BYU Strategy Program

Think Like an Innovator - Video - Harvard Business Review

2011-07-07T15:49:00.000-07:00

Think Like an Innovator - Video - Harvard Business Review

Check out Dr. Dyer's Harvard Business Review interview. Very interesting.

July Newsletter

2011-07-06T12:57:00.000-07:00

We are very excited for the second annual strategy program reunion. As you all saw, we will be holding it on Thursday, September 29 and Friday, September 30. We should really enjoy a great time reconnecting as well as learning. We also now have a speaker for the event! Artell Smith, Global Head of HR at Aon Hewitt, will be speaking at the event. He will be speaking about career paths (i.e, how to progress in your current career or make a switch), his thoughts on compensation, and any other topic you think will be useful. Please send me an e-mail if you have a topic you would be interested to hear his take on. Should be very interesting.

Below you’ll find some thoughts from Barrett, LaDon, and me on the program's Twitter account, missionary work, and the new ESPN book. Please enjoy!

Twitter (by Barrett)

"What are you doing?". That was the question Twitter used to launch its platform in 2007. While it was not incredibly provocative question it did garner the attention of millions of text-happy teenagers and a few key celebrities. Unfortunately that original question has caused main-stream America to be very confused as to whether tweeting is simply just noise or whether it's meaningful content. If you are debating about whether to jump on the bandwagon or not, consider the questions Twitter should have originally asked: "What do you find interesting?", "What inspires you?", "What did you learn today?". These are the questions you should considering answering when contemplating your next 140 character tweet.

Twitter is a very powerful and misunderstood technology. Unlike Facebook, Twitter does not require mutual consent of both parties to either follow or be followed. This dynamic opens up many interesting possibilities. For example a few thing you can use Twitter to do are:
- Establish your personal brand
- Create a professional niche
- Collaborate with like-minded individuals
- Gain competitive intelligence
- Read real-time news feeds
- Follow thought-leaders, interesting companies, and people with whom you want to network

@BYUStrategy
Two years ago, one of the strategy projects in Dr. Godfrey’s class was to put together a plan for how we would keep the strategy alumni network strong. At that time, we created a LinkedIn group and a Twitter account. For the last two years @BYUStrategy has been a relatively dormant account, not anymore! Our belief is that this account can be leveraged as a key branding tool for BYU Strategy students and alumni. The goal of the account is to disseminate important information to BYU strategy audience which consists of: current and prospective strategy students, alumni, employers, and graduate programs. Tweets will primarily focus on interesting articles related to strategy topics and announcements. Please send a tweet to @BYUStrategy indicating you are a student/alumni.

Note: I (Nate) want to thank Barrett for spearheading the @BYUStrategy Twitter account. He will be working with me and each of the class reps (LaDon, Brandon, Andrew and Jeff) to provide interesting content for those that follow the account.

Spiritual (by LaDon)

My brother recently returned home from his mission to North Carolina and told me a great story.

They had been teaching a lady who was married to a less-active Mormon and was a strong Baptist. She had a tough time believing in some of the fundamental doctrines of the church that did not coincide with what she learned as a Baptist. One day, she started the lesson by saying, "I'm 97% sure that the church is true." What! What happened? She replied, "I went onto Mormon.org and found myself. There was a girl there who was raised Baptist and explained how she came to be converted. In particular she explained how she overcame the obstacle of not believing the Book of Mormon. It really helped me understand the need to pray about the Book of Mormon in a sincere manner. I did it for the first time, and I believe it's a true book." She was baptized a few weeks later!

Putting your profile on Mormon.org will help the church build a database of members and their testimonies. It's quick and simple, and I really see the value for investigators (and members with questions) to be able to find someone they relate to. I think everyone has some unique things in their backgrounds and also has unique conversion stories and unique testimony development. It is interesting to see the church put the ‘I’m a Mormon’ campaign in New York and take out ad space right in times square. All of us are unique but there are portions of our identity that resonate with those who have questions about our faith. I think it is worth your time to post your profile and Mormon.org. Maybe your profile will make it all the way to Times Square. : )

Note: LaDon would never promote this himself but I think it is a great example of doing missionary work online. He started a blog—thoughtsfromamormon.blogspot.com—that is really interesting to read whether you are a member of the church or not. Check it out.

Book Review (by Nate)

ESPN: Those Guys Have All the Fun by James Miller and Tom Shales

I listened to the BS Report (Bill Simmons) a few weeks back right when the book came out. Bill was talking with one of the authors, James Miller (http://es.pn/ji7X57). I was interested in getting the book but it wasn’t on the top of my list. While I was listening to the podcast, I bought the book (If you like to read, get a kindle!). It is a pretty lengthy book—close to 800 pages—but I finished it in a week. I could not put it down. The authors interviewed over 500 people and used the oral interviews to put together an AWESOME story of how ESPN became what it is today. If you like sports, business, and drama, this book is for you.

Now, I am one of those people that group up watching SportsCenter on Saturday mornings rather than cartoons. I loved Dan Patrick and Keith Olberman as a 10-year old—weird, right. So part of the reason I loved the book was to be able to know what really happened behind the scenes. My favorite part though was getting to know the executives and why they made the decisions they did. ESPN’s current CEO, George Bodenheimer, started as a driver. Not a NASCAR driver! A glorified taxi-cab driver from ESPN’s headquarters in Bristol to the airport. He used that time to ask as many questions to the people he was shuttling around. He was then promoted to the mail room and then applied for a job as an account executive. He worked his way up and was influential in some of ESPN’s greatest accomplishments. If you don’t read the book, know that when he started with ESPN, his dad told him that if he wanted to get into the sports and entertainment industry he should take any job at any pay they offered. In other words, if you are passionate about an industry, get in it however you can and stick with it.

Even if you don’t love sports, this is an interesting book about how a dad and his son started a cable sports channel that has become ‘The World Wide Leader in Sports’ (aka The Mothership).

Websites

Fivethirtyeight.blogspot.com – Nate Silver is a statistician who became famous for predicting 49 of the 50 states correctly in the 2008 presidential election. He is a very analytical person who uses stats to help make better guesses about political races and other topics. I thoroughly enjoy his analysis.

Grantland.com – A new website by Bill Simmons devoted to sports and pop culture. We like Bill a lot and thought you might enjoy his site if you have not already.

Bryce.vc – Bryce Roberts is a popular VC blogger in the Bay Area. Those in the Class of 2009 (and 2010) will remember that he came and spoke to us as part of a strategy class dinner. Enjoy his thoughts on the market and where tech is going…

Legalzoom.com – My wife and I have been talking about putting a simple will together and these guys have a pretty slick program. Also, check your company’s benefit package. My company provides a legal services benefit that you can enroll in for the entire year. This is great if you are buying a house and doing a will all in the same year.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-10/mission-training-grooms-mormons-to-pursue-presidency-ceo-suite.html - Here’s a story from Bloomberg on LDS missions. Enjoy…

February Newsletter

2011-02-28T17:25:00.000-08:00

Strategy Students/Alumni,

We hope you’re having a terrific New Year and are enjoying the BYU basketball team. We never thought that BYU would have the leading scorer in the country or ranked 3^rd in the nation and have a chance at a number one seed in the tourney, but as of today, that’s all true.

We hope you enjoy this strategy newsletter/update. Please let us know if you have any feedback or thoughts for us on the newsletter (good or bad).

Career Progression (by LaDon)

In our last newsletter you heard about Nate’s trip to Asia. I’ve been very happy to hear about how Nate’s career has progressed and the experiences he’s been getting. I too have made a change. I’m no longer working at L.E.K. Consulting. On January 20, I began working for BloomReach, a tech startup with 20 employees in Silicon Valley. I thought it might be useful to talk some of you through my reasons for moving on.

First of all, consulting was an amazing first job and I was very lucky to get it. However, it took about six months for me to realize that it wasn’t what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Then I had to determine what I did want to do because consulting could still be the best path to get there (e.g., Kevin Rollins’ job got him into Dell. If you want to work in a big corporation, strategy consulting is a terrific way to get in at a higher level than you otherwise would).

As I spoke with many people, I was continuously told that getting a great mentor was very critical for a career. Also, I wanted to be closer to the action and decision-making than consulting permits. I decided to try to move into PE for several reasons (mentor relationships, develop new skills, etc). I interviewed with 6 firms and was not offered a position but met a lot of great people along the way (interviewers and BYU grads in PE). One of my interviewers was impressed by me and asked if I would be interested in joining a portfolio company of his. I said yes and was fortunate to be offered a position which I accepted.

Here are the reasons why:

1) Great team. My direct boss did consulting, VC, was named the top student in his class at HBS, and has been a part of 2 previous startups. The CEO and CTO are also very, very strong. One of my peers spent two years at both Bain Capital Ventures and McKinsey.

2) Strong product/strategy in a growing market. We work in the internet search area using data mining and analysis in order to drive traffic for our customers.

3) I will learn a lot about the process of building a company from ~$1.5M in revenues to $xM in revenues. Since I want to either run a business or invest in businesses, this is a skill I’m interested in.

What I have learned from the process:

1) Figure out what you want to do and take steps to get there or at least closer. If you’re passionate about something, make sure you do that. I wasn’t passionate about consulting, so I had to find something else.

2) Almost always, people make offers to those that are smart enough who they really like and show a ton of passion about doing what the company does.

3) Get to know as many people as possible. All things get done through relationships. I have my current job because one interviewer really liked me and wanted me to still work with him in some capacity.

4) Work with the smartest, best people you can. If you can find smart people who are good people, that’s a pretty terrific place to work.

Also, I cold emailed about 15 people from the BYU alumni database that now work in PE. About half returned the email and I had a couple of amazing discussions as a result. It was well worth the time. And remember that a career is long. You probably have 40 years to develop skills and relationships. Never burn bridges. And if you put in a good day of work every day for 40 years, you’ll have a great career.

Websites

Here are some sites that I have found to be helpful.

Firefox Cheat Sheet
Don't know a Firefox shortcut, it's not bad to cheat
http://lesliefranke.com/files/reference/firefoxcheatsheet.html

Word Champ
If you a learning/studying a foreign language Word Champ is a must for studying. Flashcards, Word Games, it is amazing how much Word Champ can do.
http://www.wordchamp.com

Convert Center
Convert Center is so helpful with little unit equations you don't know of. It is also great for the big stuff as well. Since it is like every other converter on steroids this is a "I will use this often" site
http://www.convertcenter.com/

Jimmer!!!
A few sites on Jimmer.
http://www.jimmerpoy.com/
https://www.facebook.com/jimmerpoy?ref=ts (Facebook page for Jimmer as POY, seems like a lock right now)
http://jimmeraingetracker.blogspot.com/ (Jimmer chasing Ainge's scoring record)
http://dreamcatchermedia.com/jimmered (screen shot of the very witty replies to the letter to the Daily Universe)

Book of the Month (from Nate)

The Why of Work by Dave Ulrich and Wendy Ulrich (http://thewhyofwork.com/)

The Why of Work gives a blueprint for how leaders can create an 'abundant organization'. In other words, leaders that create meaning in the workplace for their peers, teams, and employs. Although most of us are not at a stage in our careers where we can drive this as managers, the principles in the book are helpful to reflect on as you think about long term career goals and what type of firm you want to work for.

It has also been helpful for me to add value to meetings where I normally would have just been a fly on the wall. Dr. Dyer had a class that was focused on asking the right questions and reading this book has enabled me to ask the people I work with better questions about what we are doing well and what we could improve on as a firm.

Note that I am a bit biased in recommending this book as the authors are my mission president and his wife. For what it is worth, the book is #1 on Wall Street Journal's Business Best Seller's list. It is also on a plethora of other lists so I am not the only one who liked it. : )

All the best,
LaDon and Nate

November Newsletter

2010-12-02T10:43:00.000-08:00

Strategy Students and Alumni,

We hope you’re doing great. We missed a couple of months of the newsletter due to the reunion and business, but here’s a few thoughts from Nate and I along with a reunion recap and update on the strategy program (attached) by Professor Benson. (Thanks Dr. Benson for your help with the reunion!!) Please open the attachment - it's well worth your time!

We hope the reunion will become a well-attended, important event for you in the years to come. I know I enjoyed meeting some of the 2011 students as well as meeting up with my classmates and learning from Jeron Paul (a stud VC) and the professors.

Spiritual (kind of) /Sports Thought (by LaDon)

I’ve started listening to Bronco Mendenhall’s radio show “BYU Football with Bronco Mendenhall” along with the coach’s show each week. I’ve been really impressed with a couple of things:

1) Bronco is an avid reader. He thinks learning anything good relates to many different aspects of life, including football.
2) Bronco said the following about Vic So’oto one week. (slightly paraphrasing) “Vic and I have spent a lot of good and bad times together in my office, and I’ve been able to see him develop into a fine man. I wouldn’t trade the growth I’ve seen in him for an undefeated record.” At the time BYU was 2-5. I know a lot of people would trade anything for an undefeated season, but Bronco wants to see those football players become better people more than that.
3) I didn’t play football, so I don’t really know offenses or defenses. On the coach’s show Bronco walks through a play or situation, explaining what should happen and why. I really enjoy learning about that.

Here’s the links:
http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=841 , http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=498&sid=13406516

Cool Link / Non-profits (by Nate)

Here's a non-profit that I have been really impressed with: www.charitywater.org

For those interested in starting their own non-profit, this is a great model.

Asia (by Nate)

Recently, my company (Aon) acquired one of our competitors--Hewitt and Associates. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to move to Singapore for two months to work on the integration for the Asia Pacific region. I thought I would share some of the interesting things about working in Asia and a few things that I learned.

First off, Singapore is great and if you ever have the opportunity to do an ex-pat stint in Asia I would definitely recommend you push for Singapore. Alternatively, Hong Kong is the other popular destination that all of the ex-pats speak highly of. Singapore is unique in the sense that as an American you feel that you are in Asia but in the States at the same time. Except that they don't sell gum and are strict on a plethora of other small things like that. The city is very clean, most everyone speaks English and it is a great place to live.

I think the biggest take away for me being in Asia from a corporate perspective is that executives (and their teams) of multi-national companies tend to forget about Asia and the very unique issues the region faces. The fact that it is difficult to communicate with Asia due to the time difference, in my opinion, is a big part of this issue. I think this insight can be applied to any company. There will always be a division, business unit, or market that feels that it is left out and not united with the firm. Perhaps not always, but it is something that I believe leaders should always be looking out for to make sure their organizations are unified.

The second biggest thing that I learned is that asking for feedback is critical. Part of my role while I was down there was to help design the organization structure and facilitate the communication to the region. Many people were surprised at how open I was at asking for their feedback on the org structure. Because they were open with me, we were able to identify people that weren't happy with the structure and were considering leaving. They may still leave but at least we have a chance to resolve their concerns. Bottom line, always ask for feedback on your work.

Hopefully part of what I shared is somewhat interesting or insightful.

Book Review (by Nate)

Drive by Daniel Pink (http://www.danpink.com/drive)

While I was in Singapore, I met a great guy who recommended a book to me called Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates US by Daniel Pink. The book blew me away. Whether you are a business leader, political leader, teacher, or parent, this book will help you motivate yourself and those around you. The author is basically arguing that the way we motivate employees, students, and children is pretty much backwards. The book itself is only 146 pages and focuses on Type I motivation or intrinsic motivation. His ‘Twitter’ summary of the book goes like this: “Carrots & sticks are so last century. Drive says for 21^st century work, we need to upgrade autonomy, mastery, and purpose.

The weird thing about this book was that the leader that kept creeping into my mind as I read the book was Bronco Mendenhall. Autonomy, mastery, and purpose seem to be what his program is all about and he has had some success. Funny how many were arguing that they didn’t give Jake Heaps enough autonomy on that last drive. I guess that is for a different discussion. : ) Pick up the book, read it over Christmas; it will be a great tool for New Year’s resolutions.

January Newsletter

2010-01-11T16:47:00.000-08:00

All-

Happy New Year! We hope that 2010 is treating you well so far. We apologize for not getting a newsletter out during the past few months and plan on sending out one once a month for the year. I guess you could say that is the New Year's Resolution of the newsletter. Congratulations to those of you who have recently started the program and are currently in Dr. Dyer's class. LaDon Linde and I are trying to send out a monthly newsletter to all of the strategy major alumni. Even if you are brand new to the program, we welcome your feedback and ideas for the newsletter. Best of luck to the 2nd year students with your job hunt and let us know if we can do anything to help you out.

This month, we have two things to share with you: a cool website and some fantastic advice from Andrea Thomas (SVP of Private Label Brands at Wal-Mart). Big thanks to LaDon for taking the time to speak with her and write up the advice she offered--it is great!

Hope you all are doing well.

Nate and LaDon
www.byustrategy.blogspot.com

Website
www.khanacademy.org

Khan Academy was started by Salman Khan, an HBS graduate. He basically goes through any subject and teaches (via youtube) about the subject. I have attached a Rent v Buy spreadsheet that he created to help people determine whether or not they should rent a home or buy a home. He has also gone through every GMAT question in the prep book and gives explanations for each of them. It is a useful site for many different needs.

Two Cents
Andrea Thomas

School:
Undergrad – University of Utah (1988)
MBA – BYU (1993)

Work:
Frito-Lay, Hershey, Wal-Mart (currently SVP of Private Label Brands – Oversight of $20 Billion in annual sales)

Career Advice:

Deliver Results
The best advice I can give is “deliver results.” This is the most critical thing you can do to establish yourself as a valuable part of your company and earn trust. A lot of people want flexibility in their careers, and this will not be an issue if the company sees an employee delivering well.

I have three kids, and I was very stressed when I had my first kid that I couldn’t do the things I needed to do for my family. This has not been an issue as my companies have seen me deliver results. They don’t really care how or when I do my job but that it is done effectively.

Determine your Strengths
Also, determine what you are good at. For example, I’ve learned that I am good at recognizing patterns and putting structure around ambiguous situations. This has helped me develop a good career in innovation, marketing, and strategy. It’s not always easy to find out what you’re good at and this can take some time. I learned my particular talent for pattern recognition about half-way through my MBA courses. Because it takes time to find out what you’re really good at, it’s important to push yourself out of your comfort zones and to try several different tasks.

Once you do find out what your strengths are, make sure you’re the best in your company at that particular skill. It’s also important that your company value your talent or it will be hard to build a career around that skill.

Relationships
Remember that the relationships you build in business really matter. These can help or even hinder your career. I worked six years at Frito-Lay and a former colleague of mine from there convinced me to come to Wal-Mart. Make sure you build good relationships throughout your career.

Potential Career Trap for New Grads
Understand that you need to pay your dues. Many young employees have an incorrect idea of what they should be able to do early in their careers. This attitude can come across as arrogant. In reality, we’re judged in business on our actions and not our words. I even have to remind the VPs that report to me of this concept. Effort is not the same as results and plans must be successfully executed in order to be valuable.

MBA
I would always recommend getting an MBA. Undergrad degrees generally focus on specific skills, but an MBA teaches you how to think and look at problems. Also, many companies only hire MBAs. At Pepsi and now at Wal-Mart we don’t even look at undergrads for our brand management positions. Every once-in-a-while you’ll find someone who doesn’t need an MBA (such as Wal-Mart’s current CEO) because they are on a good undergrad career trajectory and have a good CEO mind, but that’s very rare.

Efficiency Tip
A lot of time can be saved and problems avoided by being clear in communication. A group needs to understand upfront what’s expected and what needs to be delivered. Take the time to lay out the task early on and then follow up on how you’re doing to meet the goals of the project. This will improve the final product and reduce the effort needed to produce it.

Stereotypes among fellow LDS members
I’ve found that LDS people are often more judgmental than most other people. When someone doesn’t fit into the normal mold (as I don’t due to my career), members often don’t know what to think of that person. Females or others that don’t fit into the common LDS mold can expect some negative experiences due to this, but remember that the gospel is always true, and it’s our job to get revelation about our own lives and do what’s best for ourselves and our families.

October Newsletter

2009-10-14T13:48:00.000-07:00

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.

October Newsletter

2009-10-14T13:47:00.001-07:00

All-

Fall is here and we hope your jobs, school, job hunt are going well. Apologize for not sending this out sooner this month. We hope to send out the November newsletter towards the beginning of the month. I would like to thank Michael Alemany, Barrett Edgington, and LaDon Linde for sharing their experiences with us (see attached document). If any of you are interested in sharing your experience please let me know. Also, feel free to forward this on to anyone who you think might benefit from it. Although we are sending this out to strategy majors and alums, LaDon and I forward it to many people who find the articles and write ups to be beneficial.

Here is the link to the blog with the newsletter: www.byustrategy.blogspot.com

Other sites:

www.twitter.com/byustrategy
www.linkedin.com search: byu strategy

Religion

http://www.byub.org/talks/Talk.aspx?id=2738

This link has an interview between John Tanner (BYU Academic Vice-President, husband of Susan Tanner) and Clayton Christensen. During the first 15 minutes he explains his business innovation theories and then during the last 13 minutes he relates them to the gospel. He suggests four ways his theories applies to the LDS church, and it's fascinating.

A couple of highlights to entice you to listen, but there are others:
-in wards with sacrament attendance under 100, members give missionaries 3x more referrals per person than in wards with attendance over 100; that's staggering!
-innovations in companies generally bubble up from the bottom, and then senior management's job is to implement the good innovations across the entire company. The same has happened in the church (missionary discussions, topical guide, sunday school all happened this way). We need to make sure that at a local level we seek inspiration and are innovative in the ways we do our callings and don't just rely on the Brethren to guide all programs/actions. Their job is to implement the good ones.

Book Review: Disrupting Class ( The Innovator's Prescription Review will be in November Newsletter)

Real improvement in both health care and education has been elusive. The two books co-authored by Clayton Christensen use the business innovation ideas that explain how entire industries are changed and apply these ideas to education and health-care reform. Because Christensen’s ideas explain how impressive changes occur in industries, the books give a roadmap that shows how real change can happen in these as well. (FYI--Disrupting Class is about half as long, but The Innovator’s Prescription is extremely comprehensive in explaining how to improve the health-care system.)

Here’s a few examples of ideas, but there are a ton more in the books.

Disrupting Class
Our schools are essentially based on the factory system. Schools move students from class to class and grade to grade and hope that educated students come out at the end. However, every student learns differently, so how come in the day of iTunes, Amazon, and NetFlix, which are customized to preferences, do we teach every student in the same way. Computers on the other hand, can deliver content at different paces and ways in order to help students get customized learning experiences and help every single student learn more. That is exciting! Also, the teacher becomes more impactful when computers deliver content and do the assessment because teachers have more time to focus on individual students and act as mentors.

As I consider my schooling experience, I don’t think I learned anything in fifth grade because I had a poor teacher. That would never happen if computers were used to instruct. Also, I could have taken Mandarin Chinese, economics, and AP Physics in high school if they were taught on a computer.

What we want in the U.S. is an education system in which every resource focuses on what it does best: computers deliver the content, teachers mentor and guide, and extra activities and programs help fulfill needs such as health, socialization, exercise, and fun.

Articles

Whole Foods CEO and founder discusses politics, his company, and other interesting topics: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704471504574447114058870676.html#mod=djemWMP

Malcolm Gladwell discusses whether dogfighting is more like football (very long but a great read):
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/10/19/091019fa_fact_gladwell

Coke CEO on why CocaCola didn't make America fat:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703298004574455464120581696.html?mod=djem_jiewr_swwgn_100809

Fantasy Basketball

If there is anyone interested in joining a fantasy basketball league. Let me know and I will create one.

August Strategy Newsletter

2009-09-02T19:05:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone,

Here is round two of the monthly newsletter. For those of you that are starting up school again, enjoy your time at BYU--it is a great place to be. For those of you that are starting up your jobs, hope the transition is going well. For those of you still looking for a job, please reach out to either LaDon or myself (and I am sure most everyone else in the program) if we can help you in anyway possible to help you achieve your goals.

Book of the Month--"Never Eat Alone" by Keith Ferrazzi

I gave a review of the book, Never Eat Alone, last month and thought I could follow up with how that book helped me get my current internship. I'm working with Michael Horn, co-author (with Clayton Christensen) of Disrupting Class, on a project. I'll talk more about the project next month when I'm done.

When LEK pushed my start date back, I figured that was an opportunity to learn something new. I had just read Never Eat Alone which gives some terrific ideas about networking. I wrote a Wal-Mart's VP (I met her the day the Tanner Building extension was dedicated.) to ask what she recommended I do. She suggested I work for a nonprofit as it was a unique opportunity for me to do something like that. I thought of every job possibility I could and then started writing people. Here's my list of job possibilities:

1) Work for Innosight
2) Work for the Innosight Institute (nonprofit arm that works on Education and Health-Care Reform)
3) Work with an elementary school principal in my hometown on a few specific problems the school had
4) Work with a Catholic nun and her nonprofit organization in my hometown
5) Work for an NBA team
6) Work as an intern for a Senator or Congressman in DC
7) Work for the Treasury Department

I wrote Clayton Christensen (who didn't respond--I have heard his secretary looks at the emails.) about Innosight. I also worked with Charles a bit (Congrats Charles on the full-time offer!) to see what we could make happen. Nothing happened with them.

I also wrote Michael Christensen (who I met when he visited here back in October) about the Innosight Institute. He connected me with a friend there, and that led to my current internship. He didn't respond for one month, and then I had to write his friend at the Institute twice (about one month apart each time), but it worked out.

My mom set up #3 and #4 for me. I could have done that if I wanted, and it was a good option.

I wrote two people in the NBA. Someone referred me to one of them and the other I just wrote out of the blue, but neither responded.

I never pushed for #6, but I probably could have worked for the local Congressman at least because my parents are friends with him.

I helped a guy who ended up getting a job at a consulting firm prepare for interviews. He interned at the Treasury Department and could have helped me get a job there, but the Innosight Institute opportunity came up.

I share these things to let you know that everyone really can find opportunities. I come from a rural town and a family that never made more than $50,000 while I grew up, but I have been able to find terrific opportunities. Help people and get to know people as often as possible and great opportunities can come your way.

Interesting Articles

1) China: The New Big Oil

China is addressing the oil concern by proactively buying oil. Why haven’t we done something similar? (CNNMoney)

2) Camp Sundown Shines In The Bronx

This is a great article about some kids with a rare disease. I appreciate the willingness to care about some people in a tough spot. Also, I’m not a Yankees fan, but it’s tough for me not to like AJ Burnett after this.(ESPN)
Religious Tidbit

This is another book but LaDon recommended I read a book called The Peacegiver by James Ferrell. The author uses a fictional but very realistic struggling marriage to teach a principle of the Atonement we often don't discuss or think about. If there were a thesis in the book, in my mind, it would be that the Atonement does not only allow us to be forgiven of our own sins but it allows us to forgive others. It is a brilliant and creative book that clearly identifies how we can use the Atonement to forgive others. I listened to it on my long drive out to Chicago and my wife and I have been reading it again together--Thanks LaDon!

Websites of the Month

http://www.google.com/reader/

Most of you probably already know about or use Google Reader. However, for those of you that don't know it or have never used it, it is a very valuable tool to keep up on news, blogs, and any other sort of tidbit on the internet. I follow several blogs (Mark Cuban, Bill Simmons Twitter Feed, friends blogs, etc,) and it is very helpful to have everything at one place.

As a reminder, check out Mint.com if you are looking for a simple way to track your finances--It is GREAT!

Social Networks - remember to follow us on Twitter and join the LinkedIn group

http://twitter.com/byustrategy

http://www.linkedin.com/

In the search box: search "byu strategy" under groups

Strategy Newsletter

2009-08-01T06:41:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

LaDon Linde, Jr. and I have put together a newsletter and hope to send one out monthly. We hope this will help us stay connected and share a variety of things with one another i.e., experiences from our jobs, books we are reading, cool websites, finance tips, spiritual topics, challenges, and any other tidbit that can help us stay connected and learn from one another. We realize this is the first of hopefully several to come so please send us feedback. We really want this to be a valuable resource to all of us. Please feel free to contact either of us with any ideas or feedback you might have, or to simply tell us how you are doing.

LaDon Linde, Jr.: ladon84@hotmail.com 509.901.1558
Nate Lawler: natelawler@gmail.com 951.526.7840

Below, are three write ups by Charles Barrett (Innosight--Boston, barrett.charles.e@gmail.com), Jeff Brownlow (Bain--Dallas, jcbrownlow@gmail.com), and Neal Watterson (Aon--Chicago, nealw33@yahoo.com ). We asked them to tell us about their experiences and sent them questions that we thought would be interesting to hear about. Thank you guys for taking the time to write these up--we appreciate it!.

Book of the Month--"Never Eat Alone" by Keith Ferrazzi

Dr. Godfrey suggested that I read Never Eat Alone, a book about networking. It was well worth it and is something I would recommend to everyone. Networking is an overused and misunderstood word. Ferrazzi does a good job explaining what it is, how important it is, and what’s the right way to go about doing it.
The biggest key: give, give, give. Look for ways to reach out to people and help them (because you care about people--not just to get things). For example, as a result of this book I wrote a guy that had wanted to interview me for a job (but I was lucky enough to have one) and asked if he’d filled the position. He said no, so I connected him with another good friend of mine who was looking for a job. My friend told me that if I ever wanted to use his family contacts for anything (his grandpa and two uncles went to Harvard, and his other grandpa is very wealthy) I could. That offer was given because I was looking out for him the best I could.

Ferrazzi explains well that truly caring about people and working to improve their lives is really the key to networking. You will receive as you truly give. It's something very analogous to church service. While some believe that church service leads to blessings, really church service is the main blessing. It brings with it a lot of great things. So it goes with networking--give and you naturally receive. When you read the book you'll understand this better. Thanks Prof. Godfrey for helping me learn this lesson! LaDon

Interesting Articles

1) In Search of the Science Behind the Healing Powers of Art

Interesting article on art having power; I believe the mind has a lot of power to affect attitudes, perception, beauty, etc. These ideas are fascinating. It’s also a reason why being careful and wise with music that we listen to or images that we see are very important.

2) A Reckless Congress
Democrats want to ram through one of the greatest raids on private income and business in American history
Religious Tidbit

LDS Conversations: Elder and Sister Bednar

Very good conversation with the Bednars! Seriously excellent!

They talk about reasons they travel to certain places as GA’s (i.e., even though they go to set apart a new Stake President, usually there’s another reason they are sent to a certain place), bring up mistakes they’ve made, give advice, etc. As candid a discussion as we get with members of the Twelve.

Website of the Month

Mint.com

I am sure several of you have already heard about this site. I heard about it over a year ago and find it to be very useful to organize my finances.

www.addall.com - if you wan to get a cheap copy of Never Eat Alone

Social Networks - remember to follow us on Twitter and join the LinkedIn group

Twitter

LinkedIn

In the search box: search "byu strategy" under groups

Jeff Brownlow, Neal Watterson, Charles Barrett Updates

2009-08-01T06:34:00.000-07:00

Charles Barrett (Class of 2009)—Intern with Innosight—Boston

Hey everyone. I'm out in Boston for the summer interning with Innosight, and Nate asked me to share some thoughts about my experience. I think some of the best advice on how to stand out was given to us by Jeff Dyer. He told us to run a sprint when you first get to a company and are establishing your reputation. Later, you can slow down to a marathon pace and settle in for the long haul. I am definitely sprinting right now, so things are pretty busy.

I think one of the most important things my managers are looking for is the ability to be very detail-oriented but at the same time understand the big picture. Knowing what level of detail to give in your analysis based on your audience and the circumstances is extremely important.
My work is all really interesting. For example, Innosight holds a CEO Conference every year where 20-30 CEOs and major executives get together for a day and participate in discussions led by Clayton Christensen, Mark Johnson (Chairman of Innosight), Scott Anthony (President of Innosight), etc. This year's attendees are really interesting, and I spent some time doing background research for Scott on innovative things these companies have done in past downturns.

What we learned in the Strategy program has been invaluable here. Innosight is really all about helping clients create sustainable growth by aiming at where the target will be, not where it is now. Our program focused a lot on helping us think about how industries and markets will evolve over time. I still remember when we drew all the normal consulting frameworks up on the board and then talked about how these gave snapshot views of industries at one point in time. Only frameworks like Clayton Christensen's (and others based on Shumpeter's work) give an industry perspective over time.

A little background on how I got the internship: I applied to Innosight through their website (no eRecruiting posting). The first interview round was over the phone with an associate, and the second round was over Skype with five very senior people (the President, partners, and a principal). If I could do it all over again, I would definitely still come here. The work is interesting, and I get to interact with all these thought leaders. For example, just about a week ago, Clayton Christensen came in and talked to us. I know it sounds geeky, but I felt like I was meeting a rock star. It was actually way better than meeting a rock star because Clay seems even smarter in person than on paper. How many rock stars sound better in concert than on CD?

Boston is a great city. Having grown up in the south, it feels strange to be somewhere that is only 70-75 degrees in the middle of summer. There are three large singles wards, and we currently meet in an Episcopal Divinity School (with holy water and everything) because our building burned down in May. The stake is actually 58% single, so many of the stake leadership positions (Relief Society presidency, Young Men's presidency, etc.) are filled by singles.

I would love to hear what everyone else is up to, so be sure and contribute to the newsletter. Thanks guys (and gals).

Neal Watterson (Class of 2010)—Intern with Aon Consulting—Chicago

Chicago is a great place to be during the summer. The weather is pleasant and there is always something to do in the city. Some of the highlights have been sailing, beach volleyball, and visiting the Aquarium. Working on the Global Strategy Team for Aon has taught me valuable insights into the business world. I have been working on a variety of projects including: acquisitions, investigating a new service line opportunity, providing strategic insight into the health care reform, as well as building a program in excel that will be used extensively in creating financial reports and graphs for senior executive meetings. I enjoy the variety as well as the analytical problem solving required for the projects I work on. I have found that my classes at BYU have greatly enhanced my experience as I draw from them in tackling each project. I have also identified areas for improvement which has helped shape the classes I will take in the remaining semesters at BYU. More than anything I enjoy the people I work with. They are smart, hard working and fun to be around. Not a day goes by that I am not laughing—usually at Nate Lawler and the pranks that have been played on him. All and all, I have greatly enjoyed my experience and look forward to returning to BYU in the Fall.

Jeff Brownlow (Class of 2010)—Intern with Bain & Company—Dallas

Since joining Bain I have tried to be in early and don't leave too early. Getting to know everyone in the office and being as flexible as possible when plans change etc. My manager seems to appreciate a positive and upbeat attitude everyday. High quality work and no stress. He wants to know that he can call on me 'in the heat of battle' and know that I'll jump right in, do it fast, and do it right. I think looking back I would offer the advice of trying to carry yourself with sense of purpose and gratitude. The fact is, most guys who get an interview (and even some who don't) are capable of doing the job. It's hard to pat yourself on the back if you land a spot or to beat yourself up too much if you don't, simply because of the high level of subjectivity during the process. Humility and gratitude regardless of what end you land on are key to doing well.

Currently, I'm staffed on a team that is working for a CEO of a massive consumer products company who is under a ton of pressure. Getting to work on the issues that keep him up and night is pretty darn interesting. Even though my experience has been great I would have to say that my least favorite thing is the high level of variance. While I like variety, one day you're getting crushed and the next you're looking for things to do.

I have been very surprised at how much relevant class material is in helping me on day to day assignments. If I had respect and appreciation for David Bryce and Jeff Dyer and what they've put together in the strategy classes before coming to Bain, my feelings are now 5X what they were. I definitely feel like the most prepared guy in the room often. I don't mean to say that I'm the smartest or the best, but that the case studies and skills I learned in my strategy classes are extremely useful.

I originally met a couple of Bain guys at a career fair at the Wilk. I was intrigued, so I sought them out afterward and started making friends with other guys from the firm. I did 8 or 10 cases and applied.

The things that I like about Dallas are the cheap housing, the weather is moderate, people think big and are active, and Dallas has a very family centered culture. The LDS population is strong. I've been playing a ton of golf and loving it. I'm reading Great Expectations by Dickens and studying for the GMAT.

Questions

We sent out questions to Charles, Jeff, and Neal that we thought would be interesting to hear about. If you have any others you think would be good, please send them. Here is the current list of questions:

1) What are you trying to do or doing that is helping you stand out?
2) What are some of the key factors that your manager is looking for from you?
3) If there was one thing you could pass along to us that you have learned what would it be?
4) What's the most interesting thing you've done?
5) What do you wish you'd known before hand?
6) What do you least like about the job?
7) Does anything from class apply to what you're doing?
8) How did you get the job?
9) Would you go back if you could do it over again, why?

10) Anything you like about the city (Also, what don't you like about the city and how is the LDS culture there)
11) Any hobbies you're working on--things you like to do, books you've read lately that you'd like to recommend, etc.
12) What questions, if any, do you have for everyone else?