The MBA Student Voice

The Ander-flu Strikes Again!

It's going around again. 

The Ander-flu, the nasty virus that isn't really the flu but still makes us Andersonians sick, is making a second pass around campus and decided to stick on me.  For a change, I've decided to fight back early: I took the day off from school (ok, so there's no classes because of Veterans Day, but I'm still taking credit), doused myself in Theraflu and Gatorade already.  And I slept very soundly for 10 hours.  

Poor Mrs. V. was up half the night, however.  Funny how that works. 

* * * * *

As I mentioned in my last post, entertainment industry titan David Geffen came to speak to us here on campus last week.  It was a massive opportunity for us to hear from someone so accomplished in music, film, television, and theatre.  The Dean of the Anderson school moderated the session.  

What I found most impressive was that Mr. Geffen took opportunities as they came, rather than having a clear goal in mind.  He started in the mail room of a talent agency, getting that job only because he lied on his resume about having graduated from UCLA.  (The Dean was quick to point out that (a) it was never too late to do his degree, and (b) that lying about graduating was not a path that she would advocate.)  He got into theatre because a friend of his recommended an opportunity.  

He donated $200 million to the UCLA Medical Center because he was tired of going to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota for his constant back problems.  (You know, for $200 million, I think the Dean can let some or even all of the credits slide and just give him the degree.  Although if he was in my section, I would definitely vote for him for social chair.)  

Most interesting for me, though, was his response to the question I got the opportunity to ask him: what is one thing that you would change in the entertainment industry today?  His response: "I wish there was no digital."  

That really surprised me.  I appreciate that digital content has been and will continue to be a massive driver for change in the entertainment industry, but I would have thought that Mr. Geffen would be in the camp of promoting the opportunities that come with it.  To be fair, I had the last question of the session before the Dean took back the reigns and asked more of her own questions, so maybe he didn't get a chance to elaborate.  But I definitely didn't expect that answer. 

But then that's the point with these events -- we get the first-hand experience and insights of some of the most respected captains of industry, across many different sectors, and in my experience, these insights have been genuine and unfiltered.  It's these insights that are such a big part of the MBA experience, especially at Anderson.  

* * * * *

If you ever surf onto this board and don't see any updates from me, you should definitely check out what my fellow blogeteers are up to.  I thought my buddy Simon Jaud's post on video games and brand management was insightful (especially as, for a change, he didn't mention DaVita!).  

My interest in video games is on the brand management of sports titles.  John Madden may have retired from broadcasting, but his video game sponsor, Electronic Arts, still hosts "Sundays with John" where EA clients can watch football with Madden in his office, which EA has kitted out with multiple HD LCD big screens.  Tony Hawk became legendary after his video games -- now an Activision property -- took off outside of X-games enthusiasts.  I found the Activision presentation equally as exciting as Simon did for that reason. 

Simon failed to mention a crucial detail though: he mentioned that at their corporate presentation on campus, Activision gave us free video games, including their massive hit "Band Hero".  But Simon didn't tell you about the raffle: they held a raffle whereby a few lucky winners won various prizes.  The big prize was a free Band Hero set.  And, for the first time that I can remember, my ticket was drawn!  So I got to walk away from the presentation with such a big video game hit.  It was very thrilling and exciting.  I can't wait to crack it open out of the box!  

* * * * *

Capitals update: 10-3-4.  Am very happy with the win over Florida on Saturday especially because the goals we scored were the grinding, banging in front of the net type goals that we will need in the playoffs.  And to score seven goals with Ovechkin hurt and Semin a non-factor is a HUGE plus.  Check out the highlights here!

Till next time! 

-- Sreesha

UCLA's Stature in the Entertainment Industry

One major reason I came to UCLA Anderson was the school's ability to connect with major leaders in the sports and entertainment industry.  For further evidence of this, all I had to do was check my diary over last week and this week. 

Last week Mitch Kupchak, the general manager of the Los Angeles Lakers, came to speak to a small group of 40 students from the Sports Business Association, as well as 30 students from USC Marshall's sports business club to attend; every year, each school puts on an event for which both clubs are invited.

I thoroughly enjoyed meeting Mr. Kupchak and hearing about how he came to UCLA Anderson because he had a long-term knee injury that he needed to rehab and figured an MBA would give him a leg up (that's my pun; he was far more eloquent) on a career after his playing days were over.  He said two things that resonated with me.  He said that after graduating from UCLA Anderson, he gained the confidence that he could hold his own in any business negotiation.  As a career-switcher, I'm stepping into a new arena, industry and possibly location; hearing from him helped me gain some confidence in that respect as well. 

I also had the opportunity to meet with Mr. Kupchak personally after the session, where he also weighed in on a big debate happening right now in sports.  Social media has allowed athletes to strengthen their individual brands dramatically; some teams are concerned that the athletes are starting to become bigger than their teams.  Mr. Kupchak, in his usual candid demeanor, put a succint perspective on it, saying that the Lakers were around for 20 years before Magic and Kareem, and will be around for 30 years after Kobe.

Am running out of space, so I'll be quick: this week, David Geffen is speaking here on campus.  I am really looking forward to hearing the thoughts and vision of one of the most respected titans of the entertainment industry.  The Dean of UCLA Anderson herself is moderating the event.  You'll hear all about it in this space - till then, I'm going to enjoy the 28 degree sunshine! 

-- Sreesha 

  

Warning! Incoming Cold Call!

So I received my first cold call this week, in Managerial Economics.  And, of course, it had to happen the morning after I slept a grand total of 15 minutes thanks to having to get assignments done and to just not being able to sleep.  

Not that I'm making excuses. 

It must have been quite clear to the professor that I was having a hard time staying awake during class.  I didn't help my own cause much by getting to class later than others and therefore having to sit in Row 2; I'm easily a back-row guy both from personality and academics.  Here's a tip: if you think the professor can't see you blinking and nodding heavily, you are wrong.  So I should have guessed that a cold call was coming my way at some point during class. 

I wasn't as bad as Alex Ovechkin singing the Eastern Motors jingle but it wasn't a million miles away from that.  The question was about an article in the Wall Street Journal that we were meant to have read and analyzed before class. I had read it but as the professor surely knew I hadn't analzyed it much.

Prof: "Why would they follow this strategy?"

Me: "To gain market share."

Prof: "Why do they want market share?" 

Me: "Because they want profits."

Prof: "Do they want all profits?"

Me: "uhhhh...no....uhm, they want profits until Marginal Cost equals Marginal Revenue." (Class erupts in laughter.) 

Prof: "Do they want short-term profits?"

Me: "Yes, I mean...no, they want long-term profits." 

That's the answer he was looking for.  The professor went on to say that he wasn't just pushing back at me, but that he wanted us to understand what type of push-back we may experience in an interview.  I appreciated that, but like Henrik Lundqvist must have felt after giving up this goal to Niklas Backstrom last week, I wish I had that one back. 

Capitals update: 4-2-2.  Wished we had played better against New York Rangers and Detroit, but this would put us on pace for 41 wins and 102 points at the end of the season so not panicking just yet.  

'Till next time, keep Rocking the Red, whereever you are! 

-- Sreesha

Ander-flu gone; now back to work

So I'm finally recovered (I think) from the dreaded Ander-flu and can finally put up a better blog post than my last one. 

As I mentioned in my last post, the Ander-flu is actually not a flu virus, but is the bug that gives nearly 50% of the first-year class anything from a sore throat to a painful head cold.  The Royal Opera could compose a symphony with all of the coughing, sneezing, and throat-clearing.  At one point, our poor marketing professor had to stop her lecture because we were drowning her out.  

So I finally cured my Ander-flu by sleeping eight hours a day, drinking fluids, and eating vegetables.  Funny how that worked. 

* * * * * *

Time for me to come clean: I don't wear a wedding ring. 

There are two reasons for this: one, it doesn't fit; and two, I don't like rings or jewelry on my hands.  I don't wear a watch, either, for the same reason.  Somehow, I feel imbalanced.  Mrs. V is ok with this - so she says - and frankly I'm not trying to hide the fact that I'm married.  

Some of my female readers think I'm a bit daft for not wearing it, and I can kind of understand why: it's all a bit suspect, isn't it?  I say I'm married but I don't wear a ring and no one has met Mrs. V yet.  Well, both of those problems will be rectified this week - at long last, Mrs. V arrives to Los Angeles on Tuesday. 

Some of my male readers think I'm a bit daft for not wearing it, as they subscribe to the theory that wearing a wedding ring helps you meet women.  I'm not a believer yet in that theory but certainly am willing to try -- especially if Leighton Meester happens to be about.

(Note to Mrs. V -- that was a joke).  

* * * * * *

I was lucky enough to pass the waiver exam for for one of our core courses, Financial Markets, which meant that I could take an elective course.  However, we have two "intensive" courses that meet four times a week for five weeks instead of two times a week for 10 weeks.  Marketing is the first one; after that's finished, Financial Markets starts in Week 6 of the quarter.  So to take this elective, I have to sit five courses when my classmates are only sitting four. 

Is it worth it?  My early prognosis is: most definitely.  I'm taking Professor Johnson's course, Media 2015, which looks at the development of business plans in the media space between now and 2015.  I've really enjoyed the readings for it so far, even the textbook, and am really looking forward to getting involved in the meat of the discussions.  Most of the people in that class are either second-years, are from FEMBA (an Anderson-ese acronym that essentially means the part-time program), or are exchange students -- in fact, my group project team involves two exchange students from London and one from Toronto. 

* * * * * *

I appreciate that it's easy to criticize maintenance and far harder to provide solutions.  So credit goes to them for (finally) increasing the temperature of our classrooms from 0 (at least it seemed to me) to a more respectable 20 degrees.  

But there's another maintenance mystery that I would love to resolve.  My section finishes classes every day at 14:30.  On some days there is another class at 16:00; on other days, the classroom is empty.  In both cases, I prefer to stay in the classroom and get some work done. 

But on three different days this week, maintenance decided to paint the room. 

I'm not entirely sure what they are painting.  The only part of the wall that is painted is one section near the door.  So why are they compelled to paint it so often? 

Certainly can't help the Ander-flu outbreak. 

* * * * * *

There are a lot of ways to measure diversity in the class, but here's a fun way: favorite sports teams.  There's another United junkie in my section, as well as a couple of Capitals fans -- well, they are from DC and are more Redskins fans, but they humor me.  Within the class, I've met Arsenal, Liverpool, and Spurs fans -- but surprisingly, no Chelsea fans.  I've also met fans of all 32 American football clubs, even Arizona Cardinals.  And I've met quite a few hockey fans, supporting Toronto, Montreal, Philadelphia, New York Rangers, Dallas, and of course Anaheim and Los Angeles.   

I bring this up for only reason: as an excuse to wind up my good friends and fellow blogeteers (I like that word) John Park and Matt Kerbel, who are proud citizens of Maple Leaf Nation and probably didn't enjoy very much watching my Washington Capitals take a convincing 6-4 win tonight over their Toronto Maple Leafs.

(And so it begins...) 

-- Sreesha

Caught the Ander-flu; Need the Ander-dote

My regular readers (both of them) have been clogging my inbox (thanks Mom) asking me why I haven't said anything recently.  The truth is...I caught the dreaded Ander-flu. 

The Ander-flu is the bug that infects almost every first year either during orientation or soon thereafter.  Here we are in the first week, and you could conduct a chorus of coughing during class. Unofficially, I count 20 people out of our section of 72. 

I think the Ander-flu comes from our freezing cold classrooms - which are decidedly warmer now; I'd like to think that it's because I keep complaining on the blog, but it's probably because someone called maintenance -- and because we're all on limited sleep and hyper-active schedules.  

Oh, and all of the orientation "networking sessions" at the bar didn't help at all

So I promise to write more about the first week here at Anderson soon, once all of this Theraflu kicks in.  Till then! 

-- Sreesha

The Impertinent UCLA Anderson FAQ

As orientation winds down to a close here in sunny Westwood, I thought I would share some answers to some very pertinent questions you are all probably asking yourselves at this precise moment. 

Here are some real answers to some real questions posed by the members of the live studio audience in my living room. 

Q. Why did you and your section spend an afternoon with your faces painted singing Gwen Stefani songs? 

The Section Olympics were on Thursday, which were a lot of fun.  There were lots of events that I haven't played since I was a kid, like kickball, dodgeball, whiffle ball, and tug of war.  Two clear patterns emerged: (1) we are by far the biggest section in terms of height, weight, and muscle mass, and (2) it doesn't take much to get otherwise grown adults to paint their faces, make slogans, and scream like banshees. 

And we had Section B songs, courtesy of the people in our section who are far more creative than I.  We had "B is Bananas! B-A-N-A-N-A-S!", and "Who let the B's out?", and "You down with Section B? Yeah you know me."...was a lot of fun and left us all hoarse.  The other sections had their songs, too.  Of the others, my favorite was Section C's redux of the Ting Tings song, "That's Not My Name". 

OK fine, it's all a little kiddie.  But if I told you we sat around the telly watching United while singing "he goes by the name of Wayne Rooney" you wouldn't have thought twice about it.  I'm a disaster playing football and I don't even know Wayne Rooney; at least I know the people in Section B.  

Unfortunately, we came up short in the Section Olympics.  But still a few days to go before they award the Section Cup to the best section.  Cheer us on! 

Q. How many times did you dunk your section leader in the dunk tank before it was no longer funny? 

We never really reached the point of it not being funny.  As part of orientation, the second years organized a mock County Fair, replete with country line dancing, Nerf jousting, face painting, balloon animals -- and a dunk tank, which of course we used to repeatedly dunk our section leaders.  I say "we" very loosely -- my three throws consisted of two sliders and one that fits Bob Uecker's category of "juuuuuuuuust a bit outside."

Q.  Can you tell us the Tyson Beckford story? 

Some of my female readers have been unimpressed that I mention attractive celebrity females but not attractive celebrity males in my posts.  So I promised to incorporate an attractive celebrity male (other than me, of course) in this post.  Tyson Beckford was recommended to me by some -- but surprisingly, not all -- of my female readers. 

Q.  Is that all there is to the Tyson Beckford story? What an anti-climax. 

I agree.  But I don't know Tyson Beckford or any other attractive male celebrities.  

Q. How many outgoing mailboxes are on Westwood Boulevard between campus and Santa Monica Boulevard?

One.  Yours truly went wandering around for 45 minutes after school trying to put a letter in the mail and ended up a block from my apartment.   

Q.  Did you really think it was a good idea to wear a Washington Capitals Mike Green shirt in the middle of the Los Angeles summer?  

I did, but with good reason - it's freezing in the classrooms.  They are like meat lockers, especially Korn Hall, which is a beautiful, well-designed, yet blood-freezing cold hall even when filled to its 500+ capacity.  So what I need is a light sweater that I can easily take off.  And since hockey players call their shirts "sweaters", it seemed like a good idea. The fact that it was also opening day of training camp made it all the more sports-geeky.  

Q.  Did you really have a final exam during Orientation? 

Yes we did.  The school builds in a pass/fail "tasting course" for five days during orientation.  It's supposed to give us a warm-up to the real thing which starts at the end of next week, and highlights some broad concepts of leadership.  Most importantly, it gets us into the mode of thinking like students, and some practice for reading cases and engaging in classroom discussion, which are both very different from undergrad. 

Q.  Is it true that you lost your fantasy football league game by 2/100ths of a point this week? 

Who put this question in this blog?  Yes, it is true.  That "irrelevant" interception by San Diego on the last play of the last game of the week?  Not so irrelevant for me. 

Q.  Will you get up tomorrow morning at 5:30 AM to watch the Manchester derby? 

I really want to, but it's not on Fox Soccer Channel here, which means I have to nip off to one of the United pubs in Santa Monica.  Getting into a car at 5:00 AM is quite an ask, even for me.  But I'm really tempted to do it. 

Q.  Whatever happened to the idea that you would go to the gym every day? 

Point taken.  Time to get off of the couch. 

--- Sreesha

Laissez les bons temps roulez...

In England it's not terribly uncouth to nip off to the pub in the AM on weekends, especially for important sporting events such as football or the Ashes.  I learned today that this is also accepted practice in Los Angeles, due to the three-hour time zone difference between the East and West Coasts. 

I also remembered how much I love football Sundays in America. 

A bunch of us Andersonians met up today at 10 AM at the unofficial Anderson watering hole, Q's on Wilshire, to watch the first weekend of the NFL season.  There were multiple screens, multiple games, and groups of fans loudly supporting each team in action today -- barring, for some inexplicable reason, Arizona Cardinals, last year's Super Bowl finalists. 

Europeans may have differing views about American football versus its English, continental, or Gaelic counterparts, but football Sunday is a uniquely American experience. 

We were at the street-side tables with the bright, sunny Los Angeles morning to our backs, watching all of the action, consuming breakfast, then lunch (free hot dogs and grilled chicken!), then more snacks, and perhaps a few drinks (wink wink) - I opted for what's now being known as a John Daly, which is an Arnold Palmer (ice tea + lemonade) with vodka.  

More than the food and drink, though, was that it was the perfect setting to really get to know people, because everyone is in their natural state.  We've just gone through four intense, exhilarating, and exhausting days of orientation this week, so this was a chance to just be ourselves and not think about anything serious (other than our fantasy football teams).  

I know it won't be long before school becomes stressful, before we are inundated with classwork and recruiting.  So I'll treasure these moments, where my classmates and I can just be ourselves. 

And the best bit is -- we get to do it all again next Sunday. 

Laissez les bons temps roulez!  Let the good times roll! 

-- Sreesha

Ladies and Gentlemen...Start Your Engines!...

Finally!  The wait is over.  Orientation starts tomorrow. 

Since my last post, I've spent countless days getting my apartment into at least a functional shape.  And I've had the chance to meet a lot of fellow classmates.  It's been fun but exhausting at the same time.  

Here are some of the highlights and lowlights:  

* First impression of my classmates: excellent.  In particular, even though my classmates have accomplished a lot prior to coming to UCLA Anderson, they are really down to earth and easy to get on with.  I'm already in two fantasy football leagues!

* Rented apartments don't come with refrigerators in LA.  I didn't have a refrigerator until two days ago - which meant every morning I had to wander up to Westwood Boulevard to find breakfast.  (Incidentally, it's very hard to cure a hangover with no food or drinks.)  I finally bought a mini-fridge and it's filled to capacity, mostly with drinks -- yes, Mrs. V, it has soft drinks as well! -- so of course I put it in the living room.  

* Last week, I wrote that my LA research had taught me that Emmanuelle Chriqui would help me get settled in LA.  Many of my readers wanted to know if she turned up at the airport.  Sadly, no.  There must have been a communications mix-up.  Mrs. V. was only marginally sympathetic. 

* Am eager to join some of the clubs at UCLA Anderson.  I've met a few people from the Sports Business Association, and will definitely try to be an active member.  I'm also keen to join the Entertainment Business Association.  There are also many non-career focused clubs that seem interesting, so I'll have to pick and choose.  

* I rented a Chevy Tahoe for two weeks - loved it!  I've never driven anything that big before.  (For my friends in Europe, its closest European equivalent is the Vauxhall Vivaro.)  The best bit is driving on the motorway - once you get some speed, smaller cars move out of your way, which is very addictive!  I was VERY tempted to buy one, but my eco-conscious -- not to mention thin student wallet -- got the better of me.  Helped a ton with moving furniture, so would definitely recommend future graduate students to rent one for a couple of weeks while you furnish your apartment.  

* I've been to Q's on Wilshire and Westgate twice in five days.  I have a feeling this is going to be a regular spot for me. 

* It was a lot harder to find a manual transmission car than I thought it would be.  Finally got a great deal on a VW Jetta -- I realize I made the car-search significantly more painful than it had to be, but driving a manual transmission car just feels right. 

* There is loads of football on TV, between Fox Soccer Channel (which also shows Sky Sports News every night as well), ESPN, and the Spanish language channels; I think I get more football here than I did in England. 

* The IT support for Mac at our school could use a substantial upgrade.  The biggest issue is that us Mac-o-philes have to partition the hard drive and run Windows Vista with MS Office for Windows solely because the university has some personalized add-ins that we are required to use -- and they only provide the add-ins for MS Office for Windows.  I knew this when I bought my Mac, but I'm sure a lot of my classmates decided not to buy a Mac because of the required partitioning.  Why help Microsoft preserve its near-monopoly status? 

But that's all in the past now.  I'm as ready as I'll ever be.  Just two days to go.  The wait is almost over.  Time to fire up the Jetta. 

Wait - did I remember to buy petrol? 

One way ticket to Los Angeles...

You have to admit, it is a fitting picture. 

Over four years ago, I arrived on a one-way ticket into London Heathrow's Terminal Four, at the time its nicest terminal.  My firm was transferring me to London; I flew business class, was picked up in a corporate Mercedes Benz E-class, then was whisked into a corporate apartment, fully kitted out including a 50-inch plasma TV. 

Now, I am sitting in Heathrow's worst terminal, Terminal Four.  My firm, Lehman Brothers, famously went bankrupt.  Mrs. V drove me to the airport in our VW Golf; I bought my own economy class ticket and will turn up in Los Angeles needing an apartment and, among other things, a new 50-inch TV. 

When I decided to go to UCLA Anderson, I knew nothing about Los Angeles.  So I bought, then binned, the Lonely Planet guidebook and decided to watch a lot of LA-based TV shows.  Research, I explained to Mrs. V.   

After marathon days of "24" and "Entourage", I confidently explained what will happen upon my arrival at LAX: I will immediately be issued loads of military gear so that I can arrest some terrorists before going to see the Lakers or Kings at the Staples Center with Emmanuelle Chriqui.  

Mrs. V was not amused. 

I'm excited to go to UCLA Anderson.  Like many others in my class, for me, the MBA course will be the start of a career change. 

I spent the past seven years trading, structuring, and selling the now-infamous derivatives known as collateralized debt obligations.  I love the energy and pace of a trading floor, where decisions that affect millions of dollars are made in an instant.  Doesn't every job involve being in seven conversations in three languages at once (two phones, chat, email, Bloomberg, your neighbor, and someone shouting at you from two rows away)?  

But after seven years, I knew it was time for something new.  Being laid off made me realize how much of a sports geek I really was - not as an armchair quarterback, but in a business sense.  After boring Mrs. V, my friends, family -- anyone who would listen, really -- about my ideas for the sports industry, it finally occurred to me to try to make a career out of it. 

For me there were many reasons to come to UCLA Anderson, but one sticks out in my mind more than any other.  It's no secret that investment banks and consulting firms recruit heavily at MBA programs; but I felt that UCLA Anderson had a great mix of other potential employers as well -- not to mention strong links into the sports and entertainment industries.  UCLA Anderson's famed entrepreneurial bent was icing on the cake.

Time to board.  Last thoughts before the flight: to London -- I love you, will miss you, and am proud to call you my adopted hometown.  

To Los Angeles -- tell Emmanuelle my flight lands at 2pm.