Business School attacks again... not sure I survived this time.

If you are thinking about going to business school, don't let this post scare you... 

So, the long awaited Econ test finally arrived last night. I finished up my 11 hour day at work at 4:50PM and hit the road for my 35 mile commute to school. It usually takes about 45 minutes to get there, but yesterday it took 1 hour and 20 minutes. I arrived on campus at 6:10PM... the midterm started at 6:00 - ah, the joy of evening Business School.

Tired from my sprint to class, I exchanged awkward glances with the professor, grabbed a test, and sat down. This was not a good start (1 hour and 29 minutes on the clock).

It was right about here that I began to appreciate my 11 hour take-home Accounting exam...

The first question (Income price elasticity and indifference curves) took me 40 minutes (49 minutes remaining). I erased and redrew graphs with my 3 colored pencils several times as I answered the question. 

The next question was on firm supply costs and it took me about twenty minutes. I was put in the place of a KFC owner losing money and had to decide whether to advertise to get more business or shut down (29 minutes remaining). 

The third and fourth questions are a blurr, but I remember something about a taxi cab shortage, limited licenses for sale, fixed prices, and a mayor who wanted to increase the number of cab rides offered. I finished the fourth question with 9 minutes remaining.

The  last question was a "special" multiple choice. The directions said that there could be one, several, or zero right answers given. It also said that you could show your work for an opportunity at partial credit, but if your answer was right and the work didn't fully support it, you could lose credit too.

Finally, I skimmed the test answers, labeled some axes, panicked, and listened for the, "time's up".

I left the classroom in a daze. My ears where red and burning, my scalp tingling, and my back in knots. This was one of the worst feelings I've had on a test in a long time. I either did well, OK, or horrible. 

Stay tuned for the results. 

By the way, I received a 91/103 on my Accounting midterm. Not as good as I hoped, but nothing to complain about.

...the living room is repainted and new curtains hung, but we are still waiting on the new sofa.

Business Education: How its Going

I was looking through my last several blogs and realized that my tone has been a bit, well… doom and gloom. I wanted to take this opportunity to tell you that it’s actually going really well. Yes I am tired, yes Business School is full throttle and completely overwhelming. Yes it is hard, but it has been really enjoyable too.

I have moments like during my Accounting midterm when I realized that I am now able to read financial statements and know something as a result. I have epiphanies in Economics where I understand concepts that didn’t even occur to me… like when demand decreases the quantity sold goes down and so does the price. This seems counterintuitive, but now I get it.

Overall, the business education that I am receiving has been tremendous and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. In addition to the classroom experience, there are the extracurricular activities like a possible business plan competition in Beijing in the spring, a VC meet and greet next week, and mentorship program. These experiences are only possible at this stage in life by having the “student” pass.

So, am I happy I am here? Yes. Is it worth the GMAT, the application, the essays, the letters of recommendation, etc? Yes.

When I look over the last 5 weeks (it seems so much longer) and think about how much I have learned, I am so excited to see where I will be when the program is complete. It is an amazing thing to be on this path, and it’s great to have you with me.

…the living room is painted. On to the crown molding!

The Second Half of the 400

Last night in class, my Accounting professor shared a philosophy that his high-school track coach had about the 400m dash. It goes something like this, 

"Run the first 200 as fast as you can. When you get to the last 200... run faster."

He said that this mantra is applicable to our Financial Accounting course...

He then went on to explain how what we had done so far (Assets) was really pretty easy. He said that what we were about to get into (liabilities and Owner's Equity) was the hard stuff. We all just stared at him in disbelief.

...rewind to justt 1 hour before this proclamation of things to come in the Accounting class. It was at this moment that I had another "oh, no" (not to be confused with aha) moment in my Economics class. The Professor said these exact words, 

"Do you understand these short run and long run cost curves? :::blank stares::: Because if you don't get this your really in trouble. It's about to get really hard, and this is basic."

I wish I had taken a picture of the white board to show you. The diagrams behind him might as well have been pictures of spider-webs with random x and y axis' placed in different spots on the board.

And then to boot, he gives us a homework assignment that is due the day of the midterm. 

Already demoralized from the Economics class, I went to my Accounting class and got the second half was harder than the first speech. So, I am wondering about something. Do professors get together and talk about what they could collectively say to depress their students. Is the second half always harder than the first? Because, honestly I usually find the second half easier. 

I'm not sure what is going on, but I am sure of something... my last final is on December 9. That final is followed by 3 weeks of splendid vacation, and I am starting a countdown.

The Business School attacked... and I survived

For those of you who are regular readers, let me start by asking for your forgiveness for leaving you in the dark the last week. 

You see, it's been a whirlwind since my last entry. I studied for my accounting midterm, took my accounting midterm, began studying for my Econ midterm, and did the prep work (taping, spackling, etc. in order to paint my living room).

Let me start with the midterm...

Well, we had been warned from the first day of the quarter that the only way to learn accounting was to put lots of time in reading and studying (preferably in a hard chair). And I did put that time in throughout the semester, so I felt pretty good going into the midterm exam. In fact, I really didn't cram for it at all. I just did the practice test, stayed for the after class study session, and skimmed over my notes. 

Now remember this exam was a take home test. It was open book and open note, but the kicker was that it was fifteen pages of questions (about 40 questions). All of them were "short" answer. I had 48 hours to complete the exam and e-mail it back o the professor.  Welcome to Business School.

Thursday evening rolls around... After a full day of work and an Econ class, I have enough energy to outline the financial statements and do the first 3 pages. Friday I went to work (left home at 5:30 AM) and waited to work on the exam until I got home. After about 3 hours or so I finished the exam... in pencil. I then typed up my answers inserting graphs and correcting along the way. So I went into Saturday with a completed typed exam, but here is where the curse of the take-home reared it's head, the "re-check". Over the course of my "work" day I checked the exam 3 times. This took me 8 hours off and on in between doing work stuff. I finally sent the exam off to the professor at 4:00 PM.

After sending it off, I talked to one of the other guys in my group about the test and then decided to recheck my answers (I had already turned it in mind you). I found a mistake, but wrestling with my conscience I decided that I would not have found the error had it not been for my conversation with another student, I decided to let the submitted exam be the final one. Score one for the Business School honor code.

After that I enjoyed a nice dinner out with my wife (Ramen Noodle Bowls) and slowly came down from the exam high. Unwinding from a 3 day, 11 hour test wasn't easy. 

So that was Saturday night. Today is Monday and my group is gearing up for an exciting 10 day countdown until the next exam, ECON. And believe me it's much scarier than the capital letters I just used to describe it. I'll try and keep you updated as I prepare for this one. So stay tuned as we move from unearned revenue to shifts in demand. Oh yeah... I'll let you know how the living room comes out too.

Goodnight!

Business Education : Meet Joe the Plumber

First, check out this video...

Am I the only one who thinks this Joe the Plummer guy has gained way too much celebrity? Well, I think its because the facts have been mixed up. I'm going to attempt to use my business eduction to evaluate the situation. Here are the assumptions I think people are making about Joe the Plummer and Obama's tax plan:

1. As the business owner, he would be part of the middle class

2. Obama would raise the tax rate on all of his income

3. Obama's tax is assessed on revenue

4. Joe's income tax will increase significantly

I am assessing this from a purely economic standpoint.

Here we go...

1. As the business owner, Joe would be among the top 2% of earners in the nation.

2. The additional tax for Joe would be on the amount over 250K/ year. In the video, Joe estimates that the business would make 250K to 280K. Therefore the additional tax would be on 0-30K/year.

3. Obama says that the tax is based on Revenue. This is actually not correct. All businesses, like people are taxed on Revenue - qualified expenses (write offs). For Joe's business this means "net income" or "profit". Joe got it right when he said the business "makes about...", he was talking about net income.

4. Based on our answer to number 2, Joe's income that will be taxed at the new rate (39% instead of 36%) is 0-30K. That means that the additional tax that Joe will be responsible for is 3% of 0-30K or $0.00-$900.00. This will be on top of the $78,000 in taxes he would currently be responsible for assuming a net income of $280,000.00

So, is Joe an "average Joe"? Is the additional tax significant? Should Joe refuse the additional 30k in business because of an additional $900 in tax liability? Should Joe not buy the business because of the higher tax rates?

I say who cares. Shame on the media for blowing this so far out of proportion (i.e. follow up interviews with Joe, videos, fan sites, etc.). Shame on the Obama campaign for mixing up revenue with net income and saying things like, "spread the wealth around" - C'mon Obama, it's time for a business education. Shame on the McCain campaign for making a guy who will be financially elite (statistically) their champion for the middle class - C'mon McCain, what happened to the straight talk express. And shame on me, you, and the rest of us for paying attention to it.

Attack of the Business School: First Midterm

If you have noticed my entries occurring more and more on the weekends, it’s because my weeks have become completely squashed. Sometimes remembering them is like trying to remember what you saw while zoning out during a drive that you have taken 100 times before.

This week was just like that, and included the following evening activities:

Monday: Group Meeting

Tuesday: Class

Wednesday: Mentor Meeting and Group Meeting

Thursday: Class and Sleep (Finally)

This brings us to Friday... I settled down to start studying for the Financial Accounting mid-term. The test is next week on Thursday.

The professor was kind enough to provide us with a practice test from a past class to study from. He posted the practice test, supplemental materials, and solutions on an online education site called Blackboard.

I printed the practice test on Friday and spent about 2 ½ hours working the problems. I scored about a mid C without consulting my notes. I feel like this is a pretty good starting place. The plan now is to study all of the material (Revenue, Acc. Receivable, Inventory, Long Lived Assets, Intangibles, and general info) in the first part of next week. Then I’ll rework any of the practice test problems I missed or was iffy on.

…and actually while studying for this accounting midterm, I became very encouraged. Here I was flipping through the cash flows statement, the income statement, the balance sheet and other addendums, and the numbers actually meant something to me. I am beginning to understand which figures are solid and which ones can be manipulated by company management. The numbers are beginning to have life. 6 weeks ago I had little, if any, knowledge of what the financial statements really meant, now I am beginning to feel literate.

So, here I go… T-6 days and counting until my first mid-term in Business School. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Business School Returns: The 500 Level Course

For the first few weeks of this quarter (my first quarter in Business School) I have been under the impression that I was taking one relatively easy course and one difficult course-Economics 500 and Financial Accounting 500 respectively. But during the last Economics class, the professor said something that was a little bit scary... 

"That ends the principle's portion of the class. Now we are going to move on to what is commonly referred to as Intermediate Economics and we will dive in even further in the last part of the quarter"

After the professor made this statement he proceeded to explain indifference curves and the indifference map using calculus (not a required prerequisite). This was a far cry from the shifting of supply and demand curves, which we were talking about just ten minutes earlier!

At this point in the class, my face and the faces of most of my classmates went blank and we all began to slowly slink into our chairs. Although, it is comforting to know I wasn't falling down the black hole alone, I began to get very worried about the course. 

The problem was that I didn't have the right expectations of core Business School cirriculum. 

The core classes (i.e. accounting, econ, stats, etc.) end with 500. But what 500 really means is... everything you would learn in 101/201 jammed into the first 3 weeks, everything you would learn in 301 in the next 3 weeks, and 401+ in the last 3. These courses are not designed to be "refreshers" or to "cover the basics", they are designed to ramp up someone who has no business background in rather short order.

Here I was feeling great about having a business undergrad, but in 3 weeks I'm even with someone who majored in computer science or psychology. So much for the headstart.

So, what I do with my newly discovered wisdom? Study... hard, for both classes and count down the days until the quarter ends.

I'll let you know how it goes...

Watching Rome Burn: Taking a Break from Business School to Gather My Thoughts

Well, if you have a pulse, you have probably heard the news about the U.S. economy and the broader world economy this week. So what does it mean when the DOW loses 23% of its value in one week? (I picked a great time to go to business school)

I think this depends on your situation...

First, the DOW 30 aren't the only stocks to lose there value. The S&P 500 and most major mutual funds have also been hacked. The only index that hasn't taken a huge hit yet is the NASDAQ which is down about 3%, but tech earnings are coming in today. We'll see how long it lasts.

Here are two examples of some real life impact of all of this...

My Father who retired two years ago is in dire straights right now. He is 66 and is making small draws on his 401K. In 4 years he will be required to withdraw a higher percentage each month to comply with the 401K laws. So what's the problem with that? The problem is that the shares are undervalued. What he is drawing today may be worth twice as much in a few years (and was worth twice as much a few weeks ago). Since he is in very good health he is wondering if he might outlive his retirement. He's lost about 40% of his portfolio value. The bottom line is he is now selling about twice as many shares to collect the same income from his 401K.

I am in my late 20's and had about 30K in the market going into the last few weeks of turmoil. My new value is about 19K. I am invested in a range of mutual funds inlcuding emerging market funds. The one key difference for me is that my retirement horizon is at least 30 years. This means that while the shares I own are worth less, I get to buy new shares at the low price. If my monthly contribution used to buy 10 shares, it now buys about 20. So essentially, I am buying shares on sale- or at least that's what I tell myself. When the market returns, the average price I paid should be quite low, and I will realize a huge gain.

...yes I am trying to find the silver lining, but the fact of the matter is this is depressing. No one likes watching their or their parent's retirement halve in a matter of months, and recssion is a scary thought. What if I lose my job? What if my house is worth even less? What if I have to foreclose?

So, for my part, I'm going to try not to be affected. I've already turned off the news and I am beginning to think happy thoughts. Maybe this is the real cure. If we all fight the histeria, we could tip confidence (Malcolm Gladwell Style) and see a rebound in the markets. If the government can solve the credit crisis in the mean time we will be high flying again.

Sound like a plan?

Business School Begins: Meanwhile Back at the Office

Well, I am 9 days into business school and already fitting that profile of the fully exhausted Grad student. But, unlike some of my peers I still have that good old day job to go to, and this week the day job was more interesting than usual...

This past week, in the midst of slaving away at work, an all-day meeting was scheduled. It turns out that our regional VP and HR guy wanted to come talk to all of us about a recent employee survey that was conducted. 

Rewind... This was a basic anonymous survey with questions like, "do you have the tools you need to do your job?", "does your manager support you?", "would you recommend your company to a friend?", etc. etc. Well, I took the opportunity to inject some truth including a full page of comments about all of the issues that bothered me. In fairness I included some of the more recent positive changes as well.

OK, back to the meeting... We split into two groups... senior and junior managers- I am the latter. When the powerpoint fired up with the response graphs and comments I quickly discovered that I was one of the only people that had left comments. In fact, 70%-80% of the comments on the screen were mine. This was a little concerning at first, but as the HR guy (our moderator) started walking through them, people began to open up. 

One person agreed with my comment about upward opportunity. Another one began to elaborate on the micromanagement we all endure. A third person echoed my thoughts on the desire to get involved outside the operation (side projects). A fourth person discussed the centralized decision making - and the lack of junior level manager involvement. This went on for two hours! We went through the negative and the positive - I felt such a huge amount of relief. I wasn't crazy... I was just the only one speaking up.

After our productive discussion, the two groups came back together. The next step was to present a summarized version of our comments to the senior managers and vice-versa.  As expected, the senior managers began to ask for specifics and this is where the conversation broke down. No one was about to stand up and say, "yeah, so last week when you were micromanaging me...". It just isn't realistic.  So, our Senior Director, who is very intuitive, brought the meeting to a close and thanked everyone for their time. 

A strange ending to the day, but early this week (a week later) an e-mail came out from the senior director outlining the formation of teams to breakthrough the issues the junior managers brought up. What an amazing thing. We were listened to and changes are already starting to occur.

I feel like this is an important sequence of events that I will remember long into my career. I guess you don't learn everything in business school.

Business School Begins: Teamwork

As part of our core business curriculum, the program includes a course that is smattered throughout the first year which address teamwork and leadership. We had our first installment this last Saturday...

The day started off in a large break out room attached to one of the undergraduate residence halls. My group (about 50 people) began to trickle in at about 8:30 AM and by 9:00 AM we were all there. Name tags attached and eyes peeled, we awaited our guest speakers.

Now, the two people we soon encountered were actually a pleasant surprise. Your hopes are never too high at 9:00 AM on a Saturday so this was a welcome event. We had the Glasers of Glaser and Associates leading our session. They are a husband and wife team (both PHDs) that travels the world together teaching an array of topics having to do with teamwork and conflict-resolution. Our session was focused on raising delicate issues and responding to criticism. Here's a brief synopsis...

The primary communication method was skits, which sounds cheesy, but they actually pulled it off quite well. The little shows highlighted how "intent rarely equals impact" (Peter Glaser) and that if you want to get or give the real message, something deeper than ordinary communication needs to happen.

The Glasers explained that in order to respond to criticism, you need to dig deep for what the real criticism is and admit it if its accurate. This means forcing the details that led to the criticism out. This serves as a sort of decoding of the criticism.

In the area of raising delicate issues, they highlighted the need to take ownership of part of the problem, and work as a team with the person that the issue is being raised to towards a solution.

Some of it was common sense, but to see an actual conflict take place right in front of you really hit the point home. It also helped to see several different scenarios playing out to observe how using none, some, or all of their techniques would affect the outcome.

As a whole, is was a very good experience and has me thinking about how I come across to others in everyday life and during conflict. I'm sure it will remain a staple in the Business School cirriculum.

Business School Begins: Day One

Well, it's 1:05 in the morning and I am officially an MBA student...

I had the first day of classes beginning with Economic Price Theory and Financial Statement Analysis. And I can already tell that this is going to be a tough ride. Let me explain.

1. I had 10 days to prepare for the first day of class. This includes reading some 70 pages and prepping for one case for discussion - not a huge amount of work for the time allotted. Now, I have 4 days to prepare for the next class and then 2 days after that one - the calendar is looking quite small. The kicker here is that I only had assignments for one of the two classes tonight. The Price class had only reading assigned. That will change.

2. I have a mid-term in 6 weeks... 6 weeks! My entire undergraduate finance/accounting core is going to be taught in the next two weeks and then I need to learn, really learn this material on financial statements in the next 6 weeks. At least the asset side of things. Time to strap in.

3. I have a second mid-term in 6 weeks in the Price theory course on a bunch of stuff I have never fully studied. Strapped in and putting on a helmet.

4. I have to sit still for four hours, two days a week, for most of the next 3 years. This is proving to be much more difficult than I imagined. I think we non-academics have way too many things feeding our ADD (i.e. laptop, blackberry, tv, etc.). My attention span is about 1 minute and I don't know how I'm going to scratch my web-surfing e-mail checking itch mid-class.

5. I have to do all of the above and go to work every day.

So, yeah I am feeling a bit over-whelmed right now, but I am confident that it will pass. This is going to require a change in culture. Not just for me, but for my entire class of fellow MBAers. We are in this together.

Hopefully, by my next entry I will have sorted through some of these initial challnges, or maybe I'll be writing you from my Psychologist's office. In either case, stay tuned...

The MBA Degree and... Salary

When it comes to an MBA degree and all of the people in a program, the elephant in the room is Salary. So far it hasn't really come up in conversation, but we have all thought about it and thought hard.

The reasoning goes something like this...

"So I'm going to spend several thousand dollars (20K-200K) getting this "higher" education. What does it do for me? Well, it allows me to accomplish a goal I made when I was 19, it opens doors of opportunity for me at work, and oh yeah, I'm going to make a lot more money if I do this."

It has to be a factor for every one of us. Not that money is the most important thing, clearly it isn't. The most important thing is having a job that leverages your strengths and challenges you to grow - that is my two cents. But money is blood and breath, just like for companies. If we can make enough, then we are free to pursue our passions.

So, now that we are talking about the elephant, how much can someone with an MBA degree expect to make after graduation? In my program, it's about 90K/year including bonus. For me this would/will be a pretty hefty raise. Is it guarantee? No. But, with the degree and the connections that are made in an MBA program, chances are good.

So here we go... 2 years and 9 months left!

Board Game Theory

Tonight I was finishing the day with a few colleagues when I had a moment of epiphany. I asked one of the other guys a question which he didn't have the answer to. Jokingly, I said, "hey your a manger, you have to know these things". His response was somewhat sarcastic, but also very truthful when he said, "even if I knew the answer it wouldn't be good enough for you".

Now, most people would take offense to this response, but knowing the work culture that I exist in every day as well as I do, I didn't. This was actually a huge compliment, because I pride myself on understanding the big picture, and knowing the reasons why certain things are done. I was a kid who asked questions like, "Why is red the color people decided to use for 'stop'?". Now, I am the adult at work asking why processes are done a certain way, or why specific company decisions were made.

...but, in the midst of this exchange, something came to me... maybe it was just me. I have always thought that everyone was as inquisitive as I am, but that maybe they just didn't have the energy to always ask questions. Or, that they decided at some point in there life that it didn't matter anymore. However, it may be possible that different people need different information. Does that make sense?

Well here is an example. This is exactly the question I asked one of my co-workers tonight after I had this internal discussion with myself.

When you are learning how to play a board game, what is the very first question that you ask?

Is it a question about how the play is conducted, like what the rules are, or how someone has a turn? Do you ask questions about the board, the pieces, or the cards?

This was my colleagues answer... "How do you play?"

I always ask three questions in this order:

1. What is the object of the game, or how do you win?

2. How does the play happen?

3. Any other rules or nuances?

So for monopoly, the answers would be:

1. To bankrupt your opponents - this is usually done through acquiring monopolies, hence the name.

2. Each player takes a turn rolling the dice to move a specified number of spaces. Depending on where you land, you pick up a card, pay a penalty, win money, have the opportunity to buy property, or pay rent. If you own all of the properties of a specific color you have a monopoly and can collect a base rent, or build houses/hotels at a cost that will charge your opponents a much higher rent when they land on them.

3. If you roll doubles three times you go to jail, when you pass go you collect $200, and free parking is always a $500 prize.

So, what does it mean. It means that when it comes to my colleague, he wants someone to tell him how the job works- what do we use for dice? What is the board for?

I want to know, "why are we here? What is the goal?". The natural progression of my approach is to figure out how to win the game once I hear what the object of the game is. The pitfall for me is that I often don't listen to the wisdom of those who have a lot of practice playing the game. The guys like my colleague usually get really good at what they are doing- the playing, but can forget why they are doing it or what they are ultimately after.

Two different approaches... both right and both wrong. What a learning experience and what a strong case for working in teams with differently minded people.

Who knew the Parker brothers had so much to offer on team dynamics.

Back to Business School: The First Assignment

With orientation in the past all that separates me from my first day as an MBA student is 6 days and a few hours. I have all of my books and syllabai, binder, token branded MBA bag, and a multi-colored pen.

I am beginning business school with Financial accounting and Business Economics. With the above mentioned sure-footed tools in hand I sat down to begin preparation for these first two classes. Tonight my focus was on the accounting course. The first assignment to come to class prepared with is a series of questions about a particular company's financial statements... you remember, balance sheet, income statement, and statement of cash flows.

The questions were pretty simple, mostly just being able to remember where stuff is enough to find it. Things like comparing the cash balance in 2005 to 2006. So how long did it take me... 2 hours!

First I pulled up the financial statements online and then began to answer the questions on the question sheet using pencil. Next I typed up the answers to the questions (using complete sentences). Finally I reviewed and edited the answers.

...So right now I am a bit nervous because this was a very fluff minor assignment and it took me two hours. I also have to read three chapters between both classes before the first day. I can't even imagine what this is going to be like when I have only a day to come up with assignments between classes...

But, I'm sure that it will get easier. I'll become more productive and I'll be able to count on my study group for support as well.

So that's it. Assignment 1 done and if averages apply, I only have 36 more assignments for this class. Well that's not so bad, right?

See you at the Business School Library.

Back to Business School: Orientation

I mentioned in my last post that I had attended orientation for school recently...

It began on Friday at 1 PM. All of those of us who made the cut entered our new business school and filed into the lecture hall. The Dean of the program kicked off the orientation with a 90 minute talk about how to get the most out of our experience. Although sitting and listening to someone talk for 90 minutes isn't something I have done for a long time, the information was extremely valuable. He set many of us at ease when he exposed that he didn't "read everything" when he went to business school and that he had a few classes he was "lucky" to get through.

Next we heard from the library guy, career services, some of the clubs, and more. By the end of the "half day" the majority of us were fried. It seems this experience of sitting and listening for several hours (3 hours) has become alien to what is now a bunch of cubicle loving, plane riding, impatient... grown-ups. Luckily, the day ended with a food/cocktail hour. (This was the first event I went to, but this and others seem to always have some sort of food and alcohol incorporated). everyone seemed to be their normal selves after a drink and some calories.

The second Day (09:00AM to 04:00PM)... began with some announcements, but quickly moved to an introduction to one of our professors. Next, we heard from a panel of current students who gave us the inside scoop on what it was really like to do the Evening MBA program. Everything they said seemed to lead back to a description of how tired you always are and how important it is to network. I guess that's honesty.

In the middle of the day we took our class photo. While we were posing, a female undergraduate student began taking her clothes off. By the time she was done she was down to a bikini and completely oblivious to the whistles and laughter coming from our group. She was about 100 feet away, but she was the only one within sight of us and obviously very involved in her book. It was a great moment.

We spent the remainder of the day hearing from some of the staff and doing a mock case study. None of us were ready for that...

So it's actually happening. After years of talking about going to business school, and putting off the GMAT, I am finally doing it. Bring it on!

Back to Business School: The Evening MBA

One thing that I don't think I have mentioned in my past entries is that I am pursuing a fully employed or Evening MBA.

My decision to do business school in this way was based primarily on the fact that I have a mortgage payment to make each month. There's also the work experience piece too, but it was mostly about money.

As far as the degree goes, there will be no difference between myself and someone who completed their MBA in a full-time program. In fact I will have an advantage... not just an MBA, but an additional 2 years of work experience.
However, one thing that worried me was the attitude of the school. At info sessions for the program we were told repeatedly that the Evening MBA program was not a good place to be if you are a career changer. I took this advice to heart, but soon after I began the application process my intentions changed.

Well, by the time I was accepted, I was job searching and hoping the MBA program would be able to help me expand my network. To be honest, I was not sure if I had made the right decision, but it was much too late change it. Too my surprise, I am not the only one in this situation. In fact, almost every person that I have met in my program or the Full-Time program is looking for a career shift. Some of them would like to stay with their current employers, but even there they usually want to be in a different field (software engineering to marketing, business development to operations, etc.).

When I think about it, this makes complete sense. Why else would a person spend several thousand dollars on Business School. The MBA is a way to expand your horizons whether you can afford to quit working or not. And, while most of us are in this to learn and better ourselves, we are also in it because of the opportunities to go places we couldn't go otherwise.

So here we go... 10 days and counting until I can call myself an MBA... Evening MBA student.

The Upside

From the moment I began studying for the GMAT and putting together my application for business school there's been a question looming in my mind. At this point with my first class less than two weeks away, the answer is undoubtedly yes, but it didn't start that way.

I asked it of myself when I sat down to write the first application essay. The question was, "Do I really want to do this?" . Do I really want to write essays again? Solve word problems? Analyze cases? Read text books!?!? Its definitely a hump that I had to get over as a prospective MBA candidate.

I have now come to believe that this school stuff is what stops most people with undergraduate degrees from moving into masters programs. Because, let's face it, writing essays, doing homework, and taking tests is really kind of annoying. But, what we all forget about our first four years are the great things that come along with being a student.

So... what's the upside? Here are just a few benefits that I found out I will receive for being a student at the Business School.

1. Gym Membership

I now have access to the premier work out facility in my area for free (included in the several thousand dollars a quarter for tuition). I went and toured it the other day with my wife, who also gets access for $15.00/month. They have multiple basketball courts, squash, racket ball, volleyball courts, a climbing wall, a pool, an indoor track, tennis courts, and more. I am also eligible to play in the intramural league.

2. Transportation

Since the school is in a major metropolitan area we are given transit passes for $17.00 a month that are good on any trains, buses, or street cars. This is a HUGE discount!

3. Student Discounts

This is amazing... movie theaters, restaurants, bowling, pool, the list goes on and on.

4. The ability to think and dream without consequence

Although this isn't a direct perk, most of us work in jobs that are grounded in, well, reality. While an MBA program has heavy application, as a student you are allowed to dream of what could be without immediately discussing the cost/benefit, feasibility, and facing the army of nay sayers. Eventually the ideas have to make it to earth and be well thought out, but there is that in between time that you just get to wonder.

So I am not looking forward to many of the school like assignments again, but a least when I get one I can take a subsidized ride on a bus, to a coffee shop that offers 1/2 priced donuts to students, and dream about the answers. Then when I am finished, I can head over to the gym to blow off some steam- all for mere thousands that I don't have to pay pack until 6 months after I graduate.

Ah the life...

Thomas Friedman's Business Education: China for a Day

In a recent interview on Meet the Press, Thomas Friedman discussed the "Energy Revolution" that he thinks is necessary in this country. He discussed, and wrote a chapter in his new book, about what it would be like for the U.S. to be "China for a Day" in order to get the ball rolling on the new revolution.

Obviously he was referring to the now famous ability of the Chinese President/King to wave a magic wand and control industry. The best example to date of the magic wand is the shutting down of factories 2 weeks prior to the Olympic games in Beijing.

So what would it be like if the U.S. President could/would wield absolute power on industry and government in terms of a move towards alternative energy and innovation? Well, I think we would see the bypassing of congress to implement instant tax credits and write offs for companies using clean energy, a carbon tax, mandatory shifts to production of non-petroleum vehicles for the U.S. car market, and several wind/solar plants being built in the next year. We would also see some major public dollars invested in science education, alt energy start-ups, and grant money for the submission of new ideas for alternative energy.

If the above were to take place, not only would we see a revitalization of our employment and dedication to innovation (the single greatest factor that led to American domination of the 20th century), we would create an entire industry in which we would be the captains. We could engineer, manufacture, implement, test, and SELL, SELL, SELL the new technology. In addition to the advantages to our foreign policy, national security, and education system it would be the greatest business accomplishment of our generation.

Friedman agrees... when approached by young Chinese who tell him that America got to "go dirty" for 150 years and now its their turn, he tells them to go ahead and take their time. Why? Because within 5 years America will be able to develop these clean power sources and when "China is choking" on its own pollution, we can sell the new technologies to them.

Thank you Thomas Friedman for the business education. Although, I don't think the U.S. president will ever be able to speak as a dictator (nor should he), I can only hope that our country wakes up! Because if we do, and we own this revolution not as an obedient people, but as a free group of citizens, we will win big.

Back to Business School - More Summer Reading

In the beginning of the summer I spent a few days going through a classic Business School Novel... First Break All the Rules. The basic premise of the book is that the conventional management rules are incorrect and must be broken in order for a company to achieve greatness. In this book, Gallup challenges the notion that anyone can do anything if they set their mind to it, they take on the idea that employees should be "well-rounded", and they preach that the best managers play favorites.

The mantra that is repeated over and over again in this study of exceptional managers is that a manager should not worry about what is left out of an employee, but focus on developing an individuals strengths. In other words, don't ask Michael Jordan to practice his golf swing.

The book makes a great case for the idea of leveraging the strengths of individuals towards company goals. Just imagine everyone at your company doing what it is they do best for the majority of each of their days. What would that look like?

The authors spend a lot of time talking about skills and talents. They say that talents are a way we repeatedly look at or do things where as skills are specific things we learn how to do. As an example, the analytically talented person is always looking at how and why something works, mentally or physically tearing things apart and putting them back together. Someone with an achiever talent is measuring life in completing goals - they seek to complete things each and every day. Since these talents are ingrained in our method as people, rounding us out on talents we lack doesn't work. Instead, the book suggests that we should be repeatedly challenged in our areas of talent- thus rejecting the "well rounded employee" idea.

It further asserts that energy put towards developing talents will yield a much larger growth rate. Taking the MJ metaphor further, the percentage of improvement Michael received from practicing basketball from college onwards was far greater than it would have been from practicing golf. There was more bang for the buck in hoops.

As an employee, this is such a refreshing thing to hear. Imagine your boss coming to you and saying, "Let's figure out what your good at and gear most of your work around those strengths - I want to push you in these area. Then, let's find your weaknesses and improve them to a functional level, but push off most of the work that you are weak in to another team member who has a strength in that area." Now apply this across an entire organization and what happens? I'll tell you, the Chicago Bulls in the 1990s.

This was definitely a book worth reading before heading into Business School and I will definitely apply the principles it presents throughout my career as a manager. It is highly recommended to any current or future manager.

Bowling, Billiards, and Movie Theaters (Business gone awry)

When I was a high-schooler in the not so distant past I lived in a small suburb of Los Angeles in Southern California. The city had about 50,000 residents and we were an hour's drive from L.A.

I remember driving with my friends to the local billiards hall and playing pool for several hours while listening to Witchy Woman and Iron Man on the jukebox. The cost was $6.00/hour for the table, so a group of four of us could get some quality time in for not a lot of cash. I also have fond memories of moonlight bowling on Saturday nights and several visits to the movie theatre through the years. But lately these staples are in danger.

During my trips home the last few years I have noticed that the movie theatres and bowling alleys are a shadow of their former glory and the billiards places have been replaced by restaurants or day care centers. At the same time a rise in upscale theatres like the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood, CA, swanky pool halls like the Parlor in Bellevue, WA, and even uppity bowling alleys like Lucky Strike is hard to ignore.

So what's the deal? Are teenagers no longer customers? Is alcohol required to be a part of everything we do? Are business owners getting greedy? Is real estate too expensive to just rent pool tables and take in a few extra quarters at the jukebox?

Whatever the answer , it's a triumph for large business and a tragedy for teens. The mom and pop pool halls, bowling alleys, and movie theaters can't make enough money serving just the teens, and the 20, 30, and 40-somethings are heading to the trendier upgrades. As a result, the smaller establishments are closing down or are run down and will soon be gone completely. And, with alcohol almost always a part of the new business plans, the teens are out.

Which means that my teenage memories of pool halls, plain old movie theaters, and Saturday nights on the lanes are beginning to sound a lot like my parents' memories of the penny arcade, the five and dime, and the milk man.

Am I really getting old already...?

Beware of Mumps, Measles, and Rubella in Business School

The countdown has begun... I begin business school in less than thirty days and I am beginning to feel the pressure.

So what kinds of things have I done to prepare? Well, I have been reading business classics most of the summer (First Break All the Rules, Purple Cow, Built to Last, etc.) I have been seeking out opportunities to get involved in acquiring new business at work. I have been reading the financial news and paying closer attention to the markets. And, I have been watching the olympics like crazy (does that count?).

The one thing that I have been a bit unprepared for, though, is my immunizations. When reviewing the checklist of all of the things I needed to do before I could start school I must of overlooked it. The deadline for the MMR vaccines is in a few days and I have only had one that I can prove. Most schools require two rounds of vaccination that are at least four weeks apart.

I set out to solve this problem with the most reliable source I know. No, not google... the original google; Mom. I called her in the morning a few days ago and by that evening I had an unofficial vaccination record. It turns out I had an MMR shot way back in the early 80s - you know, before computers. Finding out I had an early shot was a positive development, but like in an episode of 24, (the Jack Bauer variety), solving one issue led to another. How do I get an official record of the vaccine from the 80s?

A call to the latest physician that I had in my hometown led to the discovery that his practice had been sold twice and eventually placed in the hands of a well-known HMO, Kaiser. I finally found the records office of Kaiser and called them. They said it would be no problem to get my records, but that I would have to fax a form and wait two weeks for them to "check the files". Were they serious? Kaiser... meet scanner. Scanner... meet Kaiser.


Since two weeks was too late I began to consult the 2nd most reliable resource at my disposal... yes, now google. Google led me to a county agency that indexes these sorts of things, but a phone call revealed that it didn't have any records before 1989- I feel old for the first time in my life.

I'm now out of ideas, so I send an e-mail to the University asking for a delayed deadline for the vaccination requirement.

I never received a response, but I decided to try my High School as a lsat effort. Turns out my High-School transcript has my immunization record on it. Presto, fax, and fax again, the University has the info and approves the documentation. That was close...

Ya' know, we read lists of what is required in order to get into business school so many times... you must do well on the GMAT, have a solid GPA, 2-3 good letters of reccomendation, a few good essays, etc. But don't forget the all important one that can actual keep you from registering at a public instituion, vaccinations. Oh yeah, and don't forget to file for the FAFSA either...

Getting Ready for Business School - Built to Last

So business school is 1 month away and I am pushing forward with more summer reading. Right now I am making my way though Built to Last - a classic (1990's) business book that discusses the results of a massive study of the world's most visionary companies and some less visionary counterparts. The author's define a visionary company in a complex number of ways. However, it is basically one that has been around for more tha fifty years through multiple generations of CEOs and that is still thriving. The basic premise of the book is to explain what went into the visionary companies to make them last. What is their secret?

I am about 50 pages in so far and despite the analytical nature of the book I am finding it to be a good read. I will do a full review of the book once I finish, but I wanted to talk about one concept that I recently read which really blew me away.

The authors notice that almost all of the visionary companies that they are studying have one common thread - they are not in it just for the money. Many of them have built into their company culture that modest profit is needed, but that the true test of the company's success is how well it innovates new technology (Sony), comes up with products that contribute to the health of patients (Johnson & Johnson), or leads aerospace development (Boeing).

A visionary CEO put it eloquently when he described profit as being akin to blood, breath, and water for a human being. Blood, breath, and water enable a person to live, but they are not the point- they enable the dreams. Profit is not the point, profit allows a company to pursue a goal.

Does the company you work for have a "why?". I began thinking about my own company, which has also been around for several decades. And while we have core values on how we are to conduct business, there really isn't anything that says why we conduct business. Transportation is definitely less cut and dry than technology, health care, or aerospace, but we could have something. A mission statement that encompasses why our company exists. "We will create innovations in global transportation that enables our customers to thrive in their core businesses", or "We will be the most productive and safest transportation company on the planet so that our employees will have sustainable employment and our shareholders a reasonable return on investment".

With some time dedicated, my company could establish a real statement that all of its employees could look to for inspiration or use to challenge Sr. management on their direction if anyone felt they were steering the organization off course.

...so needless to say this book is quite thought provoking for me. I will be sure to write about any thing else interesting that comes up in my business school summer prep.

Until then...

NBC is Ruining the Olympics

The normal sports in the U.S. have their exciting moments, but for some reason I never really get behind a team with any sort of heart. If they stop winning, I get frustrated with them and stop watching (I tend to have high standards for people paid millions of dollars to do something well).

But once every four years I become the guy who yells at the TV set, who blames the refs for everything, and who tunes his wife out for the sake of the tube. I am an olympic sports fan. My favorite disciplines are swimming, gymnastics, and track & field, but I like just about everything besides the events involving rifles.

So this year, I was very excited to hear that NBC was planning to have a website (nbcolympics.com) dedicated to the games with live video and replays of events.

However... the whole thing has been one giant disappointment, culminating with this evening. It all began with the opening ceremony never being fully released online (and not even partially available for over 24 hours after it occurred). Next, the "live events" were not the ones I wanted to watch (i.e. the gymnastics all arounds, Michael Phelps races, etc. etc.). For those, we have to wait until NBC airs them, and on the west coast three more hours for tape delay. But the worst sin NBC has committed is detailed below...

...Imagine you ( the huge olympic gymnastics fan that you are) have been watching NBC's olympic coverage for the last 3 hours (it's 11PM) and are still waiting to see some of the women's gymnastics individual final events. Since it is beginning to get pretty late you decide to check the NBC olympics website to find out what time the event will be airing and what the medal count is like while your at it. So you get to NBC's website and the first thing you see is pictured at the top of this page. The RESULTS of the competition from yesterday that NBC decided not to show until after 11:00PM tonight. And what's worse? The caption says that the final was full of twists and that I should watch it on TV later.

Are you kidding me? The only thing I am going to do is try and find other internet coverage of the olympics so NBC's viewership is 1 less than it would have been otherwise. Hopefully you will join my revolt and we can affect some of the ad revenues.

Hey NBC, please explain the business logic of showing headliner events (Gymnastics finals, Phelps races, etc.) between 10PM and 2AM. Is that the big ad revenue generating time? Here's an idea. Show just the popular stuff on TV, but show it live and replay it later as well. And for the website... show every single event live and make the full coverage available for playback with those short internet commercials. Give it away, generate some traffic, sell tons of ads, and avoid ruining my olympics. Job done.

Getting ready for Business School - Summer Reading

During my rant about Mcdonalds' misplaced marketing dollars earlier this week I mentioned Seth Godin. He is the author of a book I read in the first part of my business school summer reading prep.

The book is called Purple Cow and it discusses how the game has changed when it comes to marketing.

Semi-Brief Synopsis

1. Seth says that the formula for success used to be to make a product and then advertise it like crazy to a broad audience on television. He highlights the fact that consumers used to trust television, hence the mantra, "I saw it on TV - it must be true".

2. Godin illustrates how the old school of marketing (the "TV Industrial Complex") has died. He discusses the rise of the trusted friend, word of mouth advertising, and viral marketing. He concludes that the way to win in today's marketplace is to make a product so "remarkable" that you catch the attention of early adopters (the trusted friend) who then "sneezes" the product to the majority.

3. He notes the natural change in the game... the product MUST be awesome. He says that it is no longer possible to market a mediocre product with massive advertising dollars and expect it to be successful. Why? Because the majority doesn't trust TV commercials any more. They check trip advisor, consumer reports, or more likely a trusted friend who is a subject matter expert. So the result, ahem... Mcdonalds, is that no one is going to believe a Chicken Burger from Mcdonalds is a healthy breakfast just becaue you say it is in an olympic ad!

End of Semi-Brief Synopsis

So what is an example of something remarkable? The ipod touch and iphone, google's search engine, the World, Purple Cow (it was initally shipped by the dozen, to encourage early buyers to share it, and came packaged in a milk carton), unlimited minutes wireless plans, Beijing's opening ceremony, University of Phoenix, Pink Berry, the "I am rich" app for the iphone, etc.

How do I know these things are remarkable? Because everyone is talking about them. I see them on digg.com, I read about them in newspapers, my geeky friends can't stop talking about them, and I am here sneezing them to you in this blog.

So congrats on being a pioneer Seth... and thanks for the book - and an extra thanks for making it short. Business schools are taking note.
...
In case you wondering, the name (Purple Cow) was inspired by a trip Seth took with his family to the French countryside. While touring, they marveled at the beauty of the brown cows they saw roaming in the area... at least for a while. After several hours the brown cows became ordinary. Seth said that what once caught there attention could no longer steal a glance, but if he saw a purple cow he would have definitely looked and told all of his friends about it.

Dear Mcdonalds, Where'd you get your Business Education?

Well, its less than two months until I start Business School and I'm really soaking up the free time in anticipation of a very busy schedule. Lately, I have been watching the Olympics, which are taking place in Beijing, on TV and online. In the midst of watching the US men's swimming team beat the pants off (.08 seconds) of the French in the 4x100 today, a Mcdonalds commercial came on.

It started out with the usual sequence of athletes doing their thing... striking a volleyball, swimming, throwing a discus, etc. The next scene is the athletes describing a home made tasting breakfast sandwich while holding (not eating) it.

Really Mcdonalds? Do you think that we believe athletes eat at your restaurant? Do you really think pairing visuals of strong athletes with your "home made tasting" breakfast sandwich will brainwash the average viewer into thinking that breakfast at Mcdonalds is healthy?

Did the Mcdonalds' marketing team receive their business education in the 1980s? Maybe.

Here's the new school of thought that Mickey D's should have considered. Blanket advertising doesn't work anymore because consumers don't trust companies, they trust the opinions of individuals they know and respect. It's called word-of-mouth advertising and they only way to get it, is to do something "remarkable", like Seth Godin remarkable. This idea of athletes eating Mcdonalds or even Wheaties is so outdated and unremarkable it will be dismissed as fast as a shoot the duck and win a free ipod banner ad - nice try Mcdonalds.

P.S. Modern business education can be pursued in person full time, part time, or even online... it's time to freshen up.

Engagement

I’m going to divert from the usual B-School discussion today and talk about something that happened to me at work this week…

The Background…

I work as part of an operations management team in a somewhat industrial facility. Although my title has the word “manager” in it, a more appropriate title would be liaison. I am essentially an intermediary between a large corporation and a local set of unions. I take the general vague will of the company and translate it into more specific work instructions for the union foremen and chiefs on a daily, weekly, and yearly basis. I also have the power to direct the labor force, hire, and fire.

All of the above would lead a person to believe that my job is important and that it is a fulfilling use of my time and intellect. The truth is that the labor force that I “direct” really understands what they are doing well. So well in fact, that my main job is to make sure they don’t goof off or try to sign in for too many hours on the payroll. In other words, I’m a company rep… a warm body – a baby sitter.

The Problem...

For more dynamic individuals the idea of being a warm body is nauseating. Even more disgusting is the micromanaging some superiors engage in to make sure we make sure everything runs OK. And what if we have an idea or an improvement, for change? “Don’t mess with what is already working.”.What is the result of all of this stuff? Zero engagement. Many members of the operations management team don’t care how well the company does or even how on track the union guys stay as long as they don’t have to hear from their manager. I find that some of my colleagues do as little as they need to do in order to avoid being bothered. Less than ideal, right?

The Turning Point...

So here is an experience I had this week that may be the fix… or at least a good first step towards the fix. After expressing interest in getting more involved with the business strategy side of our operation, my boss’s boss’s boss calls me into his office and asks me to help him create a long term business strategy and then record it in an official document. He wants new ideas on how to find more customers, analysis on our infrastructure and equipment, and insight on how to engage the management team.

...Small gesture, right? All he did is respond to my request and suddenly I am alive at work again. I care again. I am doing the little things well because I am reminded in my research for this new special assignment of why we do them. I care how the company does because I have been tasked with making it better. I am engaged.

Too often Senior managers want to control an organization like a puppet master, and all that leads to is the creation of lifeless puppets underneath them – management or not. However, when an employee is responded to and asked to own a piece of the business, the result is an engaged colleague, full of life who is intellectually and emotionally invested in the success of the company.

So, what’s the take away? The take away is “remember”. For myself, and many of you, senior management is in the not too distant future. When we get there we must remember the wisdom we offer as lower management and individual contributors.

Good Night for now.

Getting into Business School - GMAT Test Taking Strategy

The GMAT is required by most Business Schools. I have outlined below the method that I used to study for the exam. I scored a 650 and 720 (95th percentile) on my first and second sittings respectively. The below process can be very effective if you are a self motivated individual, but it is by no means perfect. If you decide to follow any of my advice and run in to issues, feel free to contact me by e-mail or by commenting…

*It is important to know the score you need to be competitive at your choice Business School before you begin preparation*

1. Start out with a computer practice-test to see where you stand.

2. Practice all quantitative and verbal sections of the exam using the questions in the official guide starting with the easy ones(the questions range in difficulty as they go – question 1 is the easiest). Do every tenth question or so. When they become difficult, start doing clusters of questions (every 3rd or 4th question) at that level until you begin to get them correct. Then resume practicing every tenth question until you start missing again and repeat as before. Do this until you proficient to about the last 20 questions in each section.

*It is important to leave several open questions as you go so that you can do some capstone testing on fresh questions at each level of difficulty at the end of your initial preparation.

3. Once you have some reps on each section and you are getting most of them right, do several mini tests. A mini test should consist of 3 to 5 questions of varying difficulty from each section. It is important to do easy, mid-range, and hard questions during these mini tests because this is what the actual test will do. I found myself sometimes over-thinking the easy and mid-range questions until I had enough practice to recognize the approximate difficulty of the question right away.

4. Once you are getting most of the questions in your mini-tests correct on a consistent basis, take the second computer practice-test. If you are scoring where you want to, go ahead and make your exam appt. and keep mini-testing yourself until the day of the exam. If not, focus in on the areas that are lacking with some more reps. Maybe 10 or 20 questions from the sections you are struggling in. Try and pick questions that are similar to the ones you missed. Once you feel comfortable go ahead and do some more mini tests. This is the hardest part of the prep. I actually did 50 or 60 data sufficiency questions in a row at this stage as I was severely handicapped in this area at first.

5. If you feel comfortable you have two options at this point. The first is to schedule and take the exam. The second is to re-take the first computer practice-test. It should show you very different questions than you saw your first time through since your aptitude will be dramatically increased by this point. If you score in your target range go ahead and schedule the exam and do mini-tests every day to keep your mind sharp. If not, get some more reps and take the computer practice-test 2 again.

This 5 step process is not only cheap, but it is a very effective way to prepare for the GMAT.

If you find yourself at a serious sticking point the best solution may be to search craigslist and find a private individual who has experience taking the test who can help you decipher the questions that are giving you trouble- but stick to the official guide. Some of the other test prep books will help you marginally, but they don’t mimic the style of the test. Again, understanding the way the questions are worded and the style the problems are in will be the hardest part of the exam.

If all of the above doesn’t work for you, then you may want to seek alternative preparation techniques including classes and other resources, but these five steps will be a productive foundation even for those individuals who need more.

Getting into Business School - GMAT Mythology

So lets discuss four popular myths about the GMAT,

1. “The Math is Difficult”.

The truth is the vast majority of the math in the exam are based on concepts that are learned in a basic algebra course or earlier.

With that said, most of us don’t use many basic math concepts on a daily basis, so some brushing up is helpful. I bought a book called Forgotten Algebra and spent about 5-10 hours practicing the concepts throughout the book. I might have done 200 practice questions in total and by the end I was ready to begin test prep.

2. “To get a good score on the GMAT I need to attend an expensive course.”

The truth is that the best test prep for the GMAT is the official guide put out by the GMAC (the writer’s of the exam) - $23. I know, it seems too simple, right? Well, the truth of the matter is that the hardest part of taking the GMAT is the way the questions are worded, not necessarily the concepts. The best way to practice for this is to get some reps on similar questions. The official guide has 800 questions of varying difficulty from past tests.

This book, combined with the FREE online practice tests (available on MBA.com), is really all you need. The practice tests are amazingly similar to the actual exam (same instructions, same number of questions, computer adaptive, etc.). The practice tests also give you an opportunity to work under time pressure, see which questions you get wrong, and get a score.

In my next post I will detail the 720 score strategy I used for preparation using the official guide and the free test prep software.

3. “You should only take the GMAT once because MBA programs average your scores”

The truth is most people take the GMAT more than twice and 99.9% of Business Schools take the scores from the test with your higher overall score.

4. “I need to devote several hours of practice time for the essay portion of the exam”

Actually, few Business Schools really care about your essay score especially since a computer is now grading them. Admissions committees will actually tell you this at the information sessions if you attend one. However, bombing this portion might make them wonder. So read some of the sample essays in the official guide and practice once or twice, but don’t sweat it.

Getting into Business School - The Big Hairy GMAT

The first step towards the illusive MBA is the GMAT (Graduate Management Aptitude Test). There are a lot of myths out there about this test and some unwarranted fears as a result. Also, as with any standardized test, there are several companies ready to help you “crack” the exam for a few thousand bucks. I hope to demystify what is a mostly straightforward exam process and give some insight from my own experience over the next few posts.

So lets start with basic information about the GMAT:

-The test has three sections: Essay (Analytical Writing Assessment), Quantitative, and Verbal

-The AWA portion requires two types of essays: analysis of an issue & analysis of an argument

-Quantitative has two subsections: Data Sufficiency and Problem Solving

-Verbal has three subsections: Critical Reasoning, Sentence Correction, and Reading Comprehension

- Scores are based on an 800-point scale (530 is the median score). The scores are always multiples of 10 (630, 640, 650, etc.).

- There are an 37 questions in the quantitative section and 41 in the verbal

- It is a Computer Adaptive Test

My Experience

I began to study for the GMAT in early January of this year (2008) and took the test in March and again in April. My preparation included a math refresher and some self-directed test prep. My first score was a 650 and my second was a 720. My percentiles for the higher score were 81 and 95 in Quantitative and Verbal respectively – Overall percentile was 95. To give you an idea of where this score measures up consider that the median GMAT score of the current Harvard Business School class is a 710. I am not telling you this to brag, but so you know that what I am sharing with you is battle tested.

I will have some more posts soon about GMAT myths, interpreting scores, test taking strategy, what the actual test day is like, and more.

Stay tuned.

Back to Business School

Hello-

My name is Reuben. As of July 15, 2008 I am your new blogger extraordinaire. I am in my late 20’s, married, and a resident of the west coast. I graduated with a B.S. in Business Admin. in 2003 and have been working for a European supply chain company for the last 4 years. I enjoy fresh mozzarella, traffic free commuting, and long walks on the beach. I recently received a letter of acceptance from a prominent Business School and am excited to be writing for you.

My primary intent is to share an actual Business School experience with you. This will include pieces of the curriculum, campus life, club experiences, and the internship/job search. I will also focus some posts on current business events, cutting edge and classic business reading material, and other stuff that is worth talking about.

While I can’t divulge exactly which Business School I will be attending, I can tell you that it is a top 50 AACSB School. The University is public and has about 300 students in their MBA program. My official start date is at the end of September 2008. Between now and then I will be writing about some of the things I learned while selecting a school, studying for/taking the GMAT, the application, and getting in.

Please comment often and feel free to contact me directly via e-mail if you have any questions, arguments, or new ideas.

What is Forensic Accounting Anyway?

The other day a friend asked me "what is forensic accounting?" Honestly, it is a good question considering how morbid it sounds. When people hear the term "forensic," they automatically expect it to relate to something out of CSI. Though that's not always what forensic means, it turns out that becoming a forensic accountant is not too far from the mystery and intrigue of CSI.

A forensic accountant's job is to analyze all aspects of someone's finances, down to every little detail. The job isn't nearly as "redundant" as typical careers in accounting would be. I use the term "redundant" because that's what my friend had said in our conversation the other day. When I was pursuing my online accounting degree, I learned quite quickly that the day to day activities are anything but dull. Regardless, if I were a forensic accountant, something tells me that things would be even more exciting.

What do you think? Numbers can always be a puzzle (or mystery), but are they more fun when attached to something like Enron?