Blog post by Jonathan Fuller, GMBA '20
As I sit in front of the departure gate at DCA, I can’t help but feel ecstatic: CAP 2019 is finally here! CAP is one of the core pieces of GW’s Global MBA program that we have all been talking about and looking forward to since we began our studies in August. Even before knowing the countries, the excitement was vivid. Fast forward to today, and here I sit ready to board the first of three flights to get me from our nation’s capital to Berlin.
CAP Berlin boasts three different teams with a good mix of companies and projects. One team is working on the marketing strategy of a local German fashion brand (Peccato), another is working with a real estate company (BEOS) on organizational change and people management, and the final team, to which I contribute, is presenting a market-entry strategy for an energy contracting company (GETEC) to penetrate the UK real estate/energy market.
As for the students on CAP Berlin, I’ll take some liberties in speaking on behalf of the group and say that we are all pleasantly surprised with the abilities and hard-working attitudes of each team member – who collectively represent six countries and 10+ languages (don’t fact-check me on those numbers). But perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised – we are all GW students, after all.
In preparation for our time in Germany, all three teams have been in contact, via video-conferencing calls, with the clients on a regular basis throughout the semester. Our work so far (group meetings, CAP classes, and CAP workshops) has been generally focused on the following:
- Preliminary research to understand the culture and business environments our clients were operating (or wanting to operate) in as well as best practices.
- Client discussions focused on gathering internal data relevant to company organization, growth strategy, and marketing plans.
- Initial findings and recommendations based on initial data and analysis done at GW.
- Story-boarding to share our findings in a cohesive yet clear, concise message to present to our clients.
- Presenting, presenting, and presenting (I gather that presentation skills are considered somewhat important)!
Leading up to this point has been a mixed bag of emotions. The aforementioned excitement has swirled in and out among a vast array of other feelings throughout this semester – the uncertainty and anxiety of initial client interactions, the concern of developing an appropriate scope (which my team learned first-hand can change numerous times throughout the engagement), the stress of dress-rehearsals/presentations, and of course, finals shortly before takeoff. Suffice it to say, we are all ready to get to Berlin and finish strong!
