About This Issue

ROGER TJONG FROM THE CLASS OF ’98 CALLED one day last spring to ask if this magazine was interested in an article on “vulture capital.” I said, “What’s that?” He said he didn’t know for sure, but he would like to find out. As a former reporter for The (GSB) Reporter, Roger said he previously had organized informational hunts by looking for people who are experts, asking them carefully selected questions, and then writing about what he had learned for other outsiders.

Extending his own contact list with names culled from the Business School’s alumni/ae database, Roger found plenty of expertise. Alums were willing to share their perspectives on vulture capital—also known as distressed debt investing—at a time when that field is hot. The alumni/ae database truly is the central element of the Alumni Association’s Lifelong Learning Web site precisely because you can use it to tap into such expertise within the network. If you haven’t used it as an informational resource yet, you owe it to yourself to try it out. Keep in mind that, because of security concerns, you need to sign up and select a password first.

During his interviews, Roger learned so much that he had a devil of a time figuring out what to leave out of his article. We turned to other alums and asked them to read his draft. They confirmed how diverse you are as a group. Several objected to article terminology that they said was too specific to investment banking and not well understood in their own field of management. “We are a school of general management,” one alum reminded me, “which means we don’t all have the same backgrounds or interests. I want to know something about this field, but I don’t want to get into it myself.”

We hope you will find plenty in this issue that piques your curiosity. And if you are interested in changing careers, there is even an article on how the School can help—which also takes advantage of your group expertise. Staying connected pays off.

Kathleen O'Toole
Editor

Letters to the Editor

THE COVERAGE [August 2002] on terrorism, organizational ecology, global arbitrageurs, global labor standards, and oddsmakers regarding election results was good. More of this sort of coverage is a great idea.

L.J. HASTINGS, MBA ’40
La Canada, California

I READ WITH INTEREST THE correspondence in the August 2002 issue of Stanford Business magazine, especially the letter from Eugene Danaher.

As a ’61 MBA with lifelong business experience in the world of finance, I must admit I was ill prepared in some key areas of business dynamics. I am quite aware that the GSB is constantly upgrading and updating the knowledge base of its student body. There is still a distinct lack of understanding in the area of ethics (although Ted Kreps did try to hammer its importance at every opportunity!); the focus was and still remains to develop our Cartesian ability to analyze issues and find solutions.

We were very skilled numerically and were given the false notion that numbers and a good analysis would solve any problem. If only it were so. We were hardly made aware of the human dynamics in business and how to navigate the conflicting demands and ambitions from colleagues, superiors, and subordinates. Graduates were left to fend for themselves. In the end, we all learned in the school of hard knocks.

We can and should do better with the resources we have at the GSB. How about it?

HARI THAKUR, MBA ’61
Montreal, Canada

IN THE AUGUST ISSUE OF Stanford Business you printed a fine story about the late Tom Harrell, rightly featuring his academic and scholarly accomplishments. To many of us who were his students, Tom was more than that. He was a wonderful human being.

In 1952, I was enrolled in Bus 270, Psychological Aspects of Business. The title seems clumsy today, but Harrell, then in his first year at Stanford, made it clear that motivating employees was a prime task of management. His textbook is still part of my library.

One of my most vivid memories of his class was an IQ test he administered to us all. My score was in the range of tepid bathwater and I was deeply worried. Tom, the humanist, put me at ease by suggesting that my approach to time-limited tests was all wrong. His advice served me well during the following years at Stanford. After he retired, Tom contacted me while I was chair of the department of management and marketing at San Francisco State University. He wanted to keep his mind active and wondered if I could offer him a part-time teaching assignment. Tom taught for us for many years with great distinction. More important, we became friends.

When we met again, Tom floored me by recalling the B he gave me in 1952 and our encounter after the IQ test. Among the delights of catching up were the lunches Tom hosted at the Stanford Faculty Club. Conversation was always stimulating, and comparing our institutions was always constructive.

With Tom Harrell’s death, we are all losing a gentleman. In a time of ever-diminishing civility, may all of us who knew him refresh ourselves by recalling this man of true value.

KLAUS SCHMIDT, PhD, MBA ’53
Brooklin, Maine