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\n<\/div>\nAnnouncement of the Kamchatka module<\/h2>\n
A lot of MBA programs in Europe and the US include off-campus team-building modules like hiking or white-water rafting. And there’s a reason for that. The Kamchatka module is where real friendships lock in. You get to see who people really are, because the usual habits and roles just don’t work out here. What kind of stuff helps with that? Pitching tents in the snow or digging out and reinforcing a giant 6x6 meter firepit with your classmates. When there’s no script to follow, no roles to hide behind, that’s when people show up as they are. And honestly, it’s when you meet yourself too.<\/p>\n
The first details and prep instructions for the upcoming Kamchatka module were shared back in May 2018 and the trip itself took place in April 2019. It was introduced by Andrey Volkov, who was originally supposed to lead the expedition. Unfortunately, he couldn’t make it. Volkov is the founding dean of the Skolkovo Moscow School of Management and one of its key visionaries. He’s now leading large-scale projects, including one aiming to get five Russian universities into the global top 100 rankings<\/a>. Participants were encouraged to start preparing early, learn to ski if they didn’t already and build up regular aerobic workouts 3-4 times a week.<\/p>\n We were also asked to write an essay to reflect on where we were in life, imagine the future we wanted and map out a plan for how to get from here to there. Once our essays were done, we shared them in small groups and had open discussions. That process really helped build even more trust among classmates. To help us get into the right mindset, Andrey Shapenko <\/a> shared a template ((https:\/\/apps.insead.edu\/edp-files\/coords\/share\/Virginie\/MAP\/28-PPIN%20Prepare%20your%20Essay.pdf?fbclid=IwAR1eLm6A1kBXMvkozpcVTJ5Y74CcS4HIZVM9gnhOhGCTbfz6LNeBPNYP0gs<\/a> , which gave us a clear structure to follow and made it easier to dive in. to follow and made it easier to dive in.<\/p>\n I flew to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky from Saint Petersburg with a layover in Moscow. All my classmates joined in at Sheremetyevo and we all took the same flight from there. My flight left St. Pete at 1:15 PM and we landed in Petropavlovsk at 10:05 AM. The whole trip took about 9 hours and 45 minutes, with a 9-hour time difference.<\/p>\n When we landed, two Ural trucks were waiting for us as regular cars can’t make it to the base, “Snow Valley<\/a>” where all the action happens. The trucks were converted into buses with huge low-pressure tires that can handle deep ruts and rough trails. The ride to the base took about two hours through the wilderness. We got there around 1:30 PM, got settled into our cabins, had lunch and kicked things off with a briefing.<\/p>\n The briefing was set up as a series of stations:<\/p>\n For those who showed enough skill and wanted to take the sportier route, a series of early morning training climbs was planned to test freeride abilities out in real conditions. I got into the sport group.<\/p>\n A 25-hour day wrapped up with dinner and a quick briefing on what was coming next.<\/p>\n P.S. This winter, I finally realized I can’t stand snowboarding. Before the 2018–2019 season, I’d hit the slopes maybe once or twice a year and only to hang out with friends. But once Kamchatka was announced, I ended up going about 15 times that season. We even made a special trip to Sochi for some extra practice at the end of March 2019. Turns out my body wasn’t too happy about it either. In Sochi, I wiped out on the slope so badly they had to call an ambulance that evening. And a couple of weeks before the trip, I developed a heel spur from all the extra running and had to scale back my workouts just to keep going.<\/p>\n Up at 6 AM, quick snack, skins on the skis and we set off in a small group along a forest trail heading up «Mount Goryachaya<\/a>». The hike took about two hours. Physically it wasn’t too hard, especially if you’re into running or anything like that. Around 350 meters of vertical gain over about 5 km.<\/p>\n Then Roman Bryk, the leader of the sport group, rides down the main slope and watches as the rookie freeriders take on the steepest part. Everyone’s got their own style: some confidently bomb down on their boards, others gently belly-flop their way down, lazily swinging their skis, trying to catch some air for balance. I had two edge catches and a couple of falls and then, finally, I was at the bottom. The rest of the descent felt more like drifting through a spring flood in slow motion, just kind of gliding between trees without much control. Proud as hell (!), I made it back to the base second to last, fully aware that with my current technique, I wasn’t having much fun. By the time I got there, everyone else was already gathered for breakfast.<\/p>\n The guides take a hands-off approach, no tips, no advice, unless something on your gear actually breaks. You signed up for this, so it’s on you to keep up with the pace. It really makes you feel your own responsibility out there. You quickly get a better sense of your limits and of yourself. It’s a great example of what “just enough” support looks like for adults in a team or group setting. If you can’t keep up with the group, don’t go. And if you do go, don’t count on luck or someone else getting you to the finish line — you’re the one responsible.<\/p>\n They split us into two groups. Our group jumped on snowmobiles and took off at 11:00 AM, riding across open snowy plains and occasionally climbing up and down mountain trails. When the wind picked up and the snow started blowing, if you didn’t have your buff pulled up, it felt like tiny shards of ice hitting your face. At one point, I spotted a snow-white hare sprinting ahead of us totally outpacing the group. By 1:00 PM, we made it to a canyon where we had some off-route free riding. The best part is dropping down from the ridge at full speed for a few moments, you can’t see more than a couple of meters ahead and it feels like you’re flying straight down. Almost like falling. Total adrenaline rush.<\/p>\n At 2:00 PM we reached the spot where the two groups met back up, the others returned from their part of the trip by helicopter. We set up a table and had lunch, soup in giant thermoses that had been brought over from the camp.<\/p>\n We flew up to the crater of Mutnovsky volcano in two helicopter runs. Up there, you’re surrounded by boiling pools of sulfuric acid nearly 400 degrees and thick yellow clouds of steam that smell like rotten eggs. One breath and it hits you, you can’t breathe, it just shuts everything down. Over some of the boiling spots, crusty caps form on the surface, but it’s impossible to tell where the solid ground ends and the acid pool begins. You have to be really careful where you step.<\/p>\n Our group took a helicopter to a nameless bay in Avacha<\/a>, while the other group headed back to the base by snowmobile. At the bay, a few of us guys decided to take a dip. Later, we took a boat out to see the Steller sea lions. One male weighing up to a ton usually leads a group of around 50 females, each about 350 kg. We flew back to the base, had dinner at 9 PM and called it a day. Well, sort of — we headed over as a little crew to one of the cabins for a tea ceremony and stayed up chatting until midnight.<\/p>\n Starting on day 3, we shifted our focus to thinking techniques. Everyone had the option to join one of four groups: Corporations, Intelligence, Psychosomatics or Entrepreneurship. The day before, we were asked to choose our group, but they didn’t tell us which moderator would lead which one. That was intentional, so we’d pick based on what actually interested us, not who was running it. The groups ended up pretty evenly split. There were four moderators: Konstantin Dikovsky, Pavel Mrdulyash, Artyom Denisov and Egor Maslov. The group presentations were moderated by Sergey Gradirovsky. The discussions were made even richer with help from Maksim Feldman and Milena Milich. Alena Myakisheva and Anastasia Tkachuk helped with all the logistics. I chose the Entrepreneurship group. The rest of what I’ll share is based on our group’s work and what we dug into together.<\/p>\n Each of the next three days followed the same rhythm: 10:30 AM–2:00 PM – focused group work with moderators. Each group had its own space, some met in cabin kitchens or living rooms, others in the restaurant area. Our group worked in the hotel lobby. The whole base was turned over to us for the module, so we had total freedom and didn’t get in each other’s way.<\/p>\n 2:00–3:00 PM – lunch After each presentation, we moved into a “questions for understanding” section, basically a dialogue. The presenter had to clarify and defend their points, while the rest of us asked questions. The moderators brought their experience into it too, they would unpack each group’s conclusions in reverse, pointing out gaps in logic or shaky assumptions that the whole argument was built on. The discussion was led by Sergey Gradirovsky. He had a great way of keeping things focused, if the back-and-forth started turning into a debate, he’d cut it off with a clear “noted” and we’d move on. I’ve definitely borrowed that one for myself. One important rule at this stage: no opinions allowed, only questions.<\/p>\n Next came the “judgment” stage. This is where listeners could finally share what they thought about the presentation and give feedback. The presenting group wasn’t allowed to respond or jump into discussion, just listen. The best approach was to take a piece of paper and write down each comment point by point.<\/p>\n 7:00-8:00 PM – dinner.<\/p>\n 9:00 PM-... – reflection on the day’s presentations. Each group gathered in whatever way worked best for them, some met where the main discussions had taken place, others headed to the pool. By the way, the base doesn’t have a hot water problem, quite the opposite. There’s plenty of it flowing straight from the natural hot springs on site. The tricky part is the cold water. Sometimes, while taking a shower, you realize it’s basically boiling because the cold water in the tanks has run out. The pool was something else, it’s outdoors, filled with naturally hot spring water. You sit there, snow falling around you and every now and then you catch a hare darting past along the edge of the pool.<\/p>\n I have to admit, by the middle of the second day, I (like a few of my classmates) still had no idea what we were really dealing with. And when yet another presentation got unraveled and the group’s defense was torn down, we started voicing our confusion out loud, turning it into a pretty heated dialogue, all eyes on Pavel Mrdulyash for answers. It wasn’t until the third day that we started to grasp the value and logic behind the method. Even then we still had questions.<\/p>\n I’ve got a couple of guesses as to why there was so much confusion during those first couple of days. First – Pavel Mrdulyash deliberately didn’t “lower the bar.” He kept the discussion at his level and expected the rest of us to reach up to it, rather than meeting us where we were. Second – we didn’t sync up on our levels of understanding from the start. On day one, there was no common ground. In hindsight, it might actually be worth making some reading mandatory for future groups, like starting with something by Pyotr Shchedrovitsky. These thoughts came out of a conversation with Denis K., Hey!-)<\/p>\n Our “Entrepreneurship” group was moderated by Artyom Denisov, an MBA-6 grad, we were MBA-8. His style was calm and steady, gently steering the discussion and helping us out of dead ends without pushing too hard. He facilitated things with a light touch. The good part is that Artyom never slipped into the “expert” role, which was great. The not-so-good part was that maybe the group could’ve used a bit more shaking up now and then.<\/p>\n Each of the three days, our group worked on the same topic. But with every round, we refined the definitions, our position and the core problem. By the third day, we finally started to see how the whole process fit within the methodology.<\/p>\n To explain the method, I’ll describe the conceptual framework as it landed in my own head. Georgy Shchedrovitsky in his talks<\/a>, and later the moderators during the intro sessions, made a bold, provocative claim: most people don’t actually think, and even if they do manage to think something through once, there’s no guarantee they can do it again. One key formula that shaped everything that followed: Experience = Action × Reflection.<\/p>\n The key concept in this methodology is reflection. In Shchedrovitsky’s view, reflection is the ability to really see the full picture, not just looking back at what happened, but also looking a little bit ahead. Planning and design come from that forward-looking kind of reflection. It’s when you stop asking, “What did I do?” and start thinking, “Okay, what if I do this, then what?” That kind of mental play, thinking a few steps ahead, eventually turns into planning, designing and building out real strategies.<\/p>\n The whole situation is described starting from the current position (M1) and then the desired future state, the target model (M2) is projected. Each situation is described using the format: context, object, person. The person, in a way, rises above the situation and constructs the next desired state while in a reflective position.<\/p>\n 1. Context<\/b> Example:<\/i> a volatile, export-driven, developing economy; a banking system going through a crisis; a strong presence of technical universities.<\/p>\n 2. Object<\/b> Example:<\/i> an entrepreneur who owns several businesses across different industries with a managing partner in each one handling the day-to-day operations.<\/p>\n 3. Person<\/b> Example:<\/i> 30 years old, has a strong team, international education, personal resources, connections to investors who are ready to back a new venture, speaks multiple languages and is into triathlon.<\/p>\n I was surprised how much easier it is for a group to understand a situation when you visualize it. With words, people can mean different things even if they say the same thing, but visuals are usually a lot more clear.<\/p>\n That made me realize something: visualization is a really important skill for an entrepreneur. The better you are at it, the faster you can connect and align with other people. In complex situations, pictures often explain things better than words. Visuals help you show what really matters, focus on the big stuff and leave out the extra details.<\/p>\n To make sure everyone understood the visualization the same way, we had to talk through the key concepts first. That way, we all had a shared understanding. Over the three days, we kept coming back to the word entrepreneur, because how we defined it changed how we saw the whole situation. By day three, we landed on something like this: an entrepreneur is someone with limited resources, who creates value through action and takes on personal risk to do it.<\/p>\n According to the methodology, finding the real problem happens across three levels. While working on the topic of entrepreneurship, we followed this path:<\/p>\n At the first level of problem-finding, you usually get statements like: lack of self-belief, no motivation, no opportunities.<\/p>\n The second level, causes\/tasks, is where we get to things we actually know how to work with. At this stage, we’re framing problems as tasks that can be addressed. Examples: weak business education, no international contacts, poor legal infrastructure.<\/p>\n At the third level, we finally enter the real problem space. Here’s how we defined the key issues: the elite doesn’t see value in entrepreneurship; there are strong societal biases against the profession; entrepreneurs often have limited horizons, meaning they tend to think only within the scope of Russia, or even just their own city, when starting a project.<\/p>\n The core problem we landed on was this: a closed mindset keeps entrepreneurs in Russia from building unicorns.<\/p>\n When defining a problem, it’s important to understand what active position the person is taking. How are they going to act from that position? If someone states a problem but doesn’t take any active position, it’s just an opinion, empty talk.<\/p>\n A problem is a situation that can’t be solved without rethinking how the system works in the M1 position. In other words, there are fundamental parts of the current setup M1 that have to change, otherwise, reaching M2 just isn’t possible. For example: if you’re a traditional bank that doesn’t use the internet to attract or serve customers, but you still want to grow like it’s the early 2000s – that’s not going to happen unless you completely change how you operate. Or put another way: a problem is a kind of manageable disaster, one you can work with, but only if you’re ready to change the whole structure. A disaster is something you can’t solve, like a war.<\/p>\n According to Shchedrovitsky, a problem is when two people are arguing, both are in the same situation and each is expressing a view that contradicts the other, and yet both are right.<\/p>\n When someone gives advice or shares an opinion, it’s important to ask: what active position are they planning to take in this situation? If the answer is “none,” then whatever was said is just a judgment, basically empty words. An active position means the person is ready to take action, to influence the situation somehow. Otherwise, they’re just staying in a passive, victim-like or purely supportive role. Sometimes, you can help someone shift from just sharing an opinion to actually taking a position by simply asking: “And what are you going to do about it?”<\/p>\n Once you understand the M1 and M2 positions and see the problem through the lens of an active position, the next step is to create a work plan that helps move from one position to the other. Basically, this becomes a project – an idea paired with a plan to make it real. That’s how you go from an initial thought all the way to a concrete solution.<\/p>\n I was deeply impressed by the deep dive into the methodology. One insight that seems obvious but hit me personally: you don’t know how you’ll feel in position M2 while you’re still in M1.<\/p>\n I’ve been doing psychoanalysis for four years now, both individually and in group settings. The practice mainly tries to help you answer the question, “What do you want?” It looks at a person through the lens of childhood struggles and desires, shaped goals and unmet needs for love early in life. From there, psychoanalysis generally splits into two schools: Freud’s view, that we’re driven by instinctual urges (an inner pull), and Viktor Frankl’s, that we’re drawn toward meaning and values (an outer pull)<\/p>\n If Freud’s approach is about awareness in the present, basically M1, then Frankl’s is more about M2, looking ahead toward meaning and goals. What Shchedrovitsky does is bring the two together. He doesn’t treat them as opposing ideas, instead, he connects them through project thinking and taking an active position. To me, that’s brilliant. Freud’s psychoanalysis (M1) becomes about exploring and organizing your inner world, understanding yourself and your place in the moment. Frankl’s approach (M2) is about direction, aligning that organized structure toward purpose. And Shchedrovitsky’s piece, the active position, is what ties it all together. It’s the driving force that helps the two approaches work side by side.<\/p>\n Lately, the thing that’s been on my mind most is the idea of manifestation or showing up fully. In my world, manifestation means when a person’s inner, hidden state fully comes to life through the project they’re working on. Like a negative turning into a photo, it fulfills its purpose. In the same way, a person manifests through their work, bringing their inner self into reality. If Csikszentmihalyi, in Flow<\/a> , describes what that state feels like, then Shchedrovitsky answers the question, “How do you actually get there?” – through the process of reflection. Without manifestation, there’s no real life.<\/p>\n The process of reflection:<\/b><\/p>\n This process is repeated again and again and that, according to Shchedrovitsky, is what thinking really is. There’s no guarantee that M2 will bring joy. There’s always a risk from your current position (M1), it’s impossible to truly know how you’ll feel in the new one (M2). That’s why without taking an active position, real thinking can’t happen. But in the process of moving forward in showing up, in manifesting yourself, that’s where the joy is. That’s what life is.<\/p>\n We had breakfast, then headed to the base of the Vilyuchinsky Volcano. After a quick gear check, we started the climb up to the volcano’s shoulder, about 900 meters of elevation gain. The group naturally spread out with everyone going at their own pace based on fitness. The instructors stayed up front with the faster folks and also covered the back. If you’re a runner, the climb feels more fun, it’s less about downhill skiing and more like cross-country movement as you go uphill.<\/p>\n Some parts of the climb were really steep, you had to edge your skis into the slope at an angle to stay stable. On the steepest sections, we used a zigzag or traverse technique. That way, the vertical gain per step is smaller, making the climb easier and reducing the risk of sliding back. While moving across one of the traverses, I remembered something Yury Belonoshchenko once said about the power of small steps<\/a> – that you don’t stop when you’re tired, you just shorten your stride. You end up covering more ground over time than if you stop to catch your breath and then start again. The same principle applies in business too.<\/p>\n There’s a nice feeling that kicks in once you’ve committed, when you’ve got point A and point B, you stop asking yourself “Do I really need to do this?” and just focus on the action. It’s the same with the activity-thinking approach: there’s a time for planning and a time for doing. Don’t mix it all into one moment.<\/p>\n I felt the shift the moment I saw the flag and the finish line. That final stretch suddenly felt way easier. It’s a great example of why it helps to mark progress with clear wins and measurable milestones along the way. Seeing how far you’ve come makes the rest of the journey feel lighter.<\/p>\n Each tent had 2–3 people, and digging it out together was actually kind of fun. You team up and just get to work, it really brings everyone together. There’s a feeling of connection when four of you are digging like crazy, setting up one tent, then moving on to the next. The snow, by the way, was 4.5 meters deep. What made it cool was that the situation was stressful, but there were no ready-made behaviors to fall back on. You start to see people for who they are and learn more about yourself too. What I noticed about me: I like digging the space for the tent, but I totally lose interest when it’s time to actually set it up. I just want to move on to something else. It takes effort to stay with it and finish the job.<\/p>\n We got the tents set up and I went off to start the fire, no big deal, done that before. I grab a metal sheet and lay it on the snow. Then the instructor chimes in: you’ve gotta place logs under the corners so it doesn’t sink once it heats up. Okay, makes sense – done. Then comes the kicker: we need to dig out a 6-by-6 meter fire pit, about a meter deep. And ideally, it should have a step around the edge so you can sit on it like a bench. Well, ****.<\/p>\n You start digging and classmates just naturally join in, even Pavel Mrdulyash. No one asked, it’s just clear there’s work to be done and everyone feels it. One thing I noticed: the people who jump in are usually the ones you’ve been talking with the most. With the conversations and shared effort, it feels less like work and more like a moment of connection, like we’re all showing up together. Some people took a break and crashed in their tents. Others kept setting up the rest, making sure the sport group, who’d be arriving later, right around dusk could just drop their gear and join us for dinner.<\/p>\n We got the fire going, opened the soup thermoses, had dinner and gathered around the fire. One of the instructors brought a guitar and luckily, a few people knew how to play. A small group of us stepped away from the fire for a bit, shared toasts, said some kind words and yelled our cheers into the night while hugging each other. By day 6, the whole trip had really brought people closer. And it also made it clear who had stayed on the outside and didn’t try to connect.<\/p>\n When you go to sleep, you crawl into your sleeping bag with the inner liners from your ski boots. If you leave them in the boots overnight, everything will freeze solid and you won’t be able to get them back on in the morning. If you start getting cold in your sleeping bag, take off some clothes. You’ll actually stay warmer since the extra layers won’t steal your body heat. At night, only my face felt cold. Wake-up was at 7:00 AM, followed by breakfast, then we headed back to the base. There we had a reflection session on the whole module and a celebratory dinner. The next day – departure.<\/p>\n Another great moment came from my classmate from China, Minyan. She had injured her back before Day 6, and when she started the climb to base camp, she already knew she wouldn’t be able to finish the whole route, but she went anyway. Even if you know you won’t make it all the way, you can still go and find out where your limit really is. Every bit of progress along the way is a win.<\/p>\n Conclusion:<\/b> I’d rate the module a 9.9 out of 10. What was great: top-notch organization; the balance and format of blending intellectual work with physical challenge; and how close we became as classmates, both parts of the module really helped with that. What wasn’t great: unfortunately, Andrey Evgenyevich, the leader of both the intellectual and sport parts of the program for the previous two MBA groups couldn’t join us this time.<\/p>\n",
"summary": "The final module of the MBA program takes place in Kamchatka. It’s where brainwork meets physical adventure",
"date_published": "2019-05-14T23:24:33+02:00",
"date_modified": "2026-07-21T11:54:58+02:00",
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"content_html": " In November, we had our third module, led by Pierre Casse. The module covered responsibility, avoiding pain when making mistakes, the tyranny of averages and the ability to switch between different leadership styles based on the situation.<\/p>\n We had lots of group interactions, from small teams to big games involving all 37 classmates. Some class-wide cases were wild: the group dynamics went crazy, agreements were tough and emotions ran high. After these games, you leave with a bunch of self-reflective questions. The module also included several tests to help identify our leadership styles, which gave practical insights on areas for growth.<\/p>\n One day ended with a lecture by Galina Yuzefovich, a literary critic you might’ve read on Meduza<\/a>. She spoke about “critical thinking” as part of the Skolkovo MBA-8 humanities series. There were alternative lectures, too. You could hear Leonid Klein on the history of entrepreneurship or Dmitry Gutov on contemporary art.<\/p>\n The last day was dedicated to an ongoing leadership course, introduced for the first time in MBA-8. We worked with coaches in groups of six all day. Our coach was Maxim Belukhin, trained at Executive Master in Consulting and Coaching for Change programme at the INSEAD Business School<\/a>. The sessions felt a lot like group therapy, but participants could give advice.<\/p>\n Classic Freudian analysis helps answer “why,” Jungian analysis is more about “what for.” Group coaching at Skolkovo leans closer to Jung, focusing on questions like: What should you stop doing now? What should you start doing now?<\/p>\n — Leadership means seeing what others don’t or “Leadership – win in crisis situation”;<\/p>\n — Crisis is great if leadership uses it to reinvent reality. Crisis is bad if leadership can’t handle it and stagnation occurs, which in today’s fast-paced world might mean disappearing entirely;<\/p>\n — Cool example: At an annual company meeting, employees are asked to come with a job offer from another company. It creates a freer atmosphere;<\/p>\n — People won’t warn you about risks in rigid environments, causing missed opportunities. What’s the atmosphere like in your company?<\/p>\n — Leaders spend 80% of their time removing obstacles for people;<\/p>\n — Leadership is creating an environment where people achieve, grow, and enjoy (happy people work better), and see the results of their impact on the company;<\/p>\n — Start task discussions by defining evaluation criteria, not immediately discussing solutions;<\/p>\n — The meaning of your words depends on how your audience reacts;<\/p>\n — Leadership growth: 70% experience, 20% mentorship, 10% formal education;<\/p>\n — Leadership: accepting responsibility to enable others to achieve shared goals under uncertainty;<\/p>\n — Don’t do things that don’t excite you. If you don’t care, why should anyone else?<\/p>\n — Sometimes leaders shouldn’t tell the whole truth—or even the truth at all—to avoid causing pain;<\/p>\n — Happiness leads to action. Unhappiness can lead to blaming others, fantasizing or compensating;<\/p>\n — Acknowledge people’s limitations, but never forget their potential.<\/p>\n When the baron left, he asked the baroness to stay on their island or she would be punished. She left anyway to see her lover. Returning, she found a madman with a knife blocking the bridge. Her lover refused to help. A boatman agreed to help for money she didn’t have and her friend didn’t lend it to her. Exhausted, she returned to the bridge at dawn and was killed.<\/p>\n Who’s most to blame: baron, baroness, lover, friend, or boatman?<\/p>\n Game Insights:<\/p>\n Pierre suggests categorizing leaders’ values into four groups:<\/p>\n — The leader’s role is to shift the team into the right mode at the right time. Simply assembling a team isn’t enough.<\/p>\n — When people are shifted into an unfamiliar mode, they might say something like, “I don’t really like this task I’ve been assigned, but I learned a lot.” It’s an opportunity for people to experience something new and grow. No pain, no gain. Know your cup of tea!<\/p>\n — Usually, people naturally fit into two of these segments at a time. It’s important that the management style matches the context. Here’s how these segments combine:<\/p>\n • Idea + Action — entrepreneurial leadership mindset, the ability to kick off new projects;<\/p>\n • Action + Processes — operational leadership mindset, the ability to turn projects into processes;<\/p>\n • Process + People — managerial leadership mindset, the ability to unlock people’s talents;<\/p>\n • People + Ideas —professional leadership mindset, the ability to be the best in your field and inspire others through it;<\/p>\n • Action + People — line leadership mindset, the ability to stay focused on customers and the market;<\/p>\n • Processes + Ideas — strategic leadership mindset, the ability to see the big picture and think strategically.<\/p>\n — We can’t really motivate people, but we can demotivate them if we pay too little.<\/p>\n — Not better, but the best;<\/p>\n — People can see the truth.<\/p>\n |Healthy Ways<\/i>|Unhealthy Ways<\/i>|<\/p>\n |Set ambitious goals|Dismiss others with “You’re wrong…”|<\/p>\n |Encourage open discussion|Pretend not to understand someone on purpose|<\/p>\n |Listen to each other|Set strict limits, like deadlines|<\/p>\n |Build on each other’s ideas|Show dissatisfaction|<\/p>\n |Manage group dynamics|Ask provocative questions|<\/p>\n |Test hypotheses|Have emotional discussions|<\/p>\n |Challenge one another|Create chaos|<\/p>\n |Make sure everyone understands the context|Benchmark against the best in the industry|<\/p>\n |Track progress|Use and fuel conflicts|<\/p>\n If the discussion goes flat and hits a dead end, that’s when it makes sense to use unhealthy methods. Once a decision is made, switch back to the healthy ones.<\/p>\n The model describes four leadership styles:<\/p>\n To choose the most suitable leadership style, Pierre suggests using these criteria: Based on these three criteria, the leader can choose the style that fits best.<\/p>\n The last day of the module was a small-group leadership course. During the course, we received short reports based on our 360-degree feedback survey, which we had filled out a month earlier. The survey was designed to highlight both our strengths and the areas where we could grow. It compared three perspectives: how we see ourselves, how our teammates see us and how the school’s experts evaluate us.<\/p>\n In our groups, we took turns getting team assignments, completing them and then analyzing the group dynamics after each exercise. For example, one participant was given a scenario to produce a short pantomime of a scene from the movie Moscow Doesn’t Believe in Tears. They received a script with roles, props and a video camera. The final video couldn’t be longer than four minutes.<\/p>\n It’s interesting to see how you show up in these exercises and how your teammates do too. The biggest benefit of these games is probably the deeper trust they build within the team.<\/p>\n I’d give the module an 8 out of 10. What I liked: All the self-tests before each theory block, they really help you see how Pierre’s concepts apply to you; Group work – absolute fire; The full leadership course flows naturally from Pierre’s ideas and makes them feel personal, creating a solid mix. What I didn’t like: Pierre’s course got cut by a day to make room for the leadership program; Compromise is not great.<\/p>\n",
"summary": "In November, we had our third module, led by Pierre Casse. The module covered responsibility, avoiding pain when making mistakes, the tyranny of averages and the ability to switch between different leadership",
"date_published": "2018-03-10T15:51:23+02:00",
"date_modified": "2026-07-21T11:54:58+02:00",
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"leadership",
"MBA",
"skolkovo"
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"id": "94",
"url": "https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/?go=all\/marketing-module\/",
"title": "Marketing module",
"content_html": " In October we had the second module at Skolkovo focused on marketing. Over a few days, working in a small group with other students, we came up with a new product for the market and built a marketing strategy for it.<\/p>\n We went through the journey: figured out the context → identified the customer’s pain points → answered the question in their head, “What will you change in my life?” → defined the core emotion we want to trigger → described the solution → mapped out which channels and how we’ll connect with our customers.<\/p>\n I was a bit skeptical at first. I’ve already worked on growing both service and product brands, so I worried the module might be full of generic, disconnected stuff. I’d also heard from the MBA-7 that there were some complaints about it. And half of the pre-reading was straight from Kotler, way too academic for my taste.<\/p>\n My worries didn’t come true, I finally pulled my scattered marketing knowledge into a clear structure. Before, I could talk on a single topic and jump from one to another. Now I understand the whole system, I can spot the actual problem faster instead of just the symptom.<\/p>\n We had two guest speakers at the module. The first, Dmitry Kuznetsov, head of Google Russia, talked about VR and artificial intelligence. His presentation was very restrained and corporate. The second guest, Vladimir Pirozhkov, is an industrial designer who spent many years abroad working at Toyota and Citroën. He now runs an innovation and industrial center in Moscow. He spoke about printing living microorganisms, military developments and building factories on asteroids. It was truly inspiring.<\/p>\n The course was led by Luis Martinez, an eccentric professor from the Spanish business school ESADE. He taught with great energy, guided us and gave feedback on our group work. Teamwork once again turned out to be probably the most important part of the learning experience. Here are a few takeaways from the module:<\/p>\n — Marketing – choose me darling;<\/p>\n — It’s about building skills, not just collecting knowledge, that’s what the module is really about;<\/p>\n — We’re not competing with companies; we’re competing for customers;<\/p>\n — Entrepreneurs build companies based on one of these assumptions:<\/p>\n — A more effective market approach is built around solving people’s pain points now, not in the future;<\/p>\n — A marketer can’t think in terms of B2B or B2C, only H2H, human to human. People buy from people;<\/p>\n — Among all target groups, it’s crucial to understand your main one – marketing resources are limited;<\/p>\n — You can target two audiences, but only if they overlap;<\/p>\n — Strategy is about cutting the excess \/ denial exercise. When building a strategy, say “no, thanks” as often as possible. Avoid the phrase “why not?” and don’t jump at every new idea;<\/p>\n — The rule of innovations – don’t ask customers what they want in a new product. Air conditioning was invented by understanding the audience’s problem, not by running surveys;<\/p>\n — A customer usually goes through this chain: I know (awareness) → I’d try it (branding) → I got it (distribution strategy) → I use it (product) → I evaluate it (meets expectations). If it’s OK → they go back to “I’d try it” (loyalty). If it’s NOT OK → they’ll never use it again. And right now we’re being bombarded from all sides at the “I know” stage, all those ads and banners everywhere. But the whole chain has to work effectively. Otherwise, you just burn out the market.<\/p>\n — There are key success factors in a company, KSF – the things that let a company win. And there are key not-failure factors, KNF – the basics a company must have by default, like the entry ticket to the industry. For example, if you’re selling real milk while all your competitors are selling powdered water, that’s your KSF. But once everyone starts selling milk, it turns into a KNF.<\/p>\n — When we make mistakes, the only thing we really need is progress;<\/p>\n — The more macro functions you strip away, the more successful you become. That’s basically how new businesses emerge and how competition is won, when a single micro-process ends up changing the entire infrastructure and approach.<\/p>\n Step One.<\/b> Define the context and try to understand the customer archetype. Here, it’s important to dig into the details, constantly asking “why?” The key is to go deep, not wide, when describing the archetype.<\/p>\n Example: Richard is 38 and has been working at “Ros-Ruki” for the past six years. He’s the company’s technical director and his team is developing a device capable of collecting soil from the moon’s surface. There are eight engineers on Richard’s team, and they all end up working late to meet the project deadline. Because of this, Richard is having family issues, his wife is upset that he spends so little time with their daughter. The head of Ros-Ruki, Mike, is pressuring Richard, since in six months he’ll need to present a spending report for the grant funding the project. Mike knows he could lose his job if he doesn’t show results. Richard feels Mike’s pressure but also realizes hitting the deadline will be tough, they’re currently working on the device’s PCB, which is meticulous and highly responsible work. Step Two.<\/b> Define the customer’s “pain point.” For our team it looked like this: Richard is stuck doing routine work and has no personal time.<\/p>\n Step Three.<\/b> Define the “flag.” This is the customer’s answer to the question: “Brand X, what do you mean in my life?” Here’s the framework for creating a flag:<\/p>\n For Richard you are Ironman that multiplies the ability to develop edgy technologies.<\/p>\n The flag is never shown directly to the customer and never appears in advertising, it’s for internal use only. Think of it as an internal guideline for the company. For example, it’s a handy way to explain what the company does to a new employee.<\/p>\n Step Four.<\/b> Choose one core emotion – the main feeling you want the customer to experience when interacting with your brand. You can use an emotion map<\/a> for this. For engineer Richard we chose empowerment.<\/p>\n Step Five.<\/b> Think about how everything we’ve outlined so far will be reflected in the product or service. For our fictional engineer, the product was going to be a computer program where he could input the requirements for the final board and it would generate a functional circuit diagram, a list of necessary components and even a layout model for the board.<\/p>\n Step Six.<\/b> Map out the customer journey — from the first touchpoint to purchase and actual use. Think through every interaction and what happens at each one. In our case, we imagined Richard visiting a website for board components, seeing our banner, getting demo access, exploring the product and then going to his top manager, Ivan, to tell him about the solution…<\/p>\n Step Seven.<\/b> Final implementation of the strategy.<\/p>\n — There are two systems in the brain involved in decision-making. The limbic system consumes little sugar, works at about 11 MB\/s, makes reactive decisions, drives emotions and relies on habits. The cortex is slow, burns glucose, works at about 40 bytes\/sec and requires deliberate thinking. The limbic system is involved in decision-making much more often than the cortex.<\/p>\n — It’s great when marketing manages to reach the customer’s limbic system. Customer loyalty is beneficial for both the client and the company. The company spends fewer resources on retaining customers and the client doesn’t waste energy deciding whether to buy. Very often, to save energy, decisions are made in the limbic system.<\/p>\n Example: You’re driving down the road and catch some movement in the woods out of the corner of your eye. If your cortex were in charge, it would go like this: Hmm, something big is moving → maybe it’s an animal → could it be on two legs? → no, too big for that, probably four legs → likely a deer → weighs about 200 kilos… Meanwhile, your limbic system reacts like this: Danger → hit the brakes. That’s how you can survive.<\/p>\n I’d give the module a 6 out of 10. The good part is that it gives a universal framework and can be useful even for people with marketing experience. Group work was awesome. The downside is that the content density was low, I’d double it, and the prereading with old-school Kotler felt outdated and didn’t really connect to the module slides.<\/p>\n",
"summary": "In October we had the second module at Skolkovo focused on marketing. Over a few days, working in a small group with other students, we came up with a new product for the market and built a marketing strategy",
"date_published": "2017-12-15T11:55:10+02:00",
"date_modified": "2026-07-21T11:54:58+02:00",
"tags": [
"marketing",
"MBA",
"skolkovo"
],
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{
"id": "93",
"url": "https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/?go=all\/entrepreneurship-module\/",
"title": "Entrepreneurship module",
"content_html": " In September we had the first Entrepreneurship module as part of my MBA program at Skolkovo. We dove into how investment funds work, how companies are valued at different stages and how decisions are made in high-uncertainty conditions.<\/p>\n Before that, we had an “intro game” to get to know our group and the campus. Besides lectures and group work, the program included two guest speakers, a welcome evening with the MBA-7 group and a few organizational events. The daily schedule went like this: breakfast at 8AM, lectures and group sessions from 9AM to 6PM, a guest speaker from 6PM to 9PM and then group prep for the next day until about 1AM.<\/p>\n Before the module, they sent us pre-readings, mostly case studies, about 200 pages in total, plus a list of recommended books. Each case was a detailed breakdown of a real-world business, packed with metrics and in-depth descriptions of its processes.<\/p>\n Some of the cases were from Russia, but most were international examples. When I first started reading, I thought, “If it’s not about Russia, how is this going to be relevant?” Turns out, working through a case is really about learning the methods and approaches, and those are universal, no matter the context.<\/p>\n The lecture part is always mixed with group work. Each group session ends with a presentation of our solution, followed by a discussion in the classroom. After that, the professor walks us through how the case actually played out in real life. My group had six people.<\/p>\n Everyone’s different, some have experience running production, others come from consulting or auditing. The group is super active and that’s probably the biggest challenge. At the start we spent a lot of energy just figuring out how to structure our workflow. You learn a ton from your classmates and even more, if you pay attention to how you behave in the process.<\/p>\n The course was led by Benoît Leleux from IMD. He’s originally from Belgium but spent many years in the US. He’s invested in 20 companies and had some level of involvement in every case we studied, you can really feel that. Here are a few key takeaways for me:<\/p>\n — The cost of raising money for a startup is different at each stage. There are four main stages:<\/p>\n — A company’s valuation and the size of the funding round is always discussed together with the conditions the company must meet (with all the “ifs”). Valuation by itself is an abstraction, the terms make it real.<\/p>\n — Companies raise money in rounds because it makes the valuation more accurate. You give up a smaller equity stake, promise more predictable results and it’s easier to convince investors. This process is called staging.<\/p>\n — Staging is interesting because if an investor comes in during the first round and the startup delivers on its promises, the valuation goes up in the next round. Then the investor can sell part of their shares at a higher valuation.<\/p>\n — Staging also pushes founders to assess their company and their ability to deliver on all those “ifs” more realistically at each round. If they overvalue the company early on, they risk ending up in a situation where the share price in the next round is lower than in the previous one. And that’s a really bad signal for the market.<\/p>\n For example: we value our company at 10 million and raise 1 million for 10%. We commit that in 18 months we’ll have a working technology that can increase a sow’s litter size from 25 to 32 piglets.<\/p>\n — Reading TechCrunch announcements about funding rounds without all the “ifs” is pretty pointless;<\/p>\n — When raising money, negotiations are often all about those “ifs.” The conversation usually goes like this: “Whatever valuation you want, you can have it. But if you don’t deliver on all the ‘ifs,’ we’re taking it all back”;<\/p>\n — You don’t need to spend hours debating exact deadlines for each “if”, everyone just understands they need to be met fast;<\/p>\n — A normal, healthy entrepreneur hates risk;<\/p>\n — One idea kept coming up: Dilution is nominal. Run out of money is terminal;<\/p>\n — A business plan itself isn’t as important as the process of thinking it through;<\/p>\n — Early-stage startups aren’t really interesting to clients or big companies. First, you have to earn their trust.<\/p>\n — Investors use three moves to test whether a founder is realistic:<\/p>\n These kinds of questions are called “smoking out of entrepreneurs”. — If a company raises funding but doesn’t become a unicorn, just turns into a “walking zombie” with steady revenue, investors can ask to have their money returned with all the accrued interest. Only after that can the founders start taking a share of the dividends.<\/p>\n — It’s harder for B2B companies to go public because, at the end of the day, it’s “regular” people buying the shares;<\/p>\n — A business plan itself isn’t as important as the process of thinking it through;<\/p>\n —A pitch deck is never truly finished, it’s an endless iterative process;<\/p>\n — Big companies often avoid entering the same market with a new technology because of the “why shoot yourself in the foot?” mentality. (By the way, there’s an explanation of this in The Innovator’s Dilemma<\/a> );<\/p>\n — Once an investor confirms they’re ready to invest, a Term Sheet is signed and the Due Diligence process begins. During Due Diligence they check the founders’ and key team members’ backgrounds, the functionality of the solution, potential patent infringements and the overall “cleanliness” of the company. This process can take quite a while and cost anywhere from a few thousand to several million dollars. Only after that is the investment agreement signed;<\/p>\n — There are few investment rounds in Russia or business acquisitions because doing a full, legally sound Due Diligence is often nearly impossible;<\/p>\n — If the round closes, the startup pays for the due diligence. The cost is deducted from the funding amount;<\/p>\n — A situation where a startup takes the Due Diligence report from one investor and shows it to another is basically impossible. Investors are usually more like friends than competitors;<\/p>\n — Investors insist on getting preferred shares, which give them priority in getting their money back if the company goes bankrupt;<\/p>\n —It’s always better to have more resources than you think you need. That gives the company more resilience. If you don’t have that buffer, cut down the number of directions you’re working on;<\/p>\n — In developed countries a lot of processes are outsourced. In developing countries that usually doesn’t work, there just aren’t companies with well-established specializations. That’s why many businesses end up being vertically integrated. For example, a model pig farm might start selling specialized feed storage platforms to the market because they had to figure out how to make them themselves and the product turned out to be in demand;<\/p>\n — You win long-term if you’re a maniac about operational work;<\/p>\n — Slip age is when the business is making money overall, but you don’t really know which areas are driving it and you fail to notice when a part of the business is running inefficiently;<\/p>\n — Some brands make products specifically for sales. For example, Nike has collections that are sold only in outlet stores;<\/p>\n — Do not ask for permission, ask for forgiveness. A short way to describe the entrepreneurial spirit inside a company;<\/p>\n — Companies can roughly be divided into three types: VC \/ Startup – no established model or market yet, business processes are still messy. Growth – the model works, and the company is in a rapid growth phase. Buyout \/ Mature – the business is stable and fully developed. The VC stage is what many entrepreneurs see as the “sexy” business. But there’s often more money in the third stage, which people tend to ignore because it seems boring. Benoît admitted he loves boring businesses – the more boring, the better, in his view. Sexy businesses always have more competition, full of players chasing their ego rather than making money.<\/p>\n — Management is creating a role that others perform, while you remain responsible for the outcome;<\/p>\n — People see the world differently. Some think it’s completely unpredictable, so why bother making any plans? Others believe it can be predictable, so if you have a stable job and salary, you’re safe. In reality, the world is somewhere in between, with a high level of unpredictability;<\/p>\n — Entrepreneurs spend their time gathering means, methods and leverage points. Once they’ve built up enough, they discover new opportunities. Steve Jobs’ Stanford speech<\/a> touches on this;<\/p>\n — Methods build up by answering these questions: Who am I? What do I know? Who do I know?<\/p>\n — Start with intention, don’t wait for opportunities to come to you.<\/p>\n The module gets a 9 out of 10. The best part is: it set a high bar for the rest of the courses and the material is packed with value. The pre-readings and group work add a lot. The downside is that the guest speakers didn’t really connect much to the module’s topic.<\/p>\n",
"summary": "In September we had the first Entrepreneurship module as part of my MBA program at Skolkovo. We dove into how investment funds work, how companies are valued at different stages and how decisions are made",
"date_published": "2017-11-14T19:03:36+02:00",
"date_modified": "2026-07-21T11:54:58+02:00",
"tags": [
"entrepreneurship",
"MBA",
"skolkovo"
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{
"id": "92",
"url": "https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/?go=all\/how-i-applied-for-an-mba-at-skolkovo\/",
"title": "How I applied for an MBA at Skolkovo",
"content_html": " I first heard about the MBA program in my third year of university when I launched my first project – the branding agency AGRRR. Back then, I thought it would be great to gain that kind of experience. Now, I can explain that I need an MBA to strengthen my skills in financial planning and strategic management. I also want to build useful connections since I plan to continue doing business in and from Russia. But most likely, I actually formed the real reason for pursuing it back in my third year.<\/p>\n To choose the right school, I attended two MBA program fairs and spoke with students from Harvard, Haas, INSEAD and HEC. In 2015 I went to London for a presentation at the London Business School. There were 7 people at the presentation: 5 Indians, 1 American and 1 Norwegian.<\/p>\n At the same time, I was learning English because I knew I needed a couple of certifications such as GMAT and TOEFL for admission. By the end of university, my English was still weak, so I had to start from scratch. I decided to begin with the TV show “The Walking Dead,” watching it in English with subtitles. Not the best choice, since most of the episodes were filled with zombie growls. After that, I switched to lessons with tutors.<\/p>\n The more I looked into the schools, the more I realized that the program is primarily for those building corporate careers. Even at institutions that promote entrepreneurial spirit, like Haas, after graduation, most students end up working as employees. The second thing that bothered me was the need to take a break from the projects I was working on for a year or two. At that point, I wasn’t considering part-time programs.<\/p>\n In February 2017 I saw an ad for the MBA at Skolkovo and decided to visit the campus. I was sure it would be my first and last visit to the school, as I was biased against MBA programs in Russia. It seemed like in Russia, everyone was just trying to make money off MBA education, no matter who they were. During the presentation at Skolkovo, I heard some important points:<\/p>\n I decided to apply. The first step was preparing the document package: my diploma, resume, a couple of recommendations and answers to 4 questions about motivation and plans. I sent the documents on April 5th. The second step was an interview on campus, an English proficiency test and a logic test. I arrived on campus on April 18th. The interview was with Nadezhda Agapova and it lasted an hour and a half in the format of a friendly conversation. That same day I received confirmation that I passed to the next stage – an in-person interview with one of the founders of Skolkovo.<\/p>\n On April 25th along with 5 other potential students, I went to a meeting with Andrey Rappoport<\/a>. At the stage of the interview with the founder, 30% of the students are eliminated. What I remember most from the meeting is how Andrey Rappoport explained that he and the other founders created Skolkovo because they realized the need to develop a new generation of managers in Russia if we want meaningful changes in the country. We discussed how Skolkovo pays attention to the legacy of the Russian management school of Georgy Shchedrovitsky<\/a>. When I read Organizational Management Thinking, I couldn’t believe that someone in Russia could think so comprehensively and consistently about management processes, highly recommend reading it. A week later, I received word that the interview went well, and I was accepted.<\/p>\nDay 1<\/h2>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/pictures\/MIK_9037.jpg\")
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/pictures\/MIK_9109.jpg\")
\n<\/div>\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/pictures\/MIK_9140.jpg\")
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/pictures\/MIK_9155_1.jpg\")
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/pictures\/MIK_9117.jpg\")
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/pictures\/MIK_9169_1.jpg\")
\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/pictures\/MIK_9320.jpg\")
\n<\/div>\nDay 2<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/pictures\/IMG_1363.jpg\")
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/pictures\/IMG_1387.jpg\")
\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/pictures\/MIK_9518.jpg\")
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/pictures\/MIK_9496.jpg\")
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/pictures\/MIK_9617.jpg\")
\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/pictures\/MIK_9705.jpg\")
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/pictures\/MIK_9713.jpg\")
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/pictures\/MIK_9810.jpg\")
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/pictures\/MIK_9827.jpg\")
\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/pictures\/MIK_9944.jpg\")
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/pictures\/MIK_0074.jpg\")
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/pictures\/MIK_0047.jpg\")
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/pictures\/MIK_9995.jpg\")
\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nMindset work \/ Days 3-5<\/h2>\n
\n6:00-9:00 AM – freeride training for those aiming to stay in the sport group
\n8:00–9:00 AM – breakfast
\n9:00–10:30 AM – intro session with core concepts to set the foundation for group work<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/pictures\/MIK_8659.jpg\")
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/pictures\/MIK_8666-2.jpg\")
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/pictures\/MIK_8669.jpg\")
\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n3:00–7:00 PM – group presentations. Each team picked a speaker, prepped a presentation using giant sticky sheets, and shared their work with everyone.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/pictures\/MIK_8656-2.jpg\")
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/pictures\/MIK_8651-2.jpg\")
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/pictures\/MIK_8710-2.jpg\")
\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/pictures\/MIK_8679.jpg\")
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/pictures\/MIK_8767.jpg\")
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/pictures\/MIK_8751.jpg\")
\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nMethodology and concepts<\/h2>\n
Descriptions of two positions M1 and M2, the reflective position<\/h2>\n
\nThis is where you describe the situation the object is in. You identify the key factors that define and influence that situation. The goal is to create a shared understanding, a common semantic field for everyone involved in the discussion.<\/p>\n
\nThis is the role or position the person currently occupies, the space or system they’re embedded in.<\/p>\n
\nThe individual within this context is the subject. This includes values, goals, education, hobbies, feelings, all the key traits that help place the person or group within a shared conceptual framework.<\/p>\nVisualization<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/pictures\/visualisation-1.gif\")
\nConceptual framework<\/h2>\n
Problem<\/h2>\n
Active Position \/ Action Plan \/ Path \/ Project<\/h2>\n
Personal conclusion from the intellectual part<\/h2>\n
\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/pictures\/m1m2_1.gif\")
\n<\/div>\nOvernight in the snow at base camp \/ Day 6<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/pictures\/MIK_9041.jpg\")
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/pictures\/MIK_9213-2.jpg\")
\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/pictures\/MIK_9282.jpg\")
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/pictures\/MIK_9298.jpg\")
\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/pictures\/MIK_9395.jpg\")
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/pictures\/IMG_1465.jpg\")
\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/pictures\/cell.png\")
\n<\/div>\nKey insights:<\/h2>\n
“The Baroness” Game<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/pictures\/baron.jpg\")
\n\n
Leader’s value orientations<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/pictures\/cass.png\")
\n<\/div>\n\n
\nHow to achieve high performance<\/h2>\n
\nHow to switch leadership styles depending on the context and the people involved?<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/pictures\/leadership.png\")
\n
\n★ – the most suitable leadership style based on the assessment of the business situation, the team’s competence and engagement and the company culture.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\na. Assess the business situation – Is the company operating in a high-risk or low-risk environment? How competitive is it?
\nb. Assess the team – Is the team highly motivated? How engaged are they in the company’s work?
\nc. Assess the corporate culture – The more conservative the company, the more likely its leaders will gravitate toward the two right-hand quadrants.<\/p>\nComprehensive leadership course with Maxim Belukhin<\/h2>\n
Conclusion<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/pictures\/deer.jpg\")
\n<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/pictures\/IMG_3520.jpg\")
\n\n
Working on the marketing strategy<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/pictures\/marketing.jpg\")
\n
\nA PCB is that green board with all the little soldered bits you see inside any electronic device.<\/p>\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/pictures\/IMG_3573.jpg\")
\nCortex and limbic System<\/h2>\n
Conclusion<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/pictures\/dots.png\")
\n<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/pictures\/IMG_3332.jpg\")
\nRaising money<\/h2>\n
\n
Negotiating with investors<\/h2>\n
\n
\nExperienced founders respond with something like: “No problem, of course we’re committed to hitting the targets we set. But if we reach them in N months, we want to keep a bigger share of the equity.”<\/p>\nDue Diligence, the situation in Russia and sexy businesses<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/pictures\/graphic.png\")
\n<\/div>\nAbout entrepreneurship<\/h2>\n
Conclusion<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/pictures\/mba.jpg\")
\n<\/div>\nChoosing a school<\/h2>\n
Getting to know Skolkovo<\/h2>\n
\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mazurchak.com\/pictures\/picture.jpg\")
\nHow I applied<\/h2>\n
Grant competition<\/h2>\n