I have to prepare an excellent presentation - with the WHAT and the most enlighting WHY.

It is always good to ask consultants for advice on how to make a general catchy presentation, with good logical flow. A fellow student gave me excellent advice based on his experience of things that worked and did not work. His explanations were not only clear but his style was also extremely inspiring. I even look forward to spending another couple of hours on the presentation now! I have often been asked about the general working style of the school. The minutes that we spent scratching our heads over the crucial question of Dos and Donts in a presentation is very illustrative of the collaborative atmosphere that I have encountered on campus. Even the competitive grading system did not destroy this spirit. I have found it among the alumni community. I have found it among my fellow students. I have found it in the faculty. I find it in myself.

Do not get me wrong. People here are firm in their positions and high achievers, animated by unusually high levels of ambition. Yet there seems to be an underlying consensus that collaboration betters everyone's life and growth at the expense of others ultimately is ultimating self-limiting.

You might argue that if there is a cake, cutting a piece and handing it off to someone else evidently means less food for you. Only if you assume that there will be only one cake, or that you cannot change its size. Try cutting the cake, and share the list of ingredients as you hand over the piece. If you manage to satisfy the person's senses and appetite, he might shop for you to make another cake. Better, share the recipe and satisfy the other person's curiosity. Next time, this person will make the cake for you. The person might even add some fruits from their own garden, which will improve the taste tremendously.

At one point in the Bible, out of one piece of bread, Jesus feeds the crowd. Collaboration does the same. Obviously in the Bible, the act represents something totally different, and must not be mistaken for a parable on collaboration. Still, out of any given starting point, you can create ways to multiply the pieces of breads. So long as you make sure that you grab what you need, there will be more for others too. If you eat the bread before you think of these ways, you will starve people around you - and ultimately cut your own recurring feeding source.