Learning Corporate Strategy Through Sailing

It was a sunny Saturday morning on the 17th of November, 2018 when HR heads and business leaders from across Mumbai had gathered at the Royal Yacht Club for a day of experiential learning.

Experiential learning is the new trend of the 21st century, and why not! It is easier and more fun to understand fundamental concepts by doing than learning them in a classroom. Alessandro Guiliani says that “SDA Bocconi at large is a business school that relies a lot on experiential learning. Here at the Asia Center of SDA Bocconi we have, we'll say particularly amazing luck because we started with a very white slate, first of all. Also, we are smaller, which allows us to interact a lot, with the staff, with the students, with the faculty. So, from there itself we start with experiential learning. I think with the event today, we have shown that we go beyond that.”

With this event, they aimed at revising the concepts of the corporate strategy used by the leaders on a daily basis in a fun setting like sailing.

Prof David Bardolet, Dean of SDA Bocconi Asia Center described the internal organization of companies to be like that of a boat. He also pointed out that “there is much to win by being in the right place at the right time (much like the favourable winds leading your sailboat) than doing things right,” and how better than to test it out on the salty seas of Mumbai.

It was a first for many of those present and what they took home other than a day of sheer adventure was a fun yet practical look at the fundamentals of leadership and managerial principles.

Tune into the video to know more.