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.