There were a lot of things I'd hoped to get out of business school -- I wanted to learn how to use business to make a positive social difference, expand my quantitative abilities, and get a great network; these were all a given and common reasons to take on such an educational venture.
But there were several other goals -- smaller things -- that I'd hoped to get out of my experience here at Cornell. It seems that a couple of them may soon come to pass.
One of them was learning to write a business plan. I signed up for the course, Entrepreneurship and Private Equity, knowing that the major course assignment was to form a team, brainstorm an idea, and write and present a complete business plan at the end of the semester. My new company is called Green Card Inc., and it's a way to help retailers and consumers use their existing purchasing behaviors to make a social difference.
The other thing I wanted to get out of school was something that had attracted me to Stanford University -- a course called Entrepreneurial Design for Extreme Affordability. The course put together teams of business students, engineers, education specialists, architects, etc. to design, prototype, and build affordable products that serve real needs of people in the developing world.
Though Cornell has a lot in common with Stanford -- strong engineering programs, large research potential, bright students -- it doesn't have a design institute or focus. So the burden fell to me to create the course that I'd desired to take at Stanford. I've found another student interested in moving this initiative forward, and we're working to make the course a reality under a different moniker -- Creative Design for Affordability.
This is still far from a reality, but the wheels are turning. I didn't realize how much of a challenge it would be to start a course from scratch, attract a faculty member, and design a syllabus...
Though a challenge, I'm convinced that, with enough enthusiasm and energy, we'll be able to make the course a reality. Now, turning our business plan into a profitable enterprise is another matter entirely.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
And then, everything changed...
As usual, it's been a while since I last wrote. This time, it's for good reason. I've been going through the biggest life changes in a long time. My wife and I decided to expand our family last week, and I'm now proud to consider myself a dad. No, I didn't neglect to write that my wife was pregnant, or that we were looking to adopt a child; we adopted a puppy from the SPCA. That's right. And her name is Darla.
Right now, you may be thinking how inappropriate it is for me to be writing about my new puppy on my Johnson School blog, but she's actually the reason for some of the biggest career decisions I've made, well, ever... Last week, sleep-deprived and overwhelmed with the fact that my family had just increased in size by 50%, I started to think long and hard about the decision at hand.
I think I've written in the past about my summer experience at Dun & Bradstreet in New Jersey, or at least alluded to it. Well, I was lucky enough to 1) have a great summer there, getting experience in everything from HR to marketing to Internet strategy and new product development, and 2) be extended an offer for full-time employment.
I was very happy about the offer, but the lure of the West Coast was calling me. I even traveled to San Francisco the other week to interview with D&B's recent acquisition, AllBusiness.com. It seemed a natural to be placed at a small media company on the West Coast; I already knew I liked D&B and I could satisfy my wanderlust for a little while longer. Unfortunately, the financial crisis prompted a quasi-hiring freeze for all of D&B, so there's just no position for me in SF at this stage.
When I heard the news, I thought I'd definitely look elsewhere and say thanks but no thanks to D&B's incredibly generous offer. Then came the puppy. I started thinking like a family man. Did I really want to start an entirely new job search, eschewing the company that I already knew and loved? More and more, the answer shifted to no.
A week later, I feel the distinct feeling in my gut that I've done the right thing, for me and my family. It just goes to show how quickly things change, and how different life can be on the other end of business school than it was at the beginning.
Right now, you may be thinking how inappropriate it is for me to be writing about my new puppy on my Johnson School blog, but she's actually the reason for some of the biggest career decisions I've made, well, ever... Last week, sleep-deprived and overwhelmed with the fact that my family had just increased in size by 50%, I started to think long and hard about the decision at hand.
I think I've written in the past about my summer experience at Dun & Bradstreet in New Jersey, or at least alluded to it. Well, I was lucky enough to 1) have a great summer there, getting experience in everything from HR to marketing to Internet strategy and new product development, and 2) be extended an offer for full-time employment.
I was very happy about the offer, but the lure of the West Coast was calling me. I even traveled to San Francisco the other week to interview with D&B's recent acquisition, AllBusiness.com. It seemed a natural to be placed at a small media company on the West Coast; I already knew I liked D&B and I could satisfy my wanderlust for a little while longer. Unfortunately, the financial crisis prompted a quasi-hiring freeze for all of D&B, so there's just no position for me in SF at this stage.
When I heard the news, I thought I'd definitely look elsewhere and say thanks but no thanks to D&B's incredibly generous offer. Then came the puppy. I started thinking like a family man. Did I really want to start an entirely new job search, eschewing the company that I already knew and loved? More and more, the answer shifted to no.
A week later, I feel the distinct feeling in my gut that I've done the right thing, for me and my family. It just goes to show how quickly things change, and how different life can be on the other end of business school than it was at the beginning.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Unexpected Business Experience
I never really expected extracurricular activities to supply me with the real management experience that I was seeking by attending business school. And even if I had an inkling that it could, I never would have guessed that it would come from running a newspaper.
When I got to the Johnson School, the last thing I thought I'd do was anything related to journalism. I knew the school had a student-run paper, but it didn't really occur to me to get involved. Of course, after a few months of the core, withdrawal symptoms from several years writing stories on deadline for BusinessWeek started to set in. Almost in spite of myself, I inquired about getting involved.
A month later, I started running the Cornell Business Journal. Of course, I wasn't alone. A fellow first-year named Vivek Pai assumed the role of Co-Editor; we figured two heads would be better than one, particularly because we were inheriting an independently run and funded organization (we survive by selling ads and don't take a dime from the school, so that we may maintain our independent spirit and right to cast a critical eye on any and all elements of life at the Johnson School).
When we took over, we were in a tough spot. There was almost no cash on hand to cover printing costs, and the staff was largely uninspired and oversubscribed with other activities.
Of course, I was overconfident. I figured it would be a snap to turn this thing around, reinvigorate the staff, and establish journalistic excellence -- all at the same time. But it hasn't quite worked out that way. The process has felt more like pulling ourselves up by the bootstraps. And, like just about everything I've been involved with at school, the process of finishing an issue sometimes finds itself temporarily demoted on my priority list. That's not to say I don't care about it; I think my role as Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Cornell Business Journal is what I care most about here at Johnson -- and the thing about which I'm most proud. It's just that the paper is always competing with at least ten other things on my to-do list.
It's now been close to a year since we took over the reigns from last year's second-year class, and I thought it time to take an honest look at the gap between the turnaround I thought I could pull off and what has actually transpired. After all, it's almost time to turn it over to the class of 2010.
So, how have we done? On the undeniably positive side, we'll turn the CBJ over to this year's class of first-years with probably four times the cash on hand as we had last year. We've put together some pretty solid marketing collateral that we use to approach potential advertisers (some of it was adapted from the hard work of previous classes). And I think we've established a pretty solid record of quality stories and writing.
Okay, enough patting myself on the back. Where we could have done better is getting more of a real team environment going. I pulled a number of people in to help run the paper last year, and some of them have fallen off at one point or another; we've had underperforming staff members and also some solid contributors. But I think the number one management challenge I've faced is figuring out how to compete for peoples' time and attention in the face of so many activities and responsibilities that go along with being a business school student.
Would I have an easier time of it in the real working world? Perhaps. I'm convinced that pinning people down would be easier in the real world, but the other issues we've had -- with maintaining quality, designing our organization to motivate workers, and some sporadic trouble with suppliers -- are all things that are omnipresent in the working world. Even if I hadn't taken anything at all from my classes (but, of course, I have), the experience of running the Cornell Business Journal, encountering and overcoming the challenges that I've noted above, would have made my time here worth it. I'm going back into the business world with much more theoretical knowledge, but also more hands-on experience, than I had when I got here. And despite the occasional challenge, I'm proud and thankful for the experience.
When I got to the Johnson School, the last thing I thought I'd do was anything related to journalism. I knew the school had a student-run paper, but it didn't really occur to me to get involved. Of course, after a few months of the core, withdrawal symptoms from several years writing stories on deadline for BusinessWeek started to set in. Almost in spite of myself, I inquired about getting involved.
A month later, I started running the Cornell Business Journal. Of course, I wasn't alone. A fellow first-year named Vivek Pai assumed the role of Co-Editor; we figured two heads would be better than one, particularly because we were inheriting an independently run and funded organization (we survive by selling ads and don't take a dime from the school, so that we may maintain our independent spirit and right to cast a critical eye on any and all elements of life at the Johnson School).
When we took over, we were in a tough spot. There was almost no cash on hand to cover printing costs, and the staff was largely uninspired and oversubscribed with other activities.
Of course, I was overconfident. I figured it would be a snap to turn this thing around, reinvigorate the staff, and establish journalistic excellence -- all at the same time. But it hasn't quite worked out that way. The process has felt more like pulling ourselves up by the bootstraps. And, like just about everything I've been involved with at school, the process of finishing an issue sometimes finds itself temporarily demoted on my priority list. That's not to say I don't care about it; I think my role as Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Cornell Business Journal is what I care most about here at Johnson -- and the thing about which I'm most proud. It's just that the paper is always competing with at least ten other things on my to-do list.
It's now been close to a year since we took over the reigns from last year's second-year class, and I thought it time to take an honest look at the gap between the turnaround I thought I could pull off and what has actually transpired. After all, it's almost time to turn it over to the class of 2010.
So, how have we done? On the undeniably positive side, we'll turn the CBJ over to this year's class of first-years with probably four times the cash on hand as we had last year. We've put together some pretty solid marketing collateral that we use to approach potential advertisers (some of it was adapted from the hard work of previous classes). And I think we've established a pretty solid record of quality stories and writing.
Okay, enough patting myself on the back. Where we could have done better is getting more of a real team environment going. I pulled a number of people in to help run the paper last year, and some of them have fallen off at one point or another; we've had underperforming staff members and also some solid contributors. But I think the number one management challenge I've faced is figuring out how to compete for peoples' time and attention in the face of so many activities and responsibilities that go along with being a business school student.
Would I have an easier time of it in the real working world? Perhaps. I'm convinced that pinning people down would be easier in the real world, but the other issues we've had -- with maintaining quality, designing our organization to motivate workers, and some sporadic trouble with suppliers -- are all things that are omnipresent in the working world. Even if I hadn't taken anything at all from my classes (but, of course, I have), the experience of running the Cornell Business Journal, encountering and overcoming the challenges that I've noted above, would have made my time here worth it. I'm going back into the business world with much more theoretical knowledge, but also more hands-on experience, than I had when I got here. And despite the occasional challenge, I'm proud and thankful for the experience.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
On Classes
I realized I haven't even done a rundown of classes for this semester yet, which should be a requirement for any student blogger, I think. I'm taking all good classes -- there's not that achilles heel one that really bothers me, which is nice.
Here are the highlights:
Entrepreneurship and Private Equity is taught by Professor David BenDaniel, a veteran of many a start-up board of directors. We get to do a bunch of live cases surrounding VC and PE investments, with the investors coming in to tell us how the funding and financing scenario all played out in real life. Also, the big assignment is presenting a complete business plan with detailed financials at the end of the semester, which is really exciting and one of the big reasons I came back to business school.
Managing Technology is jointly taught by Professors Ganem and Huttenlocher, an organic chemist and a computer scientist. We've had a number of interesting speakers to talk about the three fields of technology we cover in the class -- bio, info, and nanotechnology.
Negotiations is a great class, taught by Christin Munsch, a sociologist by training. It's a full semester of learning the ins and outs of how to approach a number of different negotiation scenarios, from increases in salary to full labor dispute resolution.
Integrated Marketing Communication, taught by Professor Raj (his first name is real long and hard to spell), is also a good course. We're doing a live consulting project for Kodak and get to learn about trends in advertising and marketing, and how to develop an integrated marketing communications plan across multiple platforms.
The last and probably my favorite class is Macroeconomics and International Trade, with Ori Heffetz. Ori is a really great teacher -- funny and knowledgeable. This is probably a little known fact outside of the Johnson School (I certainly didn't expect it coming in, and it definitely wasn't one of the main reasons I came to Johnson), but studying economics here is awesome. I had New York Times columnist and well-known author Bob Frank last year, and Ori Heffetz is just as good in the classroom.
So, that's the rundown. I've selected the courses for the specific skills I wanted to acquire, and so far, they're working out well.
Here are the highlights:
Entrepreneurship and Private Equity is taught by Professor David BenDaniel, a veteran of many a start-up board of directors. We get to do a bunch of live cases surrounding VC and PE investments, with the investors coming in to tell us how the funding and financing scenario all played out in real life. Also, the big assignment is presenting a complete business plan with detailed financials at the end of the semester, which is really exciting and one of the big reasons I came back to business school.
Managing Technology is jointly taught by Professors Ganem and Huttenlocher, an organic chemist and a computer scientist. We've had a number of interesting speakers to talk about the three fields of technology we cover in the class -- bio, info, and nanotechnology.
Negotiations is a great class, taught by Christin Munsch, a sociologist by training. It's a full semester of learning the ins and outs of how to approach a number of different negotiation scenarios, from increases in salary to full labor dispute resolution.
Integrated Marketing Communication, taught by Professor Raj (his first name is real long and hard to spell), is also a good course. We're doing a live consulting project for Kodak and get to learn about trends in advertising and marketing, and how to develop an integrated marketing communications plan across multiple platforms.
The last and probably my favorite class is Macroeconomics and International Trade, with Ori Heffetz. Ori is a really great teacher -- funny and knowledgeable. This is probably a little known fact outside of the Johnson School (I certainly didn't expect it coming in, and it definitely wasn't one of the main reasons I came to Johnson), but studying economics here is awesome. I had New York Times columnist and well-known author Bob Frank last year, and Ori Heffetz is just as good in the classroom.
So, that's the rundown. I've selected the courses for the specific skills I wanted to acquire, and so far, they're working out well.
Down to Earth
This has been a tough week, for myself and for our increasingly poor friend, the world economy. But, looking on the bright side, out of the rubble always rises something new. It's the principle of creative destruction, and it makes a whole lot of sense as long as it remains a quiet, well-behaved theory or a housebroken intellectual idea. It starts barking or doing its business on your carpet and that's another matter entirely. Try telling someone who's lost their mortgage, or the lion's share of their pension, that it might be for the best, or that their fortune might still be right around the corner.
By the same token, if you'd tried telling me last Thursday that my shoulder hanging out of its socket during my first-ever sparring match in boxing class was just a door closed and that God would be opening another, it would've taken me a little while to process those admitted words of wisdom.
What's funny about my dislocated shoulder is that it was more a final symptom than the cause of my strange mood. All I know is that I was down in the dumps, and I started thinking it was about all the crazy life decisions I have to make in, like, the next few weeks -- where I want to live, what kind of job I want to have, etc.
What I want to be sure of is that this business school experience leads me somewhere better. Isn't that why we come? To get some kind of a transformative experience? In reality, a means to an end is what many more of us seek, and all too often we're shuffled right into the path of least resistance. I don't want to go right back to New York. I don't want to go right back to the morning subway commute, succumbing to later and later dinners cause work got hectic.
I yearn for the beauty of California, the lifestyle where casual dress is the norm, and the ability to take weekend trips to Lake Tahoe or Santa Cruz or Yosemite or the Napa Valley. But, above all, it's the professional opportunities in San Francisco Bay Area that appeal to me above all others.
Just a little aside: Writing this blog is a funny experience, because it's not like I'm holding a two-way conversation with you, the reader. In fact, chances are good that you're reading this blog all in one shot, so taking a half-hour bus tour of my indecision and confusion. That seems a bit crazy in a place like business school, where the prevailing wisdom is that you should have it all figured out by now. Luckily, I'm not trying to pose as someone with everything figured out. I've got a lot of interests and a couple of relative aptitudes, and I'm still not entirely sure how they'll be put to the best use, but I think I know where -- California!
By the same token, if you'd tried telling me last Thursday that my shoulder hanging out of its socket during my first-ever sparring match in boxing class was just a door closed and that God would be opening another, it would've taken me a little while to process those admitted words of wisdom.
What's funny about my dislocated shoulder is that it was more a final symptom than the cause of my strange mood. All I know is that I was down in the dumps, and I started thinking it was about all the crazy life decisions I have to make in, like, the next few weeks -- where I want to live, what kind of job I want to have, etc.
What I want to be sure of is that this business school experience leads me somewhere better. Isn't that why we come? To get some kind of a transformative experience? In reality, a means to an end is what many more of us seek, and all too often we're shuffled right into the path of least resistance. I don't want to go right back to New York. I don't want to go right back to the morning subway commute, succumbing to later and later dinners cause work got hectic.
I yearn for the beauty of California, the lifestyle where casual dress is the norm, and the ability to take weekend trips to Lake Tahoe or Santa Cruz or Yosemite or the Napa Valley. But, above all, it's the professional opportunities in San Francisco Bay Area that appeal to me above all others.
Just a little aside: Writing this blog is a funny experience, because it's not like I'm holding a two-way conversation with you, the reader. In fact, chances are good that you're reading this blog all in one shot, so taking a half-hour bus tour of my indecision and confusion. That seems a bit crazy in a place like business school, where the prevailing wisdom is that you should have it all figured out by now. Luckily, I'm not trying to pose as someone with everything figured out. I've got a lot of interests and a couple of relative aptitudes, and I'm still not entirely sure how they'll be put to the best use, but I think I know where -- California!
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Two Inspiring Events
Oh, boy! This has been a really insane week of trauma and trouble on Wall Street, the presidential debates, and all sorts of concerns over a certain vice presidential candidate.
Despite all of that national drama, things at the Johnson School are still clicking along. I just want to highlight my day yesterday, and a couple of things that made me feel great about where I am right now. Let me first say that I'd been fighting a general malaise since returning to school -- some form of inertia had taken hold, no doubt due to a successful summer of work and the realization that second year is a lot more relaxed than first. I admit I'd been throttling back on my effort, especially as far as my extracurricular involvement has gone.
Then, yesterday, the Park Fellows held the first of our semi-annual volunteer days at local farm Compos Mentis which doubles as a non-profit benefiting adults with mental health issues. The Compos Mentis program aims to get people back on their feet, and back into school or the workforce.
Last year, I remember what a pleasure it was to get out of the classrooms and breakout rooms of Sage Hall and do some manual labor for the benefit of others.
This year was no different, and having the chance to hang out with some of the first-year Park Fellows, like Tyler Baier, a former champion wrestler and dairy farmer from Wisconsin, made this year's volunteer experience even better. 
The other event that reinforced my desire to stay involved and work hard for the benefit of others was the (newly-formed, formerly known as Net Impact) SGE Club meeting. It took place at The Big Red Barn, a nice space reserved for Cornell graduate students, not far from Sage Hall. I just have to hand it to the leadership of the club, including Bailey Stoler, Kevin Johnson, Ryan Kelley, Andrea Findley, Kate Capossela, Britta Von Oessen, Casey Ryan and others for taking what was a largely untapped mass of potential energy and figuring out how to put it to work; it's really a testament to what good organizational design can do.
Instead of maintaining the club as it previously existed -- an umbrella organization for students interested in all things associated with sustainability -- the club's leadership put its collective heads together and took a look at how it could become more relevant. What they came up with is a system where members form affinity groups, based on their more specific interests, within the larger club. For instance, I'd been involved last year in attempting to start a class based on Creative Design for Affordability, a concept popularized by IDEO and the Stanford Design School. By the end of last semester, when I spent a lot of alone time beating down doors of administration and trying to build interest, I was left frustrated and prepared to let the idea die.
But thanks to this new system, an Accelerated MBA student, Charles Lo, began an affinity group based on this very concept. With another student so inspired by these ideas, I'm finding myself reenergized to achieve our goals of organizing the creative energy around Cornell to help business school students get their hands dirty designing new products, and also excited and proud to be a part of the larger SGE Club.
Cornell has been selected to host next year's national Net Impact conference, and it's amazing to see the school leadership focused on innovating and leading the way on how to organize and make a real impact at school, and in the world.
Despite all of that national drama, things at the Johnson School are still clicking along. I just want to highlight my day yesterday, and a couple of things that made me feel great about where I am right now. Let me first say that I'd been fighting a general malaise since returning to school -- some form of inertia had taken hold, no doubt due to a successful summer of work and the realization that second year is a lot more relaxed than first. I admit I'd been throttling back on my effort, especially as far as my extracurricular involvement has gone.
Then, yesterday, the Park Fellows held the first of our semi-annual volunteer days at local farm Compos Mentis which doubles as a non-profit benefiting adults with mental health issues. The Compos Mentis program aims to get people back on their feet, and back into school or the workforce.
Last year, I remember what a pleasure it was to get out of the classrooms and breakout rooms of Sage Hall and do some manual labor for the benefit of others.
This year was no different, and having the chance to hang out with some of the first-year Park Fellows, like Tyler Baier, a former champion wrestler and dairy farmer from Wisconsin, made this year's volunteer experience even better. 
The other event that reinforced my desire to stay involved and work hard for the benefit of others was the (newly-formed, formerly known as Net Impact) SGE Club meeting. It took place at The Big Red Barn, a nice space reserved for Cornell graduate students, not far from Sage Hall. I just have to hand it to the leadership of the club, including Bailey Stoler, Kevin Johnson, Ryan Kelley, Andrea Findley, Kate Capossela, Britta Von Oessen, Casey Ryan and others for taking what was a largely untapped mass of potential energy and figuring out how to put it to work; it's really a testament to what good organizational design can do.
Instead of maintaining the club as it previously existed -- an umbrella organization for students interested in all things associated with sustainability -- the club's leadership put its collective heads together and took a look at how it could become more relevant. What they came up with is a system where members form affinity groups, based on their more specific interests, within the larger club. For instance, I'd been involved last year in attempting to start a class based on Creative Design for Affordability, a concept popularized by IDEO and the Stanford Design School. By the end of last semester, when I spent a lot of alone time beating down doors of administration and trying to build interest, I was left frustrated and prepared to let the idea die.
But thanks to this new system, an Accelerated MBA student, Charles Lo, began an affinity group based on this very concept. With another student so inspired by these ideas, I'm finding myself reenergized to achieve our goals of organizing the creative energy around Cornell to help business school students get their hands dirty designing new products, and also excited and proud to be a part of the larger SGE Club.
Cornell has been selected to host next year's national Net Impact conference, and it's amazing to see the school leadership focused on innovating and leading the way on how to organize and make a real impact at school, and in the world.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Stepping Way Outside of Sage Hall
I had originally planned to devote my second blog entry of the year to trumpeting how wonderful it is to take classes at different schools all over Cornell's campus. And it certainly is a uniquely advantageous attribute of this largest of Ivy League universities to be founded on the premise that any student should be able to study any subject of his or her choosing. But it's also tough to make that entry when I ended up dropping the very course I had planned to tout so vocally.
A little background: this summer, I took up stone sculpting (think hammer and chisel -- about as old-school as you can get) and thought it would be fun -- not to mention a nice release from the business school world -- to continue my artistic education at Cornell. In retrospect, the decision to sign up for an extra 3-credit, six hour per week class does seem a bit ambitious. I guess I supposed I'd fit it in somewhere between team meetings, job hunting, and running the business school's newspaper.
Let's just say that a story like mine, brief though it was, could probably only happen at Cornell. During the add-drop period, I enrolled in Introductory Sculpture in the art school (most don't even know Cornell has an art school). But there I was -- just me and a class of about 25 first-years. Now, I'm not talking first-year grad students; I'm talking about college freshmen -- 18 years old and about 3 weeks removed from living in their parents' house, eating home-cooked meals and daydreaming about mind expansion and no curfew. I admit I revelled for a class or two in my honorary status as class "old guy." But alas! In the end, spending 8-11 A.M. on Tuesday and Thursday constructing a full-sized human head out of clay proved too much for me.
Despite the fact that I am now an honorary art school dropout, I'm still eager to promote the ability of students at the Johnson School to immerse themselves in any subject of their choosing; I'm proud of the simple fact that I was able to have the experience I did. Though most of my classmates prefer to take classes in subjects like Hotel Management, Human Resources, and Energy Economics, I hope that my own brief sojourn into the undergrad art school will somehow make me a better -- or at least more well-rounded -- manager.
A little background: this summer, I took up stone sculpting (think hammer and chisel -- about as old-school as you can get) and thought it would be fun -- not to mention a nice release from the business school world -- to continue my artistic education at Cornell. In retrospect, the decision to sign up for an extra 3-credit, six hour per week class does seem a bit ambitious. I guess I supposed I'd fit it in somewhere between team meetings, job hunting, and running the business school's newspaper.
Let's just say that a story like mine, brief though it was, could probably only happen at Cornell. During the add-drop period, I enrolled in Introductory Sculpture in the art school (most don't even know Cornell has an art school). But there I was -- just me and a class of about 25 first-years. Now, I'm not talking first-year grad students; I'm talking about college freshmen -- 18 years old and about 3 weeks removed from living in their parents' house, eating home-cooked meals and daydreaming about mind expansion and no curfew. I admit I revelled for a class or two in my honorary status as class "old guy." But alas! In the end, spending 8-11 A.M. on Tuesday and Thursday constructing a full-sized human head out of clay proved too much for me.
Despite the fact that I am now an honorary art school dropout, I'm still eager to promote the ability of students at the Johnson School to immerse themselves in any subject of their choosing; I'm proud of the simple fact that I was able to have the experience I did. Though most of my classmates prefer to take classes in subjects like Hotel Management, Human Resources, and Energy Economics, I hope that my own brief sojourn into the undergrad art school will somehow make me a better -- or at least more well-rounded -- manager.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Second-Year Swagger
This is my first posting since the spring, when the unknown of my internship at Dun & Bradstreet beckoned me to beautiful New Jersey for a summer of HR strategy-related fun. Honestly, "beckoned" seems a bit of a romantic overstatement, as I now admit that my expectations going in were cloudy and less than superlative. But wow! I enjoyed my internship more than I ever could have expected -- great people, great program, great supervisor...
Now, back for my ultimate year at The Johnson School, I'm beginning to understand that second-year swagger that kinda annoyed me about last year's graduating class. How could one year make such a difference, I wondered? In the midst of first-year marketing math, accounting, and econ madness, I wondered how the class of 2008 could saunter into Sage Hall after I'd already been on campus for upwards of three and a half weeks -- slogging through Math Camp, Strategic Thinking Programs, two weeks of orientation, and a thousand other forms of cruel and unusual punishment (or so it seemed at the time) -- and seem so relaxed. I think it's because the feeling of being back in the working world for a summer and not falling flat has a certain mellowing effect. Also, many of us return with an offer in hand, and the promise of gainful employment at graduation already fulfilled. It's probably a combination of the above, along with a host of other elements. But there's definitely a difference -- a little more spring in my step -- and I'm thankful for it.
My theme for the year is "don't reinvent the wheel." Last year at this time, I barely knew how to get to the grocery store, which dry cleaner could turn around a suit with little notice, and what blend of Gimme Coffee would get me going in a pinch. Now, all of those little things are settled -- Wegmans on Rt. 13, Wyllie Dry Cleaning on W. Seneca St., and Mocha Java (and an occasional French Roast). The bigger things -- like knowing who to mountain bike with, how to make time for my lady when school stresses are piling up, and which classes will make me smarter and which will make me crazy -- are all the result of an incredibly transformative year of experience at Johnson, and at D&B.
All in all, it's good to be back, and I look forward to continuing to share my experiences with my blog readers this year. Feel free to submit comments, or to shoot me an email at jng28@cornell.edu with any questions or tirades about anything contained herein, or anything else that may strike your fancy. My goal is to give an honest look at life at The Johnson School and in Ithaca, and I'd love to know how I'm doing.
Now, back for my ultimate year at The Johnson School, I'm beginning to understand that second-year swagger that kinda annoyed me about last year's graduating class. How could one year make such a difference, I wondered? In the midst of first-year marketing math, accounting, and econ madness, I wondered how the class of 2008 could saunter into Sage Hall after I'd already been on campus for upwards of three and a half weeks -- slogging through Math Camp, Strategic Thinking Programs, two weeks of orientation, and a thousand other forms of cruel and unusual punishment (or so it seemed at the time) -- and seem so relaxed. I think it's because the feeling of being back in the working world for a summer and not falling flat has a certain mellowing effect. Also, many of us return with an offer in hand, and the promise of gainful employment at graduation already fulfilled. It's probably a combination of the above, along with a host of other elements. But there's definitely a difference -- a little more spring in my step -- and I'm thankful for it.
My theme for the year is "don't reinvent the wheel." Last year at this time, I barely knew how to get to the grocery store, which dry cleaner could turn around a suit with little notice, and what blend of Gimme Coffee would get me going in a pinch. Now, all of those little things are settled -- Wegmans on Rt. 13, Wyllie Dry Cleaning on W. Seneca St., and Mocha Java (and an occasional French Roast). The bigger things -- like knowing who to mountain bike with, how to make time for my lady when school stresses are piling up, and which classes will make me smarter and which will make me crazy -- are all the result of an incredibly transformative year of experience at Johnson, and at D&B.
All in all, it's good to be back, and I look forward to continuing to share my experiences with my blog readers this year. Feel free to submit comments, or to shoot me an email at jng28@cornell.edu with any questions or tirades about anything contained herein, or anything else that may strike your fancy. My goal is to give an honest look at life at The Johnson School and in Ithaca, and I'd love to know how I'm doing.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
First Year in the books
It's time to take a good, deep breath after an incredibly intense year. It's hard to believe I've been through the entire core curriculum and too many new experiences to name.
Just one note on the first year: I'm not a finance guy. It's taken a little bit of time to realize that, though I was pretty sure of this fact before I even came here. But everyone seems to get at least a little bit caught up in the drama and energy that surrounds the core finance course. That was all well and good, but I foolishly signed up for Financial Modeling, an elective filled with all sorts of former and aspiring bankers and analysts. I had a rough go of it, and it reminded me to keep a little bit to my strengths.
Most of us come to school to try new things and to leave our comfort zones. This is right and a great thing to do; however, I do think there is a limit to this admirable goal. If you realize you aren't enjoying some element of your studies, it's probably not a fluke. In other words, why punish yourself? Take classes that are challenging, but those that you enjoy. Enjoyment breeds motivation, which breeds increased learning, which breeds increased enjoyment and fulfillment. This is a big lesson I've learned in the first year.
I'll be back and blogging again next year, and I'll probably make a few posts this summer, when I'm at my internship.
Just one note on the first year: I'm not a finance guy. It's taken a little bit of time to realize that, though I was pretty sure of this fact before I even came here. But everyone seems to get at least a little bit caught up in the drama and energy that surrounds the core finance course. That was all well and good, but I foolishly signed up for Financial Modeling, an elective filled with all sorts of former and aspiring bankers and analysts. I had a rough go of it, and it reminded me to keep a little bit to my strengths.
Most of us come to school to try new things and to leave our comfort zones. This is right and a great thing to do; however, I do think there is a limit to this admirable goal. If you realize you aren't enjoying some element of your studies, it's probably not a fluke. In other words, why punish yourself? Take classes that are challenging, but those that you enjoy. Enjoyment breeds motivation, which breeds increased learning, which breeds increased enjoyment and fulfillment. This is a big lesson I've learned in the first year.
I'll be back and blogging again next year, and I'll probably make a few posts this summer, when I'm at my internship.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Spring Break blogging
As I sit here in my comfortable apartment, enjoying some Spring Break, there's just one thing missing -- Spring. I just got back from a weekend in Atlantic City and New York (my brother's bachelor party), and it's amazing how quickly the climate can change. In AC, the evening had a comfortable temperature to it, like a jacket was optional. And yesterday on the ride up, the countryside was bathed in warm (looking) sunshine. But arriving at home, I flipped on the Weather Channel, and sure enough, it said Ithaca's temperature is holding steady at 30 degrees!
But this all plays into my own personal philosophy about the merits of living in a cold climate. Officially, Spring is still a week or so away. And though I have this yearning for the weather to make its change, I know in my mind that Ithaca won't give up her cold weather until sometime in April. But somewhere during that time of hoping for Spring and when it comes, the desire for warm weather, barbecues, and sunset walks in short sleeves will get so unbearable that the final reward becomes that much sweeter.
I write this from experience, mind you. I did my undergrad in Vermont, which has a similarly long winter but also a period of about a month on the cusp of Spring when you can't walk on the grass, affectionately(?) known as "mud season."
Enough about weather. That's not what my millions of readers want to hear about. They want to hear about how business school is going to help them land a great job and make lots of money. Well, there's just one small thing about that... Seems every time I go to school, I'm kind of on the wrong end of an economic cycle. When I graduated from college in 2001, the dot-com bubble had sprung a tiny leak. My job search that year was a short one, and I was happy to land in a year of national service with AmeriCorps in San Diego (could be worse, right?).
Funny how this blog post began with the dragging winter, then discussed the current economic downturn, but has progressed to sunnier pastures! It's also funny how my wife and me are talking about another sojourn to California after school. Of course, that's not set in stone. And as my native Ithacan friend, who also did undergrad and grad school here at Cornell has said, "I wonder how many decisions to move to California have been made in the depth of an Ithaca winter..." At least a few, I'd say. But probably more than a few of those have been overturned when the fresh vegetables start to appear in the Ithaca Farmers Market, and icy walks to school are replaced with dips in showering waterfalls.
Did I mention I'm on Spring Break? And my wife is out of town? Translation: a lot of time on my hands to think and write about things like the above.
About the beginning of the second quarter. I'm delighted that my HR class will continue for the remainder of Spring semester. As I've related in earlier posts, the pace of the semester-long class is so much more placid and enjoyable after the core; it's one of the pleasures of taking classes outside the Johnson School once in a while.
I'm also taking the final core class, Managing and Leading Organizations, which covers topics of great interest to me like leadership development, HR, and aligning those with strategy. Oral Communication seems like a great (and surprisingly rigorous) course as well. The final one (and the one I'll be glad I took like a nice long gulp of cough medicine) is financial modeling. Luckily, the professor in modeling, Julia D'Souza, seems the right blend of patient and tough.
Other activities on the docket for Spring are finishing my Big Red Incubator project -- that includes a final presentation to our client company and doing a thorough market entry plan for them.
And there's the Cornell Business Journal, which has become the best business experience of my time here... I believe I've touched on this in previous posts, but to reiterate -- the CBJ is an independent organization (i.e. not a formal Johnson School club), so we don't have access to school funds. We do this to maintain our journalistic integrity as perhaps the only potentially dissenting voice at the school (which we haven't used very much so far). As an independent entity, we operate like any other newspaper, relying on advertising to stay afloat. Inheriting the paper from last year's team, my team and I want to build on what they did -- editorially and on the business side -- so, we've begun an initiative to go after advertisers and pay sellers a 10% commission to do so. For me, it's exciting to be leading a "turnaround," and the thought of having the paper be a really fun group to be a part of -- funding parties and events -- makes it worthwhile.
One final thing I'll be up to this spring -- the Park fellowship requires that all fellows complete a service project to benefit the school or the community. Our proposal is due May 1, and for mine, I've set out to create a new class which would pair engineers and business school students to design radically affordable products for populations in the developing world. I've had my first couple of conversations with faculty and staff, and I can see that it will be a major challenge to bring the course to fruition in a form resembling my own vision. But I'll use this forum as a way to document my progress.
But this all plays into my own personal philosophy about the merits of living in a cold climate. Officially, Spring is still a week or so away. And though I have this yearning for the weather to make its change, I know in my mind that Ithaca won't give up her cold weather until sometime in April. But somewhere during that time of hoping for Spring and when it comes, the desire for warm weather, barbecues, and sunset walks in short sleeves will get so unbearable that the final reward becomes that much sweeter.
I write this from experience, mind you. I did my undergrad in Vermont, which has a similarly long winter but also a period of about a month on the cusp of Spring when you can't walk on the grass, affectionately(?) known as "mud season."
Enough about weather. That's not what my millions of readers want to hear about. They want to hear about how business school is going to help them land a great job and make lots of money. Well, there's just one small thing about that... Seems every time I go to school, I'm kind of on the wrong end of an economic cycle. When I graduated from college in 2001, the dot-com bubble had sprung a tiny leak. My job search that year was a short one, and I was happy to land in a year of national service with AmeriCorps in San Diego (could be worse, right?).
Funny how this blog post began with the dragging winter, then discussed the current economic downturn, but has progressed to sunnier pastures! It's also funny how my wife and me are talking about another sojourn to California after school. Of course, that's not set in stone. And as my native Ithacan friend, who also did undergrad and grad school here at Cornell has said, "I wonder how many decisions to move to California have been made in the depth of an Ithaca winter..." At least a few, I'd say. But probably more than a few of those have been overturned when the fresh vegetables start to appear in the Ithaca Farmers Market, and icy walks to school are replaced with dips in showering waterfalls.
Did I mention I'm on Spring Break? And my wife is out of town? Translation: a lot of time on my hands to think and write about things like the above.
About the beginning of the second quarter. I'm delighted that my HR class will continue for the remainder of Spring semester. As I've related in earlier posts, the pace of the semester-long class is so much more placid and enjoyable after the core; it's one of the pleasures of taking classes outside the Johnson School once in a while.
I'm also taking the final core class, Managing and Leading Organizations, which covers topics of great interest to me like leadership development, HR, and aligning those with strategy. Oral Communication seems like a great (and surprisingly rigorous) course as well. The final one (and the one I'll be glad I took like a nice long gulp of cough medicine) is financial modeling. Luckily, the professor in modeling, Julia D'Souza, seems the right blend of patient and tough.
Other activities on the docket for Spring are finishing my Big Red Incubator project -- that includes a final presentation to our client company and doing a thorough market entry plan for them.
And there's the Cornell Business Journal, which has become the best business experience of my time here... I believe I've touched on this in previous posts, but to reiterate -- the CBJ is an independent organization (i.e. not a formal Johnson School club), so we don't have access to school funds. We do this to maintain our journalistic integrity as perhaps the only potentially dissenting voice at the school (which we haven't used very much so far). As an independent entity, we operate like any other newspaper, relying on advertising to stay afloat. Inheriting the paper from last year's team, my team and I want to build on what they did -- editorially and on the business side -- so, we've begun an initiative to go after advertisers and pay sellers a 10% commission to do so. For me, it's exciting to be leading a "turnaround," and the thought of having the paper be a really fun group to be a part of -- funding parties and events -- makes it worthwhile.
One final thing I'll be up to this spring -- the Park fellowship requires that all fellows complete a service project to benefit the school or the community. Our proposal is due May 1, and for mine, I've set out to create a new class which would pair engineers and business school students to design radically affordable products for populations in the developing world. I've had my first couple of conversations with faculty and staff, and I can see that it will be a major challenge to bring the course to fruition in a form resembling my own vision. But I'll use this forum as a way to document my progress.
Monday, March 3, 2008
After a long hiatus
Sheesh. It's been a while since I last blogged, and a lot has happened.
One, I found an internship. Those of you who have read this blog from the beginning have borne witness to the many twists and turns that my mental projections of my career path have taken. I started out wanting to start a world-changing company, then I was sure I'd work for a start-up in clean tech, or maybe for GE, or the New York Times, or in education. But after much thought and a rather intuitive approach to the job search, I eventually settled on a dark horse candidate: Dun and Bradstreet. I'll be a part of their Winning Culture team for the summer, which is their department that handles HR strategy, leadership development, and organizational change issues. I'll be working under some amazing folks, who showed me a great time when I went down to their recruiting event a couple weeks ago.
Another thing that's happened is I've actually enjoyed my first quarter of second semester. The decision to do a customized immersion was the best I've made all year. I love the Sustainable Global Enterprise elective course, and HR is awesome. Those are probably my highlights, along with Strategic Alliances and Operations. Managerial Spreadsheet Modeling is the thorn in my side, not because it isn't a great class (I actually recommend it), but because it's a challenge for me personally. I had never used Excel before business school, and even though the level of proficiency required for the MBA program is even lower than I had expected, it is clear that those that have an edge in Excel are better off in the business world -- or at least freer from the curse that is busy work and data entry. After all, we're here to become managers, right?
We've also hosted two of the Park Finalist weekends, and I've enjoyed bowling with many prospective students who have read this very blog. That's probably the biggest motivation for me to pick up the proverbial pen again and blog -- I keep running into people who read my posts. But, I do want to remark on the quality of the applicants I've met, whether they are Park Finalists or not. A lot of really intelligent and interesting folks have been through Ithaca this year, and I look forward to greeting next year's class.
What else? Oh, my Cornell Business Journal team and I have put out two issues of the paper, and I'm proud of the work we've done so far. We've gotten positive feedback, which makes me feel great about the hard work I put in.
That's it for now. I better get outside and enjoy the warmest day in months -- it's about 60 and sunny out there.
One, I found an internship. Those of you who have read this blog from the beginning have borne witness to the many twists and turns that my mental projections of my career path have taken. I started out wanting to start a world-changing company, then I was sure I'd work for a start-up in clean tech, or maybe for GE, or the New York Times, or in education. But after much thought and a rather intuitive approach to the job search, I eventually settled on a dark horse candidate: Dun and Bradstreet. I'll be a part of their Winning Culture team for the summer, which is their department that handles HR strategy, leadership development, and organizational change issues. I'll be working under some amazing folks, who showed me a great time when I went down to their recruiting event a couple weeks ago.
Another thing that's happened is I've actually enjoyed my first quarter of second semester. The decision to do a customized immersion was the best I've made all year. I love the Sustainable Global Enterprise elective course, and HR is awesome. Those are probably my highlights, along with Strategic Alliances and Operations. Managerial Spreadsheet Modeling is the thorn in my side, not because it isn't a great class (I actually recommend it), but because it's a challenge for me personally. I had never used Excel before business school, and even though the level of proficiency required for the MBA program is even lower than I had expected, it is clear that those that have an edge in Excel are better off in the business world -- or at least freer from the curse that is busy work and data entry. After all, we're here to become managers, right?
We've also hosted two of the Park Finalist weekends, and I've enjoyed bowling with many prospective students who have read this very blog. That's probably the biggest motivation for me to pick up the proverbial pen again and blog -- I keep running into people who read my posts. But, I do want to remark on the quality of the applicants I've met, whether they are Park Finalists or not. A lot of really intelligent and interesting folks have been through Ithaca this year, and I look forward to greeting next year's class.
What else? Oh, my Cornell Business Journal team and I have put out two issues of the paper, and I'm proud of the work we've done so far. We've gotten positive feedback, which makes me feel great about the hard work I put in.
That's it for now. I better get outside and enjoy the warmest day in months -- it's about 60 and sunny out there.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Super Bowl Sunday
... and we're two weeks deep into the semester already.
But first, about the game -- I think I share the sentiments of many. The Giants look good, and an upset would be world-shaking, but it would be fun to witness a historic 19-0 season for the Patriots. But above all, a good game would satisfy me more than either outcome alone.
So, back to matters of business school. This week, I got to reexamine how things are going with the new semester. What becomes evident over and over again is the contrast between my life now and my life during the first semester. I had a talk with a friend at this week's Sage Social on this exact topic -- he said he misses sharing every aspect of the business school experience with all of his classmates. I disagree. I think it's great to see people focusing on their interests, getting to build the skills they came here to build. We've all got a challenging experience in common, but now we're all free to express our individuality.
Another feeling that has started to emerge is a feeling of thankfulness for the core. It was really challenging, and I wouldn't want to go back and do it again, but at the same time, I never would've voluntarily signed up for the quant-heavy course-load unless I was forced to do so. The system succeeds in giving all Johnson students the same background in the building blocks of business, and it makes all subsequent courses more meaningful, viewed through the post-core lens.
The concepts I've learned -- at first a jumble of seemingly unrelated practices and behaviors -- continue to come together for me, in all sorts of unexpected ways. For instance, I spent a month straight practicing case interviews for my second-round interview with the New York Times Strategic Planning department. At first, it seemed like it might be fruitless (especially if I don't end up getting the job), but I think that the skills it builds -- diagnostics and deductive reasoning -- have already started to serve me in class and in business projects I'm working on.
Another new development this week. This Friday, my fifth course of the semester, a three-day course on Strategic Alliances, started. The class is taught by a non-traditional faculty member named Jan Suwinski, a 32-year Corning executive, who himself managed strategic partnerships with Korean electronics company Samsung, among others. His vast experience and humor colors class discussion in a great way. And who better to learn about strategic alliances from than someone who's built them time and again?
Now, I officially like all of my classes this semester.
But first, about the game -- I think I share the sentiments of many. The Giants look good, and an upset would be world-shaking, but it would be fun to witness a historic 19-0 season for the Patriots. But above all, a good game would satisfy me more than either outcome alone.
So, back to matters of business school. This week, I got to reexamine how things are going with the new semester. What becomes evident over and over again is the contrast between my life now and my life during the first semester. I had a talk with a friend at this week's Sage Social on this exact topic -- he said he misses sharing every aspect of the business school experience with all of his classmates. I disagree. I think it's great to see people focusing on their interests, getting to build the skills they came here to build. We've all got a challenging experience in common, but now we're all free to express our individuality.
Another feeling that has started to emerge is a feeling of thankfulness for the core. It was really challenging, and I wouldn't want to go back and do it again, but at the same time, I never would've voluntarily signed up for the quant-heavy course-load unless I was forced to do so. The system succeeds in giving all Johnson students the same background in the building blocks of business, and it makes all subsequent courses more meaningful, viewed through the post-core lens.
The concepts I've learned -- at first a jumble of seemingly unrelated practices and behaviors -- continue to come together for me, in all sorts of unexpected ways. For instance, I spent a month straight practicing case interviews for my second-round interview with the New York Times Strategic Planning department. At first, it seemed like it might be fruitless (especially if I don't end up getting the job), but I think that the skills it builds -- diagnostics and deductive reasoning -- have already started to serve me in class and in business projects I'm working on.
Another new development this week. This Friday, my fifth course of the semester, a three-day course on Strategic Alliances, started. The class is taught by a non-traditional faculty member named Jan Suwinski, a 32-year Corning executive, who himself managed strategic partnerships with Korean electronics company Samsung, among others. His vast experience and humor colors class discussion in a great way. And who better to learn about strategic alliances from than someone who's built them time and again?
Now, I officially like all of my classes this semester.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
First Park Finalist Weekend
Well, the first week of the second semester is now over, and I've already succeeded in breaking my promise to blog 3-5 times every day last week. I guess maybe the week wasn't as interesting as I expected it to be -- and I guess that's probably a good thing. Definitely a good thing, the more I think about it.
Friday morning, I woke up and had the chance to write. And for the first time in a long time, I was doing it only for myself. The act in itself was healing, and I was glad I found the time. Then, I went snowboarding at Greek Peak until around 1, when I jetted back to Ithaca for a 2 p.m. team meeting for the strategy case on Donner Company. The day was sunny and the snow was good, so spending some time with new friends on the slopes was a welcome activity and something I never would've had time to do last semester. Of course, things haven't heated up yet, so I'm not taking anything for granted.
One thing I can say about the first week of classes is that I feel liberated by the amount of choice I have -- in the classes I'm taking, mostly. It feels wonderful to choose how I want my schedule to fall, to take classes to explore topics I might have an enduring interest in, and to choose the skills I think will help me in my future career. So, I probably wrote all of the above in some form or other last week, but liberation has been the key word this week.
After the Friday meeting, I picked up my lady, and we went to hang out with some friends for a couple hours before turning in.
Saturday turned into a day of mid-Winter cleaning, getting our apartment in the kind of livable shape we might've in August. In the evening, I had the opportunity to meet the first group of Park Fellows finalists. Now, this was an event I'd been anticipating for an entire year, since I was in their shoes. That night exactly a year ago, I made the resolution that, if I got the fellowship, I'd really enjoy the experience of pizza, beer, and bowling; last year, I was too nervous for beer or bowling, though I did scarf down a piece of pizza. And I did enjoy it -- a lot. I bowled with a vengeance, and of course made time to talk with probably 10 of the prospectives about their lives, aspirations, and thoughts about business school. I was impressed by their calm manner, and of course by their backgrounds and experiences. I look forward to three more weekends of meeting the finalists, and hopefully seeing all of them here next year, whether they get the fellowship or not.
All in all, it was a good weekend. I'm looking forward to this week, getting really into my classes, and hopefully hearing back about a possible internship with the New York Times. I'm hoping for the best...
Friday morning, I woke up and had the chance to write. And for the first time in a long time, I was doing it only for myself. The act in itself was healing, and I was glad I found the time. Then, I went snowboarding at Greek Peak until around 1, when I jetted back to Ithaca for a 2 p.m. team meeting for the strategy case on Donner Company. The day was sunny and the snow was good, so spending some time with new friends on the slopes was a welcome activity and something I never would've had time to do last semester. Of course, things haven't heated up yet, so I'm not taking anything for granted.
One thing I can say about the first week of classes is that I feel liberated by the amount of choice I have -- in the classes I'm taking, mostly. It feels wonderful to choose how I want my schedule to fall, to take classes to explore topics I might have an enduring interest in, and to choose the skills I think will help me in my future career. So, I probably wrote all of the above in some form or other last week, but liberation has been the key word this week.
After the Friday meeting, I picked up my lady, and we went to hang out with some friends for a couple hours before turning in.
Saturday turned into a day of mid-Winter cleaning, getting our apartment in the kind of livable shape we might've in August. In the evening, I had the opportunity to meet the first group of Park Fellows finalists. Now, this was an event I'd been anticipating for an entire year, since I was in their shoes. That night exactly a year ago, I made the resolution that, if I got the fellowship, I'd really enjoy the experience of pizza, beer, and bowling; last year, I was too nervous for beer or bowling, though I did scarf down a piece of pizza. And I did enjoy it -- a lot. I bowled with a vengeance, and of course made time to talk with probably 10 of the prospectives about their lives, aspirations, and thoughts about business school. I was impressed by their calm manner, and of course by their backgrounds and experiences. I look forward to three more weekends of meeting the finalists, and hopefully seeing all of them here next year, whether they get the fellowship or not.
All in all, it was a good weekend. I'm looking forward to this week, getting really into my classes, and hopefully hearing back about a possible internship with the New York Times. I'm hoping for the best...
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Relatively uneventful
Today was relatively uneventful, but for the fact that I succeeded in maintaining my exercise regimen for the first week of the semester. Also, Operations is proving to be a lot more interesting and engaging than expected, largely due to the solid teaching of Vishal Gaur, the new professor. That was the only class of the day, as Thursdays are looking to be pretty slooooowww...
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
End of Wednesday
Wednesday was an eventful one, full of activities, as usual. I heard from good friends in Argentina that they are getting married this May. Bummer! At first, I was hoping it was next May, which would give me some hope of attending, but no such luck.
After last writing, spreadsheet modeling rocked my world. We had an assessment quiz to see how experienced we are with Excel; I don't think I knew a single answer...
Then, I just held the monthly story meeting for the Cornell Business Journal, our student newspaper. The turnout was small but eager, so we're looking good for issue #2 under new leadership.
I spent all day working in hopes that I could get home at a reasonable time to take in a movie with my wife, so that's where I'm headed.
Until tomorrow...
After last writing, spreadsheet modeling rocked my world. We had an assessment quiz to see how experienced we are with Excel; I don't think I knew a single answer...
Then, I just held the monthly story meeting for the Cornell Business Journal, our student newspaper. The turnout was small but eager, so we're looking good for issue #2 under new leadership.
I spent all day working in hopes that I could get home at a reasonable time to take in a movie with my wife, so that's where I'm headed.
Until tomorrow...
BRI Meeting
I just finished SGE class, where we discussed our definitions of globalization, and how the needs of people in the established, emerging, and survival economies make for different business opportunities. We're reading Capitalism at the Crossroads by Stuart Hart, which is a great book that I'm actually rereading.
After class, my team and I met to discuss our Big Red Incubator project. We have our first deliverable due next Thursday, so we met and plotted our strategy for putting together something that will be really useful to the client.
So far, I can really recommend BRI as an extracurricular activity. My team of three has a local client (can't provide specifics due to a non-disclosure agreement) in the energy space, and we have already succeeded in shaking up the way our company looks at their eventual market entrance. We aim to help them succeed and help them manage expectations, since like many small start-up entrepreneurs, they believe they're going to take over the world by next year. As business school students, we can help take them through a proper market segmentation process and make specific incremental recommendations that will get them set up for the long-term.
Next, I have spreadsheet modeling class, which has a quiz to test my Excel skills (or lack thereof, which is why I'm taking the class in the first place). Fingers are crossed on that one.
After class, my team and I met to discuss our Big Red Incubator project. We have our first deliverable due next Thursday, so we met and plotted our strategy for putting together something that will be really useful to the client.
So far, I can really recommend BRI as an extracurricular activity. My team of three has a local client (can't provide specifics due to a non-disclosure agreement) in the energy space, and we have already succeeded in shaking up the way our company looks at their eventual market entrance. We aim to help them succeed and help them manage expectations, since like many small start-up entrepreneurs, they believe they're going to take over the world by next year. As business school students, we can help take them through a proper market segmentation process and make specific incremental recommendations that will get them set up for the long-term.
Next, I have spreadsheet modeling class, which has a quiz to test my Excel skills (or lack thereof, which is why I'm taking the class in the first place). Fingers are crossed on that one.
January 23
The semester gets me going like no other. My alarm was set for 7 this morning, and wouldn't you know it? I woke up a half hour ahead of it - "man, if I can just get back to sleep within 10 minutes, I'll be set." After lying there for 12, I decided to cut my losses.
I got up to Ives Hall around 8:30 for day 2 of my HR survey course with Professor Brad Bell. We read a good article for today called "Why I Hate HR," which was a cover story in Fast Company in 2005. It looked at all the complaints that managers and employees have about the HR field, especially how business strategy and HR, though supposedly aligned, seldom are. To me, this is one of the most often ignored issues in business -- how to help people feel connected to the company's strategy, and to develop real, replicable systems to keep them engaged and dedicated to the company's mission.
The class had a good bit of discussion, and I'm glad I chose to venture outside of the Johnson School for the first time.
I've just been in the library working on the third case (in three days) for Operations. The class is still interesting, and I am enjoying the outside reading of the operations-centric novel, The Goal.
I'm about to wrap up and head to SGE.
I got up to Ives Hall around 8:30 for day 2 of my HR survey course with Professor Brad Bell. We read a good article for today called "Why I Hate HR," which was a cover story in Fast Company in 2005. It looked at all the complaints that managers and employees have about the HR field, especially how business strategy and HR, though supposedly aligned, seldom are. To me, this is one of the most often ignored issues in business -- how to help people feel connected to the company's strategy, and to develop real, replicable systems to keep them engaged and dedicated to the company's mission.
The class had a good bit of discussion, and I'm glad I chose to venture outside of the Johnson School for the first time.
I've just been in the library working on the third case (in three days) for Operations. The class is still interesting, and I am enjoying the outside reading of the operations-centric novel, The Goal.
I'm about to wrap up and head to SGE.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Internship talk
I just had a really interesting conversation with a gentleman from MFIC, the organization that I mentioned in the previous post. Their company is expanding into Mexico, Guatemala, and Bolivia with the financial products that they currently offer elsewhere, and an internship with them would be incredible, in that I'd be able to use my Spanish and maybe even travel abroad.
The only downside is that they do their hiring later in the semester -- probably around late April. In the MBA world, where the vast majority of first-years are interviewing during January for their summer jobs, the talent pool shrinks significantly by then. But as someone who's doing a largely off-campus job search, folks like me have to be prepared to wait a while for the right opportunity. Less than the specific industry (within the few that I'm targeting), I'm most interested in finding an opportunity that doesn't require mind-numbing busy work. I'm looking for something that makes an impact, something that expands my horizons and excites me. And I've got to believe in the organization's mission, which, in the case of MFIC, I overwhelmingly do.
Overall, the discussion was exciting, but it reminded me that the job search is really less a sprint than a marathon.
The only downside is that they do their hiring later in the semester -- probably around late April. In the MBA world, where the vast majority of first-years are interviewing during January for their summer jobs, the talent pool shrinks significantly by then. But as someone who's doing a largely off-campus job search, folks like me have to be prepared to wait a while for the right opportunity. Less than the specific industry (within the few that I'm targeting), I'm most interested in finding an opportunity that doesn't require mind-numbing busy work. I'm looking for something that makes an impact, something that expands my horizons and excites me. And I've got to believe in the organization's mission, which, in the case of MFIC, I overwhelmingly do.
Overall, the discussion was exciting, but it reminded me that the job search is really less a sprint than a marathon.
January 22 -- second post
I've just spent the last 2 and a half hours in the library, reading articles for SGE and HR classes, formally dropping Financial Statement Analysis, and I also bought some coursepacks for upcoming classes that haven't met yet.
Now, I'm going to head home and get ready for a phone interview I have with a company I'm talking with about a summer internship. The company is called MFIC (Microfinance International Corporation), and is one that I had a personal connection to from my time as a writer. I wrote a story about them and how they are expanding the world of remittances (the money that immigrants send back to their home countries), and providing financial services to populations that are often ignored by mainstream institutions. In the process of writing the story, I became enthralled by their business model and their forward-looking methodology.
So, I'll be going home to eat lunch and get ready for that at 3:30. Then I'll get started on the next Operations case that's due on Thursday. And I'll probably do a bit of research for my BRI project, which is on bringing a renewable energy technology to market. More on these things later.
Now, I'm going to head home and get ready for a phone interview I have with a company I'm talking with about a summer internship. The company is called MFIC (Microfinance International Corporation), and is one that I had a personal connection to from my time as a writer. I wrote a story about them and how they are expanding the world of remittances (the money that immigrants send back to their home countries), and providing financial services to populations that are often ignored by mainstream institutions. In the process of writing the story, I became enthralled by their business model and their forward-looking methodology.
So, I'll be going home to eat lunch and get ready for that at 3:30. Then I'll get started on the next Operations case that's due on Thursday. And I'll probably do a bit of research for my BRI project, which is on bringing a renewable energy technology to market. More on these things later.
Tuesday, January 22 -- First post of today
I woke up this morning at around 7:30 primed to start the semester off right -- I have succeeded in fixing my schedule so that it doesn't start until 10:10 on Tuesday and Thursday. My personal exercise regimen had fallen apart last semester, so I'm building it in for the spring. Got up and went to Noyes, which is a 6 minute walk from home for some bike and situps. Then came home and read the NY Times for a while about Obama and Hilary from last night's debate. It sounds like it's getting crazy, and I have the feeling that Obama has more to lose than Hilary -- he has to be careful not to get dragged into a negative campaign now, which will be easier said than done.
Finished up the first Operations assignment and showered and was up at sage by about 10:00 to get a good seat in class. The course introduced us to production concepts like Throughput time, cycle time, capacity, bottleneck resource, economies of scale, and direct labor content. These are concepts that many of us have probably heard, but they were illustrated adeptly by Professor Gaur today.
Finished up the first Operations assignment and showered and was up at sage by about 10:00 to get a good seat in class. The course introduced us to production concepts like Throughput time, cycle time, capacity, bottleneck resource, economies of scale, and direct labor content. These are concepts that many of us have probably heard, but they were illustrated adeptly by Professor Gaur today.
Blogging as a sport
I'm about to start a new blogging experiment: to blog between 3 and 5 times a day for the first week of classes. My previous posts seemed to be more along the lines of a column, as opposed to a true blog. So, I'm going to give all the nitty gritty of my first week of second semester, and all the incorrect grammar and not sexy (but necessary) decisions that week entails.
Of course, I'm already a day late. Yesterday, I had my first day of class -- 8:40 a.m. at the ILR School (School of Industrial and Labor Relations) for a semester-long survey course in HR Management. Professor Brad Bell was down-to-earth and engaging, and the pace of course (read: manageable) will be a nice change from the core over here at Johnson. I was joined by 5 or 6 other Johnson students, as well as study abroad students from Ireland, students from the CIPA program, and some HR folks from various depts. on campus.
Then, I had Operations Management, the next-to-last core course. New professor Vishal Gaur (previously at Harvard and NYU) was engaging and good, I think. Got a good case team, with our first opportunity to choose our own.
Then, SGE (Sustainable Global Enterprise) with Mark Milstein. I decided not to take the SGE immersion after a lot of hemming and hawing, but the class seems great - -another one with folks from all over campus.
Then, lunch and some decisions about what else to take -- Financial Statement Analysis, from what I hear won't be the most useful thing to me, as a non-finance person. So, I decided to go and see what Managerial Spreadsheet Modeling was all about. Seems challenging but like something that is so useful as to be worth it.
So that was day 1. After a meeting about the Cornell Business Journal and how to raise revenues, I was home to my lady for a bit of relaxation --= something I know won't last long, but I'm trying to ease into the semester.
Overall, I'm quite pleased with the ability to choose my own courses finally.
Next post: this morning.
Of course, I'm already a day late. Yesterday, I had my first day of class -- 8:40 a.m. at the ILR School (School of Industrial and Labor Relations) for a semester-long survey course in HR Management. Professor Brad Bell was down-to-earth and engaging, and the pace of course (read: manageable) will be a nice change from the core over here at Johnson. I was joined by 5 or 6 other Johnson students, as well as study abroad students from Ireland, students from the CIPA program, and some HR folks from various depts. on campus.
Then, I had Operations Management, the next-to-last core course. New professor Vishal Gaur (previously at Harvard and NYU) was engaging and good, I think. Got a good case team, with our first opportunity to choose our own.
Then, SGE (Sustainable Global Enterprise) with Mark Milstein. I decided not to take the SGE immersion after a lot of hemming and hawing, but the class seems great - -another one with folks from all over campus.
Then, lunch and some decisions about what else to take -- Financial Statement Analysis, from what I hear won't be the most useful thing to me, as a non-finance person. So, I decided to go and see what Managerial Spreadsheet Modeling was all about. Seems challenging but like something that is so useful as to be worth it.
So that was day 1. After a meeting about the Cornell Business Journal and how to raise revenues, I was home to my lady for a bit of relaxation --= something I know won't last long, but I'm trying to ease into the semester.
Overall, I'm quite pleased with the ability to choose my own courses finally.
Next post: this morning.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)