came to build their cities. It is not where people chose to settle out of comfort. Norwegians have learnt how to live on this little piece of the planet. Always in peace. Always quietly going about our business. Working hard in order to live well. Taking care of each other. With absolute transparency. Valuing modesty. Personal sacrifice. Family.

This week, Norway has been just about the greatest country on Earth. How do we face terrorism? "With more Democracy. With more Humanity"

I feel more Norwegian than ever.

-------

on a different note completely.........

One thing that just struck me is that I have settled here now. Two weeks after moving into what will presumably be my room for the next two years, I feel comfortable. And it's very interesting, because I compare it to my life the last 10 years - since I moved away from home, and actually, I have never lived as comfortably as I am right now.

It's strange to express why that is, because for sure my position as AI VP Finance is as demanding and challenging as I wanted it to be. And for sure every day, from the second I walk into the office early morning - often an hour or two before the others, until the time I leave, always as one of the last, I am working hard. Of course, to a certain extent I get stressed and challenged, but I have come to a point where I appreciate that. Of course, my project and to-do lists are long as life. The demands from the AIESEC network and internally in the team, and especially from myself are sky high. Yet.... I am comfortable.

I think it's related to logistics somehow. Living a 5 minute walk from the office, having a nice place to live, having enough to support oneself, having joined a gym and having a great team around you - does that kind of thing. It makes you comfortable. And not the kind of comfort where people should say "get out of your comfort zone". Rather the kind of comfort that allows you to be everything you can be. To find energy to be the best you can be.

As August, my favorite month of the year approaches, I feel ready. To be my best. To do my best.

My little country - Norway

2011-07-23T21:01:00.001+02:00

Mitt lille land
Et lite sted, en håndfull fred
slengt ut blant vidder og fjord

Mitt lille land
Der høye fjell står plantet
mellom hus og mennesker og ord
Og der stillhet og drømmer gror
Som et ekko i karrig jord

Mitt lille land
Der havet stryker mildt og mykt
som kjærtegn fra kyst til kyst

Mitt lille land
Der stjerner glir forbi
og blir et landskap når det blir lyst
mens natten står blek og tyst

Mitt lille land
Et lite sted en håndfull fred
slengt ut blant vidder og fjord

Mitt lille land
Der høye fjell står plantet
mellom hus og mennesker og ord
Og der stillhet og drømmer gror
Som et ekko i karrig jord

----

My little country
A little place, a handful of peace
thrown out among mountain plateau and fjords

My little country
Where high mountains are planted
among houses, people and words
Where silence and dreams grow
Like an echo in barren earth

My little country
Where the sea pats mild and soft
like it's caressing from coast to coast

My little country
Where stars glide by
and becomes landscapes when it gets lighter
while the night stands there - bleak and silent

My little country
A little place, a handful of peace
thrown out among mountain plateau and fjords

My little country
Where high mountains are planted
among houses, people and words
Where silence and dreams grow
Like an echo in barren earth

Who am I?

2011-06-10T19:38:00.002+02:00

you are an independent leader.

personalDNA

about you

you are a leader

Your solid grounding in the practicalities of life, along with your self-assuredness and your willingness to appreciate new things make you a LEADER.

You're in touch with what is going on around you and adept at remaining down-to-earth and logical.

Although you're detail-oriented, this doesn't mean that you lose the big picture.

You tend to find beauty in form and efficiency, as opposed to finding it in broad-based, abstract concepts.

Never one to pass on an adventure, you're consistently seeking and finding new things, even in your immediate surroundings.

Because of this eagerness to pursue new experiences, you've learned a lot; your attention to detail means that you gain a great deal from your adventures.

The intellectual curiosity that drives you leads you to seek out causes of and reasons behind things.

Your confidence gives you the potential to take your general awareness and channel it into leadership.

You're not set on one way of doing things, and you often have the skills and persistence to find innovative ways of facing challenges.

You are well-attuned to your talents, and can deal with most problems that you face.

Your independent streak and masculine nature allow you to make decisions efficiently and to trust your instincts

You approach problems in an analytical way, not getting caught up in your own emotions. You are an independent thinker, not wedded to the preferences of others.

You do your own thing when it comes to clothing, guided more by practical concerns than by other people's notions of style.

The control you feel over your life is empowering to you-- you believe in your abilities and acknowledge your shortcomings. Explanations of the world that focus on destiny or fate don't really interest you. You take responsibility for what goes wrong in your life, and also for what goes well.

If you want to be different:

There's more to life than the practical - take some time to daydream and explore the aesthetic sides of things.

how you relate to others

you are independent

Your inward focus, trusting nature, and sharp sense of right and wrong make you INDEPENDENT.

Your thoughts and actions are not reliant on what others think about you; you have a clearly defined moral structure.

When it comes to others, you are very practical, expecting people to take care of themselves.

You generally believe the best about people, but you hold them to high standards.

Similarly, you believe in maintaining integrity, honor, and a sense of respect for those who have earned their success.

Trust needs to be earned with you; you're slow to forgive when people have violated your trust.

Spending time alone means a lot to you, as does keeping certain things private.

You quietly observe a lot about the world, giving you a keen sense of both how things are and how things should be.

You've learned that you need to prioritize your own feelings, as opposed to always considering others' feelings first.

If you want to be different:

Let your trust in others allow you to consider that interpersonal situations can be complex, and that people's feelings in those situations can take many forms.

Accordingly, in working harder to understand people's perspectives, you might find that their insights can help you make better decisions.

your personal dna maps

Here are personalDNA maps that uniquely represent your personality. Mouse over any part of the box or strip to learn more about the traits that the colors represent.

Independent Leader

To add this map to your website or blog, copy/paste this HTML into the body of a blog post or web page:

Independent Leader

To add this map to your website or blog, copy/paste this HTML into the body of a blog post or web page:

your personality chart

»Glossary of Traits

This chart shows thirteen personality traits. Each bar indicates the percentage of test takers who entered a lower value for that trait than you did. For example, if Confidence is at 80, that means that 80% of people entered lower values for confidence questions than you did. Based on a sample of 30,000 users. Click here to learn more about the traits.

Confidence	LowHigh	88
Openness	LowHigh	90
Extroversion	LowHigh	34
Empathy	LowHigh	18
Trust in others	LowHigh	58
Agency	LowHigh	96
Masculinity	LowHigh	100
Femininity	LowHigh	0
Spontaneity	LowHigh	32
Attention to style	LowHigh	16
Authoritarianism	LowHigh	90
Earthy/Imaginative	ImaginativeEarthy	98
Aesthetic/Functional	FunctionalAesthetic	6

5,5 weeks on AIESEC International - doesn't time fly?

2011-06-08T21:44:00.002+02:00

I have been in Rotterdam for almost 6 weeks, and it was gone by very fast. My suspicion is, time will speed up even more, so I thought I better get some thoughts down on paper.

Since I came here on May 1, I have had individual transition within Financial and Legal management for around 4 weeks. By the time the common team transition started 1,5 weeks ago, I already had a number of tasks and projects up and running. I like that, cause it makes me feel accomplished.

Getting everyone else here was really nice. Especially as finally I felt there were people I could talk to, about impressions, thoughts, feelings. I had M. as my roommate for two weeks - truly awesome, and have been living with D. for the last two. Both of them have given me loads of thinking and thoughts, which I really like. The strange thing about everyone else arriving, is both the reality and the perception.

Reality: My stage of discovery is different at any given point of time, as I have been here longer. (3-4 times as long as most).

Perception: Clearly, I am harder to connect to because of this. I "know" some stuff, (which also has to do with my role), which means that others even treat me as if I have been around for ages. They call me Papa Rolf.

It's interesting, and it's not necessarily uncomfortable. However, I realise that I have to make some choices myself to construct the life, as well as network I need, in order to feel good here.

AI life:

People ask: What's it like to be on AI? Answer: It's pretty normal life so far. You get up in the morning, have breakfast and coffee, go to the office. There, you work with loads of cool people on projects varying from the mundane to the super-strategic. Depending on the day it's super-challenging or confusing. AI serves the network. And they key question for me everyday is - how is what I am doing today serving the network. It resembles MC alot in terms of activities and responsibilities. The key difference is that 90% + of the organization you are leading you don't know. Because you never worked in that LC. Because you never were in that MC. Because you are not from that country. Because you didn't live there. Because when you interact with it and visit it, you are blinded by your own perceptions and interpretations.

I once said on this blog that you don't reach any conclusions if you don't jump to them at some point. The challenge of jumping increases, however, when you don't know how far the jump is before you make the leap.

Can you see the bottom? Can you see the other side?

I like it. I am challenged. And I am a bit alone. And I think that's perhaps good for me.

Individualism and Family

2011-04-24T19:26:00.004+02:00

Following a discussion I had today I thought I'd write a longer blog post on this concept. I have had talks with loads of people in my life around various aspects of this so - warning: If you don't want to read a longer post on this just move on now :-)

Basic Unit

One of the things that I have observed with interest when living in different countries is the difference of unit count. The concept that family or network means more in certain societies than others which are more individually based is neither news nor particularly exciting. However, I do have some particular thoughts on what this leads to in a society, which I consider rather hidden and unintentional. Put simple, in Italy, where I used to live, the basic unit of society is family. Family can be large or small, include grandparents and friends, or just be a single mother and her daughter. In Norway, where I am from, the basic unit of society is the individual. It doesn't matter if you are an old man, a divorced woman, a 12-year old kid or a 30 year old married man. Society is constructed around the individual. Disclaimer: This doesn't mean family is not important, or that people don't care about their closest friends - it's just a different unit. Just like it doesn't mean that in Italy people don't look out for themselves, or build their own lives, or have independence.

Relationship with the state:

In my understanding the relationship people have with the state, or government is directly correlated to the unit. Where the family is the basic unit, the loyalty lies with that extended unit - whether it extends even to a village or a region of "us". Where individuals are the unit, the loyalty lies with the state - in the sense that each individual needs the state specifically. Disclaimer: This doesn't mean that in Norway people are more or less patriotic, nor does it mean that Italians don't have a relationship with the state.

Rights and obligations:

One of the consequences I see is the development of the concept of rights of the individual versus the state: The individual has rights versus the collective, which are very strong. While the obligations are often less observed, and there is a development towards less obligations, they are still clear. It is an obligation to pay taxes. To take care of individuals by the state (meaning taxes). An obligation of politicians to be accountable. At the same time there are few obligations versus family as a unit. On the other hand these obligations are strong and clear in Italy. It is an obligation to take care of the family - sometimes against the state as well.

Good or bad?:

While there are many excellent aspects of the individualistic concept, there are also many negative consequences. I will not write much about the positive, as usually Norway is described as "best country to live in" etc. etc. The negatives, however, are worth pointing out. Often these are either neglected, not seen as part of the whole structure or culture, or simply dismissed as individual choice. I will name a few without going into detail - and they all come from the deterioration of family as a concept as I see it:

rising divorce rates
children outside marriage/couple structures (mum and dad concepts disappear or change)
social interaction
obligations towards other people (not structures)
loneliness amongst elderly people not taken care of by their family (instead obligation of state)
abortion as a solution to free sex
hardship when falling outside society (drug addicts f. ex.)

Now, what does all this mean? It probably we need to revisit our concepts of freedom of choice. What structures are unintentionally broken down which society then cannot rebuild?

ACHIEVE 2011

2011-04-11T21:26:00.003+02:00

Yesterday I just completed what is my final National conference as MCP, and in many ways as a member of AIESEC Norway.

It was quite emotional for me, and at many points I was watching people, sessions and other things like a movie. More than anything, I feel proud of this AIESEC Norway. Of the path taken, of the people I see now. The focus, the passion, the priority. The will to be more - to do better.

The only thing left is the final sprint of the year as well as ensuring the sustainability of the organization for next year. 100 will be the milestone that will stay forever. That we will celebrate forever. I can't wait to see us succeed.

When I attended my first AIESEC conference in AIESEC Norway over 3 years ago, I had just been selected as Vice President of Talent Management of my Local Committee. My commitment was mediocre, my knowledge limited, my perspectives short term. As my later MCP told me this weekend - "You were a random member." Indeed.

For the last 3+ years my own path has followed that of AIESEC Norway hand in hand. As I have developed so has the organization. Or rather, as the organization has developed, I have had the opportunity to grow with it.

What is interesting for me is when people don't take certain opportunities because the external environment, f. ex. in the company is not so good. My AIESEC Norway, when random, when good, when distracted, when passionate, when structured and when not, has meant everything to me in terms of personal and professional development.

I have had the opportunity to formulate recruitment and talent policy in a local organization, and feel on my skin what happens when certain compromises are made. The processes were good - in theory - but that doesn't help much when the core is not. I have had the opportunity to develop, market, sell and deliver on products to some of the largest companies in Norway while sustaining the organization on a National level. I had the chance to lead an organization through fire and see impact in front of my eyes. I have been part of three executive boards, once as CEO of the whole organization. I have led three teams directly, one indirectly. I have been part of two virtual teams, one of which I have led. I have had the chance to manage and interact with our Board of Directors. I have had the pleasure of being the mentor of three amazing leaders on local level. I have done more or less everything that is possible in terms of an organization. Thank you AIESEC Norway.

But wait - I am still here. Still here with my heart and mind. And for the next weeks I will give it my all. The final sprint starts tomorrow morning.

Towards 100.

Final sprint

2011-03-22T23:09:00.004+01:00

Finally my dearest "Back to the 80s" team is ready for our final sprint. Our final 3,5 months of impact and results. To leave behind an incredible experience with pride and energy.

What we want to leave behind:

Result items: (How we will measure our year)

100 X RE + pipeline
FK delivered 100%
LC Trondheim restarted fully
300,000 NOK surplus on operations to build reserves

Legacy items (How we will measure our sustainability as a leadership body):

Full EB elects in all Local Committees who are prepared
Financially sustainable LCs
Corporate sales success in LCs
Quality kick-ass MC transition
Permanently reduce accountancy and audit costs
Financially sustainable MC 11-12 through grant applications and secure corporate incomes
New FK project applied for
Books ready for clean closing

Team Experience

Complete and fulfilled team experience on all levels

I am the proudest MCP in the world.

I have no idea where I found these talented, high-performing, resilient, result-oriented, funny, sarcastic, easily annoyed, happy, engaging, honest, supportive, beautiful humans that are my team. Thank you for the journey so far. The ups and downs. The results and the failures. They are ours to keep forever.

Let's be scared and proud together. Leading together. It is time for our final.

Management --> Leadership

2011-03-09T23:28:00.003+01:00

Time to leave the management comfort zone, as K. pointed out today. Time to enter the uncomfort zone of Leadership again.

Here we go. 4 months left

2 months that flew by

2011-03-01T00:20:00.003+01:00

It's been almost two months since I wrote anything on this blog, which only goes to show the intensity of my life in that period. Briefly said:

2 weeks of an FK seminar and project delivery time
1 week of pan-national Scandinavian conference in Copenhagen, where my successor got elected
1 week of chairing Winter NatCo in Hungary, an outstanding experience
1 week of managing urgent and important matters
2 weeks in Mexico at the International Presidents' meeting

While all this has been happening we have arrived at 61 Exchanges Realized for our 10-11 term in AIESEC Norway. And with 4 months to go, including the summer peak for sure we have the chance to make history.

More than anything I have started to really reflect about my AIESEC Experience. The 4 different leadership roles I have had, and especially the President's role that I am living every year this year has changed me fundamentally. To an ever larger extent I see my purpose as serving this extraordinary organization. Up until the last two weeks that was mainly AIESEC Norway, and organization that was in disarray when I joined but is starting to find its identity, while still being fragile. Sincerely, I feel proud of my experience and my contribution. I feel that I have made a difference in loads of people's lives, as well as for the future of this organization.

But now what? IPM is well known among Member Committee Presidents (of which I am the current in Norway) to deeply impact those who care about the future also of the global organization. Those striped people from AIESEC International leading the organization and making you wonder.

Inspired and engaged, a part of me suddenly got this strong urge to keep serving, to keep learning. On the other hand, is that the right path for me. Is it the right choice in this moment in time? Or is it time to close the organizational experience with pride and success?

I guess I will feel it in some way or another next couple of weeks in Norway. Exciting times? For sure choices to be made. Where will the coin drop? Wish me luck in my pondering...

Application time

2011-01-05T19:23:00.003+01:00

In 4 days the applications for the MC (National Board) in AIESEC Norway will close. Who will apply? And how will I feel?

I think for all leaders, succession is one of the key indicators of success. Whether you are prime minister, or a corner shop owner, the quality of the leadership that follows yours is perhaps one of the strongest indicators of your own performance.

AIESEC Norway is a growing country and the quality of the membership is growing as well. The question of how many will jump into the crazy pool of changing their life for one year is, however, one of the key questions now. Having been MC twice, and it now being almost exactly 2 years since I myself was selected, I can truly sign up to the "life changing experience" promise.

Two years since I first had water thrown over me, not having any idea what job I was getting into (literally as well as figuratively speaking it turned out).

Now, as deadline time closes begins my final sprint as well. 6 more months of impact in this organization. 6 more months of driving growth, of activating leadership, of seeing happy faces of members who work for and go on Exchange.

And who will lead AIESEC Norway next? Who will step into an MC role? I don't know. Excited and anxious. Perhaps you who is reading this will apply? Only you know

Dare

2010-12-10T01:53:00.003+01:00

If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got

Do something else today. Not like yesterday. Not like the day before. Something different. Something more. Something bold. Just do it.

2 weeks to go

2010-12-05T19:51:00.001+01:00

2 more weeks (+ some days) and it's Christmas. That means half our term is over. Personally it means half of my term is over. That's shocking, really. The question in my mind is - what will be the legacy of this term? Will it be a year that will be remembered, and if so - for what?

It's not cricket, is it

2010-12-02T00:18:00.000+01:00

:-)

Idea

2010-11-11T02:03:00.002+01:00

New way of structuring performance appraisals in AIESEC.

Simply stuctured along 3 dimensions.

1. Contribution in creating Experiences

2. How you are living your Experience

3. Connecting the two

A great performing AIESECer will be creating loads of quality experiences for others, by raising Traineeships, raising Exchange Participants, Matching, Promoting, Delivering, Servicing, Sustaining, Supporting BUT will also be striving to complete her own experience, to have both the right leadership experience(s) and the right exchange experience(s) for her own development, to take the right options to become that change agent. The key is when your own experience is a result of those you are creating.

Hmmm. I will explore this more I think.

Principles of pricing = business principles?

2010-09-30T22:58:00.003+02:00

This is the question I have been asking myself mostly this evening.

Today we lost out on signing a traineeship, as the company did not agree with our structure of pricing from a principle point of view. They perceived that it didn't make any sense, whereas our position is that the pricing model is based on where and how we deliver value to our partners and therefore is a principle issue.

Our pricing model:

Basically we price corporate traineeships according to the length of the traineeship (which can be between 2 and 18 months). As the internship fee is a sum paid per month, the total is in accordance with how long the intern works at the company. In order to ensure that companies don't use AIESEC internship contracts as temporary work contracts and then hire the person outside internship terms without AIESEC actually being able to finance operations through this fee, there is a clause in our contract saying that up to 18 months (corresponding to our max internship length) when the person works there the company has to pay this fee. This means that if the company chooses to employ permanently an intern after f. ex. 1 year, then for the time up to 18 months they would still pay the fee to AIESEC. The logic is that a person hired permanently is clearly adding value to the company, and that only reinforces why AIESEC should be compensated for the value we bring to the partner.

The (non) customer argument

If the original internship is 12 months, then after the 12 months there should be no payment to AIESEC even if the person is hired permanently by the company after this as this has nothing to do with the AIESEC internship. Perhaps this position is related to their comparing our pricing with job advertising portals - which - while it might be perceived as similar by the company, is a completely different business.

Conclusions?

If we change a pricing principle because a potential partner tells us it doesn't make sense to them, then surely this means they would be right - if we could just change it then it doesn't make any sense and we should have already changed it?

Well, I guess we will see.

I felt a lot of pain today when my VP went home, having been close to meeting his Quarter sales goals, but not quite making it due to this difficult potential customer. The thing is, he has done such a good job in preparing the case, knowing that he was close to his target, especially considering the initial customer expectations was something AIESEC could not even deliver on.

He has worked on 2 tough projects which have both had deliverables, and neither has been a walk in the park for him. He has, in my opinion, done an amazing job this quarter, and not been quite rewarded for this (as 2 "freebie" traineeships were not matched despite high chances and would have bridged his goal gap).

I guess I would love to sit down with the customer for 20 minutes and explain one last time our position. I would love to really understand theirs as well.

I believe we did the right thing, and I believe our business and pricing model corresponds with our work and the value we bring. I guess we will be rewarded in due time if I am right. Until then, we suffer a bit on this.

Thanks for Quarter 3. The best Quarter 3 since the 80s. in 45 minutes it's quarter 4.

"Work with Exchange. Lead Exchange. Go on Exchange"

2010-09-29T22:55:00.001+02:00

What is AIESEC? It's that simple.

A good moment..

2010-09-09T21:08:00.002+02:00

I am back from India and hopefully I will write something about it in a few days.

Today I had the chance to spend around 15 minutes speaking to one of my Local Committee Presidents (LCP). I was talking about something I learned (or re-learned - it's usually like that) in India about the combination of a challenging environment and a support environment for personal growth and development.

What he told me made me extremely proud and humble. Basically he was talking about how much support he had felt from my team while I had been gone. Basically my team understood this lesson a long time ago, long before I did. And they have acted upon it and are making it happen.

They truly are amazing, these Back to the 80s VPs.

India -1

2010-08-19T14:02:00.002+02:00

Today I am sitting alone in the MC office. Either because I scared away my team, or, more likely, because they are all over the country and the city to work where work matters. On the ground.

All of a sudden I realized that tomorrow morning I am leaving for India. For sure AIESEC has some fringe benifits in addition to the hardcore learning we get by running the organization and going on internships abroad.

Going on international conferences to far away exotic places for sure is one of them.

So India... what is this country - really? I have only heard people talk and never known much of it myself. Well, I guess I will find out some things.

Finally excited.

Some quotes..

2010-08-17T11:29:00.001+02:00

Julian Barnes remarking that life was like invading Russia. "A blitz start, massed shakos, plumes dancing like a flustered henhouse; a period of svelte progress recorded in ebullient despatches as the enemy falls back; then the beginning of a long morale-sapping trudge with rations getting shorter and the first snowflakes on your face. Ultimately, you fall beneath a boy-gunner's grapeshot while crossing some Polish river not even marked on your general's map".

Amazing quote, though slightly pessimistic, no? :-)

Birthday

2010-08-15T23:58:00.003+02:00

I turned 28 today

Thank you to all those who made me into the person I am today.

Euroco

2010-08-14T18:08:00.003+02:00

I got some really exciting news this week, that I will be facilitating at EuroCo in Austria in October. EuroCo is an LCP conference only, meaning all the delegates are the leaders of their local committees somewhere. I feel so lucky to have this chance, and for sure it will be an amazing experience. Also, the facilitators team is absolutely awesome as well, which just enhances my excitement.

Facilitating an International conference outside my "obligations" was a dream I had already before I became and MC member last year. Last year, however, I never felt that I could permit myself to spend a week away from my job when the conferences were happening, and hence I always postponed it. It was one of the very few regrets I had in an otherwise awesome year in the Big Bang MC. This year I am going to grab the opportunity with both my hands.

So thank you again, AIESEC, for giving me amazing opportunities

Racing at full speed

2010-08-12T09:07:00.005+02:00

Almost 45 days into my most amazing experience yet as President of AIESEC Norway, and I can't believe how fast time is running.

We have spent a lot of time planning, with the country and within the national team. We have spent time getting ready for national recruitment, which is kicking off next week. We have spent time preparing and delivering ScaLDS in Finland, a Leadership Development Seminar for Scandinavian leaders in AIESEC. We have eaten lunches together almost every day. And we have been tracking our Exchange every single day and are reaching our goals so far. Here is a year team presentation

Quite a rewarding month and a half for me. However, I believe now comes the toughest time period for all of this. At the end of the week 2 of my team members are leaving to work with our local committees for 1 whole month. In 2 weeks I am leaving for International Congress. And left in Oslo are only 2 out of 5, to manage operations and run the country.

Stressed? Nervous?

Not really, as my team hs already proven to me that they are leaders without me. I see it more as an amazing test of our team and of amazing individuals.

Other things? On Sunday I turn 28. I don't feel 28. I feel 20.

The small things..

2010-07-05T14:30:00.002+02:00

Today is the first Monday as President of AIESEC Norway

So what has happened today? Basically we had our first weekly meeting, which I was leading. I am happy as the meeting achieved the outcomes desired and was on time. Sounds like a small thing, but in fact it is not for me as these operational tasks make up a significant part of my job. Some years back I was part of a team where we had meetings which went overtime, were often unproductive, and where the agenda was unclear or not followed. It was crap.

So basically that's it. The first Monday morning of my term.

Day 1: Sun

2010-07-01T17:44:00.002+02:00

So that's how it feels like. Around 9 hours after I walked into the office this morning as MCP of AIESEC Norway I am about to leave it now.

It's good to get started - feels right. And it's good to have the team already starting to feel their place.

Funny fact/curiosity. For the 3rd year running the successors of the previous board has taken the seat of his/her predecessor - exactly. Talk about "picturing" yourself in the seat of someone - literally.

First action this morning was to clean the well overdue, extremely dirty office. Now it is nice and shiny.

Important and clearly significant: Today it is sunny AND warm, which given the summer we are having seems not irrelevant. The gods must know it was our first day