So the core is over, so that means that the toughest part is over right? That depends on how you set up your schedule…. After the core, you have the option to take some classes as H1 or H2, meaning that they will only last half the semester, but they will meet 3 times a week and have a more intense workload. So I was thinking that when Spring Break is over, the weather should be getting warmer, the Red Sox will be playing again, and maybe I could squeeze in some golf on Fridays or start getting to the gym again on a regular basis. This was my rationale for taking 3 H1 classes in addition to my 4 full semester classes. This way, I go from 24 hours of class each week to only 12 hours each week, and I will be done by 10AM on Thursdays which effectively gives me 4 day weekends. BUT…. I have since filled those new empty schedule slots with outside projects that will probably make me more productive anyway, mostly working with several startup companies (one being my team for the MIT100K).
Now that the first half of the semester is over, I can breathe again. Taking all those classes was a stretch, but I made it work with a little dedication. There really is a whole new feeling about this semester. Classes are integrated with people from both years of the MBA classes as well as mixing across cohorts, so you see new faces in each class. Everyone is definitely much more relaxed, and the education is now customized so that I am learning what I want to learn. Personally, I wanted to round out my skill set, so I took a few classes that gave me a little more breadth outside my concentration on entrepreneurship and finance. By doing this, I also found that my favorite classes were Intro to Operations Management and Applied Macro & International Economics. The workload and reading in these classes was very intense, but I found that I learned a ton and was easily able to relate my experience to the subject matter. Now at least I can talk somewhat intelligently about exchange rates, monetary and fiscal policy, and free trade….
St. Patty’s Day was this past weekend, and there could not possibly be a better place to spend it than in Boston (not including Ireland itself). The annual parade in Southie drew more than 850,000 people and was a spectacle to behold. Minutemen marching, muskets booming, clowns, Jedi warriors, Shriners, and pretty much anything else you can imagine were included in the parade. I am pretty sure the party went all weekend and well into Monday. I had a meeting at a venture capital company near Faneuil Hall on Monday morning at 9AM, and people were starting to come out in their green gear to enjoy the festivities as I was leaving around 10:30AM. Yet another excuse to enjoy some Guiness…. Ah, Cheers!
This week is also my second experience in Sloan Innovation Period. My seminar this morning on Leadership & Entrepreneurship absolutely blew me away. Paul English, CTO and Co-founder of Kayak.com, was one of the speakers, and he is undoubtedly one of the most focused and passionate people I have met yet. His system for hiring and firing is like nothing I have ever heard before, and he is 100% committed to building a company of 100 people that will compete with companies of 10,000 people. The key for him is finding people with a track record of success, who are aggressive, and who are brilliant. You will have to sit through an entire session to find out how he goes about it, but it kept everyone completely enthralled for 75 minutes. Last week, I saw Lou Gerstner, chairman of Carlyle and former IBM CEO, speak as part of the Dean’s Innovative Leader Series, and I have yet to see someone match his clarity and resolve of what it takes to lead and how to identify those who surround you.
My next post should be in a couple of weeks, and it will undoubtedly be centered on my trip to Japan (I leave in less than 48 hours). It is 10 days long and more than 200 of us are going on the trip! A few things I am looking forward to are visiting with the Tokyo Giants baseball team management, Red Sox versus A’s in the Tokyo Dome, the Grand Sumo Championship, Toyota factory tour, and visiting and experiencing all that Japanese culture has to offer!
