They DO walk a lot in New York City

Hello Readers! Welcome to the first post of 2009 in The Life of Christopher J. Adams.

While I was back in Rochester for a heavenly two weeks encompassing both Christmas and New Year's, my first December in the city showed me just how well NYC does the holidays. The tree in Rockefeller Plaza, the Radio City Christmas Spectacular (starring the Rockettes), and the decorations adourning Macy's at Herald Square... all showed me that Christmas is inextricably synonymous with the image and culture of NYC. But the holidays, with their festive bright lights, songs, and reunions with old friends and family, are now behind us.

Coming off the high of the holidays, we are in the midst of difficult times. Forgetting for a moment the recession that we all face, this is a difficult time of year in general. The decorations come down, and we are parted from our friends and family to once again face the world. This time, we don't face it with those reunions and festivities serving as a bright light at the end of the tunnel ahead of us- we face a long, challenging slog to spring amid cold days and long nights of winter.

What is a person, especially one out on his or her own, to do? One surprising side effect of living in the city, which I hadn't noticed until having gone back to Rochester, is that one feels better simply from having to walk everywhere. Moving around all the time, we here in the city get a lot more exercise than I realized. Only after returning to Rochester and starting to feel a certain... stationary slumpishness... did I notice this subtle feeling. I hadn't thought about it before, but I don't seem to see as many overweight or obese people around here. Brief though it is, walking up and down subway stairs almost every day is in and of itself exercise. I can recall having first moved here and being generally tired all the time. All the walking was new, but in all fairness, the city can get very hot in the summertime!

Okay, Chris... where are you going with all this? This month, the purpose of my post is twofold: First, and as usual, to talk about recent acts of volunteerism and corporate social responsibility in which I've participated (what is this blog if not a Chris Adams PR mouthpiece?). Second, and also as usual, to share what advice I can based on my experiences.

This month, I see a way to blend the two. The advice I would like to share is a great way to kick the winter blues while at the same time participating in a worthwhile, noteworthy event. Generally staying moving certainly helps, but advancing a worthwhile cause while you do it?! Yes! It was for that reason that, this past Fall, I participated in two walk-based charity events.

(Yes, I know most walks don't happen in the winter, but volunteerism in general is a great way to meet people and stay active)!

The first walk was my usual event, The Alzheimer's Association's annual Memory Walk. This was my first time participating in the walk in New York City, which presented some challenges, but did not prevent it from being a resounding success! The walk as a whole saw at least 392 teams raise over $935,000 for the local chapter of the Alzheimer's Association. Yours truly lead his team, the Rochesterian Coalition (a collection of NYC-based Rochester expats and alumni) to raise $2,080 of that. This placed our rank at the 54th-highest fundraising team. For six people in a city this size, I was very impressed by my team's performance. Next year, I hope to make both the count of team members and dollars raised even higher!

While the first walk was organized around personal friends, the second one was a nationwide collaboration by MMC, the parent company of my employer, Mercer. All across the country, teams from MMC participated in the American Cancer Society's walk, "Making Strides Against Breast Cancer." For New York's Central Park walk, Team MMC boasted two impressive rankings for its first year participating in the walk: #2 ranking company team, and #2 team in general. It was a great way to see Central Park in Fall, as well as meet other employees from other Mercer departments and other MMC sister companies.

With over 200 team members, our Team MMC of New York personally raised over $47,000. Factoring in MMC teams from other offices, we raised over $80,000 nationally (including matching). In total, the walk raised over $2,700,000 for the American Cancer Society... incredibile. Yours truly was more than happy to be another face in the crowd amid such numerous volunteers!

So, my readers... kick the winter blues and meet new people by getting involved! Read to elementary students during your lunch break, build a house with Habitat for Humanity, or volunteer at a soup kitchen or shelter. You may just find that helping others helps you just as much as it does them! Until next time!

My Feature in University of Ottawa's Newsletter

Hello Readers, Christopher Adams here!

Once again, I find myself apologizing for the long interval between updates. As you can imagine, moving to a new city, into a new apartment, and starting a new job is quite involved and means quite a bit of change! I promise to update everybody on all these new developments soon.

In the meantime, I wanted to share with you the news that the University of Ottawa's Telfer School of Management recently featured me in its e-newsletter for alumni of the Canadian Leadership Orientation Program (CLOP). The program's purpose is to expose US MBA students to the business, economic, and government environment of Canada. Some of you may recall this program from an earlier story I wrote on it:

http://www.chrisjadams.net/2007/06/canadian-leadership-orientation-program.html

Here is the full version of the article itself, featuring one of my counterparts from the 2008 class:
http://www.industrymailout.com/Industry/View.aspx?id=118278&q=94960282&qz=125ce3

Until next time!

Anything BUT an Ivory Tower

Hello Readers, welcome to the May edition of the Life of Christopher J Adams!

Now, one may be tempted to think that having a job lined up and only being registered for 3 classes is a situation that lends itself well to slacking, but I can assure you that that couldn't be farther from reality. Life is busy as ever as I try to wrap up my Simon career with a bang. This month, I'd like to share with you the latest developments regarding Simon's bid for the prestigious Team MBA Award.

Team MBA is "a nationwide initiative in which friends of the MBA community gather together to perform community service and participate in charity events to promote the goodwill of the MBA." The program is administered by GMAC, the Graduate Management Admission Council (the same people who administer the GMAT exams). Simon will typically engage in Team MBA-related volunteerism twice per academic year, once in the fall and once in the spring.

Last weekend, Simon maintained its tradition of Team MBA volunteerism by sending a group of students to participate in Rochester's Clean Sweep program. Clean Sweep is a city beautification initiative in which volunteers hit the streets of a city neighborhood to pick up debris, remove graffiti, and generally spruce up the place. Last year, the program was responsible for removing over 1500 tons of debris from the city's streets!

Meeting at Genessee Valley Park, the Simon team worked for several hours raking leaves, sweeping sidewalks, and collecting garbage from Cottage and Elba Streets in Rochester's 19th Ward. Terrence Liverpool (below, in orange), an MBA candidate in the class of 2008 and a good friend of mine, lead our team in this tremendously successful event. Look carefully and you'll see yours truly in back, under the tent. Also pictured from our team are (left to right) James Wright, Bridget Heinsler, Sarah McCue, Raghu Gupta, and Ramandeep Kukreja.

Events like these are always enjoyable, not only for the fact that we have an opportunity to spend time with each other out in the sunshine and fresh air, but also because it is through our participation in them that we help shape perceptions of the university. Being that Kaplan recently branded the University of Rochester one the nation's "New Ivies," it's easy for some to fall into the trap of thinking that Simon's culture is one of arrogance or residence in an "ivory tower." Those who spend time with us in activities such as these will tell you how much of a fallacy that is. In fact, Simon's participation in this community outreach event represents a microcosm of the univerity's efforts to reach out through direct investment in the 19th Ward (via initiatives like Riverview Apartments and participation in the Brooks Landing project).

Simon's participation in this event was preceedeed by it's fall event, in which it sent a 44-person team of students, faculty, staff, and friends to represent it in the Alzheimer's Association's Annual Memory Walk. If Clean Sweep was Terrence's pet project, the Memory Walk was mine. Simon's contribution was so strong that our team raised more money than any other team in the city (at roughly $7,125). To see an article from Simon Business magazine featuring our team, click on the picture at right. (depending on your browser, it may be best viewed at 75% zoom in IE).

Teresa Galbier, CEO of the Rochester chapter of the Alzheimer's Association, wrote this of Simon's participation as part of her recommendation of Simon:

"The leadership of these young people for our cause is a true testament to their dedication to a world without Alzheimer's. With their energy and enthusiasm they will be establishing themselves in their own right as the leaders of tomorrow. They exemplify what it takes to make a difference and they are making that difference each and every day by supporting those who are affected by Alzheimer's disease. I am personally proud to call them my friends"!

When combined with Simon's participation in the annual Polar Bear Plunge to benefit the Special Olympics, the school has raised over $10,000 for charitable organizations in the last year. For a school of Simon's size, that's nothing short of incredible. If that isn't Team MBA Award material, I'd love to see what is... and even if it doesn't win us the award, I think it certainly demonstrates our gratitude and desire to give back to our community.

That's all for this edition, folks. If you participated in any of these events and have any particular memories you'd care to share, I'd love for you to add them. Until next time!

The Simon Immersion Program

Hello Readers,

Welcome to the latest installment in the Life of Christopher J Adams!

Once again, I find myself needing to apologize for neglecting this publication for so long. As you can well imagine, they keep us quite busy at Simon. That's actually what I wanted to write about. It's really amazing that after having been at Simon for only a year and several months, I feel like a major participant and stakeholder in its well-being.

When one goes to business school, it's more than just an education being purchased. It's a lifelong admission to a network of colleagues who have studied at your alma mater before you, with you, and after you. For that reason, your relationship with your business school as an alumnus or alumna (ideally) persists long after your studies are finished. It is in that spirit that I've joined with several initiatives to improve my school.

One such initiative is the Simon Immersion Program, whose goal is to extend a proper welcome to new members of our Simon family. Several weeks ago, the program's co-creators and I (pictured above) had the opportunity to test our initiative on the January (Red) Cohort. The initial feedback from this diverse group of students, coming to Rochester from all over the world, was encouraging.

It was successful enough that the Admissions department asked me to write a guest contribution to its blog, which I wanted to share with everyone:
http://simonschool.typepad.com/admissionsblog/2008/02/draft-the-simon.html

Over the next few months, I'll be working with the initiative's co-creators to further improve the program based on the initial feedback we've gotten. In the meantime, feel free to comment with any thoughts and suggestions.

Until next time...

Should I get my MBA now? Advice for those out of Undergrad

Hello Readers! Recently, many people have been asking me the same questions:

Should I get my MBA now? Is it true what they say about my lack of work experience impacting what I get out of the program? What are the things I need to think about?

Friends, I remember struggling a great deal with this exact same question. That is why I would like to devote this post to a discussion of some of the things you might think about in making this difficult decision. If you've found this page, the issue probably is weighing heavily on you. Trust me, you're not the only one. No one will deny it's a major decision.

A Tough Choice...
For me, the most difficult question was not whether or not I should get an MBA. I knew that sooner or later, it was in my future. The question I wrestled with was when that would be. The challenge you'll encounter is that few people can really give you an unbiased answer. I mean, has there ever been a person who went through an MBA program immediately after graduating, then went out and got work experience, then returned and went through an MBA program again? I venture a guess the number is somewhere between tiny to zero.

Why I think I can comment on it...
Being about halfway finished with my MBA studies at the Simon School of Business (University of Rochester), I've seen arguements both for getting it done now and for waiting a few years. Simon is the perfect MBA program to observe in answering this question, as about 25% of the student population is comprised of "Early Leaders"- those of us academic high-achievers the school accepted into the program direct out of our undergrad programs.

What's in an MBA?
Every program will be different, but the key characteristic of an MBA is that it's a very well-rounded degree. Over the course of your studies, you'll learn basic survival skills in the major areas of business: Finance, Marketing, Operations Management, Management Information Systems, Accounting, Organizational Design and Theory, Economics, and likely International Business. I like to say that MBA's are meant to be the marines of the business world. Much the same way a marine can be pulled from a desk job and placed on the battlefield, ready to fight immediately, an MBA-holder is trained to be able to hold his or her own when placed in a wide variety of business situations, becoming fully functional in a short period of time. It truly is a dynamic degree, one originally intended for individuals with little business background who wanted to learn how to manage others and interact commerically within their respective fields.

Tell me the answer, already! Should I get my MBA Now?
Sorry to disappoint you, but my answer for now must remain "maybe." You've probably heard the critique that individuals who enter an MBA program immediately after completing their undergrad studies won't get the same quality of education out of it. Critics claim that students who do so 1) Won't be able to apply experiences to cases, discussions , or projects in class, and 2) won't be able to relate to class discussions as well as their classmates who have work experience.

The Arguement FOR...
From my expreriences thus far, this is simply untrue. Granted I studied business in my undergrad years and many of the students at Simon were from foreign contries (thus at first the English was a factor), but I was one of the most frequent contributors to class discussions. In fact, coming directly out of undergrad and already being in an academic mindset, I was often able to relate to the discussions BETTER than those who had been out of school for years. In addition, the act of doing homework assignments and readings will be easier for someone right out of undergrad than for someone who has had time to him or herself after leaving work.

Your life is likely much simpler than that of someone coming back from years of work. At this point, you're not as likely to have obligations to a spouse or children and can focus on your studies. Not to mention a job! Barring student loans piling up, you may not yet have to split yourself between a job to pay the bills and your studies to get the degree. The general nature of the MBA gives you time to gain exposure to many new career areas. If you're not yet sure what you want to do with your life, exposure to these new things may help you decide. Lastly, if you aren't yet working a full-time job, you're not giving up a large paycheck to come back and study. You'll be able to pay off the investment in the MBA much more quickly with the opportunity cost of lost working time so low. Think how difficult it would be to be making bucks at a full-time job, enjoying a degree of financial freedom, and then getting to tighten your belt finacially just as you're buckling down with the books. Bottom line: It can be very difficult to come back later.

Arguements AGAINST:
While I will say I'm able to persevere in my program, and that I do successfully learn a tremendous amount, I've interpreted the critics' words in a different way. In a certain regard, I'm not getting the same amount out of my MBA as those with work experience because, unlike them, I'm much less likely to know what I want to get out of it. While an MBA is a general degree at it's base, you'll have the opportunity to focus your studies in multiple areas of specialization. People generally do so because they would like a career in a specific area. To have an idea for what that area is, it helps to have experienced the real world for a while.

Some people are really surprised when I tell them that Business School, including one ranked as highly as Simon, is not really about getting good grades. Sure you see some Ph.D. candidates who are fanatical about straight A's, but by and large, grades simply don't have the same importance they do in undergrad. Granted they will be more important for getting into some fields than others, but by and large, if you do a decent job, you get the degree you're paying for. Generally, your professors (eccentric though they may seem at times) are not out to get you.

No, Business School is not simply about getting good grades toward a degree. It's about your entry into a network of individuals who have a common bond in attendance at that school, and for that reason, those individuals in positions of influence in the corporate world will show preference for you when hiring season comes. Yes, my friends, Business School is largely about networking. Without knowing what you want to get out of your MBA, it can be extremely difficult to pick relevant elective classes, target employers for your job search, and reach out to alumni working for those employers. It's a big cloud hanging over your head, and many of us Early Leaders straight out of undergrad struggle with it. For this reason, you might benefit by giving yourself a year or two working within the field you studied in your undergraduate years. It will give you valuable time to think and evaluate the path of advancement you might hope to acheive through your MBA. Bottom Line: Before you start the program, have at least some idea what you would like to get out of it.

Like so many things in life, your decision on whether now is the right time to pursue an MBA will depend on the plusses and minuses unique to you. Should I get my MBA? As it turns out, there's no better person to ask than yourself. Give yourself time to see where you're going, but don't wait too long such that it's too hard to go back for it. Questions and comments are welcomed and appreciated!

Chris

MBA Overview on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_of_Business_Administration

MBA.com: The home of GMAC, the people who administer the GMAT Exam:
http://www.mba.com/mba

A really Nifty Return on Investment Calculator on the MBA, provided by Forbes:
http://www.forbes.com/2005/08/16/cz_05mba_business_schools_gain_calulator.html

Another Person's Experience with his MBA:
http://www.brendonwilson.com/blog/2005/03/21/should-you-do-an-mba/

The Canadian Leadership Orientation Program

When you think of Canada, what comes to mind?

Hockey? Molson? Maple Syrup? Canadian Bacon? (both the delicious breakfast meat and the hilarious movie starring John Candy). Canadian Geese? (those really stubborn black-headed ones that just stare at you as you honk your car horn to get them to finish crossing the street). Actors like Alex Trebek or Jim Carey? Really friendly people who end their questions with "eh?", say "about" with a heavier U, and end their alphabet with "zed" instead of "zee"?

(One of my Canadian friends insists Hockey is the most important of Canada's exports).

While these things are (for the most part) true, there are many important facts about Canada that more Americans should know. Now we here in Rochester have a slight advantage over many of our American counterparts, since Canada for us is just across Lake Ontario, but I'm talking about things more important than dispelling the common mistatement that Toronto is its capital (It's Ottawa, by the way).

The Canadian Leadership Orientation Program, which I had the pleasure of recently attending with 19 other MBA students from top schools across the US, is put on by the University of Ottawa's Telfer School of Management and sponsored by the governments of Ontario and Quebec. During the program, I had the pleasure of attending a week of lectures by some of Canada's leaders of business, academia, and government. These individuals included:

1) Adam Chowaniec, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Tundra Semiconductor Corporation and Chair of the Ontario Research and Innovation Council

2) Glen Hodgson, Senior Vice-President and Chief Economist, The Conference Board of Canada

3) Ms. Elyse Allan, President and CEO of GE Canada

4) Senior Deputy Governor Paul Jenkins and Deputy Governor Tiff Macklem, The Bank of Canada

5) Thomas d'Aquino, Cheif Executive and Presidetn of the Canadian Council of Cheif Executives (CCCE)
6) James Blanchard, Former US Ambassador to Canada

7) Michael Kergin, former Canadian Ambassador to the United States

8) David Wilkins, current US Ambassador to Canada
9) Mr. Michael McAdoo, Vice-President, Strategic and Business Development, Bombadier Aerospace

10) Mr. Claude Robert, CEO, Robert Transport

11) Murray D. Smith, Alberta's Representative to the United States

12) Diane Wilhelmy, Former Deputy Minister of International Relations and Delegate General, Quebec Government House in New York

13) Mr. Stefan Routhier, Deputy Harbour Master, Marine Division, Port of Montreal

14) The Hon. Perrin Beatty, President and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters

Suffice it to say, I have experienced many facets of Canada between the lectures, sightseeing, and nightlife (some MBA students at HEC Montreal took us out for a night on the town). That said, what are some of the things the US should know about Canada?

1) Some of them disapprove of our pretending to be Canadian for our own safety when we travel abroad. "Hey, our reputation's still clean! Don't go ruining it now!"
2) The US's number one foreign supplier of oil is not Saudi Arabia. It is Canada, and most of it comes from the western province of Alberta.
3) The Canadian provinces are each unique, and act more independently from each other than do US states. I'm not talking about just Quebec, either. Many Canadians wonder why Alberta sells so much of its oil to the US before selling it to the rest of Canada first!

4) In a given year, the US does more trade with Canada across a single bridge crossing than it does with all of Japan!

5) Canada and the US share an integrated electricity grid and supply almost all of each others' electricity imports. Canada is a major supplier of electricity (overwhelmingly clean hydroelectricity) to New England, New York, the Upper Midwest, the Pacific Northwest and California.

6) Canada is the third largest producer and the second largest exporter of natural gas in the world. Canada supplies the US with 85% of its natural gas imports. Canada is developing Arctic pipelines and LNG terminals to provide more natural gas to the North American market.

7) Over 80% of Canada's exports are to the US.

8) None of the 9/11 hijackers came into the US through Canada. The NORAD commander on duty who scrambled American Jets to respond that morning was a Canadian.

9) Canada-US Trade supports 7.1 Million US Jobs. And finally...

10) New York's exports alone to Canada total $10.9 Billion annually.

Now go forth with a newfound appreciation for our neighbor (or neighbour) to the North!

What is RSS?

While I usually devote this blog to the latest developments in my life, I wanted to take a moment and discuss something relevant to anyone who checks certain blogs on a regular basis. For those of you already familiar with RSS feeds, you need not read on. For those as yet unfamialiar, you'll probably find this quick discussion very useful.

What is an RSS Feed?

Long story short, an RSS feed is a tool that allows you to "subscribe" to your favourite blogs. If you have a certain set of blogs you like to check on a regular basis, it can be extremely useful. Rather than spend an inordinate amount of time hopping around the web to the sites of the blogs you like to read (and sometimes only to find that your time was wasted since no new update has been posted), RSS feeds can be used to collect blog updates and funnel them directly to you. Because you're "subscribing" these blogs, RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication."

Is it complicated to set up and use?

Nope. In fact, you can learn how to set it up in just a few seconds. For example, suppose you wanted to recieve automatic updates whenever I post a new entry here. If you're using the latest version of Internet Explorer, look in the upper right corner of your browser. You should see the orange symbol up there. If the symbol is grayed out, it means that no feeds are available for you to use to subscribe to the page. If the symbol is orange, click on it. it will take you to a simpler version of the webpage, showing only the portion of the website which is updated or changed. Toward the top of the page, you will see a link labeled "Subscribe to this Feed." In the window that pops up, enter a name for the subscription that will be easy for you to remember, then hit "subscribe." There! You're done.

How do I see the updates?

With the latest version of Internet Explorer open, click on the star symbol in the upper left. This is your favorites center. Click on feeds. With your cursor over the name of the feed, click on the two green arrows to the right of the feed name. This will refresh the feed and bolden the feed name if a new entry has been made. Click it, and presto, the latest entry will appear before your eyes.

What should I do with it?

Simple. Subscribe to my blog!