How do you feel about the last quarter?

This is how I feel:

Anyway... last week's visit by the Hong Kong Commissioner got me thinking about comparing living in the US and HK again. One of the reason that companies prefer HK to Shanghai and Beijing, alleged by the HK Commissioner, is that of human capital. Specifically, ex-pats prefer to be in Hong Kong. Why? Because of quality of life: convenience, safety, international city, good entry point before being totally East Asian, and education. The last point, in my opinion, will be most significant. International schools in HK are far superior to those in China, so it you're an ex-pat and you have family, you would prefer HK.

Sadly, local schools can't really compare and aren't of consideration for any ex-pats. Hong Kong's education system is still as screwed up as it was fifteen years ago. They don't know which language to teach in (despite research that has shown the clear benefit of mother tongue education), they don't know what to teach, they force feed facts rather than facilitate thinking, they focus on memory rather than application, etc etc. Fundamentals are good for most students, but if they are thrown into the real world, it takes time to adjust.

Managing in Organizations, Managerial Decision Making, and Power and Influence are three organizational behavior classes that are very similar. In fact, I think I can go to one and learn all three! I'm only taking MiO and PaI right now, but I think I'm going to audit MDM just to finish the holy trinity.

Monday in P and I: with power, you can send short and spell-check-less emails; focusing on one thing only often gives you illusions about your lack of power or knowledge, asking is power, power acquired unintentionally seems more powerful than those collected intentionally, there are situational reasons for many things rather than dispositional reasons.

Tuesday in M in O: all of the above (I tell you, the similarities are scary) + negativity dominance, actor/observer bias, confirmation bias, and omission neglect. The combined conclusion? The most incompetent people are the most overconfident. (This statement, by the way, may suffer from both confirmation bias and omission neglect!) Well well... I guess I am sometimes quite incompetent.

Yup, and that last statement is a direct result of confirmation bias. haha!

Sake Dim Sum Party

One of the best experiences I had in business school is that of student group leadership. With the conclusion of the Sake Dim Sum Party last Saturday, my tenure as a Chicago Asia Pacific Group co-chair has officially ended. I still have a few loose ends to tie up next quarter (including a visit by the CEO of JWT China!), but I'm basically done.

I must say that my experience with CAPG has been the most rewarding experience of all my business school endeavors. Yes, more than classes, TNDCs, poker games, ski trips, etc etc. Actually, the reason is quite simple: friends.

Some people in business school (such as p***y) think that student group co-chairs run the school and should do everything to enhance student life. Such motivation stems from love of power and also willingness to help respectively, which is great if it is the latter (I sincerely hope so!). Depending on your perspective, you could love the result or the process. I love the process.

So here's what I've learned from CAPG, all good for life:

1. Friendships. Not only did I make great friends with the co-chairs, I also made great friends with volunteers (thank you AW and TT, you guys are incredible). Having the chance to work closely with different people is great. And sometimes not so great, but hey... still got to know him or her!

2. Leadership. The best place to practice leadership is at a student organization. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. You are dealing with different personalities, different type of events, different type of responsibilities, non-MBAs, the administration, budgets, etc. Yup, it's like a real business except that when you screw up, the administration comes to the rescue.

3. Network. Someone once commented that being a CAPG co-chair will limit your network in the Chinese population. Load of bull shit. Nothing will limit your network if you work for it. But being a co-chair does help the network with other co-chairs and also within your group.

4. Crisis management. I feel the rush when shit happens. Not that I want shit to happen, but those are times where everything is tested. And that is the essence of leadership: how can you turn crisis into opportunities? Either way, in such a protected environment as the GSB, it's the perfect place to practice crisis management!

5. Mentorship. I enjoy being mentored and mentoring. Giving something back to the community has been something that is missing from my resume because I prefer a more intimate form of mentorship.

$12,000 well spent!?

Some fellow classmate commented that my blog has been reduced to food and movie (read: fun) reviews since the middle of the quarter. Quite true, perhaps, because those things inspire me to write. There are other things that inspire me to write, but they may not be appropriate in this forum. Anyway, back to the blog.

Chicago is freaking cold now. I went from T-shirt in Boston to full ski gear in Chicago. It was so cold outside that I had brain freeze from just walking outside. And my bathroom door frame shrunk (seriously, due to coldness) and I almost got stuck in the bathroom. I've also never swore that much while walking alone. I hope the slopes aren't this cold...!

Corporate Finance - for all the hoola about the GSB being a finance school, this class is quite disappointing for many who have no background in finance. The teacher is actually above average, and yet sometimes he just looses the class. I can't really identify exactly what I learned from the class, which is my biggest beef with it. There should be some tools I can take home, but there weren't many (which is good for my finals, actually). Instead, what I think I learned was some very high level views on the world of financing. In fact, this is probably quite typical of what the GSB is about... giving you some high level tool kits and see what you can do with it. Didn't like this class that much, but intrigued by the subject nonetheless.

This also happens to be the only class this quarter in which I got cold called. Arg. My finals were quite disastrous, I think, but could go either way since I kept pulling sh!t out of my behind. For high level things, these may work. If I get an A, it will be the biggest insult in the Chicago education system. I don't really want a C though...

Negotiations - some have called this "an extention of LEAD." I have to disagree. One way to judge a class is from the finals, which was a group paper on an actual negotiation process. I'm not sure how the professor is going to grade it, but I have to say that I learned a lot from writing the paper. It consolidated what we've learned all quarter and addressed each tool one by one. Much more than LEAD.

I loved this class. I think every MBA should take some form of this class. You could argue every part of life is about negotiations... (uh oh, this is wandering into LEAD world) so this class is going to be useful at every part of life. =) haha. Seriously, I think a lot of people, like myself, went into the class skeptical. But through all the actual negotiation exercises, many of us realized that there is, in fact, some science behind negotiations. If we are able to break down the elements like we do in class, we can influence the negotiations in our favor. And that's all I ask in life: to had the odds stacked for me and not against me.

Organizational Change - heavy class discussions about nothing solid always makes a class fun... if the teacher and the students have all done their jobs. I'd say 90% of the time the class is in good flow and that we're learning a quite a bit. It's a VERY soft class, basically about how to make change happen - from motivation to creativity to gaining buy in to admitting mistakes to assessing blame in times of failure. Did I learn a set of frameworks that I can use? Perhaps. Was it worth my time? Absolutely. Would I take it again? Most likely. Would I recommend it to you? Only if you are interested in understanding how organizations work.

It's that kind of class.

Chicago Asia Pacific Group - this might as well be a class. haha. I loved everything I did for them.

It's Break Time!

Oh, it's so nice to finally reach Thanksgiving Break. I'm heading to Scotland to visit my little brother before I can no longer understand his English. I have no idea what I will be doing in Scotland, as the last few days have been littered with study groups, final projects, and general (though destined to fail) catching up with classes. I'm ready for Whiskey, with a capital W.

(for the curious, I'm in Atlanta right now waiting for my transfer; also doing my corp fin homework, negotiations final project, and org change final presentation)

In a recent email to a friend, I claimed that I have accomplished my target with regards to business school. It's true. In my application to the GSB (two freaking years ago!!??), I said I wanted to end up in Hong Kong as a strategy consultant after my MBA. Within weeks of my GSB experience, I said I liked Bain the most. I also said I wanted to be a student leader for an Asian club and lead a visiting trip back to Asia.

There were many more targets that I set. Somehow, I have almost accomplished them all. Yet, this has been a strangely unsatisfying quarter for me. There were up times (conference) and down times (post-conference). Up times I wrap myself in work and labor on. Down times I watch TV and sit on the couch. So now, my blog consists of food and movie reviews... which isn't a bad thing, I guess. But... as I wrote in the same email, the lack of a target in life is frustrating.

My friend said "congrats," as in congrats that you've met all your targets. I guess I should look at it that way!

Coup d'état

Before I start writing... check out this link, courtesy of the Sports Guy. Hopefully, this can help you procrastinate if you are a student... and hopefully it won't get you fired if you are at work. Considering how I chose my name, I guess it makes perfect sense.

Back to coup d'état... I'd just like to use some of the frameworks I've learned from life and business school to highlight how one should deal with a coup, a betrayal, a mutiny, and so on. This should be a rather more complete approach to similar situations.

You can tell it's not rocket science. But if one can have a framework in appraoching this type of events, one can be more comfortable in dealing with it. Remember the scene in Jerry Maguire where Maguire was just fired and he's calling all his clients to retain them while Bob Sugar is in the other room stealing all his clients? That's the scene of a coup/ mutiny/ betrayal. You're in a fishbowl and things are happening fast outside the bowl. What to do, who to call, etc etc, all have to be done right away. Anyway, hope this helps.

Some basic principles:
a. Remain calm. Coups happen because you don't expect it and you didn't prepare for it. So it will be tough to stay calm and respond. Nonetheless, stay calm. What happened has happened and the only way to salvage it is to stay calm and sort things out.

b. Speed, speed, and speed. Must act fast. Your opponents have planned their thing and are light years ahead of you. Once things roll, you must close the gap between the two sides and your speedy response will be absolutely necessary. If you can't close the gap, if you wait, you lose.

c. Have an objective. Paint the picture that you would want to happen. For example, this could be return to the status quo. Or it could be a compromise of the current situation and the status quo. Or it could be an entire different animal. Paint that picture. And then work to make that picture happen for you, which will be highlighted below.

Things that need to happen:
1. Sort out the facts and lies. In a confusing situation like a coup, you have to gather the facts ASAP. Identify people you can trust and gather facts from them. There will be lies along the way. Hence, face to face meetings are the best. Trade for information if you need to. Be genuine and be honest. Most people who are not involved are keen to share information if they know why they are asked.

2. List ALL the stakeholders. Make a list of all the stakeholders during a mutiny. All of those who will be affected should be on the list. Get the numbers for all these people. You will need to call them all, Jerry Maguire-style. Assess these stakeholders: people who are allies, people who are not, peopel whom you can influence, people whom you need to get on my side, people who aren't important but are still stakeholders. The next is to strategize.

3. Create allies on your side. Start with your closest ally. Make sure they are on your side. Detect lies. If you have lost your closest ally, you are probably going to lose the war. Seek refuge. After you secure your closest ally, prioritize other potential allies. Sometimes that involves a few peripheral players, sometimes it is the inner circle. It depends. In general, start close and work outwards. Again, being honest about the situation is the key to gathering empathy and support. Some stakeholders are going to be more supportive and are willing to go the extra mile for you. Find out what is important to them.

4. Create allies on their side. There are always weak spots in your opponents team. Exploit them. Use facts to convince and pressure; don't make it personal. Unlike creating your own allies, start from the outside and move inwards. Try and corner them and offer them one way out (i.e. your way). Be careful of this type of allies; they are sometimes on the wall and will just lean whichever way is better for their personal interests. Like all types of allies, find out what is important to them.

5. Painting that picture. The execution of salvaging a difficult situation is always the most difficult part. A lot of times compromises will have to be made. Not all stakeholders are going to want your picture. Hopefully, you have done your homework and you know what everybody needs. Compromise and draw that picture for yourself and for everybody else. When incentives are aligned, people on the wall choose sides. Sometimes, it's even simpler: some general rules would govern their behavior. Either way, you're executing.

6. Deal with the culprit. Do you need that person in your picture? If not, you might want to consider a harsher response. Otherwise, offer a way out. (note that these can all be in reverse and your opponent may be giving YOU a gracious way out) Offer a solution. Don't make it personal and be diplomatic. If you have succeeded in 1 to 5, this should be a relatively easy task. You would have created a scenario in which the culprit has no choice but to join your picture. That will not likely be the case though. But I believe the more you have done from 1 to 5, the more likely you can make this scenario true.

7. Finally, if you are in the unfortunate situation... good luck.

CAP Conference

I was thinking about how to write this post for days. Really, I was. Such a big event that a couple of us have placed so much effort in. I was dreaming about the moment when the conference ended. Would I just give a sigh of relief? Would I scream and release? Would I high five Dean Leftwich? Would I drink till I drop? Would I pat the behind of all the organizers (this would only happen if I drink till I drop)? Would I trade the silent wink with fellow organizers? Would I have that stupid grin on me for weeks?

Anyway, back to writing. Should I do a time line? Too long. Top 10 on what I learned? Maybe. Significant happenings? Perhaps. I really haven't thought about what to write, honestly.

Turns out I just gave a sigh of relief and then put a smile on my face for a night.

So let me just leave you with my impression of the conference: success. =) Not the smoothest of things, but certainly no complaints at all. Internally, we have much work to do to prepare for next year. Externally, there has been nothing but positive feedback from the attendees, save for they couldn't attend two panels at the same time. (um... wait till ALL of them give feedbacks, I bet there were some complaints)

Thank you to all the organizaers and volunteers to making this happen. The school was very supportive as well. And of course to all those guests who were willing to give their valuable time and effort for the sake of our attendees.

I will now become a student again.

Here we go...

5:30 am. I'm all set for the conference. We'll see how well prepared we are.

Shameless self-promo: Buy Tickets to CAP Conference!

Before the shameless self-promo, let me just say that this post is actually school related. You can buy tickets here. hehe. Last week during Fall Preview (i.e. event for MBA applicants), one of the applicants asked me how much time I spent with Chicago Asia Pacific Group (CAP). 40 hours or so a week. Business school is about priorities. Mine is currently not with classes.

Anyway, I thought a timeline would illustrate this the best:
Sunday
1000: Meeting to lay out all the issues with the day of the conference
1120: meeting with meghak for case interview practice (I give the case)
1230: Meeting over, back home for lunch
1430: At school, start editing website
1530: Start drafting kit for all conference speakers
1535: Finding map of Hyde Park Center and parking options
1545: Find directions to the HPC
1630: Draft response to press coverage
1645: Start putting together booklet for conference
2100: Done (sort of) putting material together
2130: Back home, watching football, good times...
2330: Very bad times: key speaker cancels trip
Monday
0100: Making contigency plans
0230: Edit website to reflect newest lineup
0300: Must... do... one... more... thing...
0330: Zzzzzz
0700: Up and shower
0900: Case interview with TT
1000: Case interview with SO
1100: Corp fin study group - I have no done anything; today is no different
1130: CAP meeting on conference and other activities
1330: Continue updating kit (and skipping class)
1600: Alphagraphics to update booklet
1700: Selling tickets at Gleacher Center
1745: Another speaker drops out
1800: Class
2100: Back home
2101: Gather email to update kit, website, and booklet
2300: Start blog...
2301: Phone conference with organizers to get latest info
2315: Continue blog...

When does the snow come?

This season? October 12th. OCTOBER. This is madness. Not even Boston snowed this early.

Someone commented that I shouldn't be busy at all since I'm not doing much recruiting. You are half right and you missed a crucial component. I'm not doing much recruiting. But I am extremely busy with the Asia Pacific Conference. In fact, I might as well quit my day and night job as a GSB student and declare myself a full time conference planner. I can join the part time program and be discriminated against. Anyway, things I have done/need to do for the conference: marketing, sponsorship, logistics, ticket sales, volunteers, speakers, panelists, moderators, hotels, limos, etc etc etc. There you go: I am a very busy man. More than last Fall, in my opinion. I can't wait till the conference is over: I'd be a free man afterwards... just in time for full time recruiting. Arg. In the meantime, allow me to do some shameless self promoting:


The crucial component that many people miss is that other colleagues are doing consulting recruitings. Suddenly, my 10-week experience at a management consulting firm becomes bible to all consultant-wannabes. Everybody is asking for a case interview. I do my best to help, which takes up quite a lot of time!

So that's what I am busy with: conference and case interviews (for someone). Not exactly how I envisioned second year when I was a first year.