OwenBloggers: Matt

Marathons are so much fun!

I completed my first marathon -- the 2007 Country Music Marathon in Nashville, Tennessee on April 28.  The marathon had 6,000 full and 23,000 half runners in competition.  One of Owen's own MBA students, Austin Weaver, WON the half.  Literally, he was the first place winner.  Super crazy.

After running in a marathon, I recommend people think about running one too.  My advice is the following:

1.  Hire a trainer or team -- I used Team In Training to run my first one.

2.  Finish the first one -- Just go out and complete an event, don't set a time, unless you are super cool.  My goal was 5 hours but I ran it in 5 and a half due to the really hot  temperatures.

3.  Take Ice Baths -- After every run, you should dip your body in an ice bath to relieve the amount of stress your body will take.  Ice baths dramatically decrease the recovery time and I recommend people take 15 minutes of pain for 2 days of recovery.

Now I am ready for the next race.  You get such a high off of doing the races.  Finally, a photo of Jeff Recker (2nd Year now - right) and me (now an alum - left) after the race:

Washington D.C. and the LAST WEEK EVER!

I just landed in Washington D.C. to present a paper at the United Network for Organ Sharing on our lung transplant project.  I have not been to Washginton since 1995 when I attended Close Up, a program in which students can learn about how the U.S. Government works.  I can say after 12-plus years, I am a little more jaded about how the world and government works.  Nonetheless, I am enjoying seeing the architecture.

Besides the conference, this is my last week to study at Owen.  I will not study for anymore finals or papers after this Thursday.  I admit, the week is going to be hectic for I will be in D.C. for three days and then come back to run my marathon for the Country Music Marathon.  I cannot wait.

To answer some of the questions asked by the Owen Bloggers management:

“With MOD IV coming to a close, what do you know now you didn’t know in MOD I.”

Mod IV for both first and second years have been the mods in which I learn the most about business education and my own personal style.  Public Relations, Strategic Alignment of Human Capital, Managing Innovation, along with Leadership have all been really influential in how I think.  Therefore, do not blow MOD IV off because it does offer the best classes at Owen.

“Graduation and summer are just weeks away; what are your plans for the next 4 weeks; taking time off before your internship/job?”

I do not start my consulting career until August 15.  As for my summer, I am in high gear planning for my vacation.  I am going to be working with Accelerator, purchasing a condo in ATL, and taking lots of trips before I start working.

Some of the trips include:

2 weeks in Germany, France, Italy and Hungary

New Orleans

Colorado

Fort Lauderdale

Maybe Texas 

Leadership

As a final capstone class, I am taking Leadership with Dick Daft.  The class is a discussion on how you define your own leadership model.  In the class, you do many different experential exercieses -- personality tests, growth exercises, videos, coaching, etc.  On Monday, our professor invited Tim Corbin, head coach of Vandy's baseball team.  It was by far one of the most interesting lectures I have had at Vandy.

Some of his advice includes --

Always make time to speak with people, you never know if you will see them again.

Your success in life will come from how you manage people -- professionally and personally.

Nonetheless, a really interesting topic.  Now I want to watch a game.

Advice for incoming students and Consulting

I am in Atlanta, just finishing my first nice dinner with my company.  Overall, the food and people were excellent.  I think I am going to enjoy working for them and it made me realize I made a good choice in picking my career.  Now I have to look for a home.

My advice for incoming students.  Take my advice because this is important for your sanity when you start two years of business school.

1.  Quit work -- You need to take some time off to relax and enjoy yourself.  I took off six weeks before orientation.  I suggest June 1st.  This will give you some time to take a vacation and finalize plans to Nashville.  I spent two weeks in New Orleans with my Mom where we went to Disneyworld and had a blast.  I also spent the other four saying goodbyes and closing out things in Dallas.  People may say that you are taking two years off but in reality I worked harder at business school than I did while at my previous employer.  All of the students in my consulting class are not starting until August.

2.  Network with 3-4 people -- Network with some Owen alums or people you know that you are interested in a particular career or industry.  This will give you some ideas but don't spend too much time during your summer focusing on your career.  Seriously, once day one of Orientation starts, all you will think about is landing your next internship.

3.  Begin to work on your resume -- Take the time to record your accomplishments on what you did at work, etc. after you leave.  Creating ideas will be easier when you are fresh from the position.

4.  Plan a party -- Plan a goodbye party for yourself.  It was so much fun and a great way to say goodbye.

5.  Stop panicking -- Take a chill pill and relax.  You earned your slot now ENJOY your summer.

The cake I received from my work for leaving!

April and New York Times

I know it is April Fool's Day but today seems like the weirdest April I have had in my lifetime.  Yes, I know it is also Palm Sunday but I think my loss of time is from being away from the United States for 12 days in China.  Coming back in the middle of March was quite disruptive in my understanding of what is going on in the USA.  I totally missed March Madness, St. Patrick's Day was a blur, and somehow I ran over 70 miles at the end of the month.  I think April is playing a trick for I still feel like I am in March.

One of the cool things BlackBoard (Owen's Internal Website) is the ability to customize your Owen browser.  I have my links set up to see articles from the New York Times.  I admit, I am not a fan of New York City but I have been impressed with the quality of writing the NYT delivers.  I would suggest someone go online and read their articles on health, business, and general media.

Dave Owens

At Owen, I have been in five Professor Dave Owens's classes since starting in August 2005.  What is ironic is that I can count the number of Mods I did not have a class with him as compared to the mods I did.  Two of the classes were for Health Care (Clinical Immersion and Business Immersion) along with three for HOP / Core (LTO, Managing Innovation, and New Product Design and Development.  Of the five classes I have taken with Owens, Managing Innovation has been the most influential class.  In fact, it got me my job in management consulting (the case question was on pantyhose -- a topic we discussed in our class).  I have been reading other Owen Bloggers comments about Managing Innovation this year.  I hope they are enjoying it as much as I did.

China Presentations and the Countdown

All of the groups who went to on the China trip presented their papers to the class and other students.  Overall, all presentations were interesting with each project having its own unique elements.  I would say that all groups had issues in managing a Chinese project as customers, meetings, and objectives change.  For people who come to Owen, I recommend that all students take the Doing Business in China Class Project.  Definitely an eye-opening experiene.

As for everything else, I have started my "Mental Countdown" to Graduation.  This week (as compared to weeks 1 and 2 of Mod IV) I did not feel the urge to think about graduation.  This is a sign that I am ready to graduate or realizing my time is short!

Saturday I ran 20 miles.  Beat that Belle Meade BLVD!

2 Hours 27 Minutes

That was my half-marathon run today at the Tom King Classic.  We ran from LP field through Shelby Bottoms Park and ended inside the Titans stadium.  Though I had not run a long distance in two weeks due to being ill in and the pollution in China, I have to say that I am impressed with my time for two reasons.  One I did not have to walk the course (while others did) and two I ran without Gatorade (which is dangerous b/c that is what I train with during long runs).  Nonetheless, I do feel good but am a little stiffer than usual.

What is Mardi Gras Like in New Orleans?

What is Mardi Gras really like?  Is it a place where it is a wild debauchery party?  Well Bourbon Street can be but in reality Mardi Gras is a lot of pageantry, history, and culture.  Take a look at some of the photos of the different Krewes (Parading Clubs).  At a parade, you can catch different "throws", including beads (without showing things), cups (drinks to go), doubloons (coins), food (chips and moon pies), and other trinkets.  Mardi Gras in the United States started in Mobile, AL in the 1850s but was exported to New Orleans by the 1870s.  By far, New Orleans is the most famous in the U.S. but there are other Carnivals in Brazil, France, and Italy that are just as famous.

Krewe of Endymion -- A night parade with lots of floats, throws, and colors
The Royal Court of Endymion

Leviathan, the largest float for the Super Krewe of Orpheus by Harry Connick, Jr.

New Orleans on the Mississippi -- The Best City in the South

Purchasing an airline ticket in China, Part III

Seriously, WTF?!?!  So now after three calls, a confirmation on a webpage, and a fax, we now have a ticket from Beijing to Qingdao and then from Qingdao to Shanghai.  Never have I had to spend significant hours to get a ticket.  For this blog, I faxed over my credit card information and then received my tickets...in Mandarin...  I cannot read Mandarin!!!  I give up.  I am just going to show up at the airport and catch the flight.

Such a miserable experience.