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. ... More >>
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. ... More >>
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.
One interesting class that some people take at Kellogg is called
Leadership Coaching. This course is a unique opportunity for students not only to discuss personal development goals and grow as a leader but also to do that with an experienced coach who facilitates the ten person class. As part of the class, we recently took a test created by Gallup, named
Strengths Finder, version 2.0.
Similar to the Meyers Briggs test, the results are intended to tell you more about what you’re good at, so you can untap natural talents you never knew you had, or so you can optimize the ones you already knew about. Even better is that the test serves as good reminder about how important it is to know your own strengths and weaknesses.
Below are the five strengths the test gave me. And
CLICK HERE for a full list of possible strengths on the test.
1. Individualization
2. Achiever
3. Activator
4. Communication
5. WOO (Winning Others Over) ... More >>
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. ... More >>
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. ... More >>
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. ... More >>
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. ... More >>
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.. ... More >>
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. ... More >>
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. ... More >>
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. ... More >>
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. ... More >>
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. ... More >>
You’ve all heard the saying before. That a good team working together can accomplish a lot more than the sum of its individual capabilities. And that leadership is about facilitating teamwork to achieve common objectives. Well that saying is especially relevant for us now at Kellogg, as over the past few weeks, students have been lobbying for leadership positions for a number of different clubs on campus. And it’s especially relevant for one of my teams now, as we have recently decided to run for Kellogg’s Cork and Screw Club. ... More >>
I recently received a question about Northwestern’s JD-MBA program. The question comes from a potential applicant that has asked me whether he should consider taking the LSAT as part of the application process. I’ve received similar questions on various occasions in times past, so wanted to include the question here on my site, so readers could have a bit more information on how to think about the topic. ... More >>
There’s a movement taking place in the business and legal worlds. As a senior executive at a public company today, it’s just about impossible to escape complex legal issues. Similarly, if you’re a leading corporate lawyer, you consistently run into business issues, not only at your firm but also at the firms of your clients. The next question then, is obvious. Is it possible to have a career that combines both business and law. And if so, how can you do it? Well, the Northwestern JD-MBA program seeks to answer that exact question. As today the program sponsored a talk by
Nichlas D. Chabraja to talk about the intersection of business and law.
Kudos to Northwestern’s JD-MBA program for once again taking the lead in facilitating conversations with both the business school and law school. Over the past few years, there has been a lot more momentum with regards to the collaboration of the business and legal industries. And Kellogg has stayed well ahead of that trend. ... More >>
It takes a lot of time and energy to do well at Kellogg, so most people expend a lot of effort to ensure they choose the right classes. They configure and reconfigure their schedules. They ask friends what classes they are taking. They look at professor ratings from prior years. And they pick classes that not only help them get certain majors, but ones the seem interesting and that might give you certain skills that could be useful professionally. ... More >>
Winter quarter is traditionally regarded as the hardest term at Kellogg. Not only is it cold, rainy and snowing a significant amount of the time, but you’re also still taking core classes and in the midst of their first year job search. Further, students taking the Kellogg Global Immersion in Management class don’t get a real spring break. Instead they take winter quarter final exams early and straight out to another country to take part in a research project until the spring quarter begins two weeks later. ... More >>
After two weeks of a lot of hard work, a lot of fun, and meeting lots of new friends, my time in Kenya is finally coming to an end, as tonight we will be jetsetting back toward the US to start spring classes on Monday. Given the timing, there is only one question that remains. What should I do today before we leave? Especially since today is a free day. ... More >>
One thing I learned in law school is that to be successful sometimes you have to outwork the competition. Start preparing sooner. Pull longer hours. And study harder than everyone else in your class. However,if the only reason that you’re winning is because you’re winning more hours, are you actually winning in the end, given the tradeoff of time and other opportunity costs? That’s one questions that’s been on my mind a lot these days, especially here in business school. ... More >>
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. ... More >>
