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MARCH 2004 MBA JOURNAL: YEAR TWO Valerie Frazee: Academics, the Placement Process, and More "The second year is about choice. Not a morning person? You can take your classes in the afternoon. Not an accounting person? You can take marketing, instead. Burned out on teams? You can take three classes with team projects, rather than five." Whether or not I go, the freedom to take opportunities like this is a large part of the reason I prefer independence to corporate employment. I've done both before, and I know I can be happy either way. But there's something intoxicating about setting my own agenda. Lately I've been reading about leadership. The Meyers-Briggs personality inventory has me fairly well pegged as someone who doesn't particularly like schedules and structure, preferring to live in a flexible, spontaneous way. As you might guess, this isn't exactly practical in an MBA program. Nor does it jive with corporate work environments. So, long ago I learned to adapt. I suppose this explains why I am enjoying my second year in school far more than my first. I remember talking with some friends last year about how uncomfortable I was having an assigned seat, with the exact same view of the same room (and the same classmates) in every course for months on end. It was also tough to have so little choice in courses and schedules, and to be always rushing with those eight-week terms. All that changes in the second year. Now I can breathe freely. It's a bit like being trapped in an elevator and then suddenly released. (Or is that just my intuitive side over-reaching for patterns?) The second year is about choice. Not a morning person? You can take your classes in the afternoon. Not an accounting person? You can take marketing, instead. Burned out on teams? You can take three classes with team projects, rather than five. Concerned about career opportunities? You can carry an internship too. For me, first semester was extremely busy, but not as "hard" as my first year. My classes included: marketing research, services marketing strategy, entrepreneurial finance, cases in new venture management, and an entrepreneurial independent study project. I had client projects requiring frequent offsite meetings for two of the classes. In addition, I had a third client unrelated to school. The clients are what made it busy. But they also gave me immediate opportunities to apply (and reinforce) classroom learning. There were times when coordinating all the appointments got a bit hectic. But on balance, I enjoyed the variety and the change of pace. Two of the classes, in particular, were extraordinary. The first was Dean Diane Badame's services marketing course. I'm not sure whether it was due to a time conflict or my classmates' extreme preference for product marketing, but there were only 16 of us in this class. The casual atmosphere and Dean Badame's considerable enthusiasm and experience fostered animated conversations. I always looked forward to attending that class. Another one I couldn't wait to get to was Dr. William Crookston's new ventures class. This one met on Thursday nights for three hours. That's definitely a tough timeslot, since it meant missing the mixers. But the classes felt like pure entertainment. During the first half, a visiting entrepreneur would tell us the story of how he or she started a business, with plenty of time for Q&A. Then during the second half, Dr. Crookston guided an exploratory conversation about what worked and what didn't work in the entrepreneur's experience. Most of us left each class charged up about being entrepreneurs...even the part-timers with corporate jobs during the day. But perhaps the most educational opportunity I had in first semester was my directed research project with Dr. William Gartner (my entrepreneurship professor from first year). The focus of my study was entrepreneurial narratives. I conducted interviews with nine accomplished entrepreneurs. Then, using data analysis software and statistics, I measured the prevalence of a variety of variables, looking for patterns and differences from other samples. The statistical outcomes were interesting, but the key benefit was spending the time with such inspirational leaders. And the fact that each was a compelling storyteller was a bonus. The overarching theme among their stories was tenacity. Most of them faced moments when they truly weren't sure they were going to make it. Payroll was tomorrow, and they needed a creative solution for meeting it – intense situations like that. But in every case, they had an unreasonable level of conviction. They lived on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or quietly liquidated their savings so they could juggle just a little bit longer. They visualized a certain future and believed it would come about. And it did. These were powerful stories, and I was privileged to hear them. My crazy schedule during first term made it difficult to make much progress with my own opportunity recognition process. During the first month or so I spent considerable time brainstorming business ideas with classmates. But then I became distracted. I entered winter break feeling motivated but still unfocused. I had a contract project to write a profile about an amazing woman's life. I was also engrossed in MarketingProfs.com – working with Dr. Allen Weiss on rolling out a discussion center for his online community. It was a fun break. The work was effortless. So while I haven't completely nailed down my "opportunity," there's one thing I know for sure: I want my next venture to be related to online content and community. I see my future as working on something that gives me energy, freedom, and flexibility. My clients are amazed at the value I provide. I can picture my desk in a sunlit room, with bookcases all around and a big red comfy chair. I sit near people who make me laugh. There's lots of green and blue outside my window. And there's a small airport nearby. OK, I've got the visualizing part down. Now it's time to believe. Until next time, FIGHT ON!  
BW MALL
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