Out of all the classes I've taken at Tuck, one of my all time favorites is Ron Adner's Entrepreneurship and Innovation Strategy class. In the class, Adner focuses on examining the challenges of entrepreneurial innovation and how one should approach the challenge of picking the right opportunity, aligning the right partners, and targeting the right market and, perhaps most importantly, setting the right expectations for a new venture. If you have any interest in innovation, I HIGHLY recommend this class for two reasons: #1 - Adner will rock your world, #2 Adner's frameworks will totally change the way you think about innovation strategy.
Adner has also just come out with a new book The Wide Lens: A New Strategy for Innovation, which covers a lot of the topics we discussed in class such as:
— How to see and manage the hidden risks in your ecosystem
— How to assess alternatives and establish leadership in collaborative settings
— How to reconfigure your ecosystem to create and leverage success
I can't wait to read his new book and would definitely recommend both his book and his class(es) to anyone interested in innovation or business strategy!
In a recent survey BusinessWeek asked graduates at America's Top Business Schools to rate the quality of teaching on several dimensions. I'm proud to say Tuck came in #2 for the Best MBA Teaching Faculty!
In my opinion, one of the many great things about Tuck is that professors tend to be more accountable and accessible to students because of the school's culture and location. Similar to the alumni network, it's incredibly easy to reach out to the faculty and connect with them on a personal or professional level. Feedback is highly valued and used by professors to improve their classroom performance. And, of course, there are some faculty such as Ron Adner and Matt Slaughter that have truly blown my mind!
As the co-chair of a couple clubs at Tuck, I often get e-mails from prospective students inquiring about the school or a club they're interested in. Most people ask really great questions and I'm really happy to help them in any way I can. However, every now and again, a propsective student does something that is either a) a big no no or b) slightly ridiculous. I've decided to post a few of these as lessons in what not to do.
What Not to Do:
#1 - Accidentally writing the wrong school name in your e-mail/essay or addressing a letter to the wrong person. This will get you ding'ed anywhere - whether applying to school or a job. Enough said.
#2 - Not conveying sincere interest for the school. A few months ago I received an e-mail that started off like this: "After careful consideration I recently decided to include Tuck in my MBA application process." So basically what you just told me is that you weren't originally considering Tuck and that it's probably not your top choice? #ding
#3 - Expecting a current student or admissions officer to tell you why you should attend the school. Sample bad e-mail: "I would like a first person's account of what is unique about the program, and how it can help me fulfill my aspirations." You wouldn't send a potential employer an e-mail that says "Dear Goldman Sachs, please tell me what is unique about your company and how you can help me fulfill my aspirations." so what makes candidates think this is an appropriate strategy for reaching out to a MBA program?
That said, current students and admissions officers are definitely willing to help answer any questions you may have about the program. However, it's all on you to know why you want to get an MBA and why you're interested in a school (even if you're not 100% certain that you're going to apply there yet).
#4 - Trying to show how smart you are by asking unnecessarily complex questions. People will generally assume you are intelligent. Acting 'smarter than thou' does not win you points.
#5 - Claiming to know a current student or admissions officer better than you really do in your interview. Odds are relatively high that the interviewer will reach out to the current students / admissions officers you claim to know in your interview for more information, so be honest. One time an applicant exaggerated how well he knew a current student we'll call "Guy X" during an interview. Ironically (and unknown to him) the applicant was interviewing with "Guy X's" girlfriend. #badtimetoexaggerate
#6 - Not following up. If a current student does an informational call with you or e-mails extensively with you, follow up with them and let you know when you interview/apply. If a current student tells you to 'keep them posted', this generally means that they really like you and might (unknown to you) put in a good word for you with admissions. If you don't follow up with the current student, you lose this opportunity.
#7 - Asking your interviewer to recommend you. If you have to ask, the answer is probably no.
"I can't begin to tell you how many situations a recommender has derailed an applicant's dreams by procrastinating or doing a shoddy job" points out Chioma Isiadinso author of The Best Business School Admissions Secrets. Clearly after all the hard work that's gone into your application, the last thing you want is to get dinged for a bad letter of recommendation. So what can you do to prevent this from happening?
Choose recommenders that know you well - Ideally your recommenders should be your immediate manager (when possible) or a prior manager that can speak to your leadership skills and progression. Don't choose the CEO or someone else with a fancy title in hopes of impressing the admissions office. This technique will backfire on you. The admissions office wants to read a letter of recommendation from someone that knows you well and has worked closely with you.
*If you choose someone that's written your annual review before, you should have a good idea (based on past reviews) of how they regard you as a leader and what they will be most inclined to write about.
Choose recommenders that will CHAMPION you - As Ms. Isiadinso points out in the above video, you need to think of yourself as a brand and choose a recommender that's willing to be a brand champion for you. Run the other way and find a new recommender if your potential recommender says: he's too busy, doesn't understand why you want to get an MBA or just generally doesn't come across as supportive. This type of person is not going to champion you in your letter of recommendation.
Prime your recommenders with your successes - Not everyone is a natural for writing letters of recommendation. Take the time to set up a meeting with your recommender early on and discuss what you'll be writing about in your application essays and what you think your key successes are as a leader. If it's been a while since you worked with your recommender, this is especially important. Even if you recommender thinks you are a rock star, the precise details of your accomplishments may be a little hazy in his mind and need refreshing. The last thing you want is a vague or generic letter of recommendation that doesn't back up any of the 'key messages' in your essays.
Give your recommenders sufficient time to write your letter of recommendation - Depending on how many schools you're applying to and how busy your recommenders are, you'll want to give them 1-6 months to write the recommendations. It's also helpful to follow up with them as the deadline approaches to make sure everything is submitted on time.
