Editor’s Picks: P&Q’s Best Stories Of 2018 - Poets&Quants

What makes a story great? Ask 10 readers and you’ll get 10 answers.

In general, you’ll hear terms like relevant, original, or insightful tossed around. What exactly do those words mean? Readers want a narrative, one with questions raised, details delivered, and truths revealed. The best stories make a connection, piquing imaginations and stirring emotions along the way. At the end, they spur readers to do something potentially transformational: learn more.

Alas, the best stories aren’t always the most read or trafficked on social media. Instead, they were the ones that broke new ground and changed how schools, stakeholders, and shifts were viewed. In 2018, there were plenty of stories like these on Poets&Quants – ones that balanced the rigors of business and education with the fuzziness and frailty that comes with our humanity. From personal tragedies and dubious decisions to promising trends and historic breakthroughs, here is the editorial team’s picks for their favorite stories of 2018.

Pictured from left to right are Daniel McCartney, Baylis Beard, and Casey Brown. Courtesy photo

How USC Marshall Achieved Gender Parity

It is a story as old as time – or at least 80s movie comedies. A plucky band of misfits will come together to beat the odds (and then hold a kegger to celebrate). That same story played out at USC’s Marshall School of Business in 2018 (sans the kegger, I think). Here, gender parity was achieved – 52% female enrollment, to be exact – for the first time among top-ranked business schools. Make no mistake: This was a student-driven enterprise, with heavy credit due to Daniel McCartney, Jessica Schleder, Casey Brown, and Baylis Beard.

The process was sparked in the same way as any successful startup: a startling observation. Noting that just 32% of the last MBA class were women – a lower percentage than women in the engineering program – these students decided to act. Like fledgling entrepreneurs, they surveyed fellow students and collected data. While the program boasted female-led clubs (and even a Manbassadors chapter), many female students were unaware of the resources available to them. On top of that, there was minimal communication devoted to inclusion.

These were among the observations made in a 14-page report from these four students, which laid out the best practices at other business schools, such as posting profiles of prominent female students and faculty on their websites. The report even offered action steps, such as boosting yield and conducting aggressive recruiting from students themselves. Sure enough, Marshall administrators were blown away by the pitch and executed the student recommendations to a tee. The result? Female enrollment jumped by 20% in one year, accompanied by a 10% rise in yield.

The big lesson, says Daniel McCartney, is that any change demands uncompromising commitment. “The mistake a lot of business schools make is they get a tremendous amount of lip service. If you want to change culture, you have to have 50% women. Then the culture will change almost instantaneously.”

Zachary Katz got into Stanford GSB as a brilliant 22-year-old Harvard grad. Then, tragedy struck. Katz (left) shortly after his arrest, and (right) posing for a promotional photo for a book he wrote

Once A Promising Stanford MBA, He Now Faces Prison

“There by the grace of God go I.”

It’s strange how quickly a life can change. Just ask Zachary Katz…from a phone behind reinforced glass in prison.

In January, Katz was sentenced to nearly six years in prison stemming from a fatal accident. On October 5, 2013, Katz was barreling down a Bay Area freeway – the wrong way, no less – for nearly two miles before colliding with a taxi cab. This caused a chain reaction that took the life of Pedro Juan Soldevilla and injured two others. The accident occurred just eight miles from the Stanford GSB campus, where Katz was a first year student. A preliminary blood screen at the accident showed a blood-alcohol content of .158, nearly two times the California limit.

Katz wasn’t your average student – even by Stanford standards. A high school valedictorian, he pulled a 4.0 GPA at Harvard, while also completing coursework at Oxford and eventually earning a master’s at Cambridge. At Genentech, he’d spearheaded strategic planning efforts for teams studying areas like infectious diseases. A Renaissance Man bar none, Katz had contributed work to the Harvard Advocate, the school’s journal of fiction, poetry, art, and criticism – and even published a novel a year after the accident.

Now, all Katz can do is reflect and regret, as he counts off the days until his release in 2023. While he blames his epilepsy for contributing to this tragedy, he is slowly recognizing the unfathomable damage he has caused, particularly the loss suffered by Soldevilla’s wife and children. “Every single day for four and one-half years, it has been at the forefront of my mind,” he told the court at his sentencing. “None of the arguments around my epilepsy change the fact that this was done by my hand.”

The Weed Wave Hitting B-Schools

The MBA is going to pot…quite literally.

As more states legalize recreational marijuana – and more enterprises sprout up to fulfill demand – the stigma associated with being a cannabis czar is increasingly dissipating. But there is still a ways to go.

“You’re talking to a felon right now,” says Dan Devlin, a 69 year-old Harvard MBA and head of an edible marijuana production company called Db3, in an interview with P&Q.  “I cannot get a mortgage today because my income comes from a cannabis company. Our company cannot get a debit card.”

Alas, Federal and state laws aren’t quite in alignment when it comes to legal marijuana. Still, momentum is clearly swinging to the states and MBAs are taking notice. To them, the marijuana industry – with few barriers to entry – is a chance to become an industry pioneer, to set the market and possibly get rich in the process. That’s one reason marijuana case studies, conferences, and courses are beginning to pop up across business schools. UCLA Anderson has launched a club devoted to the industry and standard-bearers like Wharton and Stanford are increasingly pouring resources into marijuana-related offerings.

That said, don’t expect the next wave of marijuana conglomerates to necessarily come out of business schools. Anthony Dukes, a professor of marketing at USC Marshall, sees MBAs playing a far different role in the industry. “We don’t have students coming to us saying they are interested in opening a dispensary, it’s more, ‘I’m interested in venture capital, or entrepreneurship, or private equity.’ That’s where I see the soft spot for the MBA.”

Full house: Attendees at the MBA Tour event in the Four Points Sheraton Lagos listen as a panel of admissions officers from North American schools offer advice on applying and getting in. Marc Ethier photo

Nigeria On The Rise: Africa’s Engine Draws B-Schools’ Attention

Where is the next MBA talent hotspot? Many are looking beyond China and India to resource-rich Africa…and Nigeria, in particular.

Take the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management. In the past year, the number of Nigerians in the MBA program has surged from zero to a dozen students. That should come as little surprise. Home to 191 million people – including 20 million in Lagos alone – Nigeria boasts Africa’s largest economy and is home to 250 languages. Even more, it produces more GMAT test-takers than any country on the continent.

“In addition to the numbers, I think the bottom line is, there’s talent here,” says Leigh Gauthier, assistant director of recruitment and admissions for the Rotman full-time MBA. “Nigeria has some incredible talent. It really is an emerging market. There is talent here that could bring some interesting ideas and great experience to the Canadian market. Canadian companies want talent. It’s just such a win-win-win for us to be here.”

Thanks to more flexible immigration and work laws, Canadian schools are reaping the rewards of more Nigerian MBA applicants, who are able to work in Canada longer after graduation. However, it is the intangibles inherent to the Nigerian people, says Oluremi Onitilo, that really make his homeland’s applicants so valuable to business schools and employers everywhere.

“I think U.S. and European schools are interested in Nigerian students because of three things: diversity of thought, ‘can-do’ spirit, and front-row stories of living in an emerging market like Nigeria,” notes Onitilo, a regional digital manager who is deciding between four programs in the U.S. and Canada. “What you find with Nigeria students is the multiplying effect they bring to the opportunities they get — a Nigerian student with an MBA is wildfire.”

First Gen: Inspiring Stories Of MBAs Who Beat The Odds

First generation students endure all the hardships. Most are economically disadvantaged, with few role models to show them what to do and where to go. At the same time, few are exposed to the world beyond their communities – and the opportunities that await on the horizon.

Facing doubts from skeptics and bigots alike, these first generation students struggled to belong, often questioning whether they’d be “good enough.” However, their parents urged them to “dream big” and instilled a grit that they led them to never take anything for granted…and never take no for an answer, either. In the process, these students became models and mentors – the inheritors of America’s can-do spirit – who bore the pressure to excel and opened up possibilities to the people around them.

This year, P&Q profiled over 20 MBA students who were the first in their families to earn a college degree. They have navigated through poverty-stricken Compton, crossed the border in the back of a pickup truck, and lived in cramped hotel rooms as their parents staved off homelessness. Still, they made the brutal transition, making names for themselves at Nike, JP Morgan, and Deloitte before finding their way to Wharton, Kellogg, and Berkeley.

Their successes have afforded them the right to deliver advice to the students who follow in their footsteps. Harvard Business School’s Ashley Terrell, for one, warns against complacency: “Don’t let this “first” be your only accomplishment,” she counsels. In contrast, Xavier Vargas urges future first generation students to embrace their background…and what makes them different.

“Keep plugging,” says the MIT Sloan second-year. “The misfit feeling never quite goes away, but your toolkit and horizons expand. Pay it forward – we each are testament that it takes a literal village and a whole lot of luck. Try to push through fears of what is “expected” and “safe” versus what you may enjoy doing. You may not be able to chase your passions 100%. If you can get to 50-75%, you’ve already more than accomplished what your parents struggled through the hot desert for. It gets easier.”

Marshall MBA alum and donor Lloyd Greif is outraged by the decision to terminate Dean James Ellis

The MBA Leading The Fight To Save A Business School Dean

The plotline seems like it was ripped out of a Franz Kafka story. An interim university president – with no education experience and a spotty track record as a fundraising executive – fires the dean of the business school. He doesn’t get to read the charges, of course. All he is told is that he failed to respond to a series of racial and gender bias complaints – the vast majority of which were never shared to him. When the complaints had merit, he responded swiftly. Now, he serves as an all-too-convenient fall guy for a university reeling from administrators who ignored bad actors from other departments in the past.

Overreach? Scapegoating? Age discrimination? A hopelessly overmatched and overzealous neophyte angling for the big chair? That should catch you up on what’s been happening at USC’s Marshall of Business. In December, Dean James Ellis was ousted over charges – in true third world fashion –he is barred from reviewing. Absurd? No doubt. Is it any wonder critics toss out terms like incompetence, cowardice, and arrogance to describe interim President Wanda Austin’s handling of the matter?

Of course, Dean Ellis has his advocates. By Christmas, nearly 3,000 people had already signed a petition for his reinstatement. That includes Lloyd Greif, a Marshall MBA who heads up a boutique M&A firm and has contributed millions of dollars to the business school. Greif’s message is simple:

“Jim has dedicated over 21 years of his life—more than half as dean and vice provost for globalization—to this institution, he wrote to the university’s advisory board. “He has done nothing to deserve this fate. Quite the contrary, Jim Ellis should be celebrated, not censured.”

Since then, Greif has been fighting tirelessly for Ellis, drafting letters and lobbying the Marshall community on his behalf. For him, his new-found activism on behalf of the ‘little guy’ has been a matter of principle. “I was brought up not to look away when you see something wrong,” he says. “I recognize there was personal risk in standing up for him. But I’ve got to sleep at night. I can’t let an injustice happen to an innocent man. I am not that kind of fair-weather friend. This is unjust.”

Christopher Schildt and members his Oxford cohort visited Google on their Silicon Valley trek earlier this year. Courtesy photo

My Story: From The CIA To An MBA

The MBA is famous for attracting ambitious consultants, bankers, and entrepreneurs – not to mention a large cadre of repentant liberal arts majors. But the secret service? Well, not so much.

You wouldn’t find Christopher Schildt dapped up in a tux at a Monaco casino – even though he was stationed in Europe. This is the real CIA after all, not the one from cloak-and-dagger movies. After collecting degrees at Princeton and Yale, Schildt joined “The Company” in 2002 as an economic analyst. Soon enough, he transferred to technical operations, where he headed high-risk covert actions that involved intensive planning and millions of dollars. Eventually, he was elevated to heading up the agency’s technology and integration, covering everything from cyber capabilities to mobile technologies – a role that put him in close proximity to two CIA heads: John Brennan and Mike Pompeo.

This role also exposed him to jaw-dropping technical advances in the private sector – something he inspired him to leave government service and join Oxford University’s Saïd Business School, where he was able to hit tech Meccas like Tesla and Amazon through treks to Silicon Valley and Seattle.

“The MBA has helped me realize that my time at the CIA gave me a huge amount of transferable skills,” Schildt notes in an interview with P&Q. “It was the language of business that I needed to learn. I saw the Oxford MBA as providing a perfect runway to what I want to do next.”

2018 Zell fellows and past alumni sitting with Sam Zell (Courtesy:
Tomer Foltyn Photography | www.TomerFoltyn.com)

Off The 2018 Launchpad: Kellogg’s Hottest MBA Startups

Want to stir up an argument in any Silicon Valley break area? Just ask if entrepreneurship can be taught. For many, the 21 year-old millionaire wunderkind is more than an epic myth. It is an archetype: the grinding genius filled with gusto who outwits the soul-crushing status quo to usher in a new age of audacious innovation.

Such virtuosos are few-and-far between, however. In reality, entrepreneurs are often serial failures, driven by an unshakable commitment to a vision that can quickly dissipate with any industry disruption. That’s one reason why Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management focuses more on the person in its Zell Fellows program, says David Schonthal, the faculty director of the program.

“The Zell Fellows is an accelerator of people not ventures,” he tells P&Q. “Our bet is on you as a founder, not on the particular concept that you are working on.

A year-long, co-curricular program, the Zell Fellows sets a high bar for acceptance and offers no academic credits to boot. Still, the 30 spots available rank among the most coveted in Kellogg MBA program. Aside from providing a $10,000 stipend to cover startup costs, the program also offers faculty and practitioner expertise and support from fellow classmates. The 30 fellows even make treks to destinations as diverse as SXSW and Israel. Beyond the structure, accountability, networking, coaching, and perks, the Zell Fellows fosters a community where entrepreneurs work together to help solve each other’s biggest issues.

“To launch a business side-by-side with other dedicated students who are launching their own disruptive businesses which solve unique challenges across industries has been the ultimate confidence booster,” says Milan Raj, whose tech platform seeks to boost occupancy rates in hotels, restaurants, and spas.

Of course, it is one thing to talk about Zell Fellows. It is another to see it in action, which is why the story also includes profiles of five companies started by fellows from the Class of 2018. Want to know what these ventures hope to accomplish, how much funding they’ve garnered, and what they’ve achieved so far? Check out these startup profiles here.

Night Skyline of Nashville, Tennessee, home of Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management

The MBA In The Heart Of The Healthcare Industry

Nashville has everything you could possibly want. A high quality of living? Check. A thriving cultural scene? Check. A slew of job opportunities? You bet’cha!

That is particularly true with the healthcare industry, which pumps over $90 billion a year into the Nashville area. Home to over 500 healthcare firms, including goliaths like the Hospital Corporation of America and Community Health Systems, Nashville is poised for explosive growth thanks to an industry that accounts for nearly a fifth of U.S. GDP.

Such resources and opportunities, coupled with academic expertise, has made the healthcare concentration at Vanderbilt University’s Owen Business School into one of the world’s best. What’s more, 17% of the class ultimately enters the field, enjoying some of the highest starting pay among school graduates.

One of the healthcare program’s signature experiences is the immersion. In a nutshell, MBA students spend time on the hospital floor, following doctors, nurses, and patients. They watch surgeries and rehabilitation sessions. Bottom line: TheINSy get a first-hand look at the day-to-day operations and challenges, to give them a more ‘human’ understanding of the strategic, administrative, and budgeting decisions they will ultimately be making – and the potential impact they could have on the floor.

“I believe that you can’t change things unless you know how they work,” says Burch Wood, Vanderbilt Owen director of health care programs, in an interview with P&Q. “And to know how they work, you’ve got to get an understanding both at the level of putting your feet where the work is being done and understanding how people are thinking about healthcare.”

Not only does the program focus on where healthcare is, but it also delivers an unforgettable primer on the technologies and trends shaping the industry for years to come. “Getting that very strong, rich background in the healthcare program at Owen allowed me to come in with somewhat of a head start and knowing where the industry is headed,” observes Jameson Norton, a 2015 grad who is now at Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital and Clinics and executive director at Vanderbilt Behavioral Health. “Because we’re talking a lot about how things are evolving and you’re able to learn about some of the potential disruptors and the ways that things are transforming. That helps you anticipate where things are moving.”

A Welcome Week party at INSEAD from a YouTube video

INSEAD Welcome Week: Healthy Humbling Or Traumatic Hazing?

Love it or hate it, every INSEAD MBA alum has an opinion about Welcome Week. For some, it is a two day break full of boozing and bonding, a chance to cut loose before an avalanche of demands buries them. For others, it is hazing, pure-and-simple, an outdated and dangerous vestige of adolescence that demeans participants.

The follow up to P&Q’s original story on Welcoming Week being canceled, this story gave a voice to INSEAD students and alumni on the perils of this ritual. Sure enough, the gap between supporters and critics was stunning. It also sparked more comments on P&Q than nearly every other article in 2018,

One student referred to the initiation as “pure hell.” And there were plenty of exploitation tales coming from alumni. For example, a self-described “workout junkie” tried out for the “Radical Souls” club, a group that indulged in extreme sports. Just one problem: the club was a ruse. Alas, the alum didn’t get the “big reveal” until after she ran and climbed for hours in her initiation while enduring taunts.

“The club leaders would scream in our ears, calling us fat Renaissance rejects.”

Leonid Bershidsky offered a different take on Welcome Weekend in a Bloomberg column. “This is Europe,” he argues. “There’s still a chance to resist the U.S. trend toward protecting students from the life that awaits them outside school walls. At the average age of 29, INSEAD students should be capable of handling more than Welcome Week throws at them. Otherwise I fear for the businesses they will end up running…“Our culture is about being conscious of others and the impact our actions have on them,” he wrote. “The WW is an effective way to get students to think more about others instead of their own narrow ambitions.”

A provocative rite of passage or simply preying upon fellow classmates? That all depends where you stand – and that’s what makes this story one of the year’s best.

DON’T MISS: THE MOST POPULAR MBA STORIES OF 2018 or OUR FAVORITE MBAs of 2018

 

The post Editor’s Picks: P&Q’s Best Stories Of 2018 appeared first on Poets&Quants.

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