Meet the Alumni
Jeremy Lill currently lives in Lawrence, Kansas with his wife, Sarah. In the fall, he will be moving to pursue his PhD at the University of Illinois.
I graduated from CIMBA in 2006 in the part-time
program.
How has CIMBA affected your life, professionally and personally?
CIMBA has affected my life personally by
introducing me to a network of friends that stretches across continents. I have visited classmates in Croatia, Italy,
Brazil, Mexico, and the United States. I
fully understood the depth of my CIMBA friendships at my wedding when several
of my close CIMBA friends made a trip to the Midwest
to be a part of that special day. In
addition, after spending 3 years living in Italy, CIMBA instilled a sense of
confidence and a newfound appreciation for family and loved ones.
Professionally, CIMBA has provided me with an
understanding of how important process is. I used the knowledge gained through the Six Sigma Black Belt program to
do consulting for a utilities company in the Midwest. CIMBA also introduced me to a lot of tools, which
helped me understand that I had the qualifications necessary to pursue my
doctoral degree. I am forever thankful
to the students and faculty who pushed me every weekend in class to prepare me
for the rigor of a PhD program.
If you were to describe your best memory at CIMBA, what would it be?
There really are too many memories to select
just one. Five of the great ones are: lunches
at Maria's with the part-timers, Spritz at Centrale, "Va-Kansas," campus
strolls, and, of course, "sempre cosi."
What advice can you give current CIMBA students?
My advice to current CIMBA students: enjoy your
last month in the United States;
the last 30 days really fly by. Oh, and
trust the Prosec.
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Alberto Bassetto (the MBA class of 2002) married Yuyiin Tan in Treviso on Sunday May 23, 2010. Congratulations and good luck with the move to New York!
Alberto Topan (part-time MBA class of 2005) became the proud father of a daughter, Aurora. Congratulations!
Laura Harris (the MBA class of 1992) was married in October
of 2009. She and her husband will be expecting their first child this coming
fall. Congratulations!!
New job? Moving somewhere new? Getting married? Other life changes? Want to volunteer your profile for the Meet the Alumni section?
Keep your fellow alums in the loop! Send your news items to info@cimba.it and they will appear here the following month. |
Calendar of Events:
June & July 2010
Executive
18, 19 June: New Venture Creation and Business Planning with Prof. Richard Boulger
10-17 July: Strategic Management with Dr. Gary Gaeth
MBA
11 June: CIMBA Summer Session Ends
21 June: Iowa Summer Session (Capstone Course) Begins
16 July: Graduation Awards Dinner
17 July: Graduation Ceremony
Undergraduate
8 June:Gourmet Dinner
11 June: Undergraduate Summer Program Ends
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Greetings!
With the graduate and
undergraduate summer semesters both in session, it's another mad rush of bustling
activity at the CIMBA campuses in Asolo and Paderno del Grappa. These programs
have rocketed by, and are now halfway over. It's hard to imagine that in less
than two weeks, the CIMBA MBA class of 2010 will be taking their capstone
course in Iowa City and preparing for graduation! In the meantime, however,
everyone is doing what they can to get the most out of a beginning to a
beautiful Italian summer.
Seeing as summertime is
here, let us know if you'll be traveling in or close to the Asolo area. We
always enjoy seeing you all, so do keep in touch! If you'd like to keep tabs on
your classmates and other CIMBA alumni, join our networks on Facebook and
LinkedIn -- the links are near the end of the left-hand column of this
newsletter.
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CIMBA MBA
Sadly, it is that time again: the time when the CIMBA
MBAs leave the Asolo campus for the US. Having arrived in September and spent
over nine months with CIMBA, these MBAs are now taking their last classes before
their departure for Iowa City. They are currently taking summer elective
courses with Professors Chakraborty and Karwan -- and, as a result, are
finally able to enjoy some free weekends!
For example, during the third weekend in May (on Saturday,
the 22nd), the MBAs had the chance to see the Giro d'Italia -- the famous
cycling tour of Italy -- finish one of its stages in the center of Asolo.
See the photograph below, which shows Asolo decorated in pink (the color of
shirt worn by the leader of the Giro).
In June, the CIMBA MBAs will be leaving for Iowa City,
where they will take their final capstone course... and then graduate!
The year
has sped by -- the MBAs will certainly be missed here at CIMBA!
If you are interested in pursuing an MBA with CIMBA, or if you know of someone you would like to recommend to the program, please feel free to contact us. We are more than happy to provide you with any information and answer any questions you may have. |
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CIMBA Undergraduate
 Jayme Ringleb joined the CIMBA staff as the LEAP Leadership Development Program Coordinator in Fall of 2009, a position that has allowed him to work with the students at CIMBA Undergraduate campus in Paderno del Grappa while simultaneously pursuing an MBA at the CIMBA campus in Asolo.
First, tell us a little bit about yourself.
I received my Bachelor of Arts in English Language and
Literature, Film Studies, and Philosophy from the University of South Carolina
in 2008. During my time at USC, I was involved as an intern and public writer for
a variety of grassroots movements and non-profit organizations focused on human
rights. After graduation, I worked briefly with a credit union in Columbia,
South Carolina before beginning by employment with CIMBA. In my free time, I really
like to relax with a book or a movie, or with friends. More recently, I've
been involved more actively in the outdoors -- hiking is a lot of fun for me,
and I've only just begun to take advantage of the trails that the Grappa region
has to offer.
What is your experience with CIMBA?
Oh, I've been familiar with CIMBA for a while. I lived close to Pordenone for
about five years starting in 1990, when CIMBA was originally created. I came
back to CIMBA in its "new" location in Paderno del Grappa (it felt new to me,
at least) as an undergraduate student during the summer session of 2006; and then,
in the fall of last year, I began working with CIMBA as the LEAP Leadership
Development Program Coordinator for the undergraduates. I'm also taking the MBA
up in Asolo part-time.
What about the CIMBA philosophy most appeals to you? What do you most
identify with?
CIMBA's passion for its students in combination with its constant openness to
change inspires me. As a CIMBA employee, this means a big to-do list and a lot
of variability in the workplace; but I like this challenge, and the ends certainly
justify the means. In terms of what of I identify with most, it is, again, our
philosophy of prioritizing of our students' experiences above all things.
Interaction with students is easily the most rewarding aspect of my job.
What aspect of your work with the CIMBA undergraduate program do you enjoy
most?
The coaching work I do at the undergraduate campus really facilitates the
student interaction I'm talking about, and in an incredibly meaningful way for me. Being
able to work with LEAP students on their personal and professional aspirations
on an individual level -- as well as watching them interact and grow in their
teams -- is more enjoyable for me than any other aspect of any job that I've
had.
What are you most looking forward to in the remainder of your time as a
CIMBA MBA student?
I'm looking forward to getting to know the new CIMBA MBA students next fall. One of the
most rewarding aspects of the CIMBA MBA environment is how closely knit we, as
students, become. In many ways, each CIMBA MBA class becomes a kind of family --
I guess you could say I'm looking forward to seeing the ways that my family will
expand. And, to this year's MBAs: I'm going to miss you all terribly! Congratulations
on your graduation -- I know it's been quite a year. I'm looking forward to
seeing you all in Iowa! |
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CIMBA Executive Programs
It's been a double appointment
this month for the ECIMS participants: last weekend they had the International
Business Law module, held by Joan Gabel of Florida State University. The class
gives a framework for understanding the legal environment in which
international business operates.
The week before last they took the low ropes course
with Dr. Milan Pagon. Instead of the usual classroom lecture, the low ropes
course is highly experiential training that uses a series of obstacles to
simulate challenges faced by decision makers, problem solvers, and teams.
From exercise to exercise, participants were encouraged to expand their
natural abilities and discover a new depth of leadership and communication
skills characterized by truth, accountability, group creativity, and
collaborative problem solving.
The
enrollment for the next edition of Executive Certificate in International
Management is open. There are some
scholarships available -- the deadline for these is June 15th. For
more information, please contact Margherita Lago at lago@cimba.it.
In-Company Training & Coaching
Several companies are getting tangible benefits thanks to CIMBA's in-company leadership development training and coaching. If you are interested, give us a call or send us an e-mail and we will show you what your ROI could be.
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A-B-C: Al's Book Club
 SUUNTO. Most athletes, along with those individuals
who take physical exercise seriously, will certainly recognize the name. We are
very pleased and excited to announce to our alumni that SUUNTO is the technology
company with whom we are partnering as we continue to develop our neuroscience
and social psychology-based leadership development system here at CIMBA. It is
our expectation that, beginning in September, every CIMBA student -- both
undergraduate and graduate -- who enters into our leadership development system
will be wearing a specially-designed SUUNTO wireless measuring device much like
that currently available on the market for athletes. By providing them with
real-time biofeedback, it is our intent is to assist students in becoming more
self-aware of their mental state as they work to improve their leadership
performance: "Understand your emotion, to deliver the appropriate behavior,
then combine it with the appropriate skill, to improve your leadership performance."
 Outside of the leadership development classroom, the SUUNTO
measurement instrument operates in much the same way as it does when used to
improve athletic or physical performance, providing both instant biofeedback
and analyzed and distilled feedback through performance software. The
integration of the technology into our system has required that coaches,
facilitators, and professors receive additional training to maximize
developmental benefits. CIMBA has been
assisted in both the further development of its underlying leadership
development theory and the integration of both neuro- and biofeedback by
Professors Jeffery Schwartz and Mathew Lieberman, both at UCLA, and several other
scientists over the past year. Traditional leadership training coupled with neuro-
and biofeedback has opened up a whole new world -- allowing us to create a far
more effective leadership and personal development system that delivers observable,
meaningful, and sustainable results to virtually everyone it touches.
We have many interesting and exciting details to share
with you over the next few months. One of the most exciting is the advances made
in the underlying development theory and its applications -- particularly (1) in
the use of technology, (2) in assessing performance when both participant behavior
(emotion) and skill are active and integrated, (3) through specifically
designed emotion-elicitation events (written, video, and simulated -- designed
and tested both here and in the U.S. to replicate typical leadership situations
in business and elsewhere). Let me share
a little of the history behind these advances. We have always collected a wide
variety of data and information on participants in our leadership development system
-- from traditional psychological measurement instruments such as the Six
Factor Personality Questionnaire (SFPQ), Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional
Intelligence Test (MSCEIT), Barratt's Impulsivity Scale, and others to the seemingly
less traditional but recognized measures such as rational intelligence (RQ),
interpersonal relations (Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation(FIRO)),Myers Briggs Type Indicator,
leadership self-deception indices, openness to change, trainability,
coachability, and others. It was at the
NeuroLeadership Summit in Los Angeles in October of 2009 that, stimulated by
neuroscience insights provided by Matt Lieberman and then focused by the
probing of the always intellectually curious Warren Bennis and Mark Goulston
(whose powerful book, Just Listen,
was featured in our November 2009 ABC), the organization of that data became
very clear. Internally referred to as the ABC model (no relationship to this
ABC), the insights provided by Drs. Bennis, Lieberman, and Goulston led us to organize
our data on the basis of self-regulation (self-control, impulse control, or
self-discipline -- I encourage you to reread the January 2010 ABC to refresh
your memory on the CIMBA leadership and personal development system
"self-regulation" foundation and its origins). The "A" category, defined by a
lower level of self-regulation, carries with it a strong personal proclivity
toward stubbornness, lower emotional and rational intelligence quotients, measurably
higher resistance to change, training, and coaching, and a high-degree of leadership
self-deception. The "C" category is defined by a higher level of
self-regulation and self-discipline, with nearly the opposite attributes and characteristics
of the "A" category -- open-mindedness, higher emotional and rational
intelligence quotients, openness to change, training, and coaching, and very
realistic view of themselves and their abilities. Importantly, the organization
of the data in this way has been strongly supported both by external research
and by our data. By understanding these
personal differences and distinctions -- and firmly believing they are
changeable -- we can significantly improve coaching intervention strategies.
While I am limited on the details about the system I can share with you
now, I can give you some very interesting previews. As we have introduced our ABC model at
various forums over the past few months, several people have directed us to
other, often seemingly unrelated, sources whose thinking they believe is in-line
and consistent with ours. We have been surprised at the very divergent fields
to which we have been directed. While not typically based on neuroscience nor
directly expressed for the purpose of leadership and talent development, we
have found a number of concepts and ideas that are very consistent with ours.
In this ABC, I would like to provide you with examples of two very different books
that were suggested to us that we believe are consistent and representative:
Emmet Fox's The Sermon on the Mount: The
Key to Success in Life and Carol Dweck's Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. A person responsible for
personnel in the airline industry suggested Fox's book to us. A similarly
positioned person with ties to the financial services and automobile sectors
suggested Dweck's.
The books themselves come from decidedly different perspectives with
Fox's book being a Christian philosophy book and the Dweck book being a
psychology book. Both books carefully divide their subjects into at least two major
groups, which we find to be remarkably consistent with our categories A and C. Although
not expressly stated in either book, the criteria for placement in one category
versus the other has its roots in self-discipline (stubbornness leading to a
need to hold on tightly to opinions or other "precious possessions" versus an
open-mindedness and a willingness to continuously "learn life anew" in the case
of Fox; a "fixed mindset" involving the stubborn belief that ability is
definable, fixed and unchangeable versus an openness, a "growth mindset," that
leads to continuous learning and personal developmentin the case of Dweck).
Interestingly, the solution to moving from the ineffective to the more effective
category is also consistent with the thinking behind our system, essentially
becoming cognizant of a lack of self-regulation or discipline and then taking
action to improve it. I found that Fox's
book, which dates to the early 1930s, to be an interesting confirmation of our
theory and intervention strategy; the Dweck book provided a long list of
insights into the personal characteristics of our As and Cs, and also seemed to
sense the existence of our B category (a seeming transitory or chameleon
category with a tendency to suppress emotions and A-like characteristics on one
tail of the B-distribution and C-like on the other).
In the next several months I will be sharing additional research both
supporting and expanding on our leadership and personal development
system. To give you a hint of what is
coming, ADD and ADHD research is providing us with incredible insights into
highly effective coaching intervention strategies for category "A" people
wanting to improve their leadership skills -- both inside and outside of their
work environment. With the assistance of
Dr. Jeffery Schwartz, we are now actively looking at the neurofeedback
implications of that research on normal, "A" category people. It is certainly an
exciting time to be at CIMBA!
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