The MBA Student Voice

Helping people, not making numbers, come first

So originally, I was going to write a short post about my plans to drive cross-country from Philly to LA, but I've been so fascinated by the Airbnb "ransackgate" scandal, I figured I'd toss in my thoughts on it.

In case you're not familiar, a little background, Airbnb is a startup that allows people to rent their houses out to others for short periods of time. Basically, it allows you to turn your house into a self-serve Bed and Breakfast. So while you're on vacation yourself, you can rent your house out to others and make a little cash on the side.

Until recently, they'd been a very successful company raising over $100 million dollars, and reportedly having a $1B+ valuation.

But if you had any qualms over their business model, it would probably start with, "I'm renting my home out to complete strangers? How do I know my place will be safe?" and then the follow up question would be "If my place gets ruined, what will I do?"

Well, the worst possible scenario happened. A user named EJ reportedly rented her home for a week, whereupon it was systematically destroyed and robbed by one or more egregious robbers. But these kinds of things can happen - catastrophes, disasters. The character of a company depends on how they respond.

The self-backpatting responses [here and here] from Airbnb claiming that the situation was under control were then systematically picked apart by the victim, in which she tells how the company failed to help her once her initial blog post was out:

On June 29 I posted my story, and June 30 thus marks the last day I heard from the customer service team regarding my situation.

And then even talks about one of the co-founders attempts at silencing her and spinning the news:

During this call and in messages thereafter, he requested that I shut down the blog altogether or limit its access, and a few weeks later, suggested that I update the blog with a “twist" of good news so as to “complete[s] the story”.

Now, I'm not going to claim to know all the details, and there are two sides to every story, but from the outside looking in, it sure seems like the Airbnb founders missed the empathy bus.

The Airbnb disaster is just a small microcosm of how corporations have been failing people. From Wall Street greed to oil company ambivalence to nuclear company incompetence, there's been a non-stop stream of companies screwing up, covering their asses up, and then screwing up even more catastrophically. Many of those companies will recover financially, but the havoc they wreak on people's lives reverberates much longer.

Which brings me to my forthcoming MBA experience. Yeah, business is a heavily quantitiative field; the skills you need to succeed for your MBA only reinforce that. But I believe that the primary goal of businesses is to help people, not to make money. Helping people, doesn't necessarily mean charity. But the transactions take place, the products and services businesses sell, help people do what they need to do and live better lives. Making money? That's a peripheral result that comes from helping people. Too many companies forget this. Or write it in their mission statement and then never look at it again.

Johnson & Johnson's nationwide recall of Tylenol in 1982 is one of the most famous cases of business ethics. Several people died when Tylenol bottles were tampered with and laced with potassium cyanide. J&J determined that the cause wasn't at a production level, and that it likely occurred, because someone was tampering with bottles at retail stores. They could've tried to manage the situation at a local level, but instead they announced a nationwide recall of Tylenol, costing them over a $100 million. You think they didn't crunch those numbers and know they were going to be in the big red? It reminds me of a scene in Fight Club, where Jack is talking to some technicians about recall math:

I'm a recall coordinator.  My job is to apply the formula.  It's a story problem. A new car built by my company leaves somewhere traveling at 60 miles per hour.  The rear differential locks up. The car crashes and burns with everyone trapped inside.  Now: do we initiate a recall? Take the number of vehicles in the field, (A), and multiply it by the probable rate of failure, (B), then multiply the result by the average out-of-court settlement, (C).  A times B times C equals X... If X is less than the cost of a recall, we don't do one.

A woman looks at him with wide eyes and asks, "Are there a lot of these kinds of accidents?" and Jack responds, "Oh, you wouldn't believe."

J&J made those recalls then because they valued people over the numbers. And the goodwill that resulted, among both consumers as well as the J&J employees, was invaluable. I mean, I worked with people at J&J who still talked with pride of their response, more than 20 years after it occurred.

Compare that to their tepid recall response over the past three years. From stories of them hiring people to secretly buy up bottles of Motrin, to Congress lambasting J&J CEO, Bill Weldon for dodging responsibility to a still ongoing steady stream of recall after recall, it's a continuing string of embarrassments from a company that once prided itself on its stellar disaster management. And while the cause of this recall wasn't nearly as serious as the 1982 recall, the willingness (or unwillingness) of the company to go beyond the bare minimum will be remembered.

Recalls, disasters, these are the obvious cases of having to choose between the people-first or numbers-first response. But little things on the day-to-day matter too. And ultimately, putting people first will help you make your numbers. So it's no surprise that companies with a strong reputation for doing so - Apple, Amazon, Southwest, Starbucks - are also some of the most successful companies.

Paul Carr sums it up perfectly: 

And above all, it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t remind the current breed of entrepreneurs and investors that, in the final analysis, a billion dollars isn’t actually all that cool. What’s cool is keeping your soul, whatever the financial cost.

-Brian Sim

A roadmap of my journey down I-5 to UCLA Anderson

It seems like only weeks ago that I was thinking about writing the GMAT to prepare myself for the possibility of business school. At the time, preparing for my first standardized test was merely an attempt to 'keep another door open'. I had been working for a large organization for close to four years, and felt that it would soon be time for a change. I wasn't initially convinced that business school would be the path that I would venture down. I had told myself for years that I would be happiest if I were running my own business, but the ideas weren't coming, and with the few that did, I realized that I had gaps to fill in my business knowledge in order to execute them (or even decide if they were executable) successfully.

And so, the GMAT journey began. My approach to applying to business school was likely slightly different from that of my classmates. Being Canadian, the decision to attend business school in the US isn't always the first instinct. While I had dreams of attending a top American program, the admissions standards, and cost are often limiting factors for many Canadians (especially in past years when our dollars weren't at parity). I applied to schools in both Canada and the United States, but ultimately the opportunity to attend Anderson was too great to pass up. Having a close friend who was in the process of completing his degree at Anderson made the decision easier - having heard fantastic stories from the last 2 years about how his time at Anderson was the best of his life.

My Pre-MBA journey also started a lot later than most. It has been interesting talking to classmates and hear about their application experiences. I didn't decide to write my GMAT until September of 2010, ultimately writing the GMAT in late November, and submitting all of my applications (to 6 schools) by the end of January 2011. I share this for a few reasons for prospective MBA students. Firstly, I would not recommend this approach - for each school that required 3-5 essays, I probably wrote 6 or 7 drafts of each. And while there were economies gained by writing similar essays for a few of the programs, it was incredibly time consuming, and at times draining. Secondly, I wasn't able to take advantage of alot of the application steps that I think are crucial to making a good decision as to where you fit best as an MBA student. I didn't visit a few of the schools I was applying to until interview time, or in the case of Anderson - A-Days in April. Finally - attending business school is a significant, possibly life-changing decision and should not be taken lightly. Your application process has the potential to change what opportunities you create for yourself, and the more you put into it, the better results you will see. I am fortunate in that I believe I am going to the school that is the best fit for my personal and professional needs, but that doesn't mean that my approach will work for all. In summary - a few candid tips that I would pass on to prospective MBA students:

1. Before deciding to apply to MBA programs, ask yourself these questions: Why do I want an MBA? What opportunities/learning will an MBA provide that I cannot achieve without it? What are my goals after completing my MBA?

2. Figure out who you really are and what you believe in: I found that the most important learning from my MBA application process was digging deep into my values and beliefs and communicating those with others. Alot of people think they know what they want to do, but knowing what you love to do will help decide what you should do.

3. Don't think about how an MBA will change you, but how an MBA will help you change:  When deciding if an MBA is right for you, don't think about salary increases or promotions, think about what you'll learn from being around hundreds of brilliant and driven individuals, and how that will help you leave your mark on society - we will all be better for it.

Applying to business school was one of the most fascinating, introspective and demanding journeys I have ever put myself through, and I feel that I have a better grasp of who I am for having done it. I can only hope that the next two years take that to an entirely new level.

And finally, two more things that I'm excited about in Southern California!

Week 3 - Food: There are few things more satisfying in life than biting into a great deli sandwich. Langer's Deli in Westlake is supposedly the best in the city for such a craving, so I'm excited to give it a try: (www.langersdeli.com). We'll see how their smoked meat compares to Schwartz's in Montreal.

 

Week 3 - Adventure: This one isn't so much an adventure, but one of my favourite up and coming Canadian bands, Hey Rosetta! is coming to Los Angeles in November. They'll be playing on November 8th at The Echo and tickets are only $8. In Canada they play sold out shows for triple that price, so if anyone is interested in coming, it should be a pretty good show. Check them out at heyrosetta.com. I have no affiliation with the band, so this is merely one music-lover hopefully sharing with others!

Until next time - see everyone in a few weeks in Caliornia!

Cheers,

Evan

Saying Goodbye Really is Tough

I'm working for two more weeks, then it's adios to the company that has graciously employed me for the past six years.  I have many individual clients with whom I interact in my current job, and naturally, some of them have become close friends and mentors to me.  Interacting with people from all walks of life is an experience that I cannot put a price tag on.  This fact has always been clear to me before, but when I started telling some of my clients this week about my imminent departure to the deep unknown, I couldn't help but to feel pangs of...remorse?  Guilt?  Even some melancholy as I realized that this really is it.  And I'm not even talking about parting with coworkers yet!  

I really do believe that I was very fortunate that my job allowed me to connect and network with people from all industries and all professions.  From fearless entrepreneurs who put everything on the line to start their businesses to corporate climbers who fought tooth & nail to get their next promotion, I was able to have meaningful conversations with them to see how they got to where they are.  

At the end of the day, you realize what matters most isn't necessarily the "hard" work experience you gain in the workplace--the calculations and valuations--but the "soft" human connections that you organically accumulate over time.  And this isn't something that can be taught.  So to everyone who's reading this still with a job, it's imperative to cherish each connection because it may prove to be very important down the line.

Because if there's one thing that's certain about life, it's that it's uncertain.

UCLA Anderson Apartment Hunt: SF to LA

The San Francisco Bay Area is located around 350 miles north of Los Angeles, but that doesn’t make virtual apartment hunting any easier. Nothing beats walking down the street where you plan to live, standing in your future living room or kitchen. If the opportunity is there, the best thing is to pack and go.

A messenger bag, notebook, laptop and cell phone in hand I set off to LA. Having only been to LA a handful of times (one of which was the A-Days Orientation weekend) I had no idea what to expect, which neighborhood to live in or even whether I would be looking to live alone in a studio or with a roomate in a bigger place.

First day of the search was a complete mess. I spent 6 hours driving to LA, and once I arrived I was shocked by the absurdity of LA drivers. Everyone moved fast. Traffic was unbelievable.

I stayed on Ophir Dr. with one of the second year Anderson students who kindly took me under her wing. Ophir Drive was a 15 minute walk to Anderson. Before this visit, this seemed to be my dream location: I could walk to class in minutes! But as I spent hours perusing the neighborhood I felt as though I was back in my undergradute days. I wanted something a bit more quiet, sophisticated and removed.

The two main areas that I looked into over the next few days were: 1) Brentwood which is West of the 405 Freeway and 2) Westwood: primarily the square of streets located below Wilshire (buildings bordered by Wilshire Blvd to the North, Westwood Blvd to the East, Ohio Ave to the South, and Veteran Ave to the West).

In addition to walking around (which is THE BEST way to find a place once you select the area where you want to live), I’ve found 2 techy insights helpful. First, Padmapper.com is a great website – a genius merge of Google Maps and craigslist postings. You know that toggle between craigslist and Google Maps that we’ve been doing for ages? Antique. Padmapper takes care of that.

Second, are QR codes – especially for apartments posted by LA’s biggest apartment listing website: WestSideResidentials.com. If you have a smartphone, all you do is scan a QR code (pictured below, top left) on a sign outside a building and automatically see if the unit is still avaialable, its price, pictures and details. Use of QR codes in apartment-hunting is amazing! 

As you look for a place, know that everything will work out with housing. It always does ;) and you have the whole Anderson community to support you in your search!

Best, Anna

 

Remembering What’s Important Before the Craziness of B-school at UCLA Begins!

I’ve looked at a few MBA blogs that offer advice on how to spend your summer prior to starting business school. I have definitely cherry picked what tips I have chosen to follow (for example, even though I got “Tried By War – Abraham Lincoln As Commander-in-Chief” by James McPherson, and it looks fascinating, I’m just not sure reading it is going to happen), and added ones of my own (combing through my parent’s attic in search of hiking gear from 9th grade in preparation for my Pre-O trip to Yosemite. More on these pre-orientation trips offered by Anderson another time!). But one that I am making a point to truly take to heart is to spend as much time with my family and friends as possible.

One of the more entertaining if not exactly stress-free ways I did this was to head to my hometown of Atlanta for a week of wedding planning. I spent some “quality time” with my mother and two sisters as we tore all over town to various dress boutiques, potential reception venues, and meetings at the church. But we created some priceless memories.

One afternoon that I will never forget, and will remind myself of when I'm feeling crazed at school this Fall, is when I dragged my mom and four bridesmaids (my sisters and my two best friends) to give the stamp of approval on the wedding dress I picked out, and to look for outfits of their own.  We had so much fun, trying on absurd, color-saturated, pink, poufy bridesmaids dresses (if you’ve been to just about any wedding, you know what I’m talking about) and laughing till tears rolled down our cheeks.  When was the last time the seven of us, old friends all, had been in the same room? Priceless! And for anyone who is curious, here’s the dress I finally settled on. I figured, pretty but practical.

 

I was also lucky enough to get to spend a full week at the beach with my immediate family. None of us could remember the last time we’d all managed to get that much time off of work, much less simultaneously. A one-story beach bungalow turned out to be enough space for all six of us as the fun (grilling s’mores, watching the 4th of July fireworks over the water, and boogie boarding) far outweighed any familial-induced claustrophobia. It was extra special when my Grandma and Aunt (who lives in Juneau, AK!) joined us for a day. Here’s a photo of the three generations (L to R: Dad, Sisters, Grandma, me & future hubby, Aunt):

Both of these are just two examples of why family and friends are so important, and why I am making a point of trying to soak up as much of them as possible before school begins. But there’s never enough time in the day, and I already feel like I am running out of daylight with my great friends here in Florida. This is where I comfort myself that in the age of Facebook and Gmail, 3,000 miles isn’t nearly as far as it used to be.

-Charlotte Baxter

Sports!

I woke up at 6:00am on a sunday morning! We had this event organized by the running club of GS for selecting members for 5km * 4 relay corporate team event. Once all the other participants in front of me had faded into oblivion, I thought it wise to settle for a stroll and concentrate on the music on my iPod. It was time to explore the beauty of the park, primarily because I had no idea where the end line of the race was!

It was not all lost because once the main event ended it was time for Frisbee. I had no idea that this childhood pass time is a major sport now. There are clubs with a lot of enthusiastic participation. Did you know that forehand, backhand, push grip, hammer are various terms in frisbee? Or that there are competitions that are held with 7 on 7 member teams?

I am definitely going to be a part of the 'Ultimate Frisbee club' at Anderson. 

I have been a sport enthusiast all my life and have played Badminton at the National level. I am really excited to get involved in all the sporting opportunities I am reading about at Anderson - Tennis, Golf, Running, Volleyball, Soccer. There is a UCLA badminton club but no Anderson specific one. Those interested in the fastest racket sport - Badminton, please get in touch with me.

I start off with our Pre-Orientation outdoor trip - 'Kayak and Hike High Sierra'. I am definitely looking forward to C4C events as well, have heard a lot about our storied conquests (Golden Briefcase) and contributions (Volunteer hours). 

I have found many of my closest associates and friends while pursuing various sporting activities. Since networking is going to be a key skill in all our careers what better place to start than at internal sporting events. 

Cheers,

Rahul Bala,  MBA '13

Planning for round 1 MBA applications

Round 1 deadlines for a lot of MBA schools are just around the bend. Ok, maybe a slight exagerration, but the time flies by. You'd be surprised at how much time MBA apps take. Compared to the fairly breezy law and med school apps I've seen my friends go through, it's really no comparison.

Most of the tier 1 schools have 1st round deadlines in early-mid October, so if you haven't been moving on it yet, now's the time to start. 

1. Take your GMAT if you haven't already (obviously)

Honestly, it's a little late in the game, but if you haven't taken the GMAT yet, you should still be able to squeeze it in in time for round 1. But if you haven't even begun preparing, you're probably better off waiting for round 2 or 3.

2. Figure our your list of schools, if you haven't already

Figuring out the right list can be sort of a crapshoot. You're probably going to balance a lot of 2nd-hand and 3rd-party information to create that initial list. I would suggest keeping your list of schools manageable. One, because each app takes a lot of time. Two, because each app is costly. Most apps cost $200-250. I personally limited my list to 5 schools.

As far as visiting the school, I've known people who've visited schools before to decide whether they wanted to apply. And others who've decided to visit after being accepted to help them decide whether they wanted to attend. There's no wrong answer. Honestly, a lot of times it comes down to logistics. Obviously it's easy to visit a school if it's in your neighborhood, harder if it's across the country.

One thing to keep in mind though is that if you want to do an "official" visit, a lot of schools don't start them until mid-September, so if you want to visit before applying, you're probably going to have to wait for either the round 2 or 3 deadline.

3. Start your essays 

This is the most time consuming part of the app process. Most schools require 3-4 essays, and they're usually unique enough where you're not going to be able to verbatim copypasta essays from school to school. You'll be able to carry concepts and bigger ideas over from essay to essay, school to school, but there's a lot of additional editing and writing that goes on.

Also, start thinking about people to review your essays. Ideally, at least two people would look at it. Partly for proofreading, partly for content. One reviewer should have some experience with the MBA app process, as they'll be able to read your essay with an understanding of what schools look for. And the other reviewer should have some creative background. Why? Because your essay isn't like your resume, where you're dryly listing things that happened. Rather, it's also a creative, storytelling opportunity. And people with a creative background (e.g., copywriters, creative directors, speechwriters, etc) will give you a different perspective and ideas.

4. Identify your recommenders, and ask them... NOW!

The people who should recommend you are the people who've worked with you most. Ideally, your supervisors and mentors. And they obviously should be people you have a good relationship with.

Once you decide who you want recommending you, you should ask them ASAP. You're begging for a crappy, rushed reco if you ask them a week or two before the deadline. 

I gave my recommenders 2-3 months notice. I knew they wouldn't start early, but at the least, I wanted to plant the seed in their head. Personally, I think people's best thinking just happens subconsciously (are my soft skill preferences peeking through yet? :-P).

Once you've got your recommenders on board, don't leave them in the dark, give them some information about yourself and your application. Put together a one-pager that let's them know things like:

• How you're planning to position yourself in your essays/application
• What work experiences and qualities you want them to highlight
• What studies and interests you're planning to focus on at school

The more you can help frame their thinking, the more cohesive and consistent your recos will be.

Good luck!

-Brian Sim

Welcome to Your World: “From Extreme to Extreme” (a global traveler’s adventure tales leading-up to matriculation at UCLA)

Welcome back to my second post.

Whether you’re working, traveling, studying or just preparing to move to Los Angeles, I hope you’ve all been having an amazing summer so far.

As for me, I’ve decided to travel this summer.  However, I want to make my travels leading up to matriculation as memorable as possible, so I’ve gone ahead and have set myself several challenges. 

For reasons that will become abundantly clear in a minute, I’ve decided to call my 2011 summer travel plans “From Extreme to Extreme.”

My first challenge will be to travel to the world’s oldest sovereign state, San Marino, and to the world’s youngest, South Sudan.

My second challenge will be to travel to the world’s richest sovereign state, Monaco, and to the world’s poorest, Burundi.

My third challenge will be to travel to the world’s smallest sovereign state, The Sovereign Military Order of Malta, and to the world’s largest, Russia.

My fourth challenge will be to travel to the world’s least populous sovereign state, Vatican City State, and to the world’s most populous, China.

In between, I will embark on additional adventures wherever and whenever possible.  I intend to update you, the reader of my blog, at regular intervals with stories and photos of my travels, too.

Starting with a month-long trip to South America that I embarked upon in April, I estimate that I will have visited 29 countries spanning 5 continents over a period of 6 months by the time I meet all my future Class of 2013 classmates in early-September.

The list of countries I will travel -- or have recently traveled -- to include all of the following (underlined indicates that I’ve already traveled to this country since the beginning of April):

South America:  Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay.

North America:  Canada and the United States.

Africa:  Burundi, South Sudan and Uganda. 

Asia:  China.

Europe:  Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, Sweden, Switzerland and the Vatican City State.

Wish me luck !!!

And, more importantly, I hope you enjoy my travel updates !!!

 

In this post, I will include a write-up and photos of:

1) the world’s oldest sovereign state, San Marino; and,

2) my adventures crossing two of the two highest asphalted roads in Europe.

 

Pre-Pre MBA Musings: GMAT Study Guides

This burgandy book was the bane of my existence for longer than I care to admit.  In fact, purchasing its predecessor, the one with the orange cover, was the start of my on-again, off-again love affair with the monstrosity known as the GMAT.  To be perfectly honest, I bought the 11th Edition Official Guide on a whim, to just "try it out" and see what score I get on the diagnostic test.  That score shall forever remain a dark secret, but I can tell you that I was devestated--after being in denial--and didn't open the OG for another year.  

Finally, I decided to slap myself back to reality and I knew that I needed to tackle this beast, or at least court it properly.  As many know, it's a necessary evil and usually the first step that many of us take to fulfill our MBA dreams.  Of course, we all go in bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, thinking that the quant section is a piece of cake with high school-equivalent math (and no calculus or trigonometry!).  And the verbal section?  Come on, sentence correction and reading comprehension?  We were doing this kind of stuff for the SATs!  

I soon found out that while the questions themselves aren't rocket science, the hard part is to do the problems correctly, FAST.  And this is what kills most of us on the GMAT.  I lacked the discipline the first time around to properly drill with a stop watch and casually tossed the OG to the side once I found out that my practice test scores weren't improving much.  And so I moved onto my next abusive muse:

Yes, I bought the entire set of the Manhattan GMAT guides.  Yes, it was painful to cough up the money.  I thought, "This time it's going to be different.  I'll start fresh and get all the essential concepts down pat and then I'll conquer the GMAT...Top tier business schools, I'm coming for you!"  

Oh, how naive I was.  I admit, though, that some of the books in this set are absolutely brilliant, such as the Sentence Correction guide, the Number Properties guide, the Word Translations guide, and the Critical Reasoning guide.  If you need to brush up on the fundamentals of quant & verbal, I highly recommend these guides.  Once I honed my skills in these topics, I found myself back to the drawing board...All because I haven't been doing timed practice runs with the questions.  So in the end, I found out what was most important once the basics were down: to drill, drill drill! 

I ended up revisiting (more like crawling back to) the long-forgotten and long-neglected official guides and started from the very beginning with a stop watch in tow.  I would do chunks of 20 questions at a time and then check my progress, take a break, and get right back to it for another set of 20.  Lather, rinse, and repeat. 

Once I started the timed drills with the official guides, my practice scores improved dramatically.  So there you have it--there really are no shortcuts and practice does indeed make perfect...It just took me a while for my pride to accept this fact, but alas, it was all worth it in the end.

Lunch with a UCLA Anderson Alum

For a while now I've been wanting to get in touch with UCLA Anderson alumni in New Delhi itself. This past weekend 3 fellow MBA '13 admits and I finally caught up with Anshul Debuka, MBA '11 for lunch as he told a wondrous tale of his time at UCLA Anderson.

His experience was great. Talking to him made us realize exactly what we were getting into. He told us about what we could expect in our first 6 months (sounded grueling!) and what we needed to do to get to where we want to be post-MBA. He talked about the collaborative culture at Anderson and the fact that we could expect to have 360 great friends from school by the time we graduate!

Topics that came up were classes and electives, internships, recruitments, networking, Parker CMC, Weyburn Terrace, food joints, cars, Hollywood, beaches and Vegas.

Also, interestingly, he mentioned "fun" at least 30 times in 2 hours.

<unfortunately, at this time, none of us were carrying cameras, so try to imagine 4 happy MBA '13 admits, full of promise, and an MBA '11 alum with an air of accomplishment and satisfaction!>

"It'll be the best 2 years of your life!" he said as we parted post lunch. Looking forward to it!

 - Karan Kumar, MBA '13