Archive for June, 2010

By Philip Arsenis ‘11, MA

In Greece, we have a saying, “Every new language learned, is a new way of seeing the world.” My aspirations with learning Spanish is to communicate with my host family in Argentina and through that communication learn to see the world in a different way, a more Argentinean way.

I am interested in learning what the Argentinean perspective is. So first, I want to know, what makes up the Argentinean perspective? Culturally fundamental characteristics which make up how Argentinians think ideologically (politically and religiously), what their history and ethnicity is, and what common language they use. I am eager to identify, explore, and understand some of these characteristics. However, Argentina is a very diverse country. I see a wonderful blend of Italians, Germans, natives, Koreans and more. This mixture has me question if there is no clear Argentinean perspective. I want to see there is something Argentinians as a whole self identify with, it is going to be a discovery process.

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By Ryan Conway, MBA in Global Management 2011

If the events of the past week are any indication, what we say sometimes trumps what we do. First, BP CEO Tony Hayward was dismissed as the overseer of the wayward cleanup in the Gulf. Apparently comments like “I’d like my life back,” are more of an affront than the complete lack of leadership showed in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon explosion that killed 11 (little) people. Real leaders are prepared, and not just for the best case scenarios. Instead of seeing leadership from BP we have witnessed a keystone cops routine.

Second, U.S. Gen.Stanley McChrystal, the man leading the U.S. forces in the war in Afghanistan, tendered his resignation today for comments he made in a Rolling Stone interview The Runaway General. Commenting that President Obama looked “uncomfortable and intimidated” in their first meeting (with several other military brass), he also joked with an aide that if he were asked about Vice President Joe Biden’s views on the Afghan war strategy he might say “Who’s that?” – to which the aide quickly quipped “Biden?” “Did you say: Bite Me?” Not to be outdone, still another aide and member of Team America (their self given name) added that Jim Jones, U.S. national security advisor, was a “clown.”

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By Kelly Fuson, MBA in Global Management 2011

An interesting debate arose during a meeting today at the office about the appropriate use of customer as compared to consumer. I hadn’t really thought about it before. I suppose it’s one of those things you choose based on what sounds right, like most things in the english language. So I’m opening this up for a public debate to set the record straight.

To provide some context to the situation, I’ll add that the discussion was in reference to a client whose business is both B2B and B2C. Does that even make a difference?

When I took a second to think about it, I decided that I tend to use consumer when referring to the end-user — the one who will be “consuming” the product/service. So when I use customer I am referring to someone who is purchasing the product/service but not necessarily “consuming” it (for example, a manufacturer purchases raw materials to make a finished product and then sells that to retailers who then sell it to me — who in that scenario would be a consumer and who would be a customer?).

Are they interchangeable? You tell me. I’d like to know.

A view of the Helen Hunt Falls just outside Colorado Springs

By Philip Arsenis ‘11, MA

Hola Amigos!!!

We had a great week in Spanish. As we progress as a class, we are able to move on to more interactive activities. We were learning about placing an order at a restaurant one day and decided to role-play as a way of learning. Of course, things can become quite hilarious when trying to act in a foreign language. We continued to do interesting things this week. We actually went to a Spanish restaurant on Friday, in which we only spoke Spanish. The maitre’d even forbid English (jokingly) as we walked in. We also watched a few films in Spanish that we then talk about afterwards to ensure comprehension.

Next week we will delve into past tense, and I feel that with those tools I will be able to hold a reasonable conversation with a Spanish-speaking friend.

We have been taking our traditional two tests a week; however, on our last test everyone earned an “A”. The tests include two listening sections, grammar, answering questions, and a few unique sections to that chapter. The academic support I have been getting from the books website has really been helping me. A five-section practice test covers exactly what that chapter is about. I highly recommend the site: “college.hmco.com/pic/comosedice9e”

If you check it out, take one of the ACE tests under each chapter heading and blog about your experience.

Let’s keep it going! If people have any recommendations, questions or opinions about this class and my experience, as well as other peoples comments on this blog, please tell us what you’re thinking.

OK everyone, Ciao for now. I’ll be sure to blog more frequently (so see you all on Wednesday).

-Felipe Arsenis

By Jeremy Macdonald ‘10, MBA in Global Management

“If it’s an ingestible it takes six months to get approval for any packaging change.”
“So the level of difficulty would be a five?”
“Yes. The same is true for any drug.”
“So should we just say no to any sustainability projects that include drug products?”
“I don’t think we should say no to drugs.”
“Nancy Reagan does.”

Excerpt from a meeting to address packaging changes that could improve sustainability.

Humorous moments are mixed in with difficult moments for every intern. This past week has proven it. At this same meeting I was told by one of my engineers that my intern project was worthless and that long after I was gone other people were going to be trying to figure out what in the world I was doing.

Now I had to decide: who do I tell this to? Do I keep it to myself to avoid being the intern that can’t handle his problems? Do I share the experience with my mentor and risk more problems by involving more people? What if my boss tries to talk to his boss? That would make our work relationship even more strained.

To be fair, this individual is just as passionate about sustainability as me, and he wants to do his best work for this project. After 4 hours of talking about our disagreements over the course of multiple days, we had made no progress towards a consensus. Other members of our team were discouraged and had long since stopped being actively engaged. I did not have a lot of room to change the parameters of my project since it was set by the VP of product demand. Then the epiphany: stop talking about it and just start.

“What about toothpaste? Can we change the secondary packaging to be more sustainable? What about the tube? What about the closure?” I recorded his answers on our spreadsheet and told him: “That is what I need; now one of your eight products is done. Will you do the same thing for the next seven?” (I have withheld product names and product-specific revisions.)

Another step was needed to completely solve the problem. I made further revisions to our work process and met with all the individuals who are on my team. I explained the process one-on-one and got everyone working on their individual assignments. Now with the entire team excited about the project and already completing their assignments, my greatest opponent has begun his individual work as well. True to his passion for sustainability, his work is superb and more thorough than everyone else.

I decided that I should tell my managers/mentors (I actually have three) because that is the point of the role, even though the issue was mostly resolved. They respected my wishes and appreciated my effort to communicate; as well as offered assistance if I needed it. In the end it was a good experience.

By Philip Arsenis, MA, 2011

Hello! I am here to blog about my experience in Spanish I Intensive. I just started a week ago today, and am shocked by the classes’ progress. I entered the class with out ANY previous knowledge of Spanish and in less than a week,  I  now understand full sentences. How? Well the intensive class is intense, its 6 hours a day, with plenty of studying at night. I know that doesn’t sound appealing, but after the second day in class, you catch ‘the bug’, meaning all you want to do is know more Spanish.  So, the whole learning process really becomes self gratifying rather than tortures.

About the class, we really cover the fundamentals, like vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, and cultural and social information. Since we are all going to Buenos Aires, Argentina as the second part of the class we learn about specific Argentinian customs. For example, today we learned about Yerbos Mate, an Argentinian tea. We also play plenty of educational games, like rolling dice with different questions on each side, role playing and a Mexican version of shoots and ladders.

Lastly, I want to mention the relationships in the class. Everyone is supportive of everyone else. The class moves forward as a team, and the professor really facilitates this by being patient, available and positive.
I will be checking out now, however I will be thinking about my next blog. And it would be great to get some interactions going on, so that we can share some ideas and learn from each other. I will check in again soon.

A question I have for you is, what do you think are the benefits and costs of taking this Intensive Spanish course? [Please comment, I am interested to hear what people think. Lets get a blog going!]

By Naveen Narayanan, Accelerate MBA, 2011

“It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership.”
-Nelson Mandela

I was recently gifted a wonderful book called ‘You Can’t Order Change’ which chronicles the leadership journey of Jim McNerney, current CEO of Boeing. McNerney spent much of his career as a rising star and major player at General Electric, where he was one of the three finalists to replace Jack Welch. Now at Boeing, McNerney cleared up a mass of legal problems, tackled the cultural issues that allowed them to arise, rebuilt the brand, and invested in new programs that promise a long, profitable future for the company. I was quite inspired by the profound leadership insights this book had to offer. Some of McNerney’s strategies that grabbed my attention were:

1. Help your people get better through measurable goals
2. Build strategy on customer focus
3. Invest in your strengths
4. Tighten operations with process improvement tools
5. Partner with global suppliers to reduce risk and accelerate time to market
6. Make ethics and compliance a clear competitive advantage

Closer to home, we have our own share of great leaders who have single-handedly redefined industry standards and set new benchmarks. One such leader I have always admired in Naresh Goyal of Jet Airways. Under his pioneering leadership, Jet Airways set the gold standard for customer service in the country’s booming aviation industry. I’ve always heard my dad say, “A great leader is present in his absence”, so true! I see Naresh Goyal in every employee of Jet Airways, right from the staff at the check-in counter to the ground and cabin crew. I am amazed to see the level of commitment and customer care that each employee exudes that one would only expect the leader to demonstrate.

I believe that one of the greatest traits of a leader is to building a culture based on shared values, and approach the change process in a very respectful way. A great leader realizes that in order to achieve the organization’s goals, he needs to win the hearts and minds of the employees. Like McNerney puts it, “You can’t order change, after all, there’s only one of me and 75,000 of them”. Another awe inspiring story is that of Matsushita, and the meteoric rise of National/Panasonic under his leadership. At the end of World War II, Matsushita stood up before a gathering of his dejected, demoralized workforce, in an occupied country, with all the company’s inventory taken by the occupying power, and said “I’ve been thinking about purpose”. He then painted a word picture that spoke to everyone, about how taking the lead in quality and innovation and low prices would force competitors to do the same and would ultimately eliminate poverty in Japan. He sat down to silence. Then, one by one his employees stood up, some with tears in their eyes, and said “I think I could dedicate my life to this.” Much of the ‘Japanese way’ that conquered the world’s economy in the 1980s can be traced back to that moment.

Jim Collins in his book ‘Good to Great’ gives us an interesting analysis on leadership. He deconstructs leadership development in five phases. According to Collins, the journey towards greatness begins from individual competency [level-1] and ends at greatness through a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will [level-5]. As Collins puts it “A Level-5 leader is the antithesis of the great ego centric leader, he operates first and foremost with genuine humility. But it is humility defined as a burning, passionate, obsessive ambition for the cause, for the company, for the work and not themselves. And they possess the utterly stoic will to make good of that ambition.”

A level-5 leader channelizes his ego needs away from himself and into the larger goal of building a great company. It’s not that level-5 leaders have no ego or self-interest. Indeed, they are incredibly ambitious – but their ambition is first and foremost for the institution, not themselves. Further, there is a stark difference between a level-4 and a level-5 leader. A level-4 leader is charismatic and trusts his personal competency to get things done whereas a level-5 leader believes in taking people under his wing and developing future leaders.

So, what are the shared traits among great leaders? A great leader is one who…

1. Exudes energy and enthusiasm, does not need an external stimulus
2. Is consistent in his actions, walks the talk and leads by example
3. Faces problems squarely, is able to take unpleasant decisions in a timely manner
4. Is able to set a culture in the organization based on commonly shared values
5. Is not ‘resource myopic’ – is willing to trust other’s judgment in areas he lacks knowledge
6. Strikes a balance between hands-on and hands-off style of management
7. Is able to motivate his workforce to deliver results and pursue a shared vision
8. Is not afraid to nurture the second line of leaders under his wing
9. Is charismatic yet non-intimidating, is approachable and nurtures open communication
10. Sets precise goals and fair measures of performance
11. Is an effective delegator, but refrains from micro-management
12. Is never afraid to expose his ignorance and ask “silly” questions
13. Is genuinely empathetic
14. Demonstrates the highest order of personal trustworthiness
15. Puts his people and the company ahead of himself

“A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.”
-Lao Tzu

By Ryan Conway, MBA in Global Management 2011

I’m now halfway through with my internship at Gaia Consulting and it’s definitely been a memorable learning experience. As a smaller company, I am definitely being given some tasks that I otherwise might not have. One of the main projects that I have been working on is formulating Solar Power Purchase Agreements as part of the whole building energy audit services of Gaia Energy Solutions. The Power Purchase Agreement allows a building owner to install a solar system on their building with no out of pocket cost, essentially signing an agreement with the provider, in this case Gaia, to purchase the power generated from the system for an agreed upon term, usually 10-25 years, with annual rate escalators. All financing is provided by Gaia through both debt and equity. It’s a win-win, especially with the current tax benefits and rebates available (in 2008, the U.S. Government extended a 30% tax credit for the installation of solar panels in homes and businesses through 2016). It’s a start, but unfortunately not enough.

We are quickly lagging behind Chinese investment in alternative energy, which doubled that of the U.S. in 2009. That, coupled with the strong arm tactics of OPEC, underscores the importance for the U.S. to finally get serious about renewable energy. They say that when you point a finger at someone three fingers are pointing back at you. So instead of instead of taking the easy stance of just pointing the finger at BP and saying “that’s the bad guy,” the Obama administration should take advantage of this crisis/ opportunity to level with us regarding the failure of our current energy policies and work to pass strong energy-climate legislation in conjunction with financial regulatory reform. Don’t get me wrong, the oil spill in the Gulf highlights plenty of malfeasance, not to mention an A-B-C PR lesson of what not to do in a time of crisis. However, if we continue down the path of fix when broken instead of prevention we have no one to blame but ourselves. Oh, and all of those new jobs that we could have created, they’ll be in China.

by Nadia Karim, MBA in Global Management 2010

I am fortunate to be experiencing week 3 of a fabulous internship with Intel Corporation, working as a Financial Analyst in Advanced Test Technology Development.  Since I work in ATTD however, my blog posts are still undergoing review by Intel internal, so I thought I would update y’all with some of my weekend adventures!

Scottsdale is a town just east of Phoenix, within a 15-30 minute drive depending on your destination.  A few weeks ago I chose to take advantage of the wonderful weather and visit the park area surrounding City Hall.

Old fashioned lettered signs complete the vibe of Old Town Scottsdale

Driving into Old Town Scottsdale is great for a late afternoon visit.  Streets become wider and share the road with the old town trolley, the buildings have handpainted signs with rustic decor.  Walkways are plentiful and live music can be heard streaming out of restaurants.  Before sitting down for a bite to eat, my husband and I opted to walk around the park, which is well known for housing one of the few Love sculptures.

one of five existing pieces, the Love sculpture is a favorite spot for wedding photos

Since I had seen many photos of people in the sculpture, I attempted to climb it, but my scant five foot frame could not reach the top of the letters, and so we continued to enjoy the sunshine and a peaceful walk.  The area houses a public stage for performances and duck ponds, where I saw a marvelous swan preening its feathers and some beautiful statuary tucked between vibrant flowers.

Probably due to the beautiful landscaping and calming atmosphere, there are often weddings going on in the park, and this day was no different.  We left the love sculpture and the park for the enjoyment of the wedding party and headed toward Main Street, with its collection of shops and restaurants.  As I ate my bowl of homemade chili, the sun set over the mountains and I reveled in a Saturday well-spent.

By Kelly Fuson, MBA in Global Management 2011

I’m writing to you from Colorado, where I am happy to report that I will be spending the summer as a Brand Strategist Intern for CSK Strategic Marketing Group. Today is only my second day (although it feels like the second week) but I discovered an unanticipated learning opportunity that I thought I would share with you:

While I have been a happy PC owner my whole life (a product of being raised by an IT manager) I have been given a MacBook Pro to use during my internship. I always thought that the computer I use would be the result of my own choice and it never occurred to me that there might be a situation where I would be forced to become a Mac user. Not that Mac’s aren’t great, but I’ll be honest, I was comfortable with my PC.

So what did I do? I called up a good classmate of mine who switched from a PC to a Mac at the start of the school year for a quick tutorial. I thought, who better to teach me to use a Mac than a previous PC owner?

To be honest, my bigger fear is that I will start to hate using my Toshiba after spending a whole summer using a Mac. How will I go back after being assimilated into the simplicity offered by the MacBook Pro? And then there’s my netbook, with its lightweight and travel convenience, which I was given as a present to take with me while studying in the Czech Republic.

Let’s face it, they all have their own advantages. Check back with me at the end of the summer and I’ll give you my opinion then.