This Friday, our group braved the trenches of AQI 260 in Oakland, morning classes, meetings, and project planning. With zero client experience, the Zoom session with our Ireland contact Erin proved challenging for the group. We struggled to sequence questions, converse organically, and present ourselves as a cohesive group. Responding to my questions, Erin did provide important facts about Carrigart in terms of its population patterns. I noted the outward migration of the younger generation as housing prices rise due to tourism and other issues. This vicious cycle will make it difficult to bring fresh business to the area. Otherwise, the meeting was a sinking ship, which earned us a harsh debrief and reflection in the end. I realized my expectations of this meeting were completely off base and that I should have provided Erin with a more thorough introduction of my role in the project, among other things. I resolved to fix those issues in the next meeting as our lunch speaker Exec in Residence Joe Pietropola walked in for round 2. Mr. Pietropola’s presentation was absolutely pivotal. He strongly emphasized the interpersonal connection necessary for any strong business deal and helped us to scaffold our conversations using different tips and strategies. His three decade long career has seen success largely due to his interpersonal skills, a concept I know I need to drill. It was after these two meetings that I realized just how daunting our task is. The illusions failed me today, and it at last hit me that I am responsible for advising a village on how to improve four major tenets of their business development in order to increase revenue. After a quick ice cream run, I sat down with my Business Development specialty group to synthesize our ideas. With a scope due within two hours, we finally drafted the plan: I would take the foot traffic/infrastructure angle, with others researching political efficacy, remote working, coworking spaces, and local market profitability in the off season. Using Joe’s tips, I also developed a new base of questions that I hope to ask once we have boots on the ground in Ireland. I think my group has a solid direction as of now, but I am curious to see how it will evolve. In terms of my personal progress, I gathered (mostly from Joe) that being open to both vertical AND lateral movement in a company or between companies will make me the most valuable and versatile in the long run. It has been a challenging but motivating week and I am excited to pick it back up on Monday.