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Sharing Information With A Prospective Student

Many years ago when I was in grade school, I remember learning that quid pro quo meant “this for that.”  When I first learned it, I didn’t think I’d actually end up in law school where the phrase is used more regularly.  But I did end up here, and in fact, I just heard the phrase today in my employment law class when we discussed a work-related retaliation case. Similarly, in my contracts class last semester, we used the phrase to actually define a contract, where one party exchanges an item of value for something that the other party values (law students also know this as “consideration”). But my usage here in this post is just a tad bit different, because it’s not academic and it’s more similar to giving than it is to a mere exchange.

Last night, I spoke with admit to the JD-MBA program. The admit originally contacted me through my website, after which we connected at Northwestern during Admit Weekend.  Yesterday, I chatted with him on the phone to answer a few of his questions about the program, and somehow our planned 20-30 minute conversation went well over an hour. And during the call, we not only discussed factual information about the schools and the program, but I also tried to share more nuanced information that you can’t always pull down from websites or find on forums or newsletters — perspectives of my classmates, opinions from people I’ve recently spoken with, recruiting in today’s market, and other intangible parts of being here.

For many people, I suspect this may have been a bit burdensome. After all, we’re coming up on the end of the semester, and our final Legal Writing (CLR) paper is due in just a couple of days. And for me, that’s in addition to two projects that are due this week and a two day trip I’m taking out of town tomorrow night in the middle of it all. But as we were chatting, those things really didn’t matter.  I spent more time thinking about the fact that I enjoy sharing information with others, especially about the program, and I spent more time reflecting back at how two of the then-2nd year JD-MBA students (now 3rd year JD-MBAs) spent significant time on my calls and emails a year ago when I was accepted.  I’m sure they were busy too, but I never knew it. Instead, they always talked as long as I needed and answered whatever questions I had, which was really helpful. And for a second, giving back here felt a bit like quid pro quo.

But not the typical kind of quid pro quo that you might find in a contract where you’re entitled to something in return, or in a negotiation where you analyze the outcome to see who got the best value. Instead I’m thinking about something more generous and altruistic in nature, which probably takes us away from the real “quid pro quo” and more into the realm of paying it forward, or better yet, simply giving or giving back to your community.

Because in the end, most people can’t do everything on their own, but instead could often use a hand getting there, especially when it comes to finding more information. I’m sure you can think of a time when you needed a hand (or a piece of information) but didn’t have one. I sure can. But just imagine–what if everyone did give a hand? And what if everyone openly shared what they knew? Maybe over time, the mentality would be contagious. It could affect everyone around you, maybe even cascade through all your social networks and eventually take off and impact masses and masses of people. I think they call this the network effect. But even if it didn’t, giving back is still more fun and more fulfilling anyways and over time I think it always makes a difference. I’m glad I had the chance to take the call. Hopefully the information was helpful. And hopefully we’ll see him here again next year.

That’s my take on sharing information. What’s your take?

2 Comments to Sharing Information With A Prospective Student

TB
March 12, 2010

Hey Jeremy,

This is an excellent post. I find it especially relevant at this point in my career where I have amassed a good and varied amount of experience in my field so I am able to help others, but at the other end of the spectrum, I am looking to go back to school soon and am not as knowledgeable about the process and need all the help I can get.

While there are certainly constraints with time and schedule (amongst many other reasons) why many are not apt to share information, I think sometimes people fear that by helping others or sharing information, they are somehow losing out or shortchanging themselves; and it is that fear that sometimes makes folks hold back when they can indeed help. The beautiful thing about giving is that you get so much back when you give. In that sense, I would say it is indeed quid pro quo. I have never personally had an instance where I gave of my time, knowledge or any resource to someone in need and ended up regretful. That being said, I believe the motive behind the gesture has to be right. For example, if I help others purely for recognition/accolades or for self serving motives then I have lost out on the benefits of giving.

There was a speaker at the Kellogg BMA conference who made reference to this and it strongly resonated with me. While I do not remember his exact words, I believe he expressed this metaphorically something along the lines of climbing a mountain. He uses his left hand which is his weaker hand to climb up, and then uses his right hand which is his stronger hand to lift others who are coming below him.

Clearly, this is something I really feel passionate about so I will try to not ramble on. I do appreciate this post though and admire your dedication to helping others even with your already full plate. It certainly makes a difference over time, so I am also very glad you had the chance to take the call.

Jeremy C Wilson
March 16, 2010

@TBThanks for the note TB. I’m glad you enjoyed the post and I appreciate your kind words. I’m also glad that you find so much of the information useful. Please feel free to continue posting comments along the way.

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