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The model of American business schools is radically changing. In times past, students came to business school, looked for the highest paying jobs they could find, and looked forward to making lots of money upon graduation. But in today’s age, the business school experience is different. Today, it’s more possible than ever to pursue socially-driven goals at business school. To work with organizations that not only want to make a profit but also want to make a difference. One of those organizations that I’m working with at Kellogg is Cristo Rey Jesuit High School. And just last week, I had the great pleasure of attending Cristo Rey’s annual fundraiser in downtown Chicago, as an incoming Board Member for 2011-2012.

Just last week, I had the pleasure of attending Cristo Rey high school’s annual VIVA! (CLICK HERE for description and pictures) scholarship fundraiser at Millennium Park’s Harris Theater rooftop terrace.  And what a great event it turned out to be!  It was a day of inspiration for those who wanted to reflect on how well the school had done last year. A day of celebration for the school’s former students and employees. And a day of participation, not only for volunteers wanting to get more involved but also for people in Chicago, including the city’s new mayor, Rahm Emanuel.

In addition to being a hit, the event was also my introduction to Cristo Rey, which is important as the incoming Kellogg Board Fellow for the next year. So I met with the Chairman of the board and the Chairman of one of the board committees. I met with the Director of Development, and another members of his team. And I met with a couple of past board fellows who not only loved their experience on the board but also continue to serve the organization by working on the junior board today.

But more important than seeing the mayor and meeting with board members was that I also had a chance to finally see the school first hand. To take a peak at the institution that’s considered a long-time pioneer in the education field. And the school that’s praised for coming up with one of today’s most innovative business models in urban education. A model that allows the students to earn a percentage of their tuition by working five full days each month in entry-level positions at top corporations in downtown Chicago - major banks, law firms, hospitals, and consulting firms.

And at the root of this innovation was the idea that top organizations, like Cristo Rey, do well because they use business to do good, not just to make profits. And that its board members and board fellows understand that with this privilege of being successful comes responsibility. Not just to go out and do well, but also to give back and to make the world better. And to do it in a way that has lasting impact.

Personally, I want to have impact in the education field. And in the end, it sounds like joining Cristo Rey will allow me to do just that over the upcoming year. I look forward to joining the Cristo Rey community.

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To learn more about Cristo Rey, CLICK HERE for the website.  Also, see below for the video on 60 minutes.

Because business school is demanding, getting caught up in all the hustle and bustle is easy to do. Most of  us not only spend the majority of our time in the same building but also in the same spots in Evanston. But the problem with spending too much time in a single place it is that over time you start to feel a bit one dimensional. But fortunately, students in business school take the notion of time pretty seriously, especially at top schools like Kellogg, where students are so busy.

I bring this topic up as a lot of people in the first year class are talking about it. How to get more free time before the summer. How to ensure they achieve balance during their internships. And how to maximize their experience, not only now but also next year.

This topic is also something the second years are thinking about as they graduate in just two weeks, and will eventually head back out into the workforce.  Below are a couple of things I’ve been thinking about recently, as I’ve been seeking to create a bit more balance and ensure that I enjoy my time.

1. Decrease the time I spend in the building. More recently, I’ve been thinking about how much time I spend at Jacobs (MBA building), and getting out a lot more than I used to. This isn’t to say I don’t put in long hours. After all, sometimes being busy calls for you to put in a lot of hours in some cases. But it does mean ensuring I’m not stuck in the building all day, especially on nice spring days. So I’ll find other places to do work.
2. Identify things that take up a lot of time. I’ve been thinking a lot about the things that take up a lot of my time. And in general, if something is taking up a lot of your time, I think about how valuable it is. Unnecessary meetings. Unnecessary talks on campus. Distracting websites online. Anything where I realize I’ve spent far too much time. The exceptions are things that you consider to be highly valuable.
3. Block out non-work time. One thing we’re told from day one, but don’t really understand until later in the year is to protect your free time. So nights, weekends, and times you want to do things for yourself, such as work out. In general, it’s important to block off time outside of school to maintain your sanity.
4. Be ruthless with your time. One of my best friends, Marquis Parker, told me this quote before business school began. Having heard it from an MBA alum before he began at Stanford GSB, he said the best advice he got was “to be ruthless with your time.” So this year, I’ve tried to do the same. Because if you don’t, you’ll see that your time just disappears and that you don’t have anything to show for it.

By thinking about some of these ideas, I’ve done a lot to find more time during the year. And I’m glad I did. Because upon reflection, if I couldn’t find more time now, in school, where our schedules are more flexible than every, chances are I wasn’t going to find it after graduation either.

Good luck!

Failure is the best teacher. That’s the lesson my parents always taught me.  It’s also the lesson many of us have heard from our professors and bosses as we’ve navigated our professional careers so far. But how accurate is this advice? And can you ever think back to a time where you didn’t necessarily agree with it? Well, after seeing lots of successes and failures over the past year in business school, I’ve come wonder about the same question. Is failure actually good for you?

As you might imagine, there are two competing sides to the argument.

On one hand, conventional wisdom says that the best way to learn is to learn from failure.  Because yoou’re more heavily invested. More emotionally connected. And think about things more intensely when everything goes wrong. Especially entrepreneurs, who have to learn because they can’t afford to make the same mistakes two times.  This concept is also reinforced in business school, where almost every activity is set to have a lot of competition. And since everyone can’t win, then a lot of people have to fail. This forces you reflect on the things you didn’t do well enough, and figure out how to do it better the second time.

On the other hand, most people know that failure is also hard to take. Especially when the stakes are high and you’ve put a lot of  time and effort in to pursue your the end goal. This happens every year in business school during the core classes, where only 40% can get As, meaning that 50% have to get Bs and 10% have to get Cs. And these 10% are usually very smart people. This also happens during the recruiting cycle, where people spend hours pouring over cases and studying industry trends but aren’t successful pursuing certain jobs. In some cases, failure can not only hurt emotionally, but also undermine your self-confidence. There’s been many stories about that at the top business schools, not to mention complaints from students who participate.

Upon reflection, in some cases, I wonder if people actually learn anything from failure.  Maybe instead, they are worse off. And even when things end up better the second time, it’s because those who failed are simply better at trying the second time around than the first time. And so no matter whether they succeeded or failed the first time, they are better than people who haven’t done it before, but not necessarily better specifically due to failure.  And even when they aren’t “actually” better the second time around, maybe other people think that they’re better so give them more support, helping them to do better the second time.  In this way, the act of failure hasn’t added value.

But don’t confuse my argument.  I’m not saying you shouldn’t learn when you fail.  After all, in some cases failure can offer you the most unique insights that you might not have gained otherwise. But in the end, I just wonder whether creating a culture of failure, and specifically constant failure as created in business school, is actually better than a culture of success. And are MBA programs doing the right thing by setting up these scenarios where students fail, on average, a lot more often than they succeed.

I don’t know the answer. Either way, it’s an interesting debate.

We’ve all heard the saying before. That to be great, you have to pursue your biggest passions. Those seemingly impossible goals that come to mind in your bravest moments. Those game-changing ideas you want to pursue when you feel like you’re on top of the world. But also those ideas that fleet faster than the blink of an eye, when the notion of fear takes over. Well, Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, discussed some of those same topics in a recent talk she gave.

In a recent graduation talk at Barnard, Sheryl Sandberg, addressed this very topic. That professionals, specifically women, need to think big when they are thinking about their careers. And although her talk was specifically directed at the graduating women, many of its principles can be applied more broadly.

Sandberg talked about her experience at Facebook, and some of the lessons she learned there. She noted that one thing she learned working with great entrepreneurs (Mark Zuckerberg at Facebook, Larry Page and Sergey Brin at Google) “was that if you want to make a difference, you have to think big and dream big, right from day one.” And that at Facebook, they try to keep employees thinking this way all day. She noted the posters around the walls, used to motivate employees. One of them said, “Fortune favors the bold.” The other asked, “What would you do if you weren’t afraid?”

Broadly speaking, the idea was this. If you don’t shoot for the stars, you’ll never know what you’re capable of.  You’ll never have the chance to write the screenplay. Or create a groundbreaking documentary. Start your own company. Or take part in changing the world. And she said that the message rings true for everyone, especially those with more to lose from failure.

This same question also echoes in the halls of Kellogg. Especially now, as graduation is lingering and students are thinking not only about their jobs after school, but also about their long term career goals. Will they risk it all to be great and to impact the world? Or will they take the route that provides more stability?

In an event with my former company, Bottlenotes, last night, CEO, and entrepreneur extraordinaire, Alyssa Rapp said it best. She said, “You have to be brave.”

Well, I agree with Alyssa and I agree with Sheryl that you have to be brave. Furthermore, I challenge all of my readers (and myself) not be afraid. And instead to go where no one has gone before. To try something you’ve never done before. And to risk it all to do something big.

In the words of Sheryl at the very end of her speech: “Ask yourself, what would I do if I weren’t afraid? And then go do it.”

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For the best parts of the speech, I recommend you watch 16:00 until the end.

Also, for more information about Alyssa Rapp and my trip to the Bottlnotes event in 2010, CLICK HERE.

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Have you ever received an offensive email from someone but didn’t quite know how to respond? I have. Well what about an offensive comment that was delivered in person? Yeah, that’s happened to me too. In fact, my hunch is just about every single one of us have been in that same situation. Well, just recently, Jim Hendry, the General Manager of the Chicago Cubs came to speak to my class class. And in addition to sharing his thoughts about the sports industry, he also gave us his theory on this dilemma, named the “24 Hour Rule.”

The 24 Hour Rule seemed to be one of his personal mantras. The rule says, if someone says something that irritates you, then you should sleep on it first, and then if it still bothers you by the next day, you should be sure to respond thoughtfully within 24 hours.

The idea is that you shouldn’t respond too quickly, because you more than likely run the risk of overreacting due to your emotion. On the other hand, you also shouldn’t wait too long to respond, because after 24 hours, it may feel too late to bring up the conversation again.

In reality, most of us lean one way or the other. We either spend far too long deliberating whether to bring it back up. Or we respond too quickly, failing to come up with a more thoughtful response.

On the other hand, great leaders have superb communication skills. Not only do they address critical issues quickly, but they also address them thoughtfully and with consideration for the other person.

So how are you going to respond to the next offensive comment you hear?

Unsure? Then maybe try the 24 hour rule to see if that helps.

Every day, the managers at your company have a direct impact on your career. They hire and fire team members who you will work with. They make important decisions not only about the team’s work but also about your work. And they are the ones who make decisions about your future at the organization. These are the kinds of things many of us are thinking about, or at least should be thinking about, as we’re considering our careers after Kellogg. And it’s also something, we’ve been thinking about in my leadership coaching class.

In my leadership coaching class each Friday, we talk a lot about what it means to be a good leader. And we discuss the things we can do to develop into good leaders ourselves. As part of that, we also think about the things we valued in our previous managers, and the types of leaders we want to be one day.  In fact, last week, we wrote leadership statements and then read them in front of the class.

The class reminded me of one of my favorite mottos in business. The Five Percent Rule.

The Five Percent Rule (as I’ve learned it) says that if leaders just focus on others for 5% of the time, then it’s worth their time because they’ll get far more than that 5% of time back in performance from the person they coached. Specifically, if they spend time each week coaching you, sharing their vision with you, helping guide your career, and being a resource for you, then you’ll do better work, you’ll have a greater sense of loyalty, and you’ll work harder, easily making up for that 5% of time they spent.

And this holds true for every level in business, even at the top. Because even the best leaders need to brainstorm have someone help them think about what’s going on.

Fortunately, I had mentor like this in my last two jobs. What about you?

There is a new entrepreneurial movement taking place in the business world today. Professionals and students all over the world are working harder than ever before to come up with innovative ideas to solve some of the world’s most challenging problems. To tackle some of the most difficult challenges both in business and in law. Well, one of those entrepreneurs is my classmate, Divya Narendra. Over the past 18 months in the JD-MBA program, I’ve watched Divya Narendra work tirelessly to build his financial services social network start-up, SumZero.

Divya is undoubtedly a different type of student. While most people in my class are headed to corporate America for the summer and after graduation, Divya never once considered it. Instead he’s been working non-stop on his company ever since stepping foot on campus. Even as a 1L at law school when everyone else was cramming for final exams, Divya was taking calls from investors and future members during exam period. Likewise, I remember sitting next to him in Constitutional Law. While everyone was ferociously outlining notes during class, he was responding to emails from users on his website in addition to taking notes.

One thing that has always inspired me is people who do things differently. Those who don’t go the conventional route. And people who give it their all to do something novel, even outlandish.

Fortunately, for Divya, all the risk and the work have paid off, as today he’s built one of the top start-ups on the planet. Recently dubbed “The Facebook of Wall Street” SumZero has been featured on CNBC, Bloomberg, and FastMoney. And just this past week, Divya also did another interview on Bloomberg. On the interview he talks about his company SumZero, and what it means to build a social network for the buy side on Wall Street.  See below for information on Divya, SumZero, and the interview.

CLICK HERE to see that interview.
CLICK HERE to go to SumZero.
CLICK HERE to learn more about Divya

Being a business school student can at times be a pretty tiring experience. In the beginning students are excited, so they stay as busy as they can for as long as they can. In the winter quarter, you work hard, in hopes to land your dream during recruiting season.  And in the spring quarter, you want to enjoy the new-found sunny weather and take part in all the activities on campus before the year is over.  In the process, most students also get pretty tired during the year, so, I’ve dedicated a quick post to discussing how exhausting the first year of business school can be. This post comes as a continuation of the post I wrote, called Happiness During First Year of Business School.

The fact that people get tired in business school is certainly not a surprise. After all, the hours are long. The work can be tedious. And the number of activities can at times feel overwhelming, In hindsight, I think one of the reasons people get tired is due to taking on too much too soon. Without actually knowing how busy business school will be, students become over-committed very early on, singing up for activities and clubs and gong to a lot of corporate presentations. This becomes especially apparent during the recruiting season, when you need every extra minute you can find, but often times you can’t find one.

One way that people start to overcome the tiredness is by learning how to say no. You realize that you don’t have to take part in every activity. That you can’t go to every social event. That you don’t have to get every answer to every problem correct. And at some point, the 80/20 rule starts to make a lot more sense, because using it helps you to manage your time and your fatigue levels a lot better.

So, without further ado, below I’ve made a “Tiredness” Graph. Note that this graph is not reflective of every student’s experience. In fact, it isn’t even a reflection of my own experience per se. Rather, it’s simply meant to highlight the trend of tiredness levels of the average MBA student, not only at Kellogg but at many top schools. Especially those that operate under the quarter system.

A few pieces of analysis

1. More important than if the actual levels are all reflective of your experience is the idea that the tiredness levels trend downward. I think this correct, as over the course of the year, students get better at prioritizing, at saying no, and frankly at taking on less activities.

2. I also think it’s important to see that most students start out pretty tired. For JD-MBAs this is especially true given we’re taking final exams, recruiting at law firms, moving to Evanston, and going on KWEST all at the same time, right before CIM starts. But even for 2 year MBA students, KWEST and CIM are enough to exhaust you right from the outset.

3. Transitions also prove to be the most tiring parts of Kellogg. Transitioning from summer finals to KWEST/CIM (for JD-MBAs), from CIM to classes, from Ski Trip to winter quarter, and from GIM back to spring quarter are all tiring moments during the first year.

4. Constant fatigue also looks to be the norm. Even though there are a number of points where fatigue levels are low, there are significantly more points where they are high. Likewise, the average number is always closer to seven than it is to any other number. Everything I know suggests that this is done purposefully by MBA programs.

In the end, it would have been interesting to do something similar in law school. I suspect there would have been three differences. (1) One, that the average level of tiredness would have been higher. (2) Two that there would have been more consistent tiredness levels rather than peaks and valleys. (3) And three, that tiredness would have trended upward as pressure mounted more and more toward the end of the long semester. Not that this should come as a surprise. After all, law school is often considered to be the most grueling year in any graduate school.

Stay tuned as I plan to continue the series on future posts.

* Have something to add? Please feel free to share your thoughts and ideas.

We’re finally in the midst of spring quarter here at Kellogg. For most that means recruiting is finally over, and we finally get a chance to have some fun for  a couple of weeks before starting our summer jobs.  But in spite of all of our free time, many of us have still been thinking a lot about what we’ll be doing for the summer and if we’ll end up liking it. Likewise, I too have been thinking a lot about the summer.  And because I’ve been looking at the careers report recently, I thought it’d be interesting to share some data I found on how things have shaped up over the past year.

Like many of you, I was under the impression that internship and summer employers had a fair amount of overlap. But before running the numbers, I didn’t quite realize how much overlap they had. Likewise, I also suspected that more full-time offers were given out than internship offers. But that too is much more clear now after organizing the data. And finally, I also knew that most people here went into the Big 3 industries – consulting, banking and marketing. But I didn’t quite realize how much consulting and marketing dominated until actually finishing up some of the numbers.

Here below I’ve listed the Top 10 recruiters of full-time jobs and internships last year at the Kellogg School of Management. And below that, I included a few notes about the data.

** Various @ 5 hires includes AT Kearny, Accenture, Barclays Capital, Baxter, Danaher, Deloitte, General Mills, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, PRTM Management Consultants

** Various @ 7 hires includes AT Kearny, Accenture, and Goldman Sachs

1. On average, the big three consulting firms hired 25% more full time consultants than interns.  When considering these numbers, also note that the pool of interviewees is also different, as it doesn’t include those who were happy with their summer internships at other companies and did not recruit in their second year.

2. Of the three consulting firms, Bain is the only one that hired less full time than for internships. This is more an interesting fact than anything else, as the others had a pretty significant increase in their full time hiring.

3. Deloitte and Booz did not make the Top 10 list for summer internship employers, but they place #4 and #5 respectively on the full time list. This suggests that both firms hire a lot more full time MBAs than they do for the summer. So aspiring consultants might be inclined to recruit their during their second year.

4. If you look at all the consulting firms in the top ten, there were 36 more jobs for those who recruited full time than for those who sought out internships. That represents a 41% increase.

5. Overall, the top ten employers hired 23 more students, an 18% increase, suggesting that the big employers enjoying coming back to Kellogg a second time in the fall to scoop up a few extra MBAs. However, this does not take into account that multiple employers tied for #10 for both summer and full time employers.

6. For full time employers, only one financial services firm (Goldman Sachs) made the top 10 employer list. For summer internships, three made the top 10 list (Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Barclays Capital). This is inclusive of having multiple employers tied for #10 on each list.

7. And finally, one of my biggest observations was that there were not any nonprofits in the top ten. Not that this came as a surprise. I suspect that the same is true for all the top business schools. On the other hand, think about how things might look in society if one, even two, of the employers here were nonprofits or government agencies. Could be interesting.

Stay tuned for similar posts in the near future!

Conventional wisdom in leadership development classes is that you should just about always discover and focus on your strengths instead of your weaknesses, assuming they are aligned with the goals of your organization. Because no matter how much you work on your weaknesses, chances are you’ll make more progress on the things you’re good at. Not everyone in the leadership community agrees, but in some ways it’s a reasonable approach. And it’s also something we’ve been talking a lot about in my leadership development class this quarter.

1. Individualization
2. Achiever
3. Activator
4. Communication
5. WOO (Winning Others Over)

In the end, I enjoyed taking the test, though I probably enjoyed the Meyers Briggs test a little more. Likewise, I also enjoyed getting some of my “Strengths” though I was quite shocked that one or two of the other didn’t show up on the list.

But more important than the test you decide to take and more important than the actual strengths the test gives you, is that you start the process of thinking about them. Because self-reflection is probably the most important leadership trait you can have.

According to Kellogg Professor Harry Kraemer, “If you are not self-reflective, how can you truly know yourself?” writes Kraemer. “If you do not know yourself, how can you lead yourself? If you cannot lead yourself, how can you possibly lead others?”

Just about everyone knows that relationships are just as important as the academic part of business school. And that meeting a good group of friends early in the business school process can really set you up to have a fun year at Kellogg. In my view, the best way to do that at Kellogg is on the pre-orientation KWEST trip. And because I had such a blast taking part in the KWEST Mystery Trip last year, this year I’ve decided to lead one. So at the end of the summer, me and four of my best friends at Kellogg will be leading a trip of 20 incoming students to Ecuador.

In my opinion, Ecuador should be one of the most fun trips possible. As you can see from the description on the website, our trip is probably one of the more activity-driven trips you can go on. Not only does it give you a taste of the Andes but it also takes you to the Amazon and to a variety of other places in the region, including to a Shaman’s house in the jungle and on a hike that will eventually lead to white water rafting. We’re all very excited for the trip!

A few other noteworthy trips this year include Italy led by one of my good friends Diana Ricketti, France led by one of my good friends and JD-MBA classmates Kunal Gulati, Spain led by my roommate Greg Sherman and friend/JD-MBA classmate Divya Narendra, and Greece led by my other roommate Jon Greer.

But in the end, no matter which trip you ultimately go on, I’m sure each and every admit will have a complete blast. Because more important than just the adventurous hikes, breathtaking views, unique cultural experiences with locals in the region, is that you’ll also get to share all of those experiences with classmates, many that will become friends and close friends at Kellogg. Definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Still interested? If so, see below for the description I wrote on the trip. CLICK HERE for a link to the official Ecuador website.And CLICK HERE to see all the other KWEST trips.

Good luck!

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Description of KWEST Ecuador

“Indescribable” is the first word that comes into mind when describing the high-impact jungle-driven trip we have in store for you in Ecuador. Join twenty incoming students from different “walks” of life eagerly awaiting the chance to “walk” through the Amazonian jungle and dive right into the Kellogg experience … literally. You’ll dive in the waterfalls of Ecuador with a beautiful backdrop of lush jungle. You’ll ride one of the highest aerial lifts in the world up one of Ecuador’s grassy-sloped volcanoes on the Andean Canyon. You’ll walk through the hot springs surrounding the paradise of the endemic Polylepis forest. And you’ll spend the day with a Shaman, learning how to hunt, how to protect yourself from jaguars, and how to survive in the jungle like Tarzan. And with the Tarzan and Jane juices flowing, you’ll swing all the way to the long awaited BIG REVEAL on Thursday, where you’ll not only reveal your backgrounds with your KWEST-mates but also revel with them in the jungle afterward, survivor style. But not to worry the trip isn’t all roughing it. To spice things up, we’ll also visit the nearest discoteca where you can drink some “jungle juice” and bust a few dance moves as well as let you take advantage of one of Ecuador’s finest spa treatments. And when it’s all said and done, you can say you were part of the most daring yet exciting tribe of students at Kellogg. Sound fun? Then Water-fall in love with Ecuador” is the trip for you!

One thing I’ve recently noticed is that my classmates have been a lot busier than I expected this quarter. Some are still looking for jobs. Some are taking the maximum number of classes this term, even though they don’t have to. Others have gotten involved in even more clubs than they were last quarter. And others are challenging themselves in the classroom to learn as much as possible before heading into a new industry for the summer. The question that comes to mind is, how much of this busy-ness is actually worth it?

Over the past nine months, I’ve come to realize two things.

One, is that business school will keep you busy.  In fact, everyone becomes so busy that they start making to-do lists. Crossing things off and putting more things back on the list. Finding more activities to get involved in. Taking more classes. Going to more events. And doing more and more analysis to support the answers on problem sets, even when that analysis isn’t needed.

The second thing I’ve found is that doing this “busy-ness” is far easier than actually doing “business” even in business school.

That’s because busy-ness feels natural in our environment. From day one, the environment makes you used to the idea of not having enough time. You start learning the importance of firing off emails every few seconds. Talking to more people at the same time. And figuring out ways to get more things done.

But the problem is that often times, “busy-ness” is completely unrelated to “business” as business is about creating value not just producing.  It’s about creating new things for the market. And not just things the market wants but also things it doesn’t have enough supply of. And at its best, it’s about creating things the market doesn’t even have yet.

To that end, what if you spent all of tomorrow thinking about what those thing are?  And so you didn’t send any emails. You didn’t cross anything off your to-do list. And you didn’t do any analytical exercises for assignments.

But instead, you brainstormed a new idea for your class project. You thought about a way to launch that internet company you’ve been thinking about.  You wrote down ideas for a documentary. And you thought about how to create value in a massive way.

I challenge you (and me) to stop being busy for just one hour and instead do business. Only then will we be able to create new value and eventually change the world.

Over the past few years, aspiring business school students have been applying in large numbers to top MBA programs. Not only do they bring strong work experience from highly regarded companies, but they also come from top academic institutions and get top scores on the  GMAT exam.  As a result, applicants today feel the pressure to submit a top application given the stiff competition, particularly with regard to the GMAT scores which have been trending upwards the past few years. Well one of the best MBA admissions resources I know, Beat The GMAT, has recently launched its annual GMAT scholarship program aimed to help people applying to school.

Given the attention that students give to the GMAT, I couldn’t help but take a second to pass along the information when my friend Eric from Beat The GMAT passed it along. He told me it was that time of year again. When people are gearing up for applications. When they are thinking about the GMAT. And they are about to get started applying to MBA programs.

The scholarship program came out last week. And it is looks to be a great opportunity for those who look forward to embarking on their MBA journeys.  See below for details about the program and below that for a link to the Beat The GMAT website.

For reference, the deadline to submit an application is May 24, 2011.

Best of luck if you decide to apply.

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Blurb from Beat The GMAT webpage:

“Beat The GMAT is now accepting applications for the sixth annual Beat The GMAT Scholarship Competition, co-sponsored by Grockit, Kaplan,Knewton, Manhattan GMAT, Master GMAT, The Princeton Review, and Veritas Prep.  The Beat The GMAT Scholarship is one of the largest GMAT scholarship programs in the world and our community has distributed over $185,000 in awards to date. This year we have seven scholarship packages for seven people, valued at over $8,000! We accept applications up until May 24, 2011 and winners will be announced on June 1, 2011.”

Click here for the website: http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/scholarship

Globalization has become a bit of a buzzword over the past decade. People use it about as much as students throw around the word “leadership” in business school and about as frequently as MBA admissions teams talk about “fit” when discussing MBA applications. But fortunately, many institutions today are taking globalization pretty seriously, including Kellogg, where students are offered a plethora of opportunities to engage in international opportunities.

I bring this up as about half of the first year class has just returned from GIM trips to begin the spring quarter here at Kellogg. My specific GIM Trip went to Kenya, while some of my other classmates headed off to China, Southeastern Asia, South Africa, Brazil, India, and a number of other countries. The thing that stood out to me about Kenya is that the trip is part of the Global Health Initiative, a project that brings together faculty and students from across Northwestern to address the unique challenges of global health.

Furthermore, many other students embarked on their own trips for spring break, some to enjoy a few weeks abroad with friends and others to visit friends and family that they left to come to Kellogg. This year students went to Israel, Patagonia, Chile, the UAE and other far-reaching locations.

In addition to GIM, Kellogg offers a variety of ways to take part in international activities. Kellogg’s international major is the most basic way to take advantage of its International offerings, where students not only have the opportunity to study accounting, finance, marketing, and other management topics in an international context but also the chance to get real-world experience abroad, through classes like Global Lab and Global Initiatives in Management courses, both of which recently got back from trips abroad for spring break.

In addition to these academic experiences, students have also taken part in non-classroom activities. While most incoming students participate in KWEST, there is ample opportunity to lead KWEST as a second-year student and participate in Kellogg Corps at the end of the summer.

In the midst of all of these opportunities, students are continually encouraged to demonstrate the ability to work across boundaries. They must absorb and build consensus amidst a variety of competing opinions and perspectives while still articulating their own views. They must also demonstrate the ability to work with and through other people. They are expected to have the capacity to confront a wide variety of issues.

Because more than just the trips themselves, it’s also about opening up your mind and understanding the importance of gaining new experiences and perspectives. Especially since many of us will work on diverse teams. And these multicultural teams have an obvious advantage – they experience new things and provide a different way of thinking.

So, the next question is, does Kellogg actually do that well? I suspect everyone might have their own opinions on that one. But what Kellogg does provide is the venue for students to engage. To take trips. Engage other students. Learn different languages. Take a variety of classes. And travel with people who know the country. And Kellogg has even upped their game recently. In a recent press release, Kellogg announced the following:

“On the global front, we continue to review all of our international programs, and I am pleased to welcome Paul Christensen to the Office of the Dean in the newly-created role of Associate Dean for Global Programs.” He will be in charge of tracking our global activities (including both teaching and research), managing our EMBA partnerships, and helping us to craft our global strategy.”

I’m glad Kellogg recognizes how important globalization really is. Because in the end, organizations that understand the value of globalization are the ones that will not only change their own industries but also change the world.

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This post above represents a recent article I wrote an article for Kellogg’s newspaper, the Merger.

This past spring break, 32 Kellogg students traveled to Kenya as part of the Global Immersion in Management (GIM) class and the Global Heath Initiative (GHI) at the Kellogg School of Management. During this two week trip, me and my classmates traveled to Nairobi, Masai Mara and Kisumu. We studied the economy and learned how health care is delivered in Kenya. And we also had the once in a lifetime opportunity to go on a Safari over the weekend..

Before making it to Kenya, we all wondered what it would be like to see a safari, as the vast majority of us had never had the experience before.  Prior to arriving, most of us didn’t really have a clue that it would be so much fun, not to mention turn out to be one of the best parts of the GIM trip.

The safari began in from the very minute we landed in Masai Mara, about half way through the trip. And because we took private planes right to the middle of the safari land, upon our arrival, we were immediately excited to see everything the safari had to offer,  especially consider the warm weather, which was a stark contrast to the Chicago weather.

On our trip we saw a variety of animals and wildlife.  Among others, animals such as giraffes, monkeys, cheetahs, and elephants.  But from the first day, the lions stole the show. Not just because they were the most interesting animals but also because they were literally just a few feet from the vans. Further, because they had just had new baby cubs, we saw families sitting together just feet away from the driving path.

On the second day, we saw lions that had just made a kill. While generally this might sound a bit gruesome, it’s not necessarily a unique circumstance, as the animals have to find food in the wild. However, it is unique to see on a safari, so to actually see the kill and feasting first hand was great.

We also saw lots of elephants on the trip. On one of the earlier days we saw elephants close up as they were crossing the street. This scene was great, because we were so close to them, maybe 20 feet away. And it was especially interesting to watch, because the mother elephant crossed first in order to protect the baby elephant. As she crossed, I remember precisely the moment that she looked at the van, where we could tell that she was thinking about protecting her newborn, especially as her ears looked like they had begun to flap. And for just a minute we didn’t know if we were in trouble or not. But fortunately, she continued back to cross the road, while we continued to watch.

Toward the end of the trip, we also went to an elephant nursery, where we learned so much more about the elephants in Kenya and specifically about elephants that had been injured or abandoned and how they were brought to the nursery.  It was fun to watch all of them play together in front of the larger crowd of people, and while the attendees at the nursery (in green above) taught us more about the elephants.

What I found most interesting about the safari was that each day we went out we saw lots of animals. Contrary to the popular belief that most trips have one good outing, maybe two, for us all the trips were all full of fun and lively animals.  And as a result, the safari was a lot of fun.

Thanks Kellogg, and thanks student organizers for the cool opportunity! Hopefully we’ll have the chance to do it again in the near future.

Business school and law school are different – kind of like the left side of your brain is different from the right side. And not just because my classes are different and the topics discussed in the classrooms are different but also because my classmates are different and the flow of the conversation in the classroom are very different.  As the year continues to go by, that fact continues to become more and more evident.

If you are in a business school class, more often than not, numbers are king. You have to think about the financials. Build out the business plan. And think about quantitatively-proven strategies to help you execute that business plan.  Likewise, the cases are often about getting the right answer. So even though all the other aspects of the case are important, getting the right answer is usually most important, especially in classes like finance and accounting.

On the other hand, law school is more about the reasoning behind the answer. So we read hundreds of pages of cases. Discuss those cases in class. And think a lot about what a reasonable person would do in a similar situation. So even if arguments have been made in the past, we are also asked to formulate our own arguments and think about how to disprove the counterarguments. And not just in written form but also publicly, because most professors use the Socratic Method in class.

Like I mentioned in my last post, our arguments have to be good. Because the professors will probe, and because we have to make our arguments in front of lots of people whose opinions we care about, at least during our first year.  So you have to put in the work to be ready.

On the other hand, business school often has less work. Because once you come up with the answer, then you can be done.  Likewise working in teams often helps the flow of the discussion enormously. The exception might be in a very technical subject, and you have to do a lot of work just to learn some of the basics.

Upon reflection, I’m glad I am in the JD-MBA program. The program gives me a chance to mix it up a little. Build different skill sets. Meet different types of people. Indulge in different learning styles. And activate both my left brain and right brain.

What about you? Are you considering a JD-MBA program? If not, should you be?

If you are in a lecture-based class, for the most part you can sit back and listen. Every now and then you have to chime in and prove you read the book, but generally it doesn’t take much effort. On the other hand, case based classes are different. Especially with more assertive professors. Not only do you have to read the case more thoroughly, but you also have to think about the nuances of the case and consider a wider range of questions the professor might ask you. Well, just today, I went to my case based class and for just a quick second, I forgot that difference.

Just today, I went to my case based class called Entrepreneurial Finance. Entrepreneurial Finance, taught by Professor Steven Rogers, is one class I’ve been excited to take all year now. Not only does it go for a lot of points but it also usually gets great reviews.

The class is known to be intense during the actual class time, meaning that the class moves quickly and the professor does a lot of cold calling.  As one student recently told me, “it’s the one class you have to ALWAYS be prepared for.”  That’s because the professor’s style is to call on a lot of people.  To question their responses. Uncover their assumptions. And make them defend their arguments .. often with numbers.

As students, our job is to to take a stance. To make an argument – hopefully one that we believe in. Leverage data to support our arguments. And if possible persuade the masses, which is no easy feat in a class of 104 second year students that all read and analyzed the case differently

So upon reflection, it often seems like cases aren’t only about the decision, but also about the argument. How you frame your thoughts. How you communicate the message. And how to show the professor you’ve given a well thought-out response. Especially since participation is 50% of your grade in this class.

For just for a few hours, I forgot the importance of making a good argument. And I was not able to make one in class today. And even the arguments I did try to make, I couldn’t back them up with numbers, since I didn’t do the calculations before hand. When the professor asked, I fessed up, and the professor was sure to let me know that I should have done the work, in front of the entire class, not to mention in front of a lady classmate, who I may have been trying to impress recently!

In the end, the class reinforced the idea that cases and lectures are different.

In a lecture, you can prepare before class or after class. So long as you catch some of the salient points before the the next lecture, you’ll be fine.

In a case-based class, you have to prepare before class. Sure you can go under the radar once, maybe even twice. But at some point it will catch up to you. And by not preparing once, and getting called on during that one class, it could seem like you never come prepared at all.

Just last night, only a few weeks after deciding to take part in this year’s event, I had the special privilege of joining team Bhangra to perform at 2011 2011 Bollywood Bash. In addition to making some new friends at Kellogg and learning lots of new dance moves with the team, I also had the thrill of performing in front of hundreds of people, as last night everyone gathered at Kellogg last night to watch the 2011 Bollywood Bash dance performances.

It feels like we just started practicing days ago, but upon reflection it’s been about two weeks now. It’s funny, how when you’re having good time doing something, time flies. And before we all knew it, the two weeks of practice flew by and it was time to perform.

Fortunately the event was a lot of fun. The crowd was full of energy. All the dances and other performances were fantastic. And the celebrations after the actual event were fun. But as you might imagine, I have a particular affinity towards my team’s dance. As such, I thought I’d post the video for those who might be interested in watching. See the video below for the actual performance. Note that I’m having a bit of trouble with my HTML so you’ll have to scroll down a bit to see the video.

Enjoy!

On Saturday evening, about ten classmates and I will perform together at the Bollywood Bash during the Kellogg Preview Weekend. Bollywood Bash is one of the most fun events at Kellogg. The show takes place tomorrow Saturday, April 16th and will consist of various dancing, singing and video performances to demonstrate Indian culture. And afterwards there will be a fun celebration where everyone can join up after the great performances.

In my opinion, this is going to be one of the best events of the year. It’s not only a chance for anyone with interest in Indian culture to learn more about the culture but also a chance to participate by singing along, taking part in a dance, and celebrating after the event.

Personally, I decided to take part in one of the dances this year. I am doing the Bhangra with a phenomenal group of first and second year students. And as it turns out, our group is pretty good. After auditions two days ago, we found out that we performed as well as any other team so we were slotted in the last dance of the night; otherwise known as the GRAND FINALE.

If you’re a student, I hope to see you at the event at Jacobs tomorrow.  For a sneak peak at one of our practices earlier in the year, check out the video of my team below.

After a grueling winter quarter at Kellogg, where we spent most of our time recruiting and in meetings trying to finish group assignments, the spring quarter at Kellogg has been quite a bit of  fun. Not only are more people done searching for jobs, but they are also ready to get out and have a good time again. Well just last weekend, I joined more than 100 of my closest friends and classmates as we had a good time helping to shoot Kellogg’s first ever LipDub video.

In retrospect, the video experience may turn out to be one of the most interesting things of the year.  The video was created by my good Josh Eddy, who I originally met on KWEST Mystery Trip prior to Kellogg. Josh plays the drums for the school band here at Kellogg. But this time he decided to use his creative and musical skills not just for musical entertainment, but instead to put a LipDub video together.

So Josh created the idea, assembled a team of creative students to be directors, brought a large number of Kellogg students to play in the video, and over the course of a few weeks organized Kellogg’s first ever LipDub, which took place right inside of Jacobs.

Click here to see the video.

Click here to see Josh’s profile on LinkedIn.

Click here to learn more about what  LipDub is.

Also, note that I have a couple of cameos at:

1. 23 – 31 seconds
2. 1:52 – 1:58 (in background)
   
3. 3:28 – 3:37

In all the scenes, I am playing the lumberjack in the red shirt.

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Enjoy the video!