Andrew says...

The Rat Race?

2009-11-19T00:19:00.000-08:00

One of the best classes I have taken so far at USC Marshall is MOR 571 Leadership and Executive Development with Professor McCall. Prior to business school, I had led in various contexts and read about great leaders, but never thought about my leadership philosophy or the language of leadership. This course has helped me explore the challenges of leadership through various approaches of great corporate and military leaders, corporate practices used to develop leaders, and derailment of leaders. It also helped me explore the strengths I have used or exploited as well as flaws I might have hidden or compensated for to get to where I am today.

The course explores the central challenge of leadership, which is creating a context for other people to be successful in achieving the organization's mission. Meeting this challenge depends on how leaders face five primary demands:

setting and communicating direction,
aligning people behind the direction,
developing the temperament to handle the stress, ambiguity, and conflicts inherent in the job,
setting and living values,
and growth of self and others.

Part of the course includes the development of The Map of Your Life, which is basically a way for us to figure out for ourselves who we think we are, what is worth pursuing, what we offer and what we need, what brings us to life and what saps the life out of us.

While working on this exercise, time and time again, I go back to my conflicts between money vs. happiness and rat race vs. fulfillment. Just going through all my blog entries from the past provided some interesting perspectives on my view of the world and my internal conflicts throughout business school.

Anyway, we are going to have the distinguished Warren Bennis, a leadership guru and one of the top business thinkers, in class next Monday. Maybe I can get his thoughts on some of these conflicts I keep coming across...

Money-Driven Medicine

2009-11-18T01:20:00.000-08:00

Just discovered this film, which provides an interesting perspective on reasons why health care costs so much. The film talks to the history of for-profit hospitals, the increasing specialization of medicine, the problems with pay for performance, and markets for medical devices and diagnostics. Not sure if MBAs are part of the problem or part of the solution, but definitely provides some food for thought.

Trailer:

During the month of November, Money-Driven Medicine will stream for free as part of the Watch-In! for America's Health: Click here

The Waiting Game

2009-11-07T17:54:00.000-08:00

The formal USC Marshall Career Resource Center recruiting process is almost over and now it's a waiting game until 2nd round interviews. This is the most grueling part of the process. It's kind of like having to wait until Christmas to see if your parents bought you a Sega Genesis (wow, I just dated myself) or an abacus. BUT even then there's a specific date when you know whether you will get something or not. With 2nd round interviews, you have no idea. It can come at any time through a number of different communication channels - email, voicemail, Twitter, okay well maybe not Twitter. Imagine that -

Not too professional I suppose. It would be quick and easy though and relatively painless if it turns out to be a ding from the top company on your list. Very personal too. And a bit public. Okay, maybe not a great idea.

Anyway, it's a relatively good time to go into healthcare right now with an aging population and increasing access through healthcare reform. Most sectors within the healthcare industry are all ramping up for the potential growth opportunity in the long-term, but companies are still a bit hesitant over hiring without seeing how healthcare reform plays out and the immediate implications of the shakeup. It is a tough market, but not much worse than when I graduated last time in December 2001. This time around I am definitely more resilient, more confident, and I know the value I bring to any organization. Especially in this tough market, if you don't know your unique selling proposition, you better start taking inventory of what you have to offer - pronto! Here is a pretty good e-book that got me started, check it out - How to Find Jobs That Do Not Exist Yet or Are Not Advertised

Back to work. Net Impact Conference in 5 days - can't wait! Who's going??

Upcoming MBA Related Events - October 2009 - Sustainability 501

2009-10-20T12:20:00.001-07:00

Net Impact Sustainability week here at USC Marshall - our 1st annual Sustainability 501 event - a discussion panel and networking event created to discuss business policy & landscape of sustainability in today’s business world.

Panelists from companies including:

Wal-Mart CSR
Toyota
Waste Management
AC Propulsion
Clinton Climate Initiative
Los Angeles Mayor's Office of Economic Development
Moderated by: Adlai Wertman, Director of the Society and Business Lab at USC Marshall

Check out these 2 upcoming MBA related events:

Net Impact Sustainability (NI:S) Committee Presents Sustainability 501
Date: October 22 2009 / 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Location: Edison Auditorium (Basement of Hoffman Hall)[map to HOH]
RSVP: RSVP here
- FREE: For USC Marshall Net Impact Members
- $10: Pre Registration
- $25: At the Door
Please email Sustainability501@gmail.com for more information.
SoCal Net Impact Fall Mixer
Date: October 22 2009 / 9:00 pm - 12:00 am
Location: West 4th and Jane - Santa Monica
Come out and meet Net Impact members from other chapters in Southern California including UCLA, Pepperdine, and the LA Professional Chapter.

If you're interested in subscribing to the Net Impact newsletter, please email me at Andrew Choi.

Let me know if you have any questions.

The World's Deepest Bin - The Fun Theory

2009-10-10T16:54:00.000-07:00

To throw rubbish in the bin instead of onto the floor shouldn’t really be so hard. Many people still fail to do so. Can we get more people to throw rubbish into the bin, rather than onto the ground, by making it fun to do? See the results here.

This is from The Fun Theory (an initiative with support from Volkswagen). Check out the site. It looks like it’s just getting started, but this is the way of the future. How many things are created today simply because that's the way its always been done? What can we reimagine? How can we create innovative ways to improve the world without making tradeoffs?

2nd Year Myth

2009-10-01T23:44:00.000-07:00

I really wish I had more time to blog because there are a lot of exciting things going on during 2nd year of business school. What they say about 2nd year being easier is a lie! Don't believe it - it's what 2nd years tell you so you can actually get through the 1st year of business school. I have been reading a lot of other MBA blogs lately and I think all the other 2nd years are feeling the same way. Maybe MBA bloggers are just extra active and take on too many activities so they have things to blog about. I should do a regression analysis on this and ... umm, I digress.

On the job search front, I just got back from the National Black MBA Conference in New Orleans a couple of days ago. It was very well organized and a lot of companies were represented at the conference. In the current economic climate, there were still a lot of companies looking for MBAs and I think it's a great opportunity for smaller companies to pick up top talent they would otherwise not get. Those looking for the big bucks will be a bit disappointed this year. I am cautiously optimistic (seems like the term being thrown around a lot these days) that things will continue to get better, but we will see how the job reports look tomorrow. New Orleans was a blast. Bourbon Street is hard to describe - a bit raunchy I suppose, but a lot of character. We roamed Bourbon Street for a bit, made our way to Harrah's and partied a bit more. Good times.

Running Net Impact this year has been an amazing experience. The 1st years are really embracing both areas of sustainability and social enterprise. We have had record turnouts for both kickoff meetings and students are really interested in learning about how they can make a difference through business. This week we had our kickoff meeting for the Net Impact Social Enterprise committee (NI:SE) and over 30 students showed up to learn about sustainable business models from Director Adlai Wertman of the USC Society and Business Lab. The Net Impact Sustainability committee's (NI:S) Energy Bootcamp event has attracted those interested in learning more about energy industry value chain, the roles of OEMs, utilities, IPPs, and installers in the process. I had a meeting with the Dean two days ago and he is a strong advocate and supporter of Net Impact, we just put together a marketing blitz for the National Net Impact Conference, and I have an awesome leadership team this year - 'nuff said.

Academically, 2nd year is not as rigorous as 1st year, but classes are still extremely difficult. I have 3 projects due next week, one of which involves looking at an analysis of alternative fuels. While looking at a number of biofuel options, algae seems like a viable option (well maybe in a couple more years) - here's an interesting article on a company called Algenol and The Algae Biofuel Race With Process Economics Advantage.

Signing off for now...

2nd Year - USC Marshall - Upcoming MBA Related Events - September 2009

2009-09-07T20:49:00.000-07:00

Haven't written in a while since I wrapped up my summer internship at GE Healthcare out in Milwaukee. Between driving home, moving into my apartment, starting 2nd year at USC Marshall, and running Net Impact, blogging definitely took a back seat. But I am back!

Recap: summer internship at GE Healthcare was awesome! After driving for 2,000 miles across middle America making my way from Los Angeles to Milwaukee, I obviously didn't know what to expect. To my surprise, Milwaukee is a fun town and a great city to explore over the summer. It even made Forbe's list at #9 for the Best Cities for Singles. Now #2 for nightlife might be a bit generous, but we certainly found our fair share of things to do around the city.

Going into this internship I had a couple of key goals - 1) broad understanding of healthcare industry and challenges, 2) specific knowledge of B2B marketing, 3) ecomagination and GE’s commitment to sustainability. Through my 4 projects, my head was spinning in healthcare terminologies and acronyms. In the process, I did learn a couple of things from this summer about the ECLP program and GE in general. With this internship, I am definitely taking away a wealth of knowledge and experience that will be applicable for this upcoming year.

---

Now, 2nd year is interesting and a bit odd. My schedule is all over the board since I'm taking a bunch of elective courses. Classes doesn't start until 12:30pm MW and 2:00pm TTH. I find myself with a lot of free time - at least for the first two weeks. That will certainly change soon enough. I have two interviews coming up this week and National Black coming up next week. We also had our 1st community kickoff event for Net Impact last week and had a packed room! There is definitely a lot of interest this year and our club continues to grow.

Anyway, there are a couple of great upcoming events this month you should definitely check out.

Check out these 2 upcoming MBA related events:

Net Impact Sustainability (NI:S) Committee Presents Energy Industry Bootcamp
Date: Every Wednesday starting September 9 2009 / 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Location: JKP 102 [map to JKP]
Please email Bobby Hsu to RSVP.
Net Impact Presents 2nd Year Summer Chat
Date: Tuesday September 15 2009 / 11:00 am - 12:20 pm
Location: JKP 112
Come learn about what 2nd year students did for their summer internship in key sustainability and social enterprise industries -
Please email Kelly Heintz to RSVP.

More to come - stay tuned! If you're interested in subscribing to the Net Impact newsletter, please email me at Andrew Choi.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Summer Internship Part 3 - The Future of Healthcare

2009-07-29T19:36:00.000-07:00

Being in the healthcare industry right now means being in the eye of the storm as healthcare reform continues to inundate the news on a day to day basis. Obviously costs are out of control, hospitals have trouble recruiting physicians, patients continually ask for more healthcare since payers cover most of the costs, and doctors churn through patients since they're paid based on quantity not quality. Is there one healthcare reform solution that will provide increased access, lowered cost, and improved quality? Magic bullet? Secret sauce?

I don't know if anyone caught the Meeting of the Minds: The Future of Healthcare this past Monday on CNBC, but it was an interesting debate from the biggest names in industry and government on the healthcare crisis. If you didn't, check it out:

The debate starts with the basic premise of "what is a life worth?" As the debate goes from one person to the next, you can see the vastly complicated interwoven healthcare system and how these stakeholders in the game have specific constituents they are responding to and hold accountable for. Each of them seems to think he/she has a solution, but none of them can do it alone. And I'm not sure any of these experts can see outside of their own perspective. Maybe if they switch roles - CEO of WellPoint runs Michigan and vice versa - it would help them see healthcare from a different light.

Of course, Mr. Obama makes a guest appearance on the show - what would healthcare reform be without a word from our president? I wish he didn't make that cameo though so we can have at least one legitimate healthcare discussion without having the president's influence in the conversation. But I do appreciate his aggressive leadership on this issue even as he continues to lose his political capital pushing this conversation through the government. Anyway, watch the show - leave some comments.

The show will repeat on Sunday August 2nd at 8pm ET and on Monday August 3rd at 9pm ET.

Summer Internship Part 2 - Midsummer

2009-07-21T23:10:00.000-07:00

About midway through my internship here in Milwaukee and interestingly, Milwaukee is not a bad place to be during the summer. Sure, the weather is not like the summer in sunny LA, and the diversity is a bit lacking, but there are some highlights. Interesting tidbits:

Milwaukee has a lot of ethnic dining especially on Brady Street and Milwaukee Street
The Machine Shed (yes, Machine Shed) is our favorite lunch spot serving the most amazing potato soup - it taste like they tossed a potato in a blender and threw cheese, chive and bacon bits on top of it - and it taste sooo good...
It's about an hour and a half drive from Chicago and Chicago is a great time. I take the Amtrak from Chicago to Milwaukee and it's about $20 each way
Milwaukee has tons of great festivals during the summer - Summerfest - the World's largest musical festival, Bastille Days - a four-day French festival that turns downtown Milwaukee into a Parisian Playground, and Irish Fest is coming up
Beer :)

I spent a week in training last week in Greenwich, CT. Trainings were long from 7am - 6pm everyday, but I definitely learned some cool stuff. Check out some of these cool sites:

- I keep hearing about this Smart Grid thing, what is it?

The smart grid marries information technology with our current electrical infrastructure, helping us support the energy needs of our 21st Century society. The smart grid is, in essence, an “energy Internet,” delivering real-time energy information and knowledge—empowering smarter energy choices.

Find out more - Smart Grid

- The Barbarian Group, an online marketing company, created a marketing journal showing what GE actually does. Here are these guys following a wind turbine up a mountain including the haul and the assembly:

See all the cool stuff GE is doing - GE Adventure

- GE is blogging as well - check out GE Reports

- This was rolled out during training - if you want to learn more about the Experienced Commercial Leadership Program, check this out: A look behind the scenes: in their own words

4 more weeks left for my internship and it's a race to the finish. Just when I am starting to figure out what's going on - it's almost over!

Summer Internship Part 1

2009-06-19T15:16:00.000-07:00

It's an amazing time to be in healthcare with healthcare reform in the news everyday, the launch of healthymagination initiative, and the number of emerging healthcare innovations.

Here's a interesting summary of the problem in healthcare:

Like most hospital systems, they are their own entity providing the infrastructure and the billing systems to support the doctors who work in their facilities as independent contractors. So here are the main players:
The Hospital System
The independent doctors
Medicare
Private Insurance companies
Ideally, the payors and the providers all work within the same pot of money. If they do the most cost-efficient and highest quality work, they should make more money and their patients are better off for it. But each entity is separate with their own goals.
The hospital system wants to maximize their profitability by increasing high margin services. The more revenue their doctors bring and the better they can streamline healthcare processes, the more they profit.
The doctors want to maximize their profitability by increasing their volume, especially through their high margin services.
Medicare wants to stop paying for volume and rather pay for quality. However, the hospital and doctors are still writing on paper, therefore eliminating the potential to measure quality. They did, however, recently spend nearly $100 million on a 1986-based electronic medical record system that will take 4 years to roll out in an attempt to connect all these independent contractual doctors practicing in silos. The doctors hate the system because it’s just so fast and easy to write on paper.
Private insurance companies are salivating at the opportunity to maximize their profits by immediately following whatever Medicare does.
The failed strategies are:
The hospital system is trying to hire their independent doctors. They want to control their doctors and dictate what they can and can’t do in their practices. The doctors don’t want to be employees and therefore controlled in both behavior and potential revenue. The hospital system wants to do the right thing. They want to eliminate quantity medicine and become a closed loop system that creates a culture of doing the right thing, rather than doing the most things. Because doing the right thing is good for patients, good for quality, and measurable. Once things are measurable, strategies can be put in place to streamline processes and make them more profitable.
Medicare is saying “We want to pay hospitals in bundles for quality healthcare. Hospitals must figure out how to pay all of these independent contractors from the bundle of cash we send them.”
The docs are saying “Yeah right. We don’t work for hospitals, nor do we want to be their employees. We don’t want our revenue slashed by 30%. And, by the way hospitals, last we checked, you need us. We can go elsewhere and start competing with you rather than working with you.”
So all these entities are staring at one another, pitted against one another, waiting to meet at the bargaining table, with all eyes on bickering senators in Washington arguing over big picture strategy and minor details with hopes of keeping their deep-pocketed constituents and lobbyists as happy and profitable as possible... Source

So in trying to keep up with emerging trends in healthcare I have been reading up tons of interesting articles, blogs, and posts:

- Why Don’t More Men Go to the Doctor? Men are generally less healthy than women, yet they see their doctors less often.
- The Doctor of the Future - Cost, access, quality -- the prognosis for American health care may look grim, but innovation is the cure. The medicine of tomorrow is being born today. Imagine Facebook + Twitter + Healthcare Delivery = Hello Health!
- Daydreaming and Booze - Why you might want to drink during your workday...
- Michael Porter on Healthcare Reform - The key is to shift to universal coverage in a way that supports restructuring of the delivery system around value.

The Asian Math Gene

2009-06-16T20:06:00.000-07:00

I have always done math in my head in Chinese (Cantonese). I emigrated to the US when I was six years old and I barely speak Cantonese anymore (except at home), but I continue to do math in Chinese. Never thought about it really - it's almost subconscious. In second grade, we used to play this game call Around the World where one of the students would stand behind the next student in a circle. The teacher held up addition or multiplication flash cards and the first student to say the answer stood behind the next student in the circle. I would usually go around the circle a couple of times before someone would beat me, usually by luck. The other students said I was Asian so I was good at math. I was born with math skills. The Asian Math Gene - it made sense. I believed it. Never really questioned it after that.

During my drive to Milwaukee, I listened to Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers and in one of the chapters Rice Paddies and Math Tests, he actually had a valid rational for this phenomenon. Okay, my ancestor's work ethics in the rice paddies translating into mathematical prowess seemed a bit absurd, but the neurolinguistic explanation did make a lot of sense:

Take a look at the following list of numbers: 4,8,5,3,9,7,6. Read them out loud to yourself. Now look away, and spend twenty seconds memorizing that sequence before saying them out loud again.

If you speak English, you have about a 50 percent chance of remembering that sequence perfectly. If you're Chinese, though, you're almost certain to get it right every time. Why is that? Because as human beings we store digits in a memory loop that runs for about two seconds. We most easily memorize whatever we can say or read within that two second span. And Chinese speakers get that list of numbers—4,8,5,3,9,7,6—right every time because—unlike English speakers—their language allows them to fit all those seven numbers into two seconds.

That example comes from Stanislas Dehaene's book "The Number Sense," and as Dehaene explains:

Chinese number words are remarkably brief. Most of them can be uttered in less than one-quarter of a second (for instance, 4 is 'si' and 7 'qi') Their English equivalents—"four," "seven"—are longer: pronouncing them takes about one-third of a second. The memory gap between English and Chinese apparently is entirely due to this difference in length. In languages as diverse as Welsh, Arabic, Chinese, English and Hebrew, there is a reproducible correlation between the time required to pronounce numbers in a given language and the memory span of its speakers. In this domain, the prize for efficacy goes to the Cantonese dialect of Chinese, whose brevity grants residents of Hong Kong a rocketing memory span of about 10 digits.

So according to Gladwell, I might not actually be good at math, just quicker based on lingustics. Interesting theory - I always thought it was because of my individual talent and initiative. Oh well, it has carried me this far...

I love this quote. It's like something I would get out of a fortune cookie: "No one who can rise before dawn 360 days a year fails to make his family rich"

I digress. Outliers also had a whole chapter on KIPP - Knowledge Is Power Program, a public school program started in inner-city Houston back in 1994. Gladwell talked about the achievement gap between the performance of groups of students in different socioeconomic status and cited Karl Alexander's "summer learning loss" research as the reason for this distinct academic disadvantage. Low-income students actually gained more during schools than their high-income peers, but fell back over the summer while the rich kids moved ahead:

What Alexander's work suggests is that the way in which education has been discussed in the United States is backwards. An enormous amount of time is spent talking about reducing class size, rewriting curricula, buying every student a shiny new laptop, and increasing school funding--all of which assumes that there is something fundamentally wrong with the job schools are doing. But schools work. The only problem with school, for the kids who aren't achieving, is that there isn't enough of it...For it's poorest students, America doesn't have a school problem. It has a summer vacation problem, and that's the problem the KIPP schools set out to solve.

KIPP students spent more time in class. Their classes started earlier, lasted longer, and sometimes ran on Saturdays. KIPP students did better because they worked harder. Also, KIPP schools are grounded in a culture that acted on a shared, authentic belief that all students can learn, and KIPP schools are populated by teachers who are deeply committed to making a difference. KIPP supposedly founded some of its first teachers by going to school parking lots in the evening and putting flyers on the cars of teachers who were still in the schools working. Teachers who worked into the evening because of their commitment to kids were the kind of teachers wanted at KIPP schools.

I didn't know much about KIPP before, but definitely interested in learning more about the school. Check out this video:

Milwaukee or Bust

2009-06-01T23:19:00.000-07:00

2059 miles
4 days
3 nights
8 states
30 hours
Wednesday, June 3 - Cedar City, UT
Thursday, June 4 - Denver, CO
Friday, June 5 - Des Moines, IA
Saturday, June 6 - Milwaukee, WI

Anyone know of any good restaurants in any of these cities?

Wish me luck!

Follow my trip on Twitter @andrewmchoi

- Andrew

USC Marshall PRIME - Sao Paulo, Brazil

2009-05-30T17:01:00.000-07:00

"The real voyage of discovery consists of not seeing new landscapes, but in having new eyes." - Marcel Proust

The objective of PRIME is for us to "see (with our global eyes) similarities and differences, and the differences within the similarities and differences, and differences within similarities and within differences, which offer opportunities for distinctly global strategic thinking." - Carl Voigt

Professor Voigt has a way of saying a lot to drive minute points into our heads and at times he would tell stories and go on and on for a half hour to do just that. Acquiring “global eyes” was one of those subtle points he drilled into our heads from day one of our PRIME Global Strategy session. At the time, I had no idea what he was talking about, but now having experienced it personally, I am definitely “seeing” the world (or at least Brazil/Argentina) from a whole new perspective.

USC Marshall PRIME is a global business experience rather than an international vacation. Last year, I backpacked from Panama City to San Jose to Managua for about 2 weeks and I visited canals, rain forests, beaches, waterfalls, and zip lines. I spoke to the locals about their culture, history, and some politics, and tried out some of the local beers and nightlife. Pretty typical experience. This year though, I visited Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires for about 2 weeks and instead of focusing on what Brazil/Argentina were known for – Rio, Carnival, steak houses, night life, beaches, attractive women, coffee – I tried to open my “global eyes” and observe the nuances and subtleties of these countries. In effect, I noticed – Brazil seeing itself as a rising global power, the implication of hyperinflation on an economy, international expansion by acquisition, soccer as a metaphor for globalization, the effect of Mercosur and free trade agreements, access to capital and entrepreneurship, and focus on sustainability and corporate social responsibility. While both experiences were tons of fun, PRIME made me walk out of those countries with a new set of “global eyes”.

Sao Paulo, Brazil

With all this BRIC talk this past year in business school there were high expectations set for Sao Paulo. On paper, I never considered Brazil to be in the same league as India and China especially with its dependency on commodity export, its geographic disadvantage, and its lack of growing middle class. Yet from conversing with most of the executives at these Brazilian companies such as Camargo Correa, Embraer, and Banco Itau, they definitely felt differently.

Camargo Correa, the GE of Brazil, continues to acquire firms in South America and abroad building its diversified portfolio of footwear to cement to construction to energy. Embraer, the world's third-largest aircraft maker behind Airbus and Boeing, does over 90% of its business outside Brazil and continues to nibble into Airbus' and Boeing's market share with its smaller 118-seaters. Banco Itau mostly shielded from the global financial crisis due to Brazil's high capital requirement and strict regulation will be making some global plays while other global institutions are feeling the hit from credit contraction. So while Brazil is feeling the hit from falling commodity prices and lower demand for exports in the short run, it is very optimism about its future and potential growth.

It was also good to see Brazilian companies start to embrace the areas of social responsibility and sustainability. Embraer is setting the standard in this area as one of the three Brazilian companies to be listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. It is also aligning its initiatives with the Sustainability Reporting Guidelines from the Global Reporting Initiative to define metrics for its products and provide transparency for its supply chain. An interesting dialogue ensued regarding whether or not Americans will pay more for so-called “green” products and the benefits of cap and trade for Embraer. Also, during one of our luncheons with Amcham Brazil we talked about the Ethos Institute and its mission to "mobilize, encourage and help companies manage their business in a socially responsible way, making them partners in building a sustainable and fair society." Overall, I think most companies in Brazil are taking the right steps in this area and heading in the right direction.

The most interesting thing I learned about Brazil is its advance sugarcane ethanol production technology. Brazil is today the world's second largest producer of ethanol fuel and the world's largest exporter. After the oil crisis of 1973 when OPEC imposed an oil embargo on the West, Brazil vowed never to be at the mercy of oil producers again. It launched a national program to create a viable alternative to gasoline, one that could use the nation's sugarcane industry to produce enough ethanol to meet its economic needs. When the price of oil skyrocketed last year, Brazil was not dependence on imported oil. While a gallon of gasoline soared past $4 - a gallon of ethanol in Brazil hovered at around $1. This is definitely one area where the US can look to Brazil and see how we can in one generation end our dependence on foreign oil.

So although I am still skeptical on Brazil's potential as a world power, I can certainly see how Brazil is attracting so much foreign capital especially in its energy sector. Okay, I have to go satisfy my American cravings of Starbucks vanilla latte, McDonalds fries, and an In-N-Out burger, more on Buenos Aires later...

10 Advices for Incoming MBA Students

2009-05-11T00:49:00.000-07:00

USC Marshall Admit Weekend 2009 just came and gone this last weekend; I can't believe it has been a year already! I still remember when I was a bright-eyed, energetic prospective student during Admit Weekend last year meeting and getting to know all of my future friends and colleagues. This past year has been a marathon and I know every one of us has hit the wall at one point or another, but most of us survived to continue on. Now seeing this new class coming in is a bit rejuvenating - I think it made us all realized what we went through and why we all PAID to do this in the first place. MBA - Where Amazing Happens...

I have to say that I was very impressed with our new class of 2011. I met a lot of well-rounded, passionate individuals looking to make some moves in this world and I am definitely looking forward to working with this talented group of students.

My buddy Peter Mums had a panel on 'things I wish I had known prior to attending b school' during Admit Weekend for prospective students so I thought I would throw in my 2 cents on what I have learned over this past year personally or through friends.

Start early on career-related activities - look into summer MBA programs (P&G, the Consortium), get your resume & cover letters ready over the summer, get that internship before winter break. It will be a huge load off your back, trust me. Develop a strong relationship with your vertical lead.
Go to all the National Conferences (these are not exclusive, anyone can attend) - National Black, National Society of Hispanic MBAs, Net Impact Conference
If you are in a relationship, set expectations with your partner - This is a difficult stretch of time for most people and relationships. Talk it out, hug it out, tell your partner you'll be gone 'til November, of 2012...
Set up an internal network of trusted friends/colleagues after your first month - You will meet a lot of people quickly and develop a huge network, but setup a small group of people you can trust and count on. Business school is an emotional roller coaster and you will need people to lean on and hear you out when the going gets tough.
Get involved in a leadership position early - It's hard to stand out in a crowd when you are in a room with a bunch of type-As and driven individuals. Find a couple of clubs you are really passionate about and get to know everyone in that club. 2nd years are always looking for active 1st year students to take over and they want to make sure the club is in good hands once they leave.
Take risks - Business school is the best time for you to make mistakes. Do what you normally wouldn't do, work on your weaknesses, be a completely different person. You are paying for it - do what you want to do!
Case competitions - Do as many as you can! My take is that case competitions take you through the mental exercise of thinking about business from all perspectives and you get to see how you compete against top competitions from other schools.
Give back to the community - You will be really busy, but take time to volunteer and give back. As an MBA, you are a leader in your community and a role model for a lot of people. At USC Marshall, we have programs such as Net Impact Service Corps and C4C where we volunteer with many local non-profits and community organizations year after year.
Outlook Calendar is your best friend - Use it wisely to manage your time. Prioritize and don't stretch yourself too thin. Don't make a habit of triple-booking yourself.
Sleep a lot over the summer - You won't sleep much during the school year. Especially if you keep a blog. =P

Speaking of which, the Best of Blogging 2008-2009 results are in and my blog has been selected as #8 by the Clear Admit staff, nominated bloggers, and judges! I am honored by the selection and hope to continue to entertain, educate, and provide insight to the MBA experience and USC Marshall School of Business. Congrats to all the BoB winners - definitely check out all the blogs below:

Top 10 Applicant Blogs
1. TienyChesney - mbaveggie.blogspot.com
2. D.G. - www.managingmagic.com
3. Ahembeea - trystwithmba.wordpress.com
4. MissionMBA - missionmba.wordpress.com
5. Soni - sonismbaadventure.blogspot.com
6. PaloAltoForAwhile - paloaltoforawhile.blogspot.com
7. Choc Heaven - dreamer-choc.blogspot.com
8. Helen - lifelessordinary.typepad.com/my_weblog
9. Samantha - bestmbablogever.blogspot.com
10. OMGParisHilton - omgmbaapps.blogspot.com

Top Ten Student Blogs
1. MaybeMBA - tombaornot.blogspot.com
2. JulyDream - julydream.blogspot.com
3. Paragon2Pieces - paragon2pieces.blogspot.com
4. Hairtwirler - mbajamey.blogspot.com
5. Iday - i4iday.blogspot.com
6. TinyDancer - tinydancermba.blogspot.com
7. CS - www.computersexy.com/blog
8. Andrew - www.andrewmchoi.com
9. Mandy - mandylozano.blogspot.com
10. M@ - speedywithchicken.wordpress.com

GE’s healthymagination Commits $6B to Enable Better Healthcare

2009-05-08T16:20:00.000-07:00

"We originally thought that reducing our carbon footprint would cost us money; it's actually saving us money." - Jeffrey Immelt, CEO of GE, on the ecomagination initiative

Exciting new initiative at GE! Just a day after the announcement of Jeff Immelt as the keynote speaker at the 2009 National Net Impact Conference, GE released its healthymagination initiative - commiting $6B to enable better healthcare by launching 100+ innovations that lower cost, increase access and improve quality by 15%.

GE continues to take bold new steps into the future of healthcare using the ecomagination model to duplicate a whole new model around healthcare. Similar to the eco movement, companies are reluctant to take on the challenge based on the belief that innovations and improvements always involves certain tradeoffs - mainly costs vs returns. By taking a long term perspective, ecomagination has not only increase revenue 4 fold in a little over 4 years, GE reduced its carbon footprint by 8% saving over $100M annually. Looking forward to this summer and learning more about the new healthymagination initiative.

Check out the webcast - Jeff Immelt introduces GE healthymagination initiative: click here

Business School = 2 FT Jobs

2009-04-23T01:59:00.000-07:00

"If it’s done right, getting an MBA full time should be like having two full-time jobs," said Hayden Estrada, assistant dean of graduate admissions at the Boston University School of Management (link)

Two more weeks until school is over and everything is going full force right now. I don't even have time to construct a full blog post, but maybe just a stream of consciousness?

Got back from C4C Weekend up at Stanford on Sunday - came in 2nd behind UCLA for the Golden Briefcase. We'll get them next year...

4 projects going on concurrently: New Product Development (naan bakery); Market Demand and Sales Forecasting (credit card delinquency and demographics correlation); PRIME (Argentina Banco Galicia); Net Impact Service Corps (Literacy Network of Greater Los Angeles)

Registered and got all my electives for next year:
BAEP 551, Introduction to New Ventures
MOR 571, Leadership and Executive Development
FBE 527, Entrepreneurial Finance
MKT 560, Marketing Strategy and Policy
IOM 547, Designing Spreadsheet-Based Business Models

Figuring out where to stay and what to do in Argentina after PRIME for about 4 days. Right now thinking about going to a River Plate soccer game and seeing Iguazu Falls, short-listed as a candidate to be one of the new 7 Wonders of the world.

Anyone have any great suggestions?

Looking for a place to stay in Milwaukee, WI for the summer and trying to figure out how to get there for my summer internship. Driving 2000 miles across the country doesn't sound very fun...

Marshall Net Impact is in full force - we have tons of events lined up for next year. Incoming class of 2011- if you're going to Admit Weekend on May 1-2, come by and visit our table! Sneak peek of events:

Sustainability

Education Series – A series of student led education discussion designed to self educate members on sustainability issues (Carbon/GHG issues, regulatory issues, automotive technology, infrastructure, cradle to cradle)
Sustainability 501 – Career panel of sustainable industries (Waste Management, Athens, etc)
alterEnergy – Career panel of alternative energy companies (Axial, SoCal Edison, Solar Reserve)
Take One Campaign – NI:S awareness program to reduce paper usage at JKP
Company Site Visits – Field trips/recruitment trips to various companies such as Waste Management, Athens, and Toyota

Social Enterprise

Nonprofit Board Leadership & Careers in Social Impact Panel
Net Impact Service Corps
Alumni Career Panel

California expects 100,000 'green' jobs to be created. Not only MBAs, but many green careers are available to applicants with less formal education and less traditional job experience. Check out opportunities in the Green Jobs Guidebook

3 finals, 2 quizzes, 1 PRIME exam... okay. Stream ends here; back to work.

Upcoming MBA Related Events - April 2009 - Earth Week

2009-04-16T13:50:00.000-07:00

Wrapping up the week before we head up to Stanford for C4C weekend for a weekend of craziness and to take back the Golden Briefcase! If you are applying to one of the West Coast business schools, you should definitely check out what C4C is all about.

April is definitely green month here @USC. Check out a couple of the exciting events we have lined up:

USC Earth Week 2009
Date: Apr 17-23 2009
Location: Across campus

The Sustainabilty Program has been working with numerous campus organizations to bring you the most extensive program of Earth Week events ever. Take a look at the official Earth Week Events Flier to find out the event locations and times.
Marshall Net Impact - Renewable Energy Lunch and Learn Lecture Series
Date: Apr 20-22 2009 / 11:00 am - 12:30 pm
Location: JKP 104 & 102

Following the momentum of our alterEnergy event back in March, Marshall Net Impact is bringing in Jeff Atkins from Loyola Law school for a lecture series on renewable energy.

Session 1: Government Clean Energy Policies and Incentives /
Clean Energy Technologies (solar, wind, geothermal, hydro, tidal and biomas)
Date: Apr 20 2009 / 11:00 am - 12:30 pm
Location: JKP 104

Session 2: Utilities Ownership and Participation in Renewable Energy Projects
Date: Apr 21 2009 / 11:00 am - 12:30 pm
Location: JKP 102

Please email Bobby Hsu to RSVP.

Sponsored by Marshall Net Impact with support from the Society and Business Lab
USC Undergrad Net Impact - Dan Pallotta
Date: Apr 21 2009 / 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Location: WPH B27

Dan Pallotta, critically acclaimed author of Uncharitable: How Restraints on Nonprofits Undermine Their Potential, will be on campus on Tuesday, April 21st. Dan will discuss his experiences running a for-profit company that planned large scale fundraising events for non profit organizations. He believes that society's expectations of nonprofit organizations prevents them from incorporating business practices and more effectively achieving their mission.

Sponsored by USC Undergrad Net Impact and The Levan Institute for Ethics & Humanities

By the way, the new USC Sustainability Website is up and running! Keep up on the latest green events in the Los Angeles area and check out the bios on the Marshall Net Impact Sustainability Committee.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Increase the Value of Your MBA

2009-04-10T17:51:00.000-07:00

I just found out today that I was selected as 1 of 25 Clear Admit Best of Blogging nominees for 2008-2009! According to Clear Admit, the criteria for selection is two-fold: "First, we want to recognize and celebrate the best MBA applicant and student blogs covering the 2008-09 admissions cycle/academic year. Equally important is Clear Admit’s commitment to identifying valuable sources of information for the next round of MBA applicants and students."

I am definitely honored to be among a group of top MBAs crazy enough to do a full-time MBA and actually blog about the experience. As you can see from my last entry, Week in the Life, an MBA is a major commitment so I congratulate all the other nominees on that list for their time and dedication. Now all I ask is that Clear Admit lists USC / Marshall as one of the MBA programs under the MBA Programs: North America section. Students love USC Marshall! Just sayin'

---

I continue to find the conversation around the media circles and even among MBAs is the quote unquote, value of an MBA. Is the MBA losing its value and if so, what does that mean?

From a purely economical standpoint, yes, the value of an MBA is of course decreasing. With the influx of supply from the financial sector looking for work along with the increase in demand applying to business school to duck the recession, supply curve shifts right, equilibrium price falls. Obvious stuff. My eyes glazed over most of the time in GSBA 511 as the professor droned about supply and demand curves, but at least I learned that much.

From an institutional standpoint, many schools in recent years have gone the route of taking younger students with less experience, teaching them to maximize shareholder value at all cost, and funneling them into highly lucrative careers in finance. Pure capitalism. And why not? The top schools that understood the ranking game capitalized on the salary gap and continued to keep their top positions. The formula worked when Wall Street thrived and why fix it if it's not broken?

Well, it broke.

We, as MBAs, have taken the brunt of the criticism for the credit crisis. While not all institutions followed the same 'formula', most schools have started to reflect on their responsibilities of developing MBAs with an understanding of how to build responsible, sustainable businesses. Also, most businesses are starting to realize that long term wealth creation is about integrating business with society.

The term triple bottom line has been thrown around in recent years by smaller circles that focus on corporate social responsibility. Basically, the triple bottom line focuses on capturing the values and criteria for measuring organizational success: social, economic and environmental.

It is impetus for MBAs and prospective students that want to increase the value of their MBA to integrate the understanding of the triple bottom line into their MBA education. There are thousands of MBAs out there right now that will understand how to capture "economic" value better than you. But what will separate you from the pack is the value you add as a business leader who understands the long term consequences of decisions on society and sustainability.

That is why I am excited about my role as President of Marshall Net Impact this year. We are right now at a point in time where students are starting to understand the importance of sustainability and businesses are going through a fundamental shift toward embracing sustainability as a core competency and a global strategy. We, as Net Impact, are at the forefront of leading this change at business schools across the country and transforming this "greed is good" culture one student at a time. Huge challenges, but an opportune time.

The new way of doing business: "sustainability is good"

"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader" - John Q Adams

Week in the Life - Term 4 USC Marshall MBA

2009-03-28T17:35:00.000-07:00

I have been asked by some people why most of my posts are community or activity related and lacking in academics and career. There are a couple reasons for that I suppose.

I was fortunate enough to secure a summer internship with GE Healthcare through the PrECLP program prior to starting USC Marshall. If you're thinking about a career in marketing, I encourage you to apply to one of the summer camp programs prior to business school. It will definitely give you more time to take on other activities and take a huge load off your back if you secure that internship. Although I should be doing more networking and career resource center (CRC) stuff having the internship does take my focus away from career-related activities
We have some great professors here at Marshall and some so-so ones like most schools. But who really wants to read (or write) about microeconomics or regression models??

For me, the business school experience is really all about the activities and it is where the best learning opportunities take place. Yes, I can take a course on organizational behavior or global strategy, but until I lead a team or go through the mental exercise of a case competition, it's just theoretical. But for those of you who are really interested in all aspects of career, academics, and community, I'll give you an example of a week in the life of a Marshall MBA - term 4. Because, seriously, you don't really get a view of what life is really like for an MBA from just one day...

So I just finished spring break last week; my first week back just starting term 4. Should be a walk in the park right? Nope

Monday
8am - Term 4 is the start of PRIME, our international immersion that includes lectures, team projects, and site visits. I will be going to Brazil/Argentina in May working on a CRM project for a South American bank, Banco Galicia. They gave us a brief lecture on library resources and where to find data for specific countries, emerging markets, etc.

9:30am - GSBA 515 - Global Strategy with Carl Voigt. A course on competitive strategy and long-term competitive advantage for firms from a global context. This is one of my favorite classes so far, but Professor Voigt is known for cold-calling so you have to come prepared. We did a case study on the Walt Disney Company and tried to analyze and understand the corporate strategy of the business. Is the model sustainable? Has Disney diversified too far?

11am - Lunch meeting to finish the Market Demand and Sales Forecasting group assignment due Wednesday. We had to put together some regression models to figure out the effect of feature and display promotions on the sales of ketchup vs its competitors. Fun. Moving on...

12:30pm - I had Global Economics and Sales Forecasting classes in the afternoon, but decided to go to #TEDxUSC instead. USC and the prestigious TED conference have partnered to deliver this independently organized TED event right here at USC. You can read more about it on CNN.com, but a bunch of amazing speakers talking about Biosphere 2, the Atlas Project, video game as art, and finding cure for the blind. We even had a surprise guest, Melissa Etheridge, who sang a duet with the Muslim rockstar, Salman Ahmad.

“Differences are what keeps the change from happening,” said Etheridge, explaining how people of diverse cultures must overcome their differences in the quest for peace.

9pm - Started reading the RKS Guitar case for Tuesday and writing my 7 page analysis on Terry's Group - Pyramint Chocolate for my New Product Development class due on Thursday. Wrote about 1 page and the beer from the TEDxUSC mixer kicked in. Fell asleep around 1am.

Tuesday
I just realized how long it would actually take to write out what I did for the whole week, but since I started already, sigh... escalation of commitment.

11am - MKT 530 - Product Development and Marketing Strategies with Diane Badame. This is an elective course on systematic approach to product development and management. It talks to the processes, techniques, and concepts firms use to develop, test, and introduce products and to manage products over their lifecycle. We talked about RKS Guitar and Design company and whether they should enter the high-end segment of the guitar industry. Professor Badame is full of energy and her in-depth understanding and marketing insights makes the class goes by really fast.

2pm - Met my case competition team to talk about the Marshall Marketing Challenge. It's an internal marketing competition where we form a team and market a product to fellow students. We had to develop a marketing proposal and sell the product in the marketplace with fun money next Wednesday. We ended up with a product called Neutrogena Sheer Bodytint, which is basically a sunless tanner. What the heck are we supposed to do with this?

3:30pm - I was supposed to study for my PRIME midterm on Wednesday, but had to send out tons of emails trying to get PR for the Marshall Net Impact AlterEnergy event on Thursday. Then I had to finish my portion of the Sales Forecasting group assignment. Fun.

6pm - Went to the law library to study for PRIME, but wasted most of my time thinking about ideas for the Marshall Marketing Challenge.

10pm - Ate dinner and went home to study for PRIME. Read my Global Strategy case for Newell. Fell asleep around 3am.

Wednesday
8am - Classes from 8am-3:30pm. Took the PRIME midterm. Didn't get cold-called for Global Strategy. Interesting session on GDP in MacroEcon. Turned in my Group Assignment for Sales Forecasting. Wanted to take a nap. Drank 2 mugs of coffee and a coke.

11am - As President of Marshall Net Impact next year, I want to build more awareness in the business school regarding sustainability and societal issues and how business can drive those changes. The Sustainability Steering committee kicked off their first meeting to do just that. The VPs of Sustainability drove the meeting and talked about educational events, site visits, and networking opportunities to engage students in sustainable practices. It was a very productive meeting; I am very fortunate to have a great Marshall Net Impact leadership team for next year.

3:30pm - Sent out a bunch of emails to other Net Impact chapters and perspective students interested in sustainability or social enterprise/non-profits.

5pm - Met with my Marshall Marketing Challenge team and started brainstorming more about the product and how we can maximize profits with this Sheer Bodytint. We threw a bunch of ideas around and finally decided on an idea to just sell individual pumps on the day of the event. How would we do that?

9pm - Went home to finish my 7 page analysis on Terry's Group - Pyramint Chocolate for my New Product Development class. Had 2 pages by 12am. Not good. Went to bed around 4am.

Thursday
9am - I woke up early to do some research about GE Healthcare since I had a phone call with my hiring manager about my internship at 12:30pm. Gathered some good data on the business and read up on diagnostic imaging, clinical systems, and life sciences. Read up on emerging markets and healthcare in India/China.

11am - Turned in my 7 page analysis and talked about Terry's Group's strategy for Pyramint Chocolate. Professor Badame loves the consumer experience with the product so she brought in Terry's Chocolate Oranges for us to whack and snack. Yum!

12:30pm - Called my hiring manager to talk about my summer internship in Waukesha, Wisconsin. I got a brief overview of the available internships for the summer, but not much details. We rescheduled another call for next week to discuss in more details.

1:30pm - Ate lunch and send out some emails to check with my teammates on my Net Impact Service Corps team regarding our marketing project with the Literacy Network of Greater Los Angeles. We are putting together a survey to look into the qualitative aspects of women donors and why they donate to charities and non-profits.

2:30pm - Met with the Society and Business Lab (SBL) here at Marshall. We had a talking session about how we can raise the level of awareness within the USC Marshall School community regarding the advantages of socially and environmentally intelligent business practices. Great conversations about strategies, goals, and curriculum. Even talked about how we can use Twitter to build our brand... by the way, follow me on Twitter @andrewmchoi

4pm - Went home to do a video shoot by our pool for our Neutrogena Sheer Bodytint commercial. Amazing...

6pm - Went back on campus to attend the Marshall Net Impact AlterEnergy event. The guys on the team did a stellar job. We had 5 companies represented on the panel - Sharp, Southern California Edison, Tioga, Axio, Solar-Reserve. I have to admit, this is not my area of expertise, but there's definitely a growing interest in renewable energy at Marshall and certainly enough to make this an annual event for USC Marshall Net Impact. I anticipate that next year's event will be even bigger and better.

9pm - After some networking, I met with my Marketing Challenge team to finish putting together the Powerpoint deck and practiced for the presentation on Friday. It's nice to have some creatives on the team; they're definitely hard to find in business school. We were working on a slide for segmentation and customer profile. Only a creative can put together something like this below with a real USC Marshall student profile. Amazing!

2am - Tried to finish my Global Strategy case on Birds Eye and the UK Frozen Food Industry. Tried to study for my MacroEcon quiz. Tried hard. Failed. Fell asleep around 4am I think.

Friday
9:30am - I didn't have a morning class today so I slept in until 8am and went to class. Fortunately, I didn't get cold-called for this class because I barely remembered what I read about frozen food value chains at 3am in the morning. I hope Professor Voigt doesn't find my blog...

11am - Marshall Marketing Challenge presentation. This was fun. All 6 teams had great ideas and presentations, but of course ours was the best (of course). Check out this video below starring our very own Marshall's finest acting talents. 'Nuff said.

12:30pm - GSBA 526 - Global Economics with Selahattin Imrohoroglu. This is basically your MacroEcon course at a graduate level. We learn about American economic and social goals and policies and their impact on business; growth, stability, and the new priorities; international forces influencing business. More discussions about budget surplus and deficit today. Took the quiz. I think I did terrible. Maybe that's why I never blog about my academics...

3pm - Met briefly with Matt Oden, our new Sustainability Director here at USC. Our Sustainability committee at Marshall Net Impact meets with him every other week regarding sustainability practices and using eco-friendly products in the business school. Great guy, very sharp.

4pm - Went to the Lab to grab a beer with some Marshall buddies to celebrate the end of the week...

There you have it. This is not a typical week, but it's not atypical either. Business school is no joke. For 2 years, you will be spending and investing most of your time in the business school community. Your friends and family will see you once every 3 months. Your significant other will get pissed off because you're never home and not spending any time with him/her. But if you really take advantage of the experience, you will come out well versed in the language of business and a stronger leader. It's all about trade-offs.

Kiva.org - Connect People Through Lending to Alleviate Poverty

2009-03-15T02:05:00.000-07:00

Even with 3 finals last week I had to go see Jessica Jackley, co-founder of Kiva, sponsored by the Marshall's Society and Business Lab & the Greif Center. It was well worth the time!

Jessica told her story about how she developed the concept for Kiva after working with the Village Enterprise Fund in Eastern Africa and being inspired by Muhammad Yunus of Grameen Bank. Kiva took the microfinance concept online and made it easy for people from around the world to loan money to the working poor.

She majored in philosophy as an undergrad at Bucknell, which inspired her ask the right questions and see different perspectives. Even after traveling through 6-7 countries the past couple of weeks, she spoke passionately about the lives Kiva is changing by basically taking hard-working individuals out of abject poverty.

Some highlights from the talk:

Jessica, like most of us, had associated poverty with pain, suffering, & weakness because that was how organizations marketed poverty to get individuals to donate. Not until she actually visited these country did she realize that these individuals are perfectly capable and talented individuals. They just needed a little help and an opportunity. "Intelligence & talent are evenly distributed across the world."
Kiva.org gets more web traffic than the Red Cross
Kiva leveraged social media without even knowing it - traffic was coming from Daily Kos and Boing Boing and Jessica didn't even know about blogging at the time
Kiva means unity and agreement in Swahili
How do you build buzz? Have Bill Clinton and Oprah as your spokespeople
If you are passionate enough about something, you will do anything to make it happen. When Kiva was cash strapped, they traded a guitar for a logo

One of my to-dos during Spring Break is to sign up on Kiva and donate. You should too! More to come...

If you live in the Los Angeles area and interested in microfinance, check out the Los Angeles Microfinance Network

Here's a great video illustrating the powerful effect of Kiva:

Upcoming MBA Related Events - March 2009

2009-03-04T01:04:00.000-08:00

Two more weeks until Spring Break! Woohoo! I am definitely ready for a break after this crazy 3rd term. Juggling 5 classes, leading a Net Impact Service Corps project, working on a Pier to Pier 5K Charity Run/Walk project, and competing in the 2009 Education Leadership Case Competition was no small feat. Every time one of my MBA colleagues discovers my blog, the first thing they ask is "how do you have time to even blog?!"

Anyway, there are a couple of great upcoming events this month @USC you should definitely check out.

Check out these 3 upcoming MBA related events:

Jessica Jackley, co-founder of Kiva
Date: Mar 11 2009 / 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Location: The Vineyard Room at Davidson Conference Center

Kiva alleviates poverty by facilitating 'micro loans' from individual lenders to entrepreneurs in the developing world. By matching nominal capital needs with a desire to give and connect with others, Kiva has become one of the most successful and visible social benefit websites in history--facilitating nearly a million dollars in loans per week with repayment rates in excess of 98%.

Please join us for Jessica's powerful story and see how one person's vision can impact the world.

Sponsored by Marshall's Society and Business Lab
TEDx USC
Date: Mar 23 2009 / 1:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Location: Bovard Auditorium, USC

USC and the prestigious TED conference have partnered to deliver this independently organized TED event right here at USC.

This event is invitation only and seating is limited.

The TEDx USC 2009 speakers and performers include:

* Salman Ahmad – UN goodwill ambassador and Muslim rock star
* Markus Nordberg – Large Hadron Collider
* Jane Poynter - Biosphere 2
* Kellee Santiago – videogaming innovator
alterEnergy - A renewable energy discussion panel and networking event
Date: Mar 26 2009 / 6:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Location: USC Taper Hall Room 101

AlterEnergy is the annual discussion panel put on by USC Marshall Net Impact chapter created to discuss the business and policy landscape of Renewable Energy. The panel will be hosted by Dr. Mark Bernstein, Managing Director of USC's Energy Institute, and attended by MBA students, local business leaders, and entrepreneurs. Some of the companies in attendance:

Southern California Edison
Sharp
Axio Power
Tioga Energy

RSVP by sending an email to uscalterenergy@gmail.com

Sponsored by Marshall Net Impact

Let me know if you have any questions.

The Evolution of Social Entrepreneurship

2009-03-02T22:04:00.000-08:00

The Skoll Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship has just produced a great overview of the field of social entrepreneurship. Starting with the famous story of Muhammad Yunus' first $27 loan to the movement for social change, this video is a great introduction to the emerging field.

USC Marshall MBA - Society and Business Fellowship

2009-03-01T15:44:00.000-08:00

For those of you applying to USC Marshall class of 2011 and interested in pursuing a career in social enterprise/sustainability, check out the Society and Business Fellowship.

You will be among the first to participate in a “virtual incubator” that unites the Marshall School, USC, and global partners to assist with capacity building for start-up social enterprises.

The Marshall School of Business established the Society and Business Lab (SBL) last September to design and implement new models of corporate engagement in global social issues. Faculty, staff and students from the Lab will work with locally-based and multi-national firms to identify non-cash resources that can be used to ease the burden on NGO’s as they attack social, environmental, health and education issues. Also, through education and research, the Lab will be facilitating the training of the next generation of enlightened business leaders.

Applications are due on June 1, 2009. I encourage everyone interested in changing the world through business to apply! Click here for more information.

2009 Education Leadership Case Competition

2009-02-24T00:44:00.000-08:00

Just got back last night after competing in the Education Leadership Case Competition up at Berkeley over the weekend. This year's competition focuses on the DC Public Schools system and the nationally recognized work of Chancellor Michelle Rhee. In just one year, the Chancellor and her staff have taken dramatic steps to reform the DC Public School system. The case focused specifically on the new Human Capital initiative and building recommendations around teacher recruitment and retention strategy for DC Public Schools. It was a subject I knew little about, but definitely learned a ton over the past week.

The case was sent out to us last Friday, 2/13. We initially thought it would be a short 5-10 page case that our team could easily read over and start brainstorming. That was definitely not the case (pun intended). Trying to read a 34 page case on a Friday afternoon was a fruitless effort so after about 10 pages, we called it a day. We spent the next couple of days brainstorming and putting together ideas and throwing around concepts until we finally found one that stuck. Took a flight up to Berkeley on Thursday and worked for another 2 days straight. We barely got a total of 5 hours of sleep on Thursday and Friday night. It was intense...

On Saturday, we woke up around 7am to do a final run of the presentation and started heading over to Haas. The teams were randomly selected to present based on the number drawn out of a hat and had 15 minutes to complete their presentation along with a 10 minute Q&A. We watched as each team was selected to present anxiously waiting our turn. Running on about 2 hours of sleep, caffeine, and adrenaline, we were finally selected around 3pm to present our case. I felt we did pretty well covering a variety of recommendations including a teacher support system for retention, two distinct pipelines for recruiting, and even a 'teacher kibbutz' for a nice shared teacher experience in DC.

We didn't end up winning the case competition, but being one of 10 teams selected for this along with Berkeley, Columbia, Duke, Georgetown, Harvard, Northwestern, NYU, Stanford, and Yale, did make for a fun competition and learning experience. It was exciting to see and meet so many MBAs who were passionate about education reform and taking their business skills to change the world. Too bad we were so exhausted after the whole ordeal, we ended up grabbing a quick bite to eat at Berkeley's famous Top Dog Hot Dogs and went to bed at 8pm. Haven't slept so well in a long time...

USC Marshall 2009 Education Leadership Case Competition Team
-----

For those of you interested in a career in education as an MBA, there are many options out there including Education Pioneers, Broad Residency, Teach for America, as well as a number of charter schools and public school systems. Let me know if you have any questions.

New Product Failure - the Segway?

2009-01-28T23:11:00.000-08:00

I am working on a product failure assignment for MKT 530 - Product Development and Marketing Strategies class and I initially chose the Segway since it never lived up to its hype and expectations. Yes, so maybe the Segway will never be to the car what the car was to the horse and buggy, but was it really a product failure? From a business and commercial viewpoint, definitely. From a social and world-changing perspective though, I'm not so sure. Watching Dean Kamen, inventor of the Segway, talk about the Segway and his vision for the product is making me rethink my originally definition of product failure. Maybe he was just way ahead of his time...

Let me know what you think.