Thanks to Adam for the link:
Posted under Entrepreneur
This post was written by Jay on June 3, 2009
2009 Berkshire Meeting
The woodstock of capitalism.. how I loved thee the first time I went. Second time around, not so much fun. Every year, the attendance record is broken. I believe this year, the crowd was over 35,000 people. Last year when I went, it was a new experience. I met best selling author Tim Ferriss, had Bill Gates walk right by me, and got a ton of free candy (they gave out all the candy you could grab because of their share in Mars and Wrigley last year). This year, the 7.5 hour drive to and from Omaha, Nebraska just didn’t seem as fun anymore. Here are some of the notes I remembered from the trip:
- “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bushes” -Buffet loved using this quote. Don’t be greedy. The money in your hand can be used to reinvest instead of trying to think of ways to make double that.
- When asked about about MBA education, Buffet responded that the two essentials courses to take would be how to value a company and a class on efficient markets.
- When Wells Fargo was down around $9/share, Buffet told a visiting MBA class that if he were to invest all his net worth into one stock, that would be it. Today, it’s around $23.
- Buffet had very high praise for the Jamie Dimon’s letter to shareholders. I have included a link for the lazy: http://investor.shareholder.com/jpmorganchase/annual.cfm
- When asked whether Warren Buffet himself was Berkshire’s competitive advantage, he responded that the culture and management he has instilled is the advantage. No company will be able to duplicate.
That’s all I remember off the top of my head. Many of his other notes can be found on the web. In parting, I will post some pictures of the meeting. I probably won’t be back next year. Buffet refuses to webcam the meeting because he insisted that there’s something personal about being at the convention hall and listening to him speak. I politely disagree with him there since there is obviously no intimacy with 35,000 people and it continues to grow every year. I really hope he will change his mind and save me the 15 hour drive.
2009 Berkshire Meeting
Warren Buffet and Charlie Munger
2009 Berkshire Convention
Posted under Berkshire Hathaway
This post was written by Jay on May 5, 2009
Christopher Barlow and UIC CMBA
This semester, I’ve been lucky enough to attend a cross-cultural class with one of my favorite professors. Get this (for all the readers of this blog), the professor I highly recommended from the Depaul MBA program, Christopher Barlow, is now teaching at UIC! Random luck and fate heading in the right direction by attending UIC.
Anyways, back to the story. Barlow teaches a class in which he integrates evening MBA students with Chinese students from UIC’s one year concentrated MBA program, CMBA. It’s certainly an interesting class since there are different ideas, cultures and prospectives. During one of the in-class group projects, I was lucky enough to be placed in a group with Ed (fellow MBA) and Gavin from the CMBA program. Gavin enjoyed our group and asked for our numbers. He said we should definitely hang out sometimes. I thought nothing of it since it has become a common courtesy in our society to exchange pleasantries. Fast forward to a week later, I was at home making dinner when my cell phone rang. I answered the phone and was surprised to see that Gavin had followed through with his suggestion. He suggested that we eat at the buffet that he had presented in class a few weeks back. Since I had already started making dinner, I declined the offer and went back to cooking. As I was stirring my curry, I thought about the offer some more. Wow, this guy had actually followed through. It wasn’t just out of courtesy that he asked for my contact information and he seemed genuinely interesting. Lesson #1: Don’t ask if you’re not genuinely interested and don’t do something just because it’s the social norm or it’s courteous. When would I get a similar chance like this again? I called Gavin back a couple minutes later and accepted his offer.
As we were enjoying the buffet, I asked Gavin what he did this past weekend. Gavin responded that since they only have a year here in the states, they try to do as much as possible and enjoy as much of Chicago as they can. At first, I didn’t think much about this statement. I finished an enjoyable dinner and left a few pounds heavier. When I got home, I thought about Gavin’s statement even more. These CMBA students has one year to try and enjoy as much of Chicago as then can. I tried to imagine myself in a similar situation and at first, I felt sad for them. As I thought about it more, I realized that most of these students probably explored more of Chicago than I have in 20 years. Not only that, they lived their lives knowing they might only have a year here and took some chance and risks. I realized that I shouldn’t feel sorrow for them. Instead, I was envious of what they accomplished in such a short amount of time and how much they seem to enjoy it. Lesson #2: Live your life to the fullest.
There is a lot to be learned from people with different cultures and backgrounds. They brought different ideas to the table and seemed to do it with more enthusiasm. Sometimes, the most important lessons you learn are outside of the classroom. That, my friend, is what make this program so special.
Posted under UIC MBA Liautaud
This post was written by Jay on April 8, 2009
UIC MBA Ambassador
I recently became a UIC ambassador for the MBA program. Here are some of my duties:
- Classroom visits: hosting prospects in classes I attend
- Providing assistance at special LGSB events
- Serving on the student panel at informational sessions
- Interviewing new applicants
I hope I will meet some of my readers through some of these outlets! Here’s another interesting fact that was on one of the informational sheets:
Incoming Student Profile (Fall 2008):
Average Age: 28
Average Age Range: 22-47
Average GMAT: 600
Average Work Experience: 5 Years
Average Undergraduate GPA: 3.2
Part-time 70%, Full-time 30%
I hope this answers some questions you might have about the UIC MBA LGSB program. If not, you can always e-mail me. I’m going to end this post with a couple of comments that readers of this blog have left. I feel they can add some value to your decision.
You will enjoy UIC. Its a very underrated business program. Crains ranked in 4th in the city for 2008. Given the current economic conditions, more students and professionals will be looking to get in to a concentration not just in Finance, but also entrepreneurship…They have a top 10 entrepreneurship program…If I were you, I would also take advantage of that…Only reason UIC is not well known is because its a new school when you compare to other major colleges all across the nation and Illinois. UIC is the youngest campus from all the major universities in the states and has come a long way…good luck
Jay Lin,
As a soon graduating student of the Liataud School of Business, I can tell you this much- if you find some friends, make some connections and choose the correct classes and professors, you will have a truly wonderful learning experience. While no one was an absolute “dud”, they have some amazing professors that are simply above the cut, thus missing the opportunity to learn from them would be a shame. Further, many of them have incredible connections, given the schools proximity to the largest trading centers in the world. You truly will have the opportunity to sit in the same room as some of the greatest financial guru’s of the last few decades. While in hindisght I unfortunately did not concentrate on finance, I would venture to say that any publication not placing UIC’s finance MBA concentration in the top ten, would be suspect to conflicting interests. That being said, my concentration on global business and strategy was an amazing experience. Given the tremendous diversity of the program and rigid entry standards, you are subsequently exposed to some of sharpest young minds across the globe. To this end, I would argue as well that while others may be higher ranked, I again would question the actual utility ranking of the programs themselves. Welcome and good luck, and I agree- you did make the right choice. But it probably wasn’t the “easier” one.
Posted under UIC MBA Liautaud
This post was written by Jay on March 26, 2009
Think and Grow Rich - Napoleon Hill
One of my projects for Organizational Behavior Management class was to do a resource brief on anything of interest. Since “Think and Grow Rich” is one of my favorite books, I figured I would share it with everyone.
Think and Grow Rich
(Refer the picture above, my powerpoint presentation)
Page 1 - Napoleon Hill grew up poor. He worked as a reporter during college to help pay for his education. One of his first interviews was with Andrew Carnegie. Andrew Carnegie, at this time, was one of the most powerful and richest businessmen in the world. Carnegie commissioned Napoleon Hill to write a new philosophy. The philosophy of success and riches. Carnegie offered NO PAY to Hill to write this new philosophy and offered him only introductions.
Page 2 - These are the chapters of the book as well as the 12 Laws of Riches. I’m not going to go through any of these subject as this is merely a resource to entice you to read the book but notice that money comes LAST in the 12 Laws of Riches.
Page 3 - If you look at this list, this is a who’s who of American history. Many of the companies you work for or want to work for were founded by these outstanding individuals.
Page 4 - These are a few of my favorite quotes and stories from the book.
- Merchants of Chicago - After the Great Chicago Fire, a bunch of merchant had a meeting. Their stores had burned down and it seemed easier to leave than rebuild. One man left the meeting and pointed to a spot on State Street and proclaimed “on this site here, I will build the greatest store ever”. All the other merchants left and that man fulfilled his promise by building Marshall Field’s. Today, it’s Macy’s but you get the point.
- “Opinions are the cheapest commodities on Earth”. Everyone has a ton of them. It’s up to you to figure out what you want to do.
- “Keep on keeping on” Thomas Eddison said he failed 10,000 times. He didn’t understand why people didn’t keep on keeping on. He failed so many times that he RAN OUT of things to fail at.
- “Building alibis with which to explain failure is a national pasttime” Some people are afraid of failure more than success. I never understood that. The timing will never be perfect. The moon will not align. Sometimes you just have to take a chance.
- “Life is a checkerboard and the player opposite you is time” Time runs out fast. At the end of the game, are you going to be happy with your moves and outcome?
In conclusion, this is one of my must-read books. It is a timeless classic and one of those books that I like to refer back to often. I’ve done this presentation to over 50 people and you know how many people have read it? NONE, minus the professor. This just shocks me. Please spend the $8 to buy it from Amazon. It will change your life if you are willing to apply the principles.
Posted under UIC MBA Liautaud
This post was written by Jay on February 11, 2009
