During every business-school admissions interview, there's a moment where the tables turn. Usually, it's near the end, after you've been probed ("What sets you apart?") and prodded ("How was the workforce?"), and you're ready to head home. "So," the questioner chirps, "do you have anything to ask me?"
This is, of course, an optional request. But it's also an opportunity to make an impression, or blow your chances, says Randall Sawyer, director of admissions at Cornell University's Johnson School of Business. "You have to be prepared," says Sawyer. While asking smart, informed questions can set you apart, soliciting information that's readily available on a school's Web site ("What's your class size?") might irritate your interviewer.
What constitutes a "good" question? BusinessWeek recently spoke with several private consultants and deans of admission, all of whom recommended a variety of questions. Following are a selection, and some tips on how to ask them. And remember, these are general guidelines; the most impressive inquiries are case-specific.
What to ask deans, board members, and other officials:
In your opinion, what really sets this school apart?
Officials know this is an important inquiry, especially if you're choosing between multiple schools. To win points, Sawyer suggests prefacing your question with some original thought (e.g., "I've read that Professor X just received the Nobel prize" or "As an entrepreneur, I was impressed with your 'Fund My StartUp Program"). Otherwise, you may get the retort: "Well, what do you think sets this school apart?"
Can you talk a little about the student job search?
When you're about to drop $100,000-plus on an MBA, you're entitled to ask about career prospects, especially during the current financial crisis. But tread carefully, says Chioma Isiadinso, the CEO of Expartus, an admissions consulting company. Putting an official on the spot ("Can your school find me a job?") is awkward and offputting. Before you broach the subject, show enthusiasm ("I've heard great things about your alumni network") and emphasize that you're willing to be proactive.
For students, current and former:
How have you most benefitted from attending this school?
This question is crucial, especially if the interviewer pursued your concentration. According to Sawyer, it shows that you're "in the game, and interested in success." Be careful with phrasing, though: "How have you most benefitted?" is much more engaging (and much less skeptical) than "Have you benefitted?"
What was your favorite class? Who were your favorite professors?
O.K., these two are pretty obvious. But they're still good bets, says Dawna Clark, director of admissions at Tuck School of Business. Students (and former students) love to impart wisdom, especially with like-minded interviewees. Give them time to shine, and everyone wins: They'll get to relive a positive academic experience, and you'll pick up some inside information.
What's a typical day like?
Beyond engaging your interviewer, this question shows you care about more than academic factoids, says Linda Abraham, president of Accepted.com, an online hub for college counseling. After all, you're applying for an experience. It's only human to care about the little things, like when and where you'll eat, sleep, learn, and let loose.
For anyone:
Is there anything else I can further address?
This should be your final question, says Beth Flye, the assistant dean and director of admissions at . It's proactive, it's accommodating, and it's a great way to hint that you're eager to attend (as opposed to, say, asking when you'll get your acceptance letter). Also, on the off-chance that you made a mistake on your application, this request could spawn a shot at redemption.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
How to get into b school
With thousands of applications flowing in to universities every year, it can seem impossible to find the formula that will help your application earn a second glance. I tell anyone who asks me that the "key" to the whole deal is to find your own way to stand out from the crowd.
Of course, doing this is not easy, so here are a few tips.
What Makes You Unique?
Your mother can answer that one easily, but you're facing a much more critical audience this time.
Consider using a tool called a Positioning Statement that helps you define, in a few simple phrases, what is unique and special about the product you are trying to sell.
The product here is "you", and the principle can be directly applied. A blank Positioning Statement for a Business School applicant might look something like this:
For (target university)
which(statement of need/opportunity)
the applicant (name) is a (key feature/category)
that/who (core benefit proposition).
unlike (primary competitive alternative),
this applicant (point of difference).
How can we apply this framework to you?
Let's say you've been working for a little longer than the average applicant, and have dealt with large teams for many years. Maybe you also worked in some exotic part of the world, preferably one of the flavors of the month in U.S. business circles such as China or Russia. To top it off, your target school-let's call it Stanvard--places special emphasis on global business and managing in large organizations.
What might your Positioning Statement look like? Here's one option.
For Stanvard
which needs diversity in the classroom
the applicant (name) is an experienced manager
that/who has worked in Russia and China.
Unlike most other applicants,
this applicant has excelled in a sport Stanvard happens to take great pride in.
Of course, this framework is just one option to help you figure out the few key points that truly set you apart from the person sitting next to you. However you choose to define yourself, make sure you have that picture in your mind with great clarity as you begin the essays and answers in the application. Refer to it several times as you go along, and critically examine your work to make sure this positioning easily stands out at first reading - that might be the only reading your application gets!
Getting Noticed
So you've got your positioning figured out - now what will make someone pay attention long enough to read the whole essay, and actually remember you? Remember, in the same day they read your essay, an admissions officer reads several other essays: some of those might be by Olympic swimmers working with factories in China, Reconnaissance Marines planning to change the way poverty alleviation works around the world, British schoolteachers who hike through the least known corners of the world taking photographs and meditating, and Bulgarian Tae-Kwon Do playing pilots (these are all real MBA students, no joke).
What are the most interesting stories you can tell about yourself? Not the ones you like to tell - the ones other people want you to re-tell. Ideally, the stories should not be all about you, but should give you an opportunity to gently bring in the positioning you want the reader to remember while keeping them engaged with an interesting narrative.
These stories can be about anything - maybe you will write about how your cricket team came back from a precarious position to win a crucial match, or how the students of your school organized an all-new event, or it might be about something more "relevant"-sounding such as a project at work or a research topic you undertook at university.
Diversity
Coming from a country that most Americans have a hard time locating on a map, you already possess one of the most sought-after attributes of all - diversity. There may be many other factors that contribute to your overall "diversity quotient" - talk about them all. Maybe you are a woman, or you worked in a unique industry, or your age or years of work experience place you outside the normal ranges of the schools you're applying to. Don't play down such facts - express why you think the diversity you bring to the table can make for a particularly rewarding classroom experience for everyone involved. The average student exists only in class statistics; every student deviates from this average in some direction, and admissions officers are always on the lookout for the unusual individual who will bring a fresh perspective to the conversation.
The Developing Nation Angle
In a globalized world, one of the most prized attribute any manager can possess is familiarity with the context of a developing nation. Congratulations, you were born into it. It may not help you during your visa interview, but it will count for a lot in the classroom, and Admissions Officers know it.
Classmates will keep looking to you when such topics some up. In fact, you'll find yourself contributing time and again on a side of life most of your classmates have only read about in elementary school. Make sure you highlight this aspect in your application.
Be the Man (or Woman) with the Plan
Admissions Officers get weak in the knees when applicants lay out clear, well-thought-out plans for how they plan to use their education. This is where all the introspection pays off. Go five, ten, twenty and fifty years into the future and talk about what you want to achieve. Then lay out a rough plan of how you're going to get there, using the education you get at business school as a vital tool. The more authentic and well thought out you can make this, the better the impression you will make.
Don't Stand Out for the Wrong Reasons
By the time you get to the end of your third essay, you won't remember which essay asked which question and where you narrated which story. The price of trying to keep things fresh and unique is that there's so much to keep track of. It's easy to go off topic or leave in entire paragraphs of gibberish.
Get a trusted colleague or family member (one you can freely disagree with on creative points) to read your essays and tell you whether you're clearly talking through your hat and whether they can say it's really you who wrote it.
Have a schoolteacher or education counselor look through the essays for obvious mistakes and to help you with your writing style.
One of the most interesting games to play is to not show them the question or topic and have them guess it instead. This is a good way to figure out whether you are writing to the point and whether your writing is clear enough to convey the message you're going for.
Keep Copies
You're ready to send off the applications complete with proof-read essays and stellar exam scores. Congratulations! But, before you hit the "send" button, save it and print a copy. You may be asked about a particular question, or you may be able to refer to large chunks of it in a different application. You may even apply to the same university next year, when a lot of the information may still be relevant.
J. Charitha Ratwatte (Junior).
Charitha is entering the second year of his MBA program at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business, California.
Of course, doing this is not easy, so here are a few tips.
What Makes You Unique?
Your mother can answer that one easily, but you're facing a much more critical audience this time.
Consider using a tool called a Positioning Statement that helps you define, in a few simple phrases, what is unique and special about the product you are trying to sell.
The product here is "you", and the principle can be directly applied. A blank Positioning Statement for a Business School applicant might look something like this:
For (target university)
which(statement of need/opportunity)
the applicant (name) is a (key feature/category)
that/who (core benefit proposition).
unlike (primary competitive alternative),
this applicant (point of difference).
How can we apply this framework to you?
Let's say you've been working for a little longer than the average applicant, and have dealt with large teams for many years. Maybe you also worked in some exotic part of the world, preferably one of the flavors of the month in U.S. business circles such as China or Russia. To top it off, your target school-let's call it Stanvard--places special emphasis on global business and managing in large organizations.
What might your Positioning Statement look like? Here's one option.
For Stanvard
which needs diversity in the classroom
the applicant (name) is an experienced manager
that/who has worked in Russia and China.
Unlike most other applicants,
this applicant has excelled in a sport Stanvard happens to take great pride in.
Of course, this framework is just one option to help you figure out the few key points that truly set you apart from the person sitting next to you. However you choose to define yourself, make sure you have that picture in your mind with great clarity as you begin the essays and answers in the application. Refer to it several times as you go along, and critically examine your work to make sure this positioning easily stands out at first reading - that might be the only reading your application gets!
Getting Noticed
So you've got your positioning figured out - now what will make someone pay attention long enough to read the whole essay, and actually remember you? Remember, in the same day they read your essay, an admissions officer reads several other essays: some of those might be by Olympic swimmers working with factories in China, Reconnaissance Marines planning to change the way poverty alleviation works around the world, British schoolteachers who hike through the least known corners of the world taking photographs and meditating, and Bulgarian Tae-Kwon Do playing pilots (these are all real MBA students, no joke).
What are the most interesting stories you can tell about yourself? Not the ones you like to tell - the ones other people want you to re-tell. Ideally, the stories should not be all about you, but should give you an opportunity to gently bring in the positioning you want the reader to remember while keeping them engaged with an interesting narrative.
These stories can be about anything - maybe you will write about how your cricket team came back from a precarious position to win a crucial match, or how the students of your school organized an all-new event, or it might be about something more "relevant"-sounding such as a project at work or a research topic you undertook at university.
Diversity
Coming from a country that most Americans have a hard time locating on a map, you already possess one of the most sought-after attributes of all - diversity. There may be many other factors that contribute to your overall "diversity quotient" - talk about them all. Maybe you are a woman, or you worked in a unique industry, or your age or years of work experience place you outside the normal ranges of the schools you're applying to. Don't play down such facts - express why you think the diversity you bring to the table can make for a particularly rewarding classroom experience for everyone involved. The average student exists only in class statistics; every student deviates from this average in some direction, and admissions officers are always on the lookout for the unusual individual who will bring a fresh perspective to the conversation.
The Developing Nation Angle
In a globalized world, one of the most prized attribute any manager can possess is familiarity with the context of a developing nation. Congratulations, you were born into it. It may not help you during your visa interview, but it will count for a lot in the classroom, and Admissions Officers know it.
Classmates will keep looking to you when such topics some up. In fact, you'll find yourself contributing time and again on a side of life most of your classmates have only read about in elementary school. Make sure you highlight this aspect in your application.
Be the Man (or Woman) with the Plan
Admissions Officers get weak in the knees when applicants lay out clear, well-thought-out plans for how they plan to use their education. This is where all the introspection pays off. Go five, ten, twenty and fifty years into the future and talk about what you want to achieve. Then lay out a rough plan of how you're going to get there, using the education you get at business school as a vital tool. The more authentic and well thought out you can make this, the better the impression you will make.
Don't Stand Out for the Wrong Reasons
By the time you get to the end of your third essay, you won't remember which essay asked which question and where you narrated which story. The price of trying to keep things fresh and unique is that there's so much to keep track of. It's easy to go off topic or leave in entire paragraphs of gibberish.
Get a trusted colleague or family member (one you can freely disagree with on creative points) to read your essays and tell you whether you're clearly talking through your hat and whether they can say it's really you who wrote it.
Have a schoolteacher or education counselor look through the essays for obvious mistakes and to help you with your writing style.
One of the most interesting games to play is to not show them the question or topic and have them guess it instead. This is a good way to figure out whether you are writing to the point and whether your writing is clear enough to convey the message you're going for.
Keep Copies
You're ready to send off the applications complete with proof-read essays and stellar exam scores. Congratulations! But, before you hit the "send" button, save it and print a copy. You may be asked about a particular question, or you may be able to refer to large chunks of it in a different application. You may even apply to the same university next year, when a lot of the information may still be relevant.
J. Charitha Ratwatte (Junior).
Charitha is entering the second year of his MBA program at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business, California.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
A 100-year health check for Harvard
Last week the world's stock markets continued their frenzied orgy of value creation and destruction. World leaders huddled in Paris and Washington, desperate to construct a new financial order out of the chaos. The future of capitalism itself seemed in doubt.
But just outside Cambridge, Massachusetts, on a golden Sunday evening, a trio of young classical musicians filled the air with sweet melodies as alumni of Harvard Business School sipped champagne and chatted fondly about old times. A photograph of the scene in HBS's handsome Baker library that evening would have had to be labelled: "Crisis, what crisis?"
Harvard students, young and not quite so young, had come together to celebrate 100 years of HBS. Founded in 1908 as a "delicate experiment" - academic talk for "it's sure to fail", according to HBS's current dean Jay Light - the school has outlasted most of its critics. But no Harvard graduate, however gifted, would have been able to predict that their centennial "global business summit" would coincide with the most dramatic financial earthquake for several generations.
You would have to have a heart of stone not to be amused by this piquant accident of timing. Here, at the spiritual home of the Masters of the Universe, distinguished graduates could only look on as that same universe threatened to implode.
The turbulence seemed wholly out of place in HBS's orderly and tranquil environs. The site, developed on marshland in the 1920s on the wrong side of Boston's Charles river (the school had initially been a temporary resident in Harvard University's economics faculty), stretches over 40 acres and comprises 33 buildings. For decades many of the world's sharpest young graduates have been coming to HBS to acquire that vital passport to a career at the very top: the Harvard MBA.
But just outside Cambridge, Massachusetts, on a golden Sunday evening, a trio of young classical musicians filled the air with sweet melodies as alumni of Harvard Business School sipped champagne and chatted fondly about old times. A photograph of the scene in HBS's handsome Baker library that evening would have had to be labelled: "Crisis, what crisis?"
Harvard students, young and not quite so young, had come together to celebrate 100 years of HBS. Founded in 1908 as a "delicate experiment" - academic talk for "it's sure to fail", according to HBS's current dean Jay Light - the school has outlasted most of its critics. But no Harvard graduate, however gifted, would have been able to predict that their centennial "global business summit" would coincide with the most dramatic financial earthquake for several generations.
You would have to have a heart of stone not to be amused by this piquant accident of timing. Here, at the spiritual home of the Masters of the Universe, distinguished graduates could only look on as that same universe threatened to implode.
The turbulence seemed wholly out of place in HBS's orderly and tranquil environs. The site, developed on marshland in the 1920s on the wrong side of Boston's Charles river (the school had initially been a temporary resident in Harvard University's economics faculty), stretches over 40 acres and comprises 33 buildings. For decades many of the world's sharpest young graduates have been coming to HBS to acquire that vital passport to a career at the very top: the Harvard MBA.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Studying for an MBA means learning to multi-task
"It is with good reason that the MBA is known as a macho qualification. In addition to the cut-and-thrust of classroom debate, there is the information-heavy syllabus to absorb, a task that requires students to invest significant amounts of time both in and out of the classroom. But even this, it appears, is not enough of a challenge for some.
"It sounds melodramatic to say you do not have any time but physically there are just not enough hours in the day," says Andy Hancock, who is combining an EMBA at the University of Southampton School of Management with running his own business, Excedo Travel, a luxury adventure holiday company. "At busy times I start work at 7.30am, finish at 8pm, start my MBA studies at 9pm and finish around 11pm," says Andy, 28. "You do have to make sacrifices – in this case a social life. And buy a dishwasher because there's no time to do any washing up!"
Andy signed up for an MBA to enhance his job prospects in the UK after eight years of working overseas for a leading holiday company. But then he was talent spotted when the BBC fly-on-the-wall documentary, The Great British Holiday Experience, filmed him setting up a new hotel in Turkey.
"The financial backer of Excedo saw me on TV and contacted me because he wanted a travel arm to go alongside his existing corporate events business," says Andy. "I warned him I was already signed up to do an MBA and he was totally supportive."
Andy started the EMBA in September 2007 and Excedo started trading five months later. "There are a lot of hours involved in setting up a business but the MBA workload comes in peaks and troughs so I am managing to fit the studying around work. Luckily I'm a single man so I can be selfish with my time. There are friends on my course who have two kids and a husband and they're getting up at 5am to study because that's the only spare time they have."
Those who do have family commitments face a constant struggle to fit everything in and retain their sanity. Alain Khoury, CEO of Paris-based IT consultancy SNK Intertrade and an EMBA student at ICN Business School in Nancy, France, found that something had to give. For the first five months of the programme, Alain freed himself from professional commitments every other Friday and personal commitments every other Saturday but, as the months went by, the hours of personal study required to keep up with the course workload began to tell.
"How do you find time to carry out an EMBA, run a company and take care of your family when you have exhausted all sources of energy? Knowing that I couldn't change the EMBA workload nor make any more concessions on my family life, the only alternative was to reconsider how I was running my company," he says.
While unable to handover his CEO functions, Alain, who founded the company in 1994, decided to delegate the technical consultancy role he still played. "I chose to reduce my personal revenue and company turnover to free up additional time for the EMBA," says Alain, who remains convinced the short-term sacrifice will pay off in the end.
Many MBA students combine their studies with demanding jobs and, far from treading water in the workplace while tackling their studies, decide to seek out additional responsibilities and challenges. Accountant Claire Baty, for example, signed up for an MBA with Manchester Business School Worldwide while holding down a job that required 70-hour weeks and frequent trips overseas.
"It was quite tough to fit everything in," recalls Claire, now 32. "The MBS programme was very flexible which meant I could leave the studying for a couple of weeks when things got really busy and then cram it all in when work calmed down again."
Completing the course took a lot of organisation and self-discipline. Claire set up a spreadsheet to structure her studies – "a typical accountant," she laughs – and she booked into a hotel for several nights in order to write her dissertation free of all distractions, husband included.
It was a tough schedule and, at times, dispiriting. "It can be depressing when all your friends are going away for the weekend and you can't go because you have to study. You have to keep your mind on the end game."
For Claire, the end game was a long sought-after promotion. "I'm now group reporting manager for a media company, where I've got a department of 40 people underneath me ," she says.
There is, it seems, a common checklist of skills for those planning to juggle an MBA with running their own business or climbing the corporate ladder: excellent time management skills, an iron will and plenty of stamina. An understanding spouse and a dishwasher are also helpful.
'You have to multi-task, fill every minute and stay busy'
Bemi Odunlami, 29, has just completed the fulltime MBA at Lancaster University Management School while working as a self-employed locum pharmacist at the weekends and managing a portfolio of buy-to-let properties.
"I'm not sure I would recommend working while doing a full-time MBA as it's been really tough to fit everything in. I’m constantly busy and always on the phone. But I wanted to stay liquid and not completely run out of cash. It meant I had some peace of mind because I had an income whereas some people on the course were starting to worry about their finances and the impact of the economic downturn. The property management business is not too time-intensive: it's more a question of making phone calls and sorting things out if there are any problems at the properties. But as a self-employed locum pharmacist, I wouldwork 9am to 6pm on a Saturday and then work all evening to catch up on the studying I should have been doing during the day. You have to multi-task really easily, fill every minute and stay busy. You also have to be really disciplined. After lectures at6pm, people tended to hang around chatting for an hour, which is a really valuable part of the MBA experience, but I would have to limit myself to 15 minutes and then be out of there because I always had something pressing to do elsewhere.""
"It sounds melodramatic to say you do not have any time but physically there are just not enough hours in the day," says Andy Hancock, who is combining an EMBA at the University of Southampton School of Management with running his own business, Excedo Travel, a luxury adventure holiday company. "At busy times I start work at 7.30am, finish at 8pm, start my MBA studies at 9pm and finish around 11pm," says Andy, 28. "You do have to make sacrifices – in this case a social life. And buy a dishwasher because there's no time to do any washing up!"
Andy signed up for an MBA to enhance his job prospects in the UK after eight years of working overseas for a leading holiday company. But then he was talent spotted when the BBC fly-on-the-wall documentary, The Great British Holiday Experience, filmed him setting up a new hotel in Turkey.
"The financial backer of Excedo saw me on TV and contacted me because he wanted a travel arm to go alongside his existing corporate events business," says Andy. "I warned him I was already signed up to do an MBA and he was totally supportive."
Andy started the EMBA in September 2007 and Excedo started trading five months later. "There are a lot of hours involved in setting up a business but the MBA workload comes in peaks and troughs so I am managing to fit the studying around work. Luckily I'm a single man so I can be selfish with my time. There are friends on my course who have two kids and a husband and they're getting up at 5am to study because that's the only spare time they have."
Those who do have family commitments face a constant struggle to fit everything in and retain their sanity. Alain Khoury, CEO of Paris-based IT consultancy SNK Intertrade and an EMBA student at ICN Business School in Nancy, France, found that something had to give. For the first five months of the programme, Alain freed himself from professional commitments every other Friday and personal commitments every other Saturday but, as the months went by, the hours of personal study required to keep up with the course workload began to tell.
"How do you find time to carry out an EMBA, run a company and take care of your family when you have exhausted all sources of energy? Knowing that I couldn't change the EMBA workload nor make any more concessions on my family life, the only alternative was to reconsider how I was running my company," he says.
While unable to handover his CEO functions, Alain, who founded the company in 1994, decided to delegate the technical consultancy role he still played. "I chose to reduce my personal revenue and company turnover to free up additional time for the EMBA," says Alain, who remains convinced the short-term sacrifice will pay off in the end.
Many MBA students combine their studies with demanding jobs and, far from treading water in the workplace while tackling their studies, decide to seek out additional responsibilities and challenges. Accountant Claire Baty, for example, signed up for an MBA with Manchester Business School Worldwide while holding down a job that required 70-hour weeks and frequent trips overseas.
"It was quite tough to fit everything in," recalls Claire, now 32. "The MBS programme was very flexible which meant I could leave the studying for a couple of weeks when things got really busy and then cram it all in when work calmed down again."
Completing the course took a lot of organisation and self-discipline. Claire set up a spreadsheet to structure her studies – "a typical accountant," she laughs – and she booked into a hotel for several nights in order to write her dissertation free of all distractions, husband included.
It was a tough schedule and, at times, dispiriting. "It can be depressing when all your friends are going away for the weekend and you can't go because you have to study. You have to keep your mind on the end game."
For Claire, the end game was a long sought-after promotion. "I'm now group reporting manager for a media company, where I've got a department of 40 people underneath me ," she says.
There is, it seems, a common checklist of skills for those planning to juggle an MBA with running their own business or climbing the corporate ladder: excellent time management skills, an iron will and plenty of stamina. An understanding spouse and a dishwasher are also helpful.
'You have to multi-task, fill every minute and stay busy'
Bemi Odunlami, 29, has just completed the fulltime MBA at Lancaster University Management School while working as a self-employed locum pharmacist at the weekends and managing a portfolio of buy-to-let properties.
"I'm not sure I would recommend working while doing a full-time MBA as it's been really tough to fit everything in. I’m constantly busy and always on the phone. But I wanted to stay liquid and not completely run out of cash. It meant I had some peace of mind because I had an income whereas some people on the course were starting to worry about their finances and the impact of the economic downturn. The property management business is not too time-intensive: it's more a question of making phone calls and sorting things out if there are any problems at the properties. But as a self-employed locum pharmacist, I wouldwork 9am to 6pm on a Saturday and then work all evening to catch up on the studying I should have been doing during the day. You have to multi-task really easily, fill every minute and stay busy. You also have to be really disciplined. After lectures at6pm, people tended to hang around chatting for an hour, which is a really valuable part of the MBA experience, but I would have to limit myself to 15 minutes and then be out of there because I always had something pressing to do elsewhere.""
Neil the 700b man
Not everyone remembers what they learned in school. But the nation must hope that Neel Kashkari will.
The 35-year-old Kashkari, interim head of the Office of Financial Stability, is largely unknown to the world outside Goldman Sachs, Silicon Valley or the Treasury Department.
People are looking for clues on the experiences that helped form the thinking of the one-time rocket scientist, Republican contributor and Goldman Sachs banker. Since 2006, Kashkari has been one of Paulson’s regular advisers, sharing with his mentor a hairstyle, Midwestern roots, a Goldman alumni card and even the same taste in popular soft drinks. Kashkari has only 45 days to hire a team before the November elections and devise a “lightning-speed” solution to problems including systemic risk and liquidity, stabilizing the markets and all the auctions, funds, cash infusions and swaps that come into play. Has he ever been in that position before? Probably not during his brief career as a banker.
So Deal Journal called Michael Useem, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business who taught Kashkari in 2002 as Kashkari was earning his M.B.A. Useem didn’t want to talk about Kashkari himself–he considers student-teacher relationships privileged, and doesn’t discuss student performance–but he gave us some perspective on a leadership training program that Kashkari participated in at Wharton that holds lessons for his time at Treasury.
In the winter of 2002, Useem took his students to the U.S. Army base at Fort Dix, N.J., for a computer-simulation exercise the Army uses to train its officers for battlefield experience. The eight-hour simulation forced the Wharton students to come up with plans to save 300 Bosnian refugees. The Wharton group broke up into 14 teams, including those representing the Red Cross, the Army and operational intelligence. The mission was how to make decisions in chaotic situations. “This is a microcosm of what Neel is doing as he walks into the office each day,” Useem said. “It’s a microcosm where the interests of different, competing groups have to be taken into account. He has to consider the banks, the home mortgage holders, and then, like in his experience in the Bosnia experiment, keep a clear head and preserve an ability to reach good decisions in a timely fashion. In the circumstances that Treasury faces now, they’re going to have to make enormous decisions at a rapid pace. It takes a stomach of iron to do that.”
It also takes a cooperative cast of characters. Useem pointed out that the Wharton students working with Kashkari didn’t achieve their mission, partly because the faculty planted three or four Army officers among them. “Just when things were going swimmingly well, these Army officers would send into the simulation a couple of dozen armed opponents of the Bosnian refugees, who would send sniper fire into the convoys carrying refugees,” Useem said. (Sounds a little like Congress to us.)
Useem, known for his love of Outward Bound-type expeditions to toughen up his students, no longer offers the Fort Dix simulation. Instead, he takes students to Patagonia, where they spend five days shivering and trying to learn leadership lessons. “People get worn down in a leadership position after a while,” he told us. “And that’s the point.”
Useem noted that Kashkari probably has learned much of what he knows already from Paulson, but he hopes the Wharton experience helped as well. “He’s prepared to take on the big job of the moment. In our philosophical view here, the need for speed and reaching tough judgment calls will help people do exactly what they have to do in the tough circumstance he’s walking into,” Useem said.
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The 35-year-old Kashkari, interim head of the Office of Financial Stability, is largely unknown to the world outside Goldman Sachs, Silicon Valley or the Treasury Department.
People are looking for clues on the experiences that helped form the thinking of the one-time rocket scientist, Republican contributor and Goldman Sachs banker. Since 2006, Kashkari has been one of Paulson’s regular advisers, sharing with his mentor a hairstyle, Midwestern roots, a Goldman alumni card and even the same taste in popular soft drinks. Kashkari has only 45 days to hire a team before the November elections and devise a “lightning-speed” solution to problems including systemic risk and liquidity, stabilizing the markets and all the auctions, funds, cash infusions and swaps that come into play. Has he ever been in that position before? Probably not during his brief career as a banker.
So Deal Journal called Michael Useem, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business who taught Kashkari in 2002 as Kashkari was earning his M.B.A. Useem didn’t want to talk about Kashkari himself–he considers student-teacher relationships privileged, and doesn’t discuss student performance–but he gave us some perspective on a leadership training program that Kashkari participated in at Wharton that holds lessons for his time at Treasury.
In the winter of 2002, Useem took his students to the U.S. Army base at Fort Dix, N.J., for a computer-simulation exercise the Army uses to train its officers for battlefield experience. The eight-hour simulation forced the Wharton students to come up with plans to save 300 Bosnian refugees. The Wharton group broke up into 14 teams, including those representing the Red Cross, the Army and operational intelligence. The mission was how to make decisions in chaotic situations. “This is a microcosm of what Neel is doing as he walks into the office each day,” Useem said. “It’s a microcosm where the interests of different, competing groups have to be taken into account. He has to consider the banks, the home mortgage holders, and then, like in his experience in the Bosnia experiment, keep a clear head and preserve an ability to reach good decisions in a timely fashion. In the circumstances that Treasury faces now, they’re going to have to make enormous decisions at a rapid pace. It takes a stomach of iron to do that.”
It also takes a cooperative cast of characters. Useem pointed out that the Wharton students working with Kashkari didn’t achieve their mission, partly because the faculty planted three or four Army officers among them. “Just when things were going swimmingly well, these Army officers would send into the simulation a couple of dozen armed opponents of the Bosnian refugees, who would send sniper fire into the convoys carrying refugees,” Useem said. (Sounds a little like Congress to us.)
Useem, known for his love of Outward Bound-type expeditions to toughen up his students, no longer offers the Fort Dix simulation. Instead, he takes students to Patagonia, where they spend five days shivering and trying to learn leadership lessons. “People get worn down in a leadership position after a while,” he told us. “And that’s the point.”
Useem noted that Kashkari probably has learned much of what he knows already from Paulson, but he hopes the Wharton experience helped as well. “He’s prepared to take on the big job of the moment. In our philosophical view here, the need for speed and reaching tough judgment calls will help people do exactly what they have to do in the tough circumstance he’s walking into,” Useem said.
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Sunday, October 5, 2008
Sunday, September 21, 2008
George Washington University
"he George Washington University School of Business has revolutionized its Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) programs through the launch of the first-ever curriculum in the country fully imbued with theories and practical applications on ethical leadership, corporate responsibility, and globalization. The new Global M.B.A. and World Executive M.B.A. programs incorporate values, theory, and international residencies to produce ethical leaders primed for success in today's global marketplace.
"We are not content with teaching business the way it always has been taught," said Susan M. Phillips, dean and professor of finance. "The global business paradigm has shifted, and it is our fundamental responsibility at the GW School of Business to inspire students to act responsibly, lead passionately, and think globally. Our new M.B.A. curriculum will cultivate business leaders empowered with the knowledge and practical skills to navigate the complex global marketplace, from developed to emerging economies. Our graduates will be grounded with solid values, ethical responsibility, and personal integrity."
"We are not content with teaching business the way it always has been taught," said Susan M. Phillips, dean and professor of finance. "The global business paradigm has shifted, and it is our fundamental responsibility at the GW School of Business to inspire students to act responsibly, lead passionately, and think globally. Our new M.B.A. curriculum will cultivate business leaders empowered with the knowledge and practical skills to navigate the complex global marketplace, from developed to emerging economies. Our graduates will be grounded with solid values, ethical responsibility, and personal integrity."
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