First of all, congrats to Section J for the Olympics victory (as well as the chili victory and the continuous barrage of boat race victories-did you guys really beat the rugby team?). By the way, I swear to God if I hear that damn “oh-JAY” song one more time, I will come to your section and kill all of you. Give us all a break.
OK, back to the article. For those of you who take academics as seriously as That Guy, you can ignore this article completely. For the rest of you, you should probably scan this article and distribute it to your entire 37 person “virtual” study group.
Cheat Sheet for BGIE:
Remember what our cases have taught us-when discussing the dominant political establishment, use the term “political party” when referring to the US or the UK, but use the term “regime” or “dictatorship” when discussing developing nations.
o Corollary #1-the word “corruption” should only be used when referring to non-Western governments. Use the term “special interest groups” or “lobbying” when discussing the US.
o Corollary #2-if it happened in a developing nation, it probably involved bribery and was definitely a mistake.
MACROECONOMIC FORMULAS:
o US exchange rate decrease > decrease in demand for imports > increased demand for exports > Bon Jovi world tour extremely likely
o Increase in US interest rates > inflow of foreign capital > McDonald’s renamed “Happy Family Super-Fun Eating Place” > Yen appreciates
o Fixed exchange rate + trade surplus > gold inflows > famous rapper gets new pimpin’ rims and phatty new grill
o Capital account deficit > current account surplus > reserves either increase or decrease > errors and omissions unchanged > you will never need to know this > who gives a s***?
Cheat Sheet for Social Enterprise:
Profits = bad
Money = bad, unless you fire your employees and give it to City Year
White people = bad, other people = oppressed
Child labor = defensible long-term competitive advantage (just between you and me)
Cheat Sheet for Entrepreneurial Manager
POCD = Pride, Outrageous optimism*, Connections, Dumb Luck
oNOTE-make kiss-ass reference to professor’s crazy startup idea at least once in exam response
Valuation formula:
o Pre-money valuation + Cash infusion = Failed dot-com guy gets in to HBS (sorry Joe)
Cheat Sheet for Strategy
o If cookie-cutter framework does not apply, use it anyway.
o If you can’t navigate the complexities of the various strategic analyses we have discussed this year, just use your friggin’ common sense.
o Quote Michael Porter frequently.
o Use at least 15 buzzwords (e.g., core competencies, value chain, paradigm, key drivers / success factors). If you need more, ask that McKinsey dude in your class to describe his approach to dating.
o Three rules of successful Strategy exam response = bullsh**, bullsh**, bullsh**
That Guy would like to tell a quick Section I joke (I only have one more article-how can I resist?): How many Section I-ers does it take to change a light bulb? Four. One to change the light bulb, three to ask the CEO of the light bulb manufacturer if he feels personally responsible for the exploitation of children in Uganda.
