Masters in Management

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One for the road...

Today’s post is the last one I’ll write on this blog. Because two weeks ago, we, the first MiM class, have graduated, and two days ago I got the email confirming we’re masters, and so this week – I am scared to say, but officially true – is the first week of the rest of our lives.

On the table is my MiM yearbook, bringing back many fond memories of the past year. Interestingly enough, it leaves out most of the hard work you do, because, that is not the parts you really remember, and you shouldn’t cause that is the part that really doesn’t count at all in this field. So, a few years down the line, the memories about the MiM might be nothing but pictures of us looking a lot younger, wearing Santa beards and funny headgear and living it up in one of London’s after-dinner venues.

But it is said that B-School brings out the best in people, and I feel that I have gained a huge amount from the people around me at LBS, many of whom are MiMs. In the last year, I have done some things I’ve always wanted to do, including among others acting, marathon running, public speaking and coercing a captive audience of 106 MiMs and the programme office staff into singing a Christmas carol with me, to name but a few things in no particular order of preference. OK, maybe the Christmas carol was a bit of a stopgap solution but it was fun!

And suddenly, it was all over. Some guys have already started work here in London, some have gone home and started work, many are on vacation, some still job hunting, and the real life is catching up with us a lot faster than I thought it would. But the last couple of days of Masters in Management have seen some of the best times for me ever. We rocked MBAT and Disorientation Week, Parul and I had a lot of fun practicing unplugged versions of ‘Paparazzi’ and ‘Im Wagen vor mir’ for a performance at the MiM party that unfortunately never happened, we as a class dressed fancily for the final MiM party and in black tie for the awesome summer ball.

Now, I am sitting at home with my girlfriend, sorting out my next flat and reviewing (and, selectively, untagging myself from) pictures depicting the festivities around the end of our year that crop up on Facebook. It still amazes me what a fantastic opportunity for development this year has been for all of us, and will be for all of you, if you decide to make it into something great for yourselves!

Ok guys, that’s all I have to say. Thanks for reading my infrequent rants. For those of you who liked them, I started another blog here where I will sometimes post some of my observations about life’s little annoyances and the great ones, such as Transport for London, the NHS, landlords and their henchmen, letting agencies, and of course, being asked how I liked studying for my masters at LSE. Anyone more than myself following that blog will make it a success!

Finally, a message to all future MiM vintages: have a great time, treat your PO nicely, don’t ask your careers services why Goldman or McKinsey haven’t offered you a job yet even though you’ve been at LBS for almost three weeks and don’t forget to listen to your professors AND study mates from time to time (it might be worth it!), wear a tie when you have to and don’t forget to hold up the London Business School MiM brand while you’re out there conquering the world.

Anything else? Yes. MiMs are a good bunch. Hire us!

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The £2 story - my first day at school

I landed in London on the 31^st of August, 2009. The orientation began on 1^st September. On my first day to school, I woke up at 5:45 a.m., practiced Yoga, showered, prayed, made breakfast and reached half hour before the orientation began.

For my friends who think it doesn’t sound like me, of course I am joking! The truth is – I woke up at 7:45, got out of the bed at 8:15, took a quick shower, skipped breakfast, ran to the bus without a ticket, borrowed money from a stranger to buy a ticket and made it to the orientation just in time (apologetically read 15 min late).  Here is how:

So it had been less than 24 hours since my arrival in London and I had limited knowledge of Oyster cards. All I knew was that I could get to school by bus for which I could buy a ticket at the stop. No one told me from where/whom. So I decided to ask the driver himself (:P) when the bus came. The driver showed me the door and I was astounded by his rudeness. Then I turned towards the door and realized he was actually pointing towards the ticket machine outside. I went to the machine and saw a slot for coins but none for notes. As the bus restarted to go, I kept scrutinizing the machine looking extremely stressed and lost. Just then, a middle-aged British lady got up and stopped the driver from moving ahead. She came out and asked me if I had coins with me. I told her I didn’t but I’ll manage somehow. I thanked her for asking. She offered to buy my ticket with her coins but I refused. She insisted. I hesitated. Then I looked at my watch. I agreed.

As we sat together in the bus, she sensed my embarrassment so she reassured me “don’t worry I will show you where I work and you can return it anytime” I said “Please do,  I will come later this evening or latest by tomorrow” “Come whenever you find time – I know you will come” As I waved goodbye to her, I wondered what was it about me that she trusted so much? Then I looked at myself and knew instantly what it was…

 In the summer term, we read about a cognitive bias called “Authority” where a person’s degree and dressing can have a significant impact on the way people perceive her. Or in Barney’s legendary words - The power of suiting up. Thus I learned my first lesson of B-school even as I was on my way to my first class.  

The next four days went amazingly well. It was a unique experience meeting classmates from almost 40 different countries, forming study groups, making friends, getting introduced to the faculty/staff and learning about the school/facilities etc. The leadership module assignment being the highlight of it all. Joking again! Barbecue on Day-4 and the London bus tour were awesome and gave us a chance to get to know each other more casually and talk beyond our undergraduate degrees, GMAT scores etc.

On Day 5, I went to the post office where Jamie works with the two pounds I had borrowed from her a week ago. She asked how my first week at school went, and I replied “Absolutely amazing… In just 5 days, I have met so many interesting people with such varied backgrounds that I already feel culturally enriched. The attention and pampering that our class is receiving from school wide authorities already makes us feel like an integral part of the school. I have high expectations from this course…”

She wished me the very best and I said goodbye, looking forward to a wonderful year in this city of wonderful people...

 

Careers Services for the MiM programme!

Following Tom's post, I have had a few emails from admits asking about the careers services for the MiM programme. I would like to share my views here.

It would be hard to segregate just the career office as the only one portion of the entire LBS experience. They are all inter-linked e.g. study group, access to MBA, classes, and have extra values together.

1) Careers service

Pros:

- small group CV and cover letter review by industry experts

- Crack-a-Case sessions for consulting case study preparation - run by Consulting Club

- industry fairs e.g. Spring Industry Fair

- Career visits e.g. from AT Kearney, Diamond Consulting, BlackRock, Houlihan Lokey, visits to HSBC, Nomura, London Stock Exchange, L'Oreal from career week

- Your CV would be included in the CV book to be shown to headhunters. I have had calls from L'Oreal and RBS purely from CV book.

- exposure to entrepreneurship initiatives - e.g. Social Enterprise talks, Enterpreneurship Conference, both of our MiM classmates who entered the UCL Enterpreneurship Challenge got top awards

- exposure to industry conferences e.g. private equity conference, Asia Business Forum, Real Estate Conference

- Guest lectures from industry experts organized by school clubs e.g. Coca-Cola marketing series, Jaegar Le Coultre, Louis Vuitton (Retail & Luxury Goods), banking training (through careers services as well as Finance Club)

- opportunity to take part in Stock Pitch Competition organized by the Investment Management Club - Zong, our classmate, became the youngest winner of this school competition this term.

 

Cons:

- less campus visits compared to my undergrad, but may not very valuable as recruiters may not necessarily remember you. For the companies that we did visit, we have a higher number of students (approx 50% applicants) getting through for first round interviews e.g. Houlihan Lokey, AT Kearney.  

-  Not all employers are aware about the MiM program, but this should increase next year as our class has tried so hard reaching out to people. For consulting, we have got 3 McKinsites, 1 to Bain, 2 to BCG in a class of 100 people. It's rare to find that high proportion in normal undergrads/ master recruits.

- some events are only catered for MBAs. That's because employers have specifically asked for MBA recruits not MiMs. It may create a wrong impression to ask the wrong questions at these events.

 

2) The rest of the LBS experience

Exclusively postgraduate environment

- You could get an MBA mentor based on your career preferences. He /she could be the VP or associate from a top firm, and having 10 minutes of their time to tell you about the interviews would be invaluable. You could contact alumni who have worked at these firms, or just talk to other MBA students. Most graduates don't get that.

 

Study group

- from my internship experience, I'd say study group is a similar environment to real-life work. You'd do a lot of projects as a team, motivating one another and making compromises. It prepares you for a teamwork environment in your career.

 

Courses

- Even for business undergrads, courses add value as they may point out some psychological mistakes that senior management made during decision making process e.g. confirmation bias, escalating commitment, which would hopefully remind you not to repeat the mistakes in your career.

 

Finally, the best takeaway is definitely the people at school. They would go through the job hunting process with you, practice interviews with you and criticize your cover letters. It also gives you a network of friends if you decide to work in London.

 

Most people had career services at undergrad but not all got their preferred careers immediately out of school. I hope you agree that careers service helps to increase your visibility to recruiters, but it still takes a lot more than just an entry ticket to get a job offer.

 

 

Career Services

hi everyone, 

every time I (and other ambassadors) meet an admit or prospective student I get asked about career services and how the class is doing regarding jobs. personally I've found them to be very good and helpful. it does depend on what you want, but for a wide variety of industries they are very useful. I was always very interested in industry (specifically FMCG) and found that our career services team were great at giving me advice for my applications and during the interview process. the fairs they organised were great and I got a couple of interviews out of them. 

in the class we have done pretty well this year in getting jobs. I don't have the full figures (and there are a lot of different figures being put about at the moment!) but I do know that significant numbers of people have jobs in top consulting, banking and industry firms. what is also becoming clear is that after a successful first year many firms are planning to look even closer at the MiM in the next recruiting round. so overall it looks as though the program has done well in its first year from a recruitment point of view despite the difficult economic environment. 

overall I would say I am satisfied with the career services support we have received. if you work with them and particularly take advantage of their help for the application and interview processes you can get a lot of value from LBS career services. 

Tom 

MBAT - London Business School sets out to conquer the fifth championship!

What is HEC’s MBA Tournament (MBAT) all about? MBAT is an annual tournament in which Europe’s top business school (LBS) and some marginal and unimportant ones of a lower order (HEC, IE, Said Business School (Oxford), Judge Business School (Cambridge), Bocconi, IESE etc etc) come together on HEC’s campus in Jouy-en-Josas, close to Paris, and compete in sports ranging from rugby to dodgeball to salsa. A tremendous talent show, and a great opportunity to socialise and network with the other programmes! By now, I recognise MBAT participants from the MBA programmes, the Masters in Finance class, and so on, whenever I walk across campus. Fantastic parties and a fantastic team spirit all along were the trademark features of this tournament.

We MiMs entered the MBAT in strong form. MiMs celebrated their talent on the dancefloor (Congrats Sandra!), on the badminton court (Kudos to Aditi), in chess, dodgeball, squash (with Robbie relegating the competition to another league), cheerleading (a stunning choreography planned, practised and performed by a team led by Nadine). Ines dived for the beach volleyball team and the football pitch got rocked by Federico as goalie and Panos as striker.

And I celebrated my lack of talent with a boat party on a windy racecourse in Choisy-le-Roi outside Paris. A total of zero non-participating spectators witnessed us toiling on the water, underlining rowing’s claim to fame as an evergreen crowd pleaser.

Although, I have to say, entering the 20th edition of HEC’s MBA Tournament (MBAT) was the most expensive rowing regatta I’ve ever entered - £400 for an aggregate 1,000 metres and about four minutes of racing; this we covered with 150 strokes, bringing the CPS (Cost per stroke) to two quid sixty-seven pence and the CPSec (Cost per second) to £1.67. And if you haven’t noticed yet, I am SO much looking forward to our Management Accounting class.

By now you will ask yourself:

‘Michael, why didn’t you play another sport? Why didn’t you play a fun sport in the first place? Why rowing?’

The answer is that everything that involves a ball is not for me. Check it out – if you want a sure win in football, put me in one team and then join the other.

The rowing competition was easy, with Oxford and Cambridge fielding the strongest crews. Who would’ve guessed. But for an old oarsman with 15 years experience like me, they were no match. Except for, errh, the Winklevoss twins, which happen to be the inventors of something that became a site called Facebook, and, well, Olympic rowers of the two-by-two-metre format.

As we had never trained before, I guess a third place for LBS, with borrowed rowers from 1) Cambridge for the first and 2) Oxford for the second heat, was a great outcome. It fills me with great pleasure that our girls’ crew beat the first HEC crew by miles ;-), and equally, that we had the second fastest time of the day (1:56 min/500m in what was an old bathtub).

The greatest achievement of that day, however, was not our medal nor the girls whipping HEC nor the Oxford crew who TWICE managed to only narrowly avoid ramming us in the final heat. The prize goes to the LBS novice crew, who rowed the first 2,000 metres in their lives, half of that under racing conditions – chapeau!

I have to give honourable mention to our bus drivers at this point, which shuttled us from the hotel to the HEC campus, and to the final party on the Champs-Elysees. Phrases like: ‘Hey! This map just contradicted itself!’ simply deserve to be immortalised, because. They proved time and again that a bus ride scheduled for 30 minutes can be extended to anything between an hour and an hour and a half.

But all in all, the MBAT was an extremely cool experience I wouldn’t have liked to miss. It didn't matter that we became second overall, with the cup going to HEC for the first time. What mattered was that this was a fantastic opportunity to network and to make new friends among the other programmes, as well as with the other schools. Mission accomplished!

You will have to excuse me now, I have to get back to catching up with my newly-won MBAT friends. One of them promised me a jug of Pimm’s if I play football for the other side.

P.S.: Please excuse the sarcasm along the way. Rowing IS a brilliant sport to watch. And HEC is a brilliant institution mirroring the brilliance found at London Business School with a distinct, continental European flair.

P.P.S.: NOOOT.

Is this the last term?

First off congratulations to Zong on becoming the youngest winner of the LBS stock-pitching competition! (read Flora's post below)

It feels almost surreal that we have already come to the last term of the program. From not knowing how we could fit into the wider LBS community to becoming firmly part of it, this has been a fun 9 months so far, and hopefully we have done something in laying the groundwork for future MiMs.

But if you thought this final term would be easy, just take a look at the projects that we are doing now:

Strategic Analysis: An industry analysis on a chosen aspect of space tourism. As Flora mentioned below, the project was kicked off with an introduction to the pioneering Virgin Galactic, whose CEO will be with us next week. Really exciting and interesting work.

Leadership in Organization: A real-life example showing evidence of theories exposed in class. Last week we presented on a police incident in London a few years ago, showing confirmation bias and escalation of commitment on the officers' part. Don't know what that means? That's what this class is for :)

Business in Society: Composing a new fund that has a theme of ethical investment. An existing example is by using the FTSE4Good index. Have yet to start on the project - anyone with any idea can post here!

Problem solving: Propose an online, revenue-generating venture for two fitness trainers using issue trees, among other techniques. Just today various groups presented and many ideas were thrown around.

In addition to these projects are cases on Xerox, Barnes & Nobles, Ikea and others to be worked on or prepared for class. So ... this is quite a packed term. Very busy for sure - our team meets almost every morning now to go through our work, but I'm sure we'll miss it next year.

MiM as the youngest winner of the Stock Pitch Contest held by Investment Management Club

I wrote with excitement for this post....our classmate Zong has just become the youngest winner of the Stock Pitch Contest of the Investment Management Club at school this evening, surpassing even the MBAs and EMBAs contestants. Congratulations! 

All five contestants had 5 minutes each to present their stock to a panel of judges including representatives from Orbis Investments, Fidelity International and Wellington. I was amazed by Zong's clear presentation skills as his analytical skills to understand the potential, strengths and risks of the stock Rexam, the manufacturer of soft drinks cans. 

One of my favourite questions asked by the panel was "What did you see in the stock that the market hasn't?" 

Zong went "Actually I have prepared a slide for this." and pressed enter to show an extra slide with the title "What the market has failed to notice" 

Even managed to pre-empt the questions of the panel. Sleek. 

Virgin Galactic Project

Ask me who my favourite brand is, and the instant answer is "Virgin Atlantic!, and my frequent flyer membership number is xxxxx". It's been the same airline that I've flown with since studying in the U.K. six years ago (ok, except for the few times when I flew with Air New Zealand when Virgin flights were full, but Air NZ is also a partner of Virgin). 

I was thrilled to work on the project for Virgin Galactic, and that the CEO of Virgin Galactic would come on campus to give us a lecture in 3 week's time. The idea of space tourism is to transport passengers in a spaceship to the atmosphere (suborbital flight) or to space (orbital flight). There are a handful of players already emerging, but only 7 people have gone to the orbital flight. 

We could analyze the space tourism industry in various aspects such as market analysis, investor perspective, consultant perspective and policy perspective. For a relatively new industry with a sophisticated technology, it is going to be an adventurous ride! 

Paris Marathon

Why blog about a marathon? What to put? “I ran a lot, and then I had to run a lot more”? And why should I blog about a marathon here?

Because a MiM talked me into doing it. I don’t think I would ever do such a crazy thing. And I mean, just now, when I waddled down the escalator slope at the Eurostar terminal that is meant to provide maximum convenience to travellers, I realised how crazy it was, because right now, I am walking like my great-grandmother, and this slope proved to be a big challenge for me. My hips and knees are positively destroyed.

I won’t bore you guys with the preparation. It means running lots and, in the last week, eating lots of carbs. Pasta and banana, cake, jam sandwiches, some more pasta, all different combinations possible. Spaghetti with a banana, jam and cake crumbs sauce is not too bad!

But yesterday, when I was walking towards the start in the morning sun, dressed in a smart rubbish bag with “Jogging” written all over it in font size 500, I could not believe I was really gonna do this. Since it was the first time I was gonna run 42.195km, I had no clue, and ended up in one of the faster groups of the c. 40,000 people that filled the Champs-Elysees on that morning. Spirit was awesome! The elite runners got started first and were already a distant group of stickmen disappearing at an alarming pace by the time I crossed the start line myself. I mentioned that I was standing with a group too fast for me. So, what that meant is that you’re like a rock in a river of runners. I seemed to stand still, while everyone else seemed to fly past me.

The funny thing is that once you’re on your way you will be drawn forward by the other runners and the spectators. I had no idea whether I was gonna make it, my longest training run had been for two hours. So, up to that time, everything’s fine. The sentiment is great, lots of spectators are cheering you, and your metabolism feels like you could go on forever.

I was deeply, deeply impressed by the groups of runners who were drawing disadvantaged people on carts. They get constantly applauded by spectators and also, the runners passing them. It is amazing to see how much determination and willpower people can develop. Chapeau!

My aim was to finish in four hours, but I knew that was probably ambitious. In the first half of the course, I gained time on this, constantly feeding on water, oranges and bananas. But come the 25 kilometer mark, my knees started to feel the strain. I was running at good pace, but I could not have made larger steps than what I was doing at the time. And from there, my speed went down, and the last 15k were difficult to accomplish. At 35k, the helpers were handing out some isotonic sports drink, for the first time during the race. I thought that this would certainly help. But ewww! – the stuff was sweet enough to glue your mouth shut, and I threw the bottle away with perhaps slightly more energy than needed.

I crossed the 40k mark at 3h 58min, just beating the 10kph split, but the last two kilometres were without doubt the hardest. I knew I had a problem when one of the drawn carts I mentioned above strode past me. And in the Bois de Boulogne, one of Paris’ big parks, there aren’t many spectators to keep you fired up. You have to make your way out of the woods beforehand. Marathon running seems to be a good analogy on life in general.

Et voila! The street is lined with people cheering and making you forget how much it hurts. I run past my old uni, Paris Dauphine, and see the finish on Avenue Foch, right in front of the Arc de Triomphe. For some reason, getting from the 42k mark to the finish is not a problem. It might be the photographers or the cheering crowd, or the carpet you’re jogging on.

Suddenly, it is over. Automatically, I keep walking, and in this walking fashion, everybody receives the t-shirt, the medal, the poncho to keep you warm, water, bananas, oranges and – a nice change – apples. My legs scream at me to sit down, and I happily oblige. As I sit down, it dawns on me that I’ve really made it. I have some water and then, I eat my apple. It tastes like Christmas, seven times over.

So again, why put this on the MiM blog? Because it was a MiM who convinced me to sign up and prepare for this event. I don’t know if I’m gonna run a marathon again soon, but I’m certainly happy to have done the first one. When I changed my facebook status to “DONE!” a fellow MiM replied: “Nice work. Now get ready for the New York Marathon!” Even the longest way seems to begin with the first step.

MiMs at Global Case Challenge

As I write this post, Flora is on a flight to Hong Kong for a job interview, Prou is organizing the end of term party for MiM class, Marcus is solving the finance assignment due Monday and Andy is amusing himself with Korean baseball videos on youtube.

Get introduced to the MiM team that, just an hour ago, competed for the European regional finals of One Laptop Per Child Global Case Challenge, held at Imperial College London. The College, in collaboration with Hult School of Business, hosted over 20 finalists from all over Europe, including MBA teams from INSEAD and London Business School itself. The challenge was to crack a real business problem pertaining to OLPC’s current initiative of providing laptops to children in least developed countries. This had to be accomplished in a span of 3.5 hours and presented to a panel of judges. The team providing the most practical and effective solution would be rewarded.

This all-day event turned out to be one of the most rewarding experiences at school for all of us. Being a part of a gathering comprising the best consulting brains all over Europe to work together for a noble cause was a real privilege. Our team dynamics made this experience even more worthwhile. Our objective was to have fun. We ended up doing a really good job and received great feedback from the judges. And we had fun, of course!

Some great moments –

“I jotted these numbers down, can’t remember what they are though”

“Ok, let’s target Brazil, Jordan and Parul (instead of Peru)”,

“Yeah well, that’s the flaw in our strategy… but there is no Q&A so..”

“Would I like to present? No thanks. I like to hear myself listen”

Judge to the team: “You finished 1-min before, so we can ask you some questions”
Team-member: “Orrrr… you could give us extra points for finishing early!”

On a more serious note, it was amazing how we supported each other to perform our very best. Our solutions were practical and effective, if not path-breaking. We probably lacked experience as compared to other MBA teams but our enthusiasm and creativity made up for it. Even when we were lost, we didn’t panic or argue but objectively assessed all possibilities to reach conclusions. I so hope to work with smart and fun people like this in my professional life as well.

After spending 11 enjoyable hours of working together, cracking up over silliest of things, realizing when we were screwed, making last-moment changes and finally putting up a good solution, we came back as five friends who were proud of what they achieved together. Most importantly, we were happy to be part of an effort that will provide better education and learning to countless kids in least developed countries.

So, there and back again, do I really know everything?

‘Course not. At London Business School, one of the feelings I had to get accustomed to was that people are smart. Like, really, really smart. And charming and well-spoken and so forth. And about half of them come from non-business backgrounds. How unfair – I have a first in business admin and now I don’t even seem to have a tangible advantage!

But here comes the effect the courses will have on you. My initial reaction was – “Hey, I know this stuff already!” And then I listened some more. And I felt – “I know this stuff – sort of”. Phase three is when you say: “That would’ve been really useful had I known it before.” Ultimately, you admit that you don’t know about 75% of the matter you are being taught.

Here is where your environment helps you. I’ve learned a lot from lectures, but I learned perhaps even more from my peers. The diverse backgrounds of the student body create a wealth of knowledge that is readily on tap. As a MiM, I’ve found it extremely helpful to speak to the more experienced MBA’s, Masters in Finance students and so forth. Your study group keeps you on your toes all the time. I’m taking every single professional development course I can get my hands on. I do some things I’ve always wanted to do, like acting classes. My outlook on business has changed completely, and so has perception of myself. And – this time around, I am enjoying every single day of my course. We’re halfway through our programme, and I wish time would pass a lot slower.

So, on balance – was it the right decision to come to London Business School? I knew that getting a masters degree was the right choice at the right time. But I reckon that I’ve got a lot more than I bargained for. They say converts are the most fervent believers. And by now – I am a believer.

The study group experience

Like myself, most of you coming into business school will not have had the experience of being in a study group before, and would be at least somewhat apprehensive when arriving into a new environment and immediately get stuck working with people you have never known in your life.

Well from the picture below, you can see that it has worked out quite well for my team =)

 

The picture is taken after we won a team competition, and among other prizes got a bottle of champagne as reward =D

Every study group has been carefully composed to ensure that a variety of culture, work experience and interest is represented. In our team there is me - a Canadian/Chinese, as well as a Brit, a Lithuanian, a Greek and a German. We studied wildly different things from economics to international relations to biology, and had various work experiences.

In all aspects we have a very different background, and it was not easy in the beginning for everyone to work together. Some might prefer a more laid-back working style, while others would want to sit down and get the work done quickly and move on. Some of us have had training in areas like accounting and finance, while others were total beginners.

So what's the secret to working together successfully? I think it comes down to having a lot of patience and respect for everyone, understanding that we have different backgrounds, working style and speed. Sit down as a team and figure out what you want from the course, and what's the best way to work together. Finally - and most importantly - have a big sense of humour and enjoy each other's company. I truly believe that if you enjoy working together, your work will be better too.

I think it's important to note that each team has different dynamics. Some teams, like ours, meet frequently not only on campus to work, but also go out to dinner and movies often. Other teams could just meet for work and then part ways to relax individually. In the end just know how your team works best.

It could be unnerving in the beginning having to work so closely with people you barely know. But by grouping together people who might otherwise never work together, 'magic' could happen and find unexpected synergy between people who are so different. I for one have found myself in an amazing team, and the fact that we have achieved great results in competitions shows that we have worked very well together. 

Go Team Munchkins!!!

A learning experience beyond the core curriculum

I definitely think that the core academic curricumulum of the Masters in Management does not give a complete picture of all the learning possibilities that the school offers. I will try to give some examples of extracurricular activities in which current MiM students are involved:

- For those interested in consulting, the Socially Responsible Business conducts some pro bono consulting projects in which MiMs are much more than welcome to participate. Last week I was talking to one of my classmates who outlined me the project they are doing for a South African IT company. It seemed to me an amazing experience and I am sure that having this experience will give him a competitive advantage when applying for a job in consulting.

- For those interested in marketing/consulting, some MiMs are involved in several projects in which they try to help start-ups to draft a sensible business plan and improve their marketing strategy and operations. They are doing so in cooperation with other students from UCL, so aside from learning this projects are giving them the opportunity to network with real entrepreneurs and other students from the University of London network.

- Finally, for those interested in Finance, last Saturday we had to make a tough choice. We had to decide whether to attend a Leveraged Buy Out (LBO) modelling seminar organised by MBA students with prior experience in Private Equity or one of the Finance Club training seminars. As I had already been in the LBO modelling seminar (it was the second time it was conducted) I decided to sign up for a full-day course on advance valuation issues conducted by AMT training (and kindly subsidized by Credit Suisse). Although probably it is not the funniest way to spend a Saturday, it was an amazing learning opportunity and I am convinced it will help me in my future job in IBD.

These are some examples, but the opportunities to get involved in extracurricular activities (conferences, seminars, etc.) and gain deep knowledge in the area you are more interested in are literally endless. Maybe the most difficult thing is to decide when to actually start to study for the core courses final exams!!

Next week are the finals so maybe I should come back to study now... I will post again soon on how a typical MiM prepares for the exams.

Young Entrepreneurs

As our team is about to take part in the Global Case Competition this Saturday themed around social enterprise, I started to look up some successful social entrepreneurs online, and was very impressed!

Wokai.org is an online platform which links investors worldwide to provide microloans for rural entrepreneurs in China, with donations starting from as little as USD10. Since Nov 2008, they have raised a total of USD 160,000 loan capital. So next time when you are about to spend money for a glossy magazine, consider saving it to give as a microloan!

www.wokai.org

 

INSIDE THE MARKSTRAT WORLD

When considering to apply for the MiM program, you may wonder how the educational experience will look like, especially if you studied business in your undergrad.

Of course, there are tons of theoretical learning intended to provide you with the basic tools you will need in your future business career. However, at London Business School there are plenty of opportunities to put your skills into practice and probably one of the more exciting (and time consuming) is playing Markstrat in the Marketing course.

Markstrat is a web-based simulator that intends to reproduce a virtual market with two products and 5 competing companies. Each study group forms a team that tries to outperform their competitors by devising and implementing a sound marketing strategy. Managing the overload of information and the tight time constraints is not easy, especially if you need to reach an agreement with the rest of your team!

This is a very valuable experience both in terms of marketing knowledge and soft teamwork skills. And although my team is not one of the best performers, I am enjoying the experience especially when it means postponing the preparation for our second term finals!!

In following posts I will try to explain other opportunities to engage in extracurricular activities (this time non-compulsory) that enrich our educational experience at London Business School

So why on earth should I choose to come back for more?

In my view, the problem about studying is that you spend a good two years of your degree essentially learning how to study – and my final year was crammed with technical training and what I’d like to call the real stuff.

Essentially, I was trained in basic techniques for two years, got a huge amount of subject knowledge in the final year and then found myself within an analyst training programme that was like an executive MBA and brought everyone up to speed. At the end of ten weeks of sitting in the stuffy training centre at Smithfields meat market, every last “I’ve got a masters in Shakespeare” spoke banker lingo. So why study business if you get taught seemingly everything you need to know by your employer?

Let’s revisit my idea of learning everything in the last year of a business degree – essentially, with a one-year masters degree, you double your training time used on teaching advanced, truly value-adding concepts. And this time, it’s at masters’ level – this time, our professors mean business. At London Business School, where most students are coming out of two to six years of work experience, your background is taken into account. Coming out of an investment banking job puts you right in the limelight. And unfortunately for me, our professors are aware what you’ve done before.

The problem with being an investment banker is that everybody you meet always wants to talk about the economy, and “the Crisis”, and what is gonna happen next. Honestly, try it out – become an investment banker and then go to a dinner party and try having a conversation with people. It will invariably hinge around your job – and to what people think you do.

And people always assume you will know everything about just about anything and will expect that you speak knowledgeably about any industry, the gold price, WTI (“Texas light sweet”) forwards, and that crazy son-of-a-gun M&A deal that happened in Libyan telecoms last week and how that’ll affect the long-term regional value creation aspects in the TMT sector.

If you’re really unlucky, you find yourself having been singled out, separated and monopolised by someone eager to fight a pitched battle over LBO valuation nitty-gritty, while you try to convince the waitress to bring you two mojitos at once to make your situation more bearable. No wonder investment bankers normally stick to their own kind.

So, there and back again, do I really know everything?

But I already know all of that – sort of

When you’re coming from a business undergrad background, you might not see the point in doing a postgrad degree in business. After all, you’ve probably studied all the subjects before. Chewing through marketing theory and business strategy again might not seem that appealing to you.

But here’s a thought – I discovered that so many opportunities are only open to me now with a masters degree. Once you’re out of uni you’ll probably spend a lot of time exploring the opportunities with an undergrad degree – and you might miss some really good ones, just because you don’t fulfil a seemingly statutory requirement only. There’s more to it than it seems.

In the UK, the job market seems to be very permeable for people with degrees in science and arts of all sorts and virtually all employers welcome applications from people with bachelor’s degrees. That is not the same everywhere. In France, graduates are expected to have a “Bac plus cinq” level education before the job market takes them seriously. In Germany, where people were told that their previous five-year diplomas were equivalent to a three-year bachelor course, employers quickly looked beyond the Bologna conversion and asked for masters’ level education in the ideal candidate.

So, you will ask what benefits the postgrad in business brings for an undergraduate with a business background. In my previous IBD job, I met linguists, architects, electrical engineers, physicists etc etc. You get the gist. And they didn’t seem to have problems with business at all.

In cynical moments, I think that I should’ve studied something fun instead of biting myself through accounting, getting innumerable group projects done for marketing, strategy, corporate finance, managing a student firm and at the same time writing a dissertation about M&A in the cement sector.

OK, I AM a nerd but even for me, my concept of fun is somewhat different. Frankly, I couldn’t wait for the day my last exam was over.

So why on earth should I choose to come back for more?

to be continued...

Tattoo 2010 - The celebration of LBS's cultural diversity

It’s over. It will be remembered. It was legendary.  

It was everywhere – Nash Lounge, Marquee, Quad, Regent’s room, Dining room, parking lot. TATTOO2010 was an evening that brought together more than 1200 odd LBSers from all programs to relish the cultural diversity of the school.  

It all started in November with sponsorship, when we had our first Tattoo meeting. Though the economic climate greatly affected sponsorship, we had some leads and decided to focus on raising funds through ticket sales. Come December, and we were aggressively marketing the event. By January, Tattoo was everywhere – in classes (presentations), Nash Lounge (Tattoo-taster week), Sundowners (T-shirt sales and tattoo distributions) and even on Facebook!  On Feb 1^st, the tickets sales went live and set a record for first-day sales. The event was sold out in a week. The days that led to Tattoo built up the excitement. One could see students from various programs rehearsing dances, ramp walks and rock band performances in Fitness Studio, E-wing basement (commonly known as the Salsa room), Lower Nash etc. There were posters everywhere on campus and more than 60 students had volunteered to help with the evening for bar tending, reception desk, events management etc. People excitedly discussed their outfits for the evening. The campus felt the buzz of arrival of TATTOO.  

D-day: Around noon, the organizers, volunteers, performers and the school teams (AV, porters, catering etc.) went crazy setting up. In six hours, Tattoo was ready to land on campus. People started coming in and the evening began.   With stalls serving sumptuous cuisines from 23 regional clubs, people were truly spoilt for choice. Performances by professionals for Zulu, Lion dance, Break dance, Flamenco, Samba and Belly dance (especially this!) had people asking for more. There was also Salsa workshop to burn the extra waffle hogged on at Belgian stall and Bollywood show performed by students of the school.  Another highlight was the worldwide fashion show which resulted in a dance-off between India and East-European club in the midst of a wild animated crowd. For the music fans, there were performances by Bagpiper, Accordion and Indian Dhol players. There was also a rock show by one of LBS rock bands. I could write another 1000 lines about the amazing things that made Tattoo extraordinary and but even that won’t do justice to it. The people who experienced it have Tattoo imprinted on their minds. Pictures were taken. Videos recorded. Memories captured.  

I met some amazing people while organizing this event and learnt a lot from them. I will miss working with them and sharing the common passion of making Tattoo 2010 a memorable evening for LBS community. I wake up this morning and check my calendar - no more Thursday meetings. All I am left with is a blue band on my wrist and a tattoo on my cheek…

Things to do with your visitors in London

I realized that quite a number of us has had (or would be having) friends or family visiting us in London, which is exciting but also a bit challenging when it comes to brainstorming places / things to do to take them around.

Here's a few ideas I have when my parents came over for Chinese New Year, please feel free to add to this list!

Things to do with your parents

Cafes / Teahouses
- Caffe Concerto, Haymarket Road, just outside Leicester Square Tube station
- Sketch Parlour, 9 Conduit Street, exit from Oxford Circus Tube station and walk pass FCUK shop
- Fortnam & Mason, opposite Royal Academy of Art, Piccadilly station
- The best cupcakes in the city - Lola cupcakes in Selfridges Food Hall, nearest tube station: Marble Arch
- The next best cupcakes - Hummingbird Cupcakes

Museums / Places of interest
- Tate Modern
- V&A
- Royal Academy of Art (buy entry ticket online in advance to save time)
- British Museum
- Tower Bridge, exit from Tower Hill station
- London Eye (Waterloo station, or walk across the bridge from Embankment station)

South London
- Borough Market, food market open on Saturdays only
- Bermondsey Square (Bermondsey tube station)
- Globe Theatre featuring Shakespeare's works

Excursions from London
- Greenwich, attractions such as Royal Observatory, The Queen's House, and the Wartime Museum, Greenwich Station (DLR) or North Greenwich station (Jubilee line on tube)
- Bicester Village - approx 1 hour train from London
- Cambridge/ Oxford - each at the opposite direction from London, both approx 1-1.5 hours away by train
- Startford-Upon-Avon, hometown of Shakespeare
- Bath, which inspired Jane Austin for writing Westminster Abbey

Feel free to add to this list!