Blue Ocean Strategy

We had a very good class today in Strategy. It's sad to say, but it may be the only class I've really enjoyed this year at INSEAD. The core courses that we are required to take in P1 & P2 are so essential to anyone who will carry the MBA title but so mundane for anyone with a business background. On the other hand, I am so pumped for the electives I'll take in the last 3/5ths of the year & I'm sure they will more than make up for the lack of excitement felt until now.

To be fair, Strategy has been a winner all P2 long, but today I actually felt disappointment that the 90 min class had to come to an end. The professor, Peter Zemsky, is a really favorite among the class. He fits my stereotypical image of strategy professor. Very quirky, bouncing off the walls with energy, he is very much like a professor version of Jim Carrey.

The topic of the day was Blue Ocean Strategy, a concept made famous by 2 INSEAD professors. According to Zemsky, it is one of the biggest developments in the Strategy field in the last decade and definitely the most important idea to come out if INSEAD in that time. We started the class with a look at a very clear case of successful use of Blue Ocean Strategy; that is Nintendo with their development of the Wii. It looks like this, if Nintendo would have done the traditional move and developed a product based on graphics and power like Sony & Microsoft, all 3 firms would be fighting it out in the same ocean that would be turned red from the bloodbath. Instead, by leaving those two firms to fight it out for the traditional customer set, Nintendo developed a system that went after an uncontested market and thus was able to enjoy its own blue ocean.

We went on to a very fun discussion of the circus industry and how Cirque du Soleil's model is another successful example of Blue Ocean Strategy. By developing this concept which is something of a cross between a traditional circus and a Broadway show, founder Guy Laliberte has created $1.5B of wealth for himself....not bad!!!

We have been learning some frameworks to assist with the thought process behind coming up with these types of strategies, such as the Non-Customer Opportunity and Value Curves. It is really cool seeing how such simple tools can add structure to strategic thought development. Who knows, maybe they will help me come up with the next Cirque du Soleil or Yellow Tail wine.

Private Equity, the incredible dream

PE is quite probably the most sexy career out there for us MBAs. It has such an alluring appeal that even those who have no clue what the hell it is claim that it is their #1 aspiration post INSEAD.

I am too drawn in by PE. In what other career can you incorporate so many interesting facets of business? It can potentially cover everything from technical analysis, strategic planning, organizational engineering, and operations to networking, deal sourcing/structuring, and negotiations. It really appeals to me given that I know that I have all the relevant analytic skills and have convinced at least myself that I have all the business sense required to build businesses and create value.

The bad news is that it is almost impossible getting a job in PE. There are no formal recruiting processes on campus. Most positions are filled informally or through headhunters. We had one of the top PE headhunters from the UK in to present last week. He painted a grim picture... First, given the current financial conditions, growth in the sector is questionable at best. Second, unless you have an IB background or at least top tier consulting with serious focus on transactions, then you can forget PE or at least go get the relevant feeder experience and then you can dream.

Recruiters from industries that leach off of PE have found a unique sales pitch...join us as a gateway into PE. Bain & Co.'s head of European PE practice was in today to introduce his practice, a subset of their traditional mgmt consulting group which slaves away on due diligence work for, fair enough, a lot of the big deals taking place in Europe.

So, what to do? I would love to do private equity type work, maybe even on a very small scale with a couple of colleagues. Just have to figure out how to scape together the capital. I'm really excited for the Realizing Entrepreneurial Potential (REP) course in P4 that essentially prepares you to do all of this (sourcing/financing/biz planning) and then the follow-up in P5, First 100 Days, which actually replicates the intensity of the days following a takeover in a close to reality type format.

Conniving INSEAD bloggers

This is a bit bizarre to have to say, but if anyone has received an email supposedly from the author of this blog....let me set the record straight...it wasn’t me.

Guess someone dreamt up this misconceived tactic to shut me up or punish me for the last post…

Sex & the MBA

In the interest of preparing for my marketing and strategy classes which begin on Monday, I've decided to implement the oldest marketing trick in the book. Let's see if sex sells in the blogoshpere as well it does elsewhere...thank god I still have my anonymity :)

The underdog
How is a guy supposed to get laid in the MBA? It feel likes mission impossible, given the gender mix at INSEAD, there about 3 guys chasing each girl. On top of this, you have "the heros" who go out and get more than their fair share leaving the average guy fighting it out for the scaps.

The overpriced asset
I already miss Econ god, Nikos Vettas. How would he diagnose this predicament. Well given my top marks on his quizzes, I will speak on his behalf. The INSEAD market for tail is behaving like a closed economy. In a free market, there exists a market clearing price of X representing the value a guy must bring to the table in order to walk away successful. This could be looks, personality, power, yes....money, etc. However in INSEAD's closed economy, where supply is restricted by about 66%....there is a shift in the supply curve which forces prices WELL above the efficient market price. Right, but what does that mean for everyone who hasn't had Prices & Markets....well it means that MBA chicks can expect more than they would in the open markets of say NY or London.

The bright side
(1)top quality girls: The girls at INSEAD are amazing. Most are super bright and ambitious, 5% are super beautiful, an additional 20-40% could be considered pretty by various standards, the rest are...well, smart at least:)

(2)relatively weak competition: if you're a guy of average looks on the outside...you are probably above average at INSEAD....

(3)adjusted gender split: after adjusting for seriously committed people (a category to which I belong), I think the odds become relatively better for single guys. There seems to be a much higher percentage of committed guys in the program than there are committed girls.

(4)alcohol...ok, we all know that relationships start or progress thanks to alcohol. At INSEAD and I guess all MBAs, rarely is there a night here where you can't find some sort of social event. And never is there a social event without plenty of wine or other booze. Of course this can be a good or bad thing...I've seen some super sloppy hook ups on dance floors and outside of parties this year that shouldn't have seen like a good idea under any condition.

(5)biological clocks...the single girls are LOOKING FOR A PARTNER, some have this as an explicit objective for the year...wonder if that made it into any of their application essays

The heros
There are some guys here who know how to clean up in the given marketplace. They are able to win more than their fare share and are nimble enough to elude any relationship trap that gets laid out for them. One strategy I've seen very successfully played is "the bad boy". I'm amazed how many girls this guy has drooling over him, some of them are pretty top notch. It's not that he is a great looking guy but I guess he does have a blue ocean strategy in that not too many others are playing the bad boy persona.

The fling
They happen A LOT! They happen more than any of us really know, because in general, they are pretty discrete. What I do know, however, is that of my single roomates who have had some sort of fling, I doubt many other people in the class know.

The relationship
Often elusive for those looking for it. I think as we get closer to P5, the flings will die out and be gradually replaced by these relationships. There are, however, serious couples that have developed already. One couple I know started up by the end of the first week of class and are already moving in together starting P3. I spoke to a couple on campus for a 10yr reunion...apparently there were 10 couples married from their class. I think the same will happen in our class and all others. As I mentioned before...this is an explicit goal of probably most of our single classmates.

Virtual sex
Some of those with long distance partners need to find ways to be creative. I've heard the words porno-skype used.

MBA (Married But Available?)
Yes, a lot of relationships fail in the MBA. There is A LOT that one side of the relationship is going through and it is not easy to relate this to the partner. There is the jealousy from the partner who is maybe working in a distant place and possibly feeling marginalized by the intense work and social schedule of the participant. However, for me and others who are very certain about their relationship, I think the risks are overblown. There are many "committed" people who have come into the program and were clearly looking for better. I have definitely seen it...from those dating and those married. There is more than one example of students with partners far away where the phrase "out of sight, out of mind" seems applicable.

One incredible story that I've heard about was the partner of an INSEAD student. Apparently she accompanied the student to campus and had the reputation for having A LOT of fun outside of her relationship...with other students & partners... Sounds over the top, but with so many people mentioning it, could it be true??

Blogger sex
Two of my fellow July 08 bloggers seem to be spending A LOT of time together...and have been from week 1. Seems that they hit it off so well in blogland before meeting in person...could blogging be the next big way to find dates??? Hmmm...could be the first INSEAD blogger couple ever!

Who cares about MBA exams

My first ever MBA final will held tomorrow morning followed shortly thereafter by a second in the afternoon. Tuesday looks the same and then by noon on Wednesday, we will be celebrating the end of P1 (or wondering where the hell it went).

But why, I wonder, is there so much anxiety about these final exams.

Did I pay 50,000EUR to stress out once every 2 months and try to cram cram cram....NO. Sure I want to learn, but anything I wasn't capable of absorbing in the past 2 months probably won't stick if I try to jam in in my head with 500 other concepts in a 72 cram session.

Is there a chance that any of us will walk away without a diploma...Ha! are you kidding. I stopped worrying about that after I passed my 3rd language requirment with a score of 50/100 where pass requirement was...well 50/100.

Don't I want to work my ass of to make dean's list...not a chance, and the day someone comes to my office looking for a job and claims that being on the dean's list makes them a good candidate....see ya...it's laughable that the likes of McK & some big banks can drive students to strive for the DL. Smart of them, now it they want to know who will be willing to sacrifice all aspects of their personal life for an overrated job, they have a good proxy.

Why are all these consultants, who already have guaranteed jobs to go back to, interupting class to ask if X & Y will be tested on the exam, or if the professor can provide 20 more practice tests for them to do!?!?!? Is it just some irrational competitive drive. For me, it shows a lack of touch with reality. Even the professors repeatedly tell these people that the tests are not what's important, most think there shouldn't even be final exams in a masters program.

Results on the finals will be correlated to absolutely nothing that's important in life, so let's stop stressing people.

Singapore Campus

Dean Fatas met will all P1s this week to discuss 2 things, the grading system at INSEAD (z-curve) and logistics behind this years campus exchange.

I have planned all along to spend at least 1 period in Singapore this year. What the dean had to say threw a small wrench in that for me and most of my fellow students. The problem is that it is becoming VERY popular for July intakes to spend the Jan-Feb term in the beautiful climate of Singapore in lieu of the the cold dreary forest of Fontainebleau. Last year, the school accomodated every student who wanted to do this, meaning a very full Asian campus. While the school apparently has the capacity to handle this (professors are flown out to handle the demand), the Singapore short term Real Estate market could not. As a result, apparently the biggest complaint the dean recieved from the graduating class was that the Singapore process needed to be fixed.

The result:
This year there will be a cap of 230 people from my class allowed in Sinagpore at any time. First priorty will be those in Singapore already, second priority will be to those students committing to spend more than 1 period there. The remaining spots will be given away lottery style to all of us preferring to spend only P3 in Asia. Given that there are about 140 ppl there already, the Fonty intake has at least 90 slots available for P3. Unfortunatly, this will definilty fall short of demand. So....the tradional P3 holiday on the beaches of Asia is no longer a sure thing.

I am actually becoming more and more tempted spend 2 terms there. Working among the booming markets of Asia is looking very interesting compared to the stalling US market and the long time crippled European market. The key message from the INSEAD Asia campus career service this week: if you want to work in Asia, you better spend as much time on the Singapore campus as possible.

We have to make up our mind soon... we enter our preferences next week with the results soon to follow.

What have I learned?

When I started thinking about doing an MBA, a colleague with his MBA from Thunderbird told me that it would be a fun experience but I would learn nothing. Based on P1 classes, he is right...to an extent. From an analytical prospective, I have already had Stats, Accounting, Economics, & Finance courses much more comprehensive than what we are exposed to in the short 8 week modules at INSEAD. So I get to relax (relatively speaking) while those with "non-traditional" backgrounds like one of my roommates go into hysterics every now and then trying not to drown as we move at light speed from NPV formulas to DCF calculations to deriving the CAPM theory.

So why am I here? While I certainly do have plenty to learn from the courses themselves (looking to P3 when I can chose what I want to take) I have so many soft skills to be developing now and the MBA experience makes the perfect environment for this. First, our group of 5 setting is giving me A LOT of experience in trying to influence others and is now testing my ability to control my emotions (patience) on a daily basis. It's amazing how similar my brain works to that of the one consultant on the team....but the logic process used by some of the others can really boggle my mind. I started to lose my cool in a couple situations today...must get better at being 100% in control...we've now learned in LPG that good leaders have a high EQ which starts with knowing oneself and being able to completely control your emotions.

Also, I've been really working on improving my ability to plan. I am clearly a "P" for Perceiver on the Briggs Myers test. It is frustrating how difficult I find it to sit and structure out plans. In the last month, I have been able to take some steps towards building the planning skill. I have been able to plan and execute a couple large scale house dinners and also a few other social events. Going forward, I hope to use one of the INSEAD groups (such as the PE club) as a platform to plan something a bit larger.

One thing I must really push myself to improve on is networking. I made it out to the first career fair and chatted up a few of the HR reps. This of course was low value networking...these people grip and grin for a living and probably forget who you are seconds after you have thanked them for telling you about the great culture at company Z. I think the high value networking will come from the less frequented routes. E.g. professors, alumni, exec. program students, etc. I will make a first effort this weekend while attending the alumni reunion on campus. All students were invited to participate in a portion of the event, I'm guessing there won't be many of us actually there. As a side note, I've optimistically ordered myself 100 "business cards" through the bookstore, let's see how many of them I can get through by year end...I'll be very happy if it turns out I need to reorder!

Where did yesterday go?

Today the only class we had was the leadership course....but it was a 4.5hr megasession. Many hate this class and write the professor off as a bit of a lightweight. I like the course, and for the professor, well he does a good enough job. He isn't there to teach us leadership per se....but rather there to facilitate discussion and let us decide for ourselves how we will shape ourselves as leaders.

Topic of the day was feedback. In the end, we spend 1.5hrs with our 5 ppl groups giving each member 2 positive and 2 negative feedback points. For most groups, this was very valuable. It is true, this may be the toughest assignment we have this period. Many are not used to or comfortable giving or receiving negative comments. Some people were surprised to hear others perceptions of themselves, I wasn't really. Some of the points for me... I take the lead and encourage all members of the team to contribute, I could do a better job of teaching the topics I'm strong in to the other members, I should be careful to not brush off others opinions when I already have my mind made up.

One thing I didn't hear but I know to be true is that I'm struggling with time management. There is soooo much going on and the days are rolling off before I even realize they began. Wow, tomorrow is Friday already....professors are talking about final papers and exams.....there are 3 company presentations every day from last month until I don't know when....there are parties and other socializing opportunities every evening...there are classes, cases, and group work....I have a partner who deserves so much attention but I can barely keep my head straight. Taking a step back....10% of the program is over; am I closer to realizing the goals I had before coming here? Am I just getting swept away in the current and not taking time to regroup and reprioritize?

This is a really trying time...I need to take a moment to breathe and reset my sights on what is important to me.

INSEAD Transportation

Having a car in Fonty is practically a must. Some try to get by without which requires not only living in Fonty proper but also constantly relying on friends for lifts to house dinners/parties or missing out on the fun.

Most students take up a lease for the year of a Citroen or Peugeut (see pic for the standard issue silver C3). This runs about 4k EUR for the year but takes care of all insurance and registration issues that I for one wanted to avoid. You can also buy a wreck from a graduating student for the 1-3k EUR range, but then you should be a risk taker because these things are really on their last legs. Plus you must consider the addt'l costs of insurance and registration.

One other strategy I've seen is buying a nice used car w/ the intention of selling it at the end of the year for a write down of less than a leased car would cost. Not such a bad idea if you have the extra 15k EUR laying around for the 5 yr old Mercedes CLK convertable. Looks a lot more fun to drive than these Citroens.

Insurance is a must out here! I think the number of accidents in the forest each year w/ wild boars and the occasional stop sign impact a huge percentage of the class, I know one of our classmates is already driving arround in a Peugeot mini-van while his crashed car is in the shop.

P1 Profs

I’ve heard a lot of mixed reviews of the professors so far this period. We have 5 of them. They are teaching the P1 core courses which are valuable but by their nature are definitely not the most exciting topics to teach or to learn. The professors are as diverse as the students and you can see that in their teaching styles. Here are some of my initial impressions:

Uncertainty, Data & Judgment (aka Stats), Professor Miguel Lobo : Miguel does a good job of keeping the energy level up in class for such a dry topic. He is teaching a discipline that is not as practical in the business world as, say finance or accounting, but does a nice job at narrowing the scope to what is relevant for a business manager to know. Class is purely lecture format.

Financial Markets and Valuation, Professor Harald “ja” Hau: Harald started off a bit rocky on student sentiment. Pure lecture format. Explanations in the first couple of classes were too reliant on mathematical formulas and would lose most of the class. He tries to insert his German humour into the lectures which is actually funny, just not in a traditional way.

Prices & Markets (aka Econ), Professor Nikos Veltas: Definitely the most humorous prof. Nikos is Greek and is just as likely to start class 5 min. late as on time. He keeps the lectures light with his humour but shows genuine interest that the students are getting value out of the class. There are several practical examples used in class to keep the theory tied to reality.

Financial Accounting, David Young: American. Runs the class like a boot camp. The second day, at least 10 students turned away from class with the phrase “you’re late”. David starts class the second the clock hits the hour and refuses to admit anyone after this point. He also does extreme cold calling where you can expect a string of 5-10 questions before you are granted a reprieve. It is effective though, great on-time attendance now and lots of students prepare for this class before any others.

Leading People & Groups: William Maddux. Another American. This class is the only non analytical class of the period. Professor Maddux seems to be more of a facilitator than a teacher. This is probably a good thing as, in this subject, there is often not a right answer to questions, and the class has more practical experience in the topics than does the professor. Some of those from technical backgrounds are struggling to figure out what to do in this “soft” skill type of course and feel like it is a waist of time. For me, I think it is one of the classes I can learn the most from this period. There is a lot of role playing and other non-traditional teaching methods which keep the 3 hour weekly sessions interesting.

Life in a Chateau

Despite my initial frustration, I managed to find a great place to live this year in a large shared place outside of Fonty. Maybe I was just lucky, but in the end, I can honestly and completely objectively say that I live in the best large house this year...

It seems that there is a theme among this years bloggers; many of us live in one of the large (8+ ppl) shared houses scattered throughout the French countryside. I'm in one, I’m pretty sure that D.T.L.F. lives in Monty, Res I(p)sa is in the newly christened "Club 16". Living in these large shared places adds a lot to the INSEAD student experience. For example, at most of the houses, there are regular dinners where all houseguests invite 1+ other INSEAD participants over for dinner & drinks. We have done a few of these already; they are a weekly tradition at my house. Since my housemates are scattered throughout the 4 sections (our Fonty intake is divided by 4 and we remain with the same group of 70 for the first 4 months of classes), these dinners are a great way for us to meet new people from the other sections.

The large houses provide a non-stop social element that is an important part of my MBA experience. If I ever need a break from the studies, there is guaranteed to be one of my roommates up for a drink. Every night, there is at least one of us out at a party or some sort of late night event. There are lots of house activities going on throughout the week; movie nights, “family dinners”, sporting, etc. The best part is, each roommate is completely different from the next, together we represent N. America, Europe, & Asia with equally diverse professional backgrounds. Of course not all of the large houses are as cohesive as this one, but I would probably take a spot at any of them rather than to live alone.

Welcome Week

Wow, what a week. It is Saturday evening and the general consensus among me and my fellow students is relief that tonight we can sleep for as long as we want. But definitly not until after tonights week closing party in a nearby chateau sponsored by Bain! Here's a recap of my week.


1 house dinner
1 house party
1 group project (we took ~3 hrs to prepare, range from what I've heard is 2hr - 9hr...)
1 class presentation given
1 full day of outward bound (my group is so laid back, similar expectations, a bit supprised by lack of difficulties interpersonally but we'll have to see how we feel in a few months)
2 full days of lectures
1 language exam
2 student clubs booths visited
2 cases read
1 case not read
5hrs sleep per night avg
50-75 people met

I'm leaving out a lot, especailly the painful admin stuff. But it has been a great week. Tiring mentally, physically, and emotionally. You can see lots of people who are putting on acts, trying to invent their new image that starts at INSEAD. But lots and lots of genuine and very interesting people as well.

Well, I'm not proud, but that's all the time I could scrap together for my first weeks blog entry. But guess thats life now, time is my rarest comodity! I must do a better of time mgmt in the next few weeks.

Nervous anticipation

My INSEAD life begins in a matter of days; this morning I am starting to realize it. I have a bit of a knot in my stomach...not sure if it is more nerves or excitement. Nerves because I am going from a VERY relaxed summer break to a VERY hectic INSEAD schedule where even Saturdays and Sundays are fair game for scheduled classes. It feels like I'm waiting for the starters gun at a big race...I can't even enjoy these last moments of tranquility.

The nerves also come from the huge expectations I have for myself to come away from this experience with not only great memories and friends, but a career that I am for once fulfilled by. For me, at this moment, this means something very entrepreneurial. IDEAL SCENARIO: I meet the partner of my dreams (business partner that is) and launch some business or start a small turnaround operation. A less risky alternative would be to do a stint in Private Equity although I'm not sure how many openings for these jobs will be around next year (it is a very closed industry and no formal recruiting programs on campus, plus the industry has peaked and there's no telling what toll the credit crunch will play on upcoming deals). A more practical alternative would be to do a stint in a corporation in business development. So where do I dedicate my energy over the next year... how do I juggle my dream with what's practical so that I don't fall short on all options???

Also nervous because I move away from my true partner, the most important person in my life! Luckily she is incredibly supportive and we will no doubt make it through the MBA (a.k.a. divorce degree) as we have made it through similar challenges in the past. Finally, that 3rd language test lingers in my mind...test is one week from tomorrow, let's see how it goes!

But finally, I think it is more excitement than anything. I'm already hearing (and seeing on youtube) great stories from the Fundamentals program which I chose not to attend. Plus, many of my roommates have already moved in leaving me now very anxious to join the fun. The packing is almost complete, France here I come!

P0 is coming to an end

The first day of welcome week is just over 2 weeks away. There are so many things I want to do in this calm before the storm...

- update CV and convert to INSEAD format
- conduct serious homework on PE field, deals, players, etc
- brainstorm entrepreneurial options
- connect with boss of 3 years and 2 jobs ago (there may be an ingesting project in Europe post-INSEAD and, anyways, I've got to start fine tuning the networking skills!)
- study more for my exit language test (I now think a 3 week intensive course is just shy of what I need to pass)
- plan first house dinner/party
- play lots of golf (great success on this one!!)

Unfortunately, my average daily productivity has been languishing at < 4 hours per day of value added work. While the average resident of France may consider this crazy I-banker type of hours, it won't cut it once P1 begins... I've been browsing past intake blogs to get a feel for what I'm in for come August 27. It seems that welcome week will be no walk in the park; aside from lots of administrative work, there are introductory lectures and even an initial group project to complete. Combine this with trying to make 400 witty first impressions and I anticipate a seriously hectic time. Plus, the first weekend will be comprised of only Sunday...we've got 10 hour days lined up Monday through Saturday.

Hectic but sure to be an exhilaratingly fun week as well. I'm especially interested in who will end up in my group! Got my fingers crossed that it will be a likable group, but given the administrations aim at creating a dysfunctional mix, there are sure to be challenges ahead. All part of the fun and something only INSEAD can bring given the diversity of the class!

Career Leader Results

I sat down today to take the Career Leader test. INSEAD career services recommends that all incoming students take this online assessment because...

"Most MBA students (typically 70-80%) don't know what their career goal is when they enroll - you come here to discover options! Don't be afraid to admit that you don't know...."

That's funny, is it just me or does this message differ significantly from what we were told when going through the application process. Essays were supposed to show a well thought out and quite specific plan for what we were going to do with our MBA degree. Anything less than that showed a "lack of focus". In retrospect, I think that whole exercise was just to show the admissions committee that we at least were realistic about what the MBA could do for us even though most of us weren't really sure what we wanted to do post-MBA.

My Career Leader Results

Most promising career paths:
General Mgmt, Private Equity, Entrepreneurship, Strategic Planning & Business Development

Here's how the test works. It matches both your ability & interest in various business activities to those required in various fields. For example, I showed a high level of interest in Enterprise Control (enjoy setting strategy and seeing it carried out, want to have ultimate decision-making authority for complete operations, etc) which is exactly why I am really keen on the first 3 career paths above. Contrarily, I did not score high on Investment banking because I place value on having a life outside of work. OK, so a lot of it is common sense, but I'm sure it can be very useful to those with less an idea of what is involved in the various business fields.

On the improvement side, the test thinks I may be too honest, sensitive, and modest. I do agree to an extent, luckily I have picked up a step or 2 in the great corporate politics dance. However, it does point out real improvement areas.... negotiation, influence, self-marketing.

In the end, I think it was a well spent 1.5 hrs. Sure, a lot of it one should already have a feel on, but I think there can never be enough introspection over the next year and this test definitely helps add a little structure.

Lesson #2: remember... this is France

I am reminding myself often these days that this is France that I'm dealing with....

Luckily, INSEAD is a bit on an anomily in France with respect to how efficient things seem to run . All my interactions with the school have been efficient, straight forward, and generally positive.

But most of us INSEAD students will sooner or later be exposed to some of the less pleasurable parts of French living....stumbling our way through the tangled web of red tape and some mind boggling "is this really a western economy" inefficiencies of both public and private French institutions.

The biggest beast of all was the one I wished to avoid at all costs...the French government. In the end, no such luck. Well the student visa will have to wait.. glad to see that the French embassy in my country complies with the mandatory shutdown for the entire month of August. Can't I just leave the country every 3 months and remain on a tourist visa. INSEAD documents say no...apparently they are obliged by the French government to ensure all their Non-EU students have a carte de sejour (obtained after you have received the student visa...)

So I'm estimating at least 3 days on non-value added, administrative hell plus a couple hundred euros in fees to obtain this thing. Some of the most annoying points: french bank account containing at least 4.500 euros (I've already got accounts in too many countries...why must I have another one in France?), health inspection in Paris sometime during the first weeks of class (come on, we are already required to have proof of medical insurance ), a dozen other documents (usually originals plus 3 copies stamped, certified, etc).

Private enterprises are no better. Many of us have had to BEG the dedicated BNP Paribas rep to open us accounts. This guy's only job is to support INSEAD students... I know, I saw his job title at the bottom of his out of office reply (his vacation started even the last week of July...I'm just happy as an out of office reply is the only clue I've gotten in weeks that this guy actually receives my emails.) How is it that French customer service people can come across as so stressed out??? On top of 5+ weeks of vacation, they have the plush 35 hr workweek (and that is being generous...if you netted out coffee breaks, uber lunch hour(s), etc. we may be into the single digits).

oh well....I should stop getting bothered... this is France et c'est la vie

L’été de hog

Work has been over for more than a month. I’m currently in a very beautiful setting taking a several week intensive language course to satisfy my 3rd and final language requirement for INSEAD. Are there students who actually take the language classes during the MBA? This is a possibility in principle, but with the intensity of the 10 month program as it is, I have got to believe that this would be a huge mistake. Then again, not many of the students actually need to worry about languages.

Yes, life is good. Outside of 4 hours of language class per day, I’ve got beautiful beaches, beautiful culture, beautiful food, and beautiful women (but of course a more beautiful partner back home!). After all of this, I have no fewer than 3 trips to look forward to where I’ll visit future INSEAD colleagues in their home towns/countries. I am enjoying the summer and have got to wonder if life can ever resemble this post-MBA.

I see other students fretting about the pre-reading. I’ve gone as far as to look at the list of suggested pre-reading material. That’s as far as I’m going to take it. Fortunately for me, I feel confident enough in finance/accounting/econ to not feel the need to do this sort of prep work. Instead, my best prep work is going into even more self-reflection as to why I’m doing this MBA and what it is that I want to walk away with. More on this later.

I’m happy to report that my INSEAD housing situation has worked out better than I could have expected. I will be living in the French countryside with around 10 fellow students in a semi-famous INSEAD house…exactly what I was looking for! In addition, the roommates are fantastic…well at least the ones I’ve met. There are 1 or 2 wildcards that could make for interesting stories down the line. All in all, it will be a very social living situation…lots of fun!

MBA ROIs are understated

Congratulations to all of the July 2007 graduates! I can imagine this must be such a bitter sweet moment for you all. On one hand you look forward to reentering the workforce with a bright new perspective and dreams of big successes to come. On the other hand, more acute at this moment is the realization that you must say goodbye to what was one of the greatest years of your lives. This environment, this set of diverse, smart, interesting, ambitions people living in the woods sharing this amazing experience can sadly never be recreated as much as you would wish it could.

These feelings were exactly what I felt after participating in an amazing Erasmus program while in University. It was so hard to say goodbye to that environment and it took so long to accept the fact that it was over and I could never again recreate that experience. Luckily for me, I have one more shot at something similar and, based on how I have grown as a person since University, I am positive that it will be even better this time around at INSEAD.

One has few opportunities in life to experience something like this. I am 100% sure the next year will be one of the most enriching personal experiences in my lifetime. It's an intangible benefit of the MBA program that isn't captured in a purely rational ROI calcuation (you know, the comparison of how much you will spend on your MBA + lost earnings vs. incremental future earnings post MBA). I assign A LOT of value to this intangible aspect of the MBA. Lets face it, MBA programs are great fun and (for me) INSEAD is quite probably the most fun program out there. I love the international aspect; INSEAD is the most international program out there. I love the fact that we are isolated together among the chateaus and farmhouses of Fontainebleau. Of course doing a program in London is nice, but how different are the bonds and experiences when everyone melts away into the depths of of such a city once classes are over for the day. You can't compare the two!

To all of my future classmates... I look forward to sharing this unforgettable experience together and building lifelong friendships. Let's do our best to remember that it's not just about future earning potential; let's make sure we enjoy it for what it is before all we can do is look back and reminisce!

Year of the consultant

Recruitment season at INSEAD starts early. In fact, for a Banking job, you better be prepared for the "grip & grin" schmoozing events and then interviews within the first few weeks of the program. Those who start the INSEAD program in January have a bit more time to prepare, and crucially an internship period to impress a banking employer of choice. But let's face it, if one really wants a career as an I Banker, they should not be going to INSEAD but rather LBS in Europe or Wharton in the US.

No, INSEAD is not a banker's school. Rather, it is a management consultants school and here the recruitment process starts even earlier! The final admissions decisions haven't even been given out, I've not even finished my pre-MBA job, there are months to go before the program begins and already the consulting firms have started their dance. I have now seen invitations for events to take place in the next few months from McKinsey and BCG, the top of the top consulting firms. For those interested in consulting, this must be vindication that INSEAD is indeed an expensive but effective entry ticket to the famous case study interview.

I think 2008 will be a record year for the consultant. I've heard through the grapevine that the top tier firms are selling more engagements than they can keep up with. I've seen this in Europe and Asia, not sure about the US but again, if one wants to work in the US, they shouldn't be coming to INSEAD. For all you wannabe consultants, this means "beach time" is at record lows (the downtime between engagements that is part of the consulting business model for good reason...to delay consultant burnout to at least the 2 year mark).

I'll reserve most of my consulting cynicism for a later time. On the bright side, the career does offer a great opportunity to work with smart & driven people, learn great project management skills, and pay off student loans quickly. For those who do go down this path, best of luck, for me I hope more fulfilling opportunities await graduation.

Anonymous MBA blogger...

Great INSEAD blogger DomoDomo gave me a tip when I started writing this blog; if possible, try to remain anonymous.

I think there are a few major advantages to anonymity:

1) freedom of expression: less fear of personal retribution for all the upcoming controversial opinions, INSEAD dirt, class gossip, etc. etc.

2) separation of self from blogger: I prefer people’s perceptions of me come from real interaction rather than what I choose to write

3) protection of reputation: family, colleagues, future business partners, etc. shouldn’t know all the details of the fun that will be had over the next year

Unfortunately, blogging anonymously from within a community of 400 students is definitely not easy. Domo also warned me of the blogger spotters… There is probably no use in spending too much time worrying about it; anyone who spends enough time deciphering the clues will be able to identify an anonymous blogger at some point. The point for me is to not broadcast who I am, if someone wants to work hard enough to figure it out, maybe I should be honored!

INSEAD language requirement = facile

It’s finally time to break out the champagne!! After (finally) getting accepted and sparing no time in enjoying the newfound respect from friends & colleagues, having my parents brag about it to anyone who actually knew what and where in the world INSEAD was, and informing my employer that I thought it was a scam to steal other peoples’ watches and then tell them the time, I no longer have the fear that it will all come back to bite me in the ass.

With INSEADs entry language requirement, I had this nagging fear that I would fail to prove the required “practical” level in my second language and that I would have to retreat from my planned 2008 MBA like a puppy with it’s tail between it’s legs. Well hard work has paid off…I even passed with flying colors! This was actually a shock to me (and I think my language teacher as well). If anyone out there has similar concerns about passing the requirement and is wondering which test or certification may offer the best odds….let me know. The route I followed was easier than I had hoped!

The goal is, of course, to become much better in languages. While English is certainly the lingua franca in business today (at least for global players), I have seen how some ability in other languages can go a long way. Just putting in the effort wins a lot of points with foreign business partners. So, one of my goals in the coming year is to be able to have decent conversations in 2 languages outside of English. Shouldn’t be a problem, my future housemates combine to speak at least 5 different languages fluently…I have to be sure to take advantage of that!

First party for the class of 2008

INSEAD held their open day in Fontainebleau for the incoming class of 2008 this year. It was a great first taste of what the next year will be like….10% of the time learning, 90% networking. Hopefully I can get that ratio to balance out a bit when the real courses come. Open Day should have been more aptly called Open Weekend. Those who had arrived by Friday evening were invited out to a pretty decent Italian meal with a few current students. The dinner was not part of the official agenda, but nonetheless, it was covered by INSEAD. A very nice gesture I thought…I know, I know, we pay for it through ridiculous tuition. But it is nice to see some of it coming back in unexpected ways.

Several students then found their way to the big party thrown by the existing students to mark the end of British/ Irish week. Seems that DomoDomo caught some the same debauchery the rest of us saw (I love the random photo of some chick's chest!). It was a fantastic time! I am starting to think that I need to revisit my MBA budget to take into account all of these theme parties. Thanks to the organizers who made sure all of us newbies were able to get in and witness the more fun half of the legendary work hard / play hard culture at INSEAD.

The official Open Day was Saturday. It was an exhausting morning & afternoon of information sessions broken up by moments when everyone would try to meet as many of the fellow attendees as possible. The student mix was amazing. One of the speakers said it very perfectly….you know you belong at INSEAD when someone asks you where you are from and you start by saying “well, it’s a bit complicated”. It was also great to see so many partners in attendance…40 of them to be exact. Unfortunately they were treated to an exceptionally poor information session put on by two of the current spouses living in Fonty. I would have hoped the school would have done a better job screening out the spouses who would describe a typical day as “sleeping in as long as possible so there is less time to kill”. I think most partners who planned on joining their other half at INSEAD realized that they would be able to make much more of the experience if they wanted. All in all, everyone I spoke with came away from the weekend more excited than ever to start the year. I certainly am.

After the festivities this weekend, my (non-trailing) partner legitimately asked me if I was going to pay 50k EUR and not take the learning seriously. Well of course I am, but the real challenge is to find the proper balance. I think I really need to spend the next few months defining exactly what it is I want to get out of the 10 month INSEAD program. Without a game plan, I think it will be exceedingly easy to get swept away and end up paying too much for a long vacation from work and a nice name on the CV.

Americans #1 at Insead

Americans are currently leading the nationality count of admitted students for the class of July 2008. This is based on the research of a fellow student blogger, Strawberrytints. I suspect Americans will fall back into the customary 3rd place position (trailing Indians & French) once the class is actually on campus. The reason is that I suspect the % yield of admitted Americans is naturally lower than that of admitted Indians or French. It is, after all, a big decision for an American to pass by all the great schools closer to home and be willing to put up with 10 months of questioning on the merits of US foreign policy by hundreds of competitive intellectuals.
But wait, how "typically" American are these 40 some admitted students. Well, I was curious enough to dig a bit further.

The results are quite surprising; less than 1 in 3 admitted Americans could even qualify for "typical" status. Based on NetVestibule, the great INSEAD community site where admitted students maintain profiles, more than 40% of admitted Americans have dual nationalities (with 33% residing in the US). The leading combo nationality is Taiwanese (oops, I just got my blog officially banned in China) with a count of 5 students. The only other nationality represented is France with 2 students.

I might go as far at this point to say Americans admitted to INSEAD are some of the most international people on campus. OK, I wouldn't actually put money on it at this point, but it is possible. After all, how many of the European students are living outside of their native country or have a dual nationality? Well, I would test it but NetVestibule really isn't set up for efficient data mining. One thing is sure, INSEAD is the most international MBA program in the world and I cannot wait for August to come so I can make the most of this fact.

Lesson #1: apply early

If you are considering INSEAD, do yourself a favor and apply round 1.

Reason number one is housing. This is really relevant if you are like me, going to Fonty and want to share a house / chateau with a group of 5+ students. After spending a lot of time searching recently, my grand idea of living in a chateau has evaporated and I am now depressingly seaching through the remaining large houses on www.bonapart.org hoping that the pictures of run-down rooms or furniture have somehow improved since the day before. In the end, the most important thing for me is to end up with a great group of roomates. To me, great means a group where no one is from the same country and everyone is easy-going, fun, and eagre to learn from the others. One of the most rewarding elements of my career to date has been the growth I have experienced by working with people of so many nationalities in 5 countries across the America's, Europe, & Asia. The diversity of the INSEAD class is one of the main reasons I chose to go to there and I want to use my living environment as a tool to help me gain the most from this.

The second reason to apply in round 1 is that being accepted early means you have more time to enjoy one of the best periods of the MBA. Let's call it P0; that's the time between knowing you are going to INSEAD and the day you actually start P1. P0 is great because your romantic ideas of how great the MBA is and how much you will get out of it haven't been tarnished by reality. In addition, things that may have stressed you out before can now simply be taken is stride as you know it will only be x more months before none of it is relevant anymore.

Plus, just because it is P0 doesn't mean you cannot start the socializing part of the program. In fact, I have been able to meet with about 10 future classmates in the last few weeks. I think that with a short program and rather large class size like INSEAD's, networking with classmates before the program starts is really valuable. While going to a school confined to a few villages in France certainly facilitates bonding with classmates, I expect that in one year from now I will look back and be amazed that the program has gone by so quickly and I haven't been able to get to know nearly as many as I had hoped.

The final reason to apply early is that it seems that R3 & R4 have very few seats to compete for. The statistics I have seen showed that 385 seats had been offered through R2. Even after adjusting for yield, I would say that the later rounds are going to be relatively more competitive. Good luck to those of you still waiting for an admissions decision and even better luck with housing if you are admitted!

Slacking off

OK, I must admit that I haven't been working that hard lately, at my job that is. Far from it actually. I just don't have the motivation; my company will not be sponsoring my MBA, I have no intention on returning to this company, & there are so many other things that I find more important at this moment. Most of these distractions have to do with gearing up for INSEAD. Studying 2nd language, meeting future classmates, planning to attend the welcome week, preparing to meet INSEAD language requirements, arranging housing for the next year, enjoying the beautiful weather, etc. etc.

Don't get me wrong, I do enough job related work so that there aren't fires to put out later, but I am bothered by a sense of guilt that I am not doing more. After all, I am still being paid until the end of May. I wonder how many other future INSEADers are feeling the same way right now. Well I better get back to finding distractions.

The toughest part of the INSEAD MBA

I have been told that the most difficult part of obtaining an top-tier MBA is just getting admitted. At this point I would agree, I have had admission related stress stemming back at least 10 months. It typically starts with the GMAT followed by essays and letters of recommendation. With some luck, you can then progress to stressing out about a few interviews.

I actually have a few additional stress factors that (thankfully) not all will be have to share. First was the wait list. While a brilliant tool for admissions to "manage diversity", the wait list is hell for any candidate. If you've only applied to INSEAD, it is even worse. I think I now know how a co-dependent person in an abusive relationship might feel. After professing your undying love for this person/school, they basically tell you that you aren't as pretty as all of the others but they'll keep you around for a while. You then second guess everything you have done... was it something I said or did? Don't bother asking them; you will only be brushed off without any real explanations. Nevertheless, you tell them how much you still love them and want to be with them. In fact, you tell them that you are willing to wait for however long it takes for them to realize you are right together... You tell yourself that you should have known better, but you have no other options at this point. If only I would have diversified my risks and applied to more schools... but we were just so right for each other.

Well now that I am off the wait list, I can almost have a sense of humor about it. In addition, I can now get on to basking in the "I'm going to INSEAD" glory. Ahh, but then I do have one more hurdle to clear, that is the entry language requirement of INSEAD. I have the feeling there are not too many others in this boat with me and that is one of the great things about INSEAD; most of my future classmates were probably speaking 2+ languages by the time they were done with elementary school. Not me unfortunately, so it is going to be a stressful few more weeks as I put together a strategy for passing some sort of language test.

The good news is once I pass this test (and pay 48,000EUR of course) I think it will be almost impossble not to walk away with on of the world's best MBA degrees in just over 12 months!