Unvarnished and Marketing-Free!
Photo of students joking around

Overheard...

Professor: "We didn't have time to discuss the readings today, but Sean mentioned them in a comment so he gets extra credit."
Sean: "Now I don't have to talk the rest of the week."
Professor: "So it's a win-win for both of us."

  Straight from the Source

Blogs, Tweets, and Other Random Thoughts*

Temi Olatunde, MBA 2013
Anneke Jong, MBA 2012
Don Hoang, MBA 2011
Podcast with Jessica Jackley, MBA 2007, Co-Founder of Kiva.com
Joost Schreve, MBA 2006
Live From Planet Paola, Paola Bonomo, MBA 1995
Luke Anthony Pena, MBA/MA Education 2012
Rational Rants, Professor Jeffrey Pfeffer
Work Matters, Professor Bob Sutton

*Disclaimer...
The opinions expressed on GSB Unofficial are unvarnished and marketing-free and do not necessarily represent those of the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

 

View from the Bottom

Images of students who participated in View from the Bottom

View from the Bottom offers perspectives from students who found themselves at the front lines of their respective industries.

A Day in the Life of...

Luke Pena, MBA/MA in Education 2012
7:00AMWake up, shower, eat breakfast and read over my notes for the upcoming Global Operations assignment. The assignment asks student groups to analyze multiple supply chain strategies and identify the one that minimizes transportation and inventory holding costs. Professor Hau Lee is one of my favorite professors; the "father of supply management" keeps class interesting with humor and the occasional bullwhip. I am meeting with my group this morning and do not want to show up unprepared.
8 AMMeet with my Global Operations group in the Bass Center at the new Knight Management Center. The Knight Center opened spring 2011, and the facilities are phenomenal. We can reserve study space using our cell phones, although there was no need for this meeting – 8am is not a particularly common meeting time. We meet this early because several of my group partners have young children at home, and it is important for them to keep their nights relatively free. As usual, one of my partners arrives with coffee from Coupa Café (also part of the new facilities). We link one of our computers to the LCD screen and crunch supply chain numbers together.
10 AMStay in the Bass Center, grab a computer, and catch up on e-mails. There is a constant stream of inter-program communication, including event announcements, transactions, networking and job opportunities, and social events. I do my best to keep up so that I don't miss any event or opportunity of particular interest to me.
11 AMWalk to the Faculty East Building to meet with Professor Carole Robin. I will be an Arbuckle Leadership Fellow in the fall, and Professor Robin directs the program. This is my first one-on-one meeting with her, so we talk about my background and what I hope to gain from my experience as a Fellow. Leadership Fellows help facilitate the Leadership Labs course that all MBA1s take in their first semester. My Leadership Labs experience was an enlightening exploration of my leadership style, so I look forward to contributing to the Class of 2013 Leadership Lab experience.
11:30 AMGrab lunch from Arbuckle Café. Between 11:30am and 1:30pm, Arbuckle is the unofficial social center of the GSB. I spot a classmate eating with a professor through the IPO (Invite a Professor Out) program, which reimburses students who take professors to lunch. Arbuckle has some nice touches (like real dishes and silverware rather than plastic) and ample outdoor seating to enjoy the California weather.
12 AMWalk to the Class of 1968 Building for the Academic Committee meeting. The Academic Committee, one of the 10 GSB Student Association committees, consists of 12 elected students who meet weekly with Academic Operations and the Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs to evaluate and improve the student academic experience at the GSB. I am presenting today on our student feedback initiative. I want to transform our process for collecting and acting on student feedback from a static process to a real-time one. I need to be concise, because the Academic Committee is incredibly active and ambitious and our agenda is full as usual.
1 PMLeave Knight and go "across the street" to meet with my Leadership and Administration in Higher Education group at the Education School. As a MBA/ MA Education joint degree student, I split my time between the GSB and SUSE (Stanford University School of Education). My two doctoral partners and I are writing a leadership case study on the launch of a new degree program, and we are brainstorming questions for our interviews with deans and program directors. I love that the joint program allows me to learn and build a network across two programs; it was a primary reason for my decision to attend Stanford.
2 PMWalk to Schwab Residential Center, where two MBA Admissions officers are waiting for me with boxes of air mattresses. I chair the Hosting/Housing Tour subcommittee for the MBA Admit Weekend, which is just days away. Several dozen classmates have volunteered to host admitted students in their Schwab rooms, so the MBA Admissions team and I are distributing air mattresses and pumps. I care deeply about Admit Weekend; I believe that the opportunity to visit campus and preview the student experience is a critical step in making an enrollment decision. Also, I had a fantastic time at my Admit Weekend and I want to pay it forward.
2:45 PMTake a scheduled call with my prospective summer internship supervisor. I already accepted an offer to become a Summer Fellow with Education Pioneers, a growing non-profit organization that matches Fellows with urban education reformers. I have been recommended for a teacher compensation data analysis project at Envision Schools, which manages four charter schools in San Francisco, Oakland and Hayward. The Vice President for Human Resources at Envision and I want to be sure that our goals are aligned, so we chat about the scope and deliverables of the project. The call goes well – she tells me that she wants to move forward with confirming my placement.
3:15 PMWalk to the Zambrano building for Interpersonal Dynamics, more commonly known at the GSB as Touchy Feely. The class is historically one of the most popular at the GSB, and quickly becoming one of my favorites. Each class begins with a very brief discussion of the leading research and theory, followed by 4-5 hours of intense small-group interaction. In today’s class, we are addressing how emotional expression, or lack thereof, can impact the level of influence we have with one another. The small-group discussion is always emotionally intense and exhausting, but I always find myself anticipating the next class. I have already learned so much about how to form stronger professional and social relationships.
6:15 PMBreak time! Touchy Feely is a six-hour class, but we break for one hour for dinner. I head home to Escondido Village to eat, respond to e-mails, and type up notes on the case study for tomorrow's Social Entrepreneurship class.
10:15 PMRun home to get my car, grab my bass guitar, pick up a classmate and drive to Gunn High School in Palo Alto for the GSB Show dress rehearsal. The GSB Show – a full theatrical production featuring acting, song, dance, video, live music and more – is unquestionably a highlight of the year. More than 150 students contribute, and I am amazed at the diverse talent of my classmates! I am playing bass guitar in the live band, singing with an a cappella group, and delivering 13 panicked words on stage. We have been rehearsing every night this week, and tonight’s rehearsal started at 5pm, so I am late but still in time for the final run-through.
1:00 AMDrive home from GSB Show rehearsal. I need to review the case for tomorrow’s Global Operations class before calling it a night, but I won't stay up too much later. Tomorrow is another big day!