MBA in a Blog

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Get Laura's Grill On!
2009-02-27 12:47:00
I don't get the Food Network here in the UK, but one of the shows is apparently looking for the next great griller to showcase. My friend Laura (a kindred spirit who left a successful career in the IT industry to become a chef) has entered the competition and needs your support...Click here to view her video (with a decadent but easy recipe for stuffed, grilled pork chops on an indoor grill - the ooooozing goat cheese made me gasp in delight).And please give her 5 stars and great comments!!!
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Ideas for my Career??
2009-02-24 11:05:00
A couple of years ago, I thought long and hard about what my 'next job' might look like. My coach helped guide me through the process, and I was able to develop not a job title, but some descriptors of what I was looking for from my work life. I reviewed this recently, and found that while the descriptions still apply, I've never had more than a vague idea about what specific jobs I should be tracking down.Here's my list, in case anyone out there has any ideas they'd like to share:- Offers opportunities to create (ideas, products, markets, etc) - Focuses on solving problems- Works across disciplines (i.e. science and business) and/or departments (i.e HR and strategy and finance)and/or countries- Involves building teams and developing people- Offers flexible day-to-day working environment (i.e. open plan/hot-desk working - if a desk has to be involved at all, something other than a 9-5, Mon-Fri in the office-type job)- Located close to home (i.e. no train or Tube ride required)
More About: Ideas , Career

One Red Paperclip
2009-02-17 13:16:00
I have to be honest - I missed the whole 'one red paperclip' phenomenon when it was happening. But I was in the bookstore the other day and saw this book about this guy who attempted to 'trade up' a red paperclip in a series of trades for a house. My kind of book, quirky without being too wierd, so I bought it. And I have to say, I'm glad I bought the book rather than witnessed the phenomenon because I like closure and it would have taken a while to follow the story while it was on-going.For those of you who also missed the event, buy the book. It's a great story, and it touches on a lot of themes that I really buy into and try to live in my life, things like "they can't say 'no' unless you ask" and "if you don't put yourself out there, the opportunities won't find you". It's a fun book, too, the kind that makes you wonder "Why don't I have ideas like this?" and "Would I have the courage to act on them if I did?".

Pet Insurance
2009-02-03 10:56:00
I wrote yesterday that my LBS MBA was one of my best investments. One of my other best investments has been pet insurance. It's much more common in the UK to insure pets than it is in the US, and when we first started paying for insurance for our cats, we did question the value. They're housecats, they rarely get sick, how much would we really need the insurance? It was clearer-cut for the dog, who is outside in a city on a regular basis, interacting with other dogs. We were pretty sure she'd be at the vet for some sort of treatments on a regular basis. But the cats? Last week, I realised the value of the insurance when our oldest cat was diagnosed with a chronic disease that will very quickly shorten her life. It was such a relief to be able to take her to the vet, pay the excess, and then be able to make decisions about her treatment solely on what's best for her rather than what we could afford. It's hard enough to make difficult decisions about a loved one, so much harder t...
More About: Insurance , Pet Insurance

FT: LBS MBA is #1
2009-02-02 15:47:00
Hooray! My alma mater London Business School has been ranked by the Financial Times as the top MBA in the world. Not just any number or anywhere, but number one in the whole world.My MBA is still one of the best investments I ever made, and I love that the school just keeps going from strength to strength. Congratulations to everyone in the LBS community!!

Fulfilling Your Potential
2009-01-20 13:05:00
I've been emailing recently about career paths/choices with someone who reads my blog. The topic of 'fulfilling my potential' arose, and while I don't want to repeat any of the personal discussions I've been having with them, I do think the generic concept of 'fulfilling your potential' is a good one to blog about right now - especially since it's that time of year when people are thinking about fresh starts and university applications are falling due.I always find the concept of fulfilling your potential a bit of a mine-field. What exactly does the phrase mean? For example, as a healthy woman, I have the potential to be a mother, but I choose not to do this. Does this mean I'm somehow a failure who hasn't lived up to their potential? I'm sure there are people out there who would say, "Yes", but I don't agree.To me, the key part of the phrase is the 'your' part. Your potential. Not just any potential, but yours. Which means that you have to make choices, and only you c...

Live My Island Dream for Six Months
2009-01-12 21:19:00
If anyone out there has the sort of lifestyle where you can pick up and leave everything behind for six months, you could be living my island dream:Tourism Queensland in Australia is looking for someone to act as caretaker to the Great Barrier Reef on a six-month contract. Not only do you not need any formal qualifications other than the ability to write blogs and take photos/video, but they will pay you £73,500 and provide a posh place for you to live on Hamilton Island . Click here to apply.I've been to the Great Barrier Reef before, and it is a little slice of heaven. If it were a permanent job, I'd be sending in an application myself.
More About: Live , Dream , Months

Same-Day Dry Cleaning
2009-01-09 11:49:00
I try really hard not to dwell on all of the things I loved about living in New York City, but the one thing that follows me wherever I go is how much I miss same-day dry cleaning.On my way to work, I used to drop everything off, and on my way home that day, no matter how late, I could pick it all up. This included laundry, too, which used to be charged by the pound and would be sorted and folded on my return. Prices were reasonable, and quality was good. It never occurred to me I couldn't get this service everywhere.As I've moved around the world, my once-very-tasteful wardrobe is now full of wash-and-wear. My main consideration when I'm shopping is not 'does this look good on me?' but 'can I put it in the wash?'. I can't stand the thought of going to the cleaners every Saturday to bail out the clothes that have been sitting there all week since they've taken days to be cleaned and the shop is only open when I'm at work. Why should my clothes spend more time with the dry ...
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America Bashing
2009-01-07 11:29:00
I've been sitting in meetings recently with international colleagues, one of whom has a predilection for comparing his way of working with the 'hard, aggressive, pushy' approach that his America n competitors use. He has a penchant for negatively stereotyping Americans, and is not afraid to be vocal about it. On the odd occasion, he used to look at me and say, "Of course this doesn't apply to you". He hasn't been doing that anymore, which leaves me wondering if he either has forgotten I'm in the room and might take offense or if these statements now actually do apply to me.As the often lone American in the room, I'm always left wondering how I'm supposed to react. Do I correct it and run the risk of being seen as too sensitive? Do I continue to ignore it, despite the fact that America bashing has become more and more commonplace in recent years? The other thing that baffles me is that this person is one of the most gender-sensitive people in the organisation. Where he's very...

'Tis the Season to be...Budgeting???
2008-12-24 01:28:00
Anyone else out there trying to get their budgets done before year-end?I never thought that when I started my new job in August, I would spend almost all of my time with my nose buried in a spreadsheet. But all kinds of things needed to be modelled so that we could try to put a realistic budget in place - the recently implemented compensation structure, target income based on consultant utilisation, profit margins, cost allocations, etc. Then there were all of the scenarios - the budget for the target income that I thought was realistic based on capacity. The budget for the discounted target income that the Board thought was realistic. The budget for the discounted discounted target income that now seems realistic due to the severity of the economic downturn...It doesn't help that we budget as six divisions around the world plus head office in four different currencies. In four months, I've generated more than 80 spreadsheets. I honestly couldn't believe it when I counted them al...
More About: Season , Budgeting

Where is the Christmas Cheer?
2008-12-20 12:09:00
I really, really like to wrap presents. There's something about making sure that the recipient is just as pleased with how the gift looks before they know what's inside as they are when it's opened. Lately, I've been trying to be less wasteful and more environmentally aware. So last year I decided that I would only wrap my Christmas gifts with newspaper since I also love reading newspapers during my commute and feel a bit guilty about that. Not just any old newspaper, though - any wrapping I did had to be with the pages that had Christmas themes/pictures. Advertising didn't count, just heart-warming items that were reflective of the holiday season. I had tons of 'gift wrap' last year.This year, I'm scrounging. I've had to use ads, thank goodness for Selfridges who have done lots of 2-page spreads covered in snowmen rather than products. Today I had to use the ad that Transport for London is running that's got a boy with a mitten on it reminding people to check the train sc...
More About: Cheer

Tag Fact 7 (and last!): Someday I'm Going to Own an Island
2008-12-16 11:00:00
It is my dream in life to own an island. Not just any island, but the perfect island. The weather has to be just so - enough rain so that it's lush, but not so much that there are mudslides and heavy winds. Enough sunshine so that it's warm year-round, but not so much that it's too hot to move. It needs to be small enough that I can maintain and defend it, but big enough for there to still be private spaces when guests come. It needs to be remote enough so that it's my own private paradise, but not so much so that I have to be totally self-sufficient. Remember, I'm a city girl, so my island has to come with electricity, flush toilets, hot and cold running water, and diet cola. Access to and delivery from Macy's would be the icing on the cake.Every day, as I meet and interact with people, I think about whether or not I would let them come to my island. One of the biggest attractions to me of having an island is being able to gate-keep who comes in. And, one of my greatest stres...
More About: Fact , Island

Tag Fact 6: Cows are Evil
2008-12-14 10:38:00
I have a thing about cows. In my ideal life, I would never be anywhere near a cow since I'm a city girl and they just don't thrive on pavement. But here in the UK, they seem to be everywhere. Go to a park in the city in the summer and, for some unknown reason, there are cows at the summer fairs. Try to go to a historic site, and you have to walk through a field of cows to get there. Ugh. I just don't like cows.All we do with cows is use them. For milk, for meat, for leather. When was the last time you saw a cow who was having a good time? Frolicking in a field with its mates? Doing anything other than standing around, looking innocent, but secretly planning with its fellow bovines how to get back at the humans who have taken advantage of them for all of these years?Think about it the next time you have to walk through a field and the person who owns it says, "Oh don't worry about Shelby (aka Bessie), she's perfectly harmless." The cow just wants you to think she's harmless so ...
More About: Fact , Evil , Cows

Tag Fact 5: I'm a Second-Hand Smoker
2008-12-11 22:01:00
I could never bring myself to actually smoke. It's a nasty and wasteful habit, and I can never figure out why someone would do something that has such a high probability of causing serious illness and/or death (although most of the people I know who smoke started as teens, when they didn't really think those things could ever happen to them). When I was younger, though, I had an aunt who smoked (and later suffered from severe lung disease). I used to like to sit next to her when she was smoking, inhaling the wisps of smoke that wafted up from her lit cigarette. For some reason, I love the smell of one lit cigarette, even though I can't tolerate a room full of smokers. And yes, I do know that second-hand smoke is also pretty bad for you.Yet, I find myself tagging along behind the people who, forbidden from smoking in enclosed spaces, puff on their cigarettes as they walk down the street. I inhale deeply, and feel a bit of regret when they throw their stub on the pavement. It's so...
More About: Fact , Smoker , Hand , Second Hand

Tag Fact 4: I Make the Best Apple Pie
2008-12-10 21:03:00
Now, I'm not writing this to brag, but my husband thinks I make the best apple pie - even better than his grandmother's (or so he's said). He loves apple pie, and since I love my husband, over the course of 20 years, I've made hundreds of apple pies to get it exactly the way he likes it. To be honest, apple pie is only about 6th on my list of favourite pies (after pumpkin, lemon meringue, banana cream, chocolate cream, and any kind of berry), and when I eat it, I prefer it with a crumble topping rather than a 2-crust pie like my husband likes. But since I'm not the prettiest, skinniest, smartest, or even nicest person in the world, I figured I better be able to do something that would enable me to hang onto my husband.While I won't tell you exactly how I make it (sorry ladies, I really do mean it when I say I want to keep him, so I can't share all of my secrets with a wide audience), I'll share a few tips:1. The crust should be made with part butter and part vegetable short...
More About: Apple , Fact , Make

Tag Fact 3: Zombie or Pirate?? I Can't Tell...
2008-12-08 09:58:00
I can't tell the difference between zombies and pirates when I hear the noise they make - 'Arrr' versus 'Arrgh'. I don't know when I discovered this particular inability, but I lost all hope of mastering this critical life skill after seeing the Pirate s of the Carribbean movies which have, of all things, zombie pirates. Whoever thought that up must know (and hate) someone like me.My husband, totally amused by this, will every now and again say either the word 'pirate' or 'zombie' to me to see which noise I'll make. It's pretty much always the wrong one, and it cracks him up. He won't be laughing the day a zombie comes to our door and I open it, thinking it's a pirate.
More About: Fact , Zombie

Tag Fact 2: There's a Way to Make a Bed
2008-12-06 11:40:00
It's Saturday morning, and I'm faced with my usual routine of changing the bed. I'm reminded of when I was a young, starry-eyed newlywed, and my husband would join me in the task. "No, no, you're doing it wrong", I would tell him. And he would just shake his head at the kind of crazy he married, and walk away. Nice guy that he is, he does still come up to change the bed with me every now and again, he just knows now not to try to lead the process.As I mentioned in my previous post, I love to sleep. My bed and how it's made are incredibly important to me. If the bed's not made right, I can't get to sleep. I can't count how many hotel beds I've remade in the middle of the night. If I've slept at your home, it's a pretty sure bet I've remade at least part of your bed. I don't know when it started, and it's definitely not something that was taught to me, but there's a way to make a bed. Here it is:1. All sheet/blanket tags go to the foot of the bed. 2. All patterns with a...
More About: Fact , Make

Tag Fact 1: My Soul Mate Wears Combat Boots
2008-12-04 22:22:00
A lot of people don't know that I have a soul mate, and he's not my husband. Don't get me wrong - I love my husband, I couldn't imagine spending my life with anyone else. But he's not my soul mate - he's different enough from me that he challenges me in wacky and wonderful ways that make my life so much better than it would have been otherwise. I mean, I still haven't completely forgiven him for the spiny-kneed cricket incident on the midnight walk in the rainforest in Australia that this city-girl wanted nothing to do with, but it's something I wouldn't have done on my own and a memory we'll laugh about forever.But I digress...I met my soul mate in 1999 when I was working on the Space Generation Forum for the United Nations. Among the Canadian contingent was a military test pilot, an incredibly helpful and genuinely amiable guy. We had emailed and been on teleconferences in the run-up to the event, and it was great to finally put a face to the voice when we arrived in Vie...
More About: Soul , Fact , My Soul , Boots , Mate

I've Been Tagged
2008-12-02 18:35:00
Just when I thought I had escaped the blog-o-sphere, I've been tagged.You see, I'm not one of those bloggers who started their blog and then ran out of ideas. I actually made a conscious effort to stop blogging because the weather was getting nice, I started a new job, and I was getting really busy with my work with the Marshall Commission. I really, really wanted to get away from my un-responsive, radiation-emitting computer.But thanks to my sister-in-law, that's all ended. She tagged me. And she knows me well enough to know that I won't leave the challenge unanswered. But she should also know that I won't exactly play by the rules, either, which are:1. Link to the person that tagged you, and post the rules on your blog.OK, I've done this, click here for my SIL's post.2. Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself.Nope, too easy to make a list. I'll be sharing these in my next 7 posts. If you want to learn more about me, you'll have to become a regular reader.3. Tag 7...
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Bigger Isn't Always Better
2008-06-17 11:53:00
Having blogged yesterday on people wanting bigger logos, I was pointed in the direction of Google's blog, where they're in the process of making their logo (technically, a favicon) smaller to accomodate some of the new, miniature mobile devices that people use. For more information on their process and/or to give them some feedback on what their smaller logo should look like, click here.

Could You Handle a Bigger Logo?
2008-06-16 18:03:00
A while ago, I blogged about how to recognise and manage resistance in organisations, particularly while you're attempting to lead change programmes. A friend of mine, who knows how much resistance I've encountered and managed while leading re-branding projects for companies, recommended I watch a spoof video on You Tube called 'A Few Good Creative Men'. If you've ever worked in branding or re-branding, this is a must-watch - not because it will teach you how to handle resistance any better, but because you'll at least know you're not alone in being asked if it's possible to make the logo bigger the day after all of the design work has been signed off (and despite the huge amount of consultation you've done in the organisation prior to sign-off).Although I would never even think of uttering it aloud, the phrase "You can't handle a bigger logo" in Jack Nicholson's distinctive voice will forever reverberate in my mind!
More About: Logo , Handle

T5
2008-06-12 15:47:00
I had to travel through Heathrow's Terminal 5 this week, and it was a pleasant surprise.Having checked in on-line, I found the fast bag drop and security check-points to be convenient, quick, and well-staffed with helpful and friendly people. My checked bag reached its destination as expected on both outbound and inward journeys.The terminal buildings are lovely - light and airy, sprawling out like a US-style shopping mall. Be sure to give yourself enough time to reach your gates, as some of them are a 15-20 minute walk from security (and possibly reached by bus after that rather than a walk-on ramp).While I liked the terminal, the fact that it has been designed more like a shopping mall than a transport hub did have its down-side. The shops and restaurants are spread across two floors, with the gates being on the lower floor. Once I left the upper floor, I didn't feel like I had enough time to go back up to get something I could have used from the only Boots outlet which was upst...

You're Not Fired, You're Unemployable!
2008-06-05 12:47:00
Many years ago, I interviewed for a job with one of the big consulting firms. I made it through to what I thought was the end of the interview process, only to find that the HR Director of the company had requested a personal meeting with me. While I had done very well throughout the interview process, proving myself to be a capable consultant, she was concerned because I had been self-employed in the past. Disregarding the years I had spent working for a very large company, she asked if I could actually be a good team player and if I wasn't more inclined to become 'Businesswoman of the Year'. When this company offered me a job, I rejected it, as I didn't want to work for a company that equated being 'self-employed' to being 'unable to work with people' or that saw being a team player and a leading businesswoman as being mutually exclusive.I'm thinking about this now because of what happened on last night's episode of The Apprentice, where the five contestants went through...
More About: Fired

...Two Cities
2008-05-29 16:15:00
So, you've decided to take the job that leaves your partner thousands of miles away working on their career.It's not a relationship-ender - trust me, I've done it and I'll be celebrating my 15th wedding anniversary this year. Here's what I've learned about making it work:- Avoid open-ended separations. Before you part, put a date in the diary for when you'll next be together. It gives you something to look forward to, rather than keeping you focused on what you're missing. Have a broader time-line in place for assessing the separation, as well. It's good to have milestones in place where you can discuss how your living conditions are helping you meet your couple goals and career goals, and to plan what might need to happen next.- Stay positive. Whether you're the one going to the new city or the one staying put, it's easy to feel lonely and like the other person is having an easier time of it (they're not, I've been on both sides of this coin and they're equally as har...
More About: Cities

Two Careers...
2008-05-27 12:22:00
I'm celebrating and commiserating with some married friends of mine - celebrating because one of them has just been offered a career opportunity of a lifetime, commiserating because it's in a city that is more than half-way across the country from where the other half of the couple works. I've been there before, having spent most of the first five years with my husband without him - living and working on different continents, often more than a 12-hour flight apart. At that time, we didn't know anyone who was successfully balancing two careers across two cities, never mind across international borders. While it's now becoming more commonplace, it's no less of a challenge. Here's some of what we learned over the years:- Only you and your partner will know what you want from your careers and your relationship. There will be a lot of noise around you - your family, your friends, your colleagues, the media - all telling you what a good relationship or a successful career looks lik...
More About: Careers

Matching Music to the Mission
2008-05-25 12:22:00
The ice cream trucks in my neighborhood play a music-box version of "It's Now or Never" when they're driving around.Whoever thought of that is an advertising genius.
More About: Music , Mission

You Gotta Problem With That?
2008-05-21 12:52:00
Since I'm on the topic of 'PC gone mad' this week, could anyone out there explain to me exactly why and when 'problem' became a dirty word?Let's look at the definition:Problem : a question raised for inquiry, consideration, or solutionAs a scientist, I was always led to believe that problems were good things. They inspire creativity, teamwork, ideas, and new ways of doing things. When I became a consultant, however, I was told to avoid the word as it was too negative. Clients shouldn't have problems, they should have issues or challenges. Funnily enough, having swapped the word out of my vocabulary, I was told by a client several years later that I couldn't use the word 'issue', either, because that had become too negative.Where did this negativity come from? Why are people so scared of problems - or more importantly, of finding solutions? And why do we attach such strong emotions to what is simply a word? I'm hoping that the latest ad campaign from Honda will spark a resu...
More About: Gotta

Sexist or PC Gone Mad?
2008-05-20 12:17:00
I've been troubled lately by what's evolving in the US Presidential elections - mostly by the claims of Hillary Clinton's supporters that she has been a victim of sexism and that many of us are complicit in not speaking out against what she's experienced.I'll grant that some ugly things have happened. Those that have been outright sexist, like the group of men telling her to 'iron my shirt', were quickly and rightfully denounced. But what about some of the more subtle claims her supporters are making?Take, for example, the name calling they've cited - things like witch, or even worse, B***h. It's not nice and it should not happen, but why is it sexist? Is it because the names are gender-specific? For those who can't compile a coherent argument against something and instead choose to call names, must they now resort to the gender-neutral A*****e? It's the same for the descriptors they're rallying against - things like 'hysterical' and 'shrill', and comparisons to fict...

The Apprentice - Week 7
2008-05-08 12:39:00
I enjoyed this week's episode of The Apprentice , where the teams were sent to Morocco to buy 10 specific items for the least amount of money.Having lived in and visited parts of the world where haggling is a way of life, I thought the teams did pretty well. Some of the things that I was looking for:Know the lay of the land before you start purchasing. Get to know the marketplace, what's on offer, and at what price before you start negotiating prices with a seller. That way you know whether or not you can afford to walk away from an item once you've started negotiating.Be respectful in your interactions. Simply yelling "too high, too high" at a seller or lying about having only a certain amount of money isn't going to encourage them to lower the price. Offer an educated and fair counter-offer to their price. Offering prices in writing rather than verbally is also usually best, as the seller doesn't have to worry about another buyer overhearing the great deal they just gave you.U...
More About: Week

The Apprentice - Week 6
2008-05-01 11:30:00
This week's episode of The Apprentice was more of the same - another product design, product pitch task where the teams needed to create a holiday, design greeting cards, and then pitch the cards to retailers. Despite going through the motions and some good processes, neither team did very well, mostly because of two main factors.First, common sense trumps just about everything, and the teams just don't seem to have any (or at least don't use it). The team that proposed creating paper cards to make people aware of environmental/green issues was simply operating in a plane of reality that doesn't connect to mine. Whether you have loads of experience or education, you should have at least a little bit of common sense. If you use it every now and again, you'll get ahead.Second, at points during the show, both teams defined their market as 'everyone'. 'Everyone' is very rarely a good market. If 'everyone' truly is your market, you are either selling a commodity product (a tou...
More About: Week