Edouard Layoun: A lot of action at the client and some ping-pong lessons

Phase 2 of our project in Oman kicked off in mid-March, which means that we are back to action! We now have a larger team on the ground to actually make things happen! We are basically implementing the recommendations of phase 1, while simultaneously monitoring the financial impact of our initiatives.

There is this misconception about consulting: People think that consultants work long and hard on high-level strategy documents while leaving the implementation to the client. This is absolutely not the case in this project! After delivering a sound strategy and firm recommendations in the first phase, we are now "walking the talk" and showcasing to the senior management that our recommendations are critical, feasible and impactful. I must say that we have reached great achievements in a record time, incl. a record-high sales figure, optimal operational efficiency between departments and great momentum within the whole client organization.

The hospitality of the Omanis keeps on impressing me! In the beginning of the project, the client organized a BBQ at the beach and, believe me, I had the best meat that you could ever get in Oman! This week, with the Champions League going on, we went out to a bar with the client to watch the games and enjoyed our time a lot.

I just got to know that two other colleagues from the Middle East were accepted to London Business School as well – so there will be an invasion of LBS from Roland Berger next year! Now, there are even more reasons for me to look forward for the start of my MBA!

This month we will be having a big office event in Beirut where we expect more than 60 participants. It will be an office meeting combined with a negotiations skills training. Middle East colleagues from all offices will be flying in, including new recruits. The event will last for three days – so we are already very busy with the preparations. I will keep you posted on the event!

An event like this makes the growth of the Middle East office very tangible. I have been with Roland Berger for more than 3.5 years and to me it feels like I am hearing new names every other day. It is good to see this development happening!

Lately I got the chance to practice an old hobby that I had, which is playing ping-pong. Luckily I had the chance to do this together with my former coach and I enjoyed it so much that I now try to find the time for practicing every weekend.

Tonight I will be meeting my former project manager for some drinks. He is German and he is coming to Beirut for a visit. There will be a lot to talk about, since we haven't met in a while.

Edouard Layoun: Working from our Beirut office at the right time of the year!

The starting date of our project has actually been delayed by three weeks. However, there is nothing to worry about: I am flying out to Oman tomorrow to kick off the new phase. The good news is that because of the delay I had the chance to work from our office in my home country Lebanon, which was really enjoyable.

In terms of work, I have been actively helping on pitching for several projects across the Middle East and Asia and our efforts are paying off quite well: we already secured a couple of nice projects and our pipeline is solid. As part of our ongoing growth strategy in the Middle East we are also interviewing candidates all year long. I personally conducted at least five interviews in the last weeks for fresh undergraduates. We will be also visiting INSEAD next week with the aim to fill up our Senior Consultant ranks. You can really sense the spirit of growth right now, be it in project volume or new hires.

On the fun side, a former colleague of ours, who is currently at INSEAD, came to visit us in our Beirut office last week. We couldn't but throw a party for him last Thursday in Gemmayze - the old district of Beirut full of narrow streets and known for its trendy bars and pubs. The next day, we had a big breakfast in our office with all the consultants - even some external friends whom we met in the party decided to join as well! It was very cool and again highlighted the family spirit of our office, which we are keen on maintaining no matter how much we grow.

Given that I was in Beirut, I also had some more time for my hobbies. While I was playing Basketball on the weekends, some other colleagues were skiing. What really characterizes Lebanon at this time of the year is that you can commute in about an hour between the snowy mountains and the nice and sunny seaside.

I also attended a very interesting breakfast debate that discussed the impact of the global crisis and the Arab spring on the economic prosperity of the Middle East. It was given by our former Minister of Finance and it was extremely interesting.

As of now, I am looking forward to completing my project in Oman, after which I am planning to get a couple of months off for summer vacation before starting my MBA in London. Don't worry, I'll be blogging from there, too.

Edouard Layoun: Back from skiing and starting into a new project phase

I was in Dubai the last week where we were preparing for the next project phase with our client in Oman. We are very close to secure a new phase which is longer, has a broader scope and a bigger team. I am therefore expected to be in Muscat for the next three to four months, and I am looking forward to it because I really enjoyed the first phase of the project, the client is extremely nice and the topic is very interesting.

Another good thing is that because the project scope is bigger, a lot of international experts will join the project from different parts of the world, e.g. Germany, Brazil, Singapore and the Netherlands. By gaining exposure to such experts, I will surely expand my knowledge of the industry. This week, we also welcomed a couple of new colleagues in the office as part of our continuous aim to increase our telecom practice in the region. We already had some nights out with them and it was really fun.

As I told you in an earlier post, I got accepted to two business schools to do my MBA. I finally opted for London Business School, so I am going to be in London starting end of August. The program is going to last for at least 18 months and I am very happy that I have the full support of the company in terms of sponsorship. That is a very great outlook for the next two years, and I will – of course – keep you posted!

You might also remember from my last blog post that I was going to spend a weekend skiing in Lebanon. Well, I finally had my weekend at probably one of the best resorts in Lebanon - the Cedars. The Cedars Mountains are the highest in Lebanon, about 3,000 meters in altitude, and the Cedar itself is the symbol of the country. It's an amazing region and a big touristic attraction. The weather was amazing, and the slopes were extremely packed.  Recently, my colleagues have been making fun of me because I got tanned! Nevertheless I'm really excited to have more fantastic skiing weekends in the next months.

Edouard Layoun, Middle East

So let me see, where did I leave off last time? Yes, I had some amazing vacation time over Christmas. It was a chance to connect with family and friends again, clear my mind, and recharge a bit. Lebanese people are spread all over the world, but during this time most of them come back home. There is always something going on, the restaurants are full and everything is just crazy! This means that everywhere you go, you bump into lots of people you know. I was out every night and saw a lot of friends I didn’t expect to see and that was really nice.

I spent New Year’s Eve in Abu Dhabi because there were two main events going on there. The first was the Mubadala World Tennis Championship. Mubadala, the investment arm of the Abu Dhabi government, organized this tournament with 6 of the world’s top 10 tennis players like Djokovic, Nadal, and Federer. The highlight of the trip was that I got Djokovic’s autograph on a big tennis ball and now I have it in my room (and it's NOT for sale!). I also managed to get a picture with him. The second event was the Coldplay concert. The place was packed and the show was perfect. I can really recommend seeing them live.

With regards to work , I went back to Oman for few days only at the beginning of the year. This was to ensure proper handover of the project deliverables to our client. And this is really what distinguishes Roland Berger from other consulting firms: we have a very hands-on approach and we work in close cooperation with our clients.

Lately I’m getting messages from people who have read my blog and are interested in learning more about Roland Berger Middle East. That’s great, and I’ll be more than happy to help. So don’t refrain from asking anything! Oh yeah: go see the new 'Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol' movie because part of it was shot in Dubai with some amazing scenes at the Burj Khalifa, the highest tower in the world. One more thing, I met Nassim Nicholas Taleb two days ago, Lebanese author of 'The Black Swan', in a restaurant. He is a big thinker and a really nice guy. Next post I’ll tell you about the ski trip I’m planning.

Edouard Layoun, Middle East

First of all, work-wise: today is the last day of our project in Oman. Since this was the last working week, it’s been rather intense due to the winding down process. Yesterday, we had our final presentation and the client was extremely happy with our deliverables as well as very excited about the implementation of our recommendations. I believe we added a great deal of value to the client’s position. Today, we are having a final farewell lunch with our counterparts. And I think you may remember I mentioned how hospitable the Omanis are – so there is no way we could leave without an opulent lunch with them. This will be a real treat. Right after that, I will be heading to Dubai to attend our office annual end-of-year Christmas dinner. Absolutely everybody is going to be there! It will take place at one of the fanciest restaurants in Dubai and the party is very likely to go on until late to celebrate a very successful year for our Middle Eastern office. I’ve already received a lot of messages and phone calls from colleagues to make sure that I’m going to be there tonight – we are all impatiently waiting for this big event and hopefully none of us misses it.

The last time I blogged I mentioned that I was applying to some of the top business schools in the world for my MBA. Well, great news: I’ve been accepted to INSEAD and LBS (London Business School). So I’m extremely happy and looking forward now to starting this new chapter of my career. 2012 looks like it will be a phenomenal turning point in my professional life. Obviously, this has only been possible with people who supported me here at Roland Berger – most notably my mentor and our Managing Director. I am really grateful to both of them. They were the people who recommended me for the MBA program and supported me from the start. By end of January I would have decided which school I will be attending.

But for now I’m very much looking forward for the Christmas break coming up and there is a lot to celebrate. I’ll be blogging again in January!