Cali MBA

I'm trying to learn about affiliate marketing

2007-08-21T09:26:00.001-07:00

Check out this link...

http://friendfinder.com/go/g889708

"There are no words"

2006-09-11T09:05:00.000-07:00

Tonight I went to an internet cafe and watched CNN's original September 11th coverage from about 8:30 PM until 11 PM. Now I am back in my hotel room listening to the coverage that occured just after noon that day. I do not feel 12 timezones and 5 years away. As if it was yesterday, I still remember the shock hearing on the radio that the towers had collapsed, I still remember the sight of all of southern Manhattan seemingly going up in smoke, I still remember fighter planes screaming over Manhattan, I still remember the smell of burning debris wafting uptown for many weeks.
And I remember wondering what we as individuals can do to fix our broken world.

Tonight, I wish I was in New York.

Shades of grey

2005-12-10T15:54:00.000-08:00

After not writing for weeks, I turn to this blog to procrastinate while I should be studying for finals. Hopefully these few minutes of reflection will revitalize me and enable me to study harder. Thanks Mr. Blog for a higher accounting grade!

I continue to be impressed with my classmates. They are not only accomplished in the business world, but in other spheres of life as well. Last week, one of my classmates gave a talk on art. Her story especially interested me because it dealt with the intersection of art and politics, a subject I've discussed many times with my art history friends. She traveled to the South Pacific and painted entrepreneurs who had been granted loans by a microfinance institution. What was the outcome of this project? In addition to garnering support for this particular microfinance organization, she alluded to a much more powerful effect that she hoped for her art to have. To paraphrase, she said that artists can present a subject in black and white so that we may ultimately understand the shades of grey. By using hyperbole that highlights a hidden aspect of reality, the artist reminds us that reality is more complex than we lead ourselves to believe. Art allows us to see those aspects of reality that are not immediately evident at first glance.

That was refreshing... I'm off to study!

Dice

2005-11-03T23:58:00.000-08:00

There is nothing quite like switching career goals between entrepreneurship, consulting, social enterprise, investment banking, and hedge funds, several times in one day. That's what happens when you meet with career services, talk with classmates, meet social entrepreneurs, go to search fund panels, go to seminar on finding a job, etc.

I did find a tool to help me with tough decisions: decide which side of a coin represents each option, flip and while it is in the air listen to your inner voice hoping for one side or the other, put the coin back in your pocket without looking at it. I'll have to find coins with more than two sides.

It is also interesting to try to buy Chinese airline tickets and to realize that the website only takes Chinese credit cards.

eye contact

2005-10-20T00:00:00.000-07:00

I felt like I was in the waiting room about to get a blood test. Or perhaps like I was climbing the hill of a rollercoaster on my way to plunging over the edge.

Actually I was waiting to be called on during my impromptu speaking class, called on to pick a random question out of a box and speak for a minute. Turns out that I did better than expected and felt fairly comfortable on stage in front of the crowd. I spoke about an activity I enjoy - surfing, about what I would do about the earthquake situation in India/Pakistan - I would go volunteer there, and about what means the most to me.

The consensus seemed to be that I need to improve in a few areas:
-make better eye contact with people. I will try this during regular conversations as well.
-sound a bit more relaxed and not totally serious.
-figure out how much to walk around

My biggest take-away was regarding a key skill related to impromptu speaking. A great impromptu speaker can think of a structure for answering a question very quickly and can also think up a way to start strong and conclude in a memorable way. I need a webcam so I can practice!

In other news, I'm going to the Philippines over winter break!

Reflect!!!

2005-10-14T00:48:00.000-07:00

The last couple days have been full of reflection. In addition to academics, what type of experiences do I want to have during my time here? What activities whould I take part in, simply because I will enjoy them at the present time, and which will prepare me to be the type of person I want to be in the future? Which activities can I put off for the future and which are unique to the grad school life?

Let's start off with the basics: I need to stay in shape. I will try to do yoga regularly as I feel awesome and awake during and after. I really liked surfing the other week, and what better place to learn than the home of the Beach Boys? There are a few more activities that sustain my happiness: good food, sleep, playing music, and a regular dose of religious experience. I realize that some activities would be fun, but are simply not priorities right now - like the sailing class I just quit. Of course, I want to have some time to spend with new friends in small groups or on-on-one to form deeper relationships as well.

As far as preparing for the future: I'd like a more focused career direction. I went to a career visioning seminar the other day and came away with this advice. Do not stress about not being sure of your passion. Follow your interests and gather more information. Passions take time to develop and can even change over time. I do want to focus on gathering more information on various careers: VC, private equity, ID, etc. My personal development needs include leadership in general and specifically public speaking.

I don't need to do it all at once, and maybe some things are better saved until after I graduate.

In other news, I heard the EU ambassador to the US / former PM of Ireland speak. His main points - the EU is important because of the size of its trade with the U.S. The EU is an important historical development, and its biggest potential threats are ignorance of history among its member countries' populations, and politicians who blame the EU for their own failings.

Presenting

2005-10-06T23:56:00.000-07:00

After a bit of a hiatus, I'm back for a moment. This moment happens to be between statistics and economics. I'm a bit disappointed because my goal was originally to be quite disciplined, and reflect on what I learn at least every other day. Anyhow, today I heard the man who wrote 'Say it with Charts' speak. How will this impact my future presentations?

-I should be the center of the presentation and will turn off the projector most of the time, and only flash the powerpoint when there is an important visual aid to be used

-I will interact with the audience

-I will keep my objective in mind throughout the process

In other news, NYC is experiencing a subway terror scare.

Public Speaking Seminar

2005-09-29T01:46:00.000-07:00

I've begun my meteoric rise up the public speaking talent spectrum. Today I took a 3 hour public speaking seminar. I gave two speeches, both on the merits of living in New Jersey. In the first I was rather stiff, standing in one place, and shifting my eyes quickly but not making sustained eye contact with many people. In the second speech I exaggerated my movements, walked back and forth a bit, and utilized rhetorical questions and pauses during the speech. I feel like I've increased my personal effectiveness by at least 2%!

Main take aways:
It is okay to move a bit (this makes me seem less stiff)
Look at many people, but hold eye-contact for a few seconds
Speak slowly and utilize pauses
I can be humorous

Priorities

2005-09-27T23:26:00.000-07:00

Classes began this week. Most of the professors made excellent impressions, and I think I will enjoy academics here. Presently I am listening to some songs I recorded over the past year. Part of me wonders whether I should just pursue the rockstar dream. Tomorrow is club day so I'm hoping to join the rock band here or at least find some people to start a band. Wish me luck. So much to do - so little time. I should follow the advice I've been given several times:

Write a list of four areas you want to focus on at business school and put it in a place you can see it every day. The list can change but always must be restriced to four. My current areas are... public speaking, finding career focus, staying physically fit, singing in a band.

Managing teams and ruling small-island nations

2005-09-23T00:25:00.000-07:00

We first-years have just about completed our orientation session here. We took a couple of short classes, including one on managing teams. In an exercise that asked us to rate how we would respond to various management situations on a scale from very autocratic to very participatory, my score judged that I was the most autocratic decision-maker in my class. Not surprising considering the creative writing story I wrote in Junior High about a boy who makes a lot of money in the stock market, buys an island, and then proceeds to found a country and rule over its inhabitants.

Unrealistic upon reflection, but only because the boy did not take my orientation class. Had he, the story would have played out differently. The boy would better handled certain situations along his path to ruling the island. He would have been sensitive to instances in which team participation could build buy-in and enhance the chance of successful implementation of his plans. In order to develop his cronies' abilities and competencies, he would have sometimes allowed them to participate in decision processes. Of course, in situations when he had all necessary information, time was critical, and buy-in was less important, he may have acted as autocratically as I tended to do in the exercises. However, his increased sensitivity to the optimal way to lead given various situations would have been evident and he might have ruled over not one, but many islands.

I'm off to a rafting trip tomorrow, and then the quarter starts Monday. Splash!

Changing the World

2005-09-17T21:42:00.000-07:00

On Friday, the charismatic CEO and founder of Capital One gave a moving speech here about leadership. He touched on several themes, including: 'Don't give up in the face of others' skepticism.' He told the story of his father, who was a physics professor, trying to determine the accuracy of Einstein's Theory of Relativity. The very quest and the test he ultimately devised to find out the truth engendered doubt from many scientists. When asked if he was discouraged, the professor remarked that he didn't know whether the experiment would work, just as other scientists did not know. Only nature knew, and he was determined to hear nature's take. Although he has since passed away, the professor's experiment is being conducted today, 45 years after he thought up the experiment.

Another theme of the speech was that leaders inspire others by communicating a vision straight from the heart about changing the world. He mentioned the example of the owner of a KoolAid stand who proclaims confidently that his stand will change the practice of retailing in his community.

This speech and an MBA ethics class I'm taking now have me thinking about how I want to change the world. Here are a couple of ideas/propositions:

1. Most businesses do provide societal benefits and improve peoples' lives by productively investing resources, providing returns to shareholders, providing livelihoods for employees, supporting supplier businesses and by providing value to customers.

2. While providing such value, many businesses' core operations do not impact global society's most pressing issues, those problems which cause the greatest amount of suffering (poverty, lack of education, lack of healthcare, war, environmental degradation, etc.).

3. Companies can profitably invest capital to contribute towards solutions for such problems, albeit possibly at a lower return than if invested in other areas. A career devoted to such companies might not maximize lifetime income, but could still provide a high level of income, and more utility/satisfaction for me or you, than other potential options.

4. The institution of business is in a better position than other entities to solve these problems due to discipline that leads to sustainability and scalability of operations.

One might argue that businesspeople who aim to maximize positive impact should earn as much money as possible and give much of it to NGOs. However, due to proposition #4 above, businesses are better equipped to create such impact than NGOs. The goal is to create businesses that have profit motives aligned with impacting the world's most serious concerns. Any ideas???

In other news, I've discovered that wineries are fun, and that I am evolving into a real Californian: I eat turkey sandwiches simultaneously smothered in mustard and mayonnaise!

Romanian Pres

2005-09-15T23:27:00.000-07:00

Before today, I had never had the experience of watching a head of state speak from a distance of about ten feet. His excellency, Traian Băsescu, the Romanian president, spoke at school today and I showed up super early to get good seats. Turns out that I was so early that there were only half a dozen people in the room when I entered. Five students and an older looking man who was clearly Romanian standing around and awkwardly introducing themselves to each other. The Romanian man introduced himself to me and for a moment I thought that the President of Romania was one of the most nervous seeming people I'd ever met.

Of course, this was a case of mistaken identity and a silly assumption on my part. The room filled over capacity, and the real President entered with bodyguards, aids, photographers, and a standing ovation. He spoke about the need for international support to clean up the greater Black Sea area... to prevent the flow of drugs, arms, people, and terror funding. This is not a problem of just of Romania but he said it would come to haunt the rest of the EU and America if little action is taken.

Everyone clapped when a girl of about nine asked a question during the Q&A. Her's was more concise and intelligent than those of many of the adults.

Ahh... we have so much to learn from children and presidents!

First blog entry ever

2005-09-14T23:31:00.000-07:00

I've just started an MBA here on the West Coast after living my entire life out East. I hope to record here my experiences, impressions and ideas mostly as a reflective exercise for myself, but also so that others might understand what it is like to pursue an MBA in California (I can't believe I live here). I've decided to keep this blog anonymous, so even if you suspect my identity, please help me in this endeavor.

Especially among such impressive classmates. One classmate designed a major country's strategy for fighting disease in the developing world, several have founded and sold multimillion dollar companies, and best of all... one knows everything there is to know about one of the world's most important products - toilet paper. Speaking to him made me realize how strange it is that most of us know so little about products that impact our lives in very important ways.