Summertime and the livin is easy?

The summer portion of the LGO program is one of the busiest and "most awesome" times according to many LGOs. In fact one of the cool things we had the pleasure of experiencing together was building planes for our Lean Tools class. This 8 hour marathon session teaches you about the importance of improving (leaning) your process, determining waste, finding the root cause, takt time, cycle time, touch time, etc. My team (infinit8) help set the record for plane building in this specific class session, and this wouldn't have been possible if we didn't use Lean principles.

What you see here is my team's attempt to corner the double capacity jet market. Special thanks to Ryan for constructing the jet engines. We also get to do some fun "mathy" things, especially in our System Optimization class. For an example:

This is a revenue maximization during markdown periods problem. Fun. Many folks get overwhelmed at the amount of work, readings, and cases that needs to get done. And what is likely impossible for one, becomes much more tenable, and enjoyable, when working in the summer teams of 6. That is a time to really get to know your classmates and it makes the whole summer way more easy. Here is my team; I couldn't be more impressed with them.

Andreas wasn't in that picture. So here he is being the first one up the obstacle on Thomson Island.

Yeah. Summertime and the livins easy...

Finding Time to Relax and Enjoy the Tech Dingies

When you jump on the LGO train, you will find it very easy to immerse yourself in a myriad of tasks and activities, and once the train of readings, cases, p-sets, and meetings gets going, the ability to jump off and enjoy the amenities at MIT is a challenge. As an LGO, I have become quite judicious with my free time and I have picked up activities and hobbies that provide nourishment to my soul and body in some aspect. Sailing at MIT was something that I absolutely had to try and the picture above was taken at my very first sailing class, given on Sunday's at the MIT Sailing Pavilion. How many universities have a sailing pavilion 100 m from campus which allows you to learn and operate a "tech dingy" with impunity? That day on the Charles was a remarkable one indeed, firstly because I was able to experience it with another LGO, and secondly, as we were able to tack, jibe, and dock the boat without ending up in the drink. That day is one that no one should miss. Just a few of the other notable activities that LGO's are participating in are: An LGO game days sundays Basketball games fridays Karaoke nights on thursdays