Inside the London MBA

The end?

Hi all,
wow - so now we are alums!
We graduated today in what I must admit was a very impressive ceremony. We might have preferred to be in a more classical building than a big white tent on the lawn, but the whole ceremony, including about 450 students in robes, partners, parents and friends as well as faculty in even more colorful robes was really impressive. (Especially if you come from a country where the degree is handed to you by a secretary with a comment similar to "now you don't get any student discounts anymore").
We all gathered outside for some champagne and snacks and stood in the sun for a lot of picture taking, talking and, unfortunately, saying good-bye to a lot of friends. A lot are already leaving London tomorrow or the day after. This year, according to the WSJ the "worst year ever to graduate from a business school", see more graduates than ever leave London to explore opportunities elsewhere. While this is great and pays tribute to the global nature of the participants, it also means that the friendships we built will now be very hard to keep up. This is why I am very happy to go to Hong Kong on the one hand (it is a fantastic city), but also a bit sad as well. One of the greatest things about the school was that you just had to go to campus (or the Windsor, which is more or less the same thing anyway), to meet a ton of people and have a good time and have great discussions (even or especially during sundowners with free beers...). All of this has come to a sudden halt now - we are all entering the business life again.
This leads me to some thoughts on what made the past 2 years special for me:
- The people. You meet truly outstanding people from all different walks of life. And they are not only from consulting or finance - they have all sorts of backgrounds and interests.
- The network - access to a truly international alumni network.
- The faculty - having the author of the international standard book on finance, speakers at the WEF and more as faculty, who answer within a few hours to email, is amazing.
- The people. Have I mentioned the people already?
- The opportunities: just looking at portal and the job offers and talking to people about which jobs they took shows the breadth of interest.
- The people. ok, you get it ...

But is it really the end? No, I think it is a new beginning. Every end leads to something new. Having accepted that everything in life is impermanent (see posting on meditation), this is a transition into something new. We thoroughly enjoyed the past 2 years - despite frustrations, stress and a lot of hard work - but now need to move on to something new. And we are very very fortunate to have graduated from one of the top schools of the world.

Enough for now. This alum needs some sleep.
Take care,
Don

Follow the Global Leadership Summit on Twitter

London Business School's sixth annual Global Leadership Summit got underway this morning, featuring the most prestigious group of leaders to be gathered on one stage in London this year. 

Get regular updates on the days events by following the School's Twitter feed at https://twitter.com/LondonBS or by searching for #GLS2009.

The end ...

So there we are. The MBA is over. Well, not officially but effectively. I personally am very happy – I managed my transition into finance, got a job in Sales/Trading in Hong Kong, did two internships and finished early. So now was the time to relax and enjoy.

BUT – again, the options were numerous. Should I prepare for my new work? Should I join my good friend and tennis buddy Guido on his 6-week round the world trip? Should I travel Europe? Relax on a beach? (When I asked non-MBA friends for advice, they all strangely enough said something along the lines of f*#* off!...)

So – I decided against the round-the-world trip as I had done it before in 6 months (www.cudon.com) and had felt stressed – there are so many things out there to see and do! So then I wanted to strike a balance between seeing things and relaxing. So I spent a few days wandering around London – I had not seen that much of London during the MBA – too busy! Also went to Stonehenge and Bath and explored Richmond and Greenwich with friends from the MBA.

I then went on a 7 day road-trip through Scotland with a friend from the MBA. We took the sleeper train up to Edinburgh, rented a car and went through Scotland with a map and guidebook, deciding every few hours where we wanted to go and stay. So we visited Lochs (including world-famous Loch Ness) and mountains, distilleries and pubs, coasts and islands. The highlight were 2 days on the Isle of Skye – hiking during the day and having beers and singing with local fishermen at night.

I spent some more days visiting my family and working on my golf handicap. I also started a new activity – hot yoga (=Bikram yoga) – which is yoga done in a 40 degree hot room. It is not only stretching and meditating but also quite cardiovascular – I sweat more than in a sauna and am more tired than after 2 hours of rugby!

As a student you have the great luxury of being very flexible with your time – so I decided on a Friday to go on a dive trip on Saturday (I got a 50% discount J. So I went to yoga on Saturday, jumped on a train to Manchester and jumped on a plane to Sharm el Sheik. We boarded a very very nice dive boat and stayed at sea for 6 days, 4 dives per day. We saw great things – reef, wrecks, turtles, hammerhead sharks, dolphins to name but a few.

The day after I returned I went once more to an airport – this time to fly home to Munich and see family and friends. It was very nice to spend a more relaxed time there as the MBA is over and work has not yet begun. And I had almost forgotten German beer….

So now I am back in London and DisOrientation has begun. While next week we will have the final courses in our old stream settings, a student committee has organized all sorts of events for the coming week. This includes drinks and food but also a scavenger hunt and a London walking tour. A good way to meet friends again – the sad part is that most of us will spread all over the world very soon. And while we will be able to meet from time to time, it will never be that you walk around campus and constantly meet people and stop for a chat. And that I will greatly miss.

Last activities

So – the MBA is over. The final course, after the speech-writing GLDP (Global Leadership Development Program, a course including various aspects such as writing, presentation and other soft-skills training), was a block week in International Finance. Its lecturer regularly receives awards from students as best faculty – and we were not disappointed. Prof. Uppal is very approachable and friendly, yet also very very knowledgeable – even compared to the high caliber of finance faculty at LBS. He gave the impression of being able to teach any finance course in any area (option/fixed income/valuations/currencies) at a very high level. He also spent a lot of time on the case discussion, making sure everyone understood the solution and the way it was reached.

Additionally Prof. Uppal spent 10 minutes of each class talking about life and life changing events. This was fascinating as it shed a light on very interesting, moving and touching events, people and lives while at the same time offering perspectives from a seasoned professor with a lot of experience in life. The only unfortunate thing was that this class was almost to good to be taught in a block week – there was so much additional reading that a normal format might have been better.

I added a weekend training course to become a Dive Medic – increasing my knowledge of Decompression Sickness, CPR and wound suturing to be able to handle dive emergencies better. This also included a dry dive in a recompression chamber to 40 meters which was very funny.

The following two weeks I spent with my team mates on finishing the second year project. I was very fortunate to work with two great guys on a very interesting subject – a Funded Search to acquire a medium-sized German company. This investment idea originated at Stanford and has become quite standardized in the US. First-round investors invest $20,000 on average to fund a search process for up to two years. Equity step-up and right of first refusal ensure that the risk is offset by quite a lot of advantages. The whole report was quite long but very substantial. In the current climate we were unfortunately not able to secure enough investors – the other two wanted to really do this full-time after the MBA. We however agreed to keep in touch regularly regarding the funded search and see if the situation will improve in a few years. The only real challenge was the current economic climate and the drying-up of credit – there is certainly no lack of potential target companies.

When I look back on the MBA then it is this I will miss most – working together with great people on very different projects, each bringing different skills and experiences to the table. Having dinner together and working until late at night or during the weekend, trying to deliver the best possible result. Very similar to the consulting world, actually, but with very different topics.

So we went to the MBA Program office together to hand in our report - and the MBA was over. Unbelievable - it went amazingly fast. So many things to do - so many activities and events to attend, trips to go on, people to meet. Now it is all over - and a new chapter begins.

Meditation Retreat

After leaving the boat I took a cab to Phuket bus station and went across Thailand to the east coast (which only took about 4 hrs) and took a minivan to reach Chaiya, in Surat Thani province. Chaiya is the location of a relatively famous temple, or Wat, call Suan Mokkh. Founded over 50 years ago they run regular meditation retreats in Thai and English. Once per month there is a retreat for foreigners. I had done it 6 years ago and had always wanted to come back. What better moment than this – almost done with the MBA and not yet having started work. I also thought it would nicely round up the MBA experience and help me reorganize my thoughts.

This retreat helps the participants focus on themselves – becoming mindful and calming the mind. Usually the mind is all over the place, jumping from one thought to another. A lot of worry and suffering comes from the fact that we spend a lot of time being upset about events in the past (which we cannot change anymore) or worrying about the future (which is not here yet). So by calming the mind (through breathing), meditation and focusing on the here and now, participants try to reduce stress and anxiety. This is not a sect or a strictly religious place – all people are welcome. But it is also not an easy undertaking – participants cannot talk for 10 days and only eat twice a day. Accommodation is provided but very Spartan. All of this helps reconnect with nature – where else do you have 10 days to spend meditating and thinking of yourself (actually: trying not to think at all), letting go of all stress and doing things like watching ants for 15 minutes?

The meditation is done in 3 different ways – sitting, standing and walking. Especially walking is very interesting – the movement is split into 5 parts which are done really slowly. Thus to walk 20 meters takes about 30 minutes. A very interesting experience.

The 10 days went past faster than the last time – I understood the retreat and the way things are run a lot better. And the English monk was doing most of the mediation instruction and Dhamma talks. This is a very interesting character – an English guy who ordained as a monk at Suan Mokkh 15 years ago. He delivers extremely sharp and precise lectures – witty and funny at the same time.

Unfortunately I had to leave one day earlier – I had to retake a GLDP course at LBS. So I took an overnight flight back and had the interesting experience of, within 24 hrs, moving from a rural retreat setting to an LBS classroom for a session on speech preparation and delivery. Weird, mindblowing, great.

Sailing Trip to Thailand

Hi all,

The past weeks were slightly hectic but I wanted to relate to a couple of things that happened in the past 3 months.

At the end of March I had three quite tough exams marking the end of the spring term. Straight out of Lecture Theatre 3 we went to the Windsor for a hard-earned pint, after which I jumped into a cab, went to Paddington and off to Heathrow. A friend from the rugby team and his girlfriend were also on the flight so we celebrated the end of term again at Heathrow (nothing better than a couple of pints after exams!). 12 hours later I was in a totally different world – but I have spent so much time in Thailand I consider it my second home.

I spent 4 very relaxing days in Bangkok in very lush surroundings. Then I met up with 30 people form the MBA – mostly first-year students. We met in Phuket and transferred to the boats. In total we were 3 boats – 2 catamarans and 1 monohull. There was another boat with people from the class but they sailed a bit more independently throughout the week. After stocking up on food and – important – booze, we got organized and got ready to leave. Two boats had skippers from our class while the 3^rd one had a Thai skipper. We left the marina in Phuket and before nightfall reached our first anchoring. It was fantastic – anchoring between two limestone islands, food from the grill and chillout music. As the weather held I spent the night on deck – as I did all of the nights. That was very relaxing – a day of sailing and sleeping under the stars at night.

The following days we spent sailing north to see the famous James Bond island and then south, taking on new supplies and water in Krabi. We also had as much fun as possible – spraying other boats with water or stealing the LBS flags at night included. We continued south and spent 2 days on Phi Phi island where I organized some scuba diving for one day. It was nice teaching diving again for a little bit and certainly was great to see reef and fish again.

We had a really good group on the boat and got along really well. There was a lot of fun and laughter but also good conversations – during the day, during food preparation, doing dinners or over a beer at sunset. This trip was a great team bonding exercise – we got to know each other really well within the short time frame and made new friends.

Far too soon the trip was over and we had to leave. Most stayed a few more days in Thailand but I had different plans (report to follow). But a few weeks later we had a reunion party in London and it was great to see everyone again and party once more.

MBA TV - Episode twelve

The highlight of the admissions year, Admits Weekend is an opportunity for admitted MBA candidates to meet their future classmates, get a taste of School life and celebrate the start of a life changing experience.

In this episode Marie Lussier, a current MBA student, is your guide to Admits Weekend 2009 as we welcome over 200 Admits and their partners representing 38 nationalities to our campus for a weekend packed full of activities. 

Episode highlights include interviews with

-           MBA2011 Admits

-           Current MBA students

-           Club Representatives

-           MBA Events Manager, Zoe McLoughlin

Are you thinking of applying for an MBA starting 2010?

Find out more about the application process here:

http://www.london.edu/programmes/mba/applying.html

It’s the end of term, but its business as usual for the Admissions team over the summer. To get bite size news and updates as they happen follow the MBA Admissions team on Twitter

MBA TV, Episode eleven

The latest episode of MBA TV is here.

Studying at London Business School gives our MBAs a truly global experience. Their classmates hail from over 60 countries, as well as being taught by world-class faculty from more than 30 countries. As if this wasn’t enough, we have one of the world’s largest International Exchange Programmes (IEP).

Each year around a third of second-year MBAs take the opportunity to spend a term abroad at one of over 30 partner schools, travelling as far afield as China, India, South Africa and Australia, building new business networks and experiencing a new culture.

In this episode we take a closer look at the IEP including:
• An interview with Stephen Chadwick, Student Services Manager on the IEP
• Coverage of the Exchange Fair, where first year MBAs can meet students who have already lived the exchange experience and alumni from partner schools
• Insights from MBAs who’ve returned from exchange.

For more information on the International Exchange Programme visit our MBA programme page

1YP

This is a very busy time of year.  I know, all the bloggers are starting to sound like a broken record on this subject, but it’s true.  The amount of work and activity seems to increase with each passing semester.  At the moment I’m juggling three upcoming exams, a report for our Managing Organisational Behaviour Audit client, plus all the activity that comes with being an Academic rep and involved with the Media Club.  And then there is the small matter of my 1st Year Project. 

Each year professors post research topics of interest to them as 1YPs.  Students can apply, and if selected, earn an elective credit after successfully completing the paper / case study / analysis.  One of them caught my eye: the Evolution of Organizational Forms and Employment Patterns in the Film Industry (1900-2008).  I applied and was awarded the project. 

This happened back in February.  Since then I have learned several “fun facts”:

• In 1990 over 36,000 scripts were registered with the Writers Guild of America; less than 1% was made into movies.
• While everyone enjoys playing “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” he is not, in fact, the most connected person in Hollywood.  That honour belongs to a porn star.
• I am the only student who signed up for a 1st year project.

All of these findings are interesting to recite, but somewhat intuitive including the last fact.  I say this because all of my fellow classmates are bright enough to know the basic math for return on investment.  I apparently skipped that Finance lecture and neglected to calculate that an 8,000 word research report on what I will call a niche topic may not be the best use of hours and hours and hours of time. 

So why did I sign up for a 1YP on this particular topic?  That seems to be a popular question.  A number of conversations have followed a similar pattern.

Friend: “want to grab a drink?”
Me: “can’t. I have to write another 5,000 words of my research paper for my 1YP.”
Friend:  “what’s a 1YP? And why would you sign up for more work?”

Or this one –

Me: “can you help me find a book on power networks?”
Librarian: “sure. Is this for a second year project?”
Me: “no, a first year project.”
Librarian: “They’re making you do first year projects now, too?”
Me: “no, I signed up for one.”
Librarian: “wow.  Why?”

One of the things that drew me to the 1YP was the flexibility to work on an elective credit on my own, at my own pace.  Of course, in reality that means waiting until the 11th hour to start researching and writing (if you are one of those people who stick to a disciplined schedule and finish things on time, I’m sorry but we can’t be friends). 

But as I approach the homestretch (1500 more words to go!), I realise that the answer to the question “why?” is because this obscure topic interests me: I want a job in media, and this is what the paper is about after all.  And there is something oddly satisfying about writing a report with a word count in the thousands with a bibliography that goes on for pages.  Sort of like running a marathon (not that I’ve done it) – mildly masochistic but somehow rewarding. 

This fall the faculty will no doubt post another slate of 1YPs, and for any MBA 2011 thinking about applying, feel free to come talk to me.  In the meantime, information sessions are being held for the 2nd Year Project, which are mandatory for graduation.  I think I'll finish this one before thinking about the next one.   

Friday 22 May, Stage 3 admission decisions deadline

If you have submitted an application in Stage 3 for a place on the Full-time MBA programme, you can expect to receive your decision later today (UK time).

Admission decisions will be sent to all applicants by email.

Good luck!

The Admissions Office

Listed!

So I know everyone is excited about our MBA being ranked number 1 in the world right now, and it goes without saying that I’m as delighted as ever.

Another recently published ranking—but perhaps not one most business students would find relevant—is Esquire Magazine’s World’s Best Dressed Man. Barack Obama… Roger Federer… wait!  Is that my boss on the list with them?!

Lo and behold, there he was, and I absolutely couldn’t believe it. Ever since I began working with him last fall to launch his fashion line, I have been constantly amazed by his ability to generate publicity and media attention. In fact, there is a BBC documentary to look forward to in a few months—we’ve had camera crews following our progress as a new business. (Hopefully any footage of me stammering on camera won’t make the final cut.

All in all, it’s been exactly the kind of entrepreneurial project I was hoping for. During off-days between classes, I head over to our “office” on the other side of Regent’s Park to delve into the business of fashion. As glossy and preened as finished projects look on magazine pages, the reality is that we huddle around laptops on the kitchen table, hold design councils in the living room and contrary to what certain FedEX commercials will tell you, it isn’t beneath this MBA student to work the mailroom when the situation calls.

I was originally attracted to entrepreneurship because of the task variety. Now, I find myself enjoying it because it is a daily test of the limits of my resourcefulness. Maybe I should have signed up for consulting estimation practice cases—you know, the ones where they ask you to guess how many ping-pong balls it would take to fill Wembley Stadium. The other day, I found myself staring at a storage room full of fabric and having to quickly estimate the value of our inventory. And maybe I should have also spent more time at they gym, because yesterday I let my humble ankle be part of a photoshoot for women’s legwarmers!

Between all the readings, assignments and case studies, it’s easy to slip into a mindset where the cranium dominates. But spreadsheets, formulas, and strategies on paper eventually require someone to DO something about them before they add any value, and at least for me, the entrepreneurial route has helped me connect better with the “doing” aspect.

(As a side pitch, for those of you who enjoy volunteering, The LBS Volunteering Committee organizes many non-cranial events to help you do more doing!)

MBA TV - Episode ten

Episode 10 of MBA TV is here.

Employment opportunities are always high-up the list of an MBA student’s priorities, but in today’s ultra competitive jobs market they assume an even greater importance.

In this episode we speak to Diane Morgan, Director of Career Services, and ask her about the School’s approach to meeting the challenges presented by the current global economic slowdown and how this will benefit students and alumni.

Find out more about our Career Services team here
http://www.london.edu/theschool/careerimpact.html

If you are interested in recruiting from London Business School, find out more here
http://www.london.edu/theschool/recruitourtalent.html

Follow the MBA admissions team on Twitter

For those of you who are on Twitter and want to stay on top of all the latest happenings throughout the admissions year you can follow us at twitter.com/LondonMBA. When we’re not busy meeting applicants from around the globe, reviewing applications or getting ready for this years class we’ll be tweeting about it. 

Don’t forget...

If you have any questions about the MBA or London Business School in general, our friendly information office is always available to help. Contact them by emailing mbainfo@london.edu or by calling +44 (0)20 7000 7500. And if you’re in London, you can drop in and see one of our Admissions Officers on Monday and Friday afternoons.

The MBA Programme Office

Singapore Day 2009 in London

On 25th April, I went to the Singapore Day held at Hampton Court Palace garden. This is an annual event and was previously held in Melbourne (2008) and New York (2007).

The weather was wonderful and the garden was amazing. What welcomed us at the entrance was the infamous ERP (Electronic Road Pricing) gantry. Currently there are about over 60 gantries in Singapore and the number is increasing. These gantries can be found at the Central Business District, highways and other areas that are prone to traffic congestion.

There were many food stalls in the compound and they provided various famous "hawker food" in Singapore. For example, Laksa, Chicken Rice, Chili Crab, Hokkien Mee, Satay and many others. The queues were long (up to an hour for certain popular food). Yet many people (Singaporeans, non-Singaporeans) seem did not mind at all about that.

There were Singapore's artists performing on the stage while people enjoying the sun and the beautiful garden. Singapore companies, government departments and Standard Chartered Bank had also information booths for people who have interests in Singapore opportunities.

Overall the event was really cool, especially for Singaporeans or people who have stayed there before in London. Just imagine hearing everyone speaks "Singlish" around you in UK.

  

 

 

 

MBA TV - Episode nine

Episode nine of MBA TV is here! The Marketing Club is one of the largest and most active professional clubs at London Business School. For students interested in marketing, product development, strategy and advertising, the club offers master classes, interview and case preparation workshops, speaker and networking events and the annual Marketing conference.

In this episode we attend ‘Meet the Marketers’, an event based on the concept of speed dating, giving students valuable face-to-face time with marketers from some of the biggest and best-known companies in the world. We speak to representatives from Cadbury, General Mills and Coca Cola, and catch up with the Marketing Club and current students.