Just Corporate Things

Just a little funny to get you through the day:

If you've ever seen these photos, Just Girly Things,


these new pics will make you laugh.

SH#$ Just Got Real..Real Life Horror Stories of an MBA

I realize that it's been a while since I've posted.

I blame work & the fact that we are now doing our capstone project. Awesome.

For the most part, my MBA experience has been hunky dory--lot's of rainbows and butterflies. I've worked hard, hand a couple of stumbles, but nothing that really freaked me out.

Thanks MBA for changing that for me.

So here's the background story. This semester, my group of 6 other individuals were given the opportunity to consult with a client. This was a real client that we would be doing real work for. At the beginning of the capstone, we had to delegate someone that would be a team lead. I hesitated because I've taken the lead on a lot of things--and wasn't sure how much time I would be able to dedicate to this project.

We had someone volunteer, and that's where things started going south. We will call him The Kid.*Note, my aim in this post is not to be rude or condescending, I am simply recounting the events from my point of view 

Now, we have an individual in the group who simply goes above and beyond in all aspects of our MBA program. This is a good and bad thing because that individual has made it easy for others in the group to be lazy--but that's beside the point (we will call him Enabler).

So The Kid had some unforeseen and unfortunate medical issues happen. He didn't see it coming. He stopped coming to class (because of medical issues). However, there were also some mistakes made along the way that just weren't in his favor--he sent a silly email (presumably on drugs), and then made the biggest mistake in the history of consulting: complained to the client. We were doing a lot of work that required us to leave work (since it was in the middle of the day), and it's been difficult for some people to arrange.

HOWEVER, 

Complaining is something you never do--especially to someone paying you. This garnered a lot of negative feelings, and everyone in the group literally cringed when he said it. All of these little mistakes like him not having enough time to devote to the group, and missing deadlines made all of us very grumpy. But we dealt with it. But, he was team lead, and was constantly scrutinized by the Professor of our class.

AND 

Just like that, The Kid was off our project, and he has to wait a whole 'nother year to graduate. The Professor told us that The Kid decided on his own free will to drop out {the story changes depending on who tells it. The Kid had to meet with the dean, the professor, and director of the MBA program--they had basically decided that he was going to be removed from the project before he even met with them.

YIKES

So here's my advice: work as hard as you can when it comes to anything MBA. You might be sent packing early--and no one wants that! Don't volunteer to work hard just in case you think something may be out of your scope of time. It's better to work a little less and not have to worry about responsibility.

#keepitreal

How to Write a Professional Letter to a Business {Template Included}

As of late, we've been busy, busy bees! 

We were contacting businesses, and doing focus groups--and life was good. But what about maintaining our professional image? 

We were in need of thank you letters. But professional thank you letters are a whole other beast...

Looking for a guide on writing professional business thank you letters? 
We've got it: 

1. Start with letterhead stationary. {makes you look more prof}
   
2. Use either a letter or memo format. {Google that shiz if you don't know what they are--we like these examples: Wiki, About. etc}
   
3. In the first paragraph, identify yourselves by group and by individual name, and give the date you met with them and thank them for their time and effort.
   
4. In the second paragraph, mention something specific about the meeting that was helpful (for example, thank the group that provided the lunch for the meeting).
   
5. In the third paragraph remind them how you will use the data from the meeting and explain how this will be helpful to your client. Mention any follow up that you plan on.
   
6. Sign off 

Easy peezy. 

Here's an example: 

*it's not on official letterhead just yet! 

10 Movies Every UVU MBA Student Should Watch

Gearing up for MBA applications?

If you are in that boat, or you are an older MBA grad or (almost) grad...here are 10 movies that you need to watch.

While, you might not have tons of time to actually watch all these flicks, every so often, you'll need a break. And these movies will help you learn, while you are having some "down time".

10. Back to School 

Why it's an MBA Must:
This is a fun movie that explores the fun side of going to college. While getting your MBA won't be a walk in the park, it's fun to go back at look at the fun that you probably won't  be having.

9. Wall Street 

Why it's an MBA Must:
This movie explores how people react to power. As a new MBA, you need to understand how normal humans react to power.

8. Boiler Room

Why it's an MBA Must:
Want to get an insider of the life of a trader? This is the perfect flick. (Also if you love Ben Affleck)

7. The Insider 

Why it's an MBA Must:
This movie is all about business ethics. Absolutely critical for all those business types.

6. Tucker: A Man and His Dream 

Why it's an MBA Must:
Full of the entrepreneur good stuff, this movie is for all the MBAs that want to create their own business.

5. Office Space

Why it's an MBA Must:
It's hilarious. Sometimes (well, most of the time) you will have to work in groups. This movie is the funny side of office life.

4. Glengarry Glen Ross

Why it's an MBA Must:
This movie will help any MBA interested in selling--anything!

3. Smartest Guys in the Room

Why it's an MBA Must:
Business ethics are extremely important--even if you don't think so. This film will remind you how it can turn out.

2. Citizen Kane 

Why it's an MBA Must:
Other than the fact that this is movie magic (one of the first films ever made) this provides a look into falling down a path of greed and power.

1. It's a Wonderful Life 

Why it's an MBA Must:
As an MBA, it can be easy to get lost in money and power. This movie will help you take a step back and appreciate what really matters.



There you go! Have any others that you'd like to add to the list?

How to Write a Bio in Less than 5 Minutes: 5 Easy Steps

At work, I've been putting it the the grind--and really busting my butt to keep up with all the work that we've had lately. It's been great; I'm busy as a bee!

We got an assignment from one of the other "managers", the other day, and he asked us to all write bios about ourselves. I love bragging about myself (#humble), but maybe that's because I have to come up with engaging copy all day long.

Wolverine is a PRO Bio writer. 

Enough about that though.

As soon as I got the assignment, I busted it out in under 5 minutes. Too good to be true? NO. You can do it too! 

I sent it off to my team, and they fell in love.

So here are 5 tips to help you write your own bio in less than 5 minutes. 

1. Know yourself (or whoever you are writing the bio for). It's pretty hard to write a bio if you know nothing about someone. However, when you write it, you want to assume that the people reading the bio know nothing about the person they are reading about. Have a long bullet list of accomplishments you want to highlight about yourself/someone else so you can quickly scan through it to pick and choose.

2. Know your audience. There are three different types of bios, so it is important for you to know who this is for. There are school/personal bios, professional bios, and dating bios.

• School/personal bios are probably the ones that really depend on what you are looking for. Include a fair amount of work and personal accomplishments. 
• Professional bios should be the most "serious". However, if you are writing a professional bio for an application, it should differ from the one that will be used for the company website. An application bio should highlight all work accomplishments, with a touch of humor. Depending on your company, you could have a really funny bio, or something that is more toned down. 
• Dating bios should be fun and engaging. You are creating a bio that will attract someone to you. Work accomplishments should be kept to a minimum. 

Try to avoid creepy pictures like this for your bio. 

3. Include personal, humanizing details. People are reading a bio to get to know you! Talk about something that is personal, yet could help people connect to you. An avid baker? Talk about how no one can replicate your raspberry cupcakes. Love to walk Fido? Mention long walks with him! People will love getting to know you. Trust me!

4. Narrow it down. I know you are an awesome human being, but you can't include everything you've done in your life in a short bio. Keep it light and fresh, and keep your accomplishments general.

5. Aim for 100-200 words. We aren't writing a novel here people. Include just enough to give people a teaser, and leave them wanting more.


Here's an example of what I did:

*

So there you have it! Go forth and create awesome bios!



*The reason I did a screenshot  is because I don't know exactly where this is going to end up, and I don't want to discredit the awesomeness of the original word (aka--reuse it and have in penalize wherever it's going) so that's why you guys get a screen shot. 

How to Write a Great Article, Blog, Or Anything

How to Write a Great Article/Blog/Anything

1.      The title is everything.

10 Tips to Saving Money vs.

Get the Car of Your Dreams: 10 Easy Ways to Save the Dough

Now, which one would you rather read?

2.       Start with an AGD.

What is an AGD? It stands for attention grabbing device. This can be a quick story, a question, a statistic, really anything that will grab the attention of the audience.

“Over 75% of Americans wished that they saved more money for their car. Do you want to become part of that statistic?”

3.       Make a list. “Here are 10 ways for you to save money on car insurance, etc” . For internet readers, it is easier to scan and read quickly.

4.      Wrap it up. After you’ve given all those life-changing tips, you can easily wrap up the article. “Now with these 10 tips, you will be able to save you money for that awesome car you’ve always wanted.”

 

Fall 2013: My Professors are GRU!

Welcome to Fall! Where the leaves are crisp, and all I want to do is make something with Pumpkin Spice in it. Oh, and school has started again! 

We have two classes this semester: Business Research and Operations Management. 

The first, Business Research, is taught by Dr. Larry L. Carter. He's a 5th degree black belt in Kajunkenbo. If you think that sounds like someone just sneezed when they were saying Karate...you'd be right. It's a mix of Karate, Judo, Boxing, Jujitsu, and Kung Fu. He told us he was assigned to teach our class 6 weeks before the semester. No worries, he's young, and he's probably going to be a total push over. Just a chance to work on people skills. #amiright

Also, he has a prominent uni-brow. 

The second, Operations Management, is taught by Dr. Cenk Çalışkan. Oh yeah, he totally has an Eastern Slavic accent. No joke. I can't even say his name. But he has the most charming accent, and no one has idea what he is saying. Good thing this class has tons of math stuff in it. 

Also, he has hair so beautiful, I have made it my mission this semester to find out if it is a wig. 

I am excited about classes this semester, because I think I will actually stay awake, and I really want to learn more about Operations Management. 

So you put uni-brow and Slavic accent together, and what do you get? 

FREAKING GRU. FROM Despicable Me. 

                                 

This is when I realized that my professors are pretty much Gru: 

Whadditity eeeep eeep ooo?