A perspective on everything

How can you tell when someone has personal passion for something? Here's one: A guy stops to talk to you at a cafe about his passion for music, his stereo equipment, and the state of CDs for 15 minutes without you having asked him or interupted him the entire time. Could you do that, and make it interesting, about the topic of your choice? Something to think about.

The following email was sent by a dot-com employee in 2001, and describes one of the greatest single commutes of all time on the illustrious 101. All people's names have been changed in the interest of privacy.

(AP) Redwood City, CA--

Jeff Falkner appears to be ready to end his career on top when he retires from competitive irrelevant street racing this morning.

Monday morning Falkner achieved the pursuit of his lifetime by eclispsing the mythical 30-minute barrier on a rocket ride from XXXX Street, in the heart of San Francisco's Marina district, to the dilapidated corporate headquarters of Excite@Home. The feat was confirmed when race officials announced that the ride was not wind-aided and Falkner tested drug free aside from some traces of lingering booze from Saturday night.

The sporty black Jetta driven Mr. Falkner was fired up at 5:26 AM PST and quickly left XXX Street at break-neck speed almost running down an anorexic jogger on her third run of the morning. The journey out of the city was nearly perfect--serendipity. A very quick delay getting mainstreet Van Ness and it was off to the races. A pesky blue Honda attemped to block Falkner as piloted his vehicle up the first hill but was made quick work of with a spirited right lane passing maneuver. A series of flashing yellow lights that don't activate until 6 caused no delay with the only major stop occurring on Van Ness. A quick left onto Polk as the light turned yellow at Grove Street followed by a quick right onto Polk, which is also known as 'the launching pad' on the racing circuit as it carried the drivers onto highway 101.

The seasoned veteran commented,"When I hit 101, I felt a charge of adrenaline as the clock only read 5.33. From experience, I know that anything over 8 minutes at that stage of the game and I know I'm done for the day." The light traffic at that hour called for a quick move to the left-hand speed lane before settling in at a cruising pace of 80-85 mph with occassional bursts to the 90mph range. Again, Falkner had a feeling he could be making history at the SF Airport checkpoint when he flew past at the 16-17 minute mark of his epic run.

The rest of the trip down to RWC is very tactical. "The trick from SFO past 92 is to look not at where you are but rather, where you are going. This can prevent you from being 'blocked out' or trapped by slower moving vehicles." The brilliance of Falkner was on full display as he spotted a potential problem 1/4 mile ahead and moved to the far right lane for about 1/2 mile to avoid a traffic snafu. Having cleared this hurdle and flying past Poplar Creek in time to spot his coworker teeing off on #1, it was smooth sailing to the Woodside Road exit. The Woodside Road 1 mile sign stirred butterflies in our hero's stomach. He has been here before, within reach of history only to fall victim to the Broadway 5-way stop light. This is the final piece of the puzzle, the equivalent of Boston Marathon's HeartBreak Hill or TB trying to close out a hockey game from the centerman when he is offski.

With great dismay, Falkner rounded the corner to see the glaring red light screaming 'STOP' at him. He thought about running the light but the semi travelling in the opposite direction helped him decide that it was more prudent to stop and live to race another day. The stop was a relatively brief 20 seconds or so and as the light turned green, the clock read 5:54. He lept off the line careening onto Broaday and his date with destiny.
Falkner--"The charge of adrenaline I felt racing down Broadway has only been felt by a precious few champions in this world. That is pretty special. I have been to the mountain top."

The only thing at this point standing in the way of the 30-minute wall was a run-in with Johnny Law and that was not to be. With a quick right and left into the parking lot and total disregard for the parking lot stop signs, Falkner nestled into his customary front-row spot with the clock at 5:55 AM PST. Simple math will tell reader that 29 minutes is less than 30. With the ride over, Falkner closed his eyes, took a deep breath and took a moment to let the magnitude of his accomplishment sink in. Then, he promptly decided what he had to do next and issued the following statement:

"It is with mixed emotions that I announce my retirement from competitive irelevant racing. I am happy to be one of the few to go out at the pinnacle of my profession unlike those washed up losers like Wade Boggs, Jose Canseco and Cal Ripken. I'm not bitter but, those tools stayed too long and sucked when they left or are still sucking. I am the Michael Jordan and John Elway of irrelevant racing. My last shot was my best. At the same time, it makes me sad to give up something that I have devoted my entire life to accomplishing, or at least a few mornings in 2001. The funny thing is, I came in so far under the 30-minute mark with about 25 seconds to spare that I now believe sub-29 is possible given the right confluence of events. But, that is for a younger generation of racers to accomplish. It is time for me to retire so that I can spend more time with my family. Some might say that my pursuit of irrelevant street racing signals that I already have too much time on my hands but they are stupid, stupid idiots. The energy needed and potential perils of irrelevant racing are nothing to scoff at. At this time, I wish to thank all zero of my fans, my tireless vehicle and my sponsors for their support. Without them, none of this would have been possible. With that, I pass the torch to a new generation of racers, one that is looked at as very selfish and, at times, reckless. I want them to know that I believe in them. In time, they will learn that finesse and guile are as important as a lead foot. Godspeed to all. Now, I need a hot cup of Joe."

--The associated press contributed to this report

The following text was provided in response to a friend who engaged our research department in a query – are all guys messed up? This document is being provided to you as an educational document should you or anyone you know ever have the need to reference it. All names and specific references have been omitted for privacy purposes.
----

To: Client
From: Consulting Division
Date: XX/XX/XX

Generic stereotyping of all males is not allowed and won't be condoned, but comparison/statistical analyses are okay. I never met XXXX and therefore won't presume to know him, his behavior, or why he is like he is. However, using the generic case model, we'll attempt to learn some things about guy behavior. The good news is that things are slow here, so you're getting a comprehensive write-up.

So, here's my report:(1)

A great number of guys have issues with commitment (I honestly have no clue why, and guys who don't have an issue with commitment don't understand why some people have this issue), HOWEVER, in almost all cases this fear passes with age (esp. after 30, when the number of single women seems to rapidly decrease towards 0). In cases where the symptoms (i.e. girlfriend leaving because subject wasn't head-over-heals in love) are repeated (as is the case described for this subject), researchers are left with little to no insight into the subject's behavior. Presumably the rational male, after losing one or more serious girlfriends would realize the issue and take steps to proactively address the issue. This, however, assumes that the subject is indeed looking to move down a path towards a long-term relationship (read {"marriage," whether this word was specifically communicated or not). We may therefore infer in some cases it is extremely likely that the subject is not interested in any long term relationship at this time. This final point is critical, because while most male subjects(2) do generally seek to initiate a long term relationship (marriage) between the ages of 22 and 30, there are cases where subjects do not seek to enter long-term relationships until later, even as they approach 40. The often-heard case of "well, maybe he's gay," does not hold merit as to why some subjects do not seek relationships, as even gay males seek long-term relationships within the same general age range. So, to what then do we attribute this behavior?

A favorite theorem, termed the "Theory of Infinite Choice," or "Theory of Infinite Availability," developed in 2000 by one of the author's colleagues holds that some males believe that there may be someone better out there, and the notion of keeping the current selection (in this case, woman) is risky against potential future opportunities. Again, recognizing and understanding this concept is critical for men because without recognition, the male will always be reluctant to keep his current selection (girlfriend).

Another idea is that some males actually like their "independence" and all that entails. It is not clear however, generally past the age of 30, what particular benefits this "independence" actually has for any male, especially when factoring for the data which shows there are fewer available single woman each year, therefore this idea has been widely discounted by researchers.

Conclusions:
The words "commitment" and "head-over-heals" are "flash" words, which actually have no single universally accepted meaning. These flash words are used as a "flash" to distract the audience (woman) from what the speaker (male) is saying, since he (in this case, the speaker is always male) has no real rational explanation for why he doesn't want to move the relationship to the next level, or even consider where the relationship might go. In this traumatic, but all too frequent scenario(3), the primary option for the woman is to be thankful that a contained amount of time was spent in the relationship, and to seek out other males. This research concludes that there are few, if any indications for the male relationship state, and that only inquiry into the subject's previous relationship history will provide any guidance into whether these symptoms are likely to be exhibited.

Notes:
(1) References and sources omitted for brevity. Research, data, and any conclusions should be presumed to be from the author and no more reliable source. Author makes no claims as to his expertise in this or any other subject matter. Actions undertaken as the result of reading this report are the sole responsibility of the reader and the author assumes no liability for these actions or lack of actions.
(2) Subjects are considered only from the author's known universe: college educated males, living in the United States in either the Northeast or West Coast.
(3) The author has heard this episode repeated a large number of times with numerous subjects on both coasts.

Sincerely,

XXXX

Director, Relationship Research

You're griping about some "kid" playing his music too loud, or griping about how there's no good music today, or whatever. Your fiancee/girlfriend/significant other/random person calls you an old curmudgeon. What? You're not even XX (insert your own age + 10 years here). Hmmm. Are you really old? Here's a quick gut check. Answer any two of the following with a yes and you're all done -- check yourself into a home!

I find myself wearing plaid shorts on weekends.
I play golf.
I enjoy a steam at the gym.
I've had to reduce carb intake.
I go to the gym, not to get stronger, but just to maintain.
I drive a four-door luxury car.
I live in suburban Burlingame.
I could have been led to believe that the best choice for Governor was a Republican.
I can't imagine being out drinking until 3 am.
I can't remember having been out drinking until 3am.
Bran is one of the primary ingredients in my breakfast cereal.
There are medicines in my medicine cabinet which have nothing to do with hangover recovery.
I don't understand Abacrombe and Fitch.
I looked at the top 10 albums of the week and literally didn't recognize a single artist. I didn't say I didn't like a single artist, I literally had never heard of anyone on the list!
I'm considering buying pants with elastic waistbands.

While I have strong opinions on the criteria to consider when deciding whether to pursue an MBA, I don't have a single answer which says anyone should or shouldn't pursue it. So with that in mind, here are the things that one (you) should consider when making this decision.

The MBA is a general business program. You'll learn a little bit about marketing, finance, products, strategy, organizational structure, and accounting. If you have an undergraduate degree in engineering, economics, or a hard science, the MBA program will be cake. If you have an English or other liberal arts degree, you may have to work a bit. Despite what many think, except for the MIT program, the MBA program contains almost no hard math (i.e. no calculus, differential equations). If you have an undergraduate degree in business, skip the rest of this and find yourself another program -- there's no way anyone who has an undergraduate degree in business should pursue an MBA, and I will say no more on this topic.

For some reason you're currently considering an MBA. There are many reasons to get an MBA, many reasons you may think you need one, and in some cases there are even reasons people should have one. Below, I've identified some of this thinking and my belief on where these reasons fit with respect to whether an MBA is the best thing for you.

Reasons for getting an MBA
- You want to understand the basics of how companies work
- You want to become a strategic consultant (i.e. work for BCG)
- You want credibility to work in management at a large company
- Your company is willing to fund your MBA while you work there

The MBA program will ground you in marketing, finance, products, strategy, organizational structure, and accounting, but just because you've got an MBA doesn't necessarily make you good at any one of those things. How many MBAs have you met who you thought were total monkeys? How many rock stars have you met who didn't have an MBA. The MBA can ground you in business fundamentals and teach you some useful skills. Like anything else, you'll get out what you put in. If you're a rock star marketer going into the program, maybe you'll learn a thing or two about finance and leave a rock star marketing/finance leader. Maybe you'll learn about how to formulate a corporate strategy and understand the inputs to consider. Good stuff. But god help you if you're a moron with no skills. Moron in, moron out. I've seen it. The MBA won't help you a lick.

Reasons that don't on-their-own justify getting an MBA
- You want to learn how to be a better marketer
- You want to understand business
- You want to understand finance
- You want to grow in your job, advance your career, switch jobs
- "But everyone else has an MBA"

Alternatives
- If your goal is to learn about a particular topic: i.e. marketing, finance, foreign exchange, money markets, etc., consider a Masters or PhD in one of those fields. The MBA is a generalist's degree, similar to an undergraduate experience -- you get a lot of exposure to a lot of business topics, but no real opportunity to go deep in any one area. Remember, we're talking four semesters - not a lot of time to deeply cover a broad range of topics.
- If you're looking to grow in your job, consider this -- keep working! While you may want to ramp the speed at which you're learning, you may be able to learn more quickly in a different group, a different company, or pursuing a different field altogether. You'll pickup certain skills pursuing the MBA, but if you want to stay in a role similar to the one you're currently in, then getting an MBA might not be the best use of your time or money.
- "But everybody else has an MBA." Great answer. NOT. This isn't a popularity content. There are a ton of lawyers in the world too, but you're not considering getting a JD are you? There are a ton of MBAs. Why? Let me let you in on a little secret. The MBA program is EASY! And it's valued by a lot of people in the corporate world. Live your own life. Be your own person. What do you want to do? Figure it out, and then if your goals line up with something you can get out of an MBA program, then do it. But don't ever let me hear you say you're getting an MBA because everyone else has one.


Okay I get it. Now I really do want to get my MBA. So, where should I go?
Ah, so after all that you decided the MBA is right for you. Now let's talk schools. The MBA content is pretty much the same from school to school. From Harvard to Stanford to Texas to Santa Clara, you'll generally find the same material being taught (despite those that will tell you otherwise). Trust me, every school uses the same Harvard Business School cases. That said, don't assume you're going to leave Santa Clara with the same thing you're going to get from Stanford or any other school for that matter.

Each school is unique and picking the one that matches your interests and post-school ambitions is important. Harvard - lots of smart folks who want to manage people. Stanford - a strong program in developing new products. MIT - quantitative focus. As I said, the base course content is similar, but what you'll leave with differs significantly from school to school. Much of the reason for going to business school is not to get the degree, but to meet people along the way who may help you with your career well after you've graduated. How many startups emerged from a bunch of Stanford students getting together and building something great? Don't pick a school based on its US News ranking - do you think you won't get a job if you go to the #10 school instead of the #8? Hardly, especially considering next year #8 will likely be #10 and #10 will likely be ranked #5. Define what you want to get our of school and then decide where you'd like to go.

That's it. Happy decision-making!

Andrew


All contents copyright 2004 Andrew Reback. No reproduction allowed in whole or in part. Not responsible for bad decisions or failed careers resulting from decisions made based on reading this material. This document cannot substitute for judgement, good or bad. Nor can this document substitute for common sense. Do not read while driving or operating heavy machinery. Feel free to read this while drinking or even passed out. Under no circumstances should you ever smoke in bed.