Leyendo a Ogilvy

Hace un par de semanas Olmo Galvez hizo escala en casa en su ya habitual Boston-Pekin-Boston regalandome un libro para el que no albergaba grandes esperanzas: Ogilvy, on Advertising. Admito publicamente mi error, no había leido nada parecido desde el Perspective on McKinsey de Marvin Bower y procedo a añadirlo a la lista de libros "Diseña tu propio MBA" que publiqué en 2005.

MBAs (Dilbert de hoy)

The Rules of Combat...

1. If the enemy is in range, so are you.
   
   
2. Incoming fire has the right of way.
   
   
3. Don't look conspicuous: it draws fire.
   
   
4. The easy way is always mined.
   
   
5. Try to look unimportant, they may be low on ammo.
   
   
6. Professionals are predictable, it's the amateurs that are dangerous.
   
   
7. The enemy invariably attacks on one of two occasions:
   a. When you're ready for them.
   b. When you're not ready for them.
   
   
8. Teamwork is essential; it gives the enemy someone else to shoot at.
   
   
9. If you can't remember, the claymore is pointed at you. Claymores are labeled "This side toward enemy" for a reason.
   
   
10. If your attack is going well, you have walked into an ambush.
    
    
11. Don't draw fire, it irritates the people around you.
    
    
12. The only thing more accurate than incoming enemy fire is incoming friendly fire.
    
    
13. When the pin is pulled, Mr. Grenade is not our friend.
    
    
14. If it's stupid but works, it isn't stupid.
    
    
15. When in doubt empty the magazine.
    
    
16. Never share a fox hole with anyone braver than you.
    
    
17. Anything you do can get you shot. Including doing nothing.
    
    
18. Make it too tough for the enemy to get in and you can't get out.
    
    
19. Mines are equal opportunity weapons.
    
    
20. A Purple Heart just proves that were you smart enough to think of a plan, stupid enough to try it, and lucky enough to survive.
    
    
21. Don't ever be the first, don't ever be the last and don't ever volunteer to do anything.
    
    
22. The quartermaster has only two sizes: too large and too small.
    
    
23. Five second fuses only last three seconds.
    
    
24. It is generally inadvisable to eject directly over the area you just bombed.
    
    
25. Tracers work both ways.
    
    
26. If the brass says it is a routine mission... bring extra ammo.

Redescubiertas en mi carpeta del instituto al hacer limpieza

DimDim como herramienta de formación

Acabo de publicar en el blog de Okuri un post sobre el taller de coaching para emprendedores que estamos organizando a través de DimDim, una impresionante herramienta web para el trabajo colaborativo que permite videoconferencia, chat, visualizado de documentos y pizarras compartidas

Si bien era evidente hace tiempo que las posibilidades de sitios como YouTube para la distribución de contenidos digitales permitían celebrar sesiones magistrales como la de Randy Pausch, abrir al público grandes discursos de personalidades como Steve Jobs y Warren Buffet en actos inagurales de MBAs y publicar materiales de formación a instituciones como Stanford y el Instituto Empresa que además se agregan en AcademicEarth, creo que Justin.tv y DimDim abren una nueva etapa al facilitar que organizaciones más pequeñas consigan una audiencia global y dotar de mayor capacidad para la interacción

Espero que la sesión virtual de coaching para emprendedores facilitada por Juan Carlos Arrese sea la primera de una larga serie y podamos seguir distruyendo algunas de las sesiones de formación de Okuri Ventures a través de DimDim

El libro negro del emprendedor

Dado que en Okuri Ventures últimamente recibimos bastantes solicitudes de colaboración de "emprendedores Gollum" he decidido citar el resumen del libro que lleva tantos meses de moda pero es evidente muchos no han leido.

Sin duda debería haber bastante más gente que escriba sobre los "factores críticos de fracaso" de nuevas iniciativas dado que como bien comenta Trias de Bes no se estudia lo suficiente. Otro libro, junto con "In Search of Stupidity" para actualizar la lista de diseña to propio MBA que proponía en el 2005.

Warren Buffet en la Universidad de Florida

"..charla que Warren Buffet dió a los alumno del MBA de la Universidad de Florida. Creo que realmente vale la pena perder los 18 minutos la hora y 20 minutos que dura el vídeo ya que es una gran lección, a la altura de la que dió Steve Jobs en Stanford..."



Via Gurusblog

Instead of getting an MBA, consider spending six months in my office

Seth Godin lanza una interesante oferta con algunos de los argumentos de Ycombinator. La verdad es que tengo ganas de poder hacer una oferta de este tipo en Okuri Ventures que permita a un grupo de gente colaborar con diversas startups e iniciativas de Okuri Tribe en un miniprograma que ayude a formarles como emprendedores y profesionales "on the job"

There are plenty of reasons to get an MBA, especially in a down economy. I'm not sure exactly what they are, though. A typical MBA might take two years out of your life and cost you more than $150,000 in tuition and opportunity cost.

On this page, I'd like to invite you to consider (and apply for) something very different.

(...)

Six intense months working with a few other amazing people (and me.)

Post completo en Squido

Vas a estudiar el MBA de Apple?

Curiosa noticia a la que llego a través del "otro" blog del IE, despues de decadas de meterse con los MBAs Steve Jobs ficha al decano de Yale, uno de los centros más prestigiosos, para montarse su propia universidad corporativa

Apple Inc. is hiring the dean of Yale University's business school to start a project that it calls Apple University.

The Cupertino, Calif., computer maker said Joel Podolny, the dean of the Yale School of Management, will join Apple as vice president and dean of Apple University. The company declined to provide details about the university or the position.

(...)

Mr. Podolny, who has been in his current position since 2005, specializes in organizational-behavior research that combines his expertise in sociology and management. His current research is about how leaders infuse meaning into their organizations. Mr. Podolny previously taught at Harvard and Stanford universities.

Noticia completa en Wall Street Journal
Via BizDean's talk

Carta de un Hedge Fund Manager

Today I write not to gloat. Given the pain that nearly everyone is experiencing, that would be entirely inappropriate. Nor am I writing to make further predictions, as most of my forecasts in previous letters have unfolded or are in the process of unfolding. Instead, I am writing to say goodbye.

Recently, on the front page of Section C of the Wall Street Journal, a hedge fund manager who was also closing up shop (a $300 million fund), was quoted as saying, "What I have learned about the hedge fund business is that I hate it." I could not agree more with that statement. I was in this game for the money. The low hanging fruit, i.e. idiots whose parents paid for prep school, Yale, and then the Harvard MBA, was there for the taking. These people who were (often) truly not worthy of the education they received (or supposedly received) rose to the top of companies such as AIG, Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers and all levels of our government. All of this behavior supporting the Aristocracy, only ended up making it easier for me to find people stupid enough to take the other side of my trades. God bless America.

There are far too many people for me to sincerely thank for my success. However, I do not want to sound like a Hollywood actor accepting an award. The money was reward enough. Furthermore, the endless list those deserving thanks know who they are.

I will no longer manage money for other people or institutions. I have enough of my own wealth to manage. Some people, who think they have arrived at a reasonable estimate of my net worth, might be surprised that I would call it quits with such a small war chest. That is fine; I am content with my rewards. Moreover, I will let others try to amass nine, ten or eleven figure net worths. Meanwhile, their lives suck. Appointments back to back, booked solid for the next three months, they look forward to their two week vacation in January during which they will likely be glued to their Blackberries or other such devices. What is the point? They will all be forgotten in fifty years anyway. Steve Balmer, Steven Cohen, and Larry Ellison will all be forgotten. I do not understand the legacy thing. Nearly everyone will be forgotten. Give up on leaving your mark. Throw the Blackberry away and enjoy life.

So this is it. With all due respect, I am dropping out. Please do not expect any type of reply to emails or voicemails within normal time frames or at all. Andy Springer and his company will be handling the dissolution of the fund. And don't worry about my employees, they were always employed by Mr. Springer's company and only one (who has been well-rewarded) will lose his job.

I have no interest in any deals in which anyone would like me to participate. I truly do not have a strong opinion about any market right now, other than to say that things will continue to get worse for some time, probably years. I am content sitting on the sidelines and waiting. After all, sitting and waiting is how we made money from the subprime debacle. I now have time to repair my health, which was destroyed by the stress I layered onto myself over the past two years, as well as my entire life -- where I had to compete for spaces in universities and graduate schools, jobs and assets under management -- with those who had all the advantages (rich parents) that I did not. May meritocracy be part of a new form of government, which needs to be established.

On the issue of the U.S. Government, I would like to make a modest proposal. First, I point out the obvious flaws, whereby legislation was repeatedly brought forth to Congress over the past eight years, which would have reigned in the predatory lending practices of now mostly defunct institutions. These institutions regularly filled the coffers of both parties in return for voting down all of this legislation designed to protect the common citizen. This is an outrage, yet no one seems to know or care about it. Since Thomas Jefferson and Adam Smith passed, I would argue that there has been a dearth of worthy philosophers in this country, at least ones focused on improving government. Capitalism worked for two hundred years, but times change, and systems become corrupt. George Soros, a man of staggering wealth, has stated that he would like to be remembered as a philosopher. My suggestion is that this great man start and sponsor a forum for great minds to come together to create a new system of government that truly represents the common man's interest, while at the same time creating rewards great enough to attract the best and brightest minds to serve in government roles without having to rely on corruption to further their interests or lifestyles. This forum could be similar to the one used to create the operating system, Linux, which competes with Microsoft's near monopoly. I believe there is an answer, but for now the system is clearly broken.

Lastly, while I still have an audience, I would like to bring attention to an alternative food and energy source. You won't see it included in BP's, "Feel good. We are working on sustainable solutions," television commercials, nor is it mentioned in ADM's similar commercials. But hemp has been used for at least 5,000 years for cloth and food, as well as just about everything that is produced from petroleum products. Hemp is not marijuana and vice versa. Hemp is the male plant and it grows like a weed, hence the slang term. The original American flag was made of hemp fiber and our Constitution was printed on paper made of hemp. It was used as recently as World War II by the U.S. Government, and then promptly made illegal after the war was won. At a time when rhetoric is flying about becoming more self-sufficient in terms of energy, why is it illegal to grow this plant in this country? Ah, the female. The evil female plant -- marijuana. It gets you high, it makes you laugh, it does not produce a hangover. Unlike alcohol, it does not result in bar fights or wife beating. So, why is this innocuous plant illegal? Is it a gateway drug? No, that would be alcohol, which is so heavily advertised in this country. My only conclusion as to why it is illegal, is that Corporate America, which owns Congress, would rather sell you Paxil, Zoloft, Xanax and other additive drugs, than allow you to grow a plant in your home without some of the profits going into their coffers. This policy is ludicrous. It has surely contributed to our dependency on foreign energy sources. Our policies have other countries literally laughing at our stupidity, most notably Canada, as well as several European nations (both Eastern and Western). You would not know this by paying attention to U.S. media sources though, as they tend not to elaborate on who is laughing at the United States this week. Please people, let's stop the rhetoric and start thinking about how we can truly become self-sufficient.

With that I say good-bye and good luck.

All the best,
Andrew Lahde


Post completo en Portfolio

Update: El MBA de Second Life

No llegué a comentar como fue la clase virtual del Second Life porque fue un pelin decepcionante (sobre todo eché en falta el sonido, que aparantemente todavía no es posible para grupos de más de 5) pero he subido a flickr unas cuantas fotos por si a alguien le interesa verlo en más detalle

El MBA de Second Life

Adjunto email que acaban de enviar a los alumnos de INSEAD, una de las mejores escuelas de negocio de TRW



Me ha parecido tan interesante que voy a reinstalarme el Second Life y asistir como invitado, ya os contaré que tal va

We are experimenting with a (virtual) campus located in "Second Life". This is a virtual world that is attracting growing interest from individuals, corporations and also educational institutions and where, with the lead of Professor Miklos Sarvary, we have created an INSEAD campus

(...)

Why am I sending this to you? So that you are aware of how we experiment with different technologies but also to ask for volunteers for the "first-ever" INSEAD MBA session on our "third campus". Next Wednesday, January 25th (10:00-10:30 FBL time, 17:00-17:30 SGP time), we will be running a session, conducted by Professor Miklos Sarvary (he will be talking about the use of virtual worlds in a business environment).

We are looking for a small group of MBAs who would like to take part in this session. What do you need? You need to be familiar with "Second Life" (have the software installed in your laptop) and then reply to this email expressing your interest. I will follow up with those who reply and then send an invitation to some of you, requesting details on your "Avatar" (there are no humans in Second Life, just Avatars). Realize that even if the content of the session is real, we still see this as a test, so expect some technical issues to come up during the process

(...)

Finally, if any of you is interested in the development of technology in an educational environment like ours, please share with me your interest and ideas. I have strong interest in the subject and INSEAD, because of its dual campus structure, is an ideal place to develop such technologies.

Diseña tu propio MBA - Mis Libros recomendados

Hace unos dos años me crucé con una curiosa web en la que te sugerían que, en vez de invertir de 30 a 150.000€ en un MBA, te fueses a Amazon y te comprases unos pocos libros. La idea no es tan original, supongo que muchos recordais la escena de Good Will Hunting (1997) en la que Mat se liga a la chica en un bar humillando a un empollón que se había metido con su amigo Affleck y, encima, le suelta que habría aprendido más sacándose un carnet de la biblioteca pública que con un doctorado del MIT (que viene a salir por unos $100.000).

No tengo claro hasta que punto tienen razón, al fin y al cabo con una actitud adecuada se puede sacar mucho más de una experiencia universitaria o un MBA que los contenidos de una serie de libros, pero el caso es que he pensado que este blog era el mejor sitio para compartir mi lista de favoritos (sobre todo con aquellos que me la habeis pedido en más de una ocasión)

1. The Dilbert Principle (Adams). El mejor libro para entender las empresas, con la ventaja añadida de que es en clave de humor. Si sólo vais a leer uno que sea este.

2. Exploring Corporate Strategy (Scholes). El punto de partida para entender el funcionamiento de las grandes empresas.

3. Corporate Finance (Damodaran). La Biblia de las finanzas.

4. Valuation (Copeland). Cómo valorar empresas y proyectos. Hace un par de años lo habría puesto entre los tres primeros, pero ya no creo en el DCF (en algún momento haré un post sobre ese tema)

5. Investment Fables (Damodaran). Para todo inversor, si obligasen a leerlo antes de invertir en bolsa habría menos disgustos. Si quereis profundizar en la teoría, mi segunda recomendación en esta categoría es el Investments de Bodie

6. New Business Ventures and the Entrepreneur (Stevenson). Un libro muy completo sobre qué contemplar a la hora de montar una empresa

7. Guerrilla Marketing (Levinson). Libro muy práctico sobre cómo vender tus productos o servicios. Recuerda constantemente que cada dolar invertido en Marketing reduce tus beneficios, por lo que debes pensarte bien cómo va a aumentar tus ventas.

8. Compensation (Kanungo). Cómo repartir los beneficios para motivar a la gente alineando intereses.

9. Liars Poker (Lewis). Banquero de Inversión, ser o no ser.

10. When Genius Failed (Lowenstein). Una "novela" que narra cómo 4 genios montaron una empresa que casi acaba con el sistema financiero. Al final he decidido poner este en vez del de los Pelayo

11. How would you move Mount Fuji (Poundstone). Amena descripción de perradas clásicas de un Proceso de Selección

12. Why I hate flying (Mintzberg). Para que nunca vuelvas a pensar que tienes mala suerte en los aeropuertos.

13. Dont Do, Delegate (Jenks). El "secreto" del trabajo en equipo

14. Rip-Off! (Craig). The Scandalous Inside Story of the Management Consulting Money Machine, libro que explica cuando la Consultoría no funciona. Como contrapunto recomiendo Perspective on McKinsey (Bower) o en su defecto McKinsey's Marvin Bower

15. The Skeptical environmentalist (Lomborg). El único libro "objetivo" que he leido sobre Recursos naturales.

Enjoy