OwenBloggers: Jared - MBA 2009

On The Subject Of Ethics; The 2009 MBA Oath

On the heels of one of the most intense academic years for MBAs, our compatriots at HBS have presented an interesting opportunity; sign an oath for be ethical...for life.

The MBA Oath, an eight point, 271 word manifesto on modern business leadership, calls upon those of us with our MBAs leading up to and including the class of 2009 to formally sign on to Freeman's theory of stakeholder-oriented management. So far, over 240 MBAs from HBS, Columbia, Wharton and others have signed the oath online at http://mbaoath.org whose preamble reads:

As a manager, my purpose is to serve the greater good by bringing people and resources together to create value that no single individual can create alone. Therefore I will seek a course that enhances the value my enterprise can create for society over the long term. I recognize my decisions can have far-reaching consequences that affect the well-being of individuals inside and outside my enterprise, today and in the future. As I reconcile the interests of different constituencies, I will face choices that are not easy for me and others.

What this nets out to in the long run is currently being debated but for now it's a positive, if not symbolic step in the right direction. To learn more about the oath or to add your name to it - visit http://mbaoath.org.

Technorati Tags: ethics, HBS, MBA, mba oath, Vanderbilt

Transition Memo

To the classes of 2010 and 2011:

Today we pass the torch to the next generation of 2nd Years and venture back out into the wilds of the “Real World.” Before we do though, we thought we would pass on what advice we can. Whether or not that advice is relevant, however is up to you.

There may be some nuggets of wisdom given that we stand where you are today and where you will be perhaps one or two years down the road. The point is that we are taking away a lot from this experience and we want you to as well.

To the class of 2010:

Your second year is going to go faster than you can possibly imagine. Enjoy the summer, have some fun and get ready to take some risks when you arrive back here in August.

• Use what flexibility the 2nd year schedule offers you. For instance, explore the talents you no doubt will discover in your internships through some independent studies and take a class or two outside your area of concentration.
• Corporate Val will not kill you. In fact, I highly encourage you to take it with Craig Lewis and participate in class, even though you may be unsure of the exact answers. It really is as much art as it is science and the more you bring non-finance reasoning into the class, the more you will get out of it.
• Sleep is not the enemy. Though you might be tempted to come back and show the 1st years “how it’s done,” with all nighters and frequent 3 AM stands at Loonie’s, you’d be surprised how much you can get done with a regular to 7 hours of sleep. Believe me, you’ll see it plainly when it comes to those full-time interviews; they call it “first-mover advantage” for a reason.

To the class of 2011:

Get ready for the ride of your life. Your time here at Owen will provide you with incredible experiences, both constructive and joyous and believe me when I tell you I wouldn’t trade a moment.

• If you want to make the most out the experience, plan on learning how to ask for things. Owen is an incredible wealth of resources that are there, if you only know how to ask.
• Start by networking like crazy. Not only within the Owen alumni community and with your fellow classmates but take some time to find external networking as well. Find local interest groups or small businesses that might need some independent project work. The point is that the best opportunities may be ones that will pop up, not on OCNS, but in random social conversations with people already in the industry.
• Next, find ways of getting involved here at Owen. One of the great things about this place is the intimacy and shared responsibility the students, faculty and staff feel for its future. Take some time this summer or across the first few months to decide what you want to be known for. If you see a class, a club or a functional area that you think should exist, take the initiative and be the one that starts it.
• Identify the stakeholders, make a pitch and find people around you who share the same goals. The effort always pays off - trust me.

Lastly, to the OwenBloggers – It’s no surprise that I believe vehemently in the power of social media and interactive marketing. In fact, OwenBloggers has been an integral experience for me at Owen, not only in identifying where I wanted to steer my career, but also as a leadership experience.

OwenBloggers carries with it a unique brand of authority, candor and prestige that you may not completely grasp, yet. It almost takes the experience of traveling to other b-schools and talking about OwenBloggers to see how bold and incredible this initiative is. Nowhere else does a school take such a proactive approach to transparency and whose support and trust in the voice of the students so apparent.

My point is that you have a legacy to uphold. It’s as much about telling your story as it is participating the dialogue about the future of the school. Take advantage of the medium to show off your intellectual capital and don’t underestimate the power of your own words when it comes to impressing potential recruiters. It doesn’t have to be the most groundbreaking prose or thinking but, the very act of exploring your concentration through your blog may very well be the most impressive documentation of your achievements at Owen.

As the class of 2009 exits stage left, we wish all of students that come after us good luck and an incredible experience. Ask questions, take risks and above all enjoy the ride.

Thanks!

Best,

Jared

21 Months - What An Education...

I’ve been up for about an hour and half now and it’s the day after my last business school presentation, ever. With my team’s presentation to Scott Hildebrand, CEO of BoldMouth, Inc., I wrapped up two years of intense coursework leading up to what I think most people affectionately deem as an MBA.

The past year has been a roller coaster-ride of emotions with the job market the way it is. Somehow though, my friends and classmates found ways of making it through. Now, most of us find ourselves back at the precipice of the “real world” wondering just how we managed to get through it all in just 21 months?

Probably the most surprising thing I’ve found at business school is the ability to exist happily in ambiguity whereas before I would try to avoid it at all costs. In fact, I feel that part of my evolution has been the realization that being smart and being educated are two totally different things. I’ve found that the important distinction is that the latter implies that you acknowledge how much you really don’t know but have the tools and the willpower to seek out the answers.

This project I wrapped up is a great example. Initially, we set out to better understand how to measure social media and create a branded approach for Scott to present to his clients. Along the way, my team had to evolve, make tradeoffs and come to consensus in ways we never thought we would have to. For instance, we realized that there is no such thing as a completely straight line to ROI when you’re dealing with human behavior.

Coming to grips with the fact that you have to construct models out of sometimes-imperfect information has been an exercise in both patience and teamwork. The reality, though is that that’s how great progress is made – by understanding the world as it is and deciding to make the best of the tools you have access to.

In the end, these past 21 months have been so much more than the sum of the classes I’ve taken or the projects I’ve completed. It’s been about the people I’ve met along the way and the relationships I’ve formed and am going to take with me as I move on to the next stage of my career.

Yesterday afternoon as I looked out over the crowd gathered in the Owen courtyard as we do every Thursday for kegs, I just had to pause a moment and think to myself; “man, what and education!”

PS - Props to the best LIA team/Social Media Rock-stars EVER!

Lawrence, Marie & Ellery, Once again - Incredible Job!

Technorati Tags: BoldMouth, Owen, social media, Vanderbilt

No, I am not missing in action...it was Follies.

Life has an interesting irony to it, doesn't it? I think I've spent more time at Owen now that I am working full-time than when I was taking classes.

Perhaps I should back up a bit. Right after my last post, my life was sent into a bit of a welcome tailspin when an Owen Alum approached me about a job opportunity. The position would be a 6-month contract working for a fantastic company doing exactly what I came to business school to do - interactive marketing.

With my outstanding credit hours fulfilled through Leadership In Action, I would spend one day a week here working on my project with my team members and the rest I would be working full time helping to bring interactive strategies to life for brand managers. It's been an incredible experience and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

The downside to this strategy is that I have to find ways of keeping up with current events at school, not to mention social life. Oddly enough, I have been kept VERY engaged by a little thing called Owen Follies.

An annual tradition at business schools across the country, Follies is a chance for the classes to get together and make fun of ourselves. Usually this entails skits, videos and just enough jokes to allow us to laugh off the dismal job market:

This year, eight MBAs across both classes were tasked with filling up two and a half hours of comic interlude for our fellow business school classmates. To put it in other terms; we produced the equivalent of a full length feature film, in High Definition, no less including everything from writing to filming and editing.

All I have to say is that it was an amazing experience. Thanks to everyone who came out and we look forward to many more laughs beforw we walk across that dais!

Oh, The Things We Thought We Knew - MOD III 2009

Well OwenBloggers Fans, it's the end of the MOD and what a ride it has been. Exam week is upon us and that can only mean one thing; time for another re-cap of the things we learned over the course of the last seven weeks.

Summing up this MOD is kind of tough just because it seems like it went so quickly. As you can imagine, many of us have been pounding the pavement relentlessly in order to secure jobs after graduation. Between classes, networking and getting ready to pass the baton to the new generations of student leaders in the class of 2010, it feels like my life has been a whirlwind of activity.

Then again, that's when you know you're doing business school right: when you bite off more than you can chew and realize your capacity for being productive only increases with your experience.

Without further a-do, here are my four big takeaways from this MOD:

1. No matter how bad things look, you will get a great job or internship opportunity if you want it bad enough AND are willing to work for it
2. Non-stop networking may feel like it's not worth it at times; trust us, it is.
3. A tree is sometimes not a tree, especially when it makes a point.
4. Half the fun is watching other's go through the same incredible changes we did.

And as always, we wrap-up with my favorite shots from throughout the MOD:

100% Trivia Night Gennerates Over $1,000 to Habitat For Humanity

Brand Geeks Watch Super Bowl Commercials In 3D

Net Impact Raises Awareness And Reduces Paper
Waste Through It's Smart Printing Campaign

Ed Thayer Comes Prepared For His Team's Corporate Strategy Presentation

Technorati Tags: 100% Owen, Exam Week, MOD, Net Impact, MBA, puppy, Vanderbilt

A Marketer's Rant On Valentine's Day

Cross-Posted From My "Other" Blog, Marketing Diner:

For a moment, I am going to forget about being a bitter, single, elitist MBA student and talk practically about the trouble with Valentine’s Day.

First, the background....

I did some digging and it turns out that the celebration of the modern Valentine's Day actually has its roots in several different historical practices. It seems that the modern version of Valentine's Day is part a Christian version of a pagan sheep-herding holiday and part romantic epic featuring a roman priest named Valentine.

Since the idea of a single "true" origin of Valentine’s Day is up for grabs, let's just settle the historical hair-splitting and say that somewhere, somehow there is a reason beyond the cards and the flowers that this day exists.

Of course in popular culture, Valentine’s Day is the holiday to celebrate the ‘magic of love’ with gifts, flowers and expensive price-fix dinners. During this time of year, popular thought is you either love Valentine's Day because you’re with someone or you hate it because you’re alone, sad and bitter.

In fact, the Washington Post recently had an online survey of best songs for an Anti-Valentine's Day Playlist. The categories we had to choose from feature rage, regret and revenge. This is troubling because even though I am single, I honestly don't feel any of those things.

The Problem...

This illustrates what I think is really wrong with Valentine's Day. Apparently, there is no room in the red velvet-clad halls of St. Valentine's massive cathedral for someone who is just there; single, strong, and happy. My problem with Valentine's Day; there is no corresponding holiday to celebrate the individual, single person.

Now, I’m not talking about a day where only single people get to celebrate. I am talking about a day which says “you know what - you’re good enough as you are" without needing anything - or one - else to validate you! Something tells me you are never going to see this happen.

The reason you're not going to see this is that you wouldn’t need anything to celebrate it. Gifts and flowers would be contrary to the point of celebrating someone for who they are. Oh sure. It's easy to celebrate something when you know you can buy your way into validation and that’s what’s become so successful for consumer marketers on Valentine's Day.

Pair this with that in marketing; it's been the very nature of our jobs to create needs. We accomplish this by making the case that you’re not good enough on your own whether it's in business or as a consumer. Thankfully, there are companies like Dove out there that are making inroads to the very basic point that you can market a product without telling someone that if they don’t buy it, something bad is going to happen.

The trouble with Valentine's Day isn’t its blatant consumerism and it isn’t its seeming snub of single people everywhere. The problem is the fact that it distracts us from realizing that no matter what your ’single status’ is, we should be celebrating our own individuality and not just facing off on two sides of a “single” issue.

It tough though, to sell something by openly acknowledging, "You know what, you're good enough without our product but here's why you should buy it anyway." Without that burning platform of need, you actually have to sell the product on its ability to inspire your target, not just by pointing out their faults.

Be assured, marketers will still be saying "you need this because it will fix what you don't know is wrong with you yet, for some time to come. For now though, I am going to propose we each try to, at least once, sell something by saying "you need this because its going to enhance how fabulous you are already."

We can start with Valentine's Day.

The Solution...

Folks, its time we had a holiday that says it's ok to be who you are no matter what you own or who you’re with or not with. No Flowers. No Cards. No Dinners. Just you, and the ultimate form of affection - the quiet contentment of being yourself.

Put that on a holiday card, Hallmark.

Technorati Tags: MBA, rant, Valentine's Day

You Have To Want It

Yesterday, I found myself in a meeting with some of the other OwenBloggers and realized that I was the only second year in the room without a job. Not that this is an odd occurrence with the job marketing being what it is, but the moment highlighted the interesting situation that many of us find ourselves in.

Candidly, both classes here at Owen have reason to be concerned. However, that only means that when we do get jobs or internships, it's going to be because we really wanted them and were willing to work harder to get them than perhaps many of the classes before us.

Don't get me wrong; the point of going to business school is to help you reach farther in your career aspiration. That can't happen without your first job out of grad school. To help you do this, some schools offer a highly structured career management track and a heavy concentration in a select category/type of employers. Owen is a bit different.

Owen offers a decidedly broader range of opportunities, but the larger portion of them require a more legwork than simply perusing the on-campus recruiting list at the CMC. For instance, much of my own time is being currently spent on the phone with various Owen alumni and their contacts. Because job openings aren't readily apparent and my not be listed for a few months, I am focusing on getting my personal brand out there and investigating potential opportunities. In that way, the much-vaunted "community atmosphere" at Owen comes in handy because networking is all about building bridges.

Ultimately, when asked what the difference is between career searches at Owen and career searches other top MBA programs, the most common answer is that at Owen you have more freedom in your job search, but students are the ones that lead with their own initiative.

Yes, the job market is scary. Yes, it's going to be harder for most people. Will that make a difference? Not if you want it.

The new frontier in project communications

This past week, I got to kick off my Leadership In Action project in a most unusual way. Instead of going onsite, the team made use of the new monitors in the Owen library meeting rooms and held a virtual kickoff face-to-face with our client. In addition to being one of the cooler/geekiest moments of my business school career, it also revealed some interesting tips for video conferences in general.

It Matters Where You Look

Because I wanted our team to look like we were actually looking at the client instead of the computer screen, I set the computer as far down the table as possible. This minimizes the discrepancy you usually find when using webcams. Granted, we had a couple of interesting moments where we had to reference things on the big monitor a good 30 degrees above the camera, it definitely made the difference in the professional look and feel of the call.

It Matters What Your Body Language Says

It's apparently really easy to look like an evil genius on video conferences. Though I only noticed it about 10 minutes into the call, at first I had my elbows on the table and my hands clasped together, right under my chin. Put a person on either side of you with significantly more relaxed styles and you have the makings for a really interesting scene. My best advice on this is to make sure that, if you have to have multiple people on the call with you, to mirror each other's body language. Talk about it before hand and definitely do a camera test.

It Matters How You Close It Out

Video conferences tend to close out like phone calls more than in-person meetings. This can be slightly awkward. Let's just say this; make sure the client hangs up first.

All in all, I do recommend at least trying out video conferences. It can be a great way to up the professionalism of project and increase the connection between your team and your client. Also, for more on video conference; check out this videoconference etiquette list or the software we ended up using.

4 New Years Resolutions That MBAs Make...But Probably Won't Keep

I have to admit, waking up this morning was a wee bit painful. I'll let Meara and the 510 tell you more about it later but now that the confetti is being cleaned up, its time for some resolutions.

As an MBA, it feels like you're constantly reinventing yourself but new years brings with it the special benefit of everyone making commitments to change, at the same time. By informal survey, here are the five most common resolutions made by MBA students at the beginning of the new year.

Also, because we know that like most resolutions many of them will go unkept, we've also included the most common reality that MBAs face in keeping them.

Resolution 4: Read The WSJ

They pile up on our doorstep and though we know it's important, many MBAs just don't have the time to pick up our copy of the Wall Street Journal. Sure, we catch up with it online but nothing shows off your worldliness like reading the actual paper in the lobby as your classmates rush in late to class.

In all reality though, as papers decline in readership and more news goes online, reading the paper version of the WSJ is less and less in line with our study habits. Our advice? In theory you can afford to pass them up but just make sure to recycle them properly.

Resolution 3: Get More Exercise

Though you can live off pizza, tacos and beer in business school, late nights and marathon group meetings seldom incentivize a healthy lifestyle. The problem gets even worse over the holidays. Your choices are either cut some calories or sign up for one of our MBA classmates' 8:15 PM body sculpt classes at the Vanderbilt Rec. Center.

The reality is that 51% of these types of resolutions get broken by the end of February. Let's face it, this one is tough no matter if you're a business student or not.

Resolution 2: More Nights In, Studying

A healthy social life tends to be a hallmark of the business school experience. A perennial resolution, particularly after MOD II grades come in is to spend more time studying and less time out doing...whatever.

The reality of this resolution is that you can actually do something about this. MOD III tends to find many MBAs hibernating but then again, come springtime and MOD IV, all bets are off. Work hard, play hard. What more can we say?

And the most common MBA resolution...

Resolution 1: Read All Assigned Readings

As a very wise Owen alumni once said (reference), "you can't afford to do all the readings but you can't afford to do none of the readings." For this one, you'll just have to find your own happy medium. Assigned readings are usually made for a reason but many professors recommend that if you're pressed for time, skimming can help frame the in-class discussion just as well.

Technorati Tags: MBA, Owen, Owen Graduate School of Management, OwenBloggers, resolutions

Oh, The Things We Thought We Knew – MOD II 2008

Season’s Greetings Everyone! Normally, this post goes up earlier in the last week of classes.  Due to some traveling for interviews though, I am just now able to collect my thoughts on what’s been a interesting MOD, to say the least.

In case you’re not familiar with this particular tradition on OwenBloggers, we like to take some time at the end of each MOD to see what we really learned over the last seven weeks.

Though it’s getting tougher and tougher to get a sense of collective learning, I think the times that we live in give us some shared lessons going forward. Without further adieu; our list of things we thought we knew:

1. No matter what you think, everything you take for granted in your career search could change - so stay flexible.
2. Leadership is about more than just intellect; it’s about tapping the potential and hope of a nation.
3. Sometimes rakings matter, sometimes they don’t. Vanderbilt’s like Armani: not the top of the haute couture but perennially in the top tier, anyway.
4. No matter what, we’re all in this together.

And as always, we wrap-up with my favorite shots of the MOD.

Darcy Lincoln & The Net Impact Team Taking A Break In Philadelphia

OSGA Officers Ryan Dix & Matt Trebble Test Out The New Owen Wii

Colleen & Patrick Tailgating Before The UT/Vanderbilt Game

Game Theory....'Nuf Said

CLICK HERE TO SEE PREVIOUS MOD'S THINGS WE THOUGHT WE KNEW