 We Are All Wonder Women Co-founder Eugenie is currently undertaking an Executive MBA at the University of Cambridge. This is one is a series of blogs she is writing giving insight into some of her learning from the course which she hopes will help other Wonder Women at work.
I’ve just started studying for an Executive MBA at Cambridge University. One of the course readings for the MBA is The Flaw of Averages by Sam Savage. It is a fascinating read and has already improved my decision-making - even if it is just to ensure that my husband and I are not late for events :-) One area that has particularly struck me is a concept from decision analysis called the Value of Information. I think it has huge potential application in conservation.  International nature conservation is a hugely exciting area to work in. It’s creative, innovative, full of enthusiastic and dedicated people, and impactful. However, it’s also very busy. There are many, many opportunities and always another invitation to another hugely important and interesting event in another part of the world that, from a personal point of view, would be exciting to visit. And it is super hard to say ‘no’.
 We Are All Wonder Women Co-founder Eugenie is currently undertaking an Executive MBA at the University of Cambridge. This is one is a series of blogs she is writing giving insight into some of her learning from the course which she hopes will help other Wonder Women at work.
I worked on a hydroelectric power plant project when I was a consultant. We were given a dense set of hydrological reports with which to understand how the projected changes in hydrology would potentially impact on biodiversity. The key information given to us was the projected average flow of water from the dam. This was a number that was fixated on. However, after digging through 100s of pages of dense hydrological material I dug out the expected lowest and highest flows. And this was illuminating because it was 100% certain that at particular times of the year there would be no flow of water out of the dam. No water would have resulted in a massive impact to the ecology of the river downstream including fish kills. This is an example where the average wasn’t a useful piece of information for our decision-making.  We Are All Wonder Women Co-founder Eugenie is currently undertaking an Executive MBA at the University of Cambridge. This is one is a series of blogs she is writing giving insight into some of her learning from the course which she hopes will help other Wonder Women at work.
My 11-year old son was delighted when I came home from an MBA lecture to tell him that gaming is an important part of decision-making. I was surprised myself that this is a useful approach for work and something that should be used for often.  I arrived quite early for check-in at Maputo airport recently. In fact, I was about 45 minutes early. I waited for check-in to open on a small plastic bench, and immediately opened my smartphone to check my emails. But to my horror – no Wi-Fi! I was returning home after a long trip and didn’t have the mental energy required to start working on my laptop. I’d also just finished the only book I had bought along (note to self – always bring a back-up book!). So I just sat back, and started watching the people around me. Not just seeing them walking past or queuing up, but really noticing them. I started to think about their stories. What had brought them here, to this point, to cross my path at this moment, and then disappear forever from my story.
 Having a job where you get to travel around the world on a regular basis may sound glamourous, but the reality is often quite different. We both work for an international conservation charity, and find ourselves jetting to places across the globe to meet with colleagues old and new. We love the change of scenery, it’s a great the opportunity to meet our partners face-to-face and see the impact of our work on the ground. But there can be another side to the busy travel schedule of a successful Wonder Woman.
We recently saw Patti Smith performing in Cambridge and she was raw, honest, heartfelt and truly inspiring. She was herself. She didn’t pretend to be anything else. She stood up on stage as herself. No special effects, no costume, no makeup - just her, her band, and their music. And what made her act stand out from the other acts in the festival was that she knows who she is, she knows her strengths, and that is what she gives.
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January 2020
CategoriesWe Are All Wonder Women is an international movement for female conservation professionals to be inspired, connected, and empowered to create an authentic, fulfilling and happy career.
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