Peaches and Coconuts

My German friend Andreas introduced me to the model of peaches and coconuts. This model is used to compare Americans (peaches) to Germans (coconuts). This has to do with their different communication styles. As it turns out, my first case discussion this week was related to a German-American alliance that had gone sour. As leaders we were asked what steps were needed to address the situation. I definitely drew attention when I blurted out "peaches and coconuts." After a short pause where I watched the professors forehead wrinkle I explained myself. My jazzy tagline ultimately got absorbed as "cross-cultural differences."

And so it goes in the case method discussions. Everyone has their delivery style. Some bang on desks and others speak very quietly, while I try to wrap up some humor in a witty response. We heard some great discussions this week with a widely diverse set of perspectives. There are always those who like to hear themselves talk but for the most part discussion was constructive and energetic.

Friday after class we picked up our cases for the first quarter. My case stack is six inches thick. Wow. This will be a fun quarter. The mountain of blue and while paper will be my companion each night as we slowly dissolve the cases into knowledge.