I don’t think that HBS, or at least some of its departments, trust us. That’s disappointing. On December 18th, as I looked into what was a basketball court at Shad Hall to see hundreds of make-shift desks and miles of electrical wiring, likely costing thousands in labor and materials in order to facilitate the FRC… Continue reading Big Brother Watching Over?
Tag: TOM
Roses & Thorns
For most people, it’s hard to believe that an entire semester has passed. I remember being sad that Foundations was over. I liked having classes with different people every day. I hardly recognized any names in Section H. Who is this Robert Sheedy guy sitting next to me for the rest of the semester? I… Continue reading Roses & Thorns
RC Final Exam IT Glitches Explained
During last semester’s RC LEAD final, approximately 300 students experienced difficulty uploading completed exams to the HBS intranet. HBS IT and the MBA program reacted quickly to the situation, and the deadline for uploading the LEAD exam was extended. Cammie Wynn, Technology Advisor, IT Client Services, explained the root cause of the problem, “Some of… Continue reading RC Final Exam IT Glitches Explained
Haiku
TOM is TOM no moreFRC drifting awayAll subjects are LEAD Sleep deprivationEyelids get heavy, head nodsNudge me if I drool What does a three mean?I was smart in my high schoolBut there was no TOM Celebrate TuesdayNine or Ten is good for meDaedalus tonite? Steel saucer flies byYoung Bowen nearly vomitsGood thing he’s so short… Continue reading Haiku
Around the World with the A-Team Around the World with the A-Team
Since the last time we checked in on the A-Team, the final midterm-Marketing-has come and gone. For most, the process went smoother than expected. Some groups were even able to finish early and then stand outside Aldrich, trying to freak out other teams by sadistically hollering things like, “COME ON!!!! YOU ONLY HAVE 15 MORE… Continue reading Around the World with the A-Team
Around the World with the A-Team
NK Checks In for First Time
This just in . . . Don?t believe the propagandists, bootlicks, and running-dog lackeys: Section K lives. Speaking on deep psych background yet fearful of reprisals, sources said mutiny was abrew. Whether the insurgents sought my ouster, hide, or charred effigy for being such a slouch on this beat, one thing is clear: Folks sorely… Continue reading NK Checks In for First Time
A Thanksgiving Status Update for Mom
Dear Mom,Winter is peering its ugly head around the corner like the TOM write-up I have for Wednesday, and the HBS grounds crew has successfully stripped the leaves off all the trees so that they won?t fall on our precious grass. The cold weather has opened up a few slots on the Spangler bike rack,… Continue reading A Thanksgiving Status Update for Mom
Volunteer Consulting Organization Gears Up
Have you been looking for a meaningful way to contribute to the greater Boston community? What if that way involved an activity such as developing a growth strategy for a local music organization, formulating a marketing plan for an educational nonprofit, or strategically evaluating the opportunities for building a training institute for teachers who mentor… Continue reading Volunteer Consulting Organization Gears Up
J-Crew Revisits Prom Night
My, my, my, Section J cleans up nicely. While I saw no one wearing her older sister’s prom dress like I was guilt-tripped into doing in 1991, I certainly was reminded of my prom night oh-so-many years ago. Tuxedoes, cocktail dresses, long flowing gowns-okay we left the corsages, shared limo rides and pictures with our… Continue reading J-Crew Revisits Prom Night
At Play in the Fields of Frei
The Frogs and the Bees enjoyed a Fall romp in the bucolic Rhode Island countryside two Sundays ago, as the guest of one of our most beloved RC Professors. Frances Frei is already a legend, her place in 2002 lore assured on the first day of TOM, when she famously got in the face of… Continue reading At Play in the Fields of Frei
All Those in Favor
81, 80, 79, 78…Ready to go!The section with a “cool” legacy is creating one of its own. An insider suggests that AuntieGoldie has more requests for “some time” with Section I men than any other. Peruvian rugby star Jorge O’Hara describes the soccer and football teams as perhaps the best HBS has ever had. The… Continue reading All Those in Favor
Zibby Feels Frantic
Who turned on the work? I have to admit, until a couple weeks ago, I felt pretty good about MBA academics. Because I was one of the few undergrads anal enough to read every single page of assigned reading on time (usually early), the 25-pages a night of case reading seemed like a breeze. Sure,… Continue reading Zibby Feels Frantic
That Guy Presents Possible HBS Show Themes for 2003
You all may have heard some buzz about the upcoming HBS Show. For those of who don’t know about the HBS Show, allow That Guy to explain. Every year, certain insane students decide that they don’t have enough worthless busywork on their plates, so they decide to dedicate countless hours putting on a silly musical… Continue reading That Guy Presents Possible HBS Show Themes for 2003
Laying Down the Gauntlet:
You hear it all the time around campus, whether it is in the burrito line in the Grille or in the Sandwich line in Spangler: “Hasn’t anyone here taken TOM before? Don’t they know the trials and tribulations of the batch system vs. the assembly line? Put some buffers near that bottleneck and, boy, we… Continue reading Laying Down the Gauntlet:
Editorial: Ready.gov
During last week’s snow disaster, which covered the North Atlantic seaboard in a thick blanket of snow while sending Washington D.C. into the stone ages, I learned a lot while trapped in my girlfriend’s apartment without cable or the ability to leave her complex. First, I was wrong about Dr. Phil earlier in the year;… Continue reading Editorial: Ready.gov
Natural Born Leaders
I have to say, I’ve never been a fan of group projects. I think it started back in grade school when I regularly got assigned to groups of four to tackle history projects. My report on the explorer Ponce de Leon and the Fountain of Youth has clearly tainted my educational progress for good. But… Continue reading Natural Born Leaders
The HBS Game Show
Thank you to all those who expressed concern over the plight of my son and his quarter last week. The good news is that he is now slightly lighter and we are once again slightly richer. Well, we were until I went to Spangler the other day. As I was walking back sucking my Chupa… Continue reading The HBS Game Show
Shades of Gray
I had the hardest time coming up with a topic for a column this week. It certainly isn’t because nothing happened in my HBS life over the last seven days. Subarctic Survival, Shad manufacturing, TOM midterm, club soir‚es, company pitches, section elections… the list of fun goes on and on. And on and on and… Continue reading Shades of Gray
NA Beats NB 6 – 5
“Do, or do not. There is no ‘try’.” – Yoda (The Empire Strikes Back)The tiny green Jedi master must have been visiting the IM Soccer fields last Wednesday as NA came back from a 4-1 half-time deficit to destroy NB with 5 second half goals. With pre-game strategy as clear as a TOM write-up, NA… Continue reading NA Beats NB 6 – 5
A Cappella Group Heard On The Street to release new CD "Disruptive Harmonies"
At Harvard Business School, the tradition of men’s a cappella singing dates back to 1947 and the founding of “The Tycoons.” This group of “monetary musicians” brought good cheer to the campus for over 25 years before succumbing to the pressures of the radical 60’s, the corrupt 70’s, and the conspicuous early 80’s. At the… Continue reading A Cappella Group Heard On The Street to release new CD "Disruptive Harmonies"
Back in the Saddle Again
Last year at this time I was scared out of my mind. I had no finance oraccounting experience and (gasp!) no knowledge of any Excel shortcuts.I was apprehensive about speaking in public. I was still reeling from the abrupt end of my fun, travel-filled, relaxing summer and the start of an intense, busy, overscheduled, 24/7… Continue reading Back in the Saddle Again
SIZE Matters…in the fight for #1 MBA Program
Maybe I don’t get it. Maybe I’m too cynical. But last week I was struck by the ironic simultaneity of two apparently non-related facts. Fact #1: According to MBA rankings by the Financial Times and U.S. News & World Report, HBS is second. Fact #2: According to a memo from the MBA program administration, starting… Continue reading SIZE Matters…in the fight for #1 MBA Program
Editorial
Continued problems with HBS e-mail servers spark widespread, justifiable dismay Once again, an I.T. snafu. The e-mail server outages over March 8 – 20 have left a bitter taste in students’ mouths, prompting such reactions as: “it’s embarrassing,” “inexcusable,” “an outrage,” and “aren’t we at least entitled to an apology?” While we never smile or… Continue reading Editorial
Websites 101:
Last year, all the RC students were required to make a website in TOM. For some reason, the TOM faculty elected to remove the requirement (probably to introduce something more practical like The Beer-Game Exercise). At the request of my sectionmates and to fill this gap in our MBA educational experience, I began running Web… Continue reading Websites 101:
Section E Ate My Hamster!
Job hunt getting you down? One of the keenest minds at the world’s best business schools recalls those happy days from the first semester, in the following extract from our section history…8.05am Arrive at study group. Last, as usual. Everyone is talking about some Tolkien creatures called Nordies. Utterly confused. I practice discipline by denying… Continue reading Section E Ate My Hamster!
Paraphrasing Milton
When I consider how my days at HBS are spent,Ere half my days in these Aldrich classrooms wide,Where class participation which is death to hideIs lodged within me useless during the case method,Why does HBS exact class participation from the TOM-denied?Alas! There is no patience to prevent these murmursI only see thousands of hands at… Continue reading Paraphrasing Milton
The OF Juggernaut Continues to Roll . . .
OF racked up its fourth victory in a row this week over the RC men of ND. With a smothering defense, the OF side clamped down tighter than the new doors on the Spangler Center (am I the only one have trouble opening those things?!!), allowing just 10 points in the second half. Dale “The… Continue reading The OF Juggernaut Continues to Roll . . .
What if Henry Ford went to HBS?
After the first month of HBS, I must admit the most insightful comment I heard came as the answer to a Modern Capitalism question about whether HBS should have a monument to Henry Ford or Alfred Sloan. One classmate said Sloan, because geniuses like Henry Ford are born and managers like Alfred Sloan are trained.… Continue reading What if Henry Ford went to HBS?
My Action Plan for Humor
If there’s one thing I’ve learned at HBS, it’s the fundamental importance of a good action plan. Of course, a good action plan is supposed to break everything out into “short”, “medium”, and “long” terms, with detailed minute-by-minute timelines and full consideration of all possible contingencies, such as how competitor’s reactions and the sudden onset… Continue reading My Action Plan for Humor
Shades of Gray
Why are companies willing to have their management flogged by a bunch of twenty-somethings who just yesterday learned that a channel is more than a television unit? The free advertising, of course. We all know that. But have you looked around and assessed the impact of this ploy on your life? Out of curiosity, and… Continue reading Shades of Gray
