Greetings from the Loire Valley. I'm here for a week teaching a course at one of the local business schools in the region. I have an 8-year history previously teaching before in another French city (Bordeaux) and as much as I enjoyed that experience, the hospitality in the Loire Valley is even kinder. Last night I walked into town to view the castle, the church and then ate at one of the restaurants. The food and warmth were palpable. This morning, I walked around the corner to the boulangerie for breakfast. I couldn't help but feeling I was in the middle of the scene Belle described in her opening song from Beauty and the Beast. [Go 30 seconds into this video and then watch it for 90 seconds, please]. While Belle was ridiculing the village as being too provincial, for me, it's just a fantastic, realistic commentary on the warmth of what will be my "village" for the week. This local isn't even a village, as much as it's a small town / city, but the conclusion is still the same. Literally, people were traversing in-and-out of the store politely saying "bonjour" and going about their morning business. I'm so incredibly lucky to be here...
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August 2014
Useful links: CCAFM is our international consulting partner in Beijing, China. They're smart, creative, honest, successful business people. Ms. Beth Goldstein is a good friend and doing some great work in the entrepreneurship space. Check out her blog. Mr. Yuya Kiuchi is a periodic guest blogger on this site, originally from Tokyo, Japan. Check out his personal page or Wikipedia profile. Mr. Samir Jaluria was one of our standout students in the full-time MBA Program at Boston College, and is a periodic guest blogger on this site. He is currently a management consultant and freelance writer. Check out his LinkedIn Profile. Mr. Jeffrey Ross, managing partner of Glenoe Associates LLC has owned or operated 6 businesses: Retail, hotels, distribution, fast food and assisted living. Jeff's a Mentor for my Business Planning course. |