It has been a very full and productive week. I met with my thesis supervisor, and two research think tanks, one in Canada and the other in US via phone. It was useful to have a deck about my research study written in lay-person language, very easy to quickly customize and leverage as a pre-read before meetings, or an overview document during or as a follow-up to a meeting. I was able to glean a great deal of information on the landscape of research in the Credit Union space in North America. Additionally, there is possibility for me to present my study at CU conferences and colloquia in 2012 and 2013 in addition to attending as a leader in the CU industry. I was referred to an other Canadian researcher and have set up a call with him.
I had two additional “wins” this week . The first was a meeting with a recent Henley DBA graduate who provided a great deal of guidance and openly shared his path to doctorate. It was so energizing to speak to someone who understands the journey that I am on and has recent enough knowledge of the path to share useful strategic and tactical tips. He has very kindly offered to be an ongoing mentor for me and I have gratefully accepted. The second was my increase my productivity during the work week. I started to read Bass’s Handbook of Leadership in the evenings and a Statistics Without Tears en-route to work. Both were relatively easy to complete and keep me linked to the “macro” as I am grappling with the “micro” of my dissertation. Based on advice from both my supervisor and the recent DBA graduate I am going to try and push myself and write at least a paragraph or two that recaps what I have read for the day. I continue to get advice about the importance of writing as I go, but I still haven’t fully operationalized it.
It has been a very full week on the work-life front. Work has been crazy busy, but it continues to be energizing because of the impact that we are having on the organization and my team is wonderful!! I managed to have a short visit with family, and also a friend recovering from some serious injuries in a rehab center. It was very inspiring to see how she is grappling with a very tough situation and a good reminder to me about the importance of relationships and gratitude.
I did not get as much exercise as I would have liked, but managed to attended a cardio-tennis class which was a great deal of fun. Last night my partner and I saw a great Japanese film as part of Mid-Night Madness at the TIFF. Suffice it to say returning home at 4am in the morning did not lend to an early start at the library this morning! That said, I am here now and am very focused given my shorter window to work.