Henry Tam and the Mgi Team

The situation involving the Harvard Business School students and the entrepreneurs of MGI is a very interesting one. On the surface, there appears to be interpersonal problems and sources of tension all over the place. I think one of the biggest problems, if not the biggest, is the lack of direction for MGI. Of course this is why MGI contracted some students, but the problem persists even after bringing students onboard.

Another problem is the perspective of the “Russians versus HBS”. This perspective is held by both Igor and Dav, indicating that it could be a very real fault line between two subgroups. Yet another problem is the noticeable tension between Dana and Sasha. It’s been noted that Sasha is the most emotional and outspoken of the group. These character traits can be good in some scenarios, typically for the sake of honesty and bluntness, but here they are the source of some problems within this particular group. There are other problems that can be listed here, but for the sake of brevity I feel that these issues are the most important to be addressed.

I feel that MGI’s troubles began long before any students entered the picture. Roman admitted early on that he and his friends Igor and Sasha are not easy to work with. This is partly due to personality traits such as Sasha’s pronounced character, but also due in part to the group’s inability to choose a direction in which to take the company in regards to markets and internal business operations, in addition to choosing a clear path on which to pursue a chosen direction.

The MGI team’s most noticeable strength is their passion for keeping the company going. Roman, Sasha and Igor are undoubtedly the most heavily-invested in this company and project, but every one of the students has a personal investment in this project, otherwise they never would’ve gotten involved. To say that this is the only real group-wide strength that I’m seeing (other than the brilliant idea for an interactive game)...