What do HBS students do over winter break?

How do HBS students spend their holidays? The answer is telling as to the kind of remarkable people that are here.

1. Travel around the world - There are dozens of trips both officially organized by HBS and unofficially organized by students that go to every corner of the world. The official trips are called IXPs (Immersion Experience Program), and are mostly opportunities to see business in a foreign economy with a little bit of tourism on the side. The unofficial trips are called "treks" and are the reverse; mostly tourism with a little bit of business exposure. Both go to mainstream places like China, India, UAE, etc. and can get as exotic as you wish. My sectionmates are in Chile, Hungary, Ethiopia, Nepal, Argentina, Sweden, Australia, and everywhere you can imagine. There are also treks to Silicon Valley and other US destinations.

2. Climb Mountains - I don't know how many students in my class have climbed Mount Kilimanjaro or the mountains of Patagonia, but it is a ridiculously high percentage. Many students flock to these challanges over the winter holidays, sometimes making the ascent for the second time in their life. Climbing the tallest peaks in the world is a blatant metaphor for how most HBS students think of their overall journey through life. I actually find that rather inspirational.

3. Shadow internship program - The holidays are too short for a full blown internship program, but some students take the opportunity to shadow a professional in a field they are very unfamiliar with, but are very interested in. Examples are working with a real estate development guru, a candidate for the US Senate, and a business leader in a professional sports team. This use of time is great for those who are trying to either A) learn more about fields that they have little experience with and want to get into, or are B) just curious about but don't want to spend the whole summer doing a full internship.

4. Take classes - HBS offers intensive one week seminars for students who wish to remain local. These seminars are taught by the preeminent leaders of their fields and are a great way to network with other people who are intensely focused on a particular subject.

To round things out, some students try to take it easy and spend some time catching up with family, work on a personal business, travel locally, or do a combination of any of the above.

The common theme is that everybody recognizes this time off from school to be a great opportunity to learn more about themselves and the world, and we are all very grateful to have this moment.

Term 1 Classes - A retrospect

Finishing the first term felt like a real accomplishment. One of the things many of us don't do enough at HBS is reflect on what we've learned. I thought I would take a moment to capture what my first HBS classes taught me...

Finance 1- My takeaway from this class was basically about valuation. The fundamentals of how to value companies, projects, and assets. As consumers, we value things in very different ways. For example, we may buy an iPod for $99 because it's on sale or because it just feels like it's worth it. If we're going to rent an apartment or buy a house, we look at nearly identical units and compare the recent selling prices. Projects, companies, and assets though are a lot more complicated, and often much more unique (not to mention much higher stakes). For example, during the semester Disney bought Marvel Comics for $4 Billion. How did they settle on $4 Billion? Why didn't they pay $3.5 Billion or $4.5 Billion? That 500 million dollar difference is very substantial, and while human dynamics and negotiations are probably a significant part of the equation, the art and science of valuation is fundamentally critical. To me, that's what Finance 1 was all about.

FRC (Financial Reporting & Control) - A class many people simply label as "accounting," but in reality, is much more schizophrenic. The term started with basic accounting principles and applications (balance sheets, income statement, cash statements, t-accounts, etc.) but zigged and zagged into incentive structures, roles of auditors, management compensation structures, etc. The unifying themes were how to measure and analyze performance, how to design measures that drive performance, and how to best communicate those measures with the capital markets. The class is definitely not preparing anybody to be a CFO, but would at least do something to help one understand and communicate in CFO language.

TOM (Technology & Operations Management) - A class about how to use operational design to improve any process. Most would associate this concept with manufacturing, but as this class continuously emphasized, operational concepts can be applied anywhere. Our cases represented a wide variety of topics, such as the restaurant Benihana, a cranberry production case, and a consulting firm. My personal takeaway was that profit can come from a lot of places, and operational design improvement is often overlooked as a source of profit. Managers tend to look at sales growth, human resources, and business development to squeeze out profits, but improved operational design can be a great source for increased corporate profits as well. However, since cultural change is often necessary to achieve true operational design changes, this can be one of the more challenging endeavors for a company, and is therefore often neglected.

Marketing - I found this class to be the most interesting overall. Before HBS I used to associate marketing with advertising, but of course, advertising is merely the facade of marketing. In this course I learned how businesses approach customers and competitors, and how products are defined for the market. We mostly used the "Four P's" as our framework: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. Take Coca-Cola for example:

• Where does it want to push its product most? In supermarkets? Vending machines? Spectator sports? Restaurants? That's where is has been doing it. But it could also do home delivery (like water companies), or through the mail (like Wine clubs), etc. The latter options may sound silly to us today, but that's only because we live in the world that Coca-Cola has successfully carved out for itself - and that is called "Place" - where are you are going to sell? It's not so obvious for every product (think for example software).
• What about what form will it be sold in? Cans? Bottles? Bulk or individual? Perhaps it will be sold in a powdered form? If that sounds crazy - look at Gatorade's powder success. Or perhaps they want to just license and sell the syrup - AKA restaurant and food court machines. These questions revolve around the question of "Product." To add to the complication, the Product is also more than the physical manifestation, but also the experience it represents. If you look at Coca-Cola commercials, you will notice they rarely push how great tasting or refreshing Coca-Cola is, but that it brings happiness, and that it brings people together, etc. So is the product really a soda, or is it a smile in a can? What is the product?
• How much do you sell your product for is an obvious business decision. However, what pricing model you use is not so obvious. A few years ago Coca-Cola created a vending machine that increased the price when the temperature was hotter. This was met with public outrage, and cost Coke a lot of public relations points. The idea was immediately cut. However, we already pay different prices for Coke in different places. We pay more in convenience stores than we do in Supermarkets. We pay more in ball games than we do in restaurants. We even already pay more for vending machines in different places. For example, on average, Coke costs more in vending machines in subways in the inbound areas than it does in the outbound areas. When you're already in the outbound area, alternative purchasing points are accessible, and thus the law of supply and demand is in effect. All these questions are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the question of "Price." Not to mention questions of pricing to distributors, bottlers, etc. etc. etc.
• Will Coke sell more by increasing consumer demand through commercials, or will it sell more by giving supermarkets greater discounts and winning more shelfspace away from Pepsi? These are both forms of promotions. In general, we studied a lot of "push and pull" strategies. In a push strategy, the product is pushed more onto the consumer by providing retailers the promotion, thereby putting the product at eye-level shelves, or putting out promotion signs at the retailer, or giving reduced prices at certain stores. A pull strategy creates demand at the consumer level, so that the consumer comes to the store looking for that product. In this strategy, more is spent on creating brand awareness and demand. This, and many other topics, touch on the question of product "Promotion."

Overall, I found Marketing to be a very insightful class. Marketing as I learned, is about influencing people's behavior, and is therefore perhaps one of the most important business skills to have for a generalist.

LEAD (Leadership & Organizational Dynamics) - A class I thought would be relatively boring at first, but proved to be one of my favorites (largely perhaps because of a great professor). As one of the few students in the class with real leadership experience, the dynamics were very different than the other classes. The personal challenge for me was how to convey my own experiences and add value to the class, while also staying open minded and listening respectfully to ideas by those who have no significant leadership experience. My favorite module in the class was how to impart change on large organizations. Examples were General Electric, Nissan, and Scandinavian Airways. Overall, this was perhaps the most complicated and intensely focused course of the five, since it fundamentally studied humans and psychology, which is infinitely more complex than marketing and accounting.

I'm looking forward to term 2 classes, which will be Finance 2, Leadership & Corporate Accountability (i.e. ethics), Business & International Economics (i.e. macro-econ), Strategy, and The Entrepreneurial Manager.

I hope everyone is having a great holiday season!

Round 1 admits

Good luck to everyone anxiously waiting for round 1 results! Try to get some sleep and I hope to see you here next year. Drop me a line if you have any updates.

A day in the life...

This post is intended to share what a normal schedule is for a lot of people at HBS. I would be blogging more often, but my calendar is too full, so hopefully this will help explain a little of why that is.

In general I try to get my utility rate as close as possible to 100%, although that includes social events. My walk to class from home is 12 minutes, of which I always try to use as an opportunity to listen to the news or to call a friend to catch up on things. I try to make as much time of the day count towards something "productive." It's not uncommon to find myself having to schedule a 20 minute phone conversation a week out due to time constraints. Similarly, if I'm eating lunch or dinner, I try to combine it with a meeting or an opportunity to learn something new. If not, I'll probably eat en route to somewhere. This may not sound healthy, but time here moves quickly, and I really value the opportunities this place affords. I can't believe the first semester is almost over... a fourth of my HBS experience! I certainly haven't regretted making the most of every minute so far. The only thing I wish I could change is to have more minutes in the day. I doubt I will ever look back and say "gee, I wished I had just slowed down and watched more TV."

I chose two fairly random days and put the schedule into the following image. We have 3 classes on Monday/Wednesday/Friday and 2 classes on Tuesday/Thursday. I therefore picked a Wednesday/Thursday combination. My use of transition time (calling while walking, reading while doing cardio, etc.) is not made explicit, but you can get the idea:


Looking at my schedule and thinking of my trends, I would summarize my days as follows:

			Hours
Classes			3-4
Case prep			3-4
Face to face meetings			2
Phone meetings / interviews			1
Seminars and extra lectures			1.5
Formal recruiting events (every other day)			2-3
Social events (every other day)			2-3
Sports and working out			1
Misc one time events			1
Emailing/Networking/Catching up			2
Sleep			6

So hopefully that gives a little more insight into my student life. I will note though that some students have a very different schedule. For example, if a student is not recruiting for a summer position because of a corporate sponsorship, that frees up a large amount of time to pursue other things. Some students are involved in student government, which can take up a lot of time. Some students spend a lot more or a lot less time at social events each night. Some students try to go to all the extra lectures/seminars and take a lot of notes, some students go to none of them. So the variability is quite large. I'm just a data point.

So what does business mean anyway?

The official start of summer internship recruiting is in about a week. Summer internship can be quite important for long term employment, and particularly so for the non-traditional candidate because it may be the only business experience he will have on his resume.

Historically, many MBA students get a full time offer after their summer internship and choose to return, so it is also a great vehicle to get a highly desirable job after business school. On the other hand, some MBA students take an internship and figure out that it's not at all the function or industry they want to be in, and thereby avoid seeking a full time position in a field they wouldn't enjoy. Both of those experiences, positive and negative, are therefore extremely valuable in helping one determine his next step in life. The only bad summer internship, is therefore one that neither confirms nor denies a career interest (and perhaps also doesn't add any skill).

Conventional wisdom for non-traditional applicants is to take a summer internship that is not within their core competency... something that will add a new skill set to their took kit. While possibly obvious to those in the business world, it took me a long time to just figure out what were the types of jobs out there, and what their corresponding internship positions are. While I am certainly not an expert on the matter yet, for simplicity I have them broken down into four broad categories. Again, I warn that this may be very obvious to many, but for some non-traditional candidates, it may be the first time they've heard of these "options," as was the case for me.

Broadly speaking, I lump most post-MBA jobs so far into 4 categories:

1. Finance.

So what is "finance?" I think different people will define it differently, but to me finance simply means: the business of making money with money. In other words, moving money around to create value and money. Examples are investment bankers, private equity firms, wall street traders, venture capitalists, etc. They all use their financial expertise to identify investment opportunities, whether short or long term, and leverage that expertise to make a profit. They don't actually make a tangible product. They don't sell widgets. Rather, they make a return on an investment.

This is generally a very intense and competitive field. Almost no former investment banker at HBS desires to return to investment banking, though many do so anyway for reasons of practicality. Several friends who did an "i-banking" internship last summer told me that their hours were generally from 9am to 2am each weekday (that's not a typo), while working maybe 7 hours on Saturday and again on Sunday. So why do people do it? You probably could have guessed... Finance tends to be the highest paying... though there may be people out there who also enjoy the challenge, the thrill, etc. There are also exceptions, as venture capital is not always as time intensive, but as a whole, it's a very dedicated lifestyle. There's not a lot of leadership involved (at least early in one's career), and it's a very focused, analytical profession. Many aim to do this for just a year or two to gain hard finance skills, before moving on to a totally new field. If one wants really to learn "finance," there is probably no better path.

2. Consulting

The other major group of jobs is consulting. I never heard of consulting until after I got into HBS, but it's actually the largest single demographic here. They are companies that get hired by other companies to come in and evaluate a situation, analyze a problem or a limitation, and propose a solution. For a military analogy, they basically serve as outsourced staff that come in and pitch an idea to the commander after studying your unit. The positive side of consulting is that you get exposed to a wide variety of businesses and industries. Most projects last only a few months, and you are immediately exposed to senior management despite having virtually no business background. The downside is that you are usually traveling Monday-Thursday (this I imagine gets rather difficult after long enough... a year? two years?), and from a leader's point of view, it must be incredibly frustrating to come into a company, make connections, build rapport, and then abruptly leave without real closure. You suggest a course of action which may or may not be adopted by the customer company. For many military leader's, this is not an ideal environment; you are not a decision maker, and you can never execute your own plans.

On the other hand, many people actually enjoy consulting for the same reasons some don't. They don't get bogged down with one position for too long, they have a lot of variety, and it's a relatively safe route (you never have to actually execute any of the plans).

Consulting is generally the default route for most military HBS MBA candidates possibly because it's the main field that doesn't require work experience, consulting firms love military applicants, and it's generally a great bridge to working in an industry of choice down the road. However, for the reasons listed above, it's often just considered the lesser of two evils.

For a spoof on Bankers versus Consultants, check out this YouTube video

3. General Management

General Management is not traditionally sought after as much as finance or consulting, possibly because it doesn't pay quite as much at the immediate post-MBA level. General Management however has a great deal of appeal to military people because it's the closest thing to what they were doing before business school, and has many of the traits that military people tend to appreciate: leadership, leading people/organization, project management, making things happen, building things, etc. In very broad terms, it's sort of what most people think of when they think of "business," running a project, or a team.

I would note here that entering category #1 or #2 doesn't mean you don't eventually end up in #3. For example, working at a top consulting firm may be a fast path to enter general management at a higher level down the road; higher possibly than compared to somebody who entered general management directly. I haven't figured out some these nuances yet.

4. Independent job searching (start-ups, unique opportunities)

The first three types of jobs listed above all recruit heavily on campus. The fourth major category, or bucket, is simply everything else. This can include entrepreneurship (start a business), start-ups (join a new business), or some other position that doesn't fall into the first three main categories. This is by far the riskiest of the categories, and is therefore probably least followed. However, for those who know what they want to do, and have the skills and disposition to follow it, this may end up the most personally fulfilling of all jobs. I would guess that most HBS grads eventually end up blazing towards this eventually (perhaps after 5 or 10 years). Based on school stats, about 50% of HBS grads start their own business or join a start-up within 10 years. However, it's very difficult for many to do so right after school. Some don't believe they have the experience, the confidence, or simply can't afford the risk given all the loans (and expectations) that accumulate.

So that is my perspective on recruiting as I enter it. I will certainly keep an open mind as I go through recruiting season, and perhaps I will have a new perspective when I come out the other end. There are of course many other job functions out there, but broadly speaking, the above 4 are largely inclusive.

The sooner one knows which way he wants to go, the better off he will be. It is just too time intensive to keep all those options open for too long, else you just spread your efforts too thin.

Let the recruiting season begin...

Decisions at HBS

Including Analytics, I've now sat through six weeks of classes at HBS. In virtually every aspect, the experience has surpassed my expectations. HBS really is what you make of it, and this introduces some natural tensions...

1. Focus on HBS for today vs. tomorrow

In other words, how much priority should one place on enjoying time at HBS now, versus focusing on the benefits that HBS can provide for the long run. This is a basic "live for today versus invest in the future" balance that one has to make no matter where one is in life; the effects of such decisions though are highly amplified at a fast paced place like HBS, and are therefore much more apparent.

How much should one partake in the incredible environment that is HBS, versus how much time should one spend doing the leg work to set up a successful career later? Although it may be easy to be judgmental from an outside point of view, the answer is far from simple. Some examples:

• The most visible socializing example is night life. A few students are out at bars every night, sleep 4 hours a night, and put relatively little time into their classes. It's easy to see this as one extreme. Some students don't go out at all and are home full time with family. Most students are naturally in between, though a very large number are out late more often than not. It's difficult to relate the social life at a place like HBS. I get at least 25 emails a day inviting me for or discussing a social event that will occur within the next day or two - 7 days a week. There are large and extravagant parties put on by different clubs and groups nearly every night. The people are fun, interesting, engaging, and the venues can be equally compelling. So it's very easy to find one pulled into these events. Since they are nearly continuous, it takes a very deliberate decision on how much time one wants to devote to social activities. On top of that, nobody wants to feel left out... that FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) you always hear about. Personally, I'm very comfortable with my balance, but some students are still figuring out their limits by trial and error.... and will probably have to re-balance their lifestyle pretty soon. It's still early in the semester.
  
• Other social aspects include team sports. So far I've engaged in soccer, squash, basketball, flag football, and rugby. Since there is an event nearly event day, one has to be somewhat deliberate in his allocation of time to this too.
• Weekend retreats. Want to go away on the weekend to a park in Vermont? A hotel-casino in Las Vegas? How about Oktoberfest in Germany? Odds are that any given weekend, you will have an option to go somewhere with some group, club, or sectionmates.
• "Small group dinners" are also formally and informally run all the time. These are great ways to meet other students in your class and get to know people outside of your natural circles, or perhaps to deepen your relationship with those you already know.
  

Now balance the above with:

• Industry presentations - Seminars and panels put on by HBS to help students learn about different industries and functions in preparation for recruiting.
• Recruiting events - Which can be anything from formal company presentations, to sponsored club activities, to informal career events.
• Career team events and career counseling - Formally sponsored by HBS.
• Job searching - Both formal (through HBS) and informal (through personal network).
• Learning opportunities at greater Harvard. A common source of interest is the Kennedy School of Government. Nearly every week there is a foreign head of state or a major leader within the US giving talks and meeting people. How easy is it to pass up on that?
• Staying on top of US and global economic news and markets... industry trends, and general world news.

Add on top of that 3-6 hours of case prep a day, and it is easy to see that there are not enough hours in the day to pursue everything one would want to do outside of class at HBS. This is a well known and should be a surprise to no one. I believe that the key is to come to terms with what your priority really is at HBS... the balance between present value and future value. Some may argue that there is overlap... that socializing and meeting other people is "networking" and hence implicitly a career enhancing process. Some of the latter might be true, but more often than not it's just a convenient justification.

Another tension is really a reflection of the first:

2. Is the classroom environment a professional one or a social one?

Ask 10 HBS student that question and you will probably get 10 different answers. The variability is a direct reflection of the various outlooks of the student class. The tension is reflected very subtly within the sections.

Since each section is together every day (and many nights), a very tight cohesion is formed. As a consequence, a section personality definitely emerges. Some sections are more about business, while some sections are more about play. Some sections form cliques very easily, while some sections put maximum effort to be inclusive. We are only a month into the full school year, so these personalities are still in their toddler stages, but if one steps back to observe, one can see it evolving day to day. In a way it's an interesting study of group dynamics. Since the sections are an essentially random group of 95 personalities, the group variance can't really be explained by a variance in the individual personalities. Rather, the sections often adopt the personalities of a few people within them who are instrumental in shaping the thoughts and actions of others. Sometimes overtly, and sometimes more discretely, it's really a microcosm of how trend setters (I deliberately avoid the term "leader" here) influence the rest of the public.

So how is this manifested? Some sections apparently think it's funny that if you are hung over in the morning, you wear a crimson hat with the Harvard "H" on it to let everyone know you are hung over. Is this funny? I just can't imagine my section adopting that norm... not after the 4 weeks of effort we've put into achieving a good balance of fun and taste.

What about dress? One person in a section somehow persuaded his section that they should wear ties on Friday. Regardless of what one's opinion is about that, I find it fascinating that one person can so easily persuade such a large group of supposed A-type personalities to do something they would otherwise not dream of doing. I only found out about this when I saw somebody walking down the hallways with a nice tie and button up shirt, jean shorts, and flip flops. Apparently that student was making a statement. What that statement is I'm not sure... maybe I'm too uptight. But as sections figure out whether their classroom environment is professional or social, people like that do have a big impact on more impressionable students.

In summary, I hope I don't sound like I don't know how to have fun with things. I'm out with my section quite often and quite late. I guess I just like to keep professional things professional, and social things social. With so many cultures and backgrounds represented here, it's a bit dangerous to blur the line in any extreme way. It can be uncomfortable to go through such a deliberate decision process, as one may not like the results, and hence some people may rather just not think about it. On the grander scale, what one hopes to achieve at HBS, and where he falls in the spectrum of "live for today versus tomorrow" is probably a decision worth analyzing, and continuously refining.

Analytics 2009

Analytics 2009 is over and school is about to start. I wanted to write a little about my experience thus far as things ramp up and the school year begins.

Analytics is a program for HBS students who don't come from a business background. More specifically, it is required for those without a business background, and a few with a business background find their way in there as well. We had four sections of about 60 students each, so that represents about 25% of the class.

For those with little to no business background, Analytics proved to be a very steep learning curve and extremely time consuming. I found myself working or in class about 15 hours a day to keep up with all the new concepts. Analytics is case based, but the cases are much more nuts and bolts and more quantitative than the normal school year balance. It forces students to apply financial, accounting, and quantitative methods towards different business models. The only reason students like me had to spend so much time on the cases is because I would have to stop nearly every paragraph to look up a term or a concept and learn what it even meant.

For students like myself, which I think is the majority of the Analytics student body, the leap in knowledge between one day to the next was greater than the amount of information that a person can absorb in 24 hours. Meaning, the volume of information that can be potentially absorbed each day is greater than what one could learn even if he studied for 24 hours straight. This means I only absorbed 80-90% of the details that the cases called for in order to reach a full command of the material. And I found this to be absolutely exhilarating! It is the first time - possibly ever for me - in which I didn't have time to learn 100% of the material put in front of me. I think this is great because if you are able to learn 100% of the material, you are by definition not learning to your capacity. For two weeks, I was learning to my capacity. To learn as much as I can, and to stretch my abilities to my max is what I always seek, so I found the whole process to be extremely rewarding. I was perfectly content to really gain a solid understanding of only 80% or 90% of the material, knowing that my efficiency will grow exponentially as I quickly catch up on the terminology and basic business terms and concepts.

Most students also thrived in this environment, and enjoyed the academic and social environment. Some students though, particularly those have always been able to find "the solution" to every problem - had some challenges. Since they weren't able to keep up with every class, it proved overwhelmingly stressful because that was a new experience for them. It was the first time perhaps they were pushed beyond their limits because of the disparity of their backgrounds and the completely new topics put in front of them.

The key takeaway for them was not how to learn more efficiently so that they could attain 100% mastery, but rather, that sometimes one can't cover everything, and that he must prioritize. Coming from a military background, this was hardly a new concept, but I think that may be one of the most important lessons Analytics can offer some students. You don't have to master every topic, cover every concept, solve every problem... it's much more important to prioritize, pick and choose your battles, and manage your time as best you can. You have to let the unimportant things go. For many prevailing perfectionist personalities here, the latter lesson is a bitter one to swallow.

Now it's time for the real school year to start. There is a definite sense of excitement among the students here in Cambridge!

Letters of Recommendation for Business School

I'm starting a new feature on my blog where I answer reader's questions. I try to reply to everybody's email directly, and if the question can benefit others, then I will post it on my blog as well. So let us begin:

Q: What is your take on letters of recommendation for applicants (particularly military)?
-- Captain Dan in Iraq

A: As always, I will begin with the caveat that I don't have secret admission knowledge and that all my answers are purely my own speculation. I'll answer this question generically first, and then add some specifics for military applicants.

Unlike most schools, HBS requires three letters of rec, not two. There is no such thing as an ideal lineup, and every applicant is different. However, generically speaking, if I could have my dream recs, it would be the following:

1. Direct supervisor
2. Academic reference
3. Leader from a non-profit organization or any organization outside of your profession

I would consider this as a very strong lineup and let me explain why. The HBS application is relatively short. Every essay, every letter of rec, and every sentence should be used to complement and add to your application. Therefore, for example, three letters from supervisors may be redundant (i.e. he's a great worker, brilliant employee, visionary leader, etc.). Ok, got it, and reinforcement is always good, but I think that a deeper picture is more important than reinforcing existing expectations/assumptions. I believe that presenting yourself as a multi-dimensional and multi-talented candidate is more important than reinforcing your professional accomplishments. However, this doesn't mean that every letter of rec should present a totally different strength or side of your personality; rather, it should show how your focused strengths and abilities are manifested across diverse settings. The exception to this is if you are trying to break out of a pre-conceived expectations (see my HBS 2012 essay post for more on this) and are really trying to focus on one specific aspect of your personality. Let me discuss each one with a little more detail.

1. Direct supervisor

If your resume is already packed with great professional accomplishments, one letter of recommendation from your professional circle might suffice. It should bring to life some of your accomplishments and reinforce your claims with a human touch. It should also breath some life into an otherwise unemotional resume list of accomplishments.... such as how your personality enabled those successes. As with all letters of rec, it should reinforce the strengths and weaknesses that you are presenting throughout the application.

As far as direct supervisor versus peer recommendations; take the best recommendation you can get, but direct supervisor probably trumps a peer all else being equal. Anybody can get a recommendation from a peer saying he's the greatest thing since sliced bread. A direct supervisor is more difficult, and he also sees you from a more professional point of view, so if you can swing it, I think it's better. What about direct supervisor versus non-direct supervisor from higher within the organization? I would say that all else being equal, the higher ranking (and experienced) the recommender the better... however... the more separated somebody is from you the less detailed and genuine the recommendation tends to be. The latter (detailed and genuine) is too important to compromise, so don't sacrifice those just to get a more impressive title at the bottom of the letter.

2. Academic reference

This may seem most relevant to those just coming out of undergraduate, but I believe it applies to all. An example can be a professor or a supervisor of your research. I believe it's actually most beneficial to older applicants who need to show how much they value their academic record and that they have not outgrowned their scholastic interests in life. If anything, younger applicants could use more of the other two types of letters of recs (assuming a strong academic record).

3. Non-profit or non-professional organization

The trickiest part for most people will be the third letter (outside of school and outside of work - as I have artificially defined it). People heavily immersed in creating a strong professional track record often don't have the time to also establish a strong reputation with a non-profit or non-professional association worthy of a serious recommendation. However, such a letter of recommendation could really add to one's application. The difficulty of achieving this speaks to its advantage in differentiating the applicant from others who only have business related letters of recommendation.

In general...

Think of the letters of recommendations as three shots across the bow of business school. They are not to be taken lightly and I believe their importance may be underemphasized by some applicants. Each one should have its own message and should reinforce a dimension you are trying to send to the ADCOM. If you have a weak academic record but strong professional accomplishments, consider getting two academic letters of recommendation. If you have a really strong professional record but weak extra-curricular activities, you would probably benefit from having a letter from an outside organziation. If you are a non-profit guru with strong social work background, perhaps letters of rec from supervisors highlighting your direct business skills and potential would serve you best.

The above list of letters are just a generic solution to the world's most perfectly balanced applicant - who probably does not exist. You have to carefully pick and choose your letters of rec to support your own strategy and the message(s) you want to send. Don't forget to also consider how good of a job your recommender may or may not do for you. There are people who may love your contributions and speak highly of you, but are not the most persuasive authors.

For schools that only require two letters of rec, your combination of letters is simpler, but the strategy should still be the same.

Military appplicants...

Military applicants have probably been deployed at least once or twice in the past few years... and are probably lucky enough to have sustained a relationship with a spouse or significant other, let alone with a worthy non-military organization from which to solicit a letter of rec. This is why it is such a great supplement to your application. Many military applicants may only have letters of rec from supervisors, and I am proof that it may be ok. My three letters were all from previous and current supervisors (two O-5s and an O-4). I didn't have the scholastic reach to warrant an academic letter of rec, and I certainly haven't been home enough to be seriously involved with an outside organization. My purpose and sole focus in life was to train my soldiers, lead them in combat, and bring everybody home alive. I made no apologies for not having much free time outside the military. However, if you can somehow swing a balance, I think you will be that much better off.

HBS Class of 2011 profile (Military)

HBS announced the tentative Class of 2011 profile and I want to take this opportunity to discuss some specifics that would apply to military candidates since in the past most of that information has been largely a mystery. But first, some general observations:

• Class size was increased from about 900 to 942. Does this mean all previous classes will soon refer to themselves as the "last hard class" to get into? Did we have lower standards? Well, applications also went up, so the total acceptance rate for the class of 2010 and 2011 are identical (12%). It will be interesting to see if this is a temporary or permanent change to the HBS class size.
  
• Almost half of those accepted (47%) finished undergrad within the last 3 years. HBS is only getting younger - last year it was 40%. See my post on ages at HBS for more info.
  

Now to the military profiles...

I did some of my own research to account for the sources of successful military applicants. For the purposes of these numbers, I'm not counting non-US military personnel. Some countries have compulsory military duty, and I think that they may warrant a different data set for proper interpretation. So let's just discuss US military for now. There are about 31 US military MBA candidates (3%) that make up the class. Most of them have a total of 4-5 years (initial obligation) in the Armed Forces. Here are some figures:

• Army: 13 (42%)
• Navy: 9 (29%)
• Marines: 6 (19%)
  
• Air Force: 2 (6%)
• Coast Guard: 1 (4%)

So that definitely dispels the myth that HBS loves "McKinsey, Mormons, and Marines." I would also speculate that the Air Force numbers are relatively low because of longer obligations for many officers (re: older at time of application). Now let's look at source of commissioning (all 31 were officers):

• US Military Academy: 7 (23%)
• US Naval Academy: 6 (19%)
• US Air Force Academy: 1 (4%)
• US Coast Guard Academy: 1 (4%)
• Non-service academy: 16 (52%)

So this also dispels the myth that West Pointers dominate in admissions, though they do have a strong showing.

Now let's look at the military background. I'm going to introduce some of my own non-doctrinal definitions for this. I have three categories: Combat Arms (Infantry, Armor, Special Forces), Combat Support (Artillery, direct air support), General Support (everything else, such as intel, signal, logistics, etc). I know some people will have a problem with this ground force biased definition, but hey... I'm not writing doctrine here.

• Combat Arms: 6 (19%)
• Combat Support: 3 (11%)
• General Support: 22 (71%)

In reality most former military HBS students are not of the more exotic flavor (SEALs, Green Berets, fighter pilots, etc.) but actually rather representative of the wide variety of professions within the military.

Please note that NONE of these numbers are official HBS numbers, nor are they guaranteed to be 100% accurate. There may be 1 or 2 military guys that I missed when compiling the statistics. Nonetheless, the numbers should be of value to every curious military applicant out there wondering where s/he fits in. And that's another note; all 31 officers are male.

Final note: the picture in this blog obviously has nothing to do with HBS. It is however one of my favorite pictures of perhaps the greatest "class" of US military leaders ever assembled for a photograph.

Summer plans

So how do most HBS students spend their summer before school?

Well, if you're a "typical" 24-25 year old who has spent the last few years working really hard, saving a respectable treasure chest, but haven't had much vacation or personal travel time, the answer is.... travel! Despite the fact almost nobody is in Cambridge yet, HBS students are already planning a group trip to either Africa or China. This isn't a school trip - but an admit student organized trip - apparently following up on other previously successful pre-matriculation trips. Although I won't be going on this trip, to me this is great, because it reinforces my expectations that HBS students will be doers, not talkers. It's great to be among a group of people who don't just talk forever about going to China... they make plans, and they actually do it.

I've spent the last 10 years galavanting across the world, so I'm putting my focus on much more pragmatic issues... such as downsizing! For example, downsizing from a 2200 square foot, 1 acre home, to a small apartment. Downsizing from 3 cars to 1 (or 2). Figuring out what to put in storage, and finding a renter for my house. Figuring out my National Guard transition (yes, I plan to stay in the Guard during and after school). I'm also working on family genealogy. I was able to trace my wife back to the Mayflower and William the Conqueror. I know I know... all very boring grown up things. As many military officers can quaintly relate, there is certainly an envious appeal to being 24 years old and being able to move everything you own in the back of your car.

Still others are doing more than just relocating their homestead or traveling to exotic locations. Some are working on their business, completely immersed in their entrepreneurial ventures. Some are doing all three at the time same. I'm working on my own business plan this summer as well, or at least learning how to put it together.

However students spend their summers, it is probably safe to say few will "waste" a single moment of it.

Class of 2012 HBS Essay Questions

Last month HBS announced the Class of 2012 Essay Questions. While I still have the application process fairly fresh in my mind, I figured I would comment on the essay topics to help future applicants. I consider the essays to be the most significant part of the application because they are the only component that one really has full control over. You can't change your work experience or GPA, and once you are done with the GMAT, the essays are the only thing that you can really continue to influence. It's important that the essays are developed as part of your overall strategy, and I recommend writing all the essays for HBS together (instead of going from one school application to the next and back) in order to paint a coherent picture.

One of the most important pieces of advice I tried to follow was using the essays to mitigate my perceived weaknesses, vice playing up my presumed strengths. What do I mean by this? Based on your general profile (consultant, engineer, military, etc), a reader probably has a pre-conceived notion about your strengths and weaknesses. For example...

• Consultant: Strength - organization and presentation, Weakness - lack of leadership or vision

• Engineer: Strength - technical and analytical, Weakness - lack of people skills

• Military: Strength - leadership and ethics, Weakness - working in ambiguously defined environments, working without a clear chain of command
  

• Non-traditionalist (artist, social sector, etc.): Strength - Unique experiences and fresh perspectives, Weakness - Lack of business and math ability


• Investment Banker: Strength - Business and computational skills, Weakness - lack of leadership ability, lack of interest outside of work.


• International: Strength - Strong global viewpoint, language skills, Weakness - Poor (English) presentation skills, challenges adapting to Western business


• Younger applicant: Strength - Academic rigor, vitality, Weakness - Lack of experience, immature


• Older applicant: Strength - Experience, maturity, Weakness - Lack of career focus, reluctance to change or to adapt.

You may or may not agree with these stereotypes, but that is not what's important here. The important thing is to realize that essay readers are human beings like the rest of us, and what they don't need to is to be convinced that a consultant has strong organizational skills, that a military applicant has strong leadership skills, or that an i-banker has strong business skills. Your resume should speak to those issues. What they do need to know is that the engineer has people skills, that the non-traditionalist has aptitude to succeed in a quantitative environment, and that a consultant has strong leadership potential. These are all just examples and indeed stereotypes. Perhaps nobody can be thrown into such a specific bucket, but this is an important concept to understand when framing your overall application strategy. Use stories that counter concerns about your weaknesses, not only those that reinforce your presumed strengths.

With that in mind, here are some thoughts on the essay subjects:

• What are your three most substantial accomplishments and why do you view them as such? (600-word limit)

This is the HBS cornerstone essay; it's always there and the three accomplishment question is fairly well associated with HBS. Many applicants use a formula of (1) professional accomlishment, (1) personal accomplishment, and (1) academic accomplishments. However, there is no reason why you cannot choose to focus on your own area of emphasis. Keep in mind that the more important part of the question is the second part, the WHY, not the WHAT. Many peopple have great accomplishments, but just the fact you closed a deal worth XYZ dollars or won a gold medal in the olympics is not what they want to hear (again, that's what the resume is for). They want to know what makes you tick, and what's important to you. This essay should not only be used to impress someone with your accomplishments, but to convey your self-awareness, thought process, and maturity. Therefore the emphasis here should be on why the accomlpishment is important to you, and ideally, what lessons you learned from it about yourself and the world around you. This is quite a challenge with an average of 200 words per accomplishment! Remember that this essay should set the tone for your entire application. It should clearly express what kind of person you are, what you've done, and what's important to you.

• What have you learned from a mistake? (400-word limit)

These 400 word essays are really challenging. Limited space aside, here are some thoughts about the classic mistake essay:

Make sure it's really a mistake.... something you actually messed up on. No false negatives here. The mistake itself should be short and to the point. Don't dwell on it. You don't have much room in this essay. The focus of the essay should be on what you learned from the mistake, and ideally how you applied that lesson in the future. Furthermore, this essay should add another dimension to your personality. What insight can the reader take away about who you are? For example, a great essay in my opinion might show that you have reached a level of emotional maturity after learning from a mistake, or how you have come to formulate your view of the world, of challenges, or of family, etc. Think big picture.

Please respond to two of the following (400-word limit each):

You get to choose two essays from a list of five optional essays, which is a great opportunity for any applicant to showcase his or her message. Here are some thoughts on why you would or wouldn't choose a certain essay topic:

1. What would you like the MBA Admissions Board to know about your undergraduate academic experience?

This is a great essasy for the young applicant with little work experience. You can use your undergraduate experience to highlight leadership, inspiration, travel, or inter-personal skills, etc. Conversely, this might also be a good essay for an older applicant who has been out of school for a while and wants to emphasize the value he places on academics (i.e. to counter an inconsistent record). If you already have a 4.0 GPA from Harvard undergrad, this essay would probably not be your most effective choice, as you may be overselling your strengths.

2. Discuss how you have engaged with a community or organization.

On the surface this is a great essay for the non-traditionalist, however, I believe this is a trap. Referring to my strength/weakness comments at the top, the non-traditionalist is already thought to have strong community engagement or interaction (i.e. social worker, non-profit, etc.). You may not want to use one of your four valuable essays to expound upon the expected (you can however, use an accomplishment paragraph on the first essay for it). Conversely, this would be a great essay for the i-banker or consultant, who is not expected to have much community engagement.

3. Tell us about a time when you made a difficult decision.

This is a good essay for everybody. The important thing is that it's not the decision that was made which is important, but the thought process you used to get there. It's important you show your approach to decision making, and to incorporate your understanding of not only immediate consequences, but also 2nd and 3rd order effects. It should reveal what you value the most. Many people might use this essay to present how they dealt with an ethical dilemma. However, a word of caution here. I would argue that "do I lie to help my company or do I deny my boss' request" is not an ethical dilemma. It's not an ethical dilemma because you know the ethical answer... don't lie! So where's the dilemma? The real decision there is personal gain versus ethical action, so don't expect anyone to be impressed with an essay about how you chose ethical responsibility. A real ethical dilemma involves compromising one of your values for the benefit of another. For example, the seven Army values are Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage. If you have ever had to make a difficult decision in which you had to put one value over another, and learned about yourself and what you value the most in the process, then that might be an excellent essay topic.

4. Write a cover letter to your application introducing yourself to the Admissions Board.

This is a new essay topic this year. Coming from the military, I have little experience writing business cover letters and I can't really think of much utility for this option because it may rather awkwardly say "hey, see what a great person I am and what I've done, you should choose me." The best way to really convey that message is through stories that illustrate why that is so. Stories paint a picture and articulate who you are and what you can contribute to HBS and to the world afterwards. Perhaps if you have no business experience at all and you want to illustrate a keen mind for effective business communications, this might be a good option.

5. What is your career vision and why is this choice meaningful to you?

This is the classic business school essay, and I won't speculate into why Harvard does not mandate it. I would say certain applicants should be heavily encouraged to exercise this option. For example, older applicants and non-traditionalists. If you're older - closer to 30 - then your career path should be more well developed than a 23 year old. It's probably more acceptable to still be figuring out your career goals in your early 20s, but I imagine HBS is less tolerant if you are doing so and graduating in your early 30s. So this essay is a good opportunity to alleviate such concern. Similarly for non-traditionalits... for example, let's say you're a successful photographer or an athlete. Why would you be leaving a successful career to come to HBS? What do you want out of it? These are questions that I imagine would naturally pop in a reader's mind when looking at a non-traditional applicant, so answer those questions here. Conversely, if you are an investment banker or a consultant and have followed a more traditional path, it may not be as important to spell out your career vision. For the latter, it may be more important to convey your involvement with community, University, or your decision making. Of course, if you do have a career trajectory in mind which you think will give you an advantage over your fellow applicants, definitely consider answering this essay question.

So how should you decide which two of the five essays you should write? It clearly depends on your profile and what message you are trying to project to the Admission Committee. That in turn depends on your background and where you want to go in life. I would suggest that you outline all four essays before starting to write any one essay in full. Have a general idea or even a summary of all the key points you want to convey to the ADCOM, and then figure out in which essays you will convey each point. Word count is very limited, so treat it as a precious resource. There is no room for redundancy. Weave your story as well as possible through all your essays so that a complete, coherent picture emerges of you as a candidate, and ideally, why you should be chosen over all others trying to do the exact same thing.

What makes us happy?

One thing I've noticed common to most HBS students is an intense drive toward achievement. If we follow Maslow's hierarchy of needs, we pursue self-actualization and self-transcendence as the ultimate goal. As defined by Maslow, this means to "...have unitive consciousness and plateau experience ... and to have or to have had peak experience (mystic, sacral, ecstatic) with illuminations or insights." It also means to have achieved spiritual self-sufficiency, authenticity, meaningfulness, humility, and cognitive self-understanding. In order words, achieving one's full potential as a human being.

With such lofty goals, it's no wonder that so many HBS students are left with unresolved desires and anxiety about making their mark on this world.

Although I haven't had my "transformational" section experience yet (it will be interesting to revisit this subject in a year), on the surface it seems many HBS students are one pyrmaid level below the top: Esteem. They are tactically driven by tangible achievement, votes of confidence and success, and are consciously or unconsciously seeking the respect of others in this world. I suppose this is a natural position in life for a 20-something on his/her quest towards greater intangible success; one just has to see it as a phase rather than an end state to truly appreciate the personal dimensions and context of the HBS experience.

So what does make us happy?

Wouldn't it be nice if we could track several hundred Harvard graduates across the depth of their lives, monitoring, observing, recording, and evaluating what brings one true happiness? Can we confirm or deny the age old sage that money can't buy happiness? Amazingly, Harvard has been conducting exactly such a study on the same group of graduates for the past 72 years! The study tracked 268 Harvard men throughout their lives; the ones still with us are well into their 80s.

With a group so privileged and ambitious, and with such a strong drive to be successful and make a mark in the world, is it a surprise to anyone that a third of the participants exhibited some sort of mental illness - if only temporarily - by their 50s? At the same time, it should be of little surprise that some of the participants also filled the job of the oval office, the US cabinet, and countless powerful boards.

The article is well put together and reveals a lot of surprises. Although it tends to dwell on esoteric academic references, it also addresses more puzzling questions such as "What college aged personality traits predict political affiliation?" "What variables best predict health later in life?" And of course... "What brings us happiness?"

On a personal note, it was reassuring to read that every life, no matter how it is presented or projected to others, is filled with personal tragedy, personal growth, setbacks, eloquence, complexity, empathy, and connection. We all live through the full spectrum of emotion. We also know there is no playbook for happiness - we all just do the best we can on this one way journey.

I invite you to learn from what must be one of the deepest studies in positive psychology ever compiled.

Opportunity cost

This week I officially authorized my resignation from the military after 10 years of service. It's something extremely difficult to do because the military is more than a job; it's an identity and a way of life. It can be an agonizing transition to walk away from the service, its mission, its people, its sense of purpose, and its history.

I turned in my original resignation in January. In an effort to retain me, several weeks ago the military offered to both pay for HBS as well as full salary during my two years of study. The catch? 4.5 years of commitment on the back side.

I have done a lot of soul searching about this option, and queried many opinions. Some said I would be a fool to not take the offer. Others said the opportunity cost of 4.5 years would just be too high. Opportunity cost is a term I am quickly learning to appreciate.

Earlier in my life I could pursue one path without necessarily closing the door to another. For example, I could serve in the military and still be a doctor, a lawyer, or a businessman later. I could move to one country, and still expect to eventually establish roots in another. As one becomes older and more experienced, options may be more abundant, but choosing one option inherently negates many others. The post-HBS 4.5 year commitment would take me into my late 30s, and essentially negate many opportunities coming out of HBS. On the other hand, it's very plausible to return to the military should I change my mind in two years.

When weighing my options, I considered two key points:

• The opportunity cost of 4.5 years of my life versus that of several hundred thousand dollar investment in me today. Of the two options, I believe the 4.5 years is a riskier proposition.
• The assumption that I can serve as a greater agent of change in this world coming out of HBS than I can following my current path in the military.
  

That analysis represents a judicious approach; it does not take into account the emotional and mental aspect of saying goodbye to such an integral part of one's life. Only time will tell if my leap of faith is wise, but that's the risk I have decided to take.

Finding your way versus making your way

I just finished reading "Ahead of the Curve" by Philip Delves Broughton. Philip did not find what he was looking for at HBS. He learned a lot about business, but got neither a summer internship nor a job offer coming out of school. His internal struggle to find a successful career yet not follow the corporate path drew him in two directions that he could not bridge. I looked him up online and it seems he has gone back (for now) to what he was doing before: conventional journalism.

Phlip and I have several things in common, so learning from his experience is very valuable. For one, we are a similar age entering HBS. For another, we are both leaving a highly successful career that we enjoyed greatly. I can't speak for Philip, but for those wondering why one would leave such a career; careers change and evolve, and although you enjoyed getting to a certain point, it doesn't mean you will enjoy getting to the next.

When I started applying to HBS I thought that business school would be a great way to "find my way." It would be a great forum for a career transition. While the latter is true, taking it for granted is a mistake. Although, HBS can be used to "find your way," its benefits are exponentially leveraged if one instead uses it to "make your way." This may sound like a serious statement from somebody who hasn't even began school yet, but that is my point. The earlier one starts to plan his career, months before school starts, the better off he will be. It's not necessary, but it adds an advantage.

I've long stripped the idea that my two years at school will be used to find my way to a new career. I'm now very proactive in searching and learning about different career opportunities, and I haven't even signed a lease in Cambridge yet.

In the military one starts out as an expert and becomes a generalist as he moves up the ranks. In business, the trend appears to be mostly the opposite. The sooner one can get himself in the right business lane, the further that road will take him.

Crime in Cambridge

As I continue to search for off-campus housing, I queried the Cambridge Police Department (CPD) for some crime statistics; I was quite surprised. This may be the case of simply seeing what has always been around you, but I found the crime rates to be rather high for my standards. I'm not primarily concerned about somebody trying to hurt me personally, but I am concerned about car break-ins, car thefts, and home break-ins while I'm not home. So those are the statistics I focused on. The CPD has pretty good statistical analysis of city crimes and I suggest you look on their web site to learn more about your particular interests.

First, let's start by defining the different neighborhoods in Cambridge:


Most off-campus students live in Riverside, Mid-Cambridge, and Cambridgeport, roughly in that order. The police web site has multi-page reports detailing each particular neighborhood, so refer to it for more details. For now, let's just look at general trends.

Although detailed, the CPD crime analysis is 2 years behind. So for now the best we can do is look at the 2007 annual reports.

Robberies:

Auto thefts:


One of the most common crimes in Cambridge is GPS thefts. In 2007 there were 779 reported cases. That's over 2 GPS thefts a day, 365 days a year. Personally, the main hassle of a GPS theft is not just the loss of the GPS, but getting your window smashed and the time associated with dealing with the crime, the insurance company, and repairig the vehicle and the mess they leave behind. Most of us are pretty GPS savvy and remove the GPS from the windshield when we park our car in questionable places. However, the thieves are also pretty savvy. From what everybody told me, if they just see a power cable in the car, a suction cup, or even suction cup marks on the windshield, then the thieves will assume you have the device somewhere in your car and will break in (if your car is targeted). There are solutions around these problems, but the point is, if you love your car, off-street parking is a major consideration.


So all the above was 2007 data. I searched for 2008 data and the CPD have data from the first 3 quarters posted (see below). You can study the numbers for yourself, but a snapshot summary of crimes per day in 2008 show:

• Over 1 residential burglary per day
  
• Over 2 thefts per day from a car
• About 2 car thefts every 3 days

Violent crime appears to be relatively low for the population size, and it's also something I feel I have some control over in my behavior and actions. However, when somebody breaks into my house or car and I'm not around, is when I have much less control, which is why I focused on those statistics. I didn't get the impression that Cambridge is a particularly dangerous place by any means, but having situational awareness of the the crime rate and types of crime is important. The rest of the statistics are below.

HBS Round 2 Admit weekend

I attended Round 2 Admit weekend this past week. Definitely a great experience and the first time my wife has seen the area. Overall very enjoyable, but also quite exhausting. The weekend reaffirmed one thing most b-school applicants already know; that you choose what you want to get out of the experience between the three major themes of academic, social, and professional resources. In other words, how much you will care about your classes, how much you will be partying, and how much you will be searching for a job. It is obvious that most people will prioritize their personal objectives quite differently. Many of the students are at different stages of their lives, so it's natural to have different priorities. Older married students will not come in to school with the same mindset as many of the younger single students. International students may also view their objectives differently (as a pattern, not as a stereotype).

I also saw a common theme of "I've worked 100+ hours a week for the past 2 years and now I'm going to enjoy my two years." With an unspoken caveat that the person expects to return to a 100+ work week after school. Given these circumstances, it's no wonder 2 years at business school is seen as a break for some. Obviously these were just some of the students, and does not represent the whole class. But coming from the military, I found these kinds of circumstances rather intriguing.

I also met a few HBS/Stanford admits trying to decide between schools. So far of the two I've kept in touch with, they have split their decision. The two schools offer such a different lifestyle and fit that it really comes down to the one's personality and goals. But then again, this is the case with most schools.

One final note I've learned... finding housing near campus that allows a dog appears more difficult than getting into HBS in the first place!

The 30 most important minutes of your life?

The 30 most important minutes of your life may just be your dream business school interview. Some might say that's a crazy statement. Some may say that their wedding, or being at the birth of their first child is more important... and with that I can't argue. So perhaps I should say "the 30 most consequential minutes of your life." Perhaps no other half hour will ever have a greater impact on the rest of your life. If you completely mess up your wedding vows and stumble through the ceremony, your marriage will probably still end up the same in the long run. If you pass out during childbirth, your kid will turn out the same as well. If you mess up on a significant job interview, promotion board, or major business pitch, there can always be another just down the road. There are opportunities to recover. But if you mess up on your interview at a place like (insert dream school of your choice) there really isn't a second chance for most of us. Furthermore, the difference between getting admitted to a place like (insert dream school of your choice) or not can have cascading and hugely consequential effects on the rest of your life such as your business network, personal and professional development, lifelong career partners, even choice of career fields, and of course, career success.

It's no wonder many are extremely nervous before their interview. On the other hand, if you're not a little nervous, you are probably not taking it seriously enough.

I took my HBS interview extremely seriously. Or at least it was serious for a guy like me, as I have very little formal interview experience. I'm used to proving myself by my actions, not by my words. I spent three days in Cambridge, talked to many students, visited four classes, and rehearsed for many many hours. This was on top of several weeks of preparation. It was also the last interview I did, which proved extremely helpful. Of course, I don't know if any of this helped, but I certainly would not have risked doing any less in retrospect. There are two things you must be for your interview: confident AND prepared, which are two states that don't always come together.

I'm not revealing some great insight here, but rather relating the seriousness with which I took my HBS interview. If you are fortunate enough to be invited, consider it if nothing else, among the 30 most consequential minutes of your life. There are no second chances.

The Harvard age curve

A reputation that business schools project is that they value work experience more than some institutions such as law or medical school. While this is certainly the case, not all business schools weigh work experience equally. The bias towards younger candidates at Harvard and Stanford in particular is very strong. HBS posted in their admissions blog the undergraduate year of completion for their MBA Class of 2010:

To really relate to these figures, I’ve converted the data into ages under the assumption that the average undergraduate student completed school at age 22. While there may have been those that worked for a couple of years first or took longer to finish school, there are certainly also those who finished in three years. Regardless, taking the average to be 22 I think is a pretty fair assumption. Furthermore, I changed the age from age at matriculation to age at time of application. Since nearly all applicants hit the submit button 8-10 months before matriculation, it is also fair to say that the average applicant will have hit a birthday in between the time he submits his application and the time he matriculates. Taking these considerations into account, we come up with the following results:

Out of 900 successful applicants (at time of application)

• 1.2% were 30 years or older
• 11.3% were 27 or older
• 71% were 25 or younger
• The “sweet spot” to apply is between 24 and 26; representing over 3 of 4 admitted students

While this could theoretically result from a skewed applicant pool, consider that Wharton reports 40% of its matriculating students have 7+ years of work experience, versus 5.4% at HBS.

The point is not that applicants in their late 20s or early 30s can’t get into HBS; but it is extremely competitive since they are essentially competing for a sub-set of 50 seats out of 900. Applicants that have made career choices that naturally postponed matriculation are probably in the best position to compete for these few coveted slots. These I assume would include those with a PhD, MDs, military, athletes, and others with very non-traditional careers.

Please note that this is my personal conclusion based on published data, not the expressed position of the Admissions Office.

About me and this blog

My military career provided me with profound fulfillment, satisfaction, and progressive growth. Sooner or later though as one advances through the military ranks, he is "developed" (i.e. forced promotion) into more senior positions - positions that may not be well aligned with one's passions. Positions that are more and more detached from the military' greatest assets: its actual troops.

The best way to explain this is through a simple analogy: a Captain is like a quarterback of a NFL football team. He is in the prime of his physical career and competing in the most prominent league of his profession. First he leads his team through intense training, and then he leads them in the field of battle to spectacular achievement and success. But like the NFL quarterback, a military officer can only lead on the field for so long. Those who decide to stay in the military enter "staff" and can progress to senior positions equivalent to offensive coordinator, head coach, and maybe even General Manager. These are critical positions with great responsibility, but few NFL quarterbacks joined the NFL to play from the sideline. And so, with my options quickly narrowing, I sought to find an alternative. Where else can I possibly replicate the kind of fulfillment and satisfaction that comes from directly leading some of the military's most elite soldiers during challenging and intense missions throughout the world? Where else can I serve as an agent of change and have the greatest possible impact? These were questions I struggled with for years as I knew the day of reckoning would eventually come - and this is something I and many others still struggle with.

Life has a very strange and unpredictable way of unfolding. Most of us will probably meet our spouse by complete coincidence. How else would our lives have looked if we never crossed paths? Perhaps one got his first big job because of a random rendezvous with old alumni. How else would his career have looked if he stayed at home that day? Like evolution, our lives often change with leaps and bounds.

In the spring of 2008 I was in Iraq, reading many books on the side as deployed soldiers commonly tend to do. One of the books particularly peeked my interest. I thought it was extremely well written and addressed topics I had never been exposed to. It excited me academically and sparked dreams I had never imagined. As I finished the book and put it back on my plywood and sandbag shelf, I noticed the small Harvard Business School Press logo on the binding and thought "hmm... if that's the kind of stuff they teach at Harvard Business School, that sounds like a pretty interesting place." And with that the seed was planted. Over the next 6 months this seed would grow into a burning desire fueled by the excitment and challenge HBS offers, and the career that it might enable. A career I hope will come close to the level of satisfaction and fulfillment that Marines and Soldiers experience leading others through adversity and making a difference in the world.