ten things.

Ten things I learned (or had reinforced) in my Navigating Change course:
1) When change is happening, find something that remains constant.
2) Never underestimate the importance of a good story.
3) Strategy helps you visualize what you don’t do.
4) People pay more for the privilege of working harder than they work when they’re paid.
5) A good manager is a motivator and a multiplier.
6) People are hard-wired to learn how to do things right.
7) The best leaders are also good followers.
8) There’s no such thing as decision fatigue; you have to keep making decisions.
9) When you buy a company, you don’t really know what you’re buying.
10) Culture eats strategy for breakfast, every day of the week.

no class 'til...september?

Finals are over for Winter A. Operations was brutal and many folks didn't have enough time to finish the exam. Lots of nervous laughter after that one. Accounting was certainly more fair...and that will officially be my last Accounting class. Ever. Finished my Navigating Change projects today and submitted them online. And that's that.

We get a well-deserved week off for Spring Break before diving into MAP the first week of March. Cisco, here I come.

so long, western half of campus.

wait 'til you kids see the 'winter quad.'

It's an exciting time at Ross. The B-school is essentially closing up shop on half of the block that comprises the campus and will begin razing the buildings soon. Members of the Ross community received the following email this morning:

This fall returning students and alumni will discover a dramatically different Stephen M. Ross School of Business campus, the result of an accelerated fundraising, design and construction process that promises to produce a world-class new building by 2008. To accommodate the construction, Davidson Hall, Assembly Hall and the Paton Accounting Center building on the western half of the campus will be razed after students leave at the end of April.

I've been through campus construction before. And while it's a minor nuisance for the current students and faculty (as my father-in-law would say, "We'll be elbow to armpit."), the long-term vision is a good one. The only thing missing right now from a community that includes premiere instruction, the most innovative curriculum in the US News Top Ten, and 900 of the brightest students in the world is a world class facility.

So next fall, when the pitter patter of jackhammers and soothing beep of Caterpillars helps me fall asleep in my Accounting elective, feel free to wake me up. Then remind me why I'm here in the first place.

still dreaming.

Last week, Carl and I won a $1000 grant from Michigan's Zell Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies to assess the feasibility of a business plan as part of a great program called Dare to Dream. Of the 26 overall applicants, nine were selected as winners:

The Dare to Dream program encourages teams of students to explore the feasibility of their business ideas or to move their businesses closer to launch. The program benefits not only students, but also the local and university community by stimulating entrepreneurial efforts and starting new businesses.

We have six months or so to pull together the assessment. It turns out that coming up with the idea was the easy part. Now the real work begins.

don't be evil.

Google's in an interesting place right now. Under fire for rigging searches by Chinese users. Stock price in a bit of a downward spiral. Business model puncturing by Wall Street analysts. Has all of the free candy in the break rooms gone to the heads of the Googlers?

Probably not. Google, in spite of a business strategy that has more misdirection than the wishbone offense, continues to find a higher calling. Take this article, for example. It appears as though our friends from Mountain View are unwiring the toughest continent to unwire. Now that's good karma.

bust out the parka.

It was way too warm today, with high temperatures in the mid-50s at 10:00pm. And now Mother Nature is ripping through the joint with 50MPH winds and the temp is about to drop into the 20s. We're getting rain, wind, and lightning...in February. One look at this map tells the story.

my knee is swelling up.

When can I move back to California again?

back to the future.

So my buddy, Carl, and I were appointed co-chairs of Futurtech 2007, Michigan's premier tech/business conference. We'll be joined by Joy, with whom I worked on the wireless panel for this year's conference. This should keep me busy during my MBA2 year.

rock stars.

From this week's "Monroe Street Journal":
The Mr. Cold Call Band: Fahgettaboutit, these guys can play. Bandmembers included MBA2s Bodhi Burgess, MBA1s Hang Jip Cho, Andrew Burk, Nate Johnson, and Jennie McConaghy. Judging from the crowd at PJ's last week, these guys could supplement their income by taking their chops and covering songs on Friday nights.

behind the curtain.

Last night was a rush. Huge crowd. Great sound. Lots of kudos for our rendition of "Mister Brightside" altered to be about "Mister Coldcall." Can't wait for Follies 2007!

with hangjip, bodhi, andrew, and j-mac. aka, rockstars.

they're all gonna laugh at you.

I've been involved a little bit in an annual student-run production called Follies. It's basically a three-hour inside joke for members of the Ross community. And it's hilarious. The theme this year, "Appetite for Construction," should give you a sense of how excited Ross students are about the demolition that's slated to begin in May.

men (and women) at work.

I helped out a tiny bit with video editing and am actually onstage for a number with three of the five members of P-Hat. We played last night to a few hundred folks at the grand Michigan Theater (where I saw Interpol last fall). We're expecting twice as many (hammered) audience members tonight.

light the torch.

If there's one good thing about living closer to Canada, it's CBC coverage of the Olympic Games. Instead of getting bogged down in sappy human interest stories, we're actually treated to hours and hours of live action. Like speed skating, luge, and curling. Lots and lots of curling.

commute nano.

I bet all my former (sort of) colleagues at Apple wished their commute from the City to Cupertino was this quick. Courtesy of Google Video.


what, no back-up at 380?

the results are in.

And it's Cisco. I got my 4th choice for MAP and will be spending March and April working on an enterprise solution for the networking company. More details coming soon.

gone hunting.

Interview season is halfway done, at least on campus. The CPGs and Consulting firms are the most aggressive, interviewing in January and making offers within 24-48 hours. So, many of my classmates are starting to make summer plans. And I'm just starting to get started.

Tech firms are notoriously need-based when it comes to summer positions. Which is why I'm slightly behind the on-campus timeline. That being said, I have had a few opportunities to bust out my new suit and talk about myself in 45-minute blocks. If nothing else, I'm getting really good at answering questions like "How do you work with people that you don't get along with?" and "How many golf balls can you fit in a 747?"

Side note: MAP assignments come out tomorrow. Can't wait.