Internship, recruiting, new baby, …..it’s going to be a busy fall

It’s September which means my internship is half over, recruiting season is starting, and Sean is already almost three months old. 

Internship

I’m really enjoying my time working at Genzyme.  My project is improving a critical step in the manufacturing process of enzyme replacement products.  I’m learning a great deal and experimenting with some of the new concepts I learned in the LGO program.  It’s also great to have the network of my classmates to discuss ideas and review my thinking.  Working at Genzyme these past few months has also been interesting due to the shear number of reasons they’re in the news.

Recruiting

Some of you prospective students may be wondering about the process of actually finding a job at the end of the LGO experience.  While students are free to pursue any avenue they want to find employment after the program, most people utilize the recruiting process through MIT, Sloan, and LGO (all three are slightly different but complimentary).  The career development office begins posting job opportunities on an internal website in September (there are already nearly 200 posted this year) with interviews taking place starting in October and continuing through the school year.  The busiest period of on-campus recruiting is the end of October through November.  LGO has a week of dedicated recruiting for the partner companies during the first week of November.  Employment statistics for the LGO class of 2010 are posted here and Sloan statistics for the class of 2009 are here.   

Sean

He’s growing incredibly fast and keeping us busy.  It’s been great having my nights and weekends free to spend time with him.  One of the major benefits of internship is the slower pace compared to classes.  We’re headed to the cape this weekend to give him a chance to put his toes in the ocean for the first time (but only for a second because the water will be cold).  

A new addition

I’ve been slacking on the blog posts, and for that I apologize.  I do however,  have a decent excuse.  His name is Sean and he was born on June 21st. 

 

He and Kerin are both doing great.  He has impacted our sleep schedules a little bit (Kerin’s more than mine), but he found time to visit campus and apply for early admission. 

He’s four weeks old today.  So far, so good.

My internship

A significant part of the LGO experience is a six month long internship at one of the partner companies.  My internship started two weeks ago at the Allston Landing Facility working for Genzyme.  I am working for an LGO alum in the Lean Transformation department at a biotechnology plant. 

The facility I’m working in produces two critical drugs for Genzyme that account for a large portion of the company’s revenue.  In the past few years the plant has struggled with FDA compliance issues, contamination problems, and missed orders.  In addition to those challenges there is a billionaire investor looking to shake up the board of directors and oust the sitting CEO who has been at the helm since 1985. 

With that much going on I’m sure it will be an interesting six months.  I’ve been spending my first days at Allston meeting people and learning the process.  I hope to have a thesis project scoped out by the end of my first month. 

Life really does go on

One of the biggest concerns that Kerin and I had before deciding to join the LGO program was that we would put our “life” on hold for two years.  When thinking about a significantly reduced income (Kerin is working while I’m in school), selling more than half of our furniture, moving 3,000 miles, the uncertainty of where we’d be after graduation and a number of other unknowns it felt like coming to LGO would be hitting a big pause button on all of our plans.  After a lot of discussion we decided (and hoped) that it would be worth it and took the plunge.

More than a year has passed since we made that decision and in less than a year we’ll be back in the real world.  The interesting thing we have learned is that our life really didn’t pause as much as we thought it would.  We made the decision to have our first child while we’re in Boston close to Kerin’s family.  Our son is due June 19th just after I start my internship.  We still take vacations, go to the movies, hang out with friends, and eat a fancy dinner once in awhile.  Life is different, but our vision of eating ramen every night, and commuting from Maine so we could afford housing didn’t come to pass.  And I feel secure about our future because of the things I’m learning, the people I’m meeting, and the experiences I’ve had. 

If you’re considering LGO and are worried about putting your life on hold I encourage you to reach out to current and past students to get an idea of what the transition is like.  “2010 me” would have told “2009 me” not to worry and he would have been right. 

The network

There are so many great things about the LGO program, but one that may be hard to get a feel for without being here is the people you meet through the incredible network.  When you join LGO you become a member of the roughly 1000 current students and alumni as well as the broader Sloan and MIT communities. 

This semester I’m working with a team of 2011 LGO students on a project examining the relationship between General Motors and the United Auto Workers, specifically how negotiation dynamics changed leading up to bankruptcy.  The current Vice President of Labor Relations at GM is a graduate of LGO and the former VP graduated from the Sloan Fellows program.  Our team was able to reach out to both alumni and talk directly to them and their teams about what it was like to be at the negotiating table during the ‘05, ‘07, and ‘09 talks.  They both made time to take our phone calls, answer our emails, and helped us tremendously.  We were also fortunate enough to have Ron Bloom visit our class last fall to talk about the GM bankruptcy from the government’s perspective. 

It was incredible for our team to have access to the people who were at the epicenter of one of the most significant economic events of our lifetime.  An experience made possible by the LGO network.  

Mustache March Winners

Most Fitting

Diego

Most Disturbing

Mike D

Dirt Lip

Donovan

Best in Show (with over 85% of the vote!)

Steve H

Thanks for playing everybody.  Only 332 days to wait until the beginning of 2011 Mustache March. 

Mustache March has been taken to the next level

If Drew Hill was a professional wrestler and had entrance music you’d be hearing it right now.

 

That just happened….

Mustache March Voting

One of the numerous and fantastic traditions of the LGO program is Mustache March.  Drew wrote about the competition last year so you can read here for background on rules and proceedings.  We got a late start this year so our dates are a little different than last year, but it’s the same idea.  We’ve reached the end of the month and it’s time to review the candidates and submit your votes.
What you’re voting on
As you review the contestants below pick your favorite in each of the following categories:

• Best in Show – This man was born to wear a mustache.  It enhances his innate talents and abilities and no one laughs or chuckles when he enters a room wearing said ‘stache.  When considering this category think: Tom Selleck or Burt Reynolds (also imagine it’s 1978).
• Most Disturbing – The winner of this category should make you fear for your as yet unborn children.  When this individual enters the room you hope they don’t sit anywhere near you.  When considering your choice for this category think: This guy.
• Most Fitting – Once in awhile a gentleman just looks good in a mustache.  While more understated than the best in show ‘stache, when you see this mustachioed person at first you don’t even notice he’s wearing an upper lip warmer.  However, once you see it, your reaction is not repulsion, but instead willing acceptance.  When deciding who to vote for in this category think: Your dad at some point in his life (most likely), Dr. Phil, or Jason Lee from My Name is Earl.
• Dirt Lip – This one is pretty self explanatory.  Most of you went to high school with a few guys who didn’t shave their upper lips for months at a time yielding only a few pathetic follicles.  As you make your choice for this category think: People you know who went through adolescence late,  and this kid. 

VOTE HERE NOW
Voting closes on Thursday 4/1 at noon
Mustache March 2010 Contestants
Click pictures for larger view – you know you want to
For your viewing enjoyment I now present your choices for the 2010 Mustache March awards (You’re welcome ladies):
Steve Hale

Mike Donohue

Steve Smith

Donovan Collins

Travis Gracewski

 Diego Mendez de la Luz

Leo Espindle

Andres Garro

David Segrera

RJ Lehman

VOTE HERE NOW
We also have a special showing this year for a couple contestants who got a running start with full beards so they aren’t eligible for awards but we still want to recognize their efforts.
Ben Wheeler

Kevin Resch

And here are a number of last minute ‘mustache challenged’ contestants:
Danielle Sita


Min Hsieh

Chris Hopkins

Kevin Leiter

Mustache Camaraderie



VOTE HERE NOW

The latest happenings

Busy weekend…

I went to the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference on Saturday which was awesome.  Lots of high level sports owners, managers, and commentators talking about how statistics and detailed analysis have changed the face of professional sports.  The highlight for me was a panel with Bill Simmons (Sports Guy), Mark Cuban (Owner of the Dallas Mavericks), Jonathan Kraft (Owner of the Patriots), Bill Polian (President of the Colts), Daryl Morey (Rockets General Manager), and Michael Lewis (Author of Moneyball) all on stage together.  They covered a lot of ground but the best conversation was about the decision of Bill Belichick to go for it on fourth down in the regular season Pats – Colts game this year.  Kraft and Polian were being polite but Simmons was openly critical of the call.  Mark Cuban was also not shy about everything from front office decisions of other NBA teams to league officiating.  Saturday night I celebrated my 30th birthday with dinner and drinks on the town.

Sunday Kerin took me to a nice dinner with just the two of us followed by the annual two class LGO hockey game.  Everyone had a good time with the 2011s winning 3-1 over the 2010s.

The future class of 2012 also started getting phone calls this weekend to let them know they’ve been accepted so I’m looking forward to meeting them in April.  This is the last week of class before spring break which means 10 days until I leave for a China / Japan trek.  And last but not least Mustache March is in full swing. 

A day in the life – spring semester

Along the same line as my post back in July, here’s a running diary of my Friday February 19, 2010:

8:00AM – Wake up after multiple snooze button presses and get ready for the day.  Kerin was up before for work early today so she took care of walking Charlie Murphy.

8:40AM – Walk about 300 yards to the subway station where I catch the train to campus.  I live at the Davis Square stop and MIT is at the Kendall stop.  I can get from my front door to a class in about 20 minutes when the trains are running on time.

9:00AM – Get to the LGO office about an hour before my first class for the day so I have a chance to talk to a few people and restock the LGO store.  The store is a student run alternative to the vending machines around school.  A group of us volunteers every semester to make costco runs to buy snacks, sodas, and other items in bulk.  We then sell them at a small margin and use the proceeds at the end of the year to party.

10:00AM – Friday’s are recitation days for some of my classes.  The system dynamics session today covers some of the topics on the homework that will be due next week.

11:30AM – I grab lunch from the Sloan cafeteria and eat in the LGO office with other people.

12:00PM – I meet with my tiger teams group and an academic advisor.  We’re working with a company called EnerNOC this semester to evaluate and offer improvement ideas for their supply chain.

1:00PM – Marketing Strategy class.  This is my only “official” class that meets on a Friday and it’s only a half semester class so I can deal with it.  Today’s class is a case discussion examining the business strategy differences between Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.

2:30PM – Meet with my tiger team again to visit EnerNOC at their corporate offices in downtown Boston.

3:00PM – We arrive at EnerNOC and spend the next hour and a half learning about their current supply chain and asking numerous questions to help us understand what we should spend the semester working on.

4:30PM – I meet up with Kerin downtown because EnerNOC is a few blocks from her office.  We ride the train back to Davis Square.

5:15PM – Davis Square is a great little neighborhood with lots of shops, restaurants, and bars.  We grab a couple of sandwiches at a deli right near the subway station on our walk back to our apartment.

6:15PM – We take the subway to Harvard Square to meet a bunch of other people for a Harvard vs. Cornell hockey game.  There are a couple of Cornell alums in LGO and they wanted to watch the Big Red beat up on Harvard.  Cornell won 3-0 and it wasn’t even that close.

9:00PM – A group of us go back to Davis Square for BBQ at Red Bones.

10:30PM – We walk over to Spirit Bar a few blocks away to hang out and watch some of the Olympics.  Women’s curling was on and everyone in the bar was getting into the match.  I guess beer makes any sporting event more exciting.

1:00AM – We walk home from the bar after a long but fun day.    

Spring classes and waiting for the internship decisions

Two weeks ago was internship fest which has been covered in some of the other LGO blogs, so I won’t rehash it here.  Suffice it to say I did 19 interviews in 3 days.  It was definitely an interesting process.  We ranked our preferences for what jobs we liked last Friday and now we’re all waiting to see what the results of the algorithm will be and who we’ll be working for.  We should know by sometime next week if everything goes smoothly.  I recommended that we reveal the internship matches in a big group with a game show (press your luck) theme, but I’m not sure we’ll get to have that much fun. 

Classes started last week and I’m taking just shy of a full load this semester.  I also front loaded my classes so after spring break I will only be in a classroom nine hours per week.  I should have lots of time to enjoy the weather. 

15.025 – Game Theory – This is primarily a theory based class taught by a professor from UC Berkley.  He covers a variety of types of “games” typically encountered in real life and we discuss how players should and do react.

15.615 – Business Law – Taught by a former lawyer, this has been interesting so far.  Topics cover the basics of things like product liability, fiduciary responsibility, and real life legal cases that have affected businesses and managers.

15.665 – Power and Negotiation – This course is simulation based meaning every week we work in groups to learn from simulated negotiating scenarios.  We are able to try different styles with no risk.  It’s nice to practice negotiating a job offer before it’s the real deal.

15.834 – Strategic Marketing – An all case based class covering topics like quantifying customer service scores to make investment decisions.

15.871 – System Dynamics – One of the most well known topics taught at Sloan because it was invented here.  This is an interesting class about how  to model complex systems.  Our first homework assignment was to build a model that replicated data from the SARS outbreak in Taiwan in 2003.

ESD.267 – Supply Chain Planning – This is an engineering class that many LGOs take (there are 25 of us in the class this semester).  It is a good foundational course for topics like inventory policy, postponement, and supplier management.

ESD.941 – Tiger Teams – Project based class where teams of 3 to 5 of us work with area businesses on real industry problems.  My team is working with EnerNoc, a company that among other things works to coordinate demand responses during peak energy events.  We will be working to improve the supply chain they use to get monitoring equipment delivered and installed for new clients.

News from the road – plant trek

I’m writing this post from Austin, Texas where our class is spending the weekend after an awesome first week of plant trek.  We started on Monday in Seattle visiting Boeing, went to Phoenix on Wednesday to see Amazon, and LA on Friday to see Amgen.  This coming week we’ll see Dell and Cisco in Austin before flying to Raleigh to see Novartis and then Detroit to see GM and Ford. 

It has been an excellent opportunity to see some world class operations with a bunch of other people who really love this kind of stuff.  We also have Professor Shoji Shiba, a world renowned Total Quality Management expert with experience observing hundreds if not thousands of operations all over the world.  His perspective has helped us all see something knew. 

Here is a run down of what we have seen so far:

Boeing – We had the opportunity to see two Boeing production facilities.  The Everett, Washington facility, which produces the 747, 777, and the new 787 Dreamliner, is simply enormous.  It is very impressive to see a building with assembly lines full of jumbo jets.  We got to walk through in-process planes and see some of the assembly operations up close.  That night we got to tour the Dreamliner Gallery building which was built to help customers make design decisions when ordering a new 787.  We got to take turns sitting in a mock cockpit, and saw all the configuration options for seats, equipment and interior designs.

The next day we went to the Renton, Washington plant where the 737 is assembled.  This building was also very impressive and the operation had more of an assembly line feel.  Site leadership talked to us about their lean journey that started in the 90’s and continues today.  It was amazing for the class to learn that the 737 model has been so popular that the plant has a five year backlog. 

Amazon – We visited a fulfillment center in Phoenix, Arizona to get a look at Amazon operations.   The building was about 600,000 square feet and very well laid out.  It was obvious that Amazon has taken 5S principles to heart throughout the organization.  We walked through the process while Amazon leadership described their impressive throughput rates and focus on continuous improvement.  I was also surprised to learn that they develop all of their own software internally to enable their process.  The importance that Amazon places on leadership was obvious during our time in Phoenix and our class was grateful that so many operations leaders were able to spend time with us.  Amazon flew in approximately eight senior leaders (many were LGO alumni) to share their stories with us.

Amgen – Our next stop took us to Amgen headquarters in  Thousand Oaks, California which is about forty minutes from Los Angeles.  We toured their large corporate campus where they showed us how operations support the development of new drugs and produce product for clinical trials.  At their headquarters, Amgen has a pilot plant capable of making many different types and batch sizes of test products as well as a fill and finish plant that packages product shipped in from other facilities for use in clinical trials.  We also saw the impressive quality labs and a hand pack and ship operation for delivering product to hospitals performing trials all over the world. 

The other huge benefit of the plant trek trip is how much time we have to hang out together as a class.  We have a number of stories and adventures from the past week including a late night swim in the pacific ocean and a four man epic Las Vegas road trip.  Many others have said plant trek is the high point of the LGO experience and I can definitely see why.       

Plant Trek

I leave tomorrow for what I’m sure will be one of the best experiences of the LGO program – plant trek.  It’s a two week cross country jaunt with visits to eight partner companies in six cities.  Our whole class and a few professors will spend 13 days seeing a variety of operations and hearing from partner company leaders.

We will also have a great time.  One of my classmates took the opportunity to create some awesome heavy metal style tour t-shirts so we can travel in style.  They show all of our tour stops and dates, and have some face melting graphics on the front.  It’s been dubbed the “LGO 2010 Wips and Supply Chains Tour” …get it?

Our first stop is in Seattle to see two Boeing sites where they build some of the largest and most complex machines in the world.