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11 May 2016, 08:45
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11 May 2016, 12:24
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12 May 2016, 08:00
| FROM Kellogg MBA Blog: Looking back on the inaugural MBA Coalition |
 By Elena Weinstein Kellogg recently hosted the inaugural MBA Coalition in partnership with the Forte Foundation. The premise of the event was to convene incoming and outgoing Women in Business Association (WBA) presidents from fellow MBA programs across the country to share best practices, hear from inspirational speakers and participate in skill-building workshops. My biggest takeaway from the weekend was how constructive knowledge sharing can be among like-minded individuals, as well as how many commonalities the WBA’s share in both our mission and execution. However, rather than pat ourselves on the back that all of our respective organizations have landed in a similar place, we were energized and inspired by the nuances of each others’ outlooks and approaches, and we left the summit with myriad ways to optimize our own organizations and the initiatives we put forth. Below are a couple of my most poignant takeaways from the discussion:
Here’s to keeping the dialogue going! Elena Weinstein is a first-year student in Kellogg’s Full-Time Two-Year Program. Prior to Kellogg, Elena worked in New York in market research and women’s leadership consulting. This summer, Elena will be working at Citigroup participating in their HRDP rotational program. Filed under: Uncategorized  
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16 May 2016, 07:00
| FROM Kellogg MBA Blog: Leveraging customer insights to win Kellogg’s Real Estate Venture Competition |
 To prepare for the Kellogg Real Estate Venture Competition (KRECVC), our team, Envoy Physicians, knew that we needed to fully understand the challenges faced by our target tenants: primary care providers. Based on interviews with physicians, we learned that today’s primary care providers are under an extraordinary amount of pressure to squeeze more patients into their daily schedules. Consequently, nearly 50 percent of primary care doctors suffer from burnout, according to research published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. Several complications can result from physician burnout, including chronic exhaustion, depression and anxiety, and many primary care doctors have sought some form of treatment for these issues. Direct Primary Care (DPC) is a new model of primary care that provides a solution to physician burnout. In this model, patients pay a monthly fee for unlimited access to a primary care physician; in turn, the physician does not bill insurance. This allows doctors to greatly reduce the number of patients they see and provide much better care to patients by focusing on preventative, rather than reactive, medicine. Physicians who transition to the DPC model rarely lament their decision. “I’d rather scrub toilets than go back to work in a hospital setting,” said one practitioner during our market research interviews. Direct Primary Care is also viewed favorably by patients; the model earns superior customer satisfaction scores and reduces healthcare costs by 20 percent. Although the DPC model may seem like a perfect solution, it has its downfalls. DPC practices are expensive and time-consuming to start. In addition, setting up such a practice requires non-clinical skills and business acumen that physicians often lack. In an attempt to solve these problems, we created Envoy Physicians, a company that uses shared space and resources to help doctors launch, grow and run a successful direct primary care model. With the support of several professors from Kellogg’s Real Estate Program and the Kellogg Innovation and Entrepreneurship Initiative, we were able to flesh out our entrepreneurial real estate venture and present it at this year’s Kellogg Real Estate Conference and Venture Competition. The competition afforded us the unique opportunity to compete against MBA students from around the world for $100,000 in cash and prizes – and an opportunity to pitch our ideas to real estate luminaries such as Neil Bluhm (Co-Founder and Managing Principal of Walton Street Capital), Maury Tognarelli (CEO of Heitman) and Jeff Johnson ’83 (CEO of Dividend Capital Diversified Property Fund). To prepare for the competition, we met weekly with Professors Craig Furfine, Efraim Benmelech, Bill Bennett and Denise Akason, who helped us refine our pitch and presentation. They also encouraged us to tap into the Kellogg network to identify potential lenders who could finance our proposed location. In the final days leading up to the competition, we rehearsed in front of fellow members of Kellogg’s Real Estate Club. A testament to Kellogg’s culture of collaboration, we knew we would be competing against many of the same people who were providing us constructive feedback. On the day of the competition, we made our first-round pitch at 10 a.m. While we knew our pitch was well received, we didn’t find out that we had made the finals until we were called up to present in front of the entire auditorium. The final judges were more critical of some of our approaches, particularly around the idea of owning or leasing the real estate, but overall, they gave us very positive feedback and even referred to Envoy as the “WeWork for doctors”. In the end, thanks to months of preparation and hard work, our team took home first place. As we prepare to graduate, the KRECVC has proven to be a unique and unforgettable experience. Winning the competition is an extraordinary recognition of our team’s hard work, for which we are thankful to the entire Kellogg community who supported us. More than ever, we are excited about the future of Envoy Physicians and its ability to reinvent primary care. Want to learn more about Envoy Physicians? Feel free to contact frank@envoyphysicians.com. Frank Cohen is a second-year student in Kellogg’s Full-Time Two-Year Program. He spent his first two years after college consulting at Simon-Kucher & Partners and then worked in finance and operations at Next Street, a social impact consulting firm focused on economic development in urban centers throughout the U.S. Immediately prior to Kellogg, Frank worked at the Downtown Project in Las Vegas, an organization funded by Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos, that seeks to revitalize downtown Las Vegas. He interned this past year at Tishman Speyer. Frank graduated from Harvard in 2010. Shane Corcoran is a second-year student in Kellogg’s Full-Time Two-Year Program. Prior to Kellogg, Shane spent five years as a practicing physician in his native country of Ireland, specializing in oncology. A graduate of the National University of Ireland Galway, Shane has also studied at Harvard Medical School and completed a sub-internship at Mt. Sinai Hospital, NY. Shane is passionate about bringing a physician-focused approach to improving the healthcare system and sees direct primary care as the best model to do so. He spent the summer interning at BCG in New York. Patrick Aylward is a student in Kellogg’s Part-Time Program, while also working at Sterling Bay in its Construction & Development group. His work at Sterling Bay focuses on entitlements, design and execution of adaptive reuse and ground-up commercial office and retail developments, some of which recently earned Redevelopment of the Year and Developer of the Year awards. Patrick also founded and owns Onward Coworking, a shared office space business in Chicago. Prior to these endeavors, he worked as a project manager with a general contractor after receiving his B.S. in Civil Engineering from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Kendra Zehentbauer is a second-year student in Kellogg’s Full-Time Two-Year Program. She attended Georgetown University for undergrad, and prior to Kellogg, she spent three years in public sector consulting in Washington, D.C. At Kellogg, she has been actively involved in the Healthcare Club. She spent her summer at Pfizer working in Oncology Commercial Development and she will join BCG Chicago after graduating in June. Tom Smithburg is a second-year student in Kellogg’s Full-Time Two-Year Program. Prior to Kellogg, he worked for four years as an investment professional at Shore Capital Partners, a microcap healthcare private equity firm based in Chicago. As a member of the Shore team, Tom successfully scaled the firm’s physical therapy and urgent care platforms by implementing repeatable business development strategies and processes. After graduating from Kellogg, Tom will be the Vice President of Strategic Operations at ATI Physical Therapy. Edward Yu is a student in Kellogg’s three-year JD-MBA Program. He spent his first two years after college at the Royal Bank of Scotland as an investment banking analyst in their M&A group. Afterwards, he was an associate on the investment team at CIM Group, a Los Angeles-based real estate private equity firm. This past summer, he interned at the John Buck Company, a Chicago-based real estate developer, in its investment group. Filed under: Academics, Student Life, Uncategorized Tagged: competition, entrepreneurship, experiential learning, Innovation, real estate, Two-Year MBA Program  
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20 May 2016, 08:00
| FROM Kellogg MBA Blog: Exploring the power of design thinking with the MMM Innovation Council |
 Last month, the MMM Innovation Council visited campus for its annual meeting, giving us the unique chance to connect with council members and gain their perspectives on how innovation is shaping today’s business world. The MMM Innovation Council is a group of business innovation leaders, many of whom are alumni of Kellogg’s MMM Program. The council meets annually to provide feedback to the program and to encourage positive interactions between the design innovation industry and academia. Council members are also closely involved in providing career guidance for MMM students and raising support for the program through means such as Integration Project sponsorships. During the council’s visit, MMM students had the opportunity to attend a small-group dinner and panel discussion to ask questions about all things innovation. At dinner, each student had the chance to sit with one MMM Innovation Council member. We both chose to dine with Chad Kartchner ’10 in order to understand how design thinking is applied at a traditional manufacturing firm. As a Marketing and Product Manager at Honeywell Aerospace, Chad manages an especially unique incubator. It was initially surprising to hear Chad describe his work focus as “mobile apps for aerospace.” He went on to explain that pilots on noncommercial flights are starting to use iPad applications as navigation devices. Everything he learned about disruptive innovation as an MMM student was playing out in the aerospace field, where a low value entrant was disrupting the market. During the panel discussion that followed, we explored how innovation and design takes shape in the business world. Kathleen Brandenburg, founder and chief design strategy officer of IA Collaborative, discussed the importance of systemic thinking, which requires business leaders to maintain a perspective of the system as a whole. Kathleen’s emphasis on systematic thinking brought to mind the importance of ecosystem-wide innovation – a concept that was drilled into our minds during Innovation Frontiers, an MMM class taught by Larry Keeley, president and co-founder of Doblin. Another eye-opening insight came from Anthony Pannozzo, executive creative director of frog, who defined design thinking as if he were describing it at a cocktail party. “Design thinking involves three basic factors: Developing empathy with others, using the empathy to frame a problem and relentlessly experimenting to create feedback loops and solve the problem.” This simple yet eloquent definition perfectly summarizes the core of what we learn as MMM students. Overall, exploring the power of innovation in a small-group setting with a diverse panel of industry experts was truly a unique opportunity. The experience reinforced design innovation’s influence in the business world, and equally important, our personal passion for design innovation. Ramya Sethurathinam is a first-year student in Kellogg’s MMM Program. Prior to Kellogg, she worked in the energy industry as a mechanical designer in Singapore. Ahalya Vijay is a first-year student in Kellogg’s MMM Program and the McCormick School of Engineering. Prior to Kellogg, she did economic development work with the South African government and strategy and operations consulting in the U.S. and Canada. Filed under: Academics, Uncategorized Tagged: academics, Design, design innovation, design thinking, experiential learning, Innovation, MMM, Segal Design Institute  
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20 May 2016, 08:54
26 May 2016, 07:00
| FROM Kellogg MBA Blog: Why I’m grateful to be a Kellogg Youn Impact Scholar |
 This year I was honored to be one of five students named Kellogg Youn Impact Scholars, and earlier this month we had the incredible opportunity to sit alongside 17 other Youn Impact Scholars and discuss the opportunities and challenges present at the intersection of social impact and business. What exactly is a Youn Impact Scholar? Youn Impact Scholars are an elite group of Kellogg students and alumni who, since 2014, have been recognized for their passion about social impact. Highly regarded for their intellect, commitment and drive, these innovators draw upon their business skills to create positive change in the world. The Scholars in attendance this month work in diverse industries — from impact investing and education to international development and non-profit consulting — and traveled from all over the world to attend the event. Our day started with introductions. Megan Kashner ’03, Kellogg’s new Director of Social Impact, paired attendees up and instructed each person to introduce his or her partner. Her reasoning? Besides making the introductions more fun, people tend to be modest with their own introductions. I was extremely impressed with the caliber of representatives in the room, and it was fun to hear the details people chose to highlight about each other. After introductions we had lunch with Kellogg faculty and the Combe family, whose generous gift in 2013 funded the Youn Impact Scholars program. After lunch we gathered to discuss current challenges scholars were facing, with everyone offering their diverse viewpoints and experiences on the problem. The gathering provided a safe and private forum to conduct honest discussions and feedback. With graduation coming up, the day allowed me to reflect on the ways Kellogg has helped me become a stronger socially responsible leader. As I look back on my experiences at Kellogg, I am most grateful for the following:
[*]Meeting like-minded best friends who share the same mission-oriented values. Social Impact at Kellogg is strong, not just because of the program itself, but because of the passionate and diverse students who make the community. As Co-Director of Learning Experience for the school’s Net Impact Club, I’ve had the chance to collaborate with classmates who want to use their business skills to better the world, and in the meantime, made lifelong friendships that would define my Kellogg experience.[/list] [*]Being a part of an institution that has a long history of inspiring socially conscious global leaders. My Kellogg experience has been filled with dinners with Net Impact alumni and alumni happy hours, but being at the Youn Impact Scholars event reminded me of just how deep social impact runs within Kellogg’s history and alumni network. While at the gathering, I learned that the fellow next to me, Jim Schorr ’94, currently CEO at Social Enterprise Alliance, was a co-founder of Kellogg’s Net Impact Club, and that Mandy Taft-Pearman ’03, currently Partner and Chief Operating Officer at The Bridgespan Group, was good friends with Kashner from business school. Both Mandy and Megan were attracted to Kellogg given its nonprofit focus.[/list] Seeing the new connections in the room between people of all ages who were passionate about leveraging business skills to have an impact on the world was a tangible reminder of the power of the Kellogg network. Learn more about social impact at Kellogg. Jamie Lu is a second-year student in Kellogg’s Full-Time Two-Year MBA program. Her prior experience includes investment banking at Citigroup and endowment management at the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. Filed under: Academics, Career, Uncategorized Tagged: academics, alumni, alumni network, alumni support, experiential learning, MIINT, net impact, Net Impact Club, networking, non-profit, nonprofit, social enterprise, social entrepreneurs, social impact, Two-Year MBA Program, Youn Impact Scholar, Youn Impact Scholars  
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27 May 2016, 07:11
27 May 2016, 08:00
| FROM Kellogg MBA Blog: My path to winning the 2016 CommonBond Social Impact Award |
 I co-founded Kheyti in May 2015 with the vision of helping smallholder farmers overcome poverty using the right combination of technology products and services. We designed a “Greenhouse-in-a-box”: an affordable, modular greenhouse bundled with services that can help farmers earn a steady weekly income. By February 2016, the results of our fundraising efforts through competitions had been mixed. While we had some success with NU Pitch Night, Wharton India Startup Competition and Kellogg Business Plan Competition, we lost 20 other competitions in the previous six months. Kheyti straddled the fine line between social impact and business, making it too risky for pure business plan competitions and too for-profit for social impact competitions. Our team was seriously considering bootstrapping Khetyi until we gained enough traction to approach social impact investors. So when a classmate suggested that I apply for the CommonBond Social Impact Award, I added “apply to CommonBond” to my to-do list with mixed feelings. However, when I started reading about the CommonBond Social Impact Award, I discovered that the competition was aligned to our team’s unique perspective. Like Khetyi, CommonBond believed for-profit businesses could be a positive force for change at the local and global levels. Upon learning this, I decided to apply for the competition. CommonBond’s application was deceivingly simple: Make the case for our social impact endeavor using a 100-word description and two-minute video. While this type of application required less writing, it required us to produce a highly effective pitch in a very limited scope. I spent countless hours splicing our video footage and reworking the voiceover script. In total, I recorded my voiceover over 20 times before finally clicking the “submit” button. Then came the worst part of any competition process: waiting. We waited while the CommonBond team poured through hundreds of applications to choose nine semifinalists. Considering our past competition experiences, I was cautious about not getting my hopes up too high. Then we heard from the competition officials – we had made the semifinals! I looked at the other shortlisted companies and realized it wasn’t going to be easy. There were eight other brilliant social enterprises working on equally meaningful problems, such as making education affordable for impoverished families in Africa. It was certainly daunting to know that the three final startups would be selected by popular vote. All of the communities that I was part of in India and at Kellogg really rallied their support around Khetyi. The Kellogg Innovation & Entrepreneurship Initiative (KIEI) and Kellogg Public-Private Initiative (KPPI) helped spread the word by sharing with their network, and classmates and friends backed us. My parents played a great role as well by encouraging family members, friends and acquaintances to vote for us, making good use of the 1+ billion population of my home country. It was a close race, but by the close of the voting period, Kheyti was on top! I spent three days perfecting our pitch deck for the competition. I wrote the script, rewrote it and then rewrote it again a few dozen times. I practiced in front of Kellogg professors (including Professor Karin O’Connor from my New Venture Launch course), my co-founders, classmates and mentors to make sure that I plugged every gap in the communication. I also received help from Professor Julie Hennessy, who helped me develop my storytelling skills and delivery. Last but not least, I created a 10-page Q&A document so that I would be prepared for any questions from competition judges. When the day of the final pitch competition came, I couldn’t shake the butterflies in my stomach. I couldn’t help but ask myself, how could anyone choose between a startup that helps refugees get employment in New York, a startup that makes two-wheeler taxis safer for Ugandan women and a startup that helps smallholder farmers in India? It was a seemingly impossible choice, and our success would depend on how well I presented us. Upon arriving at the competition venue, I was told I would have 10 minutes to pitch my idea and eight minutes of Q&A. I met the two other finalists – Manal Kahi of Eat Offbeat and Blesson John of Nyweza – and we all realized that this would be a tough race. We went on stage with the understanding that no matter who won, we were in good company. The pitch went well, but the Q&A session was admittedly difficult – I didn’t realize how long eight minutes could seem when judges are picking apart all the aspects of your business! The judges deliberated and announced the results 20 minutes later – and we won! The Khetyi team is incredibly grateful to be awarded the CommonBond Social Impact Award. In addition to receiving $10,000 in funding, we will receive mentorship from CommonBond’s executive team and the immense amount of goodwill that CommonBond brings because of its social mission and unique brand. We have already been featured in Forbes Entrepreneurs, and CommonBond is planning all kinds of support activities for us. The three biggest lessons I’ve learned from this unique competition experience is:
Saumya is a first-year student in Kellogg’s Two-Year MBA Program. She is currently incubating her agri-tech social enterprise Kheyti and has been an entrepreneur in the Indian social enterprise space for the past four years. Prior to Kellogg, she was running her startup, YellowLeaf, which saved migrant blue-collar workers from exploitation. Photo via CommonBond.co/blog Filed under: Student Life, Uncategorized Tagged: competition, entrepreneurship, experiential learning, Innovation, KIEI, KPPI, social enterprise, social entrepreneurs, social impact, social innovation, social venture, Startup, Startups, Two-Year MBA Program  
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31 May 2016, 08:00
| FROM Kellogg MBA Blog: Impacting the lives of Ugandan farmers |
 By Rogerio Campos I have always been passionate about social impact and Africa, so when I had the opportunity to spend my summer helping Ugandan farmers improve their lives, I had to take it. Explaining to my mom what I was going to do in Uganda was difficult: “Mom, imagine you are a farmer in Uganda. You have no money, you lack credit to purchase seeds, you lack equipment to store the harvest, you don’t have the training to maximize production and you have only one buyer to purchase your grain. The Joseph Initiative — the company I will be working for this summer — helps the farmer with all these challenges!” I didn’t think she understood, but I left for Uganda where I would spend eight weeks as a consultant, helping the company with a strategic plan, a human resources strategy and an anti-corruption strategy. The first thing I did was go to the field to understand what exactly the company did and gather the perspective of the employees. As I have heard many times at Kellogg, it is very important to carefully listen to everyone before implementing any kind of changes in a company. Thus, I visited the Joseph Centers (a warehouse where farmers would bring their harvest), the two factories (where the grain would be processed in order to be sold later), and the company’s headquarters, where I spent most of my time. I interviewed the senior team to understand what issues the company faced and I gathered input from the field to understand what caused those issues. With all this information, I was ready to craft and test some strategies. At Kellogg, the first class you take is “Leadership in Organizations,” where you learn how to implement changes in a company and how employees get incentivized. I designed the strategies in accordance to the expectancy theory that we learned in class. This theory consists of three main parts:
In eight weeks, the senior team and I managed to put this theory into practice. I helped to create what would be the key indicators for the company to achieve its objectives and we linked them to the employee’s roles, responsibilities, promotion process and compensation. I also designed new processes for talent acquisition, talent retention and talent development, processes that were essential to guide the new Human Resources Manager that the company hired. Finally, we implemented important aspects of the strategy while I was there, such as training 40 new employees in the new code of conduct created and revamping the mission, vision and values of the organization. At the end of the summer internship, the senior team was very happy to have the strategy and organizational structure in place to be able to grow and impact the lives of Ugandan farmers. In addition to the great professional experience, going to Africa is always a great experience that I would recommend for anyone. In Uganda, I had the chance to live the culture, eat chapatis at the local market, get to know the Ugandan president, travel to amazing lodges, see nature, go rafting and meet amazing people who have a huge hearts and are extremely friendly. Rogerio Campos is a second-year student in Kellogg’s Full-Time Two-Year Program. Prior to Kellogg he worked as a consultant for McKinsey & Company serving clients in Brazil and Angola. He will be heading back to McKinsey full-time after he graduates in June 2016. Filed under: Academics, Uncategorized Tagged: academics, experiential learning, international, international travel, internship, internships, social impact  
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02 Jun 2016, 08:00
| FROM Kellogg MBA Blog: Kellogg celebrates second annual LGBT Ally Week |
 From May 2-6, Pride@Kellogg (P@K) hosted the second annual LGBT Ally Week with the aim of celebrating diversity and raising awareness of LGBT issues and rights. The week featured 10 different social and speaker events targeting different members of the Kellogg audience, with topics ranging from LGBT individuals in sports to tips for being a better Ally in the workplace. Throughout the course of the week, more than 230 people attended six speaker events. There was also a solid showing for two social events and a series of small group dinner discussions focused on relevant topics. The week culminated with LGBT Preview Day, which invited prospective students from across the country to experience a day in the life of a Kellogg student. More than 430 people signed the Kellogg Ally Pledge, vowing “to respect and support LGBT classmates, colleagues, friends or family members in encouraging equality in all aspects of their personal and professional lives.” The level of engagement throughout the week was wonderful, building largely on the success of MOSAIC Week in stimulating conversations about the importance of diversity, as well as a candid sense of curiosity among those actively seeking to become better Allies. One visible example of this was the ongoing presence throughout the week of the “Celebrating Diversity” t-shirts; P@K sold more than 200 shirts, in addition to the 200+ shirts sold at other events during the year. As Vice President for Ally Relations for P@K, it was especially rewarding to be a part of driving the discussion around the importance of LGBT diversity. While it is impossible to capture all of the takeaways from the week, five key learnings stand out to me in particular:
Kyle Burr is a second-year student in Kellogg’s Full-Time Two-Year Program. Prior to Kellogg, Kyle consulted for federal government clients in Washington, DC and worked for two social impact organizations in Sub-Saharan Africa. Upon graduation, Kyle will be working in marketing at Tyson Foods, Inc. as an Associate Brand Manager. Filed under: Student Life, Uncategorized Tagged: culture, diversity, LGBT, preview day, Pride at Kellogg, student clubs, Student Experience, Student Life, Student perspective  
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09 Jun 2016, 14:00
| FROM Kellogg MBA Blog: How to build and maintain a powerful network |
 By Emily Benigno Kellogg’s inaugural Women’s Leadership Seminar brought together more than 120 members of the graduating class to help them prepare for their next role after Kellogg. Each session focused on different issues relevant for women in the workplace. The seminar, led by Professor Victoria Medvec, brought together impressive speakers from different functions and industries who covered topics such as negotiating for yourself and how to create your narrative in the corporate world. One of my favorite sessions covered the power of your network and how to thoughtfully build your network to set yourself up for success. During the session, Trish Lukasik, senior vice president of sales at PepsiCo, shared her insight from 17 years of experience at PepsiCo. Lukasik highlighted the importance of both building and maintaining your network. Her session had many valuable lessons, but here are a few that I took away: Building your network is part of your day job: Lukasik views building her network as important as succeeding in her day job. She advised we participate in events with as much rigor as we pick what we do at work. Lukasik is very thoughtful when she decides how to prioritize her commitments and how these commitments will contribute to her network. When selecting conferences to attend or events to participate in, she evaluates whether it will allow her to grow or build relationships with others outside her existing network. By assessing each opportunity, she’s able to align her priorities with these other activities. Focus on creating unique ties: The key to creating your network is building relationships, not just contacts. By undertaking shared activities, you have the opportunity to build relationships rather than just exchanging business cards. Lukasik advised us to seek out activities that have stakes, shared goals and passion. By branching out of traditional activities, you can get to know others better and develop true ties. Maintaining your network is just as important as building your network: At one point, you can expect to need to tap into your network for help. However, to have strong connections, you need to continually cultivate that network. Lukasik shared with us that she builds commitment and keeps connections strong within her network by handwriting notes to her team members to stay in touch. By keeping connections warm and sharing information with your network, you can ensure that you maintain strong relationships over time. Lukasik and Prof. Medvec both shared valuable insight that showed first-hand how important it is to build and cultivate your network. Their perspectives sparked conversations that lasted long after her seminar session. This session, along with the other sessions in the inaugural Women’s Leadership Seminar, gave graduating women the opportunity for reflection — as well as inspiration — before we move back into the workforce. The opportunity to connect with each other as a graduating class as well as with inspirational female leaders is an unparalleled opportunity that served as a great capstone to our Kellogg experiences. Emily Benigno is a second-year student in Kellogg’s Full-Time Two-Year MBA Program. Emily has worked in consulting and strategic planning across the energy, technology, and education sectors. She is from Houston and will work in the energy industry after graduating in June 2016. Filed under: Career, Student Life Tagged: career, networking, WBA, Women's Business Association, Women's Leadership Seminar  
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14 Jun 2016, 08:00
| FROM Kellogg MBA Blog: Kellogg students get inspiration from Seth Godin |
 Second-year student Rohan Rajiv is blogging about important lessons he is learning at Kellogg. Read more of his posts here. I had been looking forward to a Skype interview with Seth Godin at school for many months. It took me a few months before I was sure the technology would work. I promised him a good experience and I definitely felt a bit of the pressure of the promise in the days leading up to it. It all worked well (thank you to KIS – our tech team!) and the interview was a real treat. Unfortunately, though, the video recording was not the best. So I’m afraid I’m unable to share that with you. Seth has very kindly offered an audio interview in the future. I won’t be taking him up on it anytime soon as he was so generous with his time and perspective. But I look forward to doing so in a year or two. Until then, I am pleased to share my notes. These are paraphrased, and “I” refers to Seth. Thank you so much, Seth. I intended to have a CliffNotes version of the talk, but there were SO many pieces that resonated.  On general and specific. There’s a difference between a wandering generality and a meaningful specific. On how we’re measured. Today, we are measured on the change we make on other people. On daily blogging. It is malpractice to not have a daily blog, because if you write something in public every single day for 50 years, you will be better. You will be happier, you will be smarter and more connected. When you look back on your posts, what you are going to see is your intellectual development. Doing it in public is much better because you can’t lie to yourself and you can’t skip a day. On productivity and the MBA. (I asked Seth a question about productivity, but he decided to talk about what he thought was more important. I am glad he did.) In some ways, it is the best time in history to get an MBA. In some ways, it is the worst. It is the worst because there is more supply of people who did what MBAs did than ever before. There are also less organizations who demand the blue chip stamp. And then there are other organizations who are asking you to do things that aren’t necessarily things you want to do – they’re just paying more. The reason this is the best moment is – if you choose to, you can see. You can see how the world works, you can see through the lens of behavioral economics, industrial history, social movements. You can see all of these pieces fit together – not from a technical point of how do I do this or that. None of the technical stuff is going to matter four years from now. What’s going to matter four years from now or 20 years from now is – are you the person in the room who sees the world as it is and cares enough to change it? There are very few people who are privileged who can do both of those things. I think that is 10,000 times more important than your productivity. What we know is that it doesn’t take an enormous amount of sleepless nights to do those 2 things. What it takes is the bravery to do something that might not work. On mentors and heroes. There aren’t enough mentors for every mentee. Heroism scales. If you decide to be a long term investor, you can ask – what does Warren do? And, you can read his book or the Berkshire Hathaway annual report. Heroes don’t have to be rich or famous. They just have to be on a path that you hope to go on one day. The magic of that is that you can inculcate their beliefs and act as if. And, sometimes, you can get really good at it and do it better than they did because you are starting with a bigger head start. (So, you can read my 7,000 posts and go farther than I ever did. I’m just trying to be a compass.) On being right. Being right about the strategy is irrelevant if your audience isn’t enrolled. You’ve been trained to be right. It has taken me a long time to train myself that being right isn’t all that important. The people who are daring and are doing it out of generosity make WAY more impact. If you look at the list of products that Apple and Microsoft have made over the last 25 years, it will stun you. It just goes on and on with one wrong product after another. You can be wrong a lot of times and make the iPhone and you will be fine. On Trust. Trust comes from making promises and then keeping them. The goal is to not just be consistent, but to make bigger and more generous promises. On career choices. Acceleration is a change in velocity. I picked a job after school based on two things – was it in an industry that was growing fast, and who was going to be my boss? I’ve done projects all my life. With projects. you realize that you don’t have to hit home runs ever. Singles are better than a home run. People who talk to me about regrets after business school bought safety when they left. They started wanting to do that for four years. But what they don’t do when they get there is share an apartment and eat brown rice and white beans everyday. Instead, they buy a BMW (since they have a miserable job) and the next thing you know, they get a promotion and stock options. Then, they worry about losing the stock options – haven’t you guys gone to your sunk cost class?  Trade safety for acceleration and freedom. On being “on duty.” If you can be the person you choose to be when you are being judged, you can be that person all the time. Then your life becomes way simpler. You don’t have to worry about who’s watching. Just be that person in your private life and you’re going to do great. The mistake is to let the person in private be the person you are all the time. Then you are going to disappoint us. On management and leadership. Management is getting people to do what they did yesterday, but faster and cheaper. Leadership is helping people go where they want to go. Leadership is about getting people signed up to do what all of us want. On the AltMBA. The goal is to transform into people who see the world as it is, to understand how to use words and images to cause other people to change their mind, and how to make better decisions. If we can help people do those three things, the sky is the limit. Everyone of you, even those with appropriately sized egos, is more powerful than you imagine. The challenge we face is – given that power, what are you going to do with it? On creative process. As I get older, I get better at my creative process and get less creative. Because I don’t think those two things go together. There is no such thing as a creative process. Creativity is the work you do when you are not afraid. And whatever method you can find to stop being paralyzed by your fear – because you can’t make it go away – but so that you can dance with it is good. People who have something to show for their creativity have it because they decided it was important and cared enough to live with the fear. Every one of you is an artist who has been pushed to fit in. The hard part now is to care enough to fail, to care enough to say – “Here, I made this.” And, when the person says – “I don’t like this, I don’t like you, you are a fraud”, you can say – “Oh, it must not be for you.” Then, offer it to somebody else. You get to be the best in the world by not running away from the hard work that makes you the best in the world. On quitting. Quit before you start if you are not prepared to stick it out to the end. On parenting. Every kid is home-schooled between 3-11 o’clock at night. Even if you are not at home, they are home-schooled. You’re going be asked to trade-off time with your family for metrics of money or notoriety. I hope you’ll choose to trade some of it, maybe even a lot of it … because they are counting on you. On difficulty. I’ve been bounding out of bed every morning for 38 years. It is a choice. I’ve been to places where any of us would do almost anything to not have to live in that village with no electricity. And I remind myself on a regular basis – this is not hard work. This might be difficult, but it is not hard work. Hard work involves helping someone with leprosy, burying someone you grew up with. This is the safest human beings have been in our history, more powerful. What a privilege. On infinite games. As the industrial age ends, information is not finite. Either we keep playing finite games and blow ourselves up, or we adopt a different mindset and keep playing. We won’t pass it forward because we will win. We pass it forward because we can. Rohan Rajiv is a second-year student in Kellogg’s Full-Time Two-Year Program and a Siebel Scholar.Prior to Kellogg he worked as a consultant serving clients across 14 countries in Europe, Asia, Australia and South America. He interned at LinkedIn in Business Operations and will be heading back to LinkedIn full-time after he graduates in June 2016. He blogs a learning every day, including his MBA Learnings series, on www.ALearningaDay.com. Filed under: Academics, Career, Student Life Tagged: Advice, life lessons, MBA Learnings, Seth Godin, trust  
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16 Jun 2016, 08:00
| FROM Kellogg MBA Blog: Branding advice for graduates |
 By Professor Tim Calkins Tomorrow more than 1,000 students will graduate from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. I’ve taught almost half of them. They will soon start at new jobs, branch out in different industries and begin careers in cities around the world. It is an exciting moment, transitioning from one thing to the next. It is a time of endings and beginnings, and it is scary, too. For the past two years, I’ve posted financial advice for graduates. You can read last year’s recommendations here. This year I’m focusing on brand building. This is an important topic for new graduates. Your personal brand will have a huge impact on your career. If your brand stands for reliability, cooperation, analytical thinking and leadership, you will get good assignments. Senior managers will give you the benefit of the doubt when things don’t go perfectly. If people think you make mistakes and can’t be counted on, things won’t go well. Here are four pieces of advice to build a strong brand. Focus on the details When you start in a new job, your brand is unformed. People don’t know you. There are few expectations. Your first priority is to establish credibility. You want people to know that they can count on you to do a good job and that you are a strong player who is committed to excellence. To do this, you have to master the details. As you start out, spend your time on the small things. You want your projects to be perfect. So double-check that you’ve reserved the conference room. Bring an extra copy of the presentation to the meeting. Look for typos. Don’t assume others will execute. In my experience, some will and some won’t. I’m all for empowering people, but if your colleague didn’t make the copies, you will look bad. Follow the advice of Ronald Reagan, “Trust, but verify.” Most importantly, check your numbers. Know where they came from and what they mean. Ask people to verify that you are using them correctly. There is no easier way to create a negative brand than to get the figures wrong. Do fewer things well Executing well takes time. This means that you should focus on doing a few things exceptionally well. Ask your manager for priorities. Feel free to push back if the list starts to look long. Take on extra assignments such as the United Way campaign or the campus recruiting effort, but be selective. Leading the summer intern orientation program will only help your brand if you do it very well. Doing a lot of things poorly is not a way to build a great personal brand. Be nice to people Ultimately, business is about people and relationships. We are social animals. If people think that you care about them, that you are helpful and a good person, they will respond favorably. People usually return kindness with kindness. If people think you are grumpy or care only about yourself, they will be hesitant to help you. In the long run, you’ll need people to help you, so focus on building good relationships. Help people. Don’t publicly criticize some else’s work. Ask about their kids. Pick up the trash. Think about the job after the next job One things is certain: your new job won’t be your last job. You will probably be working for 30 years or more, and you will have many different jobs. At least, I hope you will. Doing the same thing for 30 years could be a bit repetitive. As you consider new assignments, either at your company or at other firms, you should look two steps ahead. The question isn’t whether the next job is a good one, the question is what comes after that. Does the new job position you for future growth? Will it open up new opportunities? Or is it more of the same? What will your resume look like? What will your brand become? It is tough to predict what the future holds. Flexibility is key; you want to be able to do different types of work. You should make career moves with this in mind. Don’t worry about the salary. What you make starting out will probably be very modest compared with your compensation as you move up the ranks. Live a simple life and save some money. Over time, your savings and salary will both grow. Graduation is a big moment. It is a chance to look back at what you’ve become, and it is a chance to take your brand to a new level. Remember that in the long run, your brand will play a key part in your success. Good luck. Tim Calkins is a clinical professor of marketing at Kellogg, where he teaches marketing strategy and biomedical marketing. He also leads Kellogg’s Super Bowl Ad Review. His professional blog can be found at timcalkins.com. Filed under: Academics, Career, Uncategorized Tagged: Brand Marketing, brand positioning, branding, career, career advice, career development, career growth, career tips, careers, graduates, graduation, marketing, personal brand, Tim Calkins  
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17 Jun 2016, 08:00
| FROM Kellogg MBA Blog: A letter to graduating students |
 By Dean Betsy Ziegler Good morning, graduates!  Looks like it is going to be a beautiful one. Today is a big/important day and I hope you feel very proud. My Kellogg journey has been shared with many of you, so I am sure you know this day is particularly meaningful to me as well. You are my last class, it was an honor to serve as your Dean of Students. Your graduation, the convocation events this week, and the exit conversations I’ve had with many members of this class have inspired a bit of personal reflection. Over the last 15 + years, I’ve developed five “life mottos” that I wanted to pass along to you to consider as you take the next step in your life journey.
[*]Cultivate mentor and mentee relationships: Mentors matter– we all need support. Finding a mentor should be at the very top of your to-do list but not be forced. My “bar” for a mentor is a person who is actively thinking about and helping me navigate my career. My personal mentors have changed every five years or so. I’ve needed different guidance over time and different people to meet those needs. Understand how you too can begin to mentor others. My mentor-mentee relationships continue to be some of the most rewarding of my life.[/list] [*]Focus on your response to the “bounce” vs. the “bounce” itself: You will make mistakes. Some will be big, and some will be small. I’ve made dozens so far in my career. Your mentors and those more senior than you have also made them, even though they may not be willing to talk abut them. In my experience, people won’t remember the mistakes themselves (or the negative bounce), they will remember how you respond to those situations. Attitude, perseverance, standing tall supersedes all else. (As a side note, when you lead people – sharing vulnerability and opening up to having made mistakes yourself will be respected and rewarded. Very few are willing to do this)[/list] [*]Resist the urge to go underground:You will have moments of sheer panic – that you were a hiring mistake; that you made an unforgivable error on an analysis; that you are overwhelmed by the workload/responsibility. I promise you this is normal and happens to everyone, even if they don’t want to admit it. Resist the urge to go underground and hide. Instead, ask for help, say you don’t know if you don’t know or call your friends for support. It is a sign of strength to say you don’t know but are willing to do everything you can to figure it out, to find the answer, to solve the problem. Organizations that hire Kellogg graduates do not make hiring mistakes. Remember, you belong, you have earned a seat at the table. You will be great, but you can’t be great totally on your own…something you’ve undoubtedly learned at Kellogg.[/list] [*]Plan to live a full and happy life:Every 6 months that I was at McKinsey, I asked myself – Am I still learning? Am I still making an impact? Am I still having fun? For 11 years, the answers to these questions were yes. At year 11, I started to feel differently, so wrote out a 40×40 list (things I wanted to do by the time I was 40) and started executing. My world totally opened up. I was a seat filler at the Primetime Emmys, travelled around the globe, attended the Aspen Ideas Festival…and I made choices that got me to Kellogg. I firmly believe that you have to plan to live a full and happy life. It is so easy to get caught up in the routine, put your head down and work, and define yourself by your professional accomplishments. Figure out what is important to you over time (not necessarily what others think is important), and make intentional choices that bring you the greatest personal happiness. You may want to walk down a path that everyone around you thinks is crazy or risky. If you have conviction that this path is for you, own it, make the brave choice and take it.[/list] Each of you is amazing. You are a Kellogg leader, an achievement few people can claim. Many doors and opportunities will be open to you. Have confidence, articulate what is most important to you and use that as your guidepost for navigating life’s big decisions. While your days as a student have come to an end, your connection to Kellogg lasts for a lifetime. Take advantage of the opportunities provided by our global alumni network – leverage it and contribute to it. I look forward to seeing each of you on the graduation stage later today and hearing about all of your personal and professional success going forward. Thank you for all that you have contributed in the classroom, through the clubs and conferences, and in/around the broader community. Congratulations! Betsy Dean Elizabeth Ziegler is the Chief Innovation Officer – Education and Technology at Kellogg. Follow her on Twitter: @DeanZ_Kellogg. Filed under: Student Life, Uncategorized Tagged: Advice, Convocation, graduates, graduation  
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24 Jun 2016, 07:00
| FROM Kellogg MBA Blog: Building and scaling a non-profit at Kellogg |
 By Joe Verde It took just a few days in Evanston to realize my path to Kellogg was unique, and so were those of each of my 491 classmates. Everyone has a story, and at Kellogg, I’ve learned to embrace mine and welcome others. My single mother always instilled the merits of discipline in me and my brother Ralph and routinely preached the importance of education as our “saving grace.” She never juggled fewer than three jobs at a time to support our home, which meant that whenever I needed guidance, I turned to Ralph, who ultimately became the father figure I never had.  Tragedy struck my family when Ralph was diagnosed with, and later passed away from brain cancer while I was in college — all within the span of 10 months. He was only 23. An aspiring lawyer at Yale, my brother had a mission to serve the public’s interest. It was a dream that simply vanished. Inspired by Ralph’s unfulfilled aspirations and by support from the community, I decided to turn negative thoughts into positive action by starting a nonprofit in Ralph’s honor. This past February marked the fourth annual scholarship for the Ralph Verde Foundation (RVF), which provides educational and financial resources to underprivileged high school students. The organization has grown to an operating budget of almost $100,000 and a team of seven board members and seven committee directors. Initially, RVF’s mission wasn’t met with such success – I wasn’t familiar with the challenges associated with starting a sustainable and successful nonprofit. In order to succeed, I worked with numerous community organizations and executive directors to learn the essentials of developing a social mission. Since coming to Kellogg, I have been able to apply classroom knowledge to help RVF succeed in a crowded philanthropic space where donations are hard to come by. I have learned that an organization’s mission must be more than just inspirational, but also differentiated. (You’ll learn more about this in your Kellogg strategy courses.) Currently, my board is recalibrating RVF’s marketing plan to better define who our target donors are because a well-defined segment leads to less costly and less time-consuming outreach efforts. (You’ll learn about this and a lot more if you take Kellogg marketing classes.) Before, we targeted local community members for small donations, but now, we have a well-rounded plan to solicit donations from patrons who have deeper connections to the organization’s vision. I have also learned how to bundle items in order to increase the proceeds our charity auction raffles (thanks to Kellogg economics courses). Kellogg has refined my leadership, problem framing and critical thinking skills beyond just these three key learnings; what I’ve learned will enable me to solve the multifaceted challenges facing the social and private sectors. I came to Kellogg to better understand the challenges surrounding the social sector, and Kellogg’s emerging social impact programming has provided me a plentitude of opportunities. Through the Kellogg Impact Consulting Club, I, alongside a team of five first-year students, worked with a Chicagoland Catholic school to develop a new marketing strategy to increase enrollment applications. Concurrently, I mentored a team of Northwestern University undergraduates who were tasked in diversifying the income stream of a local museum. These projects, along with several others, have enabled me to apply my business acumen to mission-driven organizations. Furthermore, serving on the Kellogg Net Impact Club’s board has connected me to peers who have similar social sector interests and valuable insights for growing my nonprofit. Our chapter has recently been nominated for Net Impact’s Chapter of the Year Award, which truly speaks to the leadership of our organization. My brother’s passing opened my eyes to the nonprofit industry and not only changed the way I see the world, but also the way I want to shape it. I want to continue to impact organizations that further the dreams of students who, like me, come from broken homes and unconventional backgrounds. And Kellogg has given me the tools necessary to help me achieve these aspirations. Giuseppe (Joe) Verde is a second-year student in Kellogg’s Full-Time Two-Year Program. This summer, he is working as a MBA Summer Associate at Delta Air Lines. Filed under: Uncategorized  
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24 Jun 2016, 08:00
| FROM Kellogg MBA Blog: Building and scaling a nonprofit at Kellogg |
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By Joe Verde It took just a few days in Evanston to realize my path to Kellogg was unique, and so were those of each of my 491 classmates. Everyone has a story, and at Kellogg, I’ve learned to embrace mine and welcome others. My single mother always instilled the merits of discipline in me and my brother Ralph and routinely preached the importance of education as our “saving grace.” She never juggled fewer than three jobs at a time to support our home, which meant that whenever I needed guidance, I turned to Ralph, who ultimately became the father figure I never had. Tragedy struck my family when Ralph was diagnosed with, and later passed away from brain cancer while I was in college — all within the span of 10 months. He was only 23. An aspiring lawyer at Yale, my brother had a mission to serve the public’s interest. It was a dream that simply vanished. Inspired by Ralph’s unfulfilled aspirations and support from the community, I decided to turn negative thoughts into positive action by starting a nonprofit in Ralph’s honor. This past February marked the fourth annual scholarship for the Ralph Verde Foundation (RVF), which provides educational and financial resources to underprivileged high school students. The organization has grown to an operating budget of almost $100,000 and a team of seven board members and seven committee directors. Initially, RVF’s mission wasn’t met with such success – I wasn’t familiar with the challenges associated with starting a sustainable and successful nonprofit. In order to succeed, I worked with numerous community organizations and executive directors to learn the essentials of developing a social mission. Since coming to Kellogg, I have been able to apply classroom knowledge to help RVF succeed in a crowded philanthropic space where donations are hard to come by. I have learned that an organization’s mission must be more than just inspirational, but also differentiated. (You’ll learn more about this in your Kellogg strategy courses.) Currently, my board is recalibrating RVF’s marketing plan to better define who our target donors are because a well-defined segment leads to less costly and less time-consuming outreach efforts. (You’ll learn about this and a lot more if you take Kellogg marketing classes.) Before, we targeted local community members for small donations, but now, we have a well-rounded plan to solicit donations from patrons who have deeper connections to the organization’s vision. I have also learned how to bundle items in order to increase the proceeds from our charity auction raffles (thanks to Kellogg economics courses). Kellogg has refined my leadership, problem framing and critical thinking skills beyond just these three key learnings; what I’ve learned will enable me to solve the multifaceted challenges facing the social and private sectors. I came to Kellogg to better understand the challenges surrounding the social sector, and Kellogg’s emerging social impact programming has provided me a plentitude of opportunities. Through the Kellogg Impact Consulting Club, I, alongside a team of five first-year students, worked with a Chicagoland Catholic school to develop a new marketing strategy to increase enrollment applications. Concurrently, I mentored a team of Northwestern University undergraduates who were tasked in diversifying the income stream of a local museum. These projects, along with several others, have enabled me to apply my business acumen to mission-driven organizations. Furthermore, serving on the Kellogg Net Impact Club’s board has connected me to peers who have similar social sector interests and valuable insights for growing my nonprofit. Our chapter has recently been nominated for Net Impact’s Chapter of the Year Award, which truly speaks to the leadership of our organization. My brother’s passing opened my eyes to the nonprofit industry and not only changed the way I see the world, but also the way I want to shape it. I want to continue to impact organizations that further the dreams of students who, like me, come from broken homes and unconventional backgrounds. And Kellogg has given me the necessary tools to achieve these aspirations. Giuseppe (Joe) Verde is a second-year student in Kellogg’s Full-Time Two-Year Program. This summer, he is working as a MBA Summer Associate at Delta Air Lines. Filed under: Uncategorized
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