Two years ago, my friend Emilio and I went to Boston to take an executive education course at MIT Sloan. After that, we decided to continue and complete enough courses to earn an Executive Certificate.

This week we are finishing the last one! Due to the pandemic, it was delivered online:

  • Business Dynamics: MIT’s Approach to Diagnosing and Solving Complex Business Problems

System Dynamics is a fascinating field with compelling applications in business. It is based on the analysis of complex systems, which are systems where there is a delay between the actions taken and their effects.

For example, take the pandemic: The actions our government officials take today, like closing down businesses or restricting travel, will have an effect 2-3 weeks or more from now. The impact we read about in the news (cases, deaths) results from the conditions two to six weeks ago. So it is entirely possible that things get worse -even after restrictions have been implemented- and for some people, it seems that the actions are not working, when in reality, it is just the case that they have not had time to work.

With the proper framework, one can make better decisions, and many times the appropriate course of action is quite unintuitive.

So, with today’s course, Emilio and I have completed the required courses to receive an Executive Certificate in Technology, Operations, and Value Chain Management. Yes!

I want to thank Professor John Sterman especially. He is one of the best professors I have ever met. He is an inspiration and a wonderful human being. Our world needs more people like him. Thank you, Professor Sterman.

One of my classmates in the course works in cybersecurity, and I called him one day to get his opinion on my transition and education plan. He suggested starting this blog, so in the future, I can share the type of problems I can solve and share my development journey. Thanks, Jim.