So when is it appropriate to add someone as a friend on Facebook or Linkedin? For some reason, this issue has come up several times in the past few weeks. Let's explore some situations where this occured:
1. If I even talk to someone from my school, my year or senior, I add him/her as a friend on Facebook and Linkedin. It always seems appropriate.
2. If I talk to an alum, what do I do? This issue came up in a Career Management Center presentation. The center says that it is appropriate to add the alum on linkedin, but not on facebook, unless you two are really good friends. This seemed to be fine until...
3. I spoke to another alum (all names not mentioned, of course). He complained of a neighbor who knew him, and added him on linkedin and Facebook. He felt that building networks was all about creating value for the other person, and if the neighbor had never added any sort of value for him.
4. Last, but not least, what about Professors? A classmate added a professor on Facebook, and the professor told him (and the rest of the class) that it was fine to add him as a Facebook friend, but only after the grades for the class had been released. Now I am certainly friending him on Facebook the moment the grades are released.
5. At another event, three speakers said completely different things. One said if all the participants did not add him on linkedin, they were losing an opportunity to engage with a potentially importnt contact. Another speaker said that she did not take linkedin requests from anyone other than people she knew very well, but would gladly allow everyone to join her linkedin group. And the last speaker said that he would not accept anyone on linkedin unless he had known them for a while.
So where does this leave us in terms of Facebook and Linkedin etiquette? Nowhere. Like all good cases, there is no one correct answer (notice the effect B School has had on me!). It all depends on the context. The best thing to do is to ask the person, and only then send them a linkedin or facebook request.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Sunday, September 27, 2009
More Amazing Things about Kellogg
My first week of classes is over! My pre-term, with CIM and a course on Leadership in Organizations ended with a final examination of the course, and of course, lots of parties.
We recently had the 'CIM Ball,' a prom style party to celebrate the dn of CIM. It was hosted at the Navy Pier Ballroom in Chicago. It was very well put together, with great music, lots of drinks and food, and plenty of place to sit, stand or dance.
There is no doubt Kellogg throws some awesome parties. It is reputed to be a party school, and it is. Not in the sense that people do not take academics seriously, but in the sense that parties and socializing and drinking are such a big part of the culture. Many of my peers have actually complained about it; why should this socializing be limited to only drinking and going out, which are often not very conducive to conversations. I agree; I participate in the Thursday morning 8 AM coffee sessions which one of my classmates started, and hope to have a lot of small dinners where I can build stronger friendships with my peers.
Another amazing thing about Kellogg is the Honor Code. People trust each other. I assume that my peers will not cheat. For example, we might have a closed book, 3 hour time limit final exam that the professor will give us to take home and do at our convenience in a 3 hour period. The exam would account for 40% of the grade in the class, yet there would be no monitoring for the students. This related directly to one of the most importance principles of Leadership we learned - voice and choice inspire people.
One of the things that our Dean mentioned at the start of CIM was to lead with your weakness. Do things at Kellogg that you would typically not do, and use the safety net the school provides to step outside of your comfort zone. I did that the first week, by standing for election for a representative of my section to the Kellogg Students Association. The process of campaigning, asking my peers for ideas, generating thoughts myself and asking people to vote for me was awesome. Ultimately I did not win. An awesome peer of mine did. But the experience was great. And i made several friendships - both by meeting new people and strengthening ties with people I already new, by finding common areas of interest. I am very glad I did it.
The courses I am taking this semester are Accounting For Decision Making, Marketing Management, Business Strategy and Analytical Methods for Operations. The classes are all over the map; from being very quantitative to being very entertaining. I do feel that international students sometime have a disadvantage. I do not include myself in this category, as i have lived in the US for over seven years. I mostly refer to people who just came to the US for the first time, and for whom English is not the first language. Some cases are confusing; for example in the first Strategy class, we did a mini-case on Baseball, a sport most of the world is not familiar with. Often, I have found some of my international friends struggling with some jokes cracked in class. For example, we were studying a case where a manufacturer of nylon cords was trying to diversify, and was launching an initiative to manufacture pet leashes. It was his pet project; get it?
We recently had the 'CIM Ball,' a prom style party to celebrate the dn of CIM. It was hosted at the Navy Pier Ballroom in Chicago. It was very well put together, with great music, lots of drinks and food, and plenty of place to sit, stand or dance.
There is no doubt Kellogg throws some awesome parties. It is reputed to be a party school, and it is. Not in the sense that people do not take academics seriously, but in the sense that parties and socializing and drinking are such a big part of the culture. Many of my peers have actually complained about it; why should this socializing be limited to only drinking and going out, which are often not very conducive to conversations. I agree; I participate in the Thursday morning 8 AM coffee sessions which one of my classmates started, and hope to have a lot of small dinners where I can build stronger friendships with my peers.
Another amazing thing about Kellogg is the Honor Code. People trust each other. I assume that my peers will not cheat. For example, we might have a closed book, 3 hour time limit final exam that the professor will give us to take home and do at our convenience in a 3 hour period. The exam would account for 40% of the grade in the class, yet there would be no monitoring for the students. This related directly to one of the most importance principles of Leadership we learned - voice and choice inspire people.
One of the things that our Dean mentioned at the start of CIM was to lead with your weakness. Do things at Kellogg that you would typically not do, and use the safety net the school provides to step outside of your comfort zone. I did that the first week, by standing for election for a representative of my section to the Kellogg Students Association. The process of campaigning, asking my peers for ideas, generating thoughts myself and asking people to vote for me was awesome. Ultimately I did not win. An awesome peer of mine did. But the experience was great. And i made several friendships - both by meeting new people and strengthening ties with people I already new, by finding common areas of interest. I am very glad I did it.
The courses I am taking this semester are Accounting For Decision Making, Marketing Management, Business Strategy and Analytical Methods for Operations. The classes are all over the map; from being very quantitative to being very entertaining. I do feel that international students sometime have a disadvantage. I do not include myself in this category, as i have lived in the US for over seven years. I mostly refer to people who just came to the US for the first time, and for whom English is not the first language. Some cases are confusing; for example in the first Strategy class, we did a mini-case on Baseball, a sport most of the world is not familiar with. Often, I have found some of my international friends struggling with some jokes cracked in class. For example, we were studying a case where a manufacturer of nylon cords was trying to diversify, and was launching an initiative to manufacture pet leashes. It was his pet project; get it?
Friday, September 25, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Classes about to start!
We are nearing the end of our pre-term at Kellogg. This means that our class on Leadership in Organizations is coming to an end, and the regular term with four classes is about to begin. I am taking hour classes: Business Strategy, Accounting, Operations and Design (a MMM core) and Marketing. The Operations and Design is actually half of an operations course and half of a design course put together so that we have a good introduction to the MMM core. We would take the second half of both of these courses in the winter quarter. I am looking forward to my Marketing course the most, largely because it is taught by Prof. Julie Hennessy, one of the top rated professors at Kellogg and one of the top marketing professors in the world.
I am also considering taking part in several extra-curricular activities. I need to narrow down my list from the following:
1. Neighborhood Business Initiative - the Kellogg Pro-bono Consulting club. It seems like a great opportunity to get ome real life consulting experience while helping non-profits or socially minded businesses.
2. The High-Tech club and the High-Tech recruitment trip to the west coast. Self explanatory
3. I am also considering running for the position of the MMM representative to the Kellogg Student Association. This seems just the perfect way to help shape the ever-evolving MMM program.
4. Kellogg Entrepreneurship club - self explanatory
Which of these would I end up participating in? Time (and this blog) will tell..
I am also considering taking part in several extra-curricular activities. I need to narrow down my list from the following:
1. Neighborhood Business Initiative - the Kellogg Pro-bono Consulting club. It seems like a great opportunity to get ome real life consulting experience while helping non-profits or socially minded businesses.
2. The High-Tech club and the High-Tech recruitment trip to the west coast. Self explanatory
3. I am also considering running for the position of the MMM representative to the Kellogg Student Association. This seems just the perfect way to help shape the ever-evolving MMM program.
4. Kellogg Entrepreneurship club - self explanatory
Which of these would I end up participating in? Time (and this blog) will tell..
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Sunday, September 13, 2009
FOMO
One of the most popular acronyms in Business School is FOMO, or the Fear Of Missing Out. Seniors have warned me about it; career counselors have warned against it; and all my peers are aware of it. Yet, even in the first few weeks or Kellogg's Pre-Term, I am reminded it often.
Nowhere it is most prevalent than future career/recruiting discussions. No matter what everyone's goals are, they seem to mention (other than a small minority) banking or consulting. Especially consulting, as banking is less sought after the financial melt down. Everyone (including me) fears missing the consulting salaries, the quick (expected career growth) and the variety of work, despite negative factors like travel and lifestyle. Kellogg typically sends about 35% of its students to consulting companies, so the effect is even more pronounced.
Another is parties. One of the major parts of B School is networking with classmates and alumni, and understandably, my peers and I sometimes go to events, socials, parties that we had no interest in. Especially if alumni is going to be present.
I have some goals from my B School experience, which include getting particular positions and the industry, building true friendships and growing personally and professionally. I have written my goals down, and am going to fight hard to not take on too much, and lose sight of what it is that I want to achieve. Would I succeed? That is the question..
Nowhere it is most prevalent than future career/recruiting discussions. No matter what everyone's goals are, they seem to mention (other than a small minority) banking or consulting. Especially consulting, as banking is less sought after the financial melt down. Everyone (including me) fears missing the consulting salaries, the quick (expected career growth) and the variety of work, despite negative factors like travel and lifestyle. Kellogg typically sends about 35% of its students to consulting companies, so the effect is even more pronounced.
Another is parties. One of the major parts of B School is networking with classmates and alumni, and understandably, my peers and I sometimes go to events, socials, parties that we had no interest in. Especially if alumni is going to be present.
I have some goals from my B School experience, which include getting particular positions and the industry, building true friendships and growing personally and professionally. I have written my goals down, and am going to fight hard to not take on too much, and lose sight of what it is that I want to achieve. Would I succeed? That is the question..
Monday, September 7, 2009
Sunday, September 6, 2009
First week at Kellogg: CIM
I just finished my first week at the Kellogg School of Management. This was the first week of the three day pre-term called CIM, or Complete Immersion in Management. CIM is designed to help students to get familiar with the Kellogg culture based on teamwork, and helps you get to know your classmates. It consists of several components, all of have been a lot of fun:
1. Section Time: Kellogg students are divided into eight sections: Poets, Highlanders, Cash Cows, Moose, Turkeys, Bullfrogs, Big Dogs and Buckets. The names of the sections are based on the background of people they used to put on these sections. For example, Poets were the Arts Majors, Highlanders were the foreign students, and Cash Cows were the former investment bankers. At some point, some wise person had the bright idea that diversity is good. So they retained the names, but mixed up people into different sections. Also, each section has one sister section and one rival section.
Everyday during CIM, my section, the Highlanders, would get together and go through various activities with our section leaders. Probably the most fun activity was the name game, where you learn your section mates' first and last names. To help facilitate this, all students come up with adjectives starting with the same letter as their first name's first letter. We also spent a lot of time preparing for various activities like the cheering contest and the CIM showcase. Also, when someone would show up late, they would be asked to do some fun activity, like performing an 80's dance (see video below).
2. Cheering Contest: On the first day of CIM, we prepared for and participated in a inter-section cheering contest. We dressed up in all sorts of gear, and prepared a coordinated 3-minute cheer for their section. We also prepared a supporting cheer for our sister section, the Bulfrogs, and an anti-cheer (or rather a jeer) for our rival section, the poets.
3. Amazing Race: Another inter-section contest was the amazing race, a race/scavenger hunt on campus. I served as one of the home-base personnel, which means I sat on the computer and waited for my teammates to call me so that I could google their clues, and help them figure out the right places to go to.
4. CIM Showcase: The CIM showcase was a 7 minute skit put together by each section. Our only requirements were that we reference atleast one recent Chicago area event, and show one cultural misunderstanding. We did our skit in the form of a newscast from Kellogg, taking our audience all the way from KWEST to all the different activities at CIM. The winning section's skit featured a guy who did the Tiger Woods golf ball commercial(see below)!
Here are few videos from last year's showcase.
5. CIM Olympics : The final event in the week was the CIM Olympics, in which we competed against other sections in five events, including a tug of war and golf ball toss. The best event was the dizzy bat race, where you run to a bat, roll it on the ground with your head on one end, and then run back to your section mates on the other end. Needless to stay several people fell while running back, and made for some great laughs!
6. Other stuff: Between all this madness, we have been going out every night, and also attending a class on Leadership, in a very intense format (one 3 hour class every day of the week). I love the class and will write more about the class later.
The whole week has been fun, and I feel like I already have learned several lessons about teamwork and leadership. My section mates are awesome, in their backgrounds, talents and friendly manner. There have been some moments where we butted heads, but we got through them. I am glad I joined Kellogg. I sum up this week in one sentence from one of the CIM showcases: the most expensive summer camp in the world, but definitely the most fun.
1. Section Time: Kellogg students are divided into eight sections: Poets, Highlanders, Cash Cows, Moose, Turkeys, Bullfrogs, Big Dogs and Buckets. The names of the sections are based on the background of people they used to put on these sections. For example, Poets were the Arts Majors, Highlanders were the foreign students, and Cash Cows were the former investment bankers. At some point, some wise person had the bright idea that diversity is good. So they retained the names, but mixed up people into different sections. Also, each section has one sister section and one rival section.
Everyday during CIM, my section, the Highlanders, would get together and go through various activities with our section leaders. Probably the most fun activity was the name game, where you learn your section mates' first and last names. To help facilitate this, all students come up with adjectives starting with the same letter as their first name's first letter. We also spent a lot of time preparing for various activities like the cheering contest and the CIM showcase. Also, when someone would show up late, they would be asked to do some fun activity, like performing an 80's dance (see video below).
2. Cheering Contest: On the first day of CIM, we prepared for and participated in a inter-section cheering contest. We dressed up in all sorts of gear, and prepared a coordinated 3-minute cheer for their section. We also prepared a supporting cheer for our sister section, the Bulfrogs, and an anti-cheer (or rather a jeer) for our rival section, the poets.
3. Amazing Race: Another inter-section contest was the amazing race, a race/scavenger hunt on campus. I served as one of the home-base personnel, which means I sat on the computer and waited for my teammates to call me so that I could google their clues, and help them figure out the right places to go to.
4. CIM Showcase: The CIM showcase was a 7 minute skit put together by each section. Our only requirements were that we reference atleast one recent Chicago area event, and show one cultural misunderstanding. We did our skit in the form of a newscast from Kellogg, taking our audience all the way from KWEST to all the different activities at CIM. The winning section's skit featured a guy who did the Tiger Woods golf ball commercial(see below)!
Here are few videos from last year's showcase.
5. CIM Olympics : The final event in the week was the CIM Olympics, in which we competed against other sections in five events, including a tug of war and golf ball toss. The best event was the dizzy bat race, where you run to a bat, roll it on the ground with your head on one end, and then run back to your section mates on the other end. Needless to stay several people fell while running back, and made for some great laughs!
6. Other stuff: Between all this madness, we have been going out every night, and also attending a class on Leadership, in a very intense format (one 3 hour class every day of the week). I love the class and will write more about the class later.
The whole week has been fun, and I feel like I already have learned several lessons about teamwork and leadership. My section mates are awesome, in their backgrounds, talents and friendly manner. There have been some moments where we butted heads, but we got through them. I am glad I joined Kellogg. I sum up this week in one sentence from one of the CIM showcases: the most expensive summer camp in the world, but definitely the most fun.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Kellogg KWEST Scandinavia
I just came back from a seven day trip to Denmark and Sweden, with 19 of my classmates and five second year students at the Kellogg School of Management. The trip, known as KWEST Scandinavia was just one of the 30 odd trips planned by second year students. The idea behind the trip is to help you get to know some of your classmates very well. Kellogg students organize this trip fully, and do a few things to make sure that the trips really facilitate getting to know one's peers well
1. Selection - First year students register for trips by giving their top ten choices. They are assigned one of the trips, based on a combination of factors, including their choice, the popularity of the trip, and the intention of keeping all trips as diverse as possible. KWEST Scandinavia was my second choice, right behind Egypt. My intention of choosing these places was to try and visit a place that I would be unlikely to go on my own. I also wanted the trip to give a rich cultural experience, and not be crazy hard in adventure or partying
2. The hide and the big reveal - Another fantastic thing is that you are not allowed to share your previous job, place of residence or undergraduate degree major/university with any of your peers. If you are going with a partner, you are also not allowed to share who is the partner and who is the student! An event called the 'Big Reveal' is held on the penultimate night of the trip, in which people can judge your background, and then you reveal it all! Doing this really helped us focus on talking about items other than the usual what-did-you-do and what-you-are-going-to-do, and helped me really find out very interesting things about people. Also, the constant guessing of people's backgrounds was great fun!
3. Organization - the trip is fully organized by the second year trip-leaders, which helps first year students enjoy themselves, without any worrying about logistics etc.
The trip was one of the best experiences of my life. The trip leaders did an awesome job organizing the trip, and I got to know some very interesting, accomplished, talented, funny and friendly classmates. Watch my blog as I post more details about my trip.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Organizing the IIT Business plan Competition
I am currently organizing the Business Plan Competition at the Pan IIT Conference 2009. We are organizing the conference in two stages: regional rounds to be held in four major centers in the US, followed by finals at the Conference itself, on October 9th.
When I started organizing the competition, I suggested that we restrict entries to these four areas, and strictly to the US. However my incredibly passionate teammates persuaded me to open up the competition. I am glad we did. We have had an incredibly high number of entries coming from India.
While I cannot comment on any particulars due to the level of confidentiality we need to maintain, the one area that I am glad to see a lot of focus on is Education (especially in entries from India). Most of the ventures are for-profit, which is the right way to go when it comes to providing high-quality education in India. Another focus is health care, especially in entries from the United States.
Another thing that has surprised me is the sheer number of entries. I thought that IITians were entrepreneurial, but now I know truly how much passion and zeal current students and alumni have for entrepreneurship. I am proud to be part of this alumni base, and wish all participants the best of luck!
When I started organizing the competition, I suggested that we restrict entries to these four areas, and strictly to the US. However my incredibly passionate teammates persuaded me to open up the competition. I am glad we did. We have had an incredibly high number of entries coming from India.
While I cannot comment on any particulars due to the level of confidentiality we need to maintain, the one area that I am glad to see a lot of focus on is Education (especially in entries from India). Most of the ventures are for-profit, which is the right way to go when it comes to providing high-quality education in India. Another focus is health care, especially in entries from the United States.
Another thing that has surprised me is the sheer number of entries. I thought that IITians were entrepreneurial, but now I know truly how much passion and zeal current students and alumni have for entrepreneurship. I am proud to be part of this alumni base, and wish all participants the best of luck!
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