JEREMYCWILSON.COM

Working on the right things

 … is critical. In fact, a lot of people believe that it doesn’t matter how smart you are or how hard you work. But what matters is whether you work on the right things.

I just got back from interviewing a student for Education Matters. At the end, she mentioned how smart the people are in her class and also how competitive they are. She was shocked at how tough things can seem sometimes as a student.

But this doesn’t come as a total surprise. Especially at the Medill School of Journalism, where there are fewer jobs than ever. Where the industry in some ways is changing, maybe collapsing. And where jobs are hard to come by.

The same thing holds true at Kellogg and you see it pretty clearly in the recruiting process. Where you apply to a job alongside everyone who has similar backgrounds, who took all the same classes, and who worked as consultants before Kellogg. How can you distinguish yourself that way?

The same thing happens in law school, where everyone is forced to take the same classes, where everyone wants the exact same job after graduation (big law firm) and where many students are light on work experience.

So I propose the idea that it’s not always important to be better, smarter or faster. And sometimes it’s not even important to have more creativity. Instead, I think, it’s because they understand what work actually matters.

The problem is … what matters isn’t obvious. In fact its nearly impossible to tell.  It changes by person, by vendor, and sometimes every day of the week. Sometimes what matters is working on the right task. Other times working the right person. And sometimes it’s simply good timing.

The most successful ones are those that somehow find it, capture it, and then proceed to ignore everything else that gets in the way.

But this is easier said then done. Especially in business school when most students want to get involved in everything, and in work, where you want to learn everything about your job.  But many of those things are not nearly as important as you think.

Expert or Generalist?

Success is often the combination of knowing a lot about one thing, while also knowing a little about a lot of things.  It’s about understanding the value of being a generalist and also being an expert. Many times though, we can only opt to be on one side of the fence or the other.

In business, often times people are referred to as generalists. These are the general managers who touch multiple functions, work with multiple teams and work across boundaries and geographies. On the other hand, companies also have specialists. These are the consultants who know a lot about their industry, sector, business unit, or specific task at hand. There is not always a clear cut answer on which one is the preferred route. Even in business school.

Deep knowledge and understanding of a topic surely helps you in a variety of ways. It helps you create better analyses. You gain more access  to the numbers. You refine your ability to understand how a particular system works. And once you do that, you can begin to master other similar topics with overlapping content.

At the same time, it’s impossible to become CEO or political leader without also being aware of the wider world. That’s because we have countless interactions with people from different backgrounds, geographies, interests and beliefs as we navigate our daily lives.

On the other hand, the problem today is that the world is getting bigger every single day. The Internet makes the large world larger than ever and for now, it continues to expand. There is also more news available and more issues that we have access to given the world wide web.  And there is no way to manage it all. So how can you remain a generalist today?

It’s tempting to spend ever more time pursuing that goal. On the other hand, being an expert hasn’t changed. It’s still equally as hard as it used to be. But still doable?

Which one should we pursue?

Does it make a difference if you have a high paying job or low one?

Does it matter if you have an MBA or a JD?

Every single person still has to answer the question.

Running a campaign can be (to some degree) self-taught

Learning how to execute a campaign is a skill that certainly be taught. In classrooms, you learn the basics. At conferences you learn the strategies. And by working on real campaigns, you learn what actually works in the real world.  And so in many cases, it’s easier to get started if you’re taught. But might there be a benefit to learning more informally?

In business school we think about campaigns all the time. How to create a marketing campaign for products. How to start spreading the word for a big conference. And how to build buzz for clubs and organizations on campus.

In law school the same things happen. Students think long and hard about how to get momentum. How to start the process to change the things you care about. And how to organize and structure thoughts to make a good argument – to have a case.

But maybe that stuff is not good enough for a world class campaign?  Because to do that, you need the ability to connect the dots from start to finish. To change course of events, not just for your campaign but also considering other campaigns around you. And to understand the emotions of the people, not just the mechanics behind the process.

Perhaps the ability to do that can only come from learning from the ground up. From creating yourself.

Not from a teacher. Not from books. And not from a place without the same level of emotion.

Writing it down

Have you ever had an idea that you knew was good, but forgot about it later in the day. What about an email you wanted to send or call you wanted to make, to make progress on an idea you were working on. It’s happened to me and I’m willing to bet it’s happened to you too. But one way you can avoid missing big ideas is by simply writing them down.

This post comes to me ironically because it happened to me yesterday. I had a great idea for a blog post. I came up with it on my way to the gym. Thought about the concept during my workout and was ready to write something great when I got back. But just when I got home an hour later, I realized that I couldn’t remember it anymore. And it’s been bugging me all day today.

Every time this happens, it reinforces the idea that writing down your idea can be powerful. Even if it’s just a rough note to help you remember. Today, we’re busier than we’ve ever been before. We’re also inundated with more content, more people and more noise than any time in history. In some cases writing down an idea or a reminder will be the only way you will remember.

And while right now you might feel like going out of your way to do this isn’t worth the effort, the one time you have a great idea that you forget just hours later, I guarantee you won’t feel the same.

Neither failure nor success

You can fail. You can succeed. And you can do neither. Those are usually the three options. Many people do one of the three and most do some combination of the three.

It’s funny how it works. You can fail over and over again. No matter how hard you try.  But one day, it all changes. You succeed and things change. And sometimes all you need is just one HUGE success to build a really big career.

Like going 0 for 5 in law school applications but finally getting a BIG acceptance to your top school. Or like striking out with all your investors but then, one of them finally decides to invest after all.

If this is true, then the “neither” is the worst category. Because if you spend your time doing “neither”, then you won’t have a chance for success.  You’ll never have a shot at that HUGE success that you get if you can just survive the failing.

The interesting thing is that we all know this. But we still avoid failure at all costs.

Job Opportunity: Building Excellent Schools Seeks Chief of School Network

As you know, I often use my site to spread news about great organizations. Organizations that not only do well but that also do good. Ones that are doing what they can to make a dent in the world. And ones that value some of the same things I do.

A good friend of mine s recently passed the word about a job opportunity from a friend of mine and thought some of you might be interested. While I don’t typically use my site to post job opportunities or promotional reasons, I do like to use it to help non-profits, especially ones that I have some connection to. In this case, that organization is Building Excellent Schools.

See below for a description. See below that for more on the job role.  And drop me a line if you are interested in connecting with the school.

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Building Excellent Schools (BES) is a trailblazing nonprofit that raises the quality of urban charter schools by supporting entrepreneurial individuals to design, found, lead, and sustain schools in underserved communities.

#AskJeremy (Applicant Question): MBA Admissions Decisions Involving Money

We’re bad at figuring out this dilemma. And MBA admissions offices know it. That’s why the scenario comes up every year. And that’s why it comes up at some of the same schools. What scenario you ask?  This one–You’re accepted to one top business school and you’re thrilled. It’s the place you’ve always dreamed of getting in for the last six months.  On the other hand, another school gives you nearly a full ride. And tomorrow you have to decide.

First things first. Congratulations! You are in a great position to have both options. And you are lucky to be able to choose from two “top” MBA programs, especially in this economy. One with great professors, smart classmates and great career opportunities. And another with a more famous brand … and a daunting $100K price tag. The million dollar question (or perhaps $100k question) is this.

Which should you take?

In a recent question from one of my readers I got that exact question. But it’s no new question. It’s actually the third time I got the question this week. And fifth time in two weeks.  But before I answer, let me take a second to explain why this is a harder question than you think.

$100,000 is a HUGE number, and in reality it doesn’t mean a whole lot to people just a few years out of undergrad.  We don’t know what it means to be in debt for a years paying it off. We don’t know where we’ll live or what we’ll be doing after school. And many of us don’t know if we’ll have families in the next few years. So while it’s not a number that we play with, it often isn’t one we truly comprehend.

Secondly, the idea of compromise involving something that is $100K or $150k is hard to understand. Compromising on $5k or $10k maybe. But not over $100K. It just doesn’t make very much sense and can impact our self esteem depending on what choice we make. That’s what makes it hard.

Without further discussion, below is the question and below that is my response.

–APPLICANT QUESTION

**  Note I took out all school names to provide a more fair, honest, and thorough response

Subject: (Top School) brand vs. Full scholarship at (Lower Ranked School)

Message Body:

Hi Jeremy,

I was recently accepted at (Top School) and I’m extremely excited about the possibility of joining the (Top School) family! (Top School) is my top choice but I’ve been offered full scholarships elsewhere (Lower Ranks Schools X, Y, Z). I’ve been offered a 50% tuition scholarship at (School)

I want to make sure that I thoroughly evaluate each opportunity before making a final decision. As an MLT fellow I am surrounded by brilliant fellows who have motivated me to achieve both personally and professionally. I would like a similar MBA experience and from my perspective most top 15 can provide that. I’m interested in pursuing a career in management consulting or health system management post MBA.  My long term goal is to pursue an entrepreneurial ambition.

I would like your opinion on how school selection could potentially impact my career trajectory and professional network. I understand that certain employers emphasize MBA brand over others. I also understand that being obligated to pay high student loans may stifle my ability to pursue entrepreneurial opportunities. Do you think it’s worth the extra money to attend a school like (Top School) vs. (School X or Y)?

Thanks for your time and advice!

(Name)

—-MY RESPONSE

Hey (NAME)

Thanks for reading my blog, and for reaching out with your question about the MBA application process.  It’s funny how this exact question comes up every single year. In fact, it came up a couple of different times over the past two weeks.

As you might imagine, this question comes up every single year. The combination of schools changes, though not dramatically but the question remains the same.  Here is what I think.

In short, all comes down to what you value most. And applicants tend to value different things. Some of them value ranking, others prestige, others location, others classmates, others potential job opportunities, and some don’t know what they value. My message as an MBA admissions advisor is usually aimed at the people in that last category, and I try to catch them far before they ever apply to business school so I can help them figure out what they value most. The message is that you have to know what you value early. Because schools will throw money at you, you’ll meet interesting classmates, get exposed to new opportunities, and you won’t have a sense of what you really wanted in the first place.

The problem is that most people don’t know what they value so they start to ask around and get answers. The problem is they ask too many people and the answers are not only diverse but also confusing. In many cases, they look like the following:

1. Most alum of (Top School) will tell you that there is a material difference. Especially if they made the same decision. So they’ll tell you to go to their school
2. Most alum of School X or Y would say otherwise, especially if they made the same decision. They’ll find reasons you should save the money and go with their school
3. Asking someone online (like me) I should theoretically tell you to choose My School which is Kellogg or the school closest in culture to mine
4. Many very senior leaders will likely tell you to choose School because they might value the brand of the school. Especially if they recruit at that program.
5. Mathematicians would probably do the math compounded over 30 years and prove that the money is not actually a large factor, depending on the industry.
6. People who have worked their butts of to succeed will tell you it doesn’t matter, because hard work is what makes the difference, not school name.
7. People who have worked really hard but not seen the fruits of their labor will tell you to pick the higher ranked school because that is what will make the difference.
8. CEOs will tell you that a degree can really help but they’ve met low performers from all schools.
9. Highly successful people from certain disadvantaged communities will tell you pick the best school and dont consider a program that is not highly ranked.
10. And people who feel they weren’t given fair chances in their career will tell you to 100% choose the higher ranked School.
11. If Steve Jobs were alive, he’d probably tell you that you don’t need an MBA.
12. And in terms of Kellogg, one VERY highly esteemed professor always tells people from certain communities that you should 100% take the (Top School) because the network and opportunity is so much better.
13. In many cases, I’d probably give similar advice, though that would very depend on the person, on what they told me before my advice.

Like I said, all the answers will confuse you.

In general, my gut is that a good number of people in your shoes choose (Top School) because of what I said in my intro. The stakes feel high, and you don’t want to compromise on such an important decision.  But not every one chooses this. Lots don’t actually. And while some may regret it, others are happy with their choice.

In the end, it’s something only you can decide, based on past experiences, needs, concerns, hopes, thoughts about fit, career aspirations, and value of prestige. Things you should evaluate far before having the decision, so you are prepared to decide once you have to.

But if you haven’t thought about it enough before the decisions, one piece of advice, be careful asking too many people, because you might just get a broad array of responses like the ones above. Stick to the people that know you best and are looking out for your best interest.

For another perspective, check out this interesting thread on BTG about one person’s choice between Kellogg and Ross. http://www.beatthegmat.com/mbawatch/ross-school-of-business-university-of-michigan/comment/1332511185-957-11.  Both sides of the argument make sense. Ross offers a bit more money. Kellogg offers the applicant something more closely aligned with their career goals. And both offer a great opportunity at success.

Good luck.

The Education Matters Project Promo Video is Ready

What do you think we should do about the education crisis today? Is college worth the value? What about an MBA or law degree? My readers ask me these questions every single day, and I respond to each and every one of them.  This time here it’s my turn to ask the question. WHY DOES EDUCATION MATTER TO YOU?

This is the question we will soon being asking the world.  Staring next week in our Education Matters campaign.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve gone out personally and asked over 100 people this very question. We have videos and/or written stories from most of them. We’ll publish these stories in one short week,  totally free to read, to share and most importantly to use to start the conversation.

Don’t be fooled by this 90 second video. It took more work than you think to get it to you, so I’m encouraging you to take a few minutes to check it out. And next week, we’ll share all the videos and written pieces,. And I’ll ask all of you personally to share your education stories with our site.

Think of us like the LGBT ItGetsBetter Project, except we are focused on Education. We want to tell the world that education DOES matter.

At the Education Matters Project, we believe that our future belongs to a generation that is passionate about learning and believes that education DOES matter. See below for a few early voices from our movement.

(Video includes 2 former NFL players, 1 Rose Bowl NCAA coach, 3 Teach for America Corp alumni, 3 MLT Fellows, 1 gentleman who ran for Congress, 2 Education Pioneers alumni, and a couple of people with REALLY great stories of overcoming the odds.)

Confidence Without Guts -By Seth Godin

I’ve been thinking a lot about this topic recently.  But I couldn’t have said it better myself. So check out this post written by the one and only Seth Godin.

–This post is courtesy of Blogger Seth Godin. CLICK HERE to go to his blog.

Too many MBAs are sent into the world with bravado and enthusiasm and confidence.

The problem is that they also lack guts.

Guts is the willingness to lose. To be proven wrong, or to fail.

No one taught them guts in school. So much money at stake, so much focus on the numbers and on moving up the ladder, it never occurs to anyone to talk about the value of failure, of smart risk, of taking a leap when there are no guarantees.

It’s easy to be confident when you have everything aligned, when the moment is perfect. It’s also not particularly useful.

Adding Buffer Time

People don’t like deadlines. Deadlines mean you have to finish something you started. That you have to make a decision. And that you are forced to give a response. But the truth is that deadlines often work really well. If the person or company setting the deadline has prominence, then everyone will listen. Nobody will want to miss out.  But sometimes deadlines have unintended consequences.

I’ve seen it from experience. Deadlines make a lot of people turn in a bad product just be finished. This happens all the time in business school where the notion “done is better than perfect” tends to be the norm.

Other times, people “plan” to start right before the deadline. So in no case will they spend enough time on it, but instead “just enough” time. So in this case having a deadline limits their time spent working.

And some people always just finish after the deadline. No matter when it is and no matter how many extensions you give, they will probably finish right after the time you set. This is happening to me right now with a video I am getting edited. .

So I propose the idea that maybe the smartest thing you can do is add a 48 hour buffer to the back end of the deadline. That way, it accounts for a person being late. It allows you to fix up things that are quickly turned in. And it allows for things like technologyical error that may have occured.

Just keep in mind, that some people miss their deadlines by much more than 48 hours. And sometimes the work to be done after takes longer than that as well.

No Business Like Slow Business

The online world has compounded the need for speed. Just ask companies like Apple and Amazon who do business faster than the blink of an eye.  They respond to customer complaints, provide provide top notch customer service, and put the right products in front of you. And you don’t even have to ask. But there are still some companies that don’t do that. Especially in the legal industry.

In the legal industry, things don’t happen at quite the same speed. In fact, at times it’s the exact opposite. They don’t respond to emails as quickly. They don’t provide the same timelines. And law firms are more reactive than prospective.

I’ve heard it put this way: Lawyers don’t tend to pay attention to such things when they’re deciding how to manage their firms. That’s because law firms have a “profession” instead of a business.

From experience, I’ve seen that many law schools spend hardly any time teaching business topics. And I don’t just mean accounting and M&A but I also mean typical things like client management. Things that nearly every MBA picked up before business school and still refined while a grad student.

In some ways, one firm we are using has given us this same experience. Even though the firm that was very enthusiastic about working on our new startup, it has been a lot less responsive not just to our timing but also business demands. I suppose they’re probably attending to a higher paying client, which in some ways makes sense. But in other ways, if our startup gets big, I can tell you that we may just take our business elsewhere.

I bet companies like Apple would not be operating the same way.

Invitation to the Chicago LOFT STEM Symposium on 4/5

Just a quick post to spread the word that our first LOFT training in Chicago: the Chicago LOFT STEM Leadership Symposium. I wanted to be sure to invite all my readers to this FREE event. In past cases, this event has filled up quickly but we’d love to have all of you attend that are available on Thursday 4/5 at 530pm.

Our goal is to have 75 student participants and the event is open to high school, college, and young professionals interested in learning about STEM careers. Although our focus in Latinos, we are very open to multicultural participants as well. So please feel free to spread the word for this event with your professional networks in Chicago.

As a Board Advisor for LOFT I will be at the event. So hopefully I will see you there. See below for more information about the event.

—

University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC)

Student Center West

Thompson Rooms A& B, 2nd Floor Lobby

828 S. Wolcott Ave.

Chicago, IL 60612

Thursday, April 5th, 2012

5:30pm – 8:30pm

This is an exciting opportunity for students in high school, college, and young professionals to network with Science Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) professionals from Fortune 500 companies and learn about the diverse career opportunities available within the STEM Industry.

Come prepared to engage in:

• A dynamic and exclusive Leadership Training led by the U.S. Army. This Leadership training is designed to help student leaders define their role within their respective organizations, and encourage them to seek out leadership roles in their schools and communities.

• An insightful panel of STEM professionals showcasing  their different careers paths, and the different resources and opportunities available for Latinos to enter the STEM fields.

• An opportunity to Network with STEM professionals and other emerging Latino leaders interested in STEM.

• Sponsor Give Aways/Raffle: All attendees will enter a raffle to win a free Round trip Southwest ticket to any Southwest destination of your choice. The winner will be announced during the coffee break. Additional sponsor give aways will also take place.

Seating is limited. Please RSVP promptly at http://bit.ly/x7zcaj and email your resume to resume@loftinstitute.org.  Attendees will receive an event confirmation post registration.

There is no cost to register for the event.

Dress code: business casual.
Food and refreshments will be provided.

Agenda

• 5:30 – 6:00 pm Registration & Welcome Reception
• 6:00 – 6:10 pm Opening remarks
• 6:10 – 6:40 pm Army Leadership Presentation
• 6:40 – 6:55 pm Coffee Break, Career Table Networking
• 6:55 – 7:55 pm STEM Panel Presentation
• 7:55 – 8:00 pm Participant Survey
• 8:00 – 8:02 pm Closing remarks
• 8:02 – 8:30 pm Networking, Event Closes

Contact: Jessica Barajas at Jessica@hispanicheritage.org.

Seth Godin is ..

… my favorite blogger. Forget the fact that he’s a best selling author and that he’s struck it rich with his digital media startups. And forget the fact that he is fellow alum of Stanford, and consistently at the top of the Ad Age Power 150. More important than his credentials is that he initiates some of the most insightful messages anywhere

Once a day, Seth write at least one post on marketing and brands, at least on the surface. But more important than that is that his underlying messages are as good as they get. He provides insight not just on the message but also on us and how we take in information. He challenges conventional assumptions. And he forces us to expand our imagination.

Imagine the person walking in New York city, where the lights are blinking and the subtle marketing messages are coming at you from all angles. Most of us can see them but have a tough time articulating them, let alone writing them down. Seth’s blog is good because his is good at writing those assumptions down. He can write what we think.

In one interview, Godin wrote “I’m writing to do justice to the things I notice, to the ideas in my head.”

In another interview he says “Your ability to think creatively is of far greater value to you, than any piece of tech equipment.”

In my own opinion, what makes him good is that he uses his creativity to say something new. That he comes up with new ideas, rather than responds to ideas being talked about already.

MBAs and JDs take notice. Not only is it okay but far often it’s much better, to say something new and be creative. Something I don’t see enough of in graduate school.

If you haven’t seen his blog, you are missing out.

Going Viral

This year is a big year for going viral. I’ve talked about it many times before, but this year, I think ideas are going to spred faster than ever.  As such I wanted to pass along a couple of those ideas that are getting eyeballs on the web today. One that all of you have probably heard of by now. And the other by Seth Godin, my favorite blogger.

Viral videos aren’t anything new nowadays. Over the past year we’ve seen things like It Gets Better and SOPA really taking off. I like the It Gets Better movement because it was grassroots. Started by an individual that cared. And didn’t cost much money to get started. And it all started by a single blogger/author that wanted to try something new.

Today, the Kony video is one of the fastest-spreading Internet videos.  Unlike It Gets Better, Kony is not a series of short videos. Instead, the Kony video is REALLY long, which is different when compared to most viral movements, where the content is shortened and more digestible. I wonder if the success of this video will lead others to (mistakenly) try the same.

A second Internet thing getting a lot of attention is an e-book Stop Stealing Dreams by Seth Godin. Not nearly spreading with the same immediate force, but according to his blog it is getting tens of thousands of new readers every day.  Perhaps Seth Godin should have made a video like Kony. Or maybe over the test of time, he’ll actually get more traction since he can keep giving it out for some time.

The reason I like Stop Stealing Dreams is because it’s all about education. Something we are passionate about.

It will be interesting to see what things go viral over the next few weeks and months. We’d love it if you helped us take the Education Matters Project viral. We’ll be up in just a few weeks (late March), so check back, take a look at our grassroots website once it’s up, and please contribute your stories, comments and ideas.

There’s never been a better time to show the Education Matters, so we hope you will support the cause.

Persistence

Persistence isn’t doing the exact same thing over and over. That’s easy.  You could do that without even thinking about it.  Instead, persistence is pursuing your Wildly Important Goal over and over, even when people tell you that you can’t do it. Even when business plan competitions tell you that your idea won’t work. Even when you gave it your all and a naysayer told you that your all wasn’t good enough.

Having persistence is not easy. In fact, it might be the hardest thing you could ever do. But sometimes you have to do it.  Especially if you believe in the work that you are doing.  Persistence is what happens when you have a goal you believe in, and you do everything you can to make it work. To prove to the naysayers that they were wrong.

I have persistence right now. What about you?

If not, maybe this video will inspire you.

You are not Normal

In business school we learn a lot about targeting. We think about our target customers: where they live, what they like, and what they want. And we consider ways we can get them to buy our product. We also think a lot about things like positioning statements, primary demand, and demand stimulation to optimize our launch strategy. Only one problem. After all this analysis, how do we know that our product will be adopted by customers in the market?

At Kellogg, we spend a lot of time thinking about how to sell our products in the market. That is to say, how to sell the right PRODUCT, in the right PLACE, at the right TIME. So we do a lot of research, analyze the people, run numbers on market size, and think a lot about what it is they want. Deep down at the core.

But there’s one fundamental problem with this. Especially when you’re looking at developing counties. The problem is that more often than not, we have no idea what the customer wants. We don’t know what type of detergent a mother might want in Brazil. We don’t know what type of clothing they might want in Bali. In fact, we don’t even know what types of television shows people prefer to watch in the US.

The problem is that there is a big disconnect between the people that make these marketing decisions and the consumers. Because MBAs and law students are NOT the average person. In large part our lives are different, we have the great privilege of going to schools like Northwestern and living in developed cities like Chicago.

Think about it. While MBAs from top schools might watch 1 hour of tv per day at most, the average person leaves the TV on for more than 8 hours.  While I have not eaten fast food in over 5 years, the average person eats it almost every day. And while job prospects out of our schools are in the six figure range, the average income for an entire family is under $50K in the US, and much lower all around the world.

The best thing I’ve ever learned in business school, comes from my Marketing Professor Julie Hennessy.  She told us over and over:  “You are not normal.” You don’t know what the customer wants.  Your job as a business person is to figure it out.

The Ability to Zoom Out

Have you ever thought about what it means to be intelligent? Have you ever wondered why some people achieve such incredible things? And why some have the unique ability to do so many things well.  Well, a lot of it is the ability to see the big picture. And the ability to zoom out. At least that’s what Steve Jobs said in an interview many years ago as he was growing Apple into the empire it is today.

Steve Jobs said, a lot of success is the ability to zoom out. Like you’re in a city and you can look at the whole thing from about the 80th floor. And you can look down at the city. And while other people are trying to figure out how to get to point A to point B, reading their maps and not looking up and paying attention,  you on the other hand, are looking around and can see it all out in front of you. You can make connections that just seem obvious because you can see the whole thing.

In business school, we talk a lot about the big picture and about vision. But in practice, I see a lot of people scrambling around working on execution. Thinking about details. And forgetting the bigger picture. But at least people think about it sometimes.

In law school, it’s entirely about the details. Making sure citations are perfect. Catching the nuances of a case. And making air tight arguments in your briefs and memos.

In business school and in law school, it’s hard to STOP, take a step back, and head up the elevator. Let alone to the 80th floor. But I propose that you do you best to try. After all, it is something just about every CEO talks about, including the reigning CEO of the decade (Steve Jobs). It’s what they do as they juggle dozens, if not hundreds of decisions. And as they try to look around for the next game-changing product and innovation to their company strategy.

So, what are you doing to improve your ability to zoom out?

Entrepreneurship Lessons from Carter Cast

When students think about their post-MBA careers, they can go one of two ways. They can follow tradition and take really great jobs that people take every year. Or they can pursue something less traditional. On one hand, there’s merit to getting a job that provides structure and pays well, especially for some people.  On the other hand, there’s also merit to pursuing the entrepreneurial route. Not only is it a great learning experience but it’s always the best way to build skills while working on something you are passionate about. At least that’s what Carter Cast, former CEO of Walmart.com told me this morning.

Just minutes ago, I got done chatting with entrepreneurial guru Carter Cast. Carter came to Kellogg just months ago to help ramp up its entrepreneurial program. Like me, Carter is a Cardinal Wildcat – more specifically, a Stanford and Northwestern (Kellogg) alum. And so I had the chance to tell him more about what we’re working on, and he gave me a few great pieces of advice.

“Understand your purpose” Carter said. Know what your true north is and keep working towards it, even when you have to change the business model a bit.  He said this as I talked about how my business model was changing. No longer were we focusing on what we did when we had the idea, but our ideas are really different now.

He also said, “Be true to who you are.” Understand your skills and make sure they compliment where you want to go. He gave a story how he used to want to be an olympic swimmer and basketball player. But he came to find that swimming required training his upper body and basketball his lower body. So they were not complimentary, no matter how much passion he had. And that made success more difficult.

Carter also revealed the impact he wanted to make at Northwestern. That it was not just about getting a “leadership” title and being named Director of Kellogg’s Entrepreneurship Center but instead that he came here to teach people about entrepreneurial leadership.  He wanted to help emerging entrepreneurs to go out on the ledge.  In fact, the best advice he said, was “Who  cares if people don’t believe in your idea? Do it anyways?” He went on to suggest that we should learn from them when they challenge you but forget about them after talking.

Thanks again Carter for the great lessons. I look forward to hearing more about your experiences. And to staying in touch as we launch our website.

Happy Leap Day

One time every four years, we get an extra day. But it only happens once. Most times we forget that it’s coming, and it usually comes in the middle of the week. The question is, what are we going to do with the extra day this year. How can we use it to change the world for the better.

This year, Leap Year comes on a Wednesday. At Kellogg, that means we don’t actually have classes.  This means Kellogg students have a profound opportunity to engage more than usual. Contribute to a cause they are passionate about. Do something different. Try something they cannot do on March 1.

In the law school, it’s just another day of the week. But it doesn’t have to be. Students could make time to make it more. Especially 3Ls who skip more classes than they’d publicly admit anyways.

So today, just once this year, perhaps we should find a way to do something unique. To:

Work on something creative, care about someone else, volunteer, engage more, speak up, stand up for what’s right, contribute to a cause, create something new, and perhaps stop doing what’s typical and become inspired (Yes, I am talking to you JDs and MBAs).

Today, I’ll be working on how to show the world that Education Matters.  Anyone with me?

After all, it’s only for a day. And we’re already five hours in.

Passion

In business school, people talk a lot about their goals. Goals for classes. Goals for their careers. And goals for life after Kellogg. And it’s often the case that we assume our classmates have the same goals we do. That they’ll  end up in similar types of jobs and work in the same types of industries. But sometimes there are people that want to do something different, and do what they love. They find something they are so passionate about that they skip all the MBA opportunities to go after.

There’s no doubt that most of us have some level of drive and passion. After all, we would have never made it this far without it. We would have never made it through all the classes, got through all the interviews, and figured out how to be successful.

But for most of us, we speed up in the face of competition. In law school we ask, “how’d the rest of the class do?” In business school, we ask people how many cases they’ve done. We listen for someone breathing down our necks. And we discover that those breadths scare us to work hard and perform at our best. So we leverage it to do better. And sometimes even rely on it.

On the other hand, relying on that stuff can be exhausting.  And more importantly, relying on it means you’ve surrendered the ability to be a leader and an entrepreneur.

I propose that passion to achieve should not come competition but instead from Finding A Way. From moving forward when no one else sees a path–and holding back when the herd isn’t going where you want to go.

The great thing about passion is that it makes you do that.