Leading with love: Love is not just a feeling …

Leading with love: Love is not just a feeling …

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Love has no place in business.

At least, that is what conventional wisdom would have us believe.

But you, the Ad Astra cohort of September 2024, have proven otherwise.

Over the past 18 months, you've demonstrated that love—as a decision, a judgement, and a promise—is the invisible thread that binds great leaders, transforms organizations, and inspires change.

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Dear graduates,

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It is an honor to stand before you as we celebrate the culmination of a journey filled with hard work, growth, laughter, and perhaps a few late-night panics over assignment deadlines (Tuesday at 11:59 pm to be precise).

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It may take a few weeks to adjust to life without the instinct to enter a classroom at the sound of a cowbell or refresh your inbox at 4 pm on Thursdays awaiting an announcement.

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Looking out at all of you, I am reminded that the moments that define us are shaped by choices —some big, some small, but all significant.

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A year ago, when you joined the Mastery stage of the EMBA, you chose a path that has led you to this moment. You weighed your options carefully, considering the challenges and rewards that lay ahead, and you made a promise —not just to yourselves, to your families and employers, but to one another: you pledged to reach for the stars together, and you sensibly called your cohort “Ad Astra.”

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Throughout this journey, you’ve poured love, care, and attention into your work, your relationships, and each other. ?Looking at the printouts of your hard-earned degrees,

I wondered what makes each piece of paper so special. To answer, I found myself drawn back to my own story—in good leadership C-style.

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My mother still holds a piece of paper —a broken and yellowed ICRC laissez-passer that allowed her family to leave a refugee camp in Italy after World War II. As a child, she experienced both the anxiety of her parents choosing to leave the horror, but also everything that was familiar to her behind and the immense relief when they finally held that paper in their hands.

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It was not just a legal document; it was a symbol that someone cared, that someone had decided – with love – that they were valuable in a world where their lives seemed not to matter. It carried the promise of a future in Argentina, of which I am the proud product.

That future was shaped by love.

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Another piece of paper that I hold dear is my PhD degree.

After completing all my coursework and passing my comprehensive exams, life took an unexpected turn. I left the United States with unfinished business:

a dissertation still in draft form.

I married, had beautiful twin daughters and a successful consulting practice.

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For years, I debated whether I should return to my PhD, as life had moved on. But every six months, my PhD adviser would send a simple email: "What's up? How are things going?" These emails were lifelines, reminders that someone still believed in me and that the work I had started was valuable. Somebody cared.

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[Add slide with Fromm’s quote]

"Love is a decision, it is a judgment, it is a promise.

If love were only a feeling,

there would be no basis for the promise to love each other forever.”

Erich Fromm, The Art of Loving, 1956

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These papers in my life were more than just documents; they entailed decisions, judgements, and promises.

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As I reflect on the journey of the September 2024 "Ad Astra" cohort, it is this understanding of love that truly defines you.

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Yes, love —expressed through thoughtful investment in one another’s success—has been the driving force behind all you have achieved.

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Your presence here, with an IMD EMBA degree soon in hand, is proof that love is NOT just a feeling, but a deliberate commitment and the result of hard work.

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But even more, from now on, staying connected “forever” will take more decisions, judgements and promises.

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[Take quote off]

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Over the past year, each of you has made decisions that reflect not just your academic ambition but also, a deep sense of care and responsibility for one another.

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One of you chose a GIW to his home country, not only out of pride but to ensure his cohort experienced the essence of his homeland. He wore traditional clothes each day and meticulously organized daily (or should I say nightly?) restaurant outings and social activities.

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Yesterday, one of you presented a new project to the whole cohort, to get everybody’s valuable feedback

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Throughout this journey, we have celebrated birthdays and the arrival of two children. You have supported each other through heartbreaks, personal and professional, showing how deeply you cared for one another. I hope you felt that we cared too.

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I have seen some of you grow from quiet observers to self-assured leaders, ready to reshape the legacies of your businesses.

Others have learned to let go of perfection, choosing instead, to make space for others to grow and flourish. That decision —to hold space— Is, an act of love, the kind that builds lasting connections beyond academics.

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And of course, there were lighter moments. Like the time someone's shoes were stolen in India, or how you survived not only the Swiss armed forces crisis simulation but also a concert of snores with humor. (you know who you are …your partners know too)

Some of you were randomly interviewed by ABC on the streets of San Francisco, while one of you had the surreal experience of flying home with Steve Wozniak.

These were not just fun coincidences—they are part of the shared history that binds you together.

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Your journey reflects a profound truth about human success and fulfillment.

While the IMD EMBA equipped you with cutting-edge business knowledge, we have also fostered an environment where you could build a reflective practice and meaningful connections. A Harvard Study on Adult Development, led by Robert Waldinger, found thatthe most important contributor to a fulfilling life is love.

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The study revealed that people who stayed healthiest and lived longest were those with the strongest connections with others.

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I am positive that this EMBA degree represents more than just a piece of paper for you too.

It embodies the love you created together and the foundation for a fulfilling future.

As we come to the closing of this speech, I want to leave you with three final thoughts, in good IMD style:

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As you move forward, remember that

1-??? Love is a driving force for leadership and learning, and it is a daily choice.

Let the journey you started with this EMBA degree continue to ignite your growth as reflective leaders.

IMD will be here to support you in your lifelong learning journey.

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2-??? Love is also capacity to judge, to discern between right and wrong.

In a world where violence, polarization and artificial realities seem to have the upper hand, use your voice to courageously amplify truth, your skills to create opportunities for others, and your heart to build connections across divides.

That is what makes us human, We care. ?

You can count on me to be your ally!

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3-??? Finally,

love is also the promise to stay connected with each other and with us,

no matter where life takes you, the bonds you have forged here are invaluable, and the community you have built embodies the essence of what it means to be “Ad Astra.”

Believe me, the true power of IMD, lies in a strong and engaged alumni community.

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[Add slide with quote]

“And in the end

the love you take

is equal to the love you make”

The Beatles

The End, Abbey Road Album, 1969

Congratulations, Class of September 2024!

We are immensely proud of you. Continue to embrace love, through your personal growth, your relationships, and your engagement with the world.

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As The Beatles said "… in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make."

Thank you for listening.

Congratulations Abdullah A Al-Hammad, N. Sharon Anderes, Joaquín Ausejo Asiain, Saskia Boeve, Alfonso Clemente, Patricio Contesse Fica, Quentin de Rham, Roberta Duarte, Shqipe DushiPeja, Michel Frei, Krishna G V Giri, Adam Hansson T?nning, Stephanie Herzog, Felix Hug, Christian Hutter, ?? Elizabeth Jansen (Hubis), Olivia Klossner, Baldvin Kovács, Borrel Kuate, Sayat Kurmanbayev, Philipp Langer, Lei Lei, Andrea Liverani, JiangNan LUO, Luigi Mirri, Yuvraj Mohite, Mila ., Elham Pazirandeh-Micol Karine RICHARD, Arsen Sargsyan, Franck Evrard TANOH, Takeki Uematsu, Alexis Vacher, Reinout van Ierschot, Aldo van Schaick, Markos Vidalis, Selmona Walder, Jiajin Wang Luis Salcedo-Kosma