OwenBloggers: Isaac - MBA '08

The best blog idea that didn't make it...

It's hard for me to say what the best un-written blog entry has been for me... there have been a lot.  I tend to sit down and write entries as a cathartic exercise when I'm stressed out or upset about something; typically that occurs about 3 times a day. It's not that I'm a nutjob or drama queen, I'm just a passionate person.  I see something wrong, something unfair, something inconsistent, and i want to change it.  I wont be the guy who just says "that's how it is".  If it's something i care about, I'll do my damnedest to make it better; if i cant do that, at least I'll let others know how i feel.  I don't like to sit back quietly.

Here are two topics i recently started to write, only to decide against actually publishing them to the site. 

1.  The recent jump in rankings Owen experienced makes me nervous.  Whenever there is a huge movement in any kind of poll like that it makes me think one of two things: one, the ranking system is flawed, or two, there have been radical changes at Owen that garnered a better score from the powers that be.  If it's the latter, that's where i get most scared; what could it be that we've done so much better?  What is it that we are doing right today we weren't doing right last year?  Do we know what it is that we've done?  If we don't know what brought on the jump in the polls, how do we keep pushing those programs... or, do we even want to promote certain aspects of the school just to bump the rankings a few slots? The last thing i would want is for the school to suddenly start working the polls rather than focusing on producing more educated and capable MBA's. When i was choosing a school, it was obvious some schools spent 95%  of their energies positioning for the annual school rankings; Owen seemed to spend 95% of its energy on the STUDENTS.  That was a big selling point for me; i hope that doesn't change.

2. Grades or no grades?  There seems to be a debate on campus around the idea of moving from the current 4.0 grade scale to the common B-school grading system of pass/no pass.  I've been giving this a lot of thought and here's what i've come up with.  We should keep the 4.0 grade scale; how else do you know how well you learned the material?  If i get a "Pass" does that mean i know the material better than most?  If i'm an operations concentrator and i get a "Pass" in core ops, does that mean i'm pretty good at ops, or that i'm average, or below average?  If i work my butt off and get a "Pass" and someone else just skims through and gets a "Pass", what does that do for anyone?  What's the sense of accomplishment from a "Pass". 

Business is about quantifying things; at times, it's about quantifying the seemingly unquantifiable.   As MBA's, we're taught all kinds of ways to value money you don't have yet, how to generate cash from cash from cash, how to value a company that hasn't even started making its widgets yet... It seems sacrilegious to then turn around and tell students we're not going to quantify your performance. 

To be honest, the strongest supporters i've heard of for the "pass/no-pass" system are professors; i'm sure grading would be a lot easier... but hey, that's got nothing to do with it, right?

From the desk of Ron Paul

Libertarian Congressman from Texas.

I was going to play nice...

 Then, about 30 seconds after I posted my last entry.

 

It's 2007 people! you'd think Microsoft would at least make their error messages slightly useful.  Basically, this says:

"Your PC just lost control of its bodily functions.  We totally have no idea what just happened. Dude, just sit tight and let's both hope whatever just happened doesn't happen again.  Oh--- by the way, I lost whatever that stupid thing was that you were working on. Bummer."

Summer Plans, Spring time, and prepping for next year

I've finally gotten around to cementing my summer plans; I'll be working for a company in Denver in a wide variety of capacities; there's a little marketing, a little customer services work, a little product management.  Company seems like it's got a great work environment and the people couldn't be better.  Perfect fit for me.  It's funny how life completely changes once you land your dream internship; classes seem less stressful and there isn't that constant worry that you wont find the perfect job.

Denver should be a lot of fun; my wife and I are looking at condos now; you forget how hard it is to find short-term housing.  If anyone has any ideas where to live (furnished) from mid-may to early August, drop me a line at owenbloggers@gmail.com. 

Spring is here and it's absolutely gorgeous around town; mid 60s to 70s, sunshine, just beautiful.  Nashville springtime weather has to be one of the best things about Owen; it's just perfect. 

Prospective students are contacting us frequently with all the typical questions; what will it be like?  What is it like in XXXX concentration?  Where should I live?  When should I arrive in Nashville?  What should I be reading to prepare for class.

Everybody's got their list of questions, but I figured I'd start with the basics.  If you're an admitted student for the class of 2009, here's what I'd be doing today:

1. Take it easy.  Relax.  Travel some.  The first MOD's going to be a meatgrinder.  Rest up.
2. Look into the federal loans and get that paperwork started.  FAFSA registration and enrollment can be confusing.   Get an early start.
3. Start networking.  I didn't do this; wish I had.  Start contacting our AOA's here at OwenBloggers and emailing back and forth; we'll get an email distribution going if there are enough people.  Just email OwenBloggers@gmail.com and we'll start a list.  Getting to know you classmates early takes some of the edge off the first few days of orientation.
4. TAKE THE MATH PREP COURSE!!! Even if you don't need the brush-up on math skills--- do it just to get back into the studying groove.
5. Start looking at apartments in Nashville.  If you have some in mind and want our opinions, email and OwenBlogger and ask what the property is like.

So, you've got 5 things to do in the next month... that's not too bad.  You've got plenty of time to prepare/study this summer; take this time to breathe a deep breath and recharge. 

You gotta hate seeing this

if you're Microsoft that is...

Forbes article on Vista

I swore to myself just this morning, no more Microsoft-bashing, not more Mac exalting. 

Then windows crashed on me.  Twice.

Shortly there after I read this article on Forbes; rarely do you see this kind level of disdain in a Forbes article--- I almost feel sorry for the guys in Redmond.

One paragraph in particular caught my attention; it's message is so powerful it seems to have kinetic properties.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

I suggested to one Windows product manager that if the company were truly serious about security, Vista might offer a simple way to delete files securely and eliminate all traces of identity and passwords so you could safely pass the machine on or sell it years from now. His reply: "Does any other operating system do that?" That tells you all you need to know about Microsoft. The real slogan: "No innovation here."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

One more Vista-bashing article wont hurt...

 

Technorati Tags: Microsoft - Vista - Owen - MBA - Business School - Vanderbilt

This kind of stuff makes me worry about our educational system...

The below article is is from Wired.com:

University of Michigan Identifying Students to RIAA, According to Email

Today, I received an email apparently sent by Paul Howell, Chief Information Technology Security Officer of the University of Michigan, to all of the university's faculty and staff.  In the email, Howell writes that the university is in the process of identifying to the RIAA the [at least] twelve students belonging to the IP addresses on the RIAA's hit list, in cooperation with the organization's new anti-file-sharing initiative.  The email also said that the university will notify the students that their names are being turned over to the RIAA.

Although Howell had already left the office by the time I called, University of Michigan staff confirmed that a letter regarding file sharing was sent to students; I hope to speak with Howell tomorrow for more detail.

Here is the full text of the email:

--------------------------
On Friday, March 9, and Saturday, March 10, the University of Michigan received notification that the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) intends to sue or receive settlement from more than a dozen members of the U-M community engaged in unlawful peer-to-peer file sharing of music over the Internet. The RIAA has designated these individuals through IP addresses, and the University is in the process of identifying and notifying them.

This action is part of an increased effort to curtail unlawful peer-to-peer file sharing. As a result, individuals who engage in this practice are more likely than ever to be identified and sued by the RIAA. Most have settled these lawsuits out-of-court, typically for $4,000-$4,500.

The University does not condone unlawful peer-to-peer file sharing. Individuals who engage in it are violating a variety of University policies including Standard Practice Guide 601.7 - Proper Use of Information Resources, Information Technology, and Networks at U-M. This reminder also has been sent to all faculty and students.

Faculty, staff, or students who have installed peer-to-peer file sharing programs on their computers and are concerned that they might be unwittingly sharing files illegally should visit the University of Chicago's useful web page that describes how to disable file sharing on a variety of programs (http://security.uchicago.edu/guidelines/peer-to-peer/).

U-M maintains a web page (http://www.copyright.umich.edu) that describes the University's position on illegal sharing of copyrighted materials and also includes a growing list of FAQs.  All members of the University community are encouraged to study the materials on this page.

Lawful downloading of music is possible through sites such as Apple iTunes, MSN Music, Rhapsody, Ruckus, etc. Details about a number of these sites are available at:
http://mp3.about.com/od/wheretobuymusic/a/all_profile.htm and http://mp3.about.com/od/freemusicdownloads/tp/freeandlegalmp3.htm.

Paul Howell
Chief Information Technology Security Officer
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So, help me out here; I want to understand this better.  I don't really have a stance on the RIAA/filesharing debate; I see both sides of the coin.  But in this case, what in the world is UM thinking?  Read the email very carefully--- the RIAA "intends to sue" these students... they haven't actually even brought a case against them.  UM is hunting down and identifying the students and turning them over to the RIAA--- so they're the police now?  

If I have a problem with an Owen student because they keep posting derogatory comments on OwenBloggers, and I decide I might sue them, I can just ask IT for their identity?  If I write something here on OwenBloggers (a non-Owen site) that someone believes is defamatory to them, and they "think" they might sue me, they can ask Owen to identify the PC that accessed OwenBloggers to post that entry? 

It's disheartening to see an educational institution such as UM forget that in this country we have a legal system; if the RIAA wants to know the identities of these students, we have courts and we have subpoenas.  Where will it end?  If I think a classmate that doesn't care for me is writing emails to my prospective employers telling them what a jerk I am and not to hire me, can I waltz into the IT department and demand this person's identity because I *might* sue them?  How about if someone quotes my work on OwenBloggers on another website and doesn't give me credit for it?  Can I ring up their hosting service and demand their name and address? 

Where does it end?  You used to be able to count on your educational institutions to at least err on the side of caution... Now, it looks like they work for the recording industry.

Mod IV first impressions

I'm going to like this MOD.  I'm really really going to like this MOD. 

So I'm taking Professor Owen's "Managing Innovation", Securities and Portfolios, Survey Design and Analysis (marketing), and Business and The World Economy (macroeconomics). 

My classes are really, really good.  David Owens is my new favorite professor.  His energy in the classroom, the way he engages the students is fantastic. 

I've got my internship all lined up for the summer, I'll be working for a software company performing a range of duties from working on new projects to marketing.  Sounds like a blast.  Now that the worry of finding an internship is past, I feel like I can take a deep breath and really focus on what I want to focus on.

My family is in town this weekend; Kim's mother and father are here for the first time since we've been married.  I'm excited to have them here and the timing couldn't be better, the first week or so of this MOD is a little less aggressive, so I'll have time to take them to Loveless cafe, show them around Owen, and possibly play a little golf (for only the second time in my life...).

Yet another reason I love my Mac

So i decided i wanted to catch up on some of my housecleaning duties today; found some old DV home movies of past Christmases and vacations and the like. Huh... wonder if those trite apple ads about "just make a movie, it's so easy" are really accurate.

I dont have a powerhouse Mac.  I've got an iMac, a nice one, but still not a video-editing behemoth Mac with 16 gigs of RAM or anything, just an off-the shelf model with no video editing software besides what came with it (iMovie).

So i plugged in my 6 year old Sony handycam which oddly had a firewire port back then.  iMovie pops up, asks me what i want to call my project.  In less than 15 seconds i'm editing tape and inserting titles for chapters without even having to THINK.  i think that's what's great about macs... you dont have to say "where would i find this"... it all just kind of works.

So i'm importing an huge movie file and i noticed how unbelievably fast it was converting the movie... really fast.  So i decided to run a little test.  Let's see what my dinky little off-the-shelf iMac can do. 

As i type this, i'm making a backup of my important files to an external drive (100 gigs), posting a blog entry, converting a video, playing iTunes, and just for fun, creating a powerpoint, browsing the web, and watching a quicktime movie.  It's just as responsive right now as it is sitting idle--- which means it's about 100 times more responsive than any PC under any circumstances.  a little tool i have called iStat is telling me my iMac is kinda busy, but not really--- 73% of resources are free and i honestly just cant think what other applications to open to test it further.

I love... LOVE my mac. 

What does this have to do with a blog about B-school?  yeah, not too much... but maybe i can convince some of the incoming students they dont have to settle for the dark and uninspiring world of the PC--- take that money you'd spend on a thinkpad and buy yourself a Mac.  i promise you it'll be the best purchase you'll make.

The rest of Dean Lehman's list...

Here is the remainder of Dean Lehman's takeaways from Strategic Management:

(the rest of the list can be found here)

 

4. Execution matters!

Execution mistakes can doom even the most brilliant strategy. Recovery always takes longer than you think.

3. Strategies need to adapt and evolve over time.

Markets and competition are dynamic. There is a fine balance between consistent focus and adaptability. Strategic skills often accumulate over time.

2. CEOs need to set a clear strategic vision.

Successful strategies start in the corner office but need to be bought into across the company. 

1. People matter as much or more as strategy.

The right team makes all the difference. An “A team” with a beginning “B strategy” will beat a “B team” with an “A strategy” every time.