It’s not half empty or half full

It’s not, “is the cup half full or half empty?” It’s “is there anyone around who’s thirsty & needs a drink?” -Cory Booker

Powerful quotes need to be spread to the world. They need to be told in person, online, and anywhere people can see or hear them. This is one of those quotes.

Most people complain about their cups being half empty.  A smaller group of people consider themselves optimists and say, “no my cup is half full.” Then most of the rest of the people like to debate, which one is better.

Instead of any of those options, I propose we stop debating and take Cory Booker’s advice. That we find someone that needs a drink. And give them the water.

MBA Internship Success

Thousands of MBAs finished their first year of business school just last week and went off into the workforce to start their summer internships. Some of them went into consulting. Others into banking and finance. And another group went to marketing, operations, general  management and a variety of other positions. But no matter which industry people went into, most of them do have two things in common. Not only do they want to do enjoy the experience but they also all want to  get an offer at the end of the summer.

Sure, it might still be early, but there’s a lot of things you can do now to make sure you get your offers. But don’t take it from me, take it from this great article I found on BusinessWeek.com.  See the MBA advice they gave.  I did this morning and it looks pretty solid to me.

CLICK HERE for the BusinessWeek article. See below for the first few lines.

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Avoiding MBA Internship Blunders

By now everyone living in the world of MBAs knows that the summer internship is really a two-month interview to determine if the candidate fits in well at the company and merits a full-time job offer.

“If a student completes the internship without (a) acquiring new skills, (b) developing a list of new contacts and professional relationships and mentors, it was time wasted,” writes Vicki Lynn, senior vice president for client talent strategy and employer branding at Universum USA. “The internship is an opportunity to grow and develop professionally, add to skill sets, and acquire mentors and references—for the next opportunity.

But like any opportunity, an internship can also be a potential minefield. Mistakes that can sabotage any hope of a future with the employer are shockingly easy to make. Here are seven of the biggest blunders MBA interns make and how to avoid them:

Mistake No. 1: Partying Too Hard

CLICK HERE to read the rest of the BusinessWeek article.

Tags: Careers, Intern, MBA

Graduation Ceremony

On Saturday, we had the final event as students here at Kellogg: Graduation.  Just like last year, this year’s commencement took place at the Northwestern football stadium. The ceremony started at 5pm (students had to arrive a bit earlier to get ready) and went until about 7pm.

Dean Blount gave the first speech, right after hearing a word or two from the University President Martin Shapiro. Dean Blount’s theme was changing the status quo.   She opened by discussing the changes that had taken place in the past few years, some for better and some for worse. She noted,  “Being a Kellogg graduate is being a leader who raises the status of a room when you walk in, and not just the status of yourself.” “So go out, thrive, and raise the status of every room you walk into.” And of course, she ended by reiterating her theme of thinking bravely.

 * Photo from Kellogg website: http://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/news/commencement/2012/index.htm

Rosalyn M. Brock, Chairperson of the NAACP, and a Kellogg alum, delivered the keynote. Her key message was to focus on how you can look back to help others once you make it in your career.  She noted that a lot of people did the same for us many years ago, and with our Kellogg MBAs, we’d have a great privilege and opportunity to do the same.

 * I had the chance to chat with the speaker in a private setting just before graduation

Afterward, we had a professor deliver the remarks on behalf of the faculty. Then the FT KSA President gave remarks as did the PT KSA President.  After that, the Kellogg staff spent about 90 minutes announcing over 850 names and handing out diplomas.  And 700pm on Saturday 6/15 officially marked the end of our time at Kellogg and in the JD/MBA program.

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Quick note:

I hope that you’ve enjoyed reading about Kellogg, Northwestern Law and the JD/MBA program on JeremyCWilson.com. The good news is that unlike many MBA blogs, we won’t stop here. From here on out, I’ll still be writing, and later this summer we’ll be changing things up a bit. Stay tuned.

Tags: education, Graduation, Kellogg, northwestern

Our MBAs 25 Years From Now

As recent grads from business school, we all can’t help but wonder how the next few years will be. And how they will be different than if we hadn’t chosen to come to business school, or to Kellogg. Will we be happy? Will we make enough money over the next two decades? And will it be more now that we went to business school? And will we be married, will we stay in touch, and will we be glad we went through the journey? While those questions are undeniably hard to answer, one recent survey did get some good information from one class of MBAs 25 years ago.

In short, members of the Harvard Business School class of 1968 were asked 85 questions about their professional and personal lives years after graduation. Alums were asked if their lives have been easier or harder than expected, whether they were happy and how they thought about business school and life in general.

I’ll note that I can’t speak for the survey in any capacity. Not the methodology, result, legitimacy, accuracy of the reposting online, validity or anything else about the survey.  Rather, the reposting and analysis was created and posted on a website called, Poets and Quants.  And I simply reposted here as I know a number of my readers will find it interesting.

Below is the result of the survey and an analysis. The results were originally posted here  at this link: http://poetsandquants.com/2012/06/15/25-years-later-class-portrait-of-the-lives-of-harvard-mbas/

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Can an MBA from a top school make a big difference in your life?

Just about all the applicants to Harvard, Stanford, Wharton and other top business schools in the world believe that’s the case. Otherwise, they wouldn’t quit their jobs and attend a prestigious school in a two-year MBA program that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars. And the research largely conducted by the Graduate Management Admission Council shows that the vast majority of MBAs have no regrets. GMAC’s 2012 survey showed that 95% of MBAs and business school alumni rated the value of their degree as outstanding, excellent, or good. Nine out of 10 alumni say their graduate management education prepared them for their chosen careers.

Aside from such vague macro data, however, there’s generally little information that reveals what really happens to those who earn an MBA from a top school years after they’ve entered the workforce—until now. Poets&Quants obtained the results of a survey of Harvard Business School’s Class of 1986 that was done for its 25^th reunion last year.

Members of the class were asked 85 questions that yielded revealing answers about their professional and personal lives at mid-life. Alums were asked if their lives have been easier or harder than expected, whether they believe America is a better place to live and work now, and if they ever had to hire a defense attorney. They were asked how they met their life’s partners, whether they divorced or stayed married, how much money they make, and what their personal net worth is.

A CLASS PROFILE THAT IS RICH IN DETAIL AND EXTRAORDINARY FOR ITS CANDOR 

Because the answers were only intended for the class and not the public, the results are extraordinarily candid and frank. Some 271 members of the class responded to the survey, representing 35% of the total class and 42% of the alums for which Harvard had current street or e-mail addresses.

This is a class that has endured three recessions, including the recent economic collapse that has been the most severe downturn since the Great Depression. It is also a class that has seen vast changes in the world of work, from the sizable impact of international competition to the growing use of technology in every aspect of life. The class has seen dramatic upheavals in societal and cultural norms, from marriage and divorce to the decline of Corporate Elite and the rise of the entrepreneur.

In the year the class graduated, Ronald Reagan was President and Mike Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion in history. A gallon of gas cost 89 cents and the average income in the U.S. was $22,400. A Tandy 600 portable computer cost $1,594 (Apple had only introduced the first Macintosh computer a year earlier). Computers ”were so heavy we all needed help getting them into our dorm rooms and since we were the first class in the history of HBS to have computers, the spreadsheets were incredibly buggy,” recalls Pamela Meyer, one of the ’86 women who made up 24% of the class.

SOME 47% OF THE CLASS HAS BEEN FIRED FROM A JOB, 14% HAVE BEEN DIVORCED

The result of the reunion survey is a fascinating profile of a class, a rich mosaic with both substantive and frivolous facts. Some of the more telling tidbits:

• Even Harvard alums are not immune from downsizings and firings. Some 47% of the class said they had been involuntarily dismissed from a job, while 13% said they have been fired twice and 4% reported having lost a job three times in their 25 years since graduation.
• Sex isn’t a very high priority for the Class of 1986–at least not that they are 53 to 55 years of age. Just 3% of the alums say they want more sex. The highest priorities? Time (31%), health (18%), and peace of mind (13%).
• More members of the class have hired personal trainers (43%) than therapists (41%) or cosmetic surgeons (7%).
• Slightly more than one in four alums have gained 11 to 20 pounds since they wore their cap and gown. Some 15% put on 21 to 30 pounds, while 5% tip the scales with weight gains of 31 to 50 pounds.
• A third of the class (33%) admitted to having slept with someone whose last name they didn’t know (37% for men, 17% for women).
• One in four own 25 or more pairs of shoes (58% of the women and 15% of the men).
• One in five (20%) have skydived, while one in three (32%) completed a marathon.
• About 21% met their spouses at their undergraduate schools, while 14% found their spouses at Harvard Business School (12% in the same Class of 1986 and 4% in the same HBS section). Another 12% met at work.
• The Class of 1986 apparently wasn’t into the bar scene. Only 3% of the class met their spouses at bars. Some 6% said they met at a party, and 4% met randomly on a plane or in a taxi.
• Some 14% of the class is divorced, with another 1% separated. About 5% divorced and remarried.
• Some 18% dated someone they met online, but only 3% of the class married the person they met on the Internet or by some “other commercial means.”

Tags: Careers, Lives, MBA

MBA Graduation Tomorrow

Tomorrow, I’ll join 600 of my Kellogg classmates at Ryan Field to officially finish off my MBA degree.  More than simply one defining moment, tomorrow will be the cumulative result of many engagements in opportunities and challenges, many of which we never imagined before coming to campus.

This achievement was especially gratifying, as much for the sense of being getting through classes like finance, marketing and operations as it was for thinking about things like teamwork, leadership and decision-making under pressure.

It was also immensely satisfying because I’ve also had to balance Kellogg with also graduating from law school.  One of the 600 students to graduate this year, only 27 will have had to make that balance. At times it was tough. We often felt busier than many of our peers. But we all passed the “test” with flying colors.

We look forward to walking across the stage tomorrow. To getting our official degrees a few days after. And being part of the Kellogg family for a long time to come.

Stay tuned for more updates and pictures over the next few days.

Tags: Graduation, MBA

Voto Latino’s Education Matters Project mix video

The Voto Latino conference took place in Southern California a few weeks ago. I went to Los Angeles, CA along with the Education Matters Project to speak on a panel at Voto Latino’s Power Summit and to participate in their inaugural Power Summit.

As the 2012 election campaign season is under way, VotoLatino is launching their first annual conference to give participants the skills they need to organize and remind them of the importance of voting. Organized by Rosario Dawson and Maria Theresa Kumar VotoLatino’s goal is to empowers American Latinos.

Voto Latino also allowed us to collect videos at the conference. See below for the video and below that for some of the quotes from the videos.

• “Because of education, everyday I feel stronger, more powerful and more optimistic.” -Emanuel Pleitez
• “Because it’s the foundation of the American Dream.” -Juan Cuba
• “Give everyone here in the United States an opportunity to create the life that is their dream.” -Rosario Dawson

The (twenty five) Golden Rule(s) of achieving success

There’s no formula to doing well. In fact, nobody does well all of the time. On the other hand, there are some things you can do to ensure you maximize your chances of doing well.  The more you do, the better of you might be. But you don’t need all of them. Maybe not even most of them. Also, you can’t MAKE some of them happen on your own.  In fact, you may not even want to try some of them because it would be out of character for you.

Either way, these are some things I’ve seen work for a pretty good number of people. Without further ado, here is the list.

1. Have a WILDY IMPORTANT GOAL and work on it daily
2. Spend time with people that will be very successful – they say you’re an average of the 5 people you spend the most time with
3. Find someone in college (or business school) who makes it big, and become friends
4. Be born with a unique talent, that nobody else has.
5. Start practicing a skill, sport, or talent when you are five years old (think Tiger Woods)
6. Network your way to the top. Go to as many events as you can until you meet a critical mass of people
7. Do a really good job at work and earn the promotions that get you to the top
8. Work on important projects that nobody else wants to take on (due to fear)
9. Do a good job a promoting yourself and your work. Get noticed by the people that count.
10. Work harder than anyone you know
11. Work on a lot of things at the same time to gain a lot of different but valuable skills
12. Work on one thing and learn to do it REALLY REALLY well- better than anyone else
13. Study and work when everyone else is going out and having fun
14. Go out and have fun and maintain a happy health attitude that attracts a lot of customers and supporters
15. Be lucky!
16. Inherit a large sum of money and invest in your own venture
17. Jump from company to company, or startup to startup, until you find the right one
18. Stay at your company for many years to gain access to its most important work, like many Fortune 500 CEOs
19. Tell great stories that make people listen to you and your work
20. Give credit to other people, then they will enjoy working with you and giving you more credit
21. Be tall and good looking (it has worked for past Presidents)
22. Once you achieve your WILDLY IMPORTANT GOAL, find another one
23. Have a high degree of persistence, live by the motto, “survive and advance” when necessary
24. Live by the motto, Done is better than perfect. Sometimes you just have to get things done
25. Sometimes, things need to be done really WELL. Be thorough. Avoid typos and easy mistakes.

2012 Kellogg Grad Week

The last few years have definitely been fun. Unfortunately, we only have one week of school left so it feels a lot like the end of our time in Evanston. While all good things must come to an end, they don’t have to come to an end just yet.  Before that happens, we just have one more thing to take part in before graduation. And it is Grad Week.

In short, Kellogg puts on a a series of events during the week of graduation for the graduating class to have a good time together, for one last week. The events start today, on Monday, and go through graduation and include a cruise on the lake, a trip to a Cubs game, and a formal.

Unfortunately, JD/MBAs have to balance this with studying for the bar. And those of us with summer jobs (very very few of us), have even less time. But tonight is the boat cruise, so I’ll be sure to make it out to this event.

See below for our schedule this week for grad week.

Kellogg Volunteers

The end of the year is finally here! Everyone I know finally finished studying for finals today. To everyone out there, congratulations on finishing. To all those about to start summer jobs, safe travels and good luck. And to all those about to start in the fall, you’re in for a great ride.

But this post isn’t dedicated to talking to the recent grads or admits, instead it’s to quickly highlight some volunteer activities that Kellogg students got involved in this year.  Courtesy of Kellogg’s volunteer club, Kellogg Cares, I wanted to share some of the activities that many students in the Kellogg community achieved this past year. Many of which I participated in myself.

1. Blood Drive – 64 units of blood collected, helping to save 192 lives in the Chicagoland area, and coming in 107% above goal (and 15 units above last year’s total)

2. KelloggCares – ~250 Kellogg students, staff, and faculty joined together to help dozens of local organizations for one day

3. KVOL and Run|Bike|Swim Shoe Drive – collected over 25 pairs of shoes for those in need

4. Gift Drive – Collected $1300 in cash and gift donations for delivering 240 holiday gifts for local Evanston children

5. Food Fight – Raised almost $7,000 for Greater Chicago Food Depository

6. Organ Registration Drive – 35 donors registered; talked to hundreds of students who were already registered about spreading the word

7. Marrow Registration Drive – 32 donors registered, spread the word about this lifesaving opportunity

8. 5K – Over $4,000 raised for Children’s Oncology Services to send four kids to camp

9. Clothing Drive – 1,200 articles of clothing collected to help Chicago area adults find employment (over 70% increase in donations from last year)

10. JA in a Day – 16 students volunteered to teach classes of Chicago students on economic and business principles

11. Ten Minutes at TG – 200+ cards made and donated to Children’s Memorial Hospital; 150+ cards/ letters written to women at Deborah’s Place homeless shelter

Not only has it been a fun year, but it’s been a pretty great year of service at Kellogg. We look forward to continuing the trend upon graduation.

Studying for the Bar Exam

You start out with a lot of energy. You go to every class, read every page, and do every assigned problem before class. And all of a sudden, after the 1st week, you feel like you are making huge strides toward your goal.  You’re excited and motivated. Only 7 more weeks until the end. But then all of a sudden it happens ….

Then you hit the wall. You get bored. The material gets more dense.  The reading seems longer.  And all of a sudden, things get a little tougher.

At this point you have to start doing the work. You can’t just get by going to class. Now, you have to do practice problems. You have to write sample essays. And you have to read supplements, all while its 85 degrees outside and while your MBA friends are planning trips, weddings and vacations.

You tell yourself just a few more weeks of this. And that at 5pm, you’ll be done for the day. But you come to find that progress is slow and you need to allocate more time.

At this point, a lot of people want to give up, you want to hang outside with friends. But you see the future beyond the bar. Six figure salary, a job at the firm you pursued the past two years. And paying down that lingering debt.  So you keep working.

Fortunately, one day soon, everything clicks. You get in the groove of studying. And then you can see it.  You’ll be amongst the few who not only graduated from one of the best schools in the world, but who also passed the bar, and can legally practice law in your state.

And when you look back, you’ll say that the time you spent studying was worth it. The trick, is to figure out how to feel that way now.

Merger Article: Kellogg Matters (My Last Article)

2012 is shaping up to be a historic year. Not only are hundreds of incoming students leaving high paying jobs to come to Kellogg, but they’re doing so in record number. Likewise, the class of 2012 can’t wait to take what they have learned here and start working again. And what perfect timing! The financial crisis feels like an event of the past. Facebook’s recent IPO had the highest valuation in history. And the prospects of making it big loom again.

Meanwhile, Dean Sally Blount continues to raise millions of dollars for our new building, where she has been featured in Forbes, Fortune and several other magazines for her fundraising efforts. And Barack Obama is about to run for a historic second term right here in own back yard in Chicago. As the momentum continues to build, many of us cannot wait to see what the future has in store not just for us here in Evanston, but for the country as a whole. But the one thing we must keep in mind is just how much Kellogg matters in all of this.

Think about all the great lessons we have learned at Kellogg – things you just cannot learn anywhere else. We’ve learned the value of teamwork – even though at times we may have hated it as much as we liked it. We’ve learned the importance of not always discussing careers and salaries during KWEST – throwing our pre-conceived notions out the door. We’ve learned what it feels like when our most prized establishment temporarily shuts down (e.g. mandatory KEG reference). We’ve learned and experienced the ups and downs of recruiting – and we’ve made it through with flying colors. And finally, we’ve learned the value that Kellogg places on thinking bravely – whether you like the motto or not.

See, the question is NOT whether we will do well after Kellogg (or during summer internships for 1^st years) – Kellogg students always do. The question is what we will do with our great education. Whether we’ll step up to the plate and try something new. And if we’ll work to come up with game-changing, innovative solutions rather than just work for that paycheck. Because with our Kellogg education, we will have that opportunity within our grasp more than ever before.

The problem is that many organizations may teach us to do the opposite. They will “do things by the book.” They will prioritize consistency over change. And they are organized to put your head down and say, “that is not my job.”

The reason for this is that, oftentimes, bravery in the typical work environment is often punished, not rewarded. Most places today are organized around avoiding risks and instead doing what they can to keep their “sustainable revenues.” That’s why nearly every top business school turns out management consultants in far greater numbers than it develops successful entrepreneurs. And why law schools produce lawyers who are phenomenal at giving options but not so great at providing real “here’s what I would do” recommendations.

Think about it — how often do we hear stories from those who have changed the world, telling us that they learned how to become brave and did something new because of work, rather than despite work? Not many.

And that is precisely why a Kellogg education matters.

During times of change, the great leaders are those that want, actually need, to change things. And that only happens when an organization encourages individuals to take brave steps forward. When they are compelled to do things differently. And when they have a great education to help them take that first step. And that is exactly what Kellogg promotes.

In a recent talk I had a few weeks ago, Carter Cast, Kellogg advisor and former CEO of Walmart.com, said the same thing. That “it is important to understand your purpose…to use your time at school to learn what your true north is and be sure to working towards it, even when you’re asked to change the business model.” He ended by saying, “Who cares if some people don’t believe in your idea? Do it anyways.”

Megan Kashner, founder of Benelovent.com in Chicago, reiterated the same thing on her panel at the Social Impact Conference. She shared how she worked in nonprofit from a young age and went straight into the industry after getting an MBA. And unlike the advice of her fellow panelists, she said, “You don’t have to wait. You can go work at a nonprofit right away after business school.” In short, be brave.

And it is no coincidence that both pieces of advice come from Kellogg alumni. Why – because Kellogg opens up new possibilities. Possibilities that only a great education could make available.

Don’t get me wrong. Many Kellogg students will also lead highly successful lives at traditional jobs, and that is fantastic. The world needs us to think bravely in those roles as well. We need CEOs to lead their companies where they have never gone before. We need socially-minded bankers to work on deals that could change the landscape of the industry. And we need investors to take risks on the next big company that will also provide social value. And Kellogg gives them the tools to think of new models, create new types of teams and come up with new ways to solve problems.

On the other hand, Kellogg’s new campaign gives us a platform to also be brave with our career choices. Whether it is starting a business, joining a nonprofit, or running for office, it teaches us to remember that even though making your mark on the world is hard, that with patience, commitment and courage  we can take what we learn to do really big things.

So to the graduating class of 2012 – let’s embrace the idea of how much a Kellogg Education Matters. And as we graduate, let’s reach back, convince another budding MBA to come to Kellogg too. And if you have leveraged your degree in areas where we need more MBAs — like social enterprise, entrepreneurship and government— reach back and persuade another student to do the same. If you are going into industries where we need more Kellogg alumni, reach back, hire someone from Kellogg and be a mentor for them.

Now more than ever, the world needs Kellogg students to help bridge the gap between what business is today and what business could and should be. America needs Kellogg MBAs to reach higher and dream more. And if we all agree to set a better example, not only will we succeed, but that, through Kellogg, our businesses will all become a beacon of light to business people in every corner of the globe.

So as the year ends, let’s be sure to remember how much #KelloggMatters and let’s be sure to show the world just how much #EducationMatters. That today, it gives us the privilege and opportunity to take on leading roles in society. So we should treat it as such. We should use it as a platform. A way to give back to those that helped us. And a way to improve access in our communities.  For every one of us that got into school, there are tens of thousands of people across the world who would love that same chance – the chance to take that exam we complained about. The chance to have a conversation with a fellow classmate. The chance to have a seat in a classroom as a proud Kellogg student. So let’s show the world we were the right people for those seats.

For those interested, you can learn more about the Education Matters national campaign here: www.educationmattersproject.org