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Tania Jolley (ILF2019)

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Institution: Stanford Graduate School of Business (USA)
Course: Influence & Negotiation Strategies Program

This amazing opportunity to apply for an ILF scholarship was made possible by Geoff Vogt and his persistence in keeping in touch with me.  One that I am truly grateful for. I was incredibly humbled to be asked to apply and saw this as a vote of confidence not just for our business, but also for me personally.  Having someone else see your potential to grow as a leader is such a confidence booster.  Geoff’s encouragement to engage in graduate education resulted in a fabulous experience for me.

Once I was awarded my grant, I reached out to a number of past scholars to ask about their experiences and the courses they did.  This was very helpful for me to understand what would suit me and my personal situation at that time.

After looking at several courses, I settled on the Influence and Negotiation Executive management program at Stanford University in October 2019.  Clearly one of the best universities in the world. I was excited to be able to totally immerse myself in the experience and soak up the atmosphere for learning and growth at such a prestigious institution where some of the top entrepreneurs across the globe were educated. The campus is located in the heart of Silicon Valley and was a perfect opportunity for me to be at the heartbeat of innovation.

This was an intensive 7 day live-in program that was perfect for me.  Attended by 64 other eager professionals all looking to expand their knowledge and skills in influence and negotiation.  It was an international melting pot with a great mix of entrepreneurs large and small and C-suite management from many top companies all over the world. The course was incredibly hands on with each day being split into 2 sessions. We began with the theory and lecturers talking on the topic from both a mathematical perspective and a human psychology perspective with negotiations in every session. Starting from the very basic scenarios, leading up to some very complex case studies.

I felt this course was perfect to help me navigate the waters of international growth for my businesses.  Little did we know that in just a few months’ time the entire world would be shut down with Covid-19!

The most significant impact and takeaway from this program was learning the ability to be able to understand the person you are negotiating with.  What do they want from all of this? What do you want? And finding the best win/win situation.  There are no losers in a great negotiation.

The ILF study experience has broadened my international friendships and opportunities which I look forward to being able to capitalise over the coming years.

The added bonus of all of this is now being a part of the rich alumni that we have here in Adelaide and SA.  Being able to participate in the local ILF events that are held during the year for further knowledge and support are fabulous.  The networking, mentoring and friendship that is available from within this group is quite special.  I’m looking forward to continuing my learnings from other alumni and being there as a cheer squad for all other ILF graduates.

Ultimately you only get out of it what you are willing to put into it!