Cornell Podcast Brings Faculty Wisdom to the Masses - Poets&Quants

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Cornell Podcast Brings Faculty Wisdom to the Masses

A project started by Cornell MBA students is digging deep into the collective wisdom of facult at Cornell University’s Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management.

Present Value, a student-run podcast series, was started in fall 2017 by Cornell MBA students Michael Brady and Harrison Jobe. With listeners across six continents and nearly 30 countries, the podcast explores the work of Cornell professors.

“It’s the opportunity to have an hour-long mini-lecture from preeminent academics on campus,” Jobe tells the Cornell Sun.

MAKING PROFESSORS MORE ACCESSIBLE

One goal behind the podcast is to bring students closer to thire professors. A podcast format was the perfect medium to tap into the intellectual curiosity of listeners, Brady tells the Cornell Sun.

At the time, there was nothing that existed on campus as long-form interviews with professors discussing their research.

Brady and Jobe say that they hope the podcast will make professors more accessible to students.

“At the end of the day, they want to interact with you,” Jobe tells the Cornell Sun.

In a more aspirational spirit, Present Value is also about exchanging ideas.

“We aim to bring ideas and insights from renowned thought-leaders to curious minds everywhere,” according to the podcast’s website.

AKIN TO RUNNING A STARTUP

Both Brady and Jobe compare making the podcast to the experience of running a startup business.

They went through nearly every aspect of starting a business when kickstarting their project—from coming up with a name and logo and even marketing initiatives like creating a website.

“Hosting is only five to 10 percent of the work,” Brady tells the Cornell Sun.

The process requires heavy research to ask educated questions. On top of crafting the interview, the team also needs to figure out how to “form a narrative arc.”

If that isn’t enough, the team has also had to learn software and how to edit and develop scripts.

“It’s highlighting high-level work the professors are doing, and it’s really showcasing the research initiatives that are happening at Cornell,” James Feld, one of the current producers of the show, tells the Cornell Sun.

GROWTH AND THE FUTURE

The Present Value team currently consists of five first-year and four second-year MBA students.

Since Jobe and Brady are both graduating next year, they are in the process of transitioning leadership to other members of the team.

What’s on the horizon? The team hopes to start interviewing younger faculty members and potentially start having 20-minute episodes.

For Jobe, the goal of the podcast is to get listeners to think of something they probably haven’t given much thought to before.

“It’s creating something of lasting value that will exist in perpetuity to raise the profile of Cornell,” Jobe tells the Cornell Sun.

Sources: Cornell Sun, Present Value

MBA graduate from Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business

Reasons Why You Should Get An MBA

You want to go to business school…but you aren’t quite convinced whether an MBA is right for you.

Matt Gavin, of the HBX Business Blog, recently outline a few reasons why you should pursue an MBA.

LOOK AT IT AS AN INVESTMENT

The MBA doesn’t come cheap.

An MBA, especially one at a private b-school, can put you nearly $100,000 to $200,000 in debt within two years, according to Investopedia.

But experts say students should see the MBA as a personal investment to better yourself and elevate your career.

“The purpose of a full-time MBA program is to give students an opportunity to immerse themselves for two years in a period of intense personal and professional development that enables students to really accelerate their career, as well as prepares them to lead organizations,” Kate Bennett, director of marketing for MBA Admissions at Harvard Business School and a 2009 HBS graduate, tells HBX.

Those two years can give you time for both reflection and self-discovery.

“It’s rare to have two years to focus on improving yourself and charting how you want to make an impact,” Bennett tells HBX. “The two years allow you to reflect on the difference you want to make in the world.”

GROWING AS A LEADER

If you’re set on becoming a leader, then an MBA may be the right path for you.

Experts stress that leadership is one of the most important skills you learn as an MBA.

“Without leadership you will always have a glass ceiling above you because the top jobs in an industry will not be appropriate for you,” Merlin Hanbury-Tenison writes for The Association of MBAs. “If you do manage to reach these top jobs and you are incapable of sound leadership then the company will suffer and, eventually, the house of cards will come tumbling down around you.”

But an MBA doesn’t just let you discuss leadership. It lets you practice it in a low-stakes setting.

“If a student wants to try out a new way of persuading someone else, the classroom environment is a very risk-free way to get feedback from peers on how that worked,” Bennett tells HBX. “If you were the founder of a startup in an investment meeting with a VC, that would be a much riskier time to try a new approach.”

GAINING DIVERSE VIEWPOINTS

An MBA education spans beyond the classroom. Within your two years, you’ll also be learning from your classmates.

“I came to business school from consulting and thought my perspective was broad having worked in multiple industries—ranging from education to retail to aerospace and defense—but it wasn’t until I got to HBS that I realized my perspective wasn’t nearly as broad as I thought,” Bennett tells HBX. “It took hearing perspectives from classmates who had started companies, led troops in the military, built amazing nonprofit programs, or served in the CIA to really start to see the full range of angles to a problem.”

Sources: HBX, Investopedia, The Association of MBAs

Your Guide To The MBA Waitlist

Decisions for Round 1 are approaching.

Despite the amount of work you’ve put in, some of these decisions will result in applicants being placed on the dreaded “waitlist.”

Stacy Blackman, of Stacy Blackman Consulting, recently shared what you should do if you find yourself there.

WHETHER OR NOT TO ACCEPT YOUR WAITLIST SPOT

This decision, Blackman says, boils down to your personal interest level in an MBA program.

“If it’s your top choice, you may want to remain on the list until school begins,” Blackman writes. “This could mean moving quickly and giving up a deposit on a school that has offered you firm admission.”

However, if the school isn’t of much interest to you, Blackman suggests not accepting your spot on the waitlist.

“If the program is not your first choice, or you would like to settle your MBA plans before school starts, you may choose to remove your name from the list,” Blackman writes. “If that’s the case, do so promptly and give someone else a chance at their MBA dream.”

IMPROVING YOUR CHANCES

Applicants could be waitlisted for a number of reasons. But, according to Esther Manga of Find MBA, the top three reasons are because of the following: unclear post-MBA goals, low test scores, and lack of quantitative preparation.

The key in improving your odds when on the waitlist is take action on what you’re lacking in your application. Highlighting improvements is critical during this phase.

“A promotion, raise, or an award is almost always a useful piece of information to share,” Manga writes.

AVOID OVER-COMMUNICATING

It’s equally important to be cautious about how you’re communicating to admissions officials when you’re on the waitlist. Blackman suggests applicants to make sure that every interaction they have with admissions officials adds value to their application.

“Exercise restraint in communications, but also convey your enthusiasm whenever possible, as they want to be sure you’ll say yes if admitted,” Blackman writes. “An information overload will likely have a negative effect on your candidacy, so use your good judgement here.”

Sources: Stacy Blackman Consulting, Find MBA

 

 

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