How do soccer, wine, jeans, and bubble wrap come together in 48 hours in a rising sophomore’s life? I was grateful to listen and soak up the knowledge that Ron Dostal ’92 radiated while teaching about his career and expertise in consulting. Myself and the rest of the CIBE’s Innovation Consultants in the Business Immersion Program (BIP) were treated with a two-day deep “disorienting” dive into the world of project management consulting. On June 4th, Ron assigned us two case studies dealing with the choice of a biennial FIFA World Cup and another case study dealing with the decision to harvest or not to harvest wine grapes with an imminent storm on the horizon. We talked over important topics like mitigating risk, expected value, pattern recognition, and alignment with organizational goals.
On the second day, we were assigned two more case studies that dealt with a line of Personal Pair Levi-Strauss Jeans and the decision of whether Sealed Air wanted to make an uncoated line of bubble wrap or not. We talked about brand consistency, frameworks, calculated risks, and how math truly is involved in consulting and that you can make a good decision but still have a bad outcome. Both of these sessions were valuable in teaching me that you must come prepared to offer an answer and the full reasoning behind it for your clientele in consulting. Overall, I was blessed with the opportunity to take a look through the lens of what a project management consultant might experience. The CIBE program is more than thankful for Ron Dostal extending his time to mentor and teach us.
Photos: Ron Dostal ’92, Director of Alumni and Affinity Group Engagement, capitalized on his experience as a retired Deloitte management consultant to help interns begin to think like a consultant.
