Opportunity awaits.

November 5, 2009 in MBA | No comments

I’m amazed at the opportunities available to me as a student. The trick to the MBA program really is taking advantage of everything while still maintaining a high enough GPA so as not to be booted out.

Entrepreneur NetworkOne great opportunity that I was able to take advantage of today was attending the Entrepreneur University conference, put on by the Northwest Entrepreneur Network. The Herbert B. Jones foundation sponsored 100 students to attend the conference for free, which was great.

A former boss of mine (the one in particular that inspired the “sparkling” in my blog name) used to be involved in the NWEN, so I already knew it was a great organization! But I wasn’t sure exactly what I would get out of the conference, since I’m only tangentially interested in entrepreneurship.

As it turned out, there were a bunch of sessions on social media that were right up my ally! I was completely inspired. Some of my (cue buzzword) takeaways are:

  • The use of “social media is a culture not a tactic.” A lot of the speakers today really focused on the fact that just throwing up a Facebook Fan Page or starting a Twitter account doesn’t get results. It’s about integrating social media into your overall strategy.
  • Social media is about participating in the conversation. A machine could push Twitter content about your company out to the masses every day. A machine can also automatically follow Tweeters who mention your brand name. That is sterile, and not especially helpful in building interest. Using social media should be considered a way to personally interact with your customers or potential customers.
  • Analytics of social media campaigns is difficult and potentially expensive, but also imperative in understanding the medium and your customers. (Note: This is largely where my interest lies, given my background in advertising research.)
  • Your website is a hub for building word of mouth (whether or not you use social media to get people there). It should be dynamic, and show progress/currency in your organization.

Okay, off to polish up a strategy paper.

p.s. Before I forget… Some other opportunities that are upcoming for me. First, I was chosen (by lottery) to meet Warren Buffett with 25 of my classmates in February. How awesome is that? Second, I was chosen (also by lottery) to go on a study tour to the UAE/Oman over Spring break. Being a student is awesome…

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Retreat!

October 25, 2009 in MBA | No comments

This week was pretty tense for everyone at school. Our first test and a major marketing assignment were due back to back on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The team work required on the marketing assignment alone was grueling – imagine working in groups of highly competent leaders who are all motivated to lead, but there is no set leader. It’s a really interesting dynamic, that I’ve never faced before. And it can be tough.

The reviews of the stats exam were mixed. I’ll just say that I’m really happy to have learned basic statistics back at WaMu Research.

So… This weekend was perfect timing for a Women in Business retreat in Marysville. Most of the first year ladies went up just for Friday night… (You think the grueling scheduled stopped last week? Oh, no. We have a Finance midterm this Wednesday.)

The retreat included good food, Wii Resort, and lots of MBA talk at a huge, beautiful house in Marysville. It was also a great opportunity to meet some second year students, and get the scoop on what is to come. (Note: If you’re curious about what is to come, think more grueling. It does not stop.)

The Fall trees were amazing. Here are some pics:

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In orbit.

October 21, 2009 in MBA, Media (Books, Music, Movies & Games) | No comments

First off, I swear I’ve been blogging. It has just been elsewhere…

Foster Blog

European Union GBF 
(This is a speaker-series class that I’m taking on the EU business climate. It’s two “deliverables” are blog posts!)

 

Second off, I’m reading an awesome book called, “Orbiting the Giant Hairball”. It’s written by a creative at Hallmark, who essentially has a great method and thought process around operating within the corporate world, but not participating fully in its insanity. The head of Cranium, who spoke to our class at orientation, recommended it.

So, I pick it up when the gravitational pulls of words like “deliverable” are sucking me in. And it helps me get back into orbit.

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Aw… Husky.

October 11, 2009 in MBA | 1 comment

Another week down in my MBA career… another weekend filled with homework. I’m starting to get my head wrapped around this new lifestyle.

Back before classes began, I visited the UW Bookstore with my parents while they were in town. My mom and I spent about a half an hour perusing the purple goods. I left empty handed and a bit confused about how I was supposed to feel as a “Husky”. I hadn’t start the program yet, and the sea of purple served more to overwhelm me than to instill a sense of pride.

I let the moment go, and have since been fairly indifferent to the Husky thing. Until I ran across this blog. And now I’m in love. And I need to learn the Husky fight song. And I need to find tickets to the next Husky football game so I can hopefully run into this little man in person. That would make my MBA career.

Husky 2

Husky 1

 

p.s. Aw… Husky. As in, “Aw… Tony!” Miss that little man.

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“Don’t confuse comfort with learning.”

October 1, 2009 in MBA | 1 comment

With Thang on 2nd day of class.One of my classmates was pondering on Tuesday if the start of classes would feel anti-climatic after 2 weeks of orientation and leadership training.

After two days of classes, I think I can safely say “nope”. Not anti-climatic at all… As a matter of fact, I don’t think the effort and energy required in this program will peak until we sign our job offers. (And even then, because hopefully we’ll all get offers post internships, we’ll have to finish up the school year.)

The MBA program at Foster is intense.

The professors are intense. One of them knew all of our names and faces on Day 1. (He also knew about my blog! Aye.) Another one gambled with us. And another one shouted “Show me the data!” Jerry MacGuire style. These people are passionate and well trained, and I’m going to learn a lot. (By the way, one thing I heard today from our accounting professor was, “Don’t confuse comfort and learning.” So true.)

The MBAA clubs are intense. I’m still grappling with what clubs to join… In the mean time, there are club events almost every day and evening. One of the clubs, just as an example, organizes around case competitions, which are essentially math club for MBAs. (Someone made that analogy for me, and I love it.) Case competitions are going to be intense.

My fellow MBA classmates are intense. Smart people, who are all accomplished, and who are all ready to take this MBA program and run. I’m going to have to become one with being very, very average. Not to mention the 2nd years who are back from internship full of experience.

Searching for an internship/job is intense. We have our first job fair next week. I had my photo professionally taken today (hence the suit in the pic). And I’m scheduling info interviews for, you know, that extra time on my hands.

So, what I’m figuring out is that I need to be intense. This pretty much means staying on my toes at all times. I need to do as much as I can proactively. And I need to load my Husky Card with money so I can ensure I’m caffeinated at all times.

As I wrap up my first week of classes tomorrow, there’s definitely one thing I feel very intense about… Show me the weekend!

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WaMulian Style Leadership

September 29, 2009 in Career Related | No comments

Some of my former coworkers and I got together on Friday to celebrate (and commiserate over) the 1-year anniversary of WaMu’s demise. It was nice to see everyone that was there, and also sad to know that most of our team has moved out of the area.

I’d been thinking a lot about my WaMu team over the last week, and not just because of the anniversary. I’ve also been going through some leadership development training with the MBA program. And all of my best examples of leadership, teamwork, and overall work place awesomeness come from this group. (I can’t speak for the leadership of the rest of the company.)

As I move forward in my career after the MBA program, I want to make sure I remember the dynamics of WaMu Research. I have a long list of things that we did right. Things like having an emphasis on improvement of our research and ourselves. The group also encouraged open questioning, and required collaboration. They hired smart (they hired me after all). And to back up our dedication to our work, we took time for fun.

Miss my WaMu family!

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P1000552 PS_P1040611 Lisa Wicklund

 

Life of Pie Charts

September 23, 2009 in MBA | 3 comments

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One of the exercises that we’ve been asked to do this week is consider our “optimal” and “satisfactory” hours spent on various activities in the MBA program. Honestly, I have no idea what is realistic. So, I counted up the number of waking hours during the week (~119 if you’re getting 7hrs of sleep a night) and took a wild guess. Here’s the spread I’m looking at right now.

My only two solid numbers are:

(1) 17% of my time will be spent in class. I have 4-hours of class each weekday.

Theoretically you’re supposed to study 2 hours for every hour of class, right? If that holds true, 34% of my time will be doing that.

(2) At the very least, 15% of my week will be spent with Scott. We’ve scheduled Sundays for hanging out together, grocery shopping and cooking for the week. This is something some of the 2nd year student recommended, and I’m relieved to have it as a standing commitment.

I think everything else is going to be very fluid, and depend on the week. I’m considering joining 5 different student clubs right now, and I’m stoked about case competitions. I’ll write more about all of that later. There just aren’t enough hours!

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