前幾天研究了哈佛MBA申請範例...

前幾天研究了哈佛MBA申請範例...隨便翻了一個
母親德法混血，父親海地以色列混血，大學跟了名師作博士生才能做的研究論文，研究所史丹佛時驗出乳癌，邊化療抗癌邊考期末考，後來不知云云進入聯合國作最年輕的財務分析員，分析落後國家資金缺口，最後因為看了太多貧乏案例，所以要去跟麥可波特做落後國家財務競爭計劃...
我你咧~
只能說這些人不需要什麼MBA也能成功吧

[Ultimate Leadership] 神面前謙卑的林書豪

YouTube影片：「哈佛小子 - 林書豪、吳信信」
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fYrTv_eekI&feature=youtube_gdata_player

還沒大紅大紫的時候，講的話最中肯
有點長，不過絕對值得學習
沒有特別信仰的朋友們，建議可以把上帝改成老天爺試試看

真的整隊都變會打球
應該是因為他懂得欣賞隊友 訪問都把隊友講得跟神一樣
在神面前整個謙卑 所以隊友都變超棒
湖人賽後訪問問他覺得寇比怎樣
他說我們只管自己打團隊 沒有很在乎別隊怎樣
果然整個是上帝派來教我們打球的

他給年輕人的建議是「have fun in your passion」
他說當你對事務有興趣樂在其中，自然會不斷下功夫，不斷堅持
他也才會堅持夢想打籃球，而不是進大公司

另兩段影片也相當經典
[Jeremy Lin - Episode 1: A Day in the Life]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLzrLXQIbwM&feature=youtube_gdata_player

[How to Get into Harvard ft. Rain Higa]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9yVnKQNj58&feature=youtube_gdata_player
除了認真拼命的一面
私下的他其實是個合群又爆笑的鄰家大男孩

[Program Fitting]用一句話講出各校特色

回覆近日傷咖提問
小弟若干時日前曾用各一句話講出各校特色
->
2008.3.11
http://www.formosamba.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=28944&hilit=school+in+1+sentence

前陣子CD上有人發起投票
小弟當時把各校課程走向嘗試各用一句話表達
應該滿適合樓主這標題
純個人意見 僅供參考

-
[Program Fitting]选出你心目中最喜欢的学校（每人三票）
http://forum.chasedream.com/dispbbs.asp ... n=0&Star=1
Q:
选出你心目中最喜欢的学校：
看看大家心中最梦想去的学校是哪些。请注意，是选择你最偏好的三所学校，不一定是你所认为的实力最强的学校。
没想到这个帖子这么久了还有人回应。多谢大家了。希望这个结果能给大家选校一点点参考。

A:
In the U.S.
it's all about fit for your career
not about which one is the most popular

Every school here has its own strengths and specific differentiation
You can see in their mission statements from Deans
and take a deep look into their program designs

If you summarize the curriculum of each school into one sentence
my personal interpretation is probably like this:

HBS is corporate restructuring and entrepreneurship
Wharton is well-balanced general management
Stanford is entrepreneurial general management
Kellogg is stratigic marketing management
Chicago is economic management

MIT is executional management science
Columbia is entrepreneurship and finance management
Ross is strategic management practices
Duke is fundamental general management with medical strength
Berkeley is environmental general management with tech

VirginiaDarden is quantitative general management
Dartmouth Tuck is strategic management with finance strength
NYU Stern is practical finance management
UCLA is entrepreneurial general management with tech and entertainment strengths
Cornell Johnson is analytical social management

Yale SOM is organizational management for managers
Austin McCombs is general management with accounting strength
USC Marshall is general management
LBS is strategic management
Insead is economic strategy management

IMD is leadership menegement
Queens is analytical strategic management

It's hard to vote the favorate 3
while finding the fit is the ultimate goal

[Program Fitting]为什么HBS招那么多咨询的人啊

Q:
David，你说了那么多，唯独没有说为什么HBS招那么多咨询的人啊

A:
Just like one time when Michael Dell made a speech in a top b-school

an Indian MBA student asked him: “You already made that much money, why don’t you just retire, buy a boat and sail somewhere in the world?”

Michael Dell replied him: “Sail a boat is boring. Do you have any idea about how much fun to run a multi-billion company?”


The hardest thing to manage in the world is not machine or any kind of product marketing, but people.

Management is actually teaching the toughest skills called soft skills

Such as communication skills, interpersonal skills, management skills like corporate governance, market strategy, human resources, and the toughest one, leadership.

These soft skills are much harder to learn than hard skills since they take your humanity and soul to grow them.


For the reason why those top schools, especially HBS, admit a bunch of management consultants

because consulting jobs generally require more advanced analytical and strategic mindset to indentify multiple problems in very short time on industrial scale

and generally have more intense training and involvement on corporate strategy planning, as well as organizational management

it also takes seasoned maturity and more well-rounded personality to intensely communicate with multiple parties externally and internally

while at the mean time, diverse cases will inspire creativity or even cross-cultural sensitivity


But when you see those successful essays from the book “65 Successful HBS Application Essays”

you’ll see all different types of people from a wide array of careers

marketing directors, supply chain managers, fresh-graduated students, dancers, soldiers, bankers, entrepreneurs, actors, non-profit social workers, sales…you name it!

there’s no certain favorite job category the schools really prefer

but it’s about our commitment to constantly grow from our yesterday

people may wonder why these incredible achievers who earns tons of money

still try to get into best b-schools and work as a not-so-impressive title like Associate afterward,

the reason is the same as what Michael Dell said

when you possess such advanced analytical and strategic skills

and can deal with most sophisticated business problems in the world

it’s an unbelievable fulfillment, especially it’s a career preparation for executive career path in future

while the b-school trainings open their gate to reach the executive world





Just like Will Smith once shared in an interview for the movie “7 Pounds”

the world is made by people, and how people survive in this world is about contribute to each other, and be fed by each other

why the city is formed, why we need each other

it’s all about helping each other, and it’s called business, even non-profit or social events

it’s all for survival, and all for a meaningful life

[Personal Branding] Conclusion about uninvited by HBS

Q:
(Modified from original wording.)
To DavidLee

Could you make a conclusion about what you said above:

Age is not the problem. The problem is so called "decent essays" are not good enough to persuade HBS that he is a 'philanthropist' or 'future leader of community'?

Thanks


A:
The conclusion is applicants need to convince adcoms why you can lead the school forward in global scale

age is never the problem

but the geometric progression you've grown in the career as equivalent

how high you've climbed and how hard you've hit the ground in those years

supposingly general college students graduate at the age of 22

at the age of 30, there're 8 solid years to thrive your career

even masters would have at least 6 solid year

for general college graduates, the time allows you to go through the career accommodation period for the first year and a half or so

then another couple of years to accumulate the cross-displinary specilizations for managerment preparation

being promoted to managerial responsibility at the faster third year or slower 4th year (if you stuck, it means your leadership style is still adjusting)

then at the 6-year line your experience should be ready or semi-ready for a senior manager position

with a master degree, this career curve should be steeper 20%~30%

and the scope should be broadened to regional market level

if you're an entrepreneur, 8 years time is absolutely enough for at least failed twice and now thrive the third start-up

especially for HBS applicants

at the year of 30, adcoms are expecting early executive mindset from applicants

global-scale leadership should be demonstrated multiple times

and at some point of your career

there should be some signs proving "game-changing" leadership

it's a very reasonable prerequisite for HBS

in my experience as MBA career consultant in NSHMBA

a 27 year-old lady in Kellogg MBA, undergraduate from Stanford, before MBA she already completed the corporate yearly R&D plan for her spaceship equipment company supplying NASA, approved by the her board of directors

a 350-page yearly plan, it's literally a thick book

another Indian graduate from Wharton MBA, should be younger than 30 based on his appearance and figure (probably 28 or 29)

excellent English without accent, perfect resume, expressed himself orally very clearly with perfect wording

easily tell he practiced at least hundreds of times

before MBA, he thrived in operation management in IBM during his very early career, extremely consistent career path

in his resume, the first points of each position are all the same

"Being promoted in 4 months to next level"

"Being promoted in 6 months to next level"

"Being promoted in 9 months to next level"

before MBA, he was already senior operation manager in IBM

although I adviced him to add some objectives on these bullets or take them off (you don't get promoted for no reason)

the gentleman insisted to leave them there

another very young Wharton MBA, 27 years old

Lehman Brother senior analyst, fortunately entered Wharton before crisis

at least 200+ financial analysis and reporting experience

multiple promotions toward investment banking before crisis

all these examples reach higher and faster before age of 30

and when you meet these people in person

you'll be blown away by their enthusiasm

their world-changing mentality

and extremely solid skills, both technical and managerial

but no arrogance at all

all of these young superstars are very friendly

passionate to help people around

and you can tell that's why they got promoted so fast

hope these examples can help

[Personal Branding] Decent essay??

Most of time when applicants refer the so-called "decent essays"

when you really do some deeper research on those "essay guides" lying quietly in the nearest book store at the corner of your street

you'll know the ones people refer to are actually not that decent

and most of time far away from the criteria b-schools are looking for

for the common myth about community service

it's not necessary

and won't necessarily prove the applicant a philanthropist

it's about the mentality behind

the authentic empathy

and the whys

only when these question behind questions (QBQ) link together with your entrepreneurial personality will adcoms believe you do things for humanity reasons

the most deadly mentality is to display everything you have on the table and wait for a miracle

it's not an auction, nor a slave sale

it's like the school is a carriage and these students are the horses pulling in the front

YOU are the leader who lead the school forward and change the world

not waiting for the schools to change you

[Program Fitting] Don't understand HBS...

Q:
quote from BW:

"I’m
having a really difficult time understanding how these selections are made and in particular the emphasis on age. If you are 27+ and have great “real world” accomplishments, we do not want you in our student body because it is presumed you clearly do not need an MBA to be successful. If you are young, we like you because we can still mold you into something great, even though your accomplishments are working later hours and getting“A’s” on your Calculus exam.

How is this really selecting the most likely success stories? What kind of contribution and input are they really bringing into the classroom if they are fresh out of school or have 2 yrs of experience in the classroom?

Bottom line is that MBA schools are one big business. If you believe that, (and you are in denial if you don’t), then how is this helping you
secure big endowment checks from your alumni in the future: Go with the already successful 27yr old + or take a gamble on rising stars?.

At the end of the day, does the 2-3yr age gap make a difference in the big picture? We both have 40-50yrs to live!"


A:
as you look into HBS's curriculum

it's easy to tell their 2 forks are heading toward more entrepreneurial and more leadership in organizational restructuring

especially for conglomerate

and due to their academic role on the extreme end

they're looking for some explosive signs indicating leadfrog career

something significant on historical standpoint that nobody had done before

either extremely rare or extremely fast

although LZ is the youngest project manager in the industry

at the age of 30 they're looking for signs on more strategic on corporate scope

or some indication about early executive mindset

since their college drop-out is the richest guy in the world for 1.5 decade

and not even 50 yet

for a globally dominant school like HBS

nothing is too successful to be educated from them

it's about your mentality to do something as worldwide leader

with an extremely steep learning curve

see the successful HBS essays

you'll literally find many people at the age of 30 had already approached regional-director level

or done something revolutionary at their mid-20s

the intensity should be game-changing

not only a youngest something that many people had done even faster before

[Personal Branding] 如何寫出感人的3 accomplishments essay? 又如何展現MBA興趣?

Q:
如何寫出感人的3 accomplishments essay?
又如何展現對MBA的興趣?

A:
若是在寫哈佛這題essay
essay題目的後半是問"why you view them as such?"
可以在故事開頭帶出"另一向重要成就所以重要的原因,是因為同時在進修博士"
這樣若是成就內容能夠超出原始目標期望,並能展現申請人獨特性
就能從多數申請文件中脫穎而出
題目的重點是要體現出申請人的多元領導特質並以證明有能力承受世界級名校的大強度訓練

感動是肯定要的
至於如何寫出令人感動的故事
關鍵在於心路歷程的情景呈現
需要申請人不斷內省挖掘出靈魂精髓
才有辦法感動人心


又如何展現對MBA興趣
不是只有對一般MBA有興趣
而是要解釋為何哈佛
為何華頓
必須要用生涯歷程的結構分析
從申請人的生涯各項經歷累積至今
已經出現躍進瓶頸,
到未來目標之前,除了MBA之外沒有其他大幅進步的途徑
並且要點名申請人自身所欠缺的條件
正是該校的教學重點
才有可能產生完美的school fit

[Personal Branding]HBS的Essay topics今天出来了

Essays1. What are your three most substantial accomplishments and why do you view them as such? (600-word limit)2. What have you learned from a mistake? (400-word limit)3. Please respond to two of the following (400-word limit each):What would you like the MBA Admissions Board to know about your undergraduate academic experience?Discuss how you have engaged with a community or organization.What area of the world are you most curious about and why?What is your career vision and why is this choice meaningful to you?Joint degree applicants:1. How do you expect the joint degree experience to benefit you on both a professional and a personal level? (400-word limit)Recommendations1. Please comment on the context of your interaction with the applicant. How long have you known the applicant and in what connection? If applicable, briefly describe the applicant's role in your organization. (250-word limit)2. Please describe the most important piece of constructive feedback you have given the applicant. Please detail the circumstances and the applicant's response. (250-word limit)3. Please make additional statements about the applicant's performance, potential, or personal qualities you believe would be helpful to the MBA Admissions Board. (250-word limit)


A:
可以很清晰的感受到HBS對申請人的leadership appraisal更完整全面
且在細節中移除了可能造成的偏誤
原則上申請人的"leadership"在第一題的accomplishment跟第二題learn from mistake (請留意用字不是"failure"也有關鍵影響)
以及commu/org engagement或是career vision中展現
並能有效減少"leading trouble"
許多申請人為了想impress HBS 而絞盡腦汁寫出稀奇古怪的leadership事蹟
過度強調leadership反而會誤導申請人而成為heroic ego而走偏了
忘記MBA經理人訓練的原意 並造成大家都要當leader而沒有follower的現象
會產生對現實生活的誤導及潛意識影響日常行為
Culture shock也會對一些國際學生或是本土老美有雙重標準
對每位申請人的不同cultural accessibility會不公平
而數千位申請人寫出來的culture shock也多半千篇一律
而並未建立客觀公正的申請人評量
另外小弟個人感受到最主要的細微差別是原本每題都有的key word "defining"字眼拿掉了
這大概個人觀察中HBS今年是最關鍵的差異
也可以顯示出HBS的更臻完美
不再是巨獸壓境非外星人不收
外星人收多了學校也沒剩幾個地球人
先前各題的提問關鍵字前面都有一個惱人的字"defining"
小弟個人以為這個字在某種程度下一直造成申請人將題意與生活哲學過度延伸
在某些情境下強迫申請人都變成怪物
這樣的效果並無法中肯的評量申請人資格
也容易造成失焦 降低了對商業倫理的注意力
而使大家都要變成超人或鋼鐵人
而commu/org engagement個人以為是相當經典的題型
能夠在沒有其他外力的引導下
從essay的切入面向看出申請人的各項人際處理,溝通表達,與問題處理能力
還有最重要的teamwork style及outsider accommodating process
會能夠相當客觀的衡量申請人的全面性與社群能力
甚至能看出申請人的creativity
對全球議題的important字改成curious
也明顯改善了題目原本可能造成的刻板印象
一方面一樣會有leader trouble以及千篇一律
大家講的不外乎地球暖化,能源危機,未開發國家問題或戰爭
再不然就是想辦法牽到中國崛起
原本多元化的本意受到扭曲

而最後的optional拿掉 小弟個人也以為是一項經典思維
在高度競爭的最高學府 所意圖訓練出來的頂尖領導人
必須要能夠在種種現實環境的限制下完成溝通與執行
而不是提出一堆稀奇古怪的理由
或試圖用任意門來走捷徑 (有些申請人或許會利用這個機會表達他跟前美國總統柯林頓的關係,當然這只是一個極端的假設,不過不無可能)
因此在公正客觀的競爭條件下
必須假設申請人不會因為有一個萬能的optional空間就造成條件落差
請留意推薦人題目及雙學位題目都跟前面各本題有完整連貫
並產生交叉效應
從第三人互動角度找出申請人的進步空間與成功特質
並請留意HBS所注重的是完整人格的平衡
professional及personal的調配與權衡
而不是只要求超人成就或工作狂