Recent Posting on the AIESEC SSGN MCPs Community (thoughts aruound the Spanish Speaking Growth Network of AIESEC)

Hi Guys!

After reading Arturo's answer I also felt like sharing some thoughts around where we stand, or what we are as GN. We could analize - as everything in life - from two perspectives, stressing the positive or stressing the challenges, or what is better, considering the two of them.

- POSITIVE: We as GN ran the risk of pioneering the existence of having a 3 people GN Board with a high stability and level of activity. TO THINK ABOUT: How much are countries allowing this Board to have a possitive impact in their activities and futhermore, in their results? Are Board "sucesses" also GN sucesses? How formal are GN processes?

- POSITIVE: We have a country that is considered a Growth Center, in all senses, Brazil- followed by high potential economies as Mexico, Colombia and Peru. Chile as territory is considered to have one of the most stables economies in the world.TO THINK ABOUT: How big however is the gap between Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and the rest of the countries, the carribean, Central America? Are we acting indifferently about this gap, or are we consiously trying to make it smaller?

- POSITIVE: We are prioneering two structural integrations, CAS and S. Cone, AIESEC CAS was No.1 country in 2004 according to XDAQ, as one of the territories with highest Realization and Retention Rate. TO THINK ABOUT: How much are we "learning" from CAS and the overall process, besides knowing that they migrated?

- POSITIVE: We have two countries on the TN TOP 10, Mexico with 99 TNs and Brazil with 77 during 2004. TO THINK ABOUT: Why we have only 9 % of the realized MT SNs in the world as GN? Where is our strengh to attract top talent? Why we have only 8 % of the realized MT TNs in the world?

- POSITIVE: We have a branded DT Program EXPLORA that is every day becoming more mature and competitive, with a 60.000 USD subproject (Artemisia) included. TO THINK ABOUT: From 2003 to 2004 we raised our DT TNs numbers in only 26 TNs, despite the existence of Explora. By the end of 2004 we realized just 11 % of the global DTs (AP realized 51%), what is missing? How does Explora fit into the LN or/and PBOX models?

- POSITIVE: We have progressive fortified regional external relationships, we have already partners in concrete GN products (Awards,AXLDS/Explora Day and Talent Development) as MC Graw Hill, Phillips, E&Y. TO THINK ABOUT: Do we have the capacity,are we ready as countries to respond to the committments givento these stakeholders (SNs, high quality processes...)?

- POSITIVE: As territory, we are enthusiastic and hard partying people, full of energy and passion. TO THINK ABOUT: How much we translate this spirit into LEADERSHIP, high quality MC team management, and constant participation(forums, chats, even just BCP sharing and strong networking at international conferences)?

Even if everyone talks about it at the moment, I am also a FAN of Culture of Excellence as an entry point to leverage our results. I know that our challenges to perform our roles as MC (infrastructure,full time people, experience) seem to be harder than any STRATEGY, but I believe that it's possible to brake this "vicious circle" (I have no capacity to perform my role->I can't fully adopt strategies->I do not grow->I have no capacity to perform my role-> by just changing our attitude and COMMITTING, reality only forms around the committments we make ...

IN GENERAL - a GN (as I read recently)is like a neighbourhood, everybody has it's own house, where problems seem to be bigger than anything else, and finally the "own" problems are the ones that matter, and we completely forget to come together and try to make this common environment BETTER for each other. But what happens? If you have a FANCY, COOL house and your neighbourhood as a whole is crappy, it makes no sense, also the other way around, if you have a small, not that facy house, but if your neighborhood is very nice, very inviting, clean - be sure everytime you pass by to enter your house, you will get energy and ambition, greetings and help from your neighbours, and this be sure, is the best way to gain strengh to better your own house.

This were my two cents, sure is much more to discuss about SSGN and in a most specific way - we can keep doing it together!

Oriana