Andriy Tymoshenko

About the interview

President of the Oxford Community of Ukraine about studying for an MBA in one of the best business schools in the world, the power of simple things and the key to building effective project work.

Teaching

— Share your experience of studying in Oxford?

— I graduated from the Said Oxford Business School with an MBA. It is worth saying that at a certain stage of a career, such knowledge is not the most important thing, because now a lot of information can be obtained from books and online learning resources. The most important thing is to find yourself in an atmosphere of constant intellectual tension and in a circle of people who are looking for the same thing as you. I now understand that the integrated experience is much more important than individual things.

The most important thing is to find yourself in an atmosphere of constant intellectual tension and in a circle of people who are looking for the same thing as you.

Oxford University Library

— What does integrated experience consist of?

— I mean the general concentrated experience, which consists of communication with classmates and teachers of the curriculum. In particular, communication outside the educational institution is no less important.

It is important to understand that the business school I attended is part of a large university. My communication during my university life was not at all limited to the circle of managers and consultants.

It so happened that almost every day I communicated with architects, archaeologists and physicists. I am glad that while studying at the business school, I had the opportunity to communicate with various professional societies.

— What was your motivation for joining Said Business School?

— I always wanted to get an education abroad, but at the same time I approached such wishes quite pragmatically. To be honest, I thought it was impossible until I met colleagues who convinced me otherwise. They told me: “First, get into a good university, and money will take care of itself.” And so it happened: I enrolled and found money for studies.

I clearly understood that choosing a profession should be approached practically, that is, not to deviate from the general specialty. At first, I considered for myself such directions as “Public administration” or “Business management”. In the end, I decided that business would be more practical and useful for my career. I also wanted to complete a one-year program that would allow me to feel part of a large university, so the choice was pretty straightforward.

I always wanted to get an education abroad, but at the same time I approached such wishes quite pragmatically. To be honest, I thought it was impossible.

— What does Oxford represent for you as a great university?

— Oxford is a university that attracts with its history. Now it is quite modern. Oxford represents a combination of cultural traditions, teaching traditions and advanced scientific views.

Oxford is a university that attracts with its history.

— What is the difference between Western and Ukrainian education?

— According to the Soviet custom, our students are forced to study. In Western universities, no one forces you to do anything. You yourself choose the disciplines on which you want to concentrate and, according to your own choices and priorities, attend the necessary training courses. You are given a choice: you can study hard, or you can not do it. It is necessary to understand that your choice does not concern anyone except you.

You are given a choice: you can study hard, or you can not do it. It is necessary to understand that your choice does not concern anyone except you.

— What is the activity of the Oxford community in Ukraine?

— Our activity focuses on the social direction, because the goal is to maintain the social activity of community members. Our initiatives are aimed at integrating new members and maintaining communication between all members of the community.

I would like to note that everyone who is in the Oxford community is very interesting people, and each of them has an interesting story behind them. When we meet, we try to exchange something really important, to look for topics that unite us. As a rule, such an exchange motivates everyone to further personal growth.

When we meet, we try to exchange something really important, to look for topics that unite us.

Profession

— What about professional activity?

— The company I work for belongs to the so-called “Big Four”. We provide professional services. I manage the “Management Consulting” department. That is, we provide services for the strategy and operational efficiency of organizations.

— Can you share the latest projects you worked on?

— The last few years have been extremely important for the public sector as a whole, in particular for state-owned companies. Over the past years, many reforms have been implemented, and our company has also been involved in many projects.

Most of the projects were financed by donor organizations or our foreign partners. Thus, we have been involved in improving the efficiency of government bodies, such as streamlining and automating processes.

When you work side by side with the public sector, you see positive things happening in it. On the one hand, it seems that changes are taking place slowly, and on the other hand, at the state level, they can only happen gradually and in a coordinated manner.

On the one hand, it seems that changes are taking place slowly, and on the other hand, at the state level, they can only take place gradually and in a coordinated manner.

— What is most important in project activity, and how to moderate it more effectively?

— In business, everything revolves around project work, which requires strict discipline and coordinated communication both within the team and with clients. In the end, the result depends on communication with these groups of people.

To summarize, communication, discipline and attracting the necessary resources are the key points without which it is impossible to imagine building a successful project.

Some of my colleagues use similar professional approaches in their daily lives, but I still try to leave work at work.

— What is business for you, and what do you see as its useful function?

— First, we understand that the economy is formed by private and state companies. It is obvious that, first of all, it is private.

Secondly, our clients are both private and public organizations, so I am sure that we make a significant contribution to the overall development of Ukraine.

Our method is to calculate the factors that slow down the development of the organization. If we talk about our goal, it is to improve people’s lives.

Values

— What are the most relevant qualities for a leader today?

— Openness, honesty, energy, curiosity, strength and motivation to change something.

— Speaking of you, where do you get your motivation from?

— Speaking of motivation, in my case there are two aspects. Internal and external motivation. Accordingly, these are personal and professional goals that I set for myself and those that arise at a certain stage of formation and are organically integrated into my development. It should be noted that currently it is about acquiring new skills.

The other side is my team. I understand that the work of the team and its professional development depend on how well I perform my duties. In fact, I am talking about the factor of responsibility, which is the most stimulating and, moreover, affects me. After all, no matter what, the responsibility that you have to justify or not every day pushes you to new achievements.

The responsibility that you have to justify or not every day pushes you to new achievements.

— What people surrounded you during your MBA studies, and did they push you to be a maximalist?

— Many people with whom I studied worked in non-profit organizations or in the public sector. So I can say that it was not a classic MBA.

As for maximalism, after studying at a business school, I rather developed a valuable approach. Today, I start from the position that I need to do things that are really interesting to me, and at the same time can benefit other people.

This may be a rather simple answer, but I believe that the world revolves around simple things. One day you discover certain simple and at the same time important things that you cannot neglect.

I believe that the world revolves around simple things.

Worked on the material