StudentBlogs

Where is this year going?

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 04:54 GMT

Whew... these past few weeks have been crazy. I ran my half-marathon on November 15 and it was an incredible experience. The 13.1 miles actually flew by despite the numerous hills (mountains?) that I was climbing and descending. I finished in a time of 1:55:24 which I was very happy with, however, nobody warned me about the recovery process. The first day was fine, but then then soreness descended and I spent the last week gingerly lowering myself into chairs and making odd noises that I'm sure had my classmates looking twice... doesn't matter though, well worth it. As soon as I crossed the finish line I mumbled something about the next race... running is really addictive for me. I came home and signed up for two more races and of course I will be running the Boston Marathon in the spring!

All that running requires a lot of fuel so I'm always scavenging for a good meal. I didn't have to look far though, MIT Sloan puts on a Thanksgiving Dinner for the class every year complete with everything that makes Thanksgiving so good. Everything I go to here in business school always reminds me of how incredibly diverse my class is. I was standing in line for the food and overheard one of my friends asking what gravy and stuffing were... it made me realize how many assumptions I make about people understanding my culture and how it feels when someone doesn't understand it. Speaking of learning, I attended the Southeast Asian C-function the other night and it was really fun. I also "modeled" an outfit in the fashion show at the beginning of the night. The whole C-function was great and I'm constantly impressed with my classmates!

The first-years are almost done with core and I am not sure how I feel about it. JK. I'm so incredibly proud of my pilot team and so happy for all of the first-years I know who will now be able to experience the best fun that business school has to offer. At the same time... my stories about how wonderful it is after the core will have to end. Oh well... I'm already getting kind of sad that I'm nearing the end of my third semester at Sloan. However, that means that January is coming and in January...

I'm going to South Africa! We are working on writing the business plan for our project host and cannot wait to go there and implement it. I love my team and our host, ClickDiagnostics, is really great. ClickDiagnostics was a product of the MIT Media Lab and focuses on mobile diagnostics in rural settings. There will be many more updates coming and I will also be blogging for that. Learning about the regions that we will be working in has been fascinating and I cannot wait to actually go there and make things happen!

Sports Conference work has been coming along as well - (www.sloansportsconference.com/2010/) - Adam Silver, Bill Simmons, Mark Cuban, and Michael Lewis are all confirmed. It's hard not to get excited about the conference on March 6, 2010. There is also a research paper track this year for the first time... if you know anyone that is enthusiastic about sports and the analytic side of the business, pass along the info!

Ok, that's it for now, much more coming later... Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Guest Speaker Events

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:07 GMT

Between classes, homeworks, activities, recruiting events and job search, I occasionally find some time to attend interesting guest speaker events that are held on campus during lunch or after classes. They are always a great way to learn more about a particular topic while getting free food. Here are some of the events I have attended so far:

"The Next Financial Crisis" by Professor Simon Johnson (www.baselinescenario.com)

"The Aftermath of Deep Financial Crises" by Professor Kenneth S. Rogoff

"Dean's Innovative Leader Series: Leading During Times of Crisis" by S.D. Shibulal, Co-founder and COO of Infosys Technologies

"Energy in Brazil" by Jose Antunes

2009 National Real Estate Challenge

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 11:35 GMT

I took the 6:35am flight out of Boston to Austin for the 2009 National Real Estate Challenge on Wednesday. The National Real Estate Challenge is an annual event hosted by the McCombs School of Business at UT Austin. The case competition is based on an actual real estate transaction closed by Goldman Sachs REPIA and provides a great learning opportunity as well as a chance to network with real estate students from other top business schools. The case is released at 6pm on a Thursday, so the teams spend all weekend working to submit their slides by 6pm on Sunday. The teams then fly down to Austin to present the case in front of panels of industry professionals the following Wednesday and Thursday.

There were 19 schools competing this year. The MIT team was comprised of five students - three of us were from Sloan and the other two were from the Center for Real Estate (MIT offers a masters degree in real estate). The team members were selected by the officers of the Real Estate Club through an application process. This year the case was a casino/hotel acquisition project in which we had to analyze issues surrounding the branding, partnership, construction, operation, as well as the overall financial structure and returns. Our team spent over 40 hours over the weekend dissecting the case and putting the power point slides together. We then spent over 10 hours on Monday and Tuesday rehearsing our presentation.

We flew down to Austin on Wednesday feeling strong and confident, arriving in the afternoon at the UT Austin AT&T conference center where all the events were held. They had an icebreaker cocktail reception prepared for us, as well as a networking dinner. At the dinner they handed out resume books to all of us, and it was really interesting to see where all the other students and judges were coming from. My team practiced some more that night and the following morning to polish our presentation.

The next morning they divided us randomly into four sections for our preliminary round. We presented in front of around eight judges. Our presentation went pretty smoothly and then we had a Q&A session. The judges definitely threw a few missiles at us, but we answered them pretty well.

After lunch, they announced the four finalists. To our dismay, we were not selected to be one of the four finalists. It was a huge disappointment to all of us because we had spent a lot of time on it and had felt pretty good about our presentation. However, as we watched the finalists' presentation, it became clear to us what differentiated their presentation from ours: 1) we had an extremely comprehensive presentation with a lot of analysis; however, the winning teams focused on a few key points which made it a lot easier for the audience to follow; 2) we were rushing through our presentation to get all the information in on time, whereas the other teams were speaking slowly and still finishing well within the alloted time limit; 3) their presentation style was a lot more crisp than ours; and 4) the winning team focused more on the qualitative aspect of the case (i.e. branding and marketing), whereas our presentation was heavy on the finance side.

We got to speak with the judges afterwards and received similar feedback on our presentation. We also received a formal feedback sheet from all the judges. Our grades were mostly As and Bs, so we didn't do too poorly, but I feel that we can definitely do better next year. I would certainly like to participate again. The event ended with a speech made by the head of Goldman Sachs REPIA who explained to us what the "real deal" was. It was extremely interesting to see what Goldman Sachs' take on the case was and what had happened to the project since the time of acquisition.

I couldn't stay for the networking event afterwards (I had to go to NYC for investment banking informational interviews the next day), but overall, the competition was a great learning experience and I would highly recommend it to anybody who is interested in real estate.

A day with Tufte

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:39 GMT

: Image by star5112 via Flickr

Very few things would have me wake up at 7 on Veteran's day after a clubbing night, attending the 1-day workshop of Edward Tufte, guru of information design and presentation, is one of those.

I've read Tufte's books few years ago (Beatiful Evidence and Visual Explanations) and since then I was curious to attend one of his classes. When I found out it was coming in Boston I immediately signed up: the 200$ student fee included also all his four books, good deal.

I arrived there one hour in advance but several people where already there. Notably Tufte was walking up and down the auditorium, signing participants' books and chatting with them. While he was signing my book he asked me "So, what do you do?", I replied "I was a management consultant but now I'm doing an MBA in Boston"; he gave me a kind of skeptical look as if I was the very opposite of the typical attendant.

The class started with a beautiful video about the visual representation of music (see Music Animation Machine - Stephen Malinowski). I said class because it was really structured as a lecture; for every new topic Tufte would say the book and pages related (eventually asking the audience to read the section before starting) and then started his lecture. Unlike the classes I'm used now, questions are postponed to the following break.

During the day long class, Tufte presented several presentation's principles. Here's some:

Whatever it takes - You should first decide the content of your message and then which media to use, never the opposite. In this way you will pick the best medium for every presentation, being it video, pictures, slides, handouts, ...

Too clarify add detail - Clutter is not a characteristic of information, is a failure of its design. You should remove everything that doesn't add information (boxes, graphic frills, unnecessary legends, ...) and let the information form the structure. Dedicate as much space as possible to the actual content rather than to overhead. This concept was also used in when Tufte analyzed computer interfaces and also IPhone's.

Respect your audience - A sport page contains much more numbers and statistics than what's used in corporate presentations, a typical news website can contain up to 300 links in its frontpage. People can deal with complexity and the presenter shouldn't deny information to his/her audience.

Also Tufte gave his guidelines on how to do presentations:

Don't use slides - You may show the projector for pictures or video but don't use bullets.

Better content leads to better presentation - This is where you should start if you want to improve, presentations don't have to be "pitchy".

Give handouts - Handouts can contain the information equivalent to 50+ slides, also the audience can read 2.5 faster than the presenter can speak. Furthermore every person will be able to use his/her cognitive style and focus on what matter most to him/her.

Arrive on time (or early) and finish early - The audience loves that.

Before the end of the class Tufte also hinted that he's preparing his 5th book, regarding representing information in the 3 dimensions and time. Good to hear that!

PowerPoint Kills (slideshare.net)
Daily Design Snacks (core77.com)
Because it's Friday: Minard goes Mainstream (revolution-computing.com)

Notes from Net Impact: Selling Up or Selling Out

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 08:30 GMT

2500 students and social change leaders converged at Cornell University last weekend for the annual Net Impact conference. This gathering brings together students and busines leaders who are concerned about people, planet, and profits the 'triple bottom line') and this year considered a key question that we face - "What inspires you to challenge the status quo?"

This intriguing question followed was high on the minds of the two dozen Sloanies who I attended the conferfence with. How do we make REAL social change? Do we follow an 'insider' or an 'outsider' approach? Assuming that social change can happen via business, we wondered, is it most impactful to do so while reforming a large corporation (ie. the behemouth of Walmart), or by starting up our own small and progressive social enterprises (of which there were many inspiring and successful examples at the conference)?

This debate was perhaps most salient during the final keynote address of the conference, where the founders of Ben & Jerry's, Honest Tea, and Vermont Bread Company spoke to the question of "Selling Up or Selling Out: Maintaining a Social Mission while Growing to Scale." Each of these companies were founded to address a social need that business as usual had largely been ignoring- fair labor practices and livable wages in the US, responsible sourcing of raw materials, considering looking at the lifecycle of a product.

Each of these companies slowly and steadily grew, over a decade or more, eventually facing the key questions of how to scale up and attain more distribution, allowing the product to be avaliable at more locations, imapacting more workers and consumers with a healthy, wholesome product. And how to do so without selling out, and by taking advantage of the complicated and largely inaccessible national distribution channels that are controlled by the big brands (distribution, supermarket shelf space).

In these three cases, the companies went national. Ben & Jerry's was bought out by Unilever (who along with Danone controls 75% of the ice cream sales in the world). Honest Tea has gained national distribution via Coke, and Coke is now vying to buy the company. In gaining distribution, the company has had to drop the independant distributors who took the product on faith as its founder was selling it out of his home in the early 90s. And Vermont Bread Company actually merged with a number of regional bread purveyors to form a national company, while each smaller business kept its own brand.

These models beg the question of how one can challenge the status quo when it is owned or dependant on those very companies that DEFINE that status quo (Unilever, Coca Cola). The founders of these three companies argued that this IS possible - that change from within is effective, lasting change.

I have to run to marketing class right now to discuss the case of how the Snapple brand sold out to a large corporation, lost its core brand value, was accussed by its own faithful customers of selling out, and found and (adjusted) brand value once again. Afterwards lets continue this discussion. I'll share more on the perspectives of each of these companies, and we can think of going beyond "What inspires you to challenge the status quo?" and towards "is this possible to do within the companies that define that very status quo?"

Myths of the MBA

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 07:35 GMT

I am sure there are a number of prospective MBAs reading this who are currently applying to school, frantically writing essays, finding recommenders, taking the GMAT (hopefully you have already done this one!), etc. etc. And each of your motivations to apply are probably very very different. Hard to believe I was there a year ago.

Now, having been at Sloan for a little over 2 months, I have to say it was well worth the effort already. I came here to really learn a lot about business theory and practice, open my mind to many different perspectives, build a useful and interconnected network, and learn as much as I could about the opportunities ahead of me. I am convinced that this last benefit -- REAL exposure to what is out there from classmates who have actually done it -- is one of the best things business school has to offer.

Despite what you may hear, business school (I believe especially at MIT) is academically challenging and competitive. It isn't just about the "network" at all. There is a real academic and practical benefit, well beyond the "good old boy's club" often stereotyped.

Which brings me to the point of this blog. Now that the immediate excitement of getting here has passed (actually, it is still pretty exciting!) a reality has set in that I am having trouble reconciling. The issue is with MBA stereotypes: greedy, entitled, solely money focused, me first, etc. etc.

No, this isn't another "what you may think really isn't true, I promise" type of article. Instead, I have been amazed at how dichotomous this issue really is. Simultaneously I have seen my classmates prove and disprove these stereotypes. It has led me to believe that we are truly in a transition period here at MIT (and likely elsewhere) between the expected norms of being greedy "titans of industry", and the real issues we will have to face in our future.

Sustainability. Social entrepreneurship. "Doing well for the company, by doing good for society". I hear these all the time around here. But in finance we still define success solely by money returned to shareholders, of course. And economics game theory is all about "playing a game" with prices, profit, and competition. Dr. Rakesh Khurana, a professor from Harvard Business School spoke to Business Week about just this issue last May in an article about the role of MBAs in the financial crisis. An excerpt:

"What I find is that MBA students want to find work that has meaning, and they want to find meaning in their work. We need to demonstrate how this is done—and not give students a sense that business is solely about shareholder maximization. Maximizing wealth for an abstract category is not motivating. It also demeans what business does for society. Moreover, it paints an unflattering and self-reinforcing picture of management and business leadership. We need to show that not all MBA students are solely in it for personal wealth, but rather wealth creation. Most MBA students want to be value creators, not value extractors. Too often, though, the role models we present to students and society about MBAs is the buccaneer financier, not the manager or entrepreneur.

I think we have an opportunity to reshape MBA education and consequently MBA culture in the 21st century. The kinds of problems society confronts (pandemics, sustainability, environment, inequality), these are the kinds of problems that business can help solve, but only if it is infused with a broader, more society-focused institutional leadership. I think business schools can help produce these types of leaders but only if we begin to change."

It is an interesting philosophical debate, and one which has a clear answer. Define what it means to be a business person, and create curriculum around that. I can see the direction we are headed here at Sloan, and I like what I see. Take MIT professor Simon Johnson (http://baselinescenario.com/), who spoke at our MBA orientation about how terribly broken the risk-rewards are in our society today for financial firms. He began by saying, "I am somewhat controversial here at Sloan, and there are a number of you that I am sure to offend." I thought it was a brilliant way to start our 2 years here at Sloan. And I hope this sort of inward reflection continues. This sort of critical thinking will certainly make the future of MBAs a much brighter one.

http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/content/may2009/bs20090526_498100.htm

Korean C-Function, Latin Si-Function & Fall Ball

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 20:06 GMT

Korean C-Function

I was part of the fan dance, which I helped put together. The C-Function was a great success with a lot of great shows and a fun dance party afterwards.

Latin Si-Function

The Latin Si-Function was amazing, with great food from different Latin American countries and some very creative shows. The highlight of the event was the competition for el Chile Dorado and the Macarena video compilation:

Fall Ball

Fall Ball this year was at the State Room with an after party at Felt.

MIT Elevator Pitch Contest Takes Startup Salesmanship to New Level

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:46 GMT

MIT Elevator Pitch Contest Takes Startup Salesmanship to New Level

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Nolan's Halloween at MIT

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 15:53 GMT

We went to four Halloween events with Nolan this year! I made Nolan a costume; he was a ghost. Boo!

HallowMIT

Last week was HallowMIT, MIT’s campus wide halloween party. There were a bunch of carnival-type games, candy and cotton candy, balloons and the MIT Beaver mascot. There was also a room off to the side where you could carve pumpkins, but we didn’t find the room until all the pumpkins were gone. They also had a photo taker that would take pictures and turn into buttons, but we too tried too late. They did have balloons, which Nolan is obsessed with. This event was best suited for elementary-aged kids. We arrived to the event about an hour after it started, because it was during Nolan’s nap time. We saw Noramay and Chas there, too.

Sloan Halloween

Friday, we had two events hosted by department schools. First, was the Sloan Halloween. It involved a trick-or-treat around the Sloan and Tang Buildings (candy for mommy and daddy), and then a reception with food in the lobby. We came an hour late to this event too, because it started during Nolan’s nap time. There was a lot of babies, toddlers, and preschoolers, and it was probably best geared towards preschoolers. It was fun to see some of the other kids.

Chemical Engineering Graduate Students Halloween

From there, we went over to the Chemical Engineering Building to the GSC-X Halloween Party. This was hosted in the kitchen/break area of the building, and had the best food with yummy Indian food (which was advertised, so we knew not to eat before!) and alcohol too. Kids were welcome and they gave Nolan little kid toys, but it was definitely geared towards the graduate students as it was crowded and had loud music.

MIT Family Net Healthy Family Day / Halloween

Saturday, on Halloween, we went to the MIT Family Net Healthy Family event at the Z-Center. This was planned at the last minute, but this wasn’t obvious to the guests! This was the most fun because it involved free use of the Z-Center (it is included in tuition for students, but family rates are more) for several activities. First was a little costume contest. Then was either kid’s yoga or playing in the pool! We went for the pool. It was fun, Nolan kept shivering but he had a good time. Also a good lesson was reinforced - to bring an extra swim diaper, even if you think you don’t need it. I think the diaper was missing the absorbent liner! The Z-Center pool also has a small but nice family changing room. There were also activities where the kids ran around and parent massages that Chris got (I missed it!).

Since it was a healthy event, there were sandwiches, juices, and healthy snacks at this event (and no candy). I think the Z-Center is sponsored by Clif bars, because they had three large boxes of various Clif brand products, and they encouraged us to take extras, so we did … and no one else did… so we took more.. and more…and ended up with tons of them. They will be good snacks between classes.

We had lots of fun at the Family Net Halloween and it was full of good activities for all ages of kids. It was nice that it started before nap time (11:30 am-2:00 pm). At the end, all the kids had lots of fun and were ready for a long nap.

Oh, and Nolan won second place in the costume contest! :)

Nolan’s prize for winning: little basket with a stuffed cat/pumpkin and a spider (that he chewed on).

- - - - - - -

Overall, we had a nice Halloween and by Saturday night, we were all tired!

The Inclusive School Pride

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:04 GMT

Every MIT student who participated in the today's MIT 100K Elevator Pitch Contest must have felt tremendous school pride. There were so many, impressively many, students from other schools -- even as far as Michigan and Penn -- who tried their luck in this world's greatest American Idol for entrepreneurs. What's more, there were people who weren't even students or alums, and they gave it a shot too -- some of them may even go to the finals! It was just so inspiringly inclusive.

Magic happens when you merge bright with inclusive.

Wine In The Elevator

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:44 GMT

What’s the closest thing to having wine in the elevator? At MIT, it’s having wine at a practice bootcamp the night before the MIT 100K Elevator Pitch Contest. That’s exactly what happened tonight at a session organized so thoughtfully by the MIT Entrepreneurship and Execution Club. Students practiced their pitches and received feedback, and the event spoke volumes about the often unsaid wonders of entrepreneurship at MIT.

First, it’s really remarkable that students felt completely at ease practicing and polishing their pitches in front of their future contestants. This symbiosis of cooperation and competition is a powerful fiber in the fabric of MIT. Second, it was amazing, pride-instilling, and heart-warming to see how generous the students were with their time, knowledge, and ideas.

These are the things that often aren’t easy to see when looking at MIT from outside in, but they are very much the things that serve as the very definition of entrepreneurship at MIT.

Sloaned.

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 03:22 GMT

Wow! Where did my month go? Actually, reading through my previous entry, it feels like it’s been ages since core started! Reality check – it’s just been slightly over a month. Guess the best way to fill you guys in will be snippets from various random facts about Sloan.

Sloan time: Well, this is one of the most interesting and useful concepts I have found in Sloan. Can you relate to that feeling when you wake up and realize you have 5 more minutes to snooze? Sloan time pretty much instills that feeling in me! In Sloan, all classes start 5 minutes late and end 5 minutes early than the scheduled time. For instance, the stated time for a typical morning class reads 8:30-10:00 but classes are actually in session only from 8:35-9:55. The idea is to give students enough time to commute/settle between classes (which are mostly next door)! Five minutes may not seem like a big deal, but trust me, when you are rushing through that last calculation in that homework or trying to schedule that meeting with your team or sending that all important email before class, every second matters

The Core: Ok, people weren’t kidding about ‘surviving’ the core. I for one always thought the core was over rated and hyped. Let’s run a simple calculation – we have 4 core subjects twice a week + 2 courses (Managerial communication/Organizational processes) once a week. So with each class lasting 1hr20mins – that’s a total of ~ 14hrs of classes which translates to just ~ 9% of your big fat week! I know…too many numbers for a blog. Have my ‘Data Models and Decisions’ (read statistics) midterm tomorrow, so figured I’d ‘leverage’ the ‘synergy’! Anyway, so yes, what really happens in the remaining 91% of your time which pretty much leaves you with just ~5hrs sleep a night? Here’s a sneak peek into my calendar –

This is just part of the calendar, couldn’t get a full screen capture. Anyway, so you get the idea. Things fly at you from all directions and the actual problem starts when you want all of those ‘things’. As you can see, many of those slots (especially the yellow ones) overlap – and of course, you can be only in one place at any given time! At most times, Ouch.

Fridays: We all breathe a sigh of relief on Fridays. No classes. We have sessions scheduled by the CDO (Career Development Office) which basically trains you in all career related etiquette ranging from resumes, cover letters, networking essentials to writing effective thank you emails!

Collaboration/Culture: This place is weird. Really. Sometimes I feel I am in this la-la land where people are just waiting to help you!! This is where the small class size of MIT actually shines. It feels really tight knit when you walk into Sloan and recognize almost everyone you see. There is this sense of ‘we are in this together’ echoing from all corners and the tension and stress of school only further tightens the bond. The interaction between the 2^nd years and us is just plain fabulous. Seriously, I was blown away by their genuine interest in our career aspirations and willingness to help. There was this one instance when this 2^nd year bumped into me and one of my friends in the lobby. He introduced himself and after initial exchange of pleasantries, advised us on career tracks, dos and don’ts of job hunt, people to contact, things to concentrate/take an easy pill on and the mistakes people generally make – all unsolicited!

I have lots more to share, but I better get back to DMD. Unfortunately Sloan does not allow collaboration in midterms!!

I’ll leave you with a few random clicks of my core team. We were working on this crazy team case dealing with decision trees! Pay attention to the board. Was a fun ride though!

All smiles -

SIP?

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 17:40 GMT

The week after the first midterms you'd like better spend your time celebrating and going out rather than attending classes. In this scenario SIP is a good option.

SIP (Sloan Innovation Period) is a week where you attend to ad-hoc classes (or better, seminars) on various topics, ranging from Introduction to Strategy to Leadership Style (...). Even more interesting, if you bid wisely for your classes you can arrange your schedule so to get everything done in two days and then leave for a long weekend!

Here I'll briefly comment the classes I've taken. Most of them looked like pitches to attract students in their spring course and this can be useful to start making up your mind about next semester.

Introduction to Strategic Management This class provides some fundamentals of strategy, especially useful for those preparing for the consulting interviews. Structure was good, few frameworks provided but used extensively on real world cases. Nice pick.
IT Savvy: Implementing Business Strategy with IT As for Introduction to Strategic Management, also IT Savvy was kind of a repetition for me. In fact I've encountered most of the issues presented there when working in Booz&Co.; however this is a good overview of the related spring class.
The Competitive Edge - What You Must Know About the Physics of Business Processes This class is about Operations. First hour and half we played with a simulation of manufacturing company (very like the Beer Game I've cited few posts ago) and then we commented the results in terms of plant sizing, order management and lead time of production. Also we looked at some process redesign projects carried out by the Operations group. This was really a good session and I'm looking forward to the class.
Leadership Presence: Communication Skills for a Lifetime Even though this class sounds fluffy it's my favorite. Completely unrelated to spring classes, this 3-hour seminar is about communication/storytelling techniques for managers, taught from a former actor now part of the Ariel Group, specialized in communication trainings.

Unfortunately the week passed quickly and now other midterms are approaching... looking forward to IAP now!

Quote of the week: "Tool use in itself is not a meaningful outcome." (socialfish.org)
Collaboration as a Strategy, Not a Tactic (thecustomercollective.com)
Four Lessons in Change (kevineikenberry.com)

Sloan Innovation Period (SIP) Week

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 15:40 GMT

As of this week, we are halfway complete with our fall core semester at MIT Sloan! Yeah! Instead of the usual classes, we get a break in our routine, where all regular Sloan classes are canceled and we instead have a week of different kinds of learning. This is called Sloan Innovation Period, or SIP.

SIP is like at work when you balance your on the job development with training classes. Some of the classes are taught by professors, some by guest lecturers or pepole from other schools, and some by professional training people.

This is the first year that LGOs are required to participate in SIP, but we only have to do half as many credits as the regular MBAs, since we still have our engineering classes this week. The classes are different lengths and have different credit amounts, but I took two 3-hour classes to fulfill my requirement.

My first SIP class was terrible. I was really disappointed. The guy had an interesting bio and experiences, but it didn’t relay to a good class. He started out by talking about how he categorizes employees into stereotypes, basically “good and ambitious”, “okay and stays in the background”, and “bad seeds that pollute others”. That isn’t what I think of as good leadership, and goes against some of my leadership principles. He ended the lecture by going on about nature, the economy and society. I left the class hoping this was a fluke among SIP classes.

Friday, I had my other SIP class. It was great!!! We had an instructor from The Ariel Group, who taught us through examples and exercises how qualities that make for a good actor translate to helping us improve our leadership and communication abilities. Our instructor was a former street performer - fun!! One exercise we talked about how we display emotions, and practiced by pairing up and discuss a topic by switching from one emotion to another (talking about rollercoasters with emotions like love, then sorrow, then calmness, then disappointment, then excitement). We were able to focus on how our recipient interpreted our emotions, and learn how we could better display our emotions. Also, we discussed ways to enhance our storytelling, which Asvin (LGO’11) pointed out is a good idea to improve and energize your interview stories. “Tell me about a time when” will never be the same! Each class member got a book, to continue our learning outside of our brief 3-hour experience.

After talking to other students, most people had great or pretty good experiences with their SIP classes, and enjoyed the opportunity to have development in a different forum. It is also a very great break from routine and wonderful to have less classes. Many people go home or take a trip for the first or last half of the week, too. My parents came out the first half, which was great because they hadn’t been here to visit since I started school. Later in the week, my mother-in-law came. They all were happy to come visit their grandson!

SIP, and IAP, Independent Activities Period in January are two big things that distinguish Sloan and MIT from its peers. Check out these two special time periods when you’re looking at MIT!

Who Brings You Here?

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 07:35 GMT

"What brings you here?" is often the first question you get at networking events. It's a way to engage, but it's hit-and-miss - there are just so many ways to answer. It's a hit, and you exchange contacts. It's a miss, so you move on.

But what if you had an event where it all began with, "Who brings you here?" A professional networking event, for example, where people bring their mentor. An event to celebrate and exchange stories about partnerships and goodwill between people. There won't be a single one uninteresting or irrelevant conversation at such an event. Instead, you'd come away full of stories, familiar stories, yet nonetheless ones that never fail to delight and inspire.