SEB's snarkily stupendous superlatives

final 72 hour comment period

2010-01-11T10:41:00.001-05:00

Last 72 hours before we switch the old website over to the new. Any final comments?

Posted via email from dlwca

NYT: Design Thinking Hits Business Schools

2010-01-10T15:52:00.001-05:00

Other business schools are beginning to discover what Villanova's EMBA has known all along. ;-]

Multicultural Critical Theory. At Business School? - NYTimes.com

January 10, 2010

Multicultural Critical Theory. At B-School?

By LANE WALLACE

A DECADE ago, Roger Martin, the new dean of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, had an epiphany. The leadership at his son’s elementary school had asked him to meet with its retiring principal to figure out how it could replicate her success.

He discovered that the principal thrived by thinking through clashing priorities and potential options, rather than hewing to any pre-planned strategy — the same approach taken by the managing partner of a successful international law firm in town.

“The ‘Eureka’ moment was when I could draw a data point between a hotshot, investment bank-oriented star lawyer and an elementary school principal,” Mr. Martin recalls. “I thought: ‘Holy smokes. In completely different situations, these people are thinking in very similar ways, and there may be something special about this pattern of thinking.’ ”

That insight led Mr. Martin to begin advocating what was then a radical idea in business education: that students needed to learn how to think critically and creatively every bit as much as they needed to learn finance or accounting. More specifically, they needed to learn how to approach problems from many perspectives and to combine various approaches to find innovative solutions.

In 1999, few others in the business-school world shared Mr. Martin’s view. But a decade and a seismic economic downturn later, things have changed. “I think there’s a feeling that people need to sharpen their thinking skills, whether it’s questioning assumptions, or looking at problems from multiple points of view,” says David A. Garvin, a Harvard Business School professor who is co-author with Srikant M. Datar and Patrick G. Cullen of an upcoming book, “Rethinking the M.B.A.: Business Education at a Crossroads.”

Learning how to think critically — how to imaginatively frame questions and consider multiple perspectives — has historically been associated with a liberal arts education, not a business school curriculum, so this change represents something of a tectonic shift for business school leaders. Mr. Martin even describes his goal as a kind of “liberal arts M.B.A.”

“The liberal arts desire,” he says, is to produce “holistic thinkers who think broadly and make these important moral decisions. I have the same goal.”

Ever since 1959, when two influential studies by the Ford and Carnegie Foundations chastised business schools as being too vocational, most M.B.A. programs have taken anything but a broad approach to their subject matter.

With few exceptions, traditional instruction has involved separate disciplines like finance, marketing and strategy, with an emphasis on quantifiable analyses and methods. While some valued what a liberal arts background could provide, the dominant view was that those elements had no place in professional business schools.

BUT even before the financial upheaval last year, business executives operating in a fast-changing, global market were beginning to realize the value of managers who could think more nimbly across multiple frameworks, cultures and disciplines. The financial crisis underscored those concerns — at business schools and in the business world itself.

As a result, a number of prominent business schools have re-evaluated and, in some cases, redesigned their M.B.A. programs in the last few years. And while few talk explicitly about taking a liberal arts approach to business, many of the changes are moving business schools into territory more traditionally associated with the liberal arts: multidisciplinary approaches, an understanding of global and historical context and perspectives, a greater focus on leadership and social responsibility and, yes, learning how to think critically.

Two years ago, for example, the Graduate School of Business at Stanford made a sweeping curriculum change that included more emphasis on multidisciplinary perspectives and understanding of cultural contexts. The first-quarter mandatory curriculum, for example, now includes a class called “The Global Context of Management and Strategic Leadership.” First-year students also must take a course called “Critical and Analytical Thinking.”

“If I’m going to really launch you on a career or path where you can make a big impact in the world,” explains the school’s dean, Garth Saloner, “you have to be able to think critically and analytically about the big problems in the world.”

Mr. Saloner says Stanford wants its business students to develop “a lens that brings some kind of principled set of scales to the problem.” In other words, he says, students need to learn to ask themselves, “In whose interest am I making the decision?”

Students in the critical-thinking course explore difficult, broad problems that require value-laden trade-offs. For example, should Google locate its servers for Chinese customers outside China, which might provide inferior service, or inside China, where material could be censored?

But changes like Stanford’s are far from universal. The University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business has decided to keep its disciplined-based approach. “We are happy with what we do, it is good for us and it matches Chicago, our faculty and our values,” said its dean, Edward A. Snyder.

Nancy McGaw, deputy director of the Business and Society Program at the Aspen Institute, a nonprofit that studies leadership issues, said: “We don’t see wholesale changes yet. We’ve been through this enormous crisis and there are some people who are saying maybe we can do things differently and avoid it next time. But many students still go through M.B.A. programs without being touched by this kind of thinking.”

John J. Fernandes, president and C.E.O. of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, estimates that only about 25 percent of association-accredited schools are making significant curriculum changes focused on what he calls “the creation of more sustainable leaders.” But he expects that to reach 75 percent in 10 years.

Professor Garvin of Harvard agrees, saying that there is “an imperative for change.” “At this point,” he said, “the forces for change are real, and the need for change is real, and the blueprints are already in process.”

ONE of the most distinctive blueprints being developed is at the Rotman School. In addition to discipline-based courses in areas like finance and accounting, first-year students now take “Fundamentals of Integrative Thinking,” which focuses on understanding and analyzing how people use models in their everyday lives.

For example, Mr. Martin says, students analyze how a book becomes a best seller, and then learn how to break the model down to its core assumptions and logic.

In a followup practicum, students practice what Mr. Martin calls “the art and science of building new models,” using real-world problems, like developing a growth model for an alternative airline or a model for reviving Yahoo Canada.

In the second year, students can take electives ranging from design-thinking classes in the school’s “Design Works” facility to a capstone course taught by Mr. Martin. Called “The Opposable Mind,” this course focuses on developing and practicing the personal skills necessary to be a good integrative thinker and manager.

In one exercise, taken from Mr. Martin’s own experience as a consultant, he videotapes students as they replay a contentious meeting in which two corporate executives disagree on their conglomerate’s strategy. Two other students play consultants, and practice what Mr. Martin calls “assertive inquiry” to explore the assumptions and validity of each executive’s argument. The students then generate new options to try to produce a better outcome.

“We analyze the tape with them and have them repeat it several times to see how they can do better,” says Mr. Martin.

Brant Carson, a 2009 Rotman graduate who now works for McKinsey & Company, says: “I constantly hear Roger’s voice in my head reminding me that everything doesn’t have to be an either/or solution.”

Mr. Martin started working integrative thinking into the curriculum with a couple of elective classes. At the same time, he began marketing the school as a place where students could learn “a new way to think.” Since 1999, Rotman has doubled its enrollment and faculty — changes he attributes to what he calls the school’s growing reputation as a place of innovative thought.

But does Rotman’s curriculum really create a fundamentally different M.B.A. graduate? At least some people think so.

Steve McConnell, a managing partner of NBBJ, an architecture firm based in Seattle, noticed a distinctly different approach in the Rotman students he hired.

“They seemed to be naturally free of the bias or predisposition that so many of us seem to carry into any situation,” he says. “And they brought a set of skills in how you query and look into an issue without moving toward biased or predetermined conclusions that has led to unexpected discoveries of opportunity and potential innovation.”

For example, he says, the approach allowed one Rotman graduate to see that a major NBBJ health care client needed fewer facilities than conventional studies indicated — an insight that saved the client a significant sum.

Innovation, of course, is a business buzzword. So some business schools are embracing an innovation-oriented approach known as “design thinking.” Rotman has its “DesignWorks” department; Stanford has the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design, known as the d.school, where business students can take elective classes in design thinking.

“Critical thinking is an ability to understand a system or a statement and respond to it,” explains Tim Brown, president of IDEO, the design firm whose founder, David Kelley, was the main force behind the d.school’s creation. “What’s different about design thinking is, it’s focused on taking that understanding you have about the world and using that as a set of insights from which to be creative.”

Instead of presenting existing problems to analyze or solve, design-thinking classes send students to do something akin to anthropological field work to find the problems. Then they field-test solutions, refining as they go.

“What I learned at the d.school was markedly different from what I learned in the business school,” says Laura Jones, who got her degree last year and is now a manager in global innovation strategy for Visa. “At business school, there was a lot of focus on, ‘You’ve got a great idea; here’s how you build a business out of it.’ The d.school said, ‘Here’s how you get to that great idea.’ ”

OTHER prominent business schools are also making curriculum changes, though the specifics and degree vary. The Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia recently introduced design thinking into its curriculum and has built an innovation lab, called I-Lab, to accommodate the classes’ informal, collaborative style.

The Yale School of Management recently restructured its core curriculum around different “organizational perspectives” like customers, investors and society, instead of traditional disciplines like finance and marketing. “The faculty realized that in contemporary management practice, there’s no such thing as just a ‘marketing problem,’ ” says its dean, Sharon M. Oster.

Yale has also added a “problem framing” course that tries to have students think more broadly, question assumptions, view problems through multiple lenses and learn from history.

“There’s a great deal to learn from Bismarck, Kissinger, F.D.R. and J.F.K. about problem framing,” says Paul Bracken, a professor who designed the course. “I never understood why business schools didn’t mine this literature.”

Harvard hasn’t redone its curriculum, but the school has expanded its classes in global perspectives, corporate and social responsibility, and what it calls “authentic leadership development.” “We’ve been teaching the theory of leadership forever,” Mr. Garvin says. “But leadership is increasingly being treated at a skills level, with students working in small teams and in an experiential way, with reflective and field exercises. That’s a pronounced shift.”

The changes are also not limited to graduate programs. Because business is now such a popular undergraduate degree, the Carnegie Foundation is arguing for greater integration of the liberal arts with undergraduate business programs.

Will any of these changes have a big role in preventing future economic crises? Opinions here are more mixed. If businesses’ pay systems keep rewarding short-term, high-risk or narrowly focused behavior, many say, what business programs teach is unlikely to have much impact.

“As Upton Sinclair said, it’s amazing how difficult it is for a man to understand something if he’s paid a small fortune to not understand it,” cautions John Bogle, the founder and former chief of the Vanguard Group.

Mr. Martin agrees that the problems that led to the crisis are bigger than business schools alone can address. But he’s still optimistic. “The vast majority of our students want to be a positive influence on the world,” he says. “And if you give them ways of thinking that help them with these complicated dilemmas, they’ll make choices that are in some sense more worthy and have a higher moral quality.”

Posted via email from VEMBA

lovely pieces in 19 Dec Economist

2010-01-03T09:38:00.001-05:00

It is no secret that I'm a huge fan of the Economist. Both in print and audio, it is the weekly newspaper that I never miss.

A recent flight to New Orleans gave me time to savor the double Christmas edition, dated 19 Dec 09, and I thought I'd share a few worthy reads, notably absent of finance and economics. I do share Schumpeter, however, since business and management crosses almost every organization and entity.

vrsb

Posted via email from SEB

my summer reading list

2009-05-03T17:09:00.008-04:00

A colleague asked me for my professional reading list, here is what is on my credenza in my office of things that I've been wanting to read.

Ahead of the Curve, Two Years at HBS
Balanced Scorecard for Govt and Non-Profits
This Side of Paradise
The Confessions of St. Augustine
Microeconomics for Executives by Pete Zaleski (VU EMBA press)
On Crisis Management
How To Win In Chess Openings
On Competitive Strategy

Update 1:
Daughter has insisted I add to this list and prioritize them to the top of the queue:

Also was advised "don't buy them until AFTER Father's Day".

Update 2:

The Unforgiving Minute (thanks Randy)

ballin' bankers bonus plan

2009-03-23T07:43:00.004-04:00

OK, I get the bankers are C.R.E.A.M. types who need to get paid.

FYI, C.R.E.A.M. (Cash Rules Everything Around Me).

This season appears to be the one where everyone gives back bonus money. AIG, ING, who is next?

Regardless, I sympathize with the plight of the people, I'm the first guy to sharpen the pitchforks and fire up the torches in a fit of populist rage at the thought of my tax dollars going to pay bonuses in CASH.

But if these douchebags are so important that they have to be retained, why not incentivize them with restricted stock, rather than bailout cash?

morning reading takes 2 hours

2009-03-18T08:30:00.003-04:00

The morning reading takes ~ 2 hours. I've timed it over the past two weeks.

WSJ in print, 30 min
Washington Post(op-ed, Metro) in print, 10 min
Google Reader, 30 min
NY Times Reader, 20 min
email, 15 min
Twitter, 15 min

I usually keep IM off during this focused time.

ShamrockFest2009

2009-03-15T08:36:00.000-04:00

On a cold, drizzly Irish summer day (14 Mar 2009), we went to ShamrockFest at RFK, primarily to hear one of my fave bands, Carbon Leaf, who rocked the crowd in the icy rain and rapidly dropping temperatures as dark approached.

Evidently a new album coming out 19 May, according to Barry.

Orchids to the crew at HiBall Events for organizing such a large and wonderful day, plus all the security, fire and rescue personnel who braved the weather.

Onions to the tweener meatheads who turned over the trashcans for beer pong tables, leaving the place strewn with left over chili, nachos, napkins, and Bud Light cups. Eerily reminiscient of the Alpha Tau Omega house just prior to formal rush. But I digress.

Tutto Bene closing 28 Feb

2009-02-24T09:13:00.004-05:00

A sad day for wine drinkers in Bloomington, IN. Tutto Bene to close on 28 Feb 09. My favorite watering hole in B-Town and plenty of fond memories. Even held my best friend's bachelor party there. Bummer, dude.

From the H-T:

Tutto bene, the near-downtown European style wine bar that’s been a gathering spot for many charitable events, is closing its doors at the end of the month unless a partner or buyer can be found.
Craig Widen, who with his wife and adult children opened the bar and cafe in 2004, said business has fallen off noticeably since the national economy began its decline, with the loss especially felt in the bar’s weekday business. Partly as a result, the family feels constrained from embarking on improvements they consider necessary, Widen said, and have decided to cease operations when tutto bene’s lease expires.
The bar at 213 S. Rogers St. will be open through Feb. 28, Widen said, adding that musical performances already scheduled through that date are still on the books.
“We had hoped to make some necessary capital improvements to enhance our menu but under the current economic conditions are unable to do so on our own,” he said. Tutto bene had developed a loyal weekend clientele that remains, he said, but the continual reports of bad economic times that have swamped the national news have taken their toll on drop-ins during the week.
“Our Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday business has dropped off ... there’s a measurable falloff. We’ve reduced our hours ... You’re running a business and have to meet payroll and it becomes a real issue.”
The imminent expiration of the lease has forced a decision at this time, he added. If a prospective partner or new owner were to step forward now or if someone were to provide a new location, it would not be too late. But “what’s driving this train is that our lease is coming up and the lease is a long-term lease and we are reluctant as a family to make a commitment without a partner.
“We’re on the final lap. We don’t have time for tire kickers or people who aren’t serious.”
Widen said that it will be tough closing up shop. “This is the kind of business where everybody puts in 70 hours a week. There’s some emotion attached to it.”
Still, if closure comes, he added, it has been a worthwhile effort. “Our success have been based on a loyal customer base that we think is distinctly Bloomington. It’s worked out to be part of this community.”

The Interview, In Consideration

2009-02-21T10:03:00.002-05:00

Image via Wikipedia

I've written before on resumes, and I wanted to share some thoughts on the interview. The resume gets the interview, the interview gets the job. Here's how I break down an interview, these will usually go no longer than 30 min.

The Interview, In Consideration

Breaking the ice, initial discussions
Discussions of core capabilities

Intellectual skills
Interpersonal skills
Motivation and work skills
Problem solving skills
Alignment with Company Values

Things to Have a View and Be Prepared to Discuss (doesn't matter which side of the argument you come down on, merely be prepared to discuss the merits of each view)

Economy
Geo-political situation (world view)
Education
Housing
Transportation and infrastructure
Companies you admire and why
Stocks you think would be a good pick and why
Professional publications you read and why
Conferences/Training you'd like to attend and why

Things Interviewers Hate

Being a "know-it-all", over-aggressive, or overbearing
Condemnation of past employers
Tardiness and/or bad handshake
Lack of manners (no written thank-you note, cell phone ringing)
Bad personal appearance (personal grooming)
Lack of confidence, no eye contact, distracted during questions
Lack of involvement in school or extracurricular activities
Rambling answers, verbal slang, filler words
Having no questions to ask (ask about training, supervision, work environment, duties and responsibilities)
Asking questions, just to ask questions
Over-emphasis on money
Lack of interest and enthusiasm (lack of knowledge of the organization, mission, values)
Not knowing the job to which you are applying
Not asking for the job

Hulu, Boxee, AAPL TV, and Fred Wilson

2009-02-19T07:14:00.004-05:00

Image via Wikipedia

My recent letter to Jason Kilar, CEO of Hulu is the result of a number of culminating events. If you don't know, Boxee is a software application used to view a variety of media content on local devices, networks, and the Internet. Initially available for Mac, it now has both Linux and Windows versions. Boxee changed the rules of the game, however, when they released a version for AAPL TV, a small device with a hard drive which could display media and content on an HD TV.

The NY Times, of course, has an excellent article explaining Boxee.

A supplement, if you will, to the local cable provider box. Couple of posts you need to read for context:

Hulu's CEO Jason Kilar's letter describing decision to block Boxee from accessing Hulu
Boxee CEO Avner Ronen's response
VC Fred Wilson's letter reasoning why Hulu should embrace Boxee, as well as why his VC firm invested in Boxee
Marc Hedlund at O'Reilly on Hulu and the Superbowl ad

I suppose I could come up with some creative slurs about big media which might provide some immediate gratification, but that wouldn't contribute towards getting Hulu and other content providers to embrace and support Boxee.

An Open Letter to Jason Kilar, CEO Hulu

2009-02-19T06:55:00.005-05:00

Image via CrunchBase

Dear Sir,

Please allow me to express my gratitude in your candid communications regarding Hulu's decision to turn off access via Boxee. Such personal communication is the hallmark of good leadership, and I commend you for showing the courage to write immediately with tact and timeliness. Oh, how I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall when the Hulu "content providers" expressed their displeasure once they found out about Boxee!

In that same vein, I also wish to express my displeasure at Hulu's decision, for I am an avid Boxee fan and supporter of their endeavors, most notably with Apple TV. Here is a very powerful formula:

=SUM(Boxee+AAPL TV+Hulu)*(FIOS)

The resulting Excel box = BLISS!!!!

Why do the content providers care if I sit in my office swivel chair in front of my computer, versus sitting in my Archie Bunker chair in front of the TV with a remote?

This vexes me greatly.

I should emphasize that while the BLISS combination I describe above is ideal, it is NOT sufficient enough for me to drop my FIOS TV subscription, for there is still too much desirable HD content which Boxee/AAPL TV cannot provide.

I remain an ardent supporter of your company and product, and commend you on your candid communications regarding Hulu's recent business decision. I have a similar letter of support to Fred Wilson at Union Square Ventures. Please let me know if you need a customer reference, or if I can be of assistance mediating any negotiations.

Very Sincerely Yours, Stephen

Gmail accounts and mobile #s

2009-02-18T05:30:00.003-05:00

If I’m interested in you, personally or professionally, I really only need two essential pieces of contact information from you. Your Gmail address and your preferably your Google Voice and/or your mobile number (even better if I know you have a smart phone).

Google Reader: Your Gmail address means that I can probably convince you of the incredible utility of Google Reader. So if I’m interested in you, I’m interested in what you read, what publications shape your opinions and form your ideas. Even more importantly, I’m interested in what you’re reading, and your comments about a particular article or concept. These can be easily be shared via Google Reader. The thought leaders I admire most in business and technology use Google Reader. While it may come across as arrogant to insist upon this usage, there is no more efficient way for geographically dispersed people to share and discuss what they are reading. If I’ve reached out to you and showed you this methodology, and you haven’t taken advantage of it, how willing do you think I am going to be to engage in dialogue in-person? I love the in-person discussions I have with my colleagues and classmates who use Google Reader, we can instantly delve into deep discussions about a particular concept or article we’ve both read.
Google Voice: If you use this properly, it means you'll answer the phone when I call, regardless of location or phone service you use. If you can't for whatever reason, I speak slowly so the voice transcription works, and you'll get an email or SMS with the accurate translation. If you're smart, you'll switch your mobile phone voicemail to Google Voice for the same benefits, and you won't get the "the caller you dialed has a voicemailbox that is full".
Mobile: I’m interested in your mobile phone (especially an iPhone or other smart phone) because the kinds of people I want to associate with are generally not staff droids sitting at a desk. Most of the time people carry their mobile with them, so when I make a telephone call, I want to talk to you. Not to your voice mail. Not to your admin assistant. Not to your spouse. I don’t want your home number because your time at home is your time with spouse and family. Not to mention I don’t want to explain why I’m calling to your spouse or kids, or leave a message. I want to talk to you. I’m exceptionally judicious with my use of one’s cell phone number, and don’t call for idle chit-chat or because I’m bored. When I call it means I have business for you, and if I can’t reach you within 1-5 hours, chances are I’ll move on to the next most qualified individual and send them the business. I am also a huge fan of SMS in Gmail, and while I've been known to bring the iPhone Thunder, I'm much better typing SMS than actually pecking them.

Your chances of successful interaction with me are markedly increased when I have your Google Reader articles and cell phone number.

They’re significantly diminished when I don’t. Choices, choices, choices.
Again, I apologize for this sort of arrogance but as a crusty old Drill Sergeant told me once, "you don't have to like it, you just have to do it".

Update 1: included commentary on Google Voice.

Follow me on Twitter @batess

Strategic Alliances for the NY Times

2009-02-17T07:53:00.003-05:00

Image by MotherPie via Flickr

I'm having a great final semester with some very cool classes, one of which is Strategic Alliances. Our group batted around a number of ideas, but here's what we've gotten approval to do. In a nutshell, we're going to present to the Board of the NYT and ask for resources to pursue single or multiple strategic alliances. 45 min presentation to a "Board" consisting of Professors, Alumni, and fellow students.

Would like to crowd source some research and get your best ideas on the below. Please include appropriate references so that we can properly cite.

Much thanks in advance.
--
Proposal: NY Times. The NY Times proposes strategic alliances with either single or multiple distribution outlets to in order to maximize subscriber base and revenue.

Background: The NY Times, like other major newspapers, is struggling with an appropriate revenue model. Newspapers have more readers than ever. Their content, as well as that of news magazines and other producers of traditional journalism, is more popular than ever — even (in fact, especially) among young people. The problem is that fewer of these consumers are paying. Instead, news organizations are merrily giving away their news.

Newspapers and magazines traditionally have had three revenue sources: newsstand sales, subscriptions and advertising. The new business model relies only on the last of these. That makes for a wobbly stool even when the one leg is strong. When it weakens — as countless publishers have seen happen as a result of the recession — the stool can't possibly stand.

Henry Luce, a co-founder of TIME, disdained the notion of giveaway publications that relied solely on ad revenue. He called that formula "morally abhorrent" and also "economically self-defeating." That was because he believed that good journalism required that a publication's primary duty be to its readers, not to its advertisers. In an advertising-only revenue model, the incentive is perverse.

According to the Times's Q308 10-Q, the company spends $63 million per quarter on raw materials and $148 million on wages and benefits. Speculation and hearsay put the wages and benefits for just the newsroom are about $200 million per year. After multiplying the quarterly costs by four and subtracting that $200 million out, a rough estimate for the Times's delivery costs would be $644 million per year.

The NY Times is a news organization, not a newspaper. Much as the railroad executives loved railroads, they weren't in the railroad business, they were in the transportation business. And so the NY Times must evolve from a newspaper business, to a news business. From a strategy perspective, it makes little sense for the NY Times to grow its distribution outlets internally due to capital intensive expansion, but what is needed is for the NY Times to explore all methods of distribution and media dissemination if they are to survive.

Lest it remain the domain of bleeding-heart, elitist, latte-sipping, Volvo-driving, tree-hugging, whale-saving, tax-and-spend, cut-and-run liberals that want to take away our guns so the terrorists win, give all of our hard-earned tax dollars to welfare mothers and illegal immigrants, and then cozy up to genocidal dictators all around the world.

Solution: Wu Tang Risk Management seeks approval from the NY Times board to appropriate funds to pursue either single or multiple strategic alliances.

FT.com / US / Politics & Foreign policy - Obama orders Guantánamo’s closure

2009-01-22T12:51:00.000-05:00

About time.

FT.com / US / Politics & Foreign policy - Obama orders Guantánamo’s closure: "Obama orders Guantánamo’s closure

WASHINGTON, Jan 22 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Thursday ordered the closure of the Guantanamo military prison within a year and a halt to harsh interrogation of terrorism suspects, moving quickly to restore the U.S. image abroad.

The executive order to shut the prison, a symbol of detainee abuse and detention without charge under the Republican administration of George W. Bush, fulfills a promise Obama made during his campaign.

”The message that we are sending around the world is that the United States intends to prosecute the ongoing struggle against violence and terrorism and we are going to do so vigilantly,” Obama said at a signing ceremony in the Oval office.

”We are going to do so effectively and we are going to do so in a manner that is consistent with our values and our ideals,” he said."

BO44

2009-01-21T05:50:00.021-05:00

Special thanks to RG and JR for the Golden Ticket in my Wonka Bar. It was a very magical day for the Inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States.

Preparing for cold weather operations took place at Oh-Dark-Thirty. I knew it was going to be a very long, very cold, and very challenging day in terms of logistics.

While I'd prepped LW for an early morning departure for Metro, she still hissed like a wet cat at me when I gently awoke her at 0600 to drop me off. The Orange Crush (Metro Orange) did not disappoint, and I actually took the Metro the other way westbound towards Vienna in order to obtain a seat for what turned out to be a 2 hour ride in.

My Silver ticket got me very close to the Reflecting Pool about 0940, I was maybe 10 persons deep, so got some decent pics of the Capitol itself, and a few others to capture the spirit of the moment. The mobs of people were pressed very close together, but my colleague, Johnnie Walker and I, were thankfully well provisioned. Other photographs:

I strongly suspect Chief Justice Roberts verbal mishaps during the Oath were payback for Obama's down vote for him for Chief Justice. The Inaugural Address was spectacularly delivered, tears were rolling down the cheeks of those next to me. The silver-penned Peggy Noonan writes her cogent analysis, far better than I could.

Twitter/Facebook were crushed, I got one or two texts out, but that was about it (follow me on Twitter @batess). My colleague JB and I planned to link up for lunch at the Army-Navy Club at 2:30 after the ceremony, as you can see from the map, my route took quite a detour from our initial plan. Got there about 3 pm and caught the tail end of the buffet.

Initially, I was a little envious of JB, for he had a Purple ticket, which would have put him on the other side of the Reflecting Pool, much closer, but alas, he did not get in. Over drinks at ANC, JB told me the the Purple gate was overwhelmed, and they shut the gates just as the Oath of Office was administered. JB was eventually interviewed by the media, his description of the situation is the last two paragraphs of this Washington Post article.

"....Others just stood sadly. As cannons fired to announce the new president, a middle-aged African American man stood outside the closing gates and began to weep silently. Nearby, an African American woman in a wheelchair drew a blanket tighter around her shoulders and closed her eyes. The moment of a lifetime had passed."

Update 1: The Washington Post has additional updates on the travel and ticket troubles.

Update 2: JB's open letter to Senator Feinstein.

Follow me on Twitter @batess

The Effect of Technology on Those Who Package and Distribute the News

2009-01-15T09:48:00.001-05:00

Pretty slick, Slideshare just informed me that one of my EMBA presentations is highlighted on the News and Politics page.

http://www.slideshare.net/category/news-politics

The Effect of Technology on Those Who Package and Distribute the News

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own.

Inaugural Bubbly

2009-01-10T08:56:00.002-05:00

I miss my regular jaunts to Northern California, most specifically my membership in the Domaine Carneros Chateau Society.

While the box with the regularly scheduled Le Reve and Famous Gate arrive with Teutonic precision each quarter, I miss sitting on the balcony with friends in the late afternoon when the winds pickup, enjoying a little of the bubbly.

Prompted by the "Red, White, and Brut" article in the WSJ today, I thought this photo of LLJ and friends captured the pure essence and happiness which is sparkling wine in Napa.

With that said, I shall follow the WSJ recommendations and find a suitable bottle from my cellar appropriate for the inauguration in 10 days.

Obama and the Wii

2009-01-10T07:24:00.000-05:00

I wonder if Obama makes his Mii look like Sarah Palin?

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Obama Predicts a Florida Victory - The Caucus Blog - NYTimes.com: "But he has gotten in a little practice in bowling lately on the Nintendo Wii his daughters received for Christmas. Mr. Obama, who famously struggled in bowling during last year’s Democratic primaries, said he performs better in the video game."

Clueless Journalists

2009-01-09T07:48:00.000-05:00

Clusterstock, the Peter North of Journalism, contributes this assessment of the financial media's coverage of the recent crisis.
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Clueless Journalists: "“1) Banks that sold financial products but didn't understand them, 2) rated by rating agencies that didn't understand them, 3) not regulated by regulators that didn't understand them, 4) brokered by boilerrooms too greedy and evil to care about them to 5) consumers too desperate and stupid to understand them, without the help of 6) a media too busy reporting on Lindsay Lohan's nipple slips to report on them.”

This would be the perfect answer if we just added the Fed’s low interest rates, the Clinton-Bush program to increase home-ownership, cheap construction labor to build houses Americans won’t build and politically correct mortgage modeling."

The Resume, In Consideration

2009-01-06T12:34:00.005-05:00

Plenty of resumes cross my desk, and I'm often asked to review and or comment on those of my colleagues and cronies. This post is in two parts, the entry level resume, for those just out of college, and the professional resume, for those more seasoned and experienced.

The Entry Resume, In Consideration

GPA matters for your first job out of college and for applying to grad school, everything else is strictly both job performance and managerial potential
Foreign language proficiency is certainly a plus, but it really only matters if you are going to use it professionally. Meaning overseas or a CONUS (Continental United States) job traveling overseas
The resume gets the interview, the interview gets the job.
Know who is more important than know how. Hate to say it, but I look more closely at resumes when I have a personal referral from someone I know and trust
Fiscal numeracy is certainly important, but not as important as exceptional speaking and writing skills, at least that has been the case in my professions
Ability to multi-task, follow through, and dealing with stressful situations and occasional conflicting guidance, are perhaps the most desirable of qualities
Good judgment at a young age, meaning: dress appropriately for the situation, don't get drunk or offensive in front of clients or senior staff, especially when dinners/parties are free
Good judgment at a young age, meaning: no felonies or other sins of moral turpitude which would preclude getting a DoD security clearance
Well rounded individuals with a variety of experiences are highly valued. Compare taking AP courses all summer vs life-guarding in a different state and getting trained on CPR or EMT? Taking AP courses vs learning to play an instrument? Taking AP courses vs working construction or landscaping?
Ability to manage one's personal finances, living within one's means

The Professional Resume, In Consideration

All of the above, plus +
When and where you got your degree(s)
Professional certifications
A separate list of references, at least one for each job, and context
A separate sheet with contact information for those that can verify educational degrees, employment length of time, and commercial credentials
For each position, how many managed, revenues, profitability, budget, complexity of projects, results achieved

I'll discuss the interview in part II.

Christmas2008

2008-12-24T11:53:00.004-05:00

Blessed are you, Sovereign Lord, King of Peace, to you be praise and glory for ever.
The new light of your incarnate word gives gladness in our sorrow, and presence in our isolation.
Fill our lives with your light, until they overflow with gladness and praise. Blessed be God for ever. Amen.

I humbly beg forgiveness to all whom I may have offended this year, deliberately or inadvertently. The above quote from Pellegrinaggio Agostiniano of Villanova,and whom brings solemn reverence to this Christmas season.

Unlike those cheeky bastards at Indiana's Flipside Sports, who chose to offer their own Christmas greetings.

We were slightly behind shed-yule this year in getting our own cards out, so if we screwed up the mailing list, here it is, and take a friggin' report already.

Bah Humbug to Motorized Newspaper Delivery

2008-12-11T08:47:00.003-05:00

From 1978-1984, I was a paperboy for the Herald-Telephone. It was an afternoon paper, with the exception of Sunday, which was a morning edition. I had to earn this route, competing against two other boys, by subbing for a year to the regular lad (PG) to prove my worth. The route was around my neighborhood, and consisted of 33 consecutive houses around a suburban block, usually taking about 30-45 minutes, depending on weather. Preparation consisted of counting and folding the papers with a rubber band.

Most days I rode my bike, but would walk in inclement weather. Prep here took longer, as each paper had to be folded inside a plastic bag. Each customer specified where they wanted their paper, tossed on the front porch, tucked inside the screen door, in the mailbox, or down by the garage. Woe be it to the paperboy with an errant throw into the bushes when the target was the front porch!

Once a month, I would go and collect the monthly fees for the HT, clipping out approved receipts and then riding my bike over to the bank, paying the monthly bill to the HT by depositing the cash and checks received from customers. Quite a responsibility for an 8 year old, I assure you, and I was most proud of myself. Each year, when I collected from the paper, I would usually get a Christmas present from each customer, usually $5.00 or sometimes even $10.00. At 33 customers (my parents included), I usually had quite the annual haul.

Today, things are quite different. I take a number of papers, the Sunday NY Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, and LW takes the Washington Post. These are morning papers, delivered anonymously in a vehicle by some fellows, at the end of the driveway by the street. I have no idea who these people are, but they have an annoying habit of leaving a self-addressed envelope to themselves inside a form-letter Christmas card.

Am I supposed to throw money in this envelope as a Christmas thank you?! These are not enterprising lads earning a little pocket money, nor saving for a new glove or bat for next season. I realize that newspapers have dwindling subscription lists, and that they are looking for efficiencies in delivery, but I don't know my paper carriers, and that bothers me for some reason. I want my newspapers delivered in person, or on bicycle every day by a kid where I know their names, and I am indeed generous with superior service.

Bah Humbug to motorized paper carriers, you'll get no such cash bonus from me.

The iPhone Thunder

2008-07-30T06:00:00.001-04:00

SEB: All right, Blackberry Bitches... you called down the thunder, well now you've got it! You see that?
[pulls open his coat, revealing a 16GB iPhone]
SEB: It says "iPhone"
Suit: [terrified, pleading] Sir please, I...
SEB: [referring to crushed Blackberry, laying dead] Take a good look at him, punk... 'cause that's how you're gonna end up!
[shoves Suit down roughly with his boot]
SEB: The Blackberries are finished, you understand? I see a Blackberry clipped onto a belt, I kill the greasy SOB wearin' it!
[lets Suit up to run for his life]
SEB: So run, you cur... RUN! Tell all the other curs the Thunder is comin'!
[shouts]
SEB: You tell 'em I'M coming... and hell's coming with me, you hear?...
[louder]

SEB: Hell's coming with me!

a long weekend of proposal writing in London…

2007-09-25T05:47:00.001-04:00

Image via Wikipedia

A brief trip back in time prior to this weekend. My partner and I are awaiting a proposal from the government. We have seen the draft RFP, provided numerous comments back to the contracting shop. Last Friday at 5:30 pm, Contracting sends me the final RFP with the suspense of Monday at 2 pm.

Did I mention I was leaving Sat night for London on the red-eye (completely full flight)?
Did I mention that LW (Lovely Wife) decided to sell her car on Saturday morning and buy a different one?
Did I mention I have Accounting homework to do and an Econ paper to write before Thursday?

I’ve got the weekend to get in touch with our teaming partners and put together all four volumes (Technical, Past Performance, Personnel, and Pricing). So the dialogue begins, lots of back and forth over pricing , negotiation of positions and personnel.

As I mentioned, United is completely full, I was waitlisted for Business Class but no success. Adding insult to injury, I’m in the middle of a 777 with a rather large woman with a seat belt extender and sleep apnea on my left, and a delightful British woman with two small children on my right, who thankfully went to sleep after the mother pulled the old “Jack Daniels’ on the pacifier” trick. Needless to say I got very little work done, and even less sleep.

I’m thinking I’ll tuck in to the hotel, grab a few hours of sleep, and start writing. What a foolish thought that was?! My mobile starts buzzing and it is my London client telling me to be on the lookout for his boss, a Brigadier and his aide, and meet him in the Hilton lobby in 45 minutes. A shower helped matters tremendously, and boy am I sleepy, and boy I have GOT to get this proposal written. No such luck. So the posse starts at 1 pm local time in London. I’m told we’re going on a tour to the Churchill War Rooms and the National Army Museum.

Did I mention my London client was the one who set up the government proposal deal in the first place? I try to beg off, but he tells me don’t worry about it, I can sleep on Tuesday. Did I mention we also have a number of Senior Executive Service types and flag officers from both the US and the UK. So with our number totaling around 10, we set off on a forced march through Hyde Park enroute to Kensington for a pub crawl. The conversations are fascinating, and it is rare someone from industry gets this type of social access to this level of senior decision makers. So I’m along for the ride…

I’m thinking after the pub crawl I’ll be able to sneak off to the hotel and get cracking on the proposal. I alway write better after a few pints anyway…no such luck. Now it turns out the wife of my London client has a little evening cocktail soiree set up back at their flat in the Mews (stable areas). So now we have the ladies and the Brigadiers and the local neighbors carting in cases of wine. I finally say enough is enough and after I make my manners to the host, I begin my departure. Turns out the host is having a little quiz night of sort but at this point I was able to discreetly slip away. Haven’t slept in two days.

So it is about 8 pm London time, and thankfully my teaming partners are working their parts of the proposal, primarily cost estimates given the FFP (Firm Fixed Price) nature of the contract. I close my eyes for 3 hours and then awaken to start writing. Proposal is due in 18 hours. Base + 3 option years, four major tasks.

Technical and Managerial Approach for all four major tasks (done, this took the longest time)
Gather resumes of our key management personnel from each teaming partner (done)
Format and gather past performance information: contract type, dollar amount, period of performance, POC information (done)
Pricing

My partner is an Excel master, and Acquisition Level III. His pricing models are amazing, data feeds from one to the other over multiple files and they all roll up to the single master page with our bidding CLINs. We all sharpen our pencils and I’ve got until 6 pm London time (1 pm Washington time) to get this done, as I’ve got to get off to the formal event which I’m here for.

Did I mention my client tells me at the last minute that there might be an issue with the brochures and did I happen to have Adobe Illustrator loaded on my Powerbook? Did I mention that I’m a novice at graphical fine art? Did I mention that he needed to have 75 copies printed in A4 on a color laser duplex printer, folded, and delivered to the Army-Navy Club on Pall Mall in time for the reception at 6 pm?

The proposal is due in an hour, and I’m on the Skype phone talking with my teaming partners and Instant Messaging my favored graphic designer begging all sorts of favors (thanks TT!). She quickly turns around the .ai (Illustrator) file and sends it on our way….

After some Skype phone conversations with my teaming partners, I email my partner the final technical proposal (done) and the template for the pricing proposal, which is awaiting info from the other teaming partners, who are sharpening their pencils to get the costs down.

Meanwhile, I slap the PDF from the Illustrator file and sprint to the Hilton Business Center. A lovely Polish girl named Ana helps me configure the color laser for 75 copies at 1 British pound/per page. She even helps me fold them as they come off the printer.

Back upstairs, I’m on the Skype speakerphone as I get myself scrubbed, booted, and suited for the Club and the reception. Final numbers are in, my partner submits the proposal on time, and having hailed a taxi and swerved through London rush hour traffic, I arrive at the Club 5 minutes prior to 6pm, programmes in hand (75 folded A4 color laser duplex) and have a daffy old Navy man from the Admiralty hand me a large Scotch and introduced me to the local MP (Member of Parliament) who is also attending.

The reception went well, the proposal was submitted on time, and my classmates haven’t blackballed me as of this writing, but perhaps they’ll subtly arrange for a Polonium 210 cocktail like that poor Russian chap got from the KGB assassins about a year ago.

“It’s like Macworld for Beer, mate…”

2007-08-07T12:08:00.001-04:00

The Great British Beer Festival 2007

It really is like Macworld for beer. Almost every British ale and brewery in the UK sets up shop in Earl’s Court every year to give the masses opportunities to sample the local swill. We were lucky, we got to go early on Industry Day before everyone else, compliments of our best publican at the Ship & Shovell (thanks Mac!). You pay a few pounds upfront and can get a glass in three sizes, a pint, half (half pint) or third (one third of a pint). The smart way to do it is a third size glass. There are A LOT of beers to sample that day! So you pay a pittance to then sample each one (less than a pound), and most of the proceeds go to charity anyway. So this party begins around 1100 and continues on throughout the day. And then you have to pub crawl with the publican and crew…it makes for a long, yet wonderful day indeed.