Forming a Peer Group in Boston

Earlier this year, I was reading a book called the Accidental Creative. The author said that his greatest piece of advice for creatives is to start a small group that keeps you focused and engaged on your work. This compelled me to re-read Who's Got Your Back. Apparently Core Groups have been in existence longer than most people think; Benjamin Franklin belong to a Core Group called Junto. Thomas Edison, Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone belonged to a Mastermind Group.

Now One of my big, short term goals? To form a Peer Group in Boston.

What is a Peer Group?

The idea is simple - a Peer Group (aka Core Group, Mastermind Groups, Personal Board of Directors) is a small, professional group that meets regularly, and in which members offer each other advice and encouragement. The advantages are many:

1. Accountability: If people hold you accountable, you are more likely to achieve your goals; especially if you need to answer publicly to a group of six of your peers
2. Encouragement:  Peer Groups are designed to encourage its members to strive towards their goals, to explore things they are passionate about, to stay motivated.
3. An outside perspective
4. Motivation: For me, this is the biggest factor. Whenever I have had career discussions with peers or mentors, I have always come out feeling energized

My quest for a Peer Group

I am largely looking at People I already know and respect, though I would be open to others, especially people who are known and respected by people I know and respect. They need to be interested in Technology and Entrepreneurship for us to have at least some common goals. I plan to hold monthly meetings, and more informal get-togethers. Will keep y'all posted on how it goes!

Hustler = bad, hustle = good

A few months ago I sat with my friend Scott Pollack, discussing our common hatred for being called Hustler. We have all heard - Entrepreneurs need to be Hustlers, Business Development folks need to be hustlers. As Scott said in his blog 'an enterprising and often dishonest person, esp. one trying to sell something.'

The book 'The Startup of You' by  Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha does clarify the terms a big. Hustler is bad - you don't want to be known as someone who could be potentially dishonest. But to hustle - To move or act energetically and rapidly - is good. To pursue opportunities aggressively is good. All while maintaining integrity. So hustle, but don't be a hustler.

Lessons I learned in Business School

I recently read a blog post by Rob Go of Next View Ventures called My Top 3 Lessons learned in Business School. The post inspired me to reflect and write about my own top 3 B-School lessons.

Lesson 1: What Strategy is

Before Business school, strategy was this buzzword that I saw used around me all the time. The phrase "What's your strategy for getting the Milk from the fridge?" might be an exaggeration, but not a big exaggeration. At Kellogg, I learned a lot of tools that help understand industries dynamics and judge whether a firm strategy would be successful or not. Most of all, it helped me get a simplified, clear cut definition of strategy. Strategy, according to me, has 3 steps:

1. Decide what you will stand out for? What will you differentiate in?

2. Validate that customers value your point of differentiation

3. Allocate resources to achieving the point of differentiation

Let's take an example. Zappos - known for customer service, not shoes. So their resource allocation is in culture and in giving people in the call centers leeway to make customers very happy. Do they have the lowest prices always? Not quite - if you look hard enough, you can find the same shoe for cheaper elsewhere. But while buying something like a shoe, which you can't make a decision on until you wear it, would you rather find the cheapest upfront price, or rely on a retailer like Zappos, that will take your shoes back, no questions asked?

Another example is Apple - known for innovation and design, not low cost and operational efficiency. They do happen to have a very efficient supply chain, but key decisions are not made with Supply Chain being the determining factor. Case in point - when Steve Jobs decided to make iMacs of different colors, it created havoc for their supply chain. What if you wanted your iMac in pink, and the store had it only in blue? Now the store had to carry multiple colors per iMac. But it didn't matter - Steve realized that your computer was becoming a fashion statement; having colors was more important than supply chain efficiency.

Lesson 2: The "Soft stuff" can be learned

Before Business School , my vision of an ideal leader was charismatic, outgoing, and visionary. Through case studies, class exercises and observing speakers and my classmates, I realized that the "soft stuff" can be learned. This includes leadership, teamwork, negotiation, influencing others etc.

The fact of the matter is that the soft stuff was the most valuable part of Business School. I began to understand what were my leaderships strengths and weaknesses, what company culture actually meant, and how simple things such as where you sit in a room mattered. 

A simple story - one of the first classes we had in Business School was called Leadership in Organizations. Shortly after this class ended, I went to compete in the MIT Sloan Sales Competition. My first case was individual - selling investment services to a rich individual. I prepared hard, established rapport, listened to the client etc., but I think the one thing I did mattered more than anything was choosing where to sit. You see, when you sit on the opposite sides of the table from each other, its like you are having a face-off. If you sit on the same side of the table, it's like you are solving a problem jointly. In order to be able to sit on the same side, I actually made sure that the proposal I was presenting was not printed. Instead I had to drag my chair over on to the same side, sit next to the person who I was selling to, and walk him through the proposal on the laptop. The result - 2nd place in that round :)

That was one example. Another major leadership lesson was on leadership styles. We all think that we have one leadership style, but the fact is that we all have a combination of multiple leadership styles inherent within us, and we can change how much of each we use depending on the situation. 

Lesson 3: Mindset, not skill-set

This was not a lesson per se, but a revelation. People often ask me what skills I picked up during my MBA that is useful in my consulting job, in startups etc. I can hardly point to one or two skills that are super crucial; instead, it is more of a change in mindset; in how I analyze any issue, business or otherwise. Things such as approaching problems with a hypothesis, quickly figuring out how the hypothesis can be proven or disproven, digging deep into understanding the root cause of most issues, and being able to take a much broader view of the different aspects of the issue.

If this sounds vague, it probably is; I do feel that there has been a marked change in the way I think about things.

The ROI

Now let me tack on to the post and answer this very important question that I get asked all the time - what is the ROI of an MBA? Is it worth the financial trouble? Is there a ROI analysis that shows that?

If you take on a job that pays more than your pre-MBA job, and stick there for a while, you will have a clear justification; especially if you intended to just stick in your old job if you did not go to school. If you have a zig-zag career path - which is the norm, not the exception - you might never be able to clearly explain with an excel model how your career path would have been different. What if you had quit your job and started a company which sold for a billion dollars? There are so many options, and too much variability.

But if you come out a changed person, and think and act differently - now we're talking. That might be more than worth the financial trouble. Of course, the tons of fun and the number of friendships you build during Business School helps :) I had an amazing time at Kellogg, and would not give up the experience for anything.

Why you will fail to have a great career

Career Leader

One of the key tests students take to understand one's suitability to different careers is called 'Career Leader.' I have taken this test several times; once a long time before B School, once in my first year of Kellogg, and once in my second year. The test is supposed to help decide which Career is a good match for you, and which is not.

While I found the career leader to be a great point of starting the self-reflection process, I did see that my suitability to various careers seemed to change significantly over the years. Here is an example:

2007:




















2nd year after my summer internship in consulting: Notice that Management Consulting is now near the top of the list



























A key determinant was my interest in 'Theory Development and Conceptual Thinking.' I believe that Business School education has changed this significantly; I have really enjoyed learning frameworks, thinking about Business Strategy through the frameworks learned in courses such as Business Strategy and Competitive Strategy. So will Management Consulting continue to be the perfect suitable career for me? We will find out in a few months...

The crop circle etiquette

Recently, I met a friend from Chicago Booth who is recruiting for summer internships.He started talking to me about Crop Circle Etiquette and I was like "Crop Circle What?" Well, a 'Crop Circle' in their terminology is the circle that forms around a recruiter or a employee of a company who is recruiting on campus. My Business School friends will remember this time - when every candidate is talking to the recruiter, trying to ask a really intelligent question and trying to stand out.

Anyway, back to the story. My friend told me that they are taught exactly how to behave in a crop circle. For example, if a new person wants to join in, you make space, let the person in, pause and let him introduce himself/herself, and ask the next question. Similarly, when someone gets quiet and seems like he to leave, you get quiet, let him say bye, and then carry on a conversation. Three points came to mind.

1. First of all kudos to Booth to not only teaching this etiquette to its students, but by making it memorable. By calling it a memorable name like Crop Circle, students are much more likely to remember and follow the lessons. We were taught these lessons at Kellogg as well, just that it was called 'How to behave in front of the recruiter' and it did not quite stick as vividly.

2. Second, first years, keep this etiquette in mind. There are few opportunities to actually make yourself very memorable in front of recruiters, but it can be very easy to piss off your classmates. And that will stick with you.

3. Third, a funny story that my friend from Kellogg told me. He was standing in a crop circle with a partner from a major consulting firm. One person was completely hogging the spotlight and asking one question after another without pausing, and without letting anyone ask any questions. At one point, the partner turns to my friend and say 'So, would you like the chance to ask the questions.' He calmly said "Its OK. It doesn't matter who asks the questions as long as we all get to listen to the answers." Wow, well done buddy! Guess who the partner will really remember now?