Farmhand - Stanford GSB 2008

Tragedy at GSB

2008-10-12T11:37:00.001-07:00

Three Stanford students die in Highway 1 crash

Three Stanford University Graduate School of Business students died Friday night when their car plunged off a cliff on Highway 1 near Big Sur.

Monterey County search-and-rescue crews found the car about 300 yards below Highway 1 on Saturday morning and confirmed that the three occupants had died in the crash.

The students were reported missing Friday night after failing to show up at a weekend gathering of fellow graduate students at Big Sur, university officials said.

Viet Nguyen, 28, of Raleigh, N.C., Chris Sahm, 29, of Long Island, N.Y. and Micah Springer, 23, of Columbus, Ohio died in the crash.

"This is a tragic loss for the Stanford community of three brilliant and promising students who had so much to contribute to the world, and lost their lives too suddenly and too soon," Stanford President John Hennessy said. "To the families, friends and business school colleagues of Viet, Chris and Micah, and all those who are also grieving at this shocking news, we send our deepest sympathies from the entire university community."

Nguyen was a first-year MBA student; Springer was a first-year MBA student and also a graduate student in materials science and engineering, and Sahm was a second-year MBA student.

The university will provide counseling support for all those who need it through the office of Counseling and Psychological Services at 650-723-3785, the Office for Religious Life at 650-723-1762 or the Graduate Life's Offices at 650-888-8496.

Tax System Explanation with Beer

2008-10-06T12:39:00.000-07:00

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it
would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.

The fifth would pay $1.

The sixth would pay $3.

The seventh would pay $7.

The eighth would pay $12.

The ninth would pay $18.

The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that's what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. 'Since you are all such good customers,' he said, 'I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beers by $20. Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.'

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But
what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?'

They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted
that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so:

The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).

The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).

The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).

The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).

The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).

The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before and the first four continued
to drink for free, but once outside the restaurant, the men began to
compare their savings.

'I only got a dollar out of the $20,' declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man, 'but he got $10!' 'Yeah, that's right, exclaimed the fifth man. 'I only saved a dollar, too.
It's unfair that he got TEN times more than I!' 'That's true!!' shouted
the seventh man. 'Why should he get $10 back when I got only two?

The wealthy get all the breaks!' 'Wait a minute,' yelled the first four men in unison. 'We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the
poor!'

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something very important....they didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes DO get the most benefit from a tax reduction. They also PAY more than the rest. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

Golf at Stanford

2008-07-09T00:55:00.000-07:00

The best thing ever. $20 (with a card) for 18 holes...$13 for 9 during twilight...sigh..i will miss it.
Attached is my last score. does not look nice, but not bad given that i learned how to play golf at Stanford. :)
-A

Corporate finance learnings

2008-05-25T17:09:00.000-07:00

I wrote this at the end of my corporate finance class.......

1. Basics matter - cash management, solvency, inventory turns matter.
Understand operating leverage. What domension of your business is
important. Basics drive value. If you change a business, understand how
the basics get impacted.

2. Value is in the eye of the beholder - buyers set the value, not the
seller. Proxy ratios can be measured and track today, can be turned to
the DCF of tomorrow. Understand the factors and try to maximize the
value based on those drivers. Eg. Initial cable company valuation was
based on number of doors passed. However, remember as an investor
fundamentals matter, and the market will not be fooled for too long.

3- markets and businesses have cycles - these things have happened abd
will continue to happen. Acknowledge them and tough it out. Focus on
things that drive true value. Ensure that your business has adequate
degrees of freedom.

4. Truth matters - it is easy to fudge the numbers. All these things
start with perfectly acceptable reason and lead to bad results. Be
truthful!

a must use for Outlook users....awesome product

2008-05-05T09:54:00.000-07:00

Thank you for your patience during Xobni's invite-only beta
period. We're pleased to announce that beginning today everyone
can instantly download Xobni to organize and search their Outlook
email.

Download Xobni for FREE here: http://www.xobni.com/download

You can read more about Xobni's public launch in today's
New York Times here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/05/technology/05xobni.html

We look forward to receiving your feedback as we continue to work
to improve Xobni and the overall Outlook experience.

Thanks!

Matt Brezina
Cofounder

and now in Newsweek too

2008-04-09T23:12:00.000-07:00

http://www.newsweek.com/id/130591/page/1

moral of the story: never give media interviews….

My good friend Russ - I am so proud of you!

2008-04-09T23:09:00.000-07:00

Stanford's mission to change lives flows through its students

BY JOHN RUSS

Printable Version

L.A. Cicero

For his Founders’ Celebration speech, MBA student John Russ described how deeply he was affected by the words of alumnus Bob Lumpkins.

MBA student John Russ is one of two students who spoke at the annual Founders’ Celebration, held this year on April 7.

I took a risk coming to Stanford. It seems like an easy enough decision—beautiful sunny days; tall, winding mountains; lush palm trees. This is heaven on earth and who could ask for more? But for me, I just wasn't sold. I like the cold, I love flat land, and I am allergic to most trees. Coming here wasn't always at the top of my list. In fact, my other top choice—Harvard Business School—was closer to my family, and I had many alumni at my former company who told me that HBS was right for me. In fact, I was all set to go when I received a phone call from a GSB alum named Bob Lumpkins.

Mr. Lumpkins was the vice chair of Cargill, a Minnesota company located not too far from where I grew up. He and I had a nice enough conversation and I remember thinking that he was a good man and a good ambassador of the school. Near the end of our call, Mr. Lumpkins decided that he had one last question for me: Did I happen to know Rayfield Russ? Well, to his surprise, Rayfield Russ was my father. I say "was" because he passed away in 1988 and had been gone for almost 19 years by the time Bob and I were speaking. When I told Bob about this he immediately chimed in and said, "I am so sorry to hear about your father's passing. I knew him well. I was your father's first boss and I recruited him to come to Cargill. How is your mom, Flossie?"

I literally had to sit down. All these years, I had wondered what my father was like as an adult—the one relationship that we never got to share, and here was a man who had some of that information! Bob began to tell me the story of how he had encouraged Cargill, at a time when minorities were not as welcome in the corporate mainstream, to go recruit at schools that participated in the Consortium for Graduate Student Management (an organization that funds fellowships for high-achieving minorities to receive MBAs at member schools). He had done this because he thought that getting the best talent, regardless of race, was the right thing to do. If it wasn't for his action, my life and the opportunities my family has benefited from would have been totally different.

This struck me in a powerful way, but Bob said that he was just doing what he believed in, simply living out a sense of purpose through business that he had learned at Stanford. What he had walked away from Stanford with was a sense that business is not just about business. It is about impact and people and the strength of organizations to affect change. I realized then, as I do even more clearly now, that what makes Stanford special is that my classmates believe in a sense of purpose. Anyone can have a name, and anyone can have a message, but not everyone can provide a place where people can believe in principles and still learn in ways that allow them to grow and change as a person. Where people can explore what it really means to be a leader.

Because of this place, I will graduate with a changed mind, a changed perspective and a changed heart. I will take that into my workplace, into my relationships and into my community. Because of my fellow classmates and those who came to Stanford before us, I can change the world around me. I used to think the GSB motto, "Change Lives, Change Organizations, Change the World," was lofty at best and unattainable at worst. I was wrong. Bob changed my world before I was born, and I am forever grateful that he came at the right time to change it again. It was Stanford that changed his world and I am now part of a proud legacy that will truly continue to change the world in ways that will help countless others—even for those who may not ever know we've done so. This is what it means to attend Stanford and this is why Stanford means so much to me.

John Russ is an MBA candidate at the Graduate School of Business.

haha - me on tv

2008-03-18T11:59:00.001-07:00

http://www.namastestudyusa.com/

click on episode 1 – the first 3 minutes are on Stanford and I am featured on it. Actually, it is fairly dorky, but oh well!

broken yet enthused

2007-12-23T11:02:00.000-08:00

This month has been among one of the most hectic in my life. We hosted the students from Indian Institute of Management – Bangalore during the first week of December, organizing meetings and showing them around. It was such a great bonding experience that it is hard to describe my emotions towards the SAIL exchange program.

Then we were off to Korea for a study trip (http://www.flickr.com/photos/49668359@N00/sets/72157603434926948/) and now getting ready for the Inca trail in a couple of days. Gosh, I am so not looking forward to working when I cannot take such holidays.

Ho ho ho!!!!

Have a great holiday season,

Ash

view our trip to South Korea - live!

2007-12-17T06:40:00.000-08:00

http://gsbkoreastudytrip2007.blogspot.com/

must go to sleep now!!!!

Ash

Message for the Holiday Season - VIDEO

2007-12-01T22:29:00.000-08:00

Thought provoking video, but I am not sure I would donate to this specific organization. But, gives you enough to think about and make one realize how blessed we are!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29R-fTjwsnw

and here is the slideshow

2007-10-28T23:12:00.000-07:00

http://www.freeheelimages.com/seenatgsb/rugby/index.html

Stanford GSB vs. Hass - Rugby slideshow

2007-10-28T23:11:00.000-07:00

I feel stupid that I missed out on this game because I was hung over from the party the night before!!! Dope..

Ash

The Second Year

2007-10-16T01:31:00.001-07:00

Last year was crazy busy and this year does not show signs of letting up. Recruitment is a big thing of course. It is interesting to note that most of my mates here are looking for opportunities not via regular recruitment channels, but more so via alternative channels such as alumni contacts, etc. Last year, I spread myself too thin and had too much going on. This year, I plan on being more focused and having my priorities right. The main things that I want to sort out this year are the finance electives (Jack McDonald’s class is amazing, we are also going to meet Warren Buffet later in the month), SAIL program (we had an incredible trip in Bangalore and we just had the co-founder of Infosys Mr. Narayana Murthy on campus) and the Stanford Energy club. Besides that, I am making some contributions to our reporter as always and am working a little bit on mentoring a few of the first years. So the second year should be fun, especially once I have decided what I am going to do with my job options. But this year is all about focus and getting a fewer things done, but getting them done well!

Interesting GSB blogs here

2007-10-15T22:50:00.001-07:00

GSB BLOGS that you might find interesting…

http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/jacksonlibrary/info/news/gsbblogs.html

Pictures from the Stanford GSB

2007-10-14T21:56:00.001-07:00

http://seenatgsb.smugmug.com/

You can now see some pictures from the GSB, what we do and how we have fun (and how we behave stupidly sometimes)…..

Ash

Ash is back

2007-10-03T07:51:00.001-07:00

Ok, second year now, the pace has slowed down compared to last year…summer is over (another blog story to be written) and I am almost done deciding where I am going to work….so expect more crap from me on this space! J

Ash

Interesting read for the day – NY Times dealbook special section

http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/category/special-section-fall-2007/

Rules for the long Road

2007-06-05T11:30:00.000-07:00

Some tips from John Morgridge on the last day of class!

1) Don’t try to do it all by 35

2) Enjoy each job – each stage of life

3) Listen but don’t always be looking – opportunity is random

4) Wait 24 hours

5) Don’t put negatives in writing

6) Learn to forgive – others and yourself – don’t carry baggage

7) Invest in friendships & a good marriage

8) It’s OK to just be a member – to start

9) The art of small check giving

10) Set annual mental and physical challenges

11) Ask questions – be curious

12) Its often more important to do the right thing – than do the thing right

13) Make sure what you want to be is what you want to do

Stanford GSB in WSJ

2007-05-29T11:40:00.001-07:00

How Stanford Is Grooming Next Business Leaders
May 29, 2007; Page B6

When Stanford University's Graduate School of Business launches a new M.B.A. curriculum in the fall, leadership development will receive more attention than ever before. To expand its leadership program, Stanford recruited Evelyn Williams from the University of Chicago, where she was faculty chair for Leadership Effectiveness and Development, after a career in human resources and management development. Ms. Williams, director of Stanford's Center for Leadership Development and Research Leadership Laboratories, talked this month with M.B.A. Track columnist Ron Alsop about the growing emphasis on leadership at Stanford and other schools.

WSJ: We've all heard that expression, "He's a born leader." Is leadership really an innate talent or is it something anyone can master with practice?

Ms. Williams: Psychologists have been debating this nature vs. nurture issue for a long time. I think leadership is a combination of both. Just as some musicians have a special talent for playing an instrument, some people seem to be born with leadership abilities. But whatever their natural talent, people certainly can learn to be better musicians -- and better leaders.

But isn't leadership more difficult to teach than, say, accounting?

Leadership is definitely teachable, but it is different than teaching more analytical or technical skills. While students learn fundamental concepts in both leadership and accounting classes, there's an art to leadership that is more personal. Students must become incredibly self-aware and reflective as they discover their personal leadership style and how to inspire other people. I see students make huge transformational changes. To prevent weak behaviors from becoming ingrained, they learn how to change their communication style or their emotional responses.

Corporate recruiters have criticized M.B.A. programs for turning out managers, not leaders. Why haven't schools done a better job with leadership development?

There's been a real tug in business schools between intellectual rigor and practical application. But you really need both for leadership development. In the last year or two, I think we've seen the calibration shift toward the more practical side. At Stanford, we bring in executives who candidly tell their war stories from the corporate trenches, and we're putting students through leadership simulations and other exercises. During their two years at Stanford, students will go through a number of self-assessments to measure their progress in becoming more effective leaders, and they'll be mentored by second-year M.B.A. "leadership fellows," faculty advisers, leadership coaches and alumni.

Other business schools say they too are focusing more on leadership training. How will Stanford differentiate itself?

I believe our program is taking leadership to a new level. While Stanford has always been academically rigorous, we're telling entering students they had better bring moxie to class because we're really going to test their leadership mettle. They can't bring their laptops and day trade in the back of the classroom. We'll put them in very challenging lab simulations that will be more realistic than a typical case study. Things won't be laid out neatly in a written case, and solutions won't be clear. Students will be given some accurate information about the particular situation, some misinformation and some irrelevant information. And we have trained facilitators -- second-year M.B.A. students -- who will get unruly and give negative feedback if students don't handle the situations well.

What kind of situations will students face in your leadership lab?

A good example is the plant-closing simulation. More than likely students will someday have to lay folks off; it's just a reality of a manager's career. By simulating what it's going to feel like in the classroom, we can help them be more thoughtful when it occurs for real. This particular simulation is intense because the M.B.A. students feel the emotional struggle. They see the huge emotional issues involved in laying people off when they have babies on the way and big mortgages to pay. You're never going to feel good about making layoffs, but we want to teach students to make decisions that are fair and will allow them to sleep at night.

Will students interact with corporate executives in the leadership program?

Yes, students will participate in the "executive challenge," taking on executive roles and being judged by senior alumni. For instance, two students will play the CEO and president of a company, pitching a manufacturing acquisition target to four board members. This manufacturing company is rife with challenges, from asbestos-laden plants to a large union pension-plan liability. Alumni will play board members with conflicting priorities, some representing a green fund and others having major issues with the acquisition parameters.

Is it more important that business schools focus on leadership today than in the past?

Leaders today are under the microscope more than ever with instantaneous communication and new media like podcasts and YouTube, so we need to prepare M.B.A. students for this more difficult world. We videotape all our simulations to help students remember and reflect on how they behaved, as well as get them used to the intense scrutiny they will likely face in this digital age. Students also need to be prepared for a world where they're probably not going to get a lot of mentoring and leadership training on the job. Organizations have become flatter, and middle managers who could once help a young M.B.A. aren't there anymore.

Given the shortage of women in executive and board positions, are you taking any special steps to groom women M.B.A.s for leadership roles?

Having worked in the corporate world, I can certainly see that there are more strains on women in leadership. When kids get sick, even if they have a very caring father, they ask for mommy. While we aren't customizing the program for women, it's important that we discuss such work/life stress. We try to educate students about studies on biases so that as leaders themselves, they can see beyond surface characteristics and help others see beyond them as well. And in our simulations, women get honest feedback about how they are perceived. It's often hard to get such honesty in a politically correct workplace, but the classroom is a safer place to discuss behavior and perceptions. If a woman is speaking in a soft voice or using qualifying language like "sort of," "I kind of think" or "you know," she will see how it undermines the power of her words and affects perceptions of how confident she is as a leader.

Stanford in the WSJ

2007-05-29T11:38:00.001-07:00



	May 29, 2007

M.B.A. TRACK

By RONALD ALSOP

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Talking B-School
How Stanford Is Grooming Next Business Leaders
May 29, 2007; Page B6