[MUSIC]
Are you ready?
>> [APPLAUSE]
>> I've never even conceived of
something like this before.
I didn't even know that anyone did
anything like this.
So obviously, stay true to
the truth is very innovative.
>> It's very fun,
it's not supposed to be stressful.
And nothing is ever that serious.
>> It's totally new, this is
the first time I've dressed up like
this in a few years probably.
>> Getting a bit of the cold feet,
but no, I'm mostly really excited.
>> Go and grow.
>> It's just exciting to get
the opportunity to see how that
actually plays out in a little
bit more of a high-stakes scenario.
>> I think I'll just bring a good
spirit to the team.
>> I think to really get to the
right answer you have to be willing
to have the courage to dissent, and
that's the thing that I generally
try to bring to the team.
>> I'm looking forward to killing
it in this competition with
my awesome squad mate Helen.
>> Be supportive and
direct in our feedback, and
then really just look forward to
learning from them actually.
>> I'm excited to be with
the squad,
it feels like the whole quarter has
kind of been leading up to this.
>> I'm excited to meet the alumni
who are coming to work
with us today.
>> It's hard, I mean it's not easy,
especially with people
you don't know and they're in
theory distinguished alumni.
They're kind of judging you, yeah,
it's a little nerve-wracking.
>> I like to try to make things
a little bit spicy.
I think if everyone's too
nice then it becomes boring,
so it's good to try to play out
the mean side a little bit.
>> Take the learnings from here in
the US at a US university and
apply them in Africa.
And also teach other people as well
kind of what I've learned, I think,
is one of my goals.
>> I think the Executive Challenge
is going to be challenging,
it's going to be fun.
I think we're going to meet
a lot of executives that come from
different backgrounds and
different industries and
challenge us in different ways.
>> I hope we come out on top,
we'll see.
I think we have some confidence
in ourselves.
I'd hope we'd come out on top.
>> And what's really cool as
a judge is to hear a team of people
approach a problem in six different
ways over the course of the day.
I just felt like I learned so
much on the day itself.
>> We are dedicating ourselves
to this full
day of the challenging exercise.
>> I'm looking forward
to everything,
this is the reason I came to GSB.
And I'm excited
to get together with my squad and
to show what we're made of and
everything we've been working on.
And really excited to crush
the competition as well.
>> Something that I learned at
Stanford is how powerful it is to
just get and hang out with people
around you, there are so
many incredible people.
>> I honestly think it was the most
valuable two years of my life,
being here, and it was
the experiential learning that
really did a lot of that for me.
>> because we've been able
to role play with each other before
I've been able to know a bit more,
not only in class but
also in these role plays.
So I feel like it's a chance for
us to build on that opportunity.
>> Even 25 years after I came here,
it still makes me think about kind
of how the world has changed and
how to approach situations
differently.
>> I actually was part
of the group that
piloted the Executive Challenge
the first year, and have been
judging almost every year since.
>> It was amazing, it was more than
I expected, but also very like
an actual board meeting.
>> Lots of positives, and
lots of things that I want to
continue to work on.
>> It was a blur, I'm still trying
to figure out what happened.
I think the biggest takeaway for
me was how nuanced they were in
each of their responses, and they
were all complementing each other.
So we got a very holistic picture
of how we should be responding,
how we should be working in such
situations, and that was really,
really beneficial.
>> We knew it would be tough, but
I guess it was even tougher than
we thought, yeah.
>> The students were terrific, and
one of them even was able to get
straight to getting the ask, and
that's really hard to do.
And getting our input early on,
also hard to do.
>> He did amazing. [LAUGH] >> So
good. [LAUGH] Yeah,
he also did an amazing job.
>> No, it was honestly pretty fun,
a lot more collaborative than
I thought it was going to be.
And did awesome, so yeah, I was
glad to have her as a partner.
>> Yeah.
>> I'm just amazed,
that's why I fly back out here to
do this every year.
You really understand what the GSB
is doing for these folks.
>> For me it was very interesting
to see if I'm effective in that
environment.
And to take the lessons that I've
learned through the class and
determine what I want to continue
doing going forward,
what changes I want to make, and
how I can be the most effective
leader as I go for past graduation.
>> I did this about ten years ago.
So I still remember some of
the lessons I took away from my
experience in doing
the Executive Challenge, and
even some small things that show up
in how I show up as a leader.
>> Everything was surprising.
[LAUGH] >> [LAUGH] I thought, like,
50% of it was surprising.
I thought the alumni asked
tough questions.
>> If I had to give them advice,
I think one of the best things they
can do [COUGH]
it's really about your ability to
connect with your audience.
>> You must put us in there.
>> Hearing the alum's feedback
right after of phrases they would
use, or different strategies to
kind of push the conversation along
was really, really, impactful.
>> 34, 34, woo!
>> Squad 18, squad 18.
Squad 18, squad 18, woo!
>> If I win,
I'm going to Disney World.
[LAUGH]
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