OwenBloggers: Andre

Analysis: Six Months Post-MBA

Most of the time when you click on links or log on to a website, you hear the distinctive "click" noise that Microsoft's Internet Explorer product has likely patented. It had honestly been so long since I logged on to this blog that my blog editor actually made a noise similar to a rusted hinge. I wish I remembered how to successfully embed the sound effect into this post.

Anyway, I digress from my primary focus for this entry. I noticed that this week is the six month anniversary of the date that I started my current position. It has been a long trip to get to this point involving over 57,000 miles in the air (yes, that number includes none of the 'bonus' miles that you get from having status) 30 rental cars, two pieces of lost luggage, and believe it or not...I did see a partridge in a pear tree.

I was on a flight heading to Dallas/Fort Worth when I met a woman who was considering the Vanderbilt MBA program. Obviously, I couldn't help but give her my positive opinion on the program, but it also caused me to ask myself, "Am I better off than I was before?"  Fortunately, the answer for me is YES. However, since job measurement in traditional ways like money, professional status, or responsibility level would be subjective to the job I selected, I thought it would be more appropriate to measure its value in other terms.

• Measure #1 - Flexibility:  Prior to earning my MBA, I had a varied history of jobs (software development, project manager, sales) but they were all with the same company. I found myself lacking the ability to draw from multiple perspectives to answer a question. My new position is still in the health care arena and I still draw on my pre-MBA experience from time to time, but the real advantage comes from my conversations with my 200 classmates about their experiences. More often than not, I feel as though I have "been there before" even if I really haven't.
• Measure #2 - Confidence:  One of the stereotypes about MBA's (that I believe is true) is that most MBA's come out with a little chip on their shoulder. The urge to prove yourself is what draws many individuals into an MBA program to begin with so I suppose this should be expected, but this drive is more pronounced when you have new skills. Before the MBA program I thought of myself as a leader and a strategic thinker but I struggled with how I could communicate that to other people and more importantly get THEM to believe that I was a leader and strategic thinker. In large part, this was due to my fear of making mistakes. My MBA taught me that mistakes happen all the time, and that in some respects they are necessary if we are ever truly to learn anything. Knowing that you can pick yourself up if you should happen to fail is a very powerful feeling.
• Measure #3 - Receptiveness to New Ideas:  Before my MBA, I would often approach any new project, proposal, etc. with a healthy amount of skepticism. I was looking to avoid failure and to remove the chance of being burned. The term "playing it safe" while trying something new was my mantra. The problem is that most things only work when you fully commit to them. While I am still very careful to pick the right projects and proposals, I believe I am now more optimistic and focus on the question, "Why not?" rather than "Why should I?"

I have no idea if any of my former classmates read the blogs of the current students, but if they do I would be curious how they would rate their MBA 6-months later. I hope that everyone reading has a safe and wonderful holiday season.

Now that's cold...

My apologies to those readers that may be living in the Cleveland area currently. I was watching TV today when I noticed that the Indians' game yesterday was postponed due to snow showers...in April! This is truly unseasonably cold weather for the U.S.

Yet, despite the cold weather this weekend, thirty-five enterprising Owen students and their guests headed out to the Nashville Speedway on Saturday morning for the Pepsi 300. For those who do not know, the Pepsi 300 is a NASCAR Busch Series race that is held in Nashville annually. Most of the students and guests in attendance experienced their first NASCAR event...and for many their first auto race of any kind. By all accounts, it was a great event and everyone was happy that they were able to experience this very unique aspect of American culture. I highly recommend the experience to anyone who has never tried it previously. You may be surprised that you actually like it!

Otherwise, I hope that everyone out there that celebrates Christian holidays had a very Happy Easter, and I hope any Jewish readers had a good Passover celebration with their families this past week. I must admit that it was hard to pull some time away for family with only three weeks remaining in my academic experience here at Owen. I wish I could find a way to extend the time...I am certainly not ready to leave!

The Crossover

One of the most challenging things that many of my MBA colleagues and I find as we wrap up the second year of our experience is "the crossover period" back into the work environment. On the surface, it certainly does not seem like a challenge. After all, I am guessing that most of the readers for these blogs have several years in the workforce and view going to grad school for two years as a small piece of vacation from their regular lives. To some extent this is true...my life in grad school has been more "footloose and fancy free" than my life was prior to Owen.

The real challenge becomes deciding exactly when to give up that re-found freedom. Many companies that are hiring graduating MBA's typically extend offers (and require their acceptance) far before the end of the academic year. Nearly 60-70% of graduating MBA's have accepted a full time offer by March of their graduation year. Larger companies (Fortune 500-esque) typically have standard entry programs for new graduates from undergraduate and graduate schools into their program and the guidelines are flexible but established. Folks going to these jobs traditionally have their decision regarding start date and company engagement prior to graduation decided for them. It is all part of the program.

However, a good number of MBA's (myself one of them) chose to work for smaller organizations that are more traditionally suited to "just in time" hiring of employees. These companies tend to bring in MBA's at more senior levels of their organization because they are looking for a specific skill set to satisfy a need. Sometimes these companies even ask graduating MBA's to start work one or two days a week prior to graduation. In my case, I was asked to attend quarterly meetings and help with recruiting intern candidates. With these organizations, the second that students say "Yes, I am coming." the company hears "I'm ready to go."  Not necessarily a bad thing, but just something to be aware of depending on the type of company you are thinking about working for in the future.

The actual start date (the full salaried start date) is something that should be negotiated up front and should not be left "up in the air." Myself and others I know have been challenged when we did not wrap up this discussion up front. My advice is to think about how much time you need to decompress after grad school and ask for it. You may not get it...and it will certainly be a negotiation...but discussing it with your future employer early will lead to less heartache and stress on the back end.

To Spend...or Not To Spend

One of the most challenging things about being an MBA is the budgetary restrictions that you must put upon yourself. For many MBAs (myself included), five years or more have passed since the last time you lived in a nearly penniless environment where money was simply flowing out rather than flowing in. It really is quite an adjustment to begin packing a lunch, ordering the cheap beer at the bar, and seeking "student deals" all over town like you were 18 again.

I have found that this process was less complicated during my first year. I (like many of my compatriots) came to school with a bit of a float of saved cash. This allowed me to be more thrifty, but still enjoy the occasional splurge on something that I really wanted. Worst case, I knew that more loan money was coming next year to make up for a shortfall, so I didn't worry about my cash position nearly as much. However, this year I worked out all my expenses (almost to the penny) so that I would only borrow the money that I absolutely needed to minimize my debt repayment. If you read my blog you know that I was recently hospitalized in China for what amounted to the cash payment of nearly $2,000. This is the kind of setback that you certainly don't plan for, and the one that wrecks any kind of budget that I had planned.

This is one of those topics where everyone differs on how much money you should have saved (and how much you should be spending) while in grad school. I suppose what I have learned is that you want to have about $5,000 more than you ever expect to need. The proverbial "rainy day fund". Fortunately, I was able to cover my hospital bill...it is Murphy's Law that the one time I couldn't cover it...the rain clouds would start forming.

It's Dating Season!

One of the most curious things that seems to happen in the United States (and maybe elsewhere) every year is the rush of dating and relationship changes that occurs at the start of Spring. I am sure that there are many academic studies of various neurotransmitters and chemicals moving through the body that help to facilitate this response, but I tend to rely on observational research. What I have noticed is that almost without fail, every time Spring rolls around every man and woman (in a relationship or not) starts to look around at everyone else of the opposite sex. Those who are single experience the greatest change during these Rites of Spring. Suddenly everyone is more approachable, and the number of people that you meet during Spring dwarfs the number that you meet any other time of the year.

Why blog about this experience?  Well, if you are currently in business school or thinking of entering business school it is statistically demonstrated that nearly 75% of MBA students are single (either unmarried or divorced). You can imagine that during this time of elevated hormonal activity, it becomes much more difficult to study, conduct a job search, or anything else that requires concentrated focus. Based on what I have observed, I have a few pieces of advice for incoming MBA's...and any current MBA's that read my blog can feel free to comment with their agreement or disagreement...

• Dating within the Program is Dangerous: Just like the real world, dating someone at work (yes, being an MBA is like going to work each day) is a dangerous proposition. My advice is that you better think that the relationship may go all the way before you get real serious about it. This rule is broken all the time...sometimes the results are fine...other times they are disastrous.
• Avoid Long Distance Relationships (if possible): This is always true of course, but it is heightened when you are in B-school. There are so many things that go on during the weekend, and often Sunday is a work day and not a true weekend day. If your significant other is still holding down a real job, this may mean that you are only going to see each other one day a week at most. Add in the cost, lost time, and degradation to your MBA experience...and I promise that either selecting a program in the same city as your significant other or asking them to move to the new city with you is the best bet. I have a lot of friends (to their credit...they are better people than I) who have been able to make this work, but most of them will admit that it made their experience much harder.
• Deal with it Upfront: One of the biggest challenges of B-School relationships is not the beginning nor the time in school, but rather what happens when the two year program concludes and the couple must decide what to do. My advice is to be open and honest with career goals up front and where (geographically) those goals will take each of you. If it won't work...it is much better to find out at the beginning.

I know that it is not the most inspired advice and that it doesn't even qualify to be in a book on the subject, but hopefully you can relate to these situations and apply what I have observed to your life.

That's Nashville

I have previously written about how Nashville has a great music scene that goes far beyond country music. This past week, I have had the opportunity to experience the best of Nashville first hand. First, I received a great tip on Monday that it was Kenny Chesney's birthday and that he and some "friends" would be performing at a bar called Tin Roof near campus. Not only was the tip true, but for those country fans reading Kenny played his hits and shared the stage with Gretchen Wilson, Montgomery Gentry, Neal McCoy, and Kicks Brooks of Brooks & Dunn!  If I didn't mention it before, this was a free show in a very small venue. Typically you would pay about $150 to see this many top name acts in a show, and it was made even more sweet by the intimate nature of a small venue.

Then, when I believed the week couldn't get any better...it did on Tuesday night. On Tuesday, we attended a benefit concert for country artist Buck Jones who was the victim of a drunk driving accident recently. This tragedy snuffed out the life of a man who by all accounts in listening to his music was destined to make some hit records. While the circumstances were certainly sad, the music was excellent. We were treated to acoustic performances "Bluebird style" (this means the room was completely silent for the performance so the voice clarity was excellent) by Big & Rich, Jewel, and most notably Bon Jovi! The greatest band of the 80's came on for a five song set and brought the house down with their acoustic rendition of "Wanted Dead or Alive" as the crowd shouted every word along with them.

Finally, the week "ended" last night with the Marketing Association's annual Marketing Madness event. Held in the Owen lobby, this event utilizes products donated by alumni to present a convention style booth to build brand awareness. The focus of this year's event was viral marketing campaigns. The winning team created an entire "American Lounge" to promote American Airline's frequent flyer program. My team managed to generate interest in Manwich...which is no small feat in the Southeast where many people have never tried a sloppy joe! Hopefully I will have some pictures soon to post to show you the event.

Mod IV Malaise

If you read my blog often (thank you), you may notice that I have not been posting as frequently. For those of you that like my rambling stories...I certainly apologize. After traveling in China for two weeks, I will admit that my old bones needed about a week of recharging before I could really focus on being an Owen student again. Fortunately, I am very near graduation so the requirements on my time are less demanding.

I am actually only one class short of graduating from Owen, but I am taking two classes this module because I find the material interesting and it still leaves me time to enjoy more time with my friends and to play a little more golf. It also affords me the opportunity to do some project work and focus on the business plan that I have wanted to write for five years since graduating from undergrad. It really is a unique part of the MBA experience. While there are certainly many times that it feels like you have no free time, there are other times where there are opportunities for personal exploration. I feel that I have wasted some of them in the past, so I am taking full advantage of this opportunity.

Fortunately, there is a class offered at Owen that I believe has hit at exactly the right time for me. Every year in Mod IV there is a class taught by Professor Lynskey called "Launching the Venture." It is not focused on business plan writing, but rather all of the gory details that are involved with launching any enterprise. I think that the material is even more interesting as I prepare to venture back out into the business world with my eye on making a better run in the business world when compared to my first attempt. I want to think like a small business owner, but the only way that I have ever learned to do that is to try it for myself. Experience really is the best teacher. At any rate, I highly recommend this class to any future Owen student...or a similar class to any MBA student at another university. It is an excellent capstone experience.

A China Shout Out

By the way, I almost forgot to post a quick note to thank the INSEAD student who met my friend David on the plane to Shanghai from Beijing this past Sunday. When David told him that he went to Vanderbilt, the first thing that came up was the Owenbloggers. It was great news to hear that the Owenbloggers site had been visited by MBA's in other programs around the world!  My experience in China has really solidified how "The World is Flat" has really become true in our time. This is just another relevant example.

I must admit that when I started this blogging experience I was somewhat skeptical of its overall merits, but I am glad that it has reached so many people interested in learning about the MBA experience from actual MBA students. I hope that we continue to enrich your lives by reading our posts. Thanks!

Travel Sickness

The title for this post says it all right. Well, before you go on thinking that I am sick of traveling through China...think again. I am talking about the real thing...the ugly, painful, and rather unplesant thing known as travel sickness. In Mexico it is called Montazuma's (sp?) revenge, but in the U.S. we would simply call it food poisioning. I have no idea what they actually call it in China, but it reared up and bit me pretty hard during my day in Shanghai on Monday.

Without going into the gory details (I would hate to absolutely gross out my readers), I got the full brunt of whatever could occur. I was so dehydrated that I had to be hospitalized (fortunately in a western hospital, since I don't speak any Mandarin) and that involved a Chinese ambulance ride which is something that I hope that you never have to experience. Thank goodness I had the 100 Yuan that was needed to pay them at the end of the ride!

Eight 500ml IV bags of fluid, five liters of water, a bunch of tasteless Dannone crackers, and one bottle of Gatorade later (thanks Gloria and Carrie) I am functional again. My roommate in China (David) said that I was completely incoherent for nearly 24 hours. I suppose that is a good thing for those of you who dislike reading my blog about my life at Owen.

Anyway, despite all of my challenges in China...I still recommend this trip to anyone planning to attend Owen. It has been great to travel around a new country with such a great group of friends, and I learned just how great they all were during my time of need on Monday and Tuesday (a big thank you to David for staying with me at the hospital and watching V channel in Chinese for 14 hours!).

Ni Hao...Greetings from China

Well, I know that I have been away from the blog, but this is the first day during my travels in China that I have had a roommate with a computer (thanks David). Let me first say that China is amazing. The culture, the people, the inability to form a line for tickets...all of it is very interesting and it has been a great experience. So far, I have traveled to Beijing, Xi'an, and now Shanghai. I like them all for different reasons, but most of all for the food. I think I could eat dumplings for every meal...seriously!

I have to sign off for now due to the cost of internet in our hotel, but I hope that the weather around the world is warmer than here.