It's not just the economy that's in a slump

The hardest part of the semester is right about now. The homework, exams, and projects seem to cluster disproportionately, with predictable fatigue, illness, and motivation challenges. And that's just the professors.

The execution of a successful business strategy involves technology and business process that are beneficially and mutually reinforcing. In an ideal world, the adoption of a new technology includes process improvements, so that companies don't automate poor or ineffective processes, as new technology does not necessarily improve an old process. In the predictable mid-semester slump, the excitement of the collaborative learning classroom does little to alter the time-tested strategy used by all students: Take it one day, one exam, one project, one assignment at a time, knowing that some things will not receive the attention they deserve.

And this, too, is a transferable business skill, as sometimes all you can do is juggle your way through the crunch time.