Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.
Customized for You
we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History
Track Your Progress
every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance
Practice Pays
we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Thank you for using the timer!
We noticed you are actually not timing your practice. Click the START button first next time you use the timer.
There are many benefits to timing your practice, including:
Since the start of the year I've been pretty active on Quora, mostly doling out advice on the GMAT and MBA prep based on my own experiences. It has been interesting seeing what questions Quora throws me, but most of the questions do end up being pretty similar. Thus I thought it might be useful to whoever stumbles upon my blog to pop some of my answers to these frequently asked questions on this
This Blog post was imported into the forum automatically. We hope you found it helpful. Please use the Kudos button if you did, or please PM/DM me if you found it disruptive and I will take care of it.
-BB
Since the value of the NZ Dollar is much lower than the Pound, foreign currency exchange rates and how to pay MBA tuition fees are obviously of much concern. London Business School's tuition fee of £70,800 translates to a whopping $150,000+. The great thing about LBS (and most MBA programs), is that they allow you to pay in installments.
For anyone interested, LBS's fee schedule for the MBA2018
This Blog post was imported into the forum automatically. We hope you found it helpful. Please use the Kudos button if you did, or please PM/DM me if you found it disruptive and I will take care of it.
-BB
When I was a kid I was actually pretty extroverted. However, after multiple instances of culture shock growing up I became increasingly introverted. It allowed me to be somewhat successful in science, and made me observant, reflective, and analytical. These are great traits to have in a business setting. However, they would also mean absolutely nothing I if I could not communicate and influence others externally.
This Blog post was imported into the forum automatically. We hope you found it helpful. Please use the Kudos button if you did, or please PM/DM me if you found it disruptive and I will take care of it.
-BB
So the last day of MBA took place a few weeks ago, concluded by a course ‘Catastrophic Failures in Organizations.’ To be honest, the last day felt like any other ordinary day. I went into the classroom, sat down in my usual spot, checked facebook a bit until the class starts, then the lecture. ‘I never was a woohoo we did it kind of energetic person since I was a kid to be honest’ but it does feel weird how much stuff I’ve gone through past two years.
I grew up enjoying drawing cartoons, moved to Canada in grade 7, liked music and arts, did well in math and graphic arts, not so much in science, went university, struggled my way through undergrad electrical engineering and after 5 years, I just finished my MBA. Time passed and the moments I experienced one by one, even though I did go through them, feels like fiction that never happened or someone else’s as I only feel present.
I screwed up and didn’t really spend my time at university to the fullest, so prior to joining Rotman, here were a few things I decided I would do once I’m in school. All these are basically quite opposite of what I used to do in undergrad
1. Sit in front of class.
I used to sit at the end and back of the class with my hoodies on (sometimes you see these creepy dudes in class that’s doing their own thing in darkness in the corner of the room…that’s me), and didn’t get to pay much attention in undergrad class. So what I did is I sat in front of the class all the time mostly. It didn’t matter if I had friends to sit with, felt awkward, it was just something I promised myself to do. Of course, at first I felt intimidated by how close I was to the prof, but eventually I enjoyed it. I could see lectures upfront, my concentration was to the max, I could hear well, I could see well (bad eyesight). This experiential trial helped me to not be bound by proximity and distantiation, and be able to more freely understand and engage spacing anywhere I go basically (sounds weird).
2. Raise hands and ask questions when I feel like it.
As soon as you got to this second point, you might be thinking, “owkay this guy spent 100k to learn how to raise hands and sit in front of class…?” well again, I never ever raised my hand at all during undergrad, didn’t ask a single question. So in my 1st year, I was extremely frustrated sitting in front of the class and also asking a question. Initially, it took me several minutes formulating how I can ask a question that does not look make me absurd. Frustration of my voice being heard by others all looking at me. This took practices, but eventually, I started to ask questions whenever I feel like it and when I want to know, or want to share something. Professors encouraged me to practice your skills as much as possible in a safe class setting and that’s what I exactly did. This might be a very simple thing, but coming from Korea and being a king of introverts, this skill feels invaluable to me now. Here’s an example . The video is in Korean, but basically President Obama gave a talk at G20 Press Conference in 2010, and afterwards accepted questions from Korean Press, except there wasn’t a single one, a room filled with awkward silence. The scenes shown are completely different in North American universities and conferences from my understanding and everyone is taught to ask questions when in need since youth.
In this sense, homogeneous culture is a double edged sword; unity synergetically brings potential intrinsic energy, but at the same time, any outliers or out-of-norm is seen as peculiar, weird, or even as a disruptor in a society. Silent gun effect kills innovation and great ideas. Have courage and ask questions. That way, you get to clarify any doubts without creating rooms for risks and extra time spent to later communicate on that.
3. Attend as many events as possible.
Indeed, I attended many workshops and talks in first year, but not so much in 2nd year due to job search and studies. Depending on how you value your time, networking and hearing others’ opnions may come as valuable, or waste of time or even make you feel dirty according to professor Casciaro at Rotman School of Management. I only got to understand the power of networking when I started to structure my thoughts more in 2nd year. How can you explain a concept of networking to kids? It is because I believe even kids have better understanding of networking these days. Put it this way. You want to go to Japan, let’s say, but need a friend or guide there. You remember that you have this Japanese classmate you met a few years ago, had a chat about international studies life, had coffee and he/she went back. So you send him/her an email about your visit, he/she gladly responds and am happy to show you around. Another very simple example might be that you might need help with drawing something, and you remember this person you chatted in classroom when you had nothing to do, and even that creates a connection point that allows you to contact the person and a higher success rate than simply when you contact out of blue.
4. Join clubs and become execs
Indeed, I worked as representatives, participated in workshops, organized events, and met many people. It felt so interesting because I didn’t do these at all during undergraduate, so I made sure I do these.
5. Running
Perhaps one of my lifetime accomplishments along with weightloss success in 2014, but I participated in four running events: two 10ks, one half, and lastly, the full marathon which I successfully completed. I’ve been doing cross country running since highschool and enjoy running, but was never a good one to be honest. What I enjoy about running is the moment when you surpass your limits. that was what I felt when I finished my first half and when I finally finished a full marathon which was extremely challenging and I couldn’t use my left arm for four months somehow. How’s this really related to MBA you might ask? the thing is it does or it doesn’t. MBA is a great tool that will accelerate your career and help growth personal and professionally and MBA made me understand how important consistency and taking care of good health is. I’ve seen moments of happiness as well as sadness, just the ones I sometimes witnessed throughout my life and it makes me realize how fortunate I am to have chances to accomplish things as there are others that just can’t due to their circumstances. I was lucky to enter Rotman and I am glad that I learned to appreciate life. I guess what I want to say is, whether you want to do MBA or open your own startups or go corporate or whatever, remember to appreciate your surroundings and your opportunities. Don’t become blinded by small things-assignments, relationships, money, stresses- that distract you from your goals; time is precious.
6. Trip to China
I was involved in a research project last year and had a chance to travel to China. While research opportunities and learning were incredible, it was the trip to China itself that involved Beijing, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong so exciting. I’ve travelled many places – Japan, India, various US states, various Canadian cities, and every time I visit new places I learn something new (kind of cliche I know). I have many Chinese friends, hear about news about China all the time, and I was curious to find out what makes China so special in many ways and this travel did inspire me and learn a few things the same way I did when I was in Japan and India in particular. That is world is very big, there are always some things going on and we think differently.
7. Once again learn about humility
As mentioned in previous blog postings, I learned how there are so many smart, energetic, and enthusiastic smart people wherever I go. It was the case when I first started studying as an engineering student. It was also the case when I started working as a consultant in the US. It was again, the case when I started studying at Rotman. I recently learned a new phrase called ‘paralysis by analysis’ from business intelligence class I took. Basically, overabundance of data and misdirectioned analysis gets you nowhere and while that is why hypothesis-driven deductive approach is often necessary in consulting to design proper scope, I also sometimes realize that sometimes not knowing is better than knowing and interestingly, this applies to many parts of our lives including studies, sports, relationships, and fast food unfortunately. The point is, overeducation and overabundance of information makes you overconfident and sometimes even arrogant. It is without a doubt that there are social hierarchies perhaps by wealth, job positions, place of living etc, but as you have more power, you need to learn to become more humble and appreciate that you have such opportunity to influence others and make others’ lives better. I’ve witnessed throughout MBA and work that greed and power makes you more attracted to even more greed! It’s like Anakin Skywalker getting owned by dark side and Peter Parker not understanding the responsibility that comes from power when losing his uncle (ok I know I’m looking forward to reboot Homecoming as well). More successful you become, more cautious your steps should be and try to keep checking your inner self if you’re perhaps doing something unethical.
At this point, you – prospective MBA students or any audience – might think, ” what is this man? this stuff you all learn from kindergarten and you’re telling me you went MBA and paid $100k+ time for this kind of stuff?” Of course I made a few proud professional accomplishments such as certifications, jobs and stuff but they are results that I accomplished by getting insights from learning things such as the ones I mentioned above and have no intention to bore you with what kind of stuff I achieved in MBA to put on LinkedIn. Keep asking yourself what you really want to get out of, what accomplishments you want to make and be goal-oriented. Two years is such long time to just to get over with to put three letters, “MBA” to LinkedIn and you might as well find how you want to maximize this opportunity.
Last thing I want to say is, that MBA will provide many, many opportunities, but you must understand it is indeed masters level studies, so there will be predicaments, you will be tired and time-sensitive stresses and tiredness will 100% come to you, so get ready. However, such barriers need to be overcome by looking for right opportunities and you must seek them out as MBAs will transfer mandatory knowledge based on courses, but not all the time and many great, exciting opportunities typically need to be researched by checking club events, newsletters and professors; competitions, study tours, speaker events, networking are kind of things you will never come across if you only go to classes and go back home. Otherwise, you might become disappointed by MBA and walk away with bitterness questioning the value of your investment. Be diligent and become used to fighting laziness and you will succeed.
While my MBA journey is done here, I have received many questions and thankful responses from my posts that I will continue to have this blog remained although I’m not sure if the school will keep this. Nonetheless, I am planning to create a new integrated blog that talks about my job, hobbies, exercises, etc so stay tuned which will be posted here. Over the past two years, over 6700+ views accumulated by 3200 visitors from all over the world either from gmatclub, wordpress, whatever. As long as my journey helped you making decisions with Rotman MBA as well as life itself, then I think my blogs were perfectly worth it. Thanks.
-Josh
This Blog post was imported into the forum automatically. We hope you found it helpful. Please use the Kudos button if you did, or please PM/DM me if you found it disruptive and I will take care of it.
-BB
Strategy, innovation, marketing, finance… The second module has been pretty engaging. Though, no lack of memorable times. There is no lack of high profile guest speakers. One of the most inspirational ones we had was Mr. Jean Claude Biver, the man who turned around the fortunes of Blancpain, Omega, Hublot and Tag Heuer. The most common trait in all these inspirational leaders is the passion. Mr. Biver was not only passionate but also so inspirational to all of us. I couldn’t believe sitting in front of the man who took Hublot from being a small to company to a one of the best luxury Swiss watch companies in the world making watches that worth up to 5 million dollars. He is a natural when it comes to marketing and his charisma swept all of us off our feet. When it takes the most influential leaders a lifetime to turn around the fortunes of one single company, Mr. Biver managed to repeat his success over and over again. Thanks to IMD and our energetic marketing professor Dr. Gautam Challagalla, we managed to witness the legend himself in front of our eyes.
This Blog post was imported into the forum automatically. We hope you found it helpful. Please use the Kudos button if you did, or please PM/DM me if you found it disruptive and I will take care of it.
-BB
With the limited financing options available to NZ citizens (especially those comme moi who aren't planning to return to work in NZ), I've really had to evaluate my assets in the last weeks to figure out what the best funding cocktail would be for me.
I'm somewhat lucky in that I do own a house which has gone up in value by a good amount in the last couple of years. This means I've been able to
This Blog post was imported into the forum automatically. We hope you found it helpful. Please use the Kudos button if you did, or please PM/DM me if you found it disruptive and I will take care of it.
-BB
As mentioned in a previous post, I've been helping out the potential MBA/GMAT-taking community on Quora as I've been on the questioning side and totally get the confusion/anxiety of being an applicant. Unexpectedly, my contributions to the community have led to a potential opportunity.
The CEO of a GMAT prep school liked my writing and has reached out regarding working together to help promote
This Blog post was imported into the forum automatically. We hope you found it helpful. Please use the Kudos button if you did, or please PM/DM me if you found it disruptive and I will take care of it.
-BB
When thinking about funding, I've found that it's easy to forget though that aside from the huge fee for tuition alone, there's 2 years worth of living costs to work into calculations as well.
So how much do you really need to live in London? I've been doing a fair amount of research to estimate this, after speaking to friends who live in London, LBS alumni and current LBS students. Obviously
This Blog post was imported into the forum automatically. We hope you found it helpful. Please use the Kudos button if you did, or please PM/DM me if you found it disruptive and I will take care of it.
-BB
I recently returned from attending the London Business School Admits Weekend held last week. Let me just say upfront - for those who are planning to apply for the MBA programme at LBS in future, you really don't want to miss the May Admits Weekend! It's part of the whole amazing MBA experience at LBS and is worth every penny and km of travel...at least that's how I felt. So I'm really glad I flew
This Blog post was imported into the forum automatically. We hope you found it helpful. Please use the Kudos button if you did, or please PM/DM me if you found it disruptive and I will take care of it.
-BB
It’s been a really long time since I last posted but I promise to post more regularly (at least once a month) from now. I began the Oxford Comma once I began my MBA at the Said School of Business, Oxford. My main motivation was to provide the information that I had found missing when I was an applicant and I also wanted to improve my writing. However, once I left, there wasn’t anything I could add to the blog and more than a year has passed since I last posted.
After I graduated, I was looking for Product Management roles and I started a new blog to catalogue my experiences learning about the role. However, once I got a job, that blog started to be neglected as well. I intend to make more PM and career themes posts but I didn’t really want to maintain two separate blogs. In addition, I also wanted a blog to share my travel experiences and other musings.
Long story short, I plan to convert The Oxford Comma into my personal blog and make posts from all the aforementioned categories here. I have already merged all the posts from my PM blog into this blog. I plan to rename the blog name and domain accordingly.
This Blog post was imported into the forum automatically. We hope you found it helpful. Please use the Kudos button if you did, or please PM/DM me if you found it disruptive and I will take care of it.
-BB
I may have spoken to over 50+ Said applicants over the course of my year, through various channels. I’ve been assigned as mentor to two incoming students. A few classmates and I volunteered to do a Q&A panel with new admits at the Experience Weekends and I also got involved with the admissions office this April to hold a meet up with incoming students at Bangalore when I was in India for our career trek. My classmates and I have been asked nearly the same queries every time, and having being in the same position a year back, the anticipation is understandable and expected.
For the benefit of others who may still are probably still seeking out advice, I am posting a few things which have been most commonly asked a few thrown in from the back of my head. Feel free to write in the comments or reach out to me over Facebook / LinkedIn / Email if you need help with anything specific:
College selection: Every admit gets a college, sooner or later. Do not sweat if you are rejected from the college of your first choice. I am told this year the procedure is a bit different from last time. My batchmates were approached for their next preference, with suggestions on which colleges had spots for MBAs still left. This year upon rejection from first preferred college, the University puts you in a common pool and assigns you a college on their own. I cannot think of a reason for this change, apart from making the process tad easier for them operationally. However, be assured that once you are admitted to the B School, there is no way you will not end up in one of the colleges.
Which college to go for: While colleges make up for an important part of the Oxford experience, in my personal view choosing a college is not as much a crucial factor as it is for the undergrads. For an MBA the involvement with their college varies individually and thus their motivation for choosing their college. While a few may have showed up at their college only during matriculation formalities, there are many in my batch who are part of their college rowing teams or their college MCR ( Middle Common Room, for the postgrads ) committee. For the rest of colleges are a great way to interact with the wider Oxford community and get involved socially through formal dinners, bops, guest lectures etc.
Unless there is something absolutely specific you want out of your college, you cannot go wrong with your choice. If you fancy a Harry Potter / Tolkein -ish experience, choose one of the older colleges – Christ Church, Merton, Exeter, New College etc. GTC and St Hugh’s accept the maximum MBAs (120+ combined), while Regents Park has two MBAs this year. Go for Brasenose / St. Peters / Worchester or the likes if you prefer a college closer to the B School or GTC which has an off site accommodation ( RAC ) right across the school. I chose GTC as I wanted to stay at RAC, and I go to the college about once or twice a week for my Yoga classes, for formal dinners and to use their library.
Books: At the beginning of each term, the professor of each subject uploads the reading list on the Weblearn portal. There are recommended books in addition to the cases and papers that one needs to pre-read in preparation for a class (mandatory for CPA subjects but recommended to read nevertheless to benefit from the class discussions). Not all students end up buying or studying from the books and manage with course slides and notes or refer to books in the libraries. However, towards the exam time it gets increasingly difficult to find a free book in the shelves. My college GTC’s library is well stocked up with management books and lends for three weeks ( Sainsbury library in the school lends for two days ).I had bought a few core books and referred them occasionally over the year and for my assignments. Happy to sell them to an incoming student for a discount. Feel free to contact me if interested.
Private accommodation: Good time to start looking is towards later half of June / beginning of July. It is suggested to try and take a private tour of the place before signing the lease, or ask someone to do it on your behalf. Many times the accommodation turns out different from what is expected / appears in the pictures and description. Your college should help you in securing a letter for tax exemption from the council. For incoming batch of 2016/17 – make use of the Google doc prepared by my batch and reach out to people already living in private accommodations for specific advice.
No, we don’t wear formals to classes every day. Only during the first few days of the Launch to feel business-y enough upon arrival. And on days when there is a company presentation right after class. And then of course, certain days when we find ourselves up for some #ItsAnOxfordThing experience and decide to dress up fancy to the class with prosecco for everyone.
If you are targeting Banking or Management Consulting jobs, be prepared to apply soon after arriving here as their recruitment cycles are usually quite early on in the year. It is good to have a Plan B in case you do not make the cut. For your own good, have an idea of what do you want to do with your life and how do you plan to use your time here to achieve that. It is fine if you are clueless yet, a lot of students figure out their calling over the year or even change their post MBA plans they had initially made for themselves. Make good use of the time here to look within and understand what do you really want to do.
For the Indians – there are plenty of Indian restaurants with decent Indian food ( for better food go to London / Wembley / Southall ) and stores with Indian groceries. Nearly every thing is available in Oxford. Tell your moms not to panic. Perhaps carry a pressure cooker if you will. But really, do not come to Oxford only to look for Indian food all the time, defeats the purpose of immersing yourself in an international experience. Else befriend the guy from Currydoor and Dosa Park opposite SBS. Or better learn how to cook.
MBATs are fun. A lot of fun. Try not to miss.
I’ll write more soon. For now, I am off to bed before it dawns upon me that fourth last week of my MBA course is barely 6 hours away. Yikes.
This Blog post was imported into the forum automatically. We hope you found it helpful. Please use the Kudos button if you did, or please PM/DM me if you found it disruptive and I will take care of it.
-BB
The London Business School Admits Weekend officially kicked off on Saturday morning with registrations and breakfast. We received a carry bag, name tags, schedules and an MBA2018 tee at registration. Unusually, breakfast was provided in little brown paper bags which reminded me of old-school packed lunches. Naturally, breakfast was also a socialising affair and a chance to meet more new
This Blog post was imported into the forum automatically. We hope you found it helpful. Please use the Kudos button if you did, or please PM/DM me if you found it disruptive and I will take care of it.
-BB
The world is full of coincidences. During the Admits Weekend at LBS as I was queuing up for the cloakroom, I met a fellow admit from Thailand (yes, you meet new people in queues too!). We had a conversation about how many Kiwi admits there are (making us very easy to keep track of) and he mentioned there was a Kiwi who went to LBS who had a blog.
Which led me to wonder whether one of the other
This Blog post was imported into the forum automatically. We hope you found it helpful. Please use the Kudos button if you did, or please PM/DM me if you found it disruptive and I will take care of it.
-BB
Sunday's schedule very kindly kicked off with breakfast at a later start of 10.30am. This is a good thing given the really full on day we had Saturday. Ladies had the option of attending the regular breakfast or the Women In Business Club's breakfast. So I picked the WIB.
WIB brunch was sponsored by BCG and was a pretty lavish affair, complete with sparkling wine. I got to meet more fellow
This Blog post was imported into the forum automatically. We hope you found it helpful. Please use the Kudos button if you did, or please PM/DM me if you found it disruptive and I will take care of it.
-BB
This post is meant for new travellers to London or future admits travelling to London for the first time for the Admits Weekend. Or anyone who doesn't know of the Visitor Oyster Card. This can help you save while travelling around in London.
If you're in London, chances are you'll end up using public transport at some point - the tube, bus or train to get around. London is very well connected
This Blog post was imported into the forum automatically. We hope you found it helpful. Please use the Kudos button if you did, or please PM/DM me if you found it disruptive and I will take care of it.
-BB
Based on research and conversations with both current students and friends living in London, if you're looking for a mobile phone service provider and are on a budget, Three or Giff Gaff are the ones for you.
I recommend picking up a prepaid SIM (they call it Pay As You Go in the UK) from Three asap when you visit London (or are up for the Admits Weekend). This is what I did when I was there for
This Blog post was imported into the forum automatically. We hope you found it helpful. Please use the Kudos button if you did, or please PM/DM me if you found it disruptive and I will take care of it.
-BB
Throughout the year, one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is how to motivate myself, stay motivated, and when faced with obstacles, overcome them. I’ve seen this lesson in almost every book I’ve read and I’ve seen it play over and over again throughout my lessons in and out of the MBA program. When I graduate from the Oxford MBA program I’ll have learned about Finance, Leadership, Responsible Business, Marketing Analytics, and so many more core academic lessons. I’ll have spent a year working as an elected representative of my class pushing for various changes and improvements to the school. I’ll have met amazing people who have become some of my best friends and one of my most influential networks moving forward in life. And I’ll have explored the magical place that is Oxford. I’m sad to see it go. However, the greatest lesson I’ll have learned has been the practice and ability to look at my challenge and know that there is a way around, through, over, or under it.
To that effect, here are 9 books I’ve read this year and the top-line quotes or lessons about using the obstacles life gives you to propel yourself forward. (10-min read time)
This book is the Number 1 book I read this year as it has had a profound impact on how I examined the world and challenges I faced. I encourage you to read the entire thing, but if you only have time for a few nuggets, here they are”
– “As it turns out, this is one thing all great men and women of history have in common. Like oxygen to a fire, obstacles became fuel for the blaze that was their ambition. Nothing could stop them, they were (and continue to be) impossible to discourage or contain. Every impediment only served to make the inferno within them burn with greater ferocity.”
– “Psychologists call it adversarial growth and post-traumatic growth. ‘That which doesn’t kill me makes me stronger’ is not a cliché but fact.
The struggle against an obstacle inevitably propels the fighter to a new level of functioning. The extent of the struggle determines the extent of the growth. The obstacle is an advantage, not adversity. The enemy is any perception that prevents us from seeing this.”
– “No one is saying you can’t take a minute to think, Dammit, this sucks. By all means, vent. Exhale. Take stock. Just don’t take too long. Because you have to get back to work. Because each obstacle we overcome makes us stronger for the next one.”
Kate Fox’s comprehensive guide is a critical read for anyone moving to the UK. The life lessons here have been instrumental in helping me remove my foot from my mouth on several occasions. This conversational point is especially poignant to remember:
“Participants in moaning rituals [people complaining about things] do not want to be given reasonable advice on how to solve their problems: they want to enjoy moaning about them. Reasonable advice is therefore, quite reasonably, forbidden.”
Dan Pink’s book about self-motivation is a great read for those who need a swift kick in the butt to motivate you to preserver, to learn how to have grit and find your purpose. This bit from Part 3 was especially helpful as I prepared for my Oxford MBA.
– “As you contemplate your purpose, begin with the big question: What’s your sentence? … then keep asking a small question.”
– “Here’s something you can do to keep yourself motivated. At the end of each day, ask yourself whether you were better today than you were yesterday. Did you do more? Did you do it well? … Reminding yourself that you don’t need to be a master by day three is the best way of ensuring you will be one by day three thousand. So before you go to sleep each night, ask yourself the small question: Was I a little better today than yesterday?”
Adam Grant’s book was a good read as I tried to focus on managing my energy. This section in Chapter 6 resonated with work my managers had done at Google.
“Seeing impact can reduce the burnout of givers and motivate others to give, some organizations have designed initiatives to connect employees to the impact of their products and services. … At Medtronic, employees across the company— from engineers to salespeople— pay visits to hospitals to see their medical technologies benefiting patients. “When they’re exhausted,” former Medtronic CEO Bill George told me, “it’s very important that they get out there and see procedures. They can see their impact on patients, which reminds them that they’re here to restore people to full life and health.” Medtronic also holds an annual party for the entire company, more than thirty thousand employees, at which six patients are invited to share their stories about how the company’s products have changed their lives. When they see for the first time how much their work can matter, many employees break down into tears.”
This book by Nicholas Taleb works off the principle that there are three classifications of things. Fragile (things that break when pressure is applied), Resilient (Things that survive and adapt to pressure), Antifragile (Things that, when pressure is applied, grow). He uses the myth of the Hydra to explain AntiFragile because when a Hydra’s head is cut off – two grow back. Humans have the ability to be AntiFragile and this book relates back to The Obstacle is the Way discussed earlier. In a snippet, here is a key point.
“Consider how people train in weightlifting: the body overshoots in response to exposures and overprepares (up to the point of biological limit, of course). This is how bodies get stronger.”
This book by Sensei Dave Lowry details his training as a Samurai starting as an American kid in the 70’s while explaining the warrior culture of feudal Japan. One main theme throughout the book is that a true warrior dedicates himself to both taking live and giving life.
“The transformation of the sword in the bugeisha’s hands from a weapon that takes life to one that grants it is a long and arduous process. The process cannot even be attempted without an immersion into the fundamentals of swordsmanship that force an exponent to come face to face with an opponent often enough so that eventually, it is hoped by his sensei, he will come to face himself.”
Great lessons can be learned from fiction and this lesson on leadership from the main character Bean is key to high-level management of teams.
“If you give orders and explain nothing, you might get obedience, but you’ll get no creativity. If you tell them your purpose, then when your original plan is shown to be faulty, they’ll find another way to achieve your goal. Explaining to your men doesn’t weaken their respect for you, it proves your respect for them.”
David Brook’s book is a profound anthologies of moral character that is worth a much deeper dive and is probably the number two book I’d recommend. The book ends with the final passage here which is a constant reminder to be better each day.
“The good news of this book is that it is okay to be flawed, since everyone is. Sin and limitation are woven through our lives. We are all stumblers, and the beauty and meaning of life are in the stumbling— in recognizing the stumbling and trying to become more graceful as the years go by.
The stumbler scuffs through life, a little off balance here and there, sometimes lurching, sometimes falling to her knees. But the stumbler faces her imperfect nature, her mistakes and weaknesses, with unvarnished honesty, with the opposite of squeamishness. She is sometimes ashamed of the perversities in her nature— the selfishness, the self-deceit, the occasional desire to put lower loves above higher ones.
But humility offers self-understanding. When we acknowledge that we screw up, and feel the gravity of our limitations, we find ourselves challenged and stretched with a serious foe to overcome and transcend.
The stumbler is made whole by this struggle. Each weakness becomes a chance to wage a campaign that organizes and gives meaning to life and makes you a better person. We lean on each other as we struggle against sin. We depend on each other for the forgiveness of sin. The stumbler has an outstretched arm, ready to receive and offer care. He is vulnerable enough to need affection and is generous enough to give affection at full volume. If we were without sin, we could be solitary Atlases, but the stumbler requires a community. His friends are there with conversation and advice. His ancestors have left him diverse models that he can emulate and measure himself by.
From the smallness of her own life, the stumbler commits herself to ideas and faiths that are nobler than any individual ever could be. She doesn’t always live up to her convictions or follow her resolutions. But she repents and is redeemed and tries again, a process that gives dignity to her failing. The victories follow the same arc: from defeat to recognition to redemption. Down into the valley of vision and then up into the highlands of attachment. The humble path to the beautiful life.
Each struggle leaves a residue. A person who has gone through these struggles seems more substantial and deep. And by a magic alchemy these victories turn weakness into joy. The stumbler doesn’t aim for joy. Joy is a byproduct experienced by people who are aiming for something else. But it comes.”
This Blog post was imported into the forum automatically. We hope you found it helpful. Please use the Kudos button if you did, or please PM/DM me if you found it disruptive and I will take care of it.
-BB
London Business School requires you to have 2 languages to graduate from the MBA program. They don't provide much information however on how the language fulfillment criteria works. So it was great to have a chance to find out more during the Admits Weekend. Here's how it works and how you can get a waiver for it if you have a second language already:
After registration, right at the start of
This Blog post was imported into the forum automatically. We hope you found it helpful. Please use the Kudos button if you did, or please PM/DM me if you found it disruptive and I will take care of it.
-BB
I am back, after almost 6 months of silence! The first year of the MBA is over. The overwhelming feelings right now are joy, relief and excitement for what comes next! I had noticed in most previous blogs of GSB … Continue reading →
This Blog post was imported into the forum automatically. We hope you found it helpful. Please use the Kudos button if you did, or please PM/DM me if you found it disruptive and I will take care of it.
-BB
A question that one can always expect from a prospective Product Manager is – so what’s an average day like? This post is my attempt at answering this question.
7:00 AM: The alarm goes off and I get out of bed half an hour later.
8:00 AM – 9:00 AM: Hit the gym to workout. I try to workout three times a week. If I’m not working out, I go out for a walk and get some physical activity before it gets really hot.
10:00 AM: Leave for work. I don’t have a car, so I call for an Uber or Ola (Ola is the Indian competitor to Uber. It isn’t as cheap as Uber, but the sedan class of cars have wifi, which allows me to check emails while I ride to work. I live around 5km (3 miles) and it usually takes me about 20 minutes to get to work.
10:30 AM – 12:00 AM: I reach work and grab a cup of tea and check my emails, Twitter, and check my to do list for the day. This is not the most productive time of the day for me, so I try to keep it for light/shallow work such as reviewing the roadmap, collecting metrics, making notes etc.
12:00 AM – 2:00 PM: At 12, my team has our daily standup where we talk about what we did yesterday and what we plan to do today. Along with the PMs and engineers, we also have the PMM and QA attend this meeting. The QA at Freshdesk is organised as a functional unit i.e there is one QA team across the company and involving them in the standup is a great way to ensure that there are no communication gaps. Post standup is usually a productive time for me and I try to avoid meetings and distractions.
2:00 PM – 3:00 PM: I have a late lunch. Most days, I will head over to our cafeteria for the (free) lunch, but there is a food court downstairs with additional options that I will head to once a week. After lunch, a fellow PM and I go for a quick walk. On my return, I usually spend a few minutes reading the day’s newspaper.
3:00 PM – 5:00PM: I try to keep most meetings in this time period as most people in the office are usually present at this time. Most days I usually spend 1-2 hours in meetings.
5:00 PM – 7:00 PM: This is another productive block of time for me, so I will use it for work that requires my full attention such as research, PRDs etc. Right now, I’m helping write the technical documentation for the APIs and the app framework.
7:30 PM: I spend the last few minutes of the day tying up loose ends and then I leave work at around 7:30 or so and I reach home by 8.
8:00 – 11:00 PM: At home, I cook dinner and relax. I will watch TV, play games, or do read interesting articles online. Occasionally (1 time a week), I will have a few small things from work to take care of, but most days are free.
11:00 PM: I turn off all screens at this time. I had pretty bad insomnia that improved after I started limiting my caffeine and screen time, so I try to be disciplined about this. I will usually read a book until I feel sleepy. Right now I am reading “The hard thing about hard things” by Ben Horowitz and I will post my thoughts soon. I usually turn the lights off before 12.
Summary: I used to be really bad at answering the average day question when I first began working. This was because there was no average day – I was overloaded and did whatever came up. This resulted in me focussing a lot on what Cal Newport calls “shallow work” such as answering emails or solving support tickets. However, the deep work (research, PRDs) did not get enough attention. Recently, I have gotten better at recognising my productive times during the day and reserving them for work that adds the highest value.
This Blog post was imported into the forum automatically. We hope you found it helpful. Please use the Kudos button if you did, or please PM/DM me if you found it disruptive and I will take care of it.
-BB
06 May 2016, 04:52
