JEREMYCWILSON.COM

For many people, writing essays is the most feared part of the admissions process.  It can serve as a huge barrier to entry to those less skilled at writing, or as an unnecessary time-consuming hurdle for those without the time or energy to write them. Other applicants thrive on the essay section. For those applicants, essays are the perfect chance to express who you are at the core, to talk more deeply about your accomplishments and reflections, and to convey your hopes and dreams to the admissions team.

Schools tend to agree with the latter perspective, especially MBA programs. But because writing a good set of essays for multiple schools often feels like a herculean task, applicants have tended to recycle essay material across multiple applications in hopes to create some economies of scale.  Sources indicate that some applicants even take it further by using online materials and old applicant essays to supplement their own.  It looks like schools may finally have the chance to confront this challenge.

Just today, I stumbled across a quick article that suggests MBA Admissions teams will soon have the opportunity to tighten up the essay writing process. It suggests that the day is near where applicants will no longer be able to submit the same essays to Kellogg, Harvard, Wharton, Chicago, and Stanford, and in fact, maybe not even submit “similar” essays.  Further—and more importantly in my opinion—applicants will also not be able to steal ideas or rip-off information from online sources, as this new “Big Brother” tool will also compare an applicant’s essays to online sources and past application essays.

I see merit to both sides of the debate. In some sense, this service is going pretty far out of the way just to ensure that students can’t take a line or two from online sources that are usually highly irrelevant to your personal story and pretty scarce anyways. But on the other hand, today’s business school applicants are usually pretty resourceful, and with enough Googling or Binging, most of them can navigate the web’s darkest cracks and corners to uncover the hidden treasure they might be looking for.  And so this service may be a good incentive not to do that.

In the end, I think that most schools aren’t out to punish applicants per se. Instead, I think they really just want to hear the applicant’s voice –  the way they talk about values, reflect on past leadership experiences, and inspire others with their dreams and their compelling stories.  After all, conventional wisdom says that good leaders are also good storytellers. Stanford Business School takes a similar approach to essays.  Admissions Director Derrick Bolton has long-advised that applicants strive to write authentic essays and not perfect ones. On the website he says “Truly, the most impressive essays are those that do not begin with the goal of impressing us. This is the time to think carefully about your values, your passions, your hopes and dreams. In your short answer responses, we learn more about the experiences that have shaped your attitudes, behaviors, and aspirations.” I personally think he has an interesting point.

Check out the BusinessWeek article below.  And decide for yourself how you feel about the possible service.

Title: Crackdown on Plagarims in Admissions Essays
Author: Louis Lavelle
Source: BusinessWeek

Click here to read the article.

How can I optimize my academic experience in the JD-MBA program? That’s a question many of us here at Northwestern think about tpretty often given our limited time at both Kellogg and Northwestern Law. The general answer seems to be take more classes we enjoy, take less required courses, and enroll in more classes that will help jumpstart our careers. But that’s easier said than done given the steep course requirements at the law school, not to mention the foundational courses needed at the business school. But hopefully that won’t stop a few of us from being able to lighten up our required b-school course load this semester and make our transition to Kellogg more exciting this fall.

Just this week, the JD-MBA group finally received the results of the waiver petitions we submitted a few weeks ago. Many of us hoped that Kellogg would help us lighten our b-school core by giving us credit for relevant college courses.  A number of JD-MBAs got classes waived, including Accounting, Finance, and Statistics, while many others did not receive any waivers.  A third group of students have been out of school for just long enough, that although they may have deserved waivers, Kellogg decided not to give them credit because of the time.  For the second and third groups who ended up without waivers in some classes, we’ve decided to take Kellogg’s waiver exams to try to waive courses.  The first exam is tomorrow morning 9am sharp, less than 7 hours from now. And it’s for Decision Sciences (DECS) 433.

DECS is really just a fancy title for Business Statistics, which is a class where you apply statistical mathematics to business topics such as “inventory management, supply and demand, principal-agent models, herd behavior, selection bias, rare events, real options, and risk.”  Although it sounds pretty interesting now, tomorrow morning at 9am, a group of us are going to do the best we can to pass out.  Me and one of my classmates have never taken statistics before, so it should be interesting to see how it turns out for the two of us. We just started learning most of the coursework last night, and we’re quite thankful for two amazing classmates who stayed at the school late on a Friday night just to give us a crash course.

Turns out one of our classmates is a stats guru, and the other is a pretty gifted teacher who taught LSAT, GMAT, and SATs for a while before Northwestern. We’re both pretty thankful they offered to stay around to help, and we’re both feeling pretty good about the test now. But no matter how the test ends, I suspect we’ll both be pretty happy.  Either we’ll be excited to pass out of the class and to take an extra elective course at Kellogg or we’ll take a stats class that sounds pretty interesting and learn all about business statistics.  So it that sense, it’s a win-win situation.

In the end, we all just really want to optimize our time in the shortened program, and that not only includes taking as many new courses as possible but also learning all the things we need to learn while here, including stats if need be.  And no matter how the class plays out, its always a lot of fun spending time with our JD-MA classmates and learning about the new and interesting experiences everyone has had. In fact, it oftens turns out that these end up being some of of the best experiences.  Hopefully we’ll all pass the test together in the morning. I’ll keep you posted.

Just weeks ago, many of you found out you were one of the lucky ones who got a call from Kellogg admissions.  They told you that you’d been accepted into the MBA program.  Some of you may have been pretty confident in your applications, but for most, it must feel like a pretty magical moment. I was pretty excited when I got the call last year. But just when you thought you couldn’t be more excited, think again!  It’s time for DAK (Day at Kellogg), which is Kellogg’s version of Admit Weekend.

Read more… 2010 Day at Kellogg Admitted

Hundreds of thousands of graduates this year will spend hours pouring over essays, filling out data forms, and submitting applications to graduate school programs. Some of them may have been planning to apply all year, but a disproportionate number will be submitted by freshly-minted graduates trying to hedge their bets with the economy. They may not know exactly what they want to do, but they fear being thrown in the lions den of unemployment and would prefer to spend another couple of years getting “hazed” with impossible workloads and “cheated” by the “curve” in grad school.  In fact, chances are you’re on of them. But there’s just one problem. What if you don’t get in?

In a recent message from one of my readers, I was asked for a bit of advice about this very topic. The reader asked whether he should be applying to business school or law school, if he should apply this year. My reader is still in college and is not certain of what he wants to do.  His question was also very vague, which I generally advise against if your an applicant.  But I thought it’d be a good chance to steer the conversation a bit and share a few things that I think are important to consider when applying to graduate school, especially now.  My general theme is that applicants should take the time to think about what they want to do and apply when they’re ready to achieve the best results. See my brief response to the question below!

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MESSAGE FROM MY READER

“Dear Jeremy, I am an undergraduate Business Management Major. I was wandering if I should work for probably 2 years after I graduate which would be in one semester. so fall 2010.  I am debating whether or going to law school or not. I am unsure about law school should I still apply?? Or go do my MBA after I work for two years? Please let me know. I just want to get a better resume and specialize in something. I am taking the LSAT but I am not sure about the law degree. If I am not sure should I still try law??”

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MYRESPONSE TO MY READER

Dear (Reader), thanks so much for your question and for reading my blog. It’s always great to see students look at their so early in their careers. Before I get going with any new information, I’d like to offer two quick pieces of advice.  First, you should always take advantage of the chance to ask specific questions during the application process. I suspect that most people will not take the time to respond to such vague questions, and even if they do, the response likely be pretty generic, because the person can’t read your mind.  Second, you should take a few minutes and check out my site a bit more.  I have a couple of posts that might be helpful. For example, I wrote a post named Early Career MBA and JD-MBA Candidates which seems pretty relevant to candidates closer to your age who are considering multiple programs.

Frame Your Decision First
Now, first off, I encourage you to create a framework for your decision before jumping too quickly into the the final decision-making process. In layman’s terms, that means think a little about why you’re applying and what factors are important in your final choice, and then frame your decision based on that. There are so many different career paths out there, many of which will feel pretty compelling at times, so you have to spend time thinking about your abilities, goals, interests, and potential to do well in each.  One way to do that is to think about the differences across the fields. For example, do have high tolerance for risk? Depending on your answer, either business or law may feel more natural. Also, do you enjoy numbers, analysis, reading, or writing? Or do you need some sort of combination?  And finally, do you need a well-structured day as a professional? What about a structured career path? A law degree tends to provide that, though not always.

A lot of students skip this process and instead apply to programs for all the wrong reasons. Maybe it’s what there parents expected, or perhaps they didn’t think of anything better to do. Even worse is that students often apply because they want the prestige of that profession or school or because they were focusing on the end game of getting a nice paycheck.  This is especially true of business schools, where students today tend to tout the post-graduation salary potential and dream of CEO or partner-level titles, rather than what they can learn, what values they might gain, what types of interesting career options they might encounter, and the diverse people they can learn from.  Unfortunately, I’ve noticed that many law school students have hopped on the bandwagon too, and although the conventional focus of law school was to “change the world,” today more students are caving in to loan repayments and are lured by high starting salaries, and no longer the transformative process of school itself. The good news is that if you do want to make money, you can do well in either, so you don’t have to make a decision solely on that basis. Thus, the question really becomes, how relevant is business school or law school (and for other readers, any other school) for you and your interests specifically, and how much will your experience in that school influence what you may want to do down the line.

Then Decide Timing
After you make progress there, then you should next think about timing because it’s a bit different for each. My general answer is that there’s no set time to apply to business school and most admissions committees will say the same thing. People apply and get in each year with zero to twenty years experience, though most get in with about four to five years, so it’s important to apply when you’re ready. And for law school, while most people tend to apply a bit sooner (one to two years), schools are starting to trend the same way.  So in that sense, timing again becomes a personal decision and less of a requirement. That said, there is also a small advantage to applying a bit earlier. Applying earlier shows focus at a young age, maturity, and may give you a head start to a better career sooner than later. But those benefits often don’t compare to the benefits of applying later. Older candidates often get access to better job opportunities, interview better, and have more to contribute to class.

Consider More Factors
And after you’ve thought about type of school and timing, you still have to balance that with fit for a program. In your case as a a potential early career candidate this means looking at things like average age of the programs, understanding that some schools tend to accept more younger or older candidates than others. For instance, if you apply only two years out of undergrad, than b-schools like Kellogg might be harder to get into because of the older average age (though some younger applicants do get in), but law schools like Northwestern Law might make more sense since because you’re two  two years of professional experience will be valued. You’ll also want to pay a bit more attention to grades as a younger candidate, especially for MBA applications, who would otherwise have weighed work experience more heavily. The general rule is that since you have less professional experience to offer, admissions offices will look at your stats more closely.

Don’t Rush

For some applicants, this process takes time, while for others it’s more immediate.  But I say, don’t give in to all the hype. Think about your aspirations and your timelines. And play to your own beat and make your own tempo. Because in the end, only you can answer this school question, because that process of discovery is individual.  Broadly speaking, I don’t think people do this enough. And this past year  a lot of  young professionals have begun stressing out. Now they’re frantically taking tests and submitting applications hoping to find a safety net, get bailed out, and get dealt a new hand.  And so, if there was ever a time to highlight the importance of reflection and making the right decision, that time is now.  Sadly, most people still won’t get this right, but if you invest the time up front and choose wisely, I suspect that your energy, excitement, and fit will reflect in your application.

Best of luck!

Like many countries in the world, the U.S. faces the daunting task of improving an entire public education system.  Our recent recession has shown us that we need to drastically improve the training of our workforce, and that we also need to better equip the younger generations so they don’t face the same issues a decade from now. Inherent in the second issue is the fact that attaining public education for those in the middle and upper classes, is still vastly different than it is for those that have less privilege.  America has been talking about the situation for years now, but many believe that it’s time to finally take action.  In a recent article,  John Legend discusses this issue and how we can lend a hand to help.

I recently referenced this article in my Martin Luther King Day post last week, but I thought I’d devote a post to showcase it here today.  For reference, John Legend has long been passionate about changing the education industry.  In 2009, he gave the University of Pennsylvania’s (alma matter) commencement address, where he shared his thoughts on education reform. John was also featured in CNN’s Black in America this year where had had a similar message. And finally, John is a big supporter, a former employee of, and now a Board member of Management Leadership for Tomorrow, an organization that is doing as much as anyone to push forward the education agenda.  Years ago, John worked at MLT while launching his music career and helped spawn some of its innovative career programs.

John’s opinion (much like mine) is that much of America already recognizes this challenge. So the question really is are we ready and able to address it? Are we looking at countries like India and China and at the best schools here in the US and Europe to benchmark best practices? That’s what the most profitable companies do to stay competitive. Or instead, are we set on tradition, afraid of change, or unable to come up with new solutions? I don’t know the answer, and it’s likely far too complicated to be narrowed down here. But what I do know is that things like technology, creativity, and an the support of organizations all need to be utilized to bring about change. It also helps to have people like John Legend, the support of our ordinary citizens, and also some of the bright MBA and JD graduates who want to serve in the education industry.And not only are the students waiting for a helping hand, but so are the employers who need a bigger pool of talent to recruit from, and as a result so is our struggling economy that needs more productivity from more of its people.

Take a look at John’s article below. It was posted by the Huffington Post on Martin Luther King day.

Title: Education Reform: The Civil Rights Issue of Our Time
Author: John Legend
Hosting Website: Huffington Post

Management education has taken a lot of heat over the past few years. And MBA programs all across the country have been put on the hot seat. They’ve been forced to defend their value to the modern business world, they’ve been blamed for the recent economic crisis, and they’ve been crucified for all the corporate scandals that have taken place in corporate America for the past decade. But a new study finally tips the scales back in the other direction.

Read more… Good Article: CEOs With MBAs

What’s going on everyone. Seems like many of the MBA applicants out there have a lot more time on your hands these days now that you’ve finally turned the corner and submitted your last second round applications earlier in the week. Congratulations and be sure to take a well-deserved breather. But for some of you, the application cycle still lives. I’ve gotten a few emails from some of applicants who got a little gun shy at the last minute, others wanted to submit to a few extra schools just to be sure, and a couple of people wanted to do a little shoe shining and polish up your applications before going through with submitting.  And so that brings me to a question I recently received from a JD-MBA applicant, who wanted to get a bit of clarity on his essay strategy as well as a bit of insight on applying in the third round since he decided not to submit in round two.  See a small portion of our Q&A below.

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Original Email From Applicant

“Hey Jeremy, I really enjoy your blog – thanks for taking the time to update as you do! I know you must be terribly busy with all the questions/calls you’ve been getting but I wanted to give a shot at getting your advice.

I’m not sure the precise path I’d like to take post JD/MBA – I see myself open to a few different options such as IB work, government or entrepreneurship. Sometimes I defend my uncertainty by thinking it’s naive and silly of me to even set my mind on something with all the variables and changing landscape.

How much emphasis is placed on having concrete goals post graduation? How would you advise someone handle this issue in the essays? Perhaps just focus on the most likely or suitable path given my background and leave the others out?

I’d really appreciate your thoughts and wish me luck!

Best Regards,
(Name)”

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My Response To Original Email From Applicant

Hi (Name), I’ve begun writing my response and plan to respond shortly. You look like a potential good fit for the program. When do you plan to submit your application. Round 2?

Regards,
Jeremy

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Another Email From Applicant

“Hi Jeremy, I’m very pleased to hear from you! Unfortunately it looks like I will be submitting in R3 and perhaps reapplying early next cycle if things don’t work out. R3 must be a killer eh?

I’m still not exactly sure how to sell myself and present my goals given my 4yrs experience in finance but diverse interests as I mentioned already. I just want to make sure that I have my story straight before I apply. I’ll be waiting to hear your thoughts – thanks so much for taking the time!

Best Regards,
(Name)”

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My Quick Response To Applicant

Hey (Name), keep your head up for round 3. I don’t think it’s an absolute impossibility, especially if you take the time to turn in a great application. Stay tuned for my response email.

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My Final Response

Hi (Name),

Thanks again for your original message and for checking out my blog.  I’m glad you like the site and find my posts to be informative. Please keep checking back for new posts and articles as you navigate the application cycle.

So your situation is a tough one, and perhaps equally as tough as some people find it to apply in the third round. I hope you’re up to the challenge! I’ll start my response with a bit of high-level advice regarding your decision to apply in round three, and not two.  As I previously mentioned, it’s not at all impossible to be admitted in round three. I know a couple of people in the program now who have made it across the round three finish line. That said, these admits were doing some serious springing across that line, not jogging,  because these guys were really accomplished, and I suspect that their applications were pretty stellar. And so my broad advice to applicants is that  if you’re considering applying in two different rounds but not sure which, then shoot for the earlier of the two.  Given the sudden skyrocketing number of b-school and JD-MBA applications, on the margin, earlier is usually better.

But that’s old news now, since you’re applying in round three and since you didn’t feel ready last round. But you’re definitely doing the right thing by submitting now in round three rather than waiting. If you’re admitted, then you’ll be jumping for joy out of your seat at work come May, and you won’t have to hide the good news for long.  On the other hand, even if you’re not admitted this year, then you’ll be in a much better position to do a little sprinting in round one of next year, and Kellogg will be expecting your application.

Now, let’s talk a little strategy for your application. For one, keep in mind that the third rounds exists for a reason. And if schools didn’t want it, they simply wouldn’t take applications, like Tuck and Sloan don’t.  I suspect that this is especially true in the Kellogg JD-MBA program because the class size is small, the program has fewer applicants, and the class compositions is just as important as all the fancy class statistics and the number of consultants and bankers in the class.  In fact, my completely unverified but strikingly plausible personal opinion is that the admissions team relies so heavily on fit that they go into round three every year with VERY open mind, ready and willing to admit standout applicants who come into play.  So relax the nerves a little about round three, but also get ready to put the petal to the metal so you can stand out. It just may pay dividends.

Also,  you hit the nail on the head in your email in regards to essays. Part of standing out means putting together first-class essays … essays that both articulate a compelling story about the past, convey interesting plans for the future, and include persuasive reasons for how the dual program fits in the middle. That means the more persuasive and lively you write the better. It also means the more structured you discuss your ideas and relate them together, the better.  Now keep in mind, by structured I don’t mean 100% specific. But I would suggest that your response is logical, organized, and pretty targeted.

During rounds one and two, my impression is that most admits do this pretty well.  I’d go further to say that almost all round three admits have done this.  Unlike MBA programs that have hundreds seats to fill and dozens of those seats reserved for people who still need to do some soul searching, the JD-MBA program gives less time for that. Because we split our time between two campuses and ultimately spend less time than our classmates at each, we have to be a bit more deliberate and decisive.  So you’d do yourself a favor to show that trait in your essays, by either proving that you have a plan, or that you can come up with one quickly.  And then Kellogg can then have an easier time walking away from your application with a clear picture of who you are and why you want the dual degree, whether it’s specifically to be an I-banker, government leader, or entrepreneur, or if it serves more broad goals such as impacting your way of thinking, expanding a certain skill set, or giving you the boost you need to switch industries. There’s generally no right answer to “career choice” questions.

So try do some soul searching in the next few weeks, think deeply about what’s most appealing and what suits your background, and at some point soon take a stand on putting your career story together, coming up with something as specific as you’re comfortable with. Once you do so, use that story to synthesize an overall vision for your essay package. Then structure each essay to convey something different about that vision, while also showcasing new skills and picking new stories for elaboration. And finally, be sure to talk about how the dual degree fits into all of that.  And in the end, I suspect that you’ll be more confident about your story than you had in round two.

Hopefully that helps a bit. Good Luck!

Yesterday was the first day I was able to track visitors for my new blog site.  Anyone who maintains a serious website knows that this is a critical feature.  What’s interesting after taking a quick look at the numbers is that nearly 25% my hits came from outside the US.  While I usually get a pretty good percentage of my hits from all across the world, this was a bit higher than usual, highlighting how global the world continues to become.

But bigger than the “international” reach of my blog is that our entire society today has become completely global, and that today’s leaders, unlike those of yesteryear, face new issues and challenges as a result. Rather than focusing on operational tasks such as locating employees in other countries or using technology to build things more efficiently, today’s leaders are now faced with more complex challenges. They must learn how to communicate effectively across continents. They have to keep tabs on people, teams, units, and regions, many of which they may not see for months. And they are challenged to bring everyone on the same page to work together to achieve results.

What a challenge ! How can you unite employees and teams to come together from all the way across the globe when you’re not even there?  And how can executives ensure that their people share a common purpose rather than feel isolated and void of impact?  As a start, I think we can learn a few lessons about unity by looking at Martin Luther King, which is especially relevant now given the presence of MLK day.

MLK was one of the best uniters in history. Not only was he focused on his mission to bring equality to our society, but he also worked across all lines of diversity and brought thousands of people together to do so.  But, unlike many leaders today, he did it without the help of technology, in an age where globalization was yet to be accepted, and in one of the most violent eras in history.  I’ll offer a few reasons, from my own perspective, that may have made him successful.

1. MLK led because he had a powerful vision. The great proverb says “Where there is no vision the people perish.” MLK took one of the great issues of the time, and was able to relate deeply to the issue, articulate his vision about the issue to others, and rally everyone around him to feel the same way.  MLK tapped into hearts and spirits of a people and opened their minds to share his vision too.

2.  MLK was also an effective leader during tough times.  In the 1960s, social integration probably seemed nothing more than a fairy tale. It was an environment of heightened intolerance and injustice, and one where people of color often felt like they were left powerless and had no options. Yet King still displayed courage on his mission.  And what’s most impressive is that he did this not only in the face of uncertainty, but also in the face of death from his enemies as well as in the face of disloyalty from those on his own side. And he was still effective.

3. MLK also stressed long-term solutions and kept his eye on the larger prize.  Even when his actions did not bring immediate results or did not give him  instant satisfaction, MLK kept in mind that change meant a better life for his children and his grandchildren. And while some people may have characterized MLK’s ideas as crazy, not immediate enough, and not possible, that’s not anyone’s view today.  MLK’s long-term dreams have clearly initiated change in the minds and hearts of most everyone today.

4.  And finally, King showed us that the best leaders are those who build consensus and want to make things better for everyone.  As a leader, King did not dedicate his life for his personal cause, but instead he worked to improve entire communities … communities that were disparate, that were already engaged in their own fights for civil freedom, and that had different backgrounds, cultures, and geographies. He fought to give everyone a seat at the table, and today, it’s not just the African Americans who benefit from his leadership. But people from all around America and the world see the benefits.

And so leaders today can look at MLK, as they hope and strive to bring about unity and diversity. Though they should be careful not to use the word “diversity” too loosely.  Dr. King fought for diversity because he believed that having equality and justice as well as multiple perspectives were critical to our society, not because it was a fad.  And forty years later, it’s clear that he was right.

So for a moment, let’s all take time to commemorate the impact that King and so many others have had on the American community.  Furthermore, we should also understand that to improve our society going forward, it’s imperative that we also continue to increase the diversity in our schools, workplaces, communities, and our ways of thinking. Only then will be ready to take up after King and continue our march into the society he once envisioned. And only then can we get everyone around the globe to work together to achieve new results. And only then, can we really start our recovery from 2009’s economic crisis.  And only then, will society be able to reach it’s full potential for change.

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Please click on the links below to read two good posts about MLK. One is from music star John Legend (on education) and the other from HBS professor Rosabeth Kanter (on leadership)

John Legend (Celebrity) writes about MLK and Education
Rosabeth Kanter (HBS Professor) writes about MLK and Leadership

Hi there everyone–I recently received an email from a really excited reader who is applying to business school but is concerned about her GMAT score. She is a potential applicant to the JD-MBA program in next year in 2011, and she sent me a message to ask my opinion.  I’ve written her a response below, but I preface that by saying, usually, the “is my GMAT high enough” dilemma is one of those questions that there’s probably no right answer to and that’s ultimately up to the applicant.  But I did provide her with a little context. Hopefully it is helpful for everyone. Check out our email exchange below.

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Email Message From Sender

“Hi Jeremy, I’m thinking (and really hoping) to get into Northwestern’s program. I really need some advice on whether I should take the GMAT again (I just got a 660 but know I choked on the math section). I’ve been working in Egypt for a 1.5 now and it will be 3 years by the time I start – I’m planning on starting fall 2011. I work for the International Finance Corporation (part of the World Bank) working in communications. I’m also sitting for the first round of the CFA exam in June. A lot of people keep telling me the international experience will mean more than the GMAT, but I’d really appreciate some advice from seeing the backgrounds of fellow classmates etc if you think its necessary to retake the GMATs.”

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Hi (Removed)

Thanks so much for writing, and for checking out my blog. I’m glad you’re interested in Northwestern’s program. I hope you do apply next year and encourage you to apply in round one for the best shot at getting in.

I generally like to give two pieces of advice to “completing” business school applicants.  First, you want to be satisfied with your work on every part of the application, at least to the extent possible.  Second, you want to balance that satisfaction with not juggling too many pieces of the application at the same time—GMAT, essays, class visits, supplementary classes, etc—and possibly dropping the ball on one or multiple pieces.  Now given you’re not applying until 2011, you should have plenty of time to avoid excessive juggling, so you should not automatically rule out the GMAT. Here’s why.

With the economic downturn, the past two years for MBA admissions have been pretty unrivaled in terms of applications, both in number and in quality. Applicantions are literally coming out of every corner and every part of the world imaginable. Average GPAs, GMATs, and number of degrees are higher than ever.  And people are literally taking the GMAT time and time again aiming for scores well above 700.  That said, the rule of thumb is that top programs like to see you hit the 80^th percentile on both sections (quant and qual) of the GMAT, and especially the quantitative section to prove you can handle the curriculum.

But no need to fret if you don’t attain that score  There are always plenty of people that get in t0 top programs every year with scores below 80^th percentile as well as with below total scores below the median. In fact, most top MBA program a really large number of kids in this range, including Kellogg.  Some of those are like you and have finance experience. But others may not have that experience. One caveat I’ll mention about the JD-MBA program here is that the average scores for one class tends to be slightly higher than Kellogg’s.  I suspect that happens for two reasons. One is that fewer “alternative career” students apply to this program given the cost. Second, is because the LSAT is not required for admission here, so a higher GMAT score might indicate that a student is well-prepared to hand both sets of classes. The range is usually about 15 to 20 points higher for the dual program, which is by no means insignificant. (Click here for details) I suspect the same types of differences exist in any other dual programs you may be considering.

So what does this mean for you?  Overall that’s a tough question for me to answer. That might depend on your original target score, how many times you’ve taken the test, how well you did on the practice exams, and how busy you are at work. If you were aiming higher and were hitting 700s on practice tests, then you may want to consider retaking it, especially given the time you have and considering the economy. But if that weren’t the case, and you did everything you possibly could to get your 660, then the payoff might not be worth it.

Here is an analogy I used to give when I was part of my Undergraduate Admissions Team a few years ago.  I used to tell the high school students that the SAT (GMAT or readers here) test score was just a hygiene factor. I said they should think about it like they were going on a date. And if you have bad breadth (i.e. bad hygiene) on the date, then chances are you won’t be getting a second one.  On the other hand, if you have good breadth, that also won’t get you a second date. But it does allow the other person to concentrate on the more important things and then decide from there.

Similarly, when applying to an MBA program, the real key is just getting a GMAT score that does not keep the admissions team from learning about “more important things” from your essays, work experiences, and leadership potential. For most schools, you can estimate that number based on the ranges they publish on their websites. And your positioning in that range should couple with how strong of an overall applicant you are otherwise. In your case, don’t forget to factor in the you’d be on the lowest end for age range for the JD-MBA program, as the “average age” admitted to the program is almost five years out and the lowest age is usually three years out.  Also, I agree that your international experience will certainly be valued and may affect your comfort level with your GMAT when applying.

I know this may not be as direct an answer as you wanted.  But I hope it helps. Thanks for writing and best of luck over the next year.

Last September, I finally made the big jump. I left my post at a full-time consulting firm in Boston and decided to head off to business school and law school. Like most students, I saw school as the perfect opportunity to pursue my dreams and eventually make my way to the top.

Blog
But at the same time, I felt compelled to start a blog so I should share my experiences with others. Like many new endeavors, the blog was both more fun and more work than I expected.  So I decided to put together a site and spread the word a bit and worked hard to keep posting.  Soon found that I really enjoyed the process, and  I became committed to keeping it running.

Change Is Good
Six months later–and just a few weeks ago today–I came to the realization that my blog was reaching a bit of a transition point. Although my site was only about six months old, I decided I needed a better website to host it on given the number of visitors I was attracting and given recent challenges I came across with the old host site. I also thought my blog was starting to feel a bit more focused over time. So I thought I take a step back and then try to adapt the content a bit in order to best serve me and my readers.

So What’s New?
1. So here’s what new: First, I’m hoping to put a lot more effort into writing about the readers want.  Feedback from readers suggests that you’d like more answers to questions. So I invite you to send all your questions about Northwestern, whether about admissions, about law or business school generally, about the recruiting processes that happen here, or  career options stemming from both.

2. Next, I also hope to better balance the amount of tactical information I write about better with the higher level advice that I enjoy. In past posts, I’ve usually posted about one or the other, but I look forward to telling more integrated stories and sharing other types of information.

3. I’ve noticed that many of my readers visit pretty frequently. So I’ll try to balance my longer more interesting articles, with shorter ones to keep the content moving.  To do this, I’ll integrate shorter posts about activities and events here on campus as well as links to related news stories and articles.

4. As you may have noticed, three themes have really emerged on my site,  and I intend to keep incorporating them heavily into my writing. 1) The differing values and skills that JDs and MBAs bring to the table, and how they can work together to achieve better results. 2)  The importance of good leadership in the workplace and some of my reflections on the topic  3) The idea that “business is human” and that financial decisions and human resources decisions don’t always have to be so disparate.

But don’t get me wrong. despite my idea to focus, I’m pretty certain my new site will still evolve over time. In fact, I I hope that it does.  But hopefully those twists and turns will be learning experiences and they will both provide me with some pretty good life lessons and with the stories to narrate here on my website.

And in the end, I hope the blog will become valuable to more and more people, and I hope that the benefits bestowed up my reader’s will be just as great as the rewarding experience I’ve had as a student and as a journaler. I look forward to sharing my experiences along the way.  Stay tuned ! And post a comment or two to let me know what you think.

What’s going on everyone. We’re one week into the 2010 year here at Northwestern. Hope everyone is still keeping up with those New Year’s resolutions! But don’t worry, I won’t hold you to them to keep reading. I’ve definitely got a couple resolutions myself, including a pretty big one that relates to my website. But you’ll have to stay tuned a bit longer to watch it unfold. I also have a pretty large number of ideas cooking up for future posts and articles, but today I’m going to keep them on the back burner because I’ve got something a little better than that, at least for a select few of you.

Now that we’re right in the middle of the MBA application season, I’ve been getting lots of messages so I thought I’d share a couple of my responses here on my website. I figured I’d start with a recent question I received about being on the Northwestern JD-MBA waitlist. It sounds like my reader feels like he’s stuck in limbo and is ready to be rescued or at least get a little closure from Kellogg. I don’t blame him, I usually like to have closure myself.

But I’d like to add one caveat before I give out any information, which is to keep in mind that I don’t work for Kellogg and that I’m not a member on their MBA Admission team. Instead, I’m a student at Northwestern who is simply offering my time and personal website to respond to a few email questions and ultimately share some really good information with applicants in the b-school world, as I’m sure quite a few of you will appreciate the favor. As readers on my site, I also hope that you will feel free to return the favor, and leave comments and send messages when something peaks your interest.

Okay, so to get back to business, I suspect there are a number of readers all across the U.S. sitting on the edge of their seats and hitting the refresh button every couple of minutes as they wait for update emails, pondering this exact same question. “What do I do now?”

So I’ve decided to answer the question as broadly as possible so that more people might benefit. Take a look below for my reader’s question, and then look below that for my response.

Good luck on your quests everyone !

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READER’S EMAIL TO ME

Dear Jeremy,

Hi, my name is (REMOVED) from (REMOVED). I was introduced to your blog by a friend a few months back and since have been following your entries closely. Think it’s just awesome that you can maintain such a resourceful blog while on your 1st year at law school!

To give you a quick introduction of myself and my situation, I’ve done 4 years of investment banking (REMOVED) in (REMOVED) and also understanding the potential synergies from a mix of business and law knowledge and experiences, am too seeking a JD/MBA degree. Thus, I had resigned (voluntary) from (REMOVED) in October to sit the December LSAT. My initial plan was to apply to a bunch (top 10) of MBAs and Law schools and go the one that I get acceptance from both (excluding of course Northwestern, NYU and Duke where they have integrated applications).. But I guess 2 months was not enough to get me fully prepped for the LSAT. Did not feel good about the test and had to cancel. Also I’ve naturally applied to the Northwestern 3yr JD/MBA but was notified this past week that I am waitlisted. Very frustrated as Northwestern was of course my #1 choice with the 3 yr program and the most integrated curriculum..

I was wondering if you would have any insight or tips, waitlist strategies.. For Kellogg in general and if any different, JD/MBA program specific. Any classmates who got admission after being waitlisted, what actions they took after being waitlisted etc. Also do you think the admissions committee be impressed if one makes a campus visit? You understand the state of mind I am in right? Think I can do just about anything for admission but just feeling helpless..

I saw from your blog that school started again this past week, hope I’m not bothering you too much. Any information, tips, stories would be greatly helpful. Many thanks in advance!

Best regards,

(NAME)

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MY RESPONSE TO READER’S EMAIL

Hello (REMOVED),

I hope this message finds you well and finds you in time. I know you probably feel pretty tense right now. It’s a tough year for applying to school and you’ve almost made it across the finish line here in round one, so congratulations. But I know congratulations is the last thing you want to hear, so I’ll try to focus mostly on the tangible steps that someone on the waitlist may or may not want to take.

First off, students on the waitlist get in to top schools every year. For many of them, the waitlist ends up being nothing more than a long line at a new movie, and after standing in line for a bit they are granted a ticket of admission. I know a couple of Kellogg students who got in last year, and there are also students here in the JD-MBA program that had the same experience. For others, the waitlist ends up being more like purgatory and requires a serious gut check, because there’s really not much you can do but wait to see how the school responds. At the end of the day, there are a lot of factors that admissions teams are balancing–individual fit, class composition, predictability of the next round of applicants, employability, diversity, current school needs, and more–so it’s impossible for me, and probably even them, to tell you exactly how things will turn out so early in the game. But I’ll start with a few general ideas and go from there.

As a general reference point for everyone, you should always follow the directions in your decision letter to a ‘T’. If a school tells you they don’t want updates, then don’t shoot yourself in the foot by sending them extra information. Instead sit back, relax, put your feet up on the couch, and wait for them to come calling. But, if a school tells you that they do want to hear updates, than don’t even think about downshifting gears, because you’ve got some work to do if you really want in.

Generally, the waitlisted applicants are considered solid candidates, even star candidates. Now is the time to showcase more subtle aspects of your profile. Be ready to articulate your story again, but this time better. Give them a few golden nuggets you may have forgotten to dig out from your past and put in your essays. Also, distinguish how you stand out from the other number-crunching bankers, consultants, or whatever professional you are (emailer in this case was a banker) and how you can add perspective to the classroom. And be more introspective the next few weeks, so that you’re better prepared to talk about your leadership or entrepreneurial goals. Instead of using industry buzz words, overused resume verbs, and clichéd MBA language, think more deeply about your leadership style and talk more about stuff that motivates you, what you did, how you felt, and what you learned. And if you’re really up to it, try really spilling your guts a bit more and really putting the details out there—always remembering to stay professional of course, as this is business school—because this might just be your last chance.

In your specific case (NAME REMOVED), you should definitely take a bit more of a deep breadth. Making the waitlist in a class that only targets 25 students is a big accomplishment. To that end, I’ll note that your request for a distinction between Kellogg and the JD-MBA program is not relevant for you. As an applicant to the dual program, you are not an applicant to Kellogg. Personally, I’ve never heard of any changes of that sort, and if it did happen, it would have to be highly discretionary. But in regards to the JD-MBA waitlist, I don’t have any factual information to share (and if I did, it’d probably be top secret anyhow) but my impression, as I mentioned above, is that JD-MBA students do get off the waitlist fairly regularly. Of course, the odds could sway like a pendulum from year to year, depending on the number of applicants, the yield rate from round one, the caliber of applicants (and subsequent yield rate) from round two, and the number of applicants in round three, leaving you potentially swimming in a pool with a tank of MBA sharks on the worst of years and still leaving you in limbo most every other year. But that’s pretty hard to predict. The good news about getting waitlisted in round one is that you still have two more rounds to get accepted. And if this is your top choice, you’ll still be there sticking it out on the WL while the faint of heart and risk averse go running off to other schools. The real irony with that is that lawyers tend to be risk averse, so staying around might be a catch-22. And the bad news is that exact same fact, that you may have to wait two more rounds before finding out, and that will feel like an eternity, especially if things don’t go according to plan.

Also (REMOVED), from what I’ve heard about Kellogg—though I can’t say anything for certain–is that they are one of those schools that may decide they want more information from you down the line. So while it’s never smart to pester admissions, you should be sure to be ready in case they do ask you for more information. As I said above, take a look in your letter, and if you’re uncertain utilize the Kellogg Admissions office just to be sure.

If at some point now or later they do ask for information, then that is your chance to shine. Think about the suggestions I mentioned above. And since the JD-MBA program here is so small and customized, you might also think about ways to show why want both degrees and what you plan to do with them. That’s something that most, if not all, the JD-MBAs did well in the application process. Further, you may want to discuss how those career goals came about. Are they rooted somewhere in your past or present, or are you simply hoping to stack up a couple more degrees and make some cash when you graduate–don’t let them assume it’s the second by not clearly saying! And once you do that, then you might think about what you’ve done so far to prove that passion and how you can continue at Northwestern, and doing so by differentiating both schools. And just to cover my bases, I’ll also say that every year students from all schools retake GMATs, take extra courses, figure out ways to cover weaknesses, tell them about promotions, and more. It’s up to you whether you think that will help, and unfortunately I don’t have any data at all on how many people here have done or have considered doing that. I suspect that it would be fewer than more, but that’s simply a guess. And every year, the stars do align for a lucky few candidates, even here in the JD-MBA program. So try to stay positive for now, it’s still early.

Now finally, I’ve included a few more pieces of information. First, is a response to your question about visiting campus. Kellogg clearly states on it website (click here), that visint will not increase your chances of admission Though in all your decisions, you should keep in mind that Kellogg and Northwestern JD-MBA are not run exactly the same, and that who knows what someone may take into account when the margins are small enough.

Second, check out the Kellogg admissions blog to see if they have any updates for the JD-MBA program. Click here for the site. Doesn’t look they post regularly, but might be worth taking a look.

And finally, I’ve included a link to an OLD thread in a Businessweek MBA forum. It relates to Kellogg only, but it’s one of the few pieces of information about Kellogg’s waitlist preferences online. Given its date I strongly suggest NOT relying on it, but it might be a useful reference point for some readers. Click here for the link.

Best of luck (REMOVED) !

Today’s slumping economy is haunting millions of Americans. Veterans of the workforce fear being let go and never finding a job again. Middle age employees worry about supporting their families and maintaining their careers. And students in both business and law schools are trying to understand what’s going on and adapt in order to find stable jobs upon graduation.

With these thoughts at the front of everyone’s mind at the turn of the New Year, the Labor Department (DOL) just reported yesterday that 85,000 jobs were lost in December. This came as a pretty big surprise to economists who, after analyzing the net gain of 5,000 jobs in November, suspected that December would repeat the trend. And what’s worse is that reported numbers also show that more than 660,000 Americans dropped out of the labor force last month, meaning that the actual unemployment rate closer to ~10.5% instead of ~10.0%.

Although this change in calculation increases the unemployment rate to a near all-time high percentage, the bigger issue might be the fact that people are starting to drop out of the workforce, suggesting higher levels of pessimism than in 2009 and lower levels of hope than ever before. But if you think about it, this certainly makes a lot of sense. Many people have been closing in on a year out of work. And for the past twelve months, I’ve consistently heard so many people say that they have never seen things as bad as they are now.

Under this bright spotlight, America’s leaders now have to juggle crisis management, media and investor relations, new firm strategy, and most difficult of all, the daunting task of communicating the situation to its people. Inherent in this task is the fact that the people are vulnerable.  Many people will become upset, others will react with anger, and most everyone will be uncertain.  So while public leadership is something that has always hard, today it has become a near impossible challenge.

To be successful, the ability to communicate effectively will be critical. Modern leadership will less about the actual result than it is about gaining the trust of your workers and building a more unified organization.  To do that, leaders will have to relate more closely to the issues of the people and also be able to deliver a compelling message. In times past, executives have overlooked this ability in favor of analyzing financial impact and making decisions more quickly.  But that method of leadership will not work today. Instead leaders will have to be more connected with people and be more conscious of how people feel and how decisions will impact their economic situations. And so the best leaders will be those who not only analyze issues but those who also understand that what matters more is how you make others feel in the process.

To quickly clarify, actions always speak louder than words and leaders will also have to focus on results.  After all, this is the only way any organization can survive. But in times of panic and adversity, focusing on your message and how you communicate it is often the best first step.  So today, the leaders that emerge will be those who are good storytellers.  They have a good understanding of the overall situation, and they will craft a compelling story, deliver that story effectively to the people, and then inspire them with hope for the future.

In the days to come President Obama (and CEOs of many companies) will embark on this ambiguous task. Though fiscal strategy and economic theory will be of critical importance in solving the issues, I hope that he reflects back to when he first became president and that he chooses talk more about his hope to rebuild the economy and create jobs than he does pure strategy.

And in the end, how he frames these issues will determine his success.

Lately I’ve been getting lots of calls from old friends and classmates applying to business school and looking for a bit of advice. Some applied during round one and are getting anxious to hear back. They ask me about their chances of admission, and want to know what i think in light of 2009′s economic challenges (check out my new post on that topic). Others are frantically wrapping up round two applications and call with more specific questions. I was in the exact same process last year, and I remember how stressful things feel in the last few days. This is especially true if you’re submitting applications to some of the heavy hitters, whose deadlines are fast approaching (List of MBA Deadlines).

As a result, January is usually one of the hardest times of the year for applicants. Not only are applicants scrambling around to pull their application materials together while also cramming to fine-tune their essays before the deadline but they’re also sitting on pins and needles worrying whether they’ll get in to the schools they applied to in the first round. But the best thing to do now is sit back and relax a little. This is completely normal. I still remember these feelings of anxiety and uncertainly like I had them yesterday, But I still ended up doing really well, so in the end, these feelings were never really all that relevant except for motivating me to work harder. In my opinion however, what was most relevant were the essays. In fact, I consider the essays to be the most significant part of the application by far, and in my experience, the best business school applicants spend a significant amount of time writing so they can develop their stories. Similarly, you should also make sure you’re happy with your essays and hold off on submitting everything until you’re absolutely finished.

That said, the point of this post is to pass along a few final tips on how to ensure you’ve submitted the best possible business school essays possible. The advice actually comes John Rice, an HBS grad, business school admissions guru, and founder of Management Leadership For Tomorrow (MLT, www.ML4T.org). MLT is a national non-profit organization dedicated to developing diverse leaders and professionals, and it is an organization I’m proud to be part of. (As usual, I can never really say enough about how valuable MLT is) I’ll note that John originally posted his information on a website named GottaMentor (gottamentor.com) which which was co-founded by his wife Andrea Rice and is a social networking site created for high potential professionals to share information. All the B-school applicants, students, and graduates out there should definitely check it out. Unlike Facebook, LinkedIn, and other networking sites, Gotta Mentor is geared specifically toward business professionals and “allows you to engage people who will add true value to YOUR career.” Have a look at John’s article below and ionce you finish up the essays, come back and check out Gotta Mentor as well.

Good luck!

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Source: Gotta Mentor
Author: John Rice
Title: Business School Essays That Get You In
Link: http://www.gottamentor.com/ViewGeneralAdvice.aspx?g=14

Here is an excerpt from John’s Article

“One of the most important aspects of applying to business school is understanding how to tell your story in a way that translates your strengths and accomplishments into high potential for positive impact at your target MBA campus and later as a leader over the course of your post-MBA career. Focus the body of your story on articulating and illustrating the following things:

1. What you are passionate about and why, and what that implies for your long-term career goals. Your story should focus on what you want to accomplish in life/why and secondarily how business school fits into that plan. Failing to be introspective and genuine about what you really care about and what you really want to do with your life virtually eliminates the chance that you will tell a unique, memorable, and compelling story. Many applicants make the mistake of …. ” (Click here to see the rest of John’s essays advice)

2009 was an interesting year. I left my consulting job in the spring after finally deciding to return to business school and law school. And what timing! The financial crisis had just struck and the fear of recession left all of the business world scrambling. At the same Barack Obama had just made political and legal history with his historic presidential election. I was pretty excited at the chance to study these economic and political events, especially since I’d be enrolling in a JD-MBA program. But it became hard to remain so excited as I watched layoffs, bankruptcies, and unemployment begin to take over.

Ever since the past summer, I’ve tried to keep up with the news, chat with my classmates, and solicit perspectives from industry professionals trying figure out exactly what’s going on. To be honest, I’m still not 100% certain, maybe not even 50% certain of everything that’s happening, as I’m by no means an expert on economic or labor issues. But I suspect that one’s viewpoint is pretty correlated to their experiences in the labor market, and sometimes it can be hard to see outside of that perspective.

For example, I had a discussion with a classmate from the investment banking industry (economics defines this as skilled labor) during the first week of class. We were discussing how recruiting was supposed to be down 40% – 50% this year, and his perspective was that everyone should really embrace the situation. That hard times create new opportunities, give new learning experiences, and spawn new ideas and companies.

In a second conversation, I talked with a family member who works in a position that earns an hourly wage (economics defines this as unskilled labor) and his employer had cut back his hours. Because of his situation, he empathized a lot more with those who were unemployed, and he suspects that the recovery will be a longer and a more difficult process, and that speeding it up requires a more of a collaborative effort to help people to find jobs. I think both perspectives are pretty valid.

But whether or not you agree with either perspective, the common denominator is that we are in pretty tough times now and that recovery will depend both on a collaborative effort and a willingness to consider new opportunities to solve the problem. Until now, MBAs have been contributing to the recovery mostly by forecasting unemployment rates, analyzing spending patterns, and predicting the market turnaround. And JDs have been looking at similar issues, but focusing on finding ways to use their technical skills with the law and policy skills to create change.

My opinion–for what it’s worth–is that given certain structural problems in the modern economy, many of these financial and legal tactics, while useful, may ultimately prove to do nothing more than to cover the wound, rather than address the bigger cultural issues that in recent history have influenced our levels of consumption, debt, and greed.

If business and law schools want to continue to play a role in the recovery, they should reflect on how these issues fit into the country’s top priorities. Over the last few decades, MBAs have flocked to the finance industry and law school graduates to corporate law (a field that works directly with the finance industry) both lured by six-figure salaries that are 3x (and more) the average wage. In return, these smart graduates have worked in roles that emphasize getting things done over learning, charge excessive rates for services, and structure deals to maximize profit. And because there was so much profit, other industries looked up to the industry and soon followed suit.

This mentality eventually made its way into the mortgage industry, and needless to say, as soon as its companies began to offer credit, Americans began to borrow. A lot. They applied for new lines of credit, bought new homes and cars, and got big screen TVs and went on vacations. Unfortunately, this era of growth was in some respects artificial. In the end, people overextended themselves financially, and eventually found themselves in too deep once the economy slowed.

In November, the media and administration became optimistic again and claimed that we were rebounding from the crisis and that jobs would be back in no time. I’m not so sure I agree. From my perspective, it seems as though there are far too many people out of work now, and the average length of unemployment is closing in on a year in some locations, a number will stay on the rise given the decreasing number of jobs.

One thing I’ve learned in the past two years watching much of this unfold is that one of the most important resource a company has in the long-term is still its people. And that resource needs to be prioritized right alongside profitability. This is true especially in challenging times because even when profits and the stock market are down, the stock of a company’s employees can be up. People can collaborate to come up with new ideas, they help a company adjust, adapt and change with the markets, they learn and implement new technology and promote innovation, and they can work together to accomplish more than their individual capabilities.

Unfortunately, the majority of Americans aren’t afforded the training or education to fine tune their management or critical thinking skills, so they end up in lower paying jobs, can’t save their money, remain in deep debt, and can’t positively impact the economy, while only a minority of Americans at the top thrive. Not only is this socially troubling but many also argue that in the long run it may also economically less productive.

This is certainly the view of the Obama administration, which is why the president wants to focus more on education and training and make decisions based on longer-term public investment. In his view, the economy does best when all Americans have the chance to increase in skill and contribute to the market. Many people agree with him ideologically but many also object because of the costs and the up front time investment.

Obama is also working with companies to adjust compensation plans to make them more fair and to reduce layoffs in the workforce, both of which are controversial with economists. Maybe his strategy stems from the idealism or aversion to risk that comes along with being trained as a lawyer. Or perhaps it’s easier for him to think that broadly since he’s not feeling the pressure of a collapsing industry on his shoulders. Perhaps it’s also because his shareholders are comprised of the broader population, and not financial investors, so his policy incentives are different. Who knows? But the interesting part to me is that both the policy (JD) and economic (MBA) perspectives seem critical in analyzing economic recovery.

And so both MBAs and JDs can play a major role in helping save the economy. As MBAs continue to look for profitable deals, invest in companies, and architect executive pay plans, they are also called to leverage profits to create jobs, use investments to steer innovation, and think more broadly about human capital and not just executives. Similarly, lawyers also have dual obligations. And instead of simply relying on facts and mitigation of risk to make decisions, lawyers must think more critically about the issues. They need to weigh the economic issues with the resulting social issues, think about how those issues affect a broader range of people, anticipate a wider range of possible outcomes, and then balance risk with those outcomes to come up with new policy plans.

Easier said than done? Perhaps. Brokering a balance between profit and social value, when there are diverse points of view and competing agendas is rarely easy. To lead America down that path requires leaders who are not afraid of change and who deeply believe that social values are just as important as economic value. I suspect that given our economy, more people will be open to change and aware of social values than ever before.

Personally, the recession has certainly forced me to reflect on change. Having old colleagues, friends, and family members directly affected by the market has made me more empathetic to those still in the workforce, especially those who don’t have education as a buffer.

Society should also take time to do some reflecting. And perhaps in 2010, society will decide that instead of focusing so much on pricing strategies and stock market gains, it will also start to focus on creating opportunities for education, promoting generosity in the midst of competition, and maximizing human potential, and not just profits. And in the end, perhaps these will pave the way for recovery to a more stable economy.

Business schools and law schools should welcome the opportunity to be at the forefront of this change.

Hey all, I wanted to write to say happy new year and thanks for following my blog in 2009. It’s definitely been great getting so many comments and emails from you, and I hope that the trend continues in 2010. As usual, I’ll do my best to respond quickly to your comments and be responsive to the content you find most interesting.

Given that we are already in the new year, that means that our first day in class is lingering. I just got back into Chicago a couple of days ago, and am getting ready to start classes again in two days. I’m looking forward to the second semester and I suspect I’ll be posting quite a bit over the next few weeks.

Also, given the new year, I’ve recently noticed that there’s a lot of talk going on about whether the end of 2009 was the end of the decade or if that’s not until 2010. I’m not sure what the technical answer is, and in fact, I think there are pretty potent arguments for both answers. Either way, the Harvard Business Review (MBA leadership blog) did happen to post a couple of interesting (and short) articles on business issues over the last decade if you’re interested. I’ve also posted an article on the Top Ten Business School Stories in 2009 by BusinessWeek, which is a pretty good read. Unfortunately I couldn’t find anything similar for law schools.

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Title: “A Better Decade Of Business Is Coming”
Author: Gill Corkindale
Source: Harvard Business Review

Title: “The Decade in Management Ideas”
Author: Julia Kirby
Source: Harvard Business Review

Title: “Top Ten Business School Stories of 2009″
Author: Alison Damast and Geoff Gloeckler
Source: BusinessWeek