Quite a sad day, yesterday, as Lucky walked into the final Power & Politics class of the term. It will be more of the same in the next few days, as each last class trips off the calendar.
José-Luis Alvarez continued the discussion of Shakespeare's Henry V, and we watched a few more clips from the film. We analysed many of the tactics that Henry used to inspire his men, threaten the enemy, and deal with his personal feelings in private. This is a marvelous film, and one that deserves another viewing in its entirety. Its lessons on power dynamics are legion and could inspire discussions for hours over warm fires this winter; Lucky suspects that the coming weeks will have exactly such dialogues in store.
Professor Alvarez supplemented the film clips with slides describing the decisive battle of Agincourt, and brought laughs from the students when he projected a a photograph of the battlefields, bathed in sunlight... with him standing in the middle of it. A perfect tourist vacation shot!
Two notable quotes from the professor:
[on how to get past someone's façade and influence them] "To get to someone, get them out of their role... make them laugh or cry, and then... speak freely."
[said slowly, softly, with gravity] "You should accumulate power and influence, without it you will not accomplish great things, you will not accomplish minor things. But through all this, don't lose sight between means and goals."
Lucky finds the last statement beautiful; the first half quite brilliant as a reminder why this course is crucial to being effective at whatever you do. That said, Lucky completely disagrees with the second half. As a longtime fan of The Prince, Lucky believes that the ends sometimes do justify the means, and that to achieve greatness, leaders must sometimes do evil. This tension is a central lesson of the The Prince, and is cogently and eloquently argued within.
At the end of class, a warm and sustained round of applause swept the room, thanking the professor for a wonderful course. This is one of the gems at Insead, but as its quality is very teacher-dependent, try to ensure that José-Luis is teaching it.
Afterwards, José-Luis approached Lucky and another classmate; we all shook hands and bid each other well. He is a class act, and deserves thanks for teaching a class that has inspired many to think differently about the power dynamics of their future environments.
Muchisimas gracias, José-Luis, y que usted tenga mucho éxito.
4:58:07 PM 
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