Unfortunately, the 2010 Kogod Case Competition had to be cancelled due to the imminent blizzard. However, I’d like to share my group’s thought processes and ideas. The most important things to focus on were plausibility and creativity. While it was important to address the obvious, we also tried to develop suggestions that would set us apart from other groups.
The case was about a family-owned corrugated box manufacturer in Morocco, called Box-It. The father, Mr. Abdul, started the business in the 1980s. His son, Hassen, has been working there for three years and is in charge of day-to-day events in the company. He has a harsh management style, but it seems clear that he is slated to inherit the company.
My group (Terra Firma) identified three critical issues in the case:
· Box-It’s financial situation is too confusing to its owners
· There is the potential for expansion that is not being utilized
· The chain of command is unclear
The short version of our recommendations include:
· Contact the customer Box-It recently lost. Inform them that box prices have been reduced from $1.10 to $0.88.
· Mark up prices for Moroccan customers, so Box-It can maintain its desired profit margin after haggling.
· Don’t build recycled paper plant; pay down debt instead.
· Sell the 6 least efficient transformation machines; use this money to buy multicolor, bleaching, and waxing machines.
· Form a strategic partnership with TelePizza, a potential high-volume customer, to make pizza boxes.
· Plan for Mr. Abdul’s retirement at least three years in advance, and agree on a succession plan.
My verbosity makes it impossible to condense our entire case analysis into a single blog entry. Fortunately, I have created a blog for just such purposes. If you are interested in Terra Firma's entire analysis of the case, presentation strategies, and explanations of our recommendations, please click the link below.
Terra Firma - Case Analysis and Recommendations
Any feedback on our ideas is most appreciated.
-Jon
Friday, February 5, 2010
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Kogod Case Competition
The Kogod Case Competition starts tomorrow, and I couldn’t be more excited. This will be a great opportunity to develop my public speaking and presentation skills, and I feel that my groupmates are very talented communicators.
The mini-case competition, which was held during MBA orientation week, was a great practice for this. My mini-case group was fortunate enough to be one of the winning teams during that exercise. The most important lesson I drew from that experience is to always be prepared for any question the judges (or clients) are likely to ask you. One of the most effective moments during our mini-case presentation came during the Q&A session. One of the judges asked us where the money was going to come from to pay for our recommendations, and our group quickly shifted to a backup slide in our PowerPoint with a full budget. I think this was more effective than simply including the budget in our presentation would have been, as it showed the judges that we were able to anticipate their questions.
As illuminating as the mini-case competition was, this week’s case competition will undoubtedly be much more difficult. I think this will be my most challenging business communication experience of the school year. We have three days to analyze a case, formulate our recommendations, write a PowerPoint, and present to the judges. While I am sure it will be a great experience and a lot of fun regardless of the outcome, I am in it to win it.
-Jon
The mini-case competition, which was held during MBA orientation week, was a great practice for this. My mini-case group was fortunate enough to be one of the winning teams during that exercise. The most important lesson I drew from that experience is to always be prepared for any question the judges (or clients) are likely to ask you. One of the most effective moments during our mini-case presentation came during the Q&A session. One of the judges asked us where the money was going to come from to pay for our recommendations, and our group quickly shifted to a backup slide in our PowerPoint with a full budget. I think this was more effective than simply including the budget in our presentation would have been, as it showed the judges that we were able to anticipate their questions.
As illuminating as the mini-case competition was, this week’s case competition will undoubtedly be much more difficult. I think this will be my most challenging business communication experience of the school year. We have three days to analyze a case, formulate our recommendations, write a PowerPoint, and present to the judges. While I am sure it will be a great experience and a lot of fun regardless of the outcome, I am in it to win it.
-Jon
Monday, February 1, 2010
The Simple Things
Do any of you listen to This American Life? It’s a radio show piped in through NPR. I subscribe to the free podcast. Recently, I uncovered an episode they did on the mortgage crisis. They had two reporters, Alex Blumberg and Adam Davidson, explain what happened in lay terms.
The response to that episode was so overwhelmingly positive that they did a number of other episodes focused on the current banking crisis. They manage to decode the entire debacle in less than an hour!
The connection I want to make here is no matter how complicated a topic, there is always a value in clarity. It would seem that one can’t talk about credit default swaps or TARP reform without using a lot of jargon. In fact, the host of This American Life, Ira Glass, opens one episode with tape of the head of the FDIC dropping phrases like “mark-to-market accounting.” Glass says the obvious: it’s too confusing. As a result, we don’t know what’s going on.
When you have an important case to make, make it clear. Crystallize. Distill. Come see us. We can help you do that.
And check out This American Life.
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?sched=1285
-Pete
The response to that episode was so overwhelmingly positive that they did a number of other episodes focused on the current banking crisis. They manage to decode the entire debacle in less than an hour!
The connection I want to make here is no matter how complicated a topic, there is always a value in clarity. It would seem that one can’t talk about credit default swaps or TARP reform without using a lot of jargon. In fact, the host of This American Life, Ira Glass, opens one episode with tape of the head of the FDIC dropping phrases like “mark-to-market accounting.” Glass says the obvious: it’s too confusing. As a result, we don’t know what’s going on.
When you have an important case to make, make it clear. Crystallize. Distill. Come see us. We can help you do that.
And check out This American Life.
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?sched=1285
-Pete
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Toastmasters Speech #2
I joined Toastmasters International when I started the MBA program here at AU last fall. Toastmasters is an organization dedicated to helping people from all walks of life improve their public speaking skills. I have wanted to become a member for quite some time, but was never able to find the time or a club before I came to AU. For an introvert like me, Toastmasters can help build confidence in one’s speaking abilities.
This week was the second time I have given the featured speech. Unlike most of my weekly speeches, which are impromptu, the featured speech gives me the opportunity to prepare my remarks and rehearse. The topic I chose is a subject that I already know a little about from reading magazine articles on the subject: The self-driving car. I talked about the history of the concept, where the technology stands, and what we can expect to see in the near future.
My main goals were to have a well-organized speech, to stay within the 5-7 minute time frame allotted for featured speeches, and to not make my nervousness too obvious to the audience. I think I accomplished the first two goals quite well, but I need to improve on the third before I give my next speech.
I received some useful feedback from the other members. My introduction was a little weak, and my speech was untitled. These two things confused my audience a little, because the topic of my speech was not obvious at first. Also, I should have paused more; I have a tendency to talk too fast when I am nervous. However, people felt that the subject was very interesting and the speech was well-written. These constructive criticisms will be helpful as I prepare for my third featured speech in a few weeks.
-Jon
This week was the second time I have given the featured speech. Unlike most of my weekly speeches, which are impromptu, the featured speech gives me the opportunity to prepare my remarks and rehearse. The topic I chose is a subject that I already know a little about from reading magazine articles on the subject: The self-driving car. I talked about the history of the concept, where the technology stands, and what we can expect to see in the near future.
My main goals were to have a well-organized speech, to stay within the 5-7 minute time frame allotted for featured speeches, and to not make my nervousness too obvious to the audience. I think I accomplished the first two goals quite well, but I need to improve on the third before I give my next speech.
I received some useful feedback from the other members. My introduction was a little weak, and my speech was untitled. These two things confused my audience a little, because the topic of my speech was not obvious at first. Also, I should have paused more; I have a tendency to talk too fast when I am nervous. However, people felt that the subject was very interesting and the speech was well-written. These constructive criticisms will be helpful as I prepare for my third featured speech in a few weeks.
-Jon
Saturday, January 30, 2010
State of the Union 2010
President Obama gave his second State of the Union address last Wednesday. My comments are going to focus exclusively on the delivery of the speech itself. Overall, I was disappointed. Obama is normally an excellent orator and I was expecting more.
Obama took the unusual step of not including a sentence starting with “The state of the union is…” I think this was wise, under the present circumstances. The problem with that sentence is that when times are bad, there is no way to finish the sentence to soften the blow. Instead, he chose the phrase “I have never been more hopeful about America’s future than I am tonight.” It projected optimism without seeming out-of-touch, and was a strong opening to his speech.
The low point of his speech came early on. Some members of Congress were clearly not impressed that Obama's proposed spending freeze wouldn't begin until the following year, leading him to ad lib the remark “That’s how the budget works.” I thought it came across as patronizing, and I'm sure he regretted saying it. While extemporaneous comments can sometimes be useful, the SOTU is not the best format for this.
I thought the health care section was surprisingly weak. He waited until 35 minutes into the speech to mention it. I’m not sure it was wise to bury his signature issue deep within the speech. It sends the message (fairly or not) that the issue is no longer a top priority for him.
The conclusion of his speech was his best moment. One of the most annoying things about SOTU addresses is that the flow of the speech is constantly interrupted by frequent applause. Obama delivered his conclusion in a way that kept the applause to a minimum, allowing him to build up to a crescendo ending in thunderous applause. It was a strong ending to an otherwise mediocre speech.
-Jon
Obama took the unusual step of not including a sentence starting with “The state of the union is…” I think this was wise, under the present circumstances. The problem with that sentence is that when times are bad, there is no way to finish the sentence to soften the blow. Instead, he chose the phrase “I have never been more hopeful about America’s future than I am tonight.” It projected optimism without seeming out-of-touch, and was a strong opening to his speech.
The low point of his speech came early on. Some members of Congress were clearly not impressed that Obama's proposed spending freeze wouldn't begin until the following year, leading him to ad lib the remark “That’s how the budget works.” I thought it came across as patronizing, and I'm sure he regretted saying it. While extemporaneous comments can sometimes be useful, the SOTU is not the best format for this.
I thought the health care section was surprisingly weak. He waited until 35 minutes into the speech to mention it. I’m not sure it was wise to bury his signature issue deep within the speech. It sends the message (fairly or not) that the issue is no longer a top priority for him.
The conclusion of his speech was his best moment. One of the most annoying things about SOTU addresses is that the flow of the speech is constantly interrupted by frequent applause. Obama delivered his conclusion in a way that kept the applause to a minimum, allowing him to build up to a crescendo ending in thunderous applause. It was a strong ending to an otherwise mediocre speech.
-Jon
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Different Varieties of Fear
In a never-ending quest for family activities that do not involve sitting in front of a screen, my husband, two kids, and I have taken up indoor rock climbing.
Actually, they have taken up indoor rock climbing and I have taken up standing with my neck craned way back yelling encouraging words.
This is because I am scared of heights. I wasn't as a kid, but the older I get, the more scared I am, till the point where I can barely scale a ladder without trembling.
On my first attempt at the indoor climbing gym, I was able to climb up to about 12 feet. (Meanwhile, Jon and the kids went all the way up to the top, easily, and moved on to harder climbs.)
The next attempt I mastered the art of not thinking about all the climbing that lay ahead of me and focusing on the immediate task. This helped somewhat. I think I made it to the 17 foot mark before rappelling down (now that's fun).
The experience was a true visceral reminder of what it's like to be fearful of speaking in public. I try to be sympathetic--I feel sympathetic--but I'm sure I can be awfully glib when I talk to students about not being (too) afraid of public speaking. This is because by and large, I enjoy public speaking!
But next time someone comes to me and describes their fears with a tremble in their voice or a shake in their hand, I'll be able to be even more sincere than usual. "I hear ya," I'll say, and, thinking of my two short climbs up a wall that didn't scare my 6-year-old but had me cowering, I'll really, truly mean it.
And just as with me and heights, the keys are (1) keep trying and (2) don't think too much about what comes next.
Monday, October 5, 2009
The New York Times's Sunday business section runs a regular column called The Corner Office. Yesterday's entry (interview with Susan Lyne, CEO of Gilt Groupe) posed this question: what courses do b-schools not offer that they should offer?
Lyne's answer is below. Essentially Lyne is talking about persuasion: how do you persuade other people to follow your agenda? This is a topic Nancy Sachs and I take up in our business communications courses. (So maybe Lyne needs to make sure her hires have their MBAs from here!)
**
A. There are a lot of great courses on managing or developing a strategic agenda, but there is very little about how to work with your peers where you need to get X done, and you need these other three departments to give you X amount of time in order to succeed at that.
The people who truly succeed in business are the ones who actually have figured out how to mobilize people who are not their direct reports. Everyone can get their direct reports to work for them, but getting people who do not have to give you their time to engage and to support you and to want you to succeed is something that is sorely missing from B-school courses.
Lyne's answer is below. Essentially Lyne is talking about persuasion: how do you persuade other people to follow your agenda? This is a topic Nancy Sachs and I take up in our business communications courses. (So maybe Lyne needs to make sure her hires have their MBAs from here!)
**
A. There are a lot of great courses on managing or developing a strategic agenda, but there is very little about how to work with your peers where you need to get X done, and you need these other three departments to give you X amount of time in order to succeed at that.
The people who truly succeed in business are the ones who actually have figured out how to mobilize people who are not their direct reports. Everyone can get their direct reports to work for them, but getting people who do not have to give you their time to engage and to support you and to want you to succeed is something that is sorely missing from B-school courses.
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