I am back...and 10 years just flied by with a blink of an eye

I had this urge of "digging" out my blog after interviewing a candidate today.

He asked me why I decided to join frog, and what were some memorable interactions/experience that best bring out the Haas culture. 

As my mind travels back in time, I remember this blog that I had. I remember there was a post on innovation somewhere in my blog. It took me awhile to find my blog. Once i found it, i immediately bookmarked it. I then read several posts. They brought back memories that I didn't know existed before, especially the one article about Ivan's advice on how to spend my last summer upon graduating from MBA. 

How fortunate I was to be able to work alongside with inspirational people like Ivan? And I understood why I constantly feel something important that is missing from my current job. I really miss working alongside people whom I respect ( and care for me in return) Just as Gillian perfer to mingle with working mom as she feel she can have more meaningful conversations with working mom than full time mom, I really see the workplace as a place where I can get some inspiration and make meaningful relationships. Although I have all this time at hand in my current job, I don't feel I  fit in and I don't feel I am appreciated or valued. I am blessed that I have an opportunity to pursuit something different. 

Is Haas the school for you?

There are three types of classmates when I was doing my MBA at Haas:

The first type: Those who knew quite clearly what they want to do after Haas. They knew why Haas and what they will do when they get into Haas. They are the ones who had spent significantly amount of their time during the application process to think about themselves- what matters to them the most, what they are good/bad at, what they are passionate about and what turns them off. During the program, they focus only in one or two areas and are often the ones who initiate and leads.

The second type: Those who didn't know what they want to do after Haas but see Haas as a great opportunity to explore their career interests and options. These people knew what they didn't want to do after MBA but couldn't really articulate what they wanted to do. In the first year of the program, they proactively participates in workshop and networking events across different industries and functions. They have a very fulfilling Haas experience as the Haas environment encourages each student to define and pursue their own success.

The third type: Those who are just lost and overwhelmed so they end up just following what other people are doing, may it be tech marketing, PE or whatever-that-most-people-in-that-bschool-thinks-are-the-best-jobs. They are the ones who have the mindset of "entering a top MBA program" is an achievement in itself but have very little clue on what they want to accomplish after Haas. They also don't really know why Haas is a good program for them and the truth is that Haas is probably not the right program for them. I have observed that these people are highly competitive and are mainly driven by their need to feel superior to others. They are overly concern of what other people will think of them and have a weak inner strength. These people will soon realize that Haas is probably not the right environment hence they never feel quite happy about their experience

I don't encourage people who have the similar thinking as the third type to apply for Haas. If you think that going to a top MBA equals a guranteed successful career , I am deeply worried for you. MBA is a journey, not a destination. More importantly, show the MBA admission that you will be the first or second type if they admit you. I also highly encourage applicants to go read student blogs or talk to as many as alums as you can on your dream school. Unless you have a very clear sense of what the culture and the envirinment of Haas is like and what makes Haas so unique, the admission officers are probably going to be a bit skeptical if Haas is the right school for you.

Haas is ranked as the top five schools that produced the most startup founders

By John A. Byrne

September 2, 2011

Which business schools have produced the most entrepreneurs?

A recently published LinkedIn study examined the backgrounds of members who identify themselves as startup founders and came up with the leading schools for entrepreneurs.

The results dramatically differ from the two most-cited yet deeply flawed rankings of leading entrepreneurial programs by Princeton Review and U.S. News & World Report. By sifting through its more than 120 million member profiles, LinkedIn has produced the ideal “put up or shut up” analysis. It’s the kind of data that calls out schools that have made entrepreneurship a marketing or promotional vehicle vs. those that have produced actual startup entrepreneurs.


LinkedIn membership data shows these five schools produced the most startup founders:

Stanford,

Harvard,

MIT Sloan,

Berkeley’s Haas School, and

Dartmouth College’s Tuck School.

The next five are Wharton, Columbia, Babson, Virginia Darden, and the Johnson School at Cornell University.

On traveling-...

While I was going through my old files today, I found this note that I wrote on my south american trip last summer....

I like the way we travel- immersed in the experience by learning the language, dancing to local music and meeting local people. Traveling to me is no longer about sightseeing..it's about understanding the culture through engaging the things that I enjoy. ( in the process I realized how bad I am in learning a new language and how much practice I need to be good at dancing)

I like the conversation we have- on marriage, life, relationship, family and self-confidence. I think I learned more about marriage than I ever did. I know that no matter how happily married you are (and to be quite frank, no one can say they are really happily married..), there are times you will be hurt, unsatisfied and bored with the daily routine. Also, how important it is that you share common interest with the other person so you two can have fun together. Moreover how important your spouse's family impact your marriage. I also came to become a bit more clear about my attitude towards marriage.

As much as I enjoy other people's company, I came to realize that at times I like to have some time to myself. I need to reflect on how I am influenced by my surroundings.

I am getting used to "not planning in advance" and relaxing as much as I can during traveling. Sometimes you will need faith to believe that good things will happen to you. You need to let opportunities enter your life and I realized that having a little faith will go a long way..I will always remember the Casa Sweety example.

I hope I am not addicted to coffee. I've tasted one of the best coffee in my life..I love the smell, the awakening taste, the bitterness and the good smell of the fresh milk. they continue to make me energetic and happy. And the coffee in Bogota are better than those in Paris ( and cheaper prices too). How can anyone in Bogota not addicted to coffee?

I am not sure if I fully believe that the only things that matter in life is your relationship with others, although I am open and delighted by meeting new people during the trip:

Gustov and Nelson are my two first private Salsa teachers. I know they are far from the best salsa teachers but they will always have a special place in my heart since they are the ones who brought the world of Salsa to me

Andres is a mysterious guy who we met in Cali. We were confused with his motives to hang out with us and still a bit angry that we had to pay for US$25 for the cab ride. I think this experience, our standard toward guys changed..as long as the person pays, we think he is cool..That is so wrong..and yeah, I had the most "too much/too close" dancing experience in the club that Andres took us

Carlos is my Salsa teacher at Cali. We had two hours of Salsa each day for three days. He is by far the best Salsa teacher that I had during the trip. Not only he dances well, he knows how to teach. I also loved our dancing studio in Cali. It's simple, and hot at times but I love the full length mirror and watching little kids stretching and practicing their moves

Esmeralda and Andreas: A passionate couple who taught us 6 classes of Merangue, Cuban Salsa and hip-hop. We love to discuss their relationship- How cute Andreas is, How dominant Esmeralda is and how Esmeralda must have been the best thing that ever happened to Andreas. Later we found out how wrong we were and how romantic their relationship must be. Although Shikha and I are still skeptical about their relationship, I cannot help thinking how crazy Andreas must have been and how much courage is required for their relationship to work. I like Esmeralda in so many ways, she is confident, attractive, strong, smart and knows how to have a good time.

Leo and Omar: Two local “musicians” who we met in Cartagena. They could barely speak a word of English. I think they must have thought I was very dumb and boring since I barely speak when we hang out with them. I try to understand the conversion but often I end up wondering stupid things such as why my good friend broke his promise to see us

Tor and Ben: Two Harvard law school student that we meet when we went to Tu Candela in Cartagena. We re-connected and went out for dinner several time when we traveled back to Bogota. Tor reminded me of the "Karl when he was in colleague" for some reason- tall& thin, a bit sentimental, uptight, clean, nerdy.

Reading this little note brough back so many memories and also reminded me how much I want to travel again..

Salsa passion

Hi Ivan,

First of all, Happy Chinese New Years to you and your family. I love the family picture on your facebook profile. It seems you are really enjoying your time with your two kids :-)

Secondly, some news from my side. I re-joined McKinsey ( for the second time) about a month ago. I was really not looking forward to it but at the same time I can't help feeling excited about another year of growth and development. My current project is a somewhat challenging but I am sure I will be fine if I continue to be open, inspiring and focused.

Last but not the least, I want to take this opportunity to thank you for the great advice you gave me when I asked you what I should do for my post-MBA trip. You said whatever I decided to do, I should go for depth, not breath. I took the advice and began to pursuit my love for dancing- I started to take Salsa lessons in Mexico, then in Columbia (where I met the amazing couple Esmeralda and Andreas) , and back in Taipei and Singapore. I feel happy that I am able to fulfill my childhood desire of dancing, and on top of that, made some friends along the way. It's hard to describe why I enjoy dancing so much.- perhaps it's the attention you get when you dace well, or it's how relaxed/sexy you feel when you immerse yourself with the romantic Latin music, or maybe it's just realizing how much I need to improve in trusting others... Whatever it is, I just know that when I dance, all the trouble seems to go away.

It's a great feeling.

No matter how much work takes up my time. I will never stop dancing

(my first new year resolution)

My Haas profile

My profile has been up on the Haas full-time program web page for more than a month now. Since then I've received questions from prospective applicants over the linkedIn. It's exciting to know that there are people out there who are proactive enough to reach out and then share their career goals with me so passionately. At the same time, I also thank them for their insightful questions and for allowing me to share my Haas experience.

Q: What is your most unique learning experience during the two years at Haas?
A: Unlike some of my classmates, I was fortunate to be exposed to various business project as a business analyst so the formal academic/business/student project learning experience was not as "unique" to me. What I find to be the most unique experience is rather personal and intimate-It was the intuitive leadership class I took while I was on my exchange program at HEC, Paris. It made me realized that I still lack much of the the "soft skills" of a good leader. And in order to be better at the"soft skills". I need to "feel" ( as oppose to "think") more by stop being judgemental to my own feelings.


Q: If I had chosen another school for MBA, what would I have missed the most in Haas?
A: I would have missed the entrepreneur spirit and atmosphere. At Haas, everyone is encouraged to take risk and pursue their own success. I never felt there was a "mainstream" nor "majority" field of focus. I never felt awkward or uneasy when I shared my career passion with my classmates. It's still a competitive place where we still strive for excellence but we don't compare . Because of this strong culture, I am now much more open to other perspectives both in my professional and personal life.