October Newsletter

Michael Alemany—Intern, Citigroup, NYC

Over the summer, I interned with Citigroup in New York City in their compensation department. Given all the controversy surrounding executive pay, bonuses on Wall Street, and TARP companies, it was a really interesting time to be with Citi, especially in compensation. Nearly every week, something my department was doing showed up in the Wall Street Journal.

I think there were two things that helped me stand out. First, I discovered just how important first impressions are. Towards the end of my internship, one of the individuals I had worked closely with told me that during my first week, my managing director had commented that I was the most enthusiastic intern he had seen. By the end of the summer, the team felt comfortable giving me just about any project.
Over the course of the summer, I learned that sometimes you have to demonstrate a willingness to work on any project before you get assigned to the really interesting ones. As the summer progressed and the team came to trust the quality of my work, I was given greater ownership over projects and the importance of the project to the team and ultimately the company greatly escalated.

What I liked least about the position was the ad-hoc nature of the work. I came in during the middle of some huge projects that were effectively restructuring the entire company. However, this ad-hoc approach did give me exposure to all the projects the compensation department was working on, which I never would have gotten otherwise in a three month period.

Applications to class were all around me. I fully expect that Citi will be a Harvard Business Review case in the coming years. I had the opportunity to listen to numerous senior executives including the CEO, CFO, CAO, Vice Chairman, etc. The overarching theme that I heard repeated over and over was an explanation of Citi’s core competencies, how Citi got away from those, and how it is now restructuring to focus on their core competencies again. Sometimes, I practically felt like I was sitting back in Professor Dyer’s class going through a case.

I got the position by applying on E-recruiting. For those who are interested in jobs with Citi, I discovered that networking is really valuable. Since the company is so large they really value individuals that are able to effectively network and make connections.

I have accepted a full time offer to return in July 2010 and join their HR Analyst Rotational Program. I knew that the life of a management consultant was not for me and I was hoping to find a job in either HR consulting or an industry position. Overall, working for Citi was a great experience and I feel the skills I’m learning in the Strategy Program will be very transferable to the work I’ll be doing for Citi in the future.

As for NYC, it was great! My wife and I lived in a neighborhood in Queens. We didn’t have a car and never needed one. The subway was close to our apartment and took us everywhere we needed to be. One of the great things about NYC is that there are so many different things to do. In some respects it felt like a three month vacation! Our ward was great! It was a bunch of young families. Most of them were BYU grads working in the financial industry. If you’re not married, there is a really strong singles presence in Manhattan.

LaDon Linde—Intern, Innosight Institute, San Fransisco

I worked the last two months for the Innosight Institute, a non-profit that works on promoting and developing the ideas presented in Disrupting Class and The Innovator’s Prescription, books that use Clayton Christensen’s business innovation theories. I worked mostly Michael Horn, co-author of Disrupting Class and Executive Director of the Institute.

I really enjoyed the work. I have spent the last two months learning the theories presented in the books and thinking about how to present them in a few short videos that could be posted on YouTube for a wider audience to see. My main job was to take the ideas in the 250 page book Disrupting Class and turn it into one 10-minute Youtube video (although it may be two eight-minute videos). Also, I’ve written a script for several health care youtube videos that will explain the 475 page Innovator’s Prescription in about thirty or forty minutes.

I hope I’ve done a good job, and I’ll suggest a few keys: 1) Because it was an unstructured project, I came up with my own goals, timelines, etc. Michael appreciated that I moved things along. 2) I read and watched as much as I could about these two subjects. That made me look pretty informed when I actually spoke with Michael about what to work on during the internship. (When talking with others, always know as much about them as possible :) 3) When I had my own ideas or analysis of others’ ideas about education reform, I wrote Michael about them. I think he liked a few of them and that helped him trust my thinking.

It is cool to work with a young organization. It meant I got great access to a very accomplished person. Michael is very busy, but was willing to make time for me because I was trying to help, he only has a couple of employees, and I was working for free. It was a very worthwhile experience, no question. I learned a lot, and it gave me a great connection to a very sharp, good person.

When we’re done with the videos, I’ll send links along with the newsletter. We’re filming one or two in San Francisco on Friday.

Barrett Edgington—NBC, NYC

I work for NBC in the Greater New York Area. In a nutshell I coordinate our emerging technologies efforts. My responsibilities include being the liaison between NBC and GE Research (GE is the parent company of NBC), working with our patent attorneys to determine when to file patents, creating models to monetize the research projects, and leading internal innovation projects.

2) If there was one thing you could pass along to us that you have learned what would it be?
Start your education after graduation. I had many preconceived notions about working for a company as large as NBC; in particular I thought I wouldn’t be able to accomplish much due to the slow nature of large companies. I have found that it is in fact possible to move things through the hierarchy, but doing so is not always easy.
3) What do you wish you'd known before hand?
The main thing that comes to mind however is my limited knowledge of technology, given that I work with many computer scientists. The more I learn the more I realize I don’t know. Although I continue to expand my knowledge of technology, I’ve found it important to be able to determine when my limited knowledge is good enough. Getting weighed down in the details is interesting but not always efficient.
4) Does anything from class apply to what you're doing?
Much of what was discussed in Dr. Bryce’s class has come to life for me. Television is in a state of much more change than I ever realized before getting involved in the industry. It’s helpful to be able to frame the industry changes with the rugged landscapes and Schumpeterian principles. I can now see why Dr. Bryce was concerned about teaching the class to undergrads; if I were to take it again I’m sure I would learn 10x more.