Finished Counting Down

Things I have heard from friends or others around Darden in the past two weeks:

·         “OMG, I only have, like, 10 more days of classes left in my MBA career”

·         “Wow, this is like the last Darden Cup event I’ll ever get to go to. So Sad”

·         “This time next month we won’t even be students here anymore”

·         “Only 2 more weeks left in college”

Enough. Everyone needs to stop counting down every single Darden event like we are a bunch of MBA students on graduation death row. Well I hate to break it to each of you but:

·         In two years you’ve complained about every single class here

·         You suck at sports and never show up at Darden Cup anyway

·         Yea, this time next month it also won’t be April anymore. Get over it

·         Ok, I’m the one who said this. Punching myself now.

 I’m as guilty of it as anyone. It started back in the fall for me. Suddenly everything was the “last” of something.

The last home football game.

The last day of fall leaves on the trees.

Then it carried into Winter.

The last recruiting event (I don’t even like recruiting events).

The last snowstorm (I really don’t like snow and hope I never see it again).

Finally, when it was starting to get really bad this spring before I realized something I’d been forgetting lately: mainly, that I am a huge idiot. What is the point of counting everything down? It doesn’t make anything more enjoyable, it just makes you sadder because you think about how much you’ll miss it. I’ve got to wake up to reality: this thing called business school is not a sustainable lifestyle. I mean let’s look at my life right now:

·         I have way less money at 27 than I did at 25

·         I pretty much go out six nights a week, much to the chagrin of my health

·         For the most part I think I’ve reached the apex of my MBA learning; one more quarter and I might start getting dumber

·         The money thing.

I am sorry to say this, but everyone needs to be a little less nostalgic. It just makes things a little less fun. Let’s save the nostalgia for the reunions. For now let’s just forget all that and enjoy what has already been an amazing spring in Charlottesville. If you feel the need, however, to come up and tell me about something awesome that is about to end, at least buy me a drink first. Then we can toast to it and celebrate instead of commiserate.  

Dave’s Awesome Song:

Domino by Jessie J

The Graduation Song by Vitamin C [kidding]

If you would like to contact the author, he can be reached at david.a.miller4@gmail.com.

Shameless Plug: Vote for My Blog

I know this is mildly pathetic, but the only point of this post is to let you know I was recently nominated for some Top MBA Blog competition. While this means nothing, if you like reading this blog, feel free to vote for me (College 2.0) at this link: https://www.ecollegefinder.org/mba-voting-badges.aspx. I think the voting closes tomorrow (Friday the 30th).

I am asking you to do this for three reasons:

1. I have gigantic ego
2. I really don't want to lose to something called "The Fuqua Experience"
3. I have a gigantic ego

Don't worry, I've already voted for myself like 100 times (this is the same way I got on the Homecoming Court my junior year of high schol). But I'm starting to think they are catching on and removing some of my votes, so I could use the help.

Also, if you don't like this blog or find me to be ridiculously shallow (its true, I am), you can vote for someone else instead. This may lead, however, to me not posting any future blogs and fading into obscurity a la J.D. Salinger or Terrence Mann, only to return when Kevin Costner forces me to go to a baseball game with him by pretending his hand is a gun.

If you would like to contact the author, he can be reached at david.a.miller4@gmail.com.

Motivation

As you can tell, I don't have much of it to do my last papers of the quarter . . . .

In Alderman Library on Main Grounds

When it looks like this outside . . . .

And tomorrow I'm heading here . . . .

Cape Town, South Africa

Enough said.


If you would like to contact the author, he can be reached at david.a.miller4@gmail.com.

Spending Money I Don't Have While I've Got Time to Do So

Its 72 degrees, sunny, and I’m sitting on the porch of my Ivy Gardens apartment, staring at the UVA baseball stadium and wishing to God that I still had a year of NCAA eligibility left. I’m also punching myself for ever signing up for a class that would take place at 2:45 on a Friday (granted this is my only class all semester on a Friday, but still, c’mon).

It’s a rare moment of reflection for me in what’s been a crazy month with an even more ridiculous one on the horizon. This seems like the first Friday afternoon in forever that I’ve had to just sit back and relax. First it was a wedding in D.C. Then two weeks ago it was skiing in Snowshoe, West Virginia in a small three bedroom condo with 13 of my closest classmates (needless to say, things got . . . weird). This past weekend me and two dozen other Darden students headed south to New Orleans for Bourbon St., Mardi Gras, parades, beads, and lots of memories I’ll never remember (things got . . . weirder). Now I’m a mere 16 days away from a Spring Break trip to Cape Town, South Africa. For two weeks I’ll be either on a beach, hiking a national park, on hunting elephants on a safari (just kidding we’re not hunting them, but I might kick one or something, just to annoy it).

Me and Elvis on Bourbon St.

What do all these things have in common? A three-day hangover? Check. A mechanical bull? Check. A plane or car ride that gave me an excuse to put Adele on repeat? Check.  But mostly what ties everything together is the significant amount of money they require. Everything is relatively cheap (the plane ticket to South Africa was $750), but when you’re income stands at exactly zero dollars a week and has been for the better part of two years, it doesn’t matter all that much. I’m also usually pretty averse to spending money; I usually bring my own beers/flask to the bar and once even snuck an entire Dominos extra large pizza into a basketball game (don’t ask). Yet recently I find myself continually spending more money than I really should be. And I don’t really feel that bad about it.

Of course, the question is why? One of the most important things I’ve learned at Darden is that time is far more valuable than money. When a company is unable to deliver on a project, the true cost of that failure is not the money spent, it’s the time and manpower resources that have been wasted. The same goes for an individual stuck in a job or career they can’t stand; they might think they can’t quit because of the money but what they should realize is their time on earth is far more finite than their access to money ever will be.

Well, I’ve got a lot of time right now, tons of it. Probably more than I will ever, ever have again (unless, you know, I get fired). And like I’ve posted before, I totally intend to take advantage of it, whether that’s helping get business ideas off the ground, getting lunch with professors and other speakers, or taking on expenses for trips that I can’t really afford right now. Because, by the time I’m making enough money to do these things, I imagine that I’m going to be pretty short on time. That’s why I even made sure to push my start date back to the end of summer, to make sure I have time to travel, see new places, catch up with old friends, and try to get my life organized. So yea, even if I have to keep getting crap from my mom (“you’re taking another four months off? Didn’t you just take off two years?”) I don’t really care. I’m going to give myself as many opportunities as I can. Take that Sandy.   

So I know I said this before but it’s worth repeating: The most valuable thing you have is your time. So don’t waste it. I’m not going to.

Dave’s Awesome Song

Jeremy Kay – Have It All

 P.S.

Please don’t confuse this blog entry at all with the movie In Time with Justin Timberlake. That was just dreadful writing; this blog is only moderately bad.

If you would like to contact the author, he can be reached at david.a.miller4@gmail.com.

A Guide to Class Participation at Darden

I get questions from people all the time asking about what grades are like in business school, and specifically at Darden. Do they matter? Is it hard to get good ones? My friends in medical and law school would answer by saying “No, MBA grades don’t matter and you don’t go to a real grad school” (Of course, they’re just jealous). But in reality the answer is: it depends. And it depends mostly on the type of person you are.  Since one of my favorite pastimes is to categorize people and judge them, I figured why not talk about the different “grade seekers” at Darden. I'm talking specifically about this as it relates to class participation, which is usually 50% of your grade at Darden because of the the Case Method.
Now before I do this, I want to lay out the following disclaimers:

1)      I am a huge nerd. I try really hard in class, especially those I care about. You can talk to anyone who’s had a class with me since high school: I raise my hand in class to comment all the time, mostly because I have a huge ego. I’m not saying my comments are good, because they hardly ever are, but if you think this is about making fun of people for trying too hard, you’re wrong.

2)      Almost everyone at Darden will fall into more than one of these categories. 

3)     Seriously, I really enjoy all of my classmates at Darden and am lucky that I get to learn with some of the smartest and most I’ve ever met. This just meant to be fun, so relax already.

Without further ado:

The Gunners

These are the students who will stop at nothing to be in the top of the class. Some want it to help them get a scholarship for second-year, while others just take a lot of pride in having the professor know they are smart, even if it means the rest of their classmates roll their eyes every time he/she speaks. While Gunners are highly prevalent in the first year, they are nearly an extinct population in the second year of business school, mostly because people have rediscovered golf, video games, or golf video games. Thank God for Gunners though, because without them the other 90% the class who barely read the case and didn’t run the numbers would be in serious trouble.   

Gunner Symptoms: Excessive hand raising, pit diving the professor or speaker after every class, constant use of abbreviations or acronyms, always sits in the same spot to ensure professor can clearly see them
Gunner Treatment: Several alcoholic drinks

The Masters of the SP

For those non-Darden people reading this, SP stands for “Standard Performance”, which is essentially given to half the class (Darden grades on a curve) and is the equivalent of getting a “B”. At Darden there could not be a more appropriate term for this grade than Standard Performance. The people who get many of these understand exactly what it takes to be in the middle and do no more, no less. Mainly that involves reading the case, getting the general gist of what’s going on, and then offering a solid comment every 1-2 classes. The goal is to make sure not to stand out, good or bad. This is the largest group of students, with a population that continually grows from the first day of class to the last, as people realize they aren’t special.

Master of the SP Symptoms: Dressing in non-bright colors to divert the eye, answering every question with “it depends” to avoid taking a possibly wrong stance, only talking during cases related to companies they used to work for
Master of the SP Treatment: A professor who relentlessly cold calls

The “I don’t care because I either a) already have a job or b) don’t have a job yet”

I would bet that most of these students don’t even check their grades when they are released. To them, grades are a complete afterthought. I mean, after all who cares? Companies don’t look at them. Your parents don’t get them in the mail like undergrad. And there’s a 99.9% chance no matter how badly you’re doing that you’re not going to fail out. Instead, why not focus on getting your post-graduation dream job or enjoying your last few months of freedom before working a hundred hours a week in investment banking. This group is virtually non-existent in the first year before growing exponentially in the second.

Symptoms: Sitting in the sky deck, having your laptop open in a class that requires no spreadsheets, having your laptop closed in a class that does require spreadsheets, an “eff you” look in their eye
Treatment: For those that don’t have a job, getting one. For those that do have a job, nothing. Just keep living the dream my friends. 

Let me just briefly close with this: I honestly believe that grades don’t matter that much, if at all, in business school and at Darden. But that is not to say that people don’t try or shouldn’t. I see my classmates come prepared to class everyday with numbers, insights, and questions that add tremendous value to our case discussion. It’s just that they’re not doing it for the grade, but because they are passionate about the topics and they don’t want to let their classmates down by being unprepared.  Darden really is a self-policing classroom in this way and it that makes grades irrelevant. And I think that’s great.

Dave’s Awesome Songs

·         Citizen Cope – Sideways

·         Eels – Fresh Feelin

·         Marshall Tucker Band – Can’t You See

If you would like to contact the author, he can be reached at david.a.miller4@gmail.com.

My New Year Resolutions

Good Lord do I hate New Year’s. It is easily the worst holiday of the year, way worse than Columbus Day, President’s Day, Valentine’s Day (which has overshadowed every single one of my birthdays since I was 5). To celebrate it people spend an absurd amount of money on ridiculous parties instead of just paying 10 bucks for a case of Schlitz like they normally do. At midnight everyone blows their stupid party favors and celebrates a meaningless change of dates. Then to top it off the next day there is a ton of meaningless college bowl games (somebody please fix the BCS). 

The worst part though, is those pesky New Year resolutions, the promises we make to ourselves to accomplish during the year and then break two weeks later. That being said, it makes a great topic for a blog post! So, without fail, here are 2012 New Year resolutions:

1.       Don’t let myself get SAD this winter.

First, let me clarify what I mean by SAD. I’m not talking about the emotion, but Season Affective Disorder, a seasonal depression that comes with short days, cold weather, and a complete lack of energy. I’ve been getting this for as long as I can remember. Anyone who lives in the Mid Atlantic can attest to how it happens:

·        a beautiful fall season turns into in ability to leave work before its dark

·        suddenly no one wants to leave their couch

·        the simplest task like taking out the trash becomes an expedition involving several layers of clothing, slips on icy driveways, and howling winds.

To confess, I’m not off to a good start with this. You would think that winter break for most B-school students would be awesome but unless you get to spend most of it on a beach on Cabo, its not. Its boring, no one is around, and you find yourself actually looking forward to classes starting. Still, I’m going to fight SAD with a steady dose of working out, exposure to sunlight, Hoos basketball games, and finding as many reasons to get out of my apartment as I can. I’m optimistic on this one.

2.       Make good on an investment.

I recently lost someone very important to me when my Grandfather passed away just after Christmas. There is really no way to put into words what he meant to me. This was a man who supported me emotionally, financially, spiritually, and intellectually for all of my adult life. He was always there to offer guidance on anything from my career to my family to my friends.  But more than anything, Grandpa Al was my friend. I could call him anytime to talk about the Yankees, politics, and life. When I had a chance to take a vacation, I usually included a trip to spend time with him. For a guy who lived through the Great Depression, served in World War II, then put himself through an Ivy League school before working in the Intelligence community for the next 60 years, he was a really, really cool guy.

Every opportunity I had to talk with him, I always thanked him for everything and he would respond the same way: “You’re the best investment I’ve ever made”. As I move through the next year and the big changes it holds, and really all the years after that, I will always remember that. At every turn I will try to make sure I make his immense investment in me worth it.

3.       Make 3 friends in San Diego.

On a lighter note, I’m moving across the country in August and 3,000 more miles away from home than I’ve ever lived before. Needless to stay I need to meet people. I’ll start conservatively in 2012 and hopefully by the end of 2013, I’ll have enough friends to play a 3-on-3 beach volleyball game.

4.       Try to actually write this blog more often.

I’m not making any promises on this one . . .

Happy 2012 to everyone. Stay tuned.

Dave's “Awesome Songs”

Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa – “Young, Wild & Free”

Miranda Lambert – “Baggage Claim” (note: can’t wait to go see her live at JPJ in three weeks)

If you would like to contact the author, he can be reached at david.a.miller4@gmail.com.

Time to Spare

Last week I was talking with a buddy of mine, catching up on a whole bunch of different things because we hadn’t spoken in a while. This was, of course, my fault, as I’m generally terrible at staying in touch with people (Note: sometimes I’m bad at this on purpose, because I simply don’t like you). Anyway, he lives in Richmond and mentioned that he was thinking about visiting some vineyards just east of C’ville. I immediately invited myself and volunteered to help plan the trip, even though I really don’t like wine and my knowledge of it is pretty much limited to reds, whites, Slap the Bag, and Bling-Bling Blue Raspberry. When I actually showed up my buddy looked shocked. Considering I’ve declined or bailed on every event he’s planned over the past 15 months, I can’t say I blame him. But hopefully that shouldn’t be a problem anymore.

You see, I recently accepted a job and have solidified my post-Darden plans. What I’m going to be doing isn’t important; just know that I’ll be doing it here: http://www.sandiego.org/nav/Visitors/VisitorInformation/Weather. And while that’s got me thinking about a lot of things (mostly the future), it has also taken a lot off my plate. I didn’t realize that until last week, a couple of days after sending in my acceptance. I wrapped up my last class of the day and started walking back to my apartment while I planned everything I needed to get done that afternoon . . . and came up with nothing. No 8am class to prepare for. No networking event to attend. No resume to update. No club event to sign up for. No cover letter to proofread. No interview to bomb.

Holy cold call Batman, what the hell was I going to do?

The answer is everything I’ve always wanted to do in Charlottesville but couldn’t because I used recruiting as either a real or made-up excuse. In just the past week I’ve been able to:

·       Take a drive out to Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway (I know, driving isn’t really “doing” anything, but I hate hiking and refuse to wear cyclist attire, so back off).

·       Attend Darden’s Entrepreneurship Conference, which is easily the most underrated event we have here. Saw a bunch of awesome ideas at the concept competitions, met a lot of really cool entrepreneurs, and wore a blazer with jeans.

·       Meet a buddy I haven’t seen in a while at a vineyard on a Sunday. I found out they have these things there called tastings, where you can try a bunch of wines and you even get to keep the glass afterward (side note: I finally own a wine glass).

Finally time to enjoy days like this one.

So if that’s just Week One, I’m feeling good about what’s left to come. I might buy tickets to all the Hipster-band concerts in Charlottesville so I can finally understand what their music is all about. I could also start a streak of attending 20 straight Boylan Heights Wednesday Power Hours, although if I did that I might have to start attending AA as well. Anyway, the point is I’m not exactly sure what I’ll do, but I’ll definitely have plenty of time to figure it out.

P.S.

I’m starting a new thing, which I’m unoriginally entitling “Dave’s Awesome Song”. From here on out after each post I’ll let you know which song is currently #1 on my iPod playlist. The point of this is for you to make fun of me. So feel free to do that and send along any song suggestions you have. This week I’m starting off with two songs, because I want to:

·         Taylor Swift – “Sparks Fly”

·         Jay-Z – “Heart of the City”

Have at it.

If you would like to contact the author, he can be reached at david.a.miller4@gmail.com.

The Washed-Up Athletes Club

When you’re in a business school as demanding as Darden is, you need an escape. Some sort of way to release your stress, step away from your cases, and clear your mind. Some people do it at the gym, pounding away on the treadmill until their sneakers have gaping holes. Others head to the Corner and grab a drink or ten. In some rare cases, overwhelmed students run frantically through the halls screaming “I can’t take it anymore, I can’t take it anymore!!” Me, I play softball.

Let me explain why briefly: I’ve had a bat and glove in my hand for as long as I can remember. For the longest time, baseball was one of the most important things in my life (actually it still is). Then my college career ended, the real world began, and playing regularly wasn’t really an option anymore. I joined an un-elite group, one of full of others with a competitive fire but no way to fulfill it: The Washed-Up Athletes Club. We have members all over the world and are easily spotted:

·      At the local sports bar still wearing our lettermans’ jacket and state championship ring

·      Trying to win a meaningless game of pick-up basketball at the gym, running over anyone in our way

·      At the football tailgate talking about how we used to play against so-and-so who is now in the Major Leagues or NFL

But by far the most popular place for washed-up athletes to hang out is the softball field. We come from all athletic backgrounds and abilities with one purpose: pretend like we are still just as good as we once were. That’s why I’m proud to be a member of Darden’s second-year softball team. We’ve assembled some of the greatest washed-up athletes out there, including:

·          Various college athletes (baseball, football, hockey, etc.)

·          Former professional hockey players

·          A former pro-baseball player who still tries to throw the softball 90 miles-an-   hour

·          High-school stars that haven’t given up the dream

It’s easily my favorite escape in business school. Most guys don’t take it as seriously as I do, and I realize it’s silly, but frankly I don’t care. We get together, warm up just enough so no one blows out an Achilles, try to hit a homerun every time we swing, and argue every single call with an umpire who wonders how anybody could care so much about a meaningless game. For me it’s total bliss; the chance to be competitive, hang out with some friends, and relive my glory days. [Note: there is also one thing that’s awesome about being washed-up as opposed to a real athlete: every game becomes an excuse to drink.  And always out of America’s favorite drinking contraption, the red Solo cup.]

At the end of the day, we don’t really care about winning, because it doesn’t really matter. It’s just about the escape. And Lord knows I really, really need that. I’m not sure if there is an official Washed-Up Athletes Club out there, but if there was I’d be a member for life. And you know what, I’m ok with it. That being said, if you’re a pro-baseball scout looking for a mediocre second baseman whose been keeping himself in shape playing slow-pitch softball, give me a call.

If you would like to contact the author, he can be reached at david.a.miller4@gmail.com.

Finding Neverland

Those who follow this blog (all 3 of you) may remember that one of my first posts last year was about growing up  and how I might be starting to do so at Darden. As I head into my second year I’d like to revise that though: there is no way I’m growing up, at least not this year. Simply put, I can’t do it. There’s too much time to do that later and not enough left in Charlottesville to take advantage of everything here if I’m trying to grow up at the same time.

So I’m going the opposite way and trying to make this year just like I did my senior year in undergrad (minus the frat parties. Actually scratch that, might as well try to fit in a few of those too). I’m spending this year getting to every football tailgate, going to every guest speaker on campus, working out at the Main Grounds gyms, heckling the opposing team at every basketball game, and joining in every social outing this town has to offer. I’ll end the summer with as many afternoons at the Ivy Gardens pool as possible. This fall I’ll visit a few vineyards and watch the leaves change. In the Winter I’ll dance my face off at Darden Prom and go sledding as soon as there’s enough snow. And in the Spring, well, just let me say, watch out Foxfield. Meanwhile, I might go to a few classes, do some cases, and try to figure out my future (but not really). Darden is just such a fun place that it would be borderline insane to try and prepare myself for the real world when college is right here staring me in the face.

So let me just paraphrase our good friend Peter Pan and say “I’M NEVER GROWING UP”! I’m going to try and be just like the Lost Boys, minus the green tights and pirate nemesis (friends, please don’t take this as an invitation to start calling me by a new nickname). But there will be no regrets this year, no “I wish when I had lived in Charlottesville I had . . .” Just me, my classmates, and a lot of great memories to be made. Feel free to join in.

If you would like to contact the author, he can be reached at david.a.miller4@gmail.com.

And . . . . We’re Back: How I Spent My Time Away from Darden

Alright so what do the following have in common:

·         New York City;

·         Austin, TX;

·         Princeton, NJ;

·         Jeddah, Saudi Arabia;

·         Blacksburg, VA;

·         Washington, DC;

·         Las Vegas, NV;

·         Johannesburg, South Africa;

·         Atlantic City, NJ

·         Annapolis, MD;

·         San Diego, CA;

·         Stone Harbor, NJ;

·         Lexington, VA;

·         San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Yea, those are all the places that I’ve been since classes ended in Charlottesville a mere 13 weeks ago (you read that correctly: separate trips to Saudi Arabia AND South Africa in one summer; I’ve got some serious airline miles, don’t worry about it). Now the real challenge for you is to figure out whether each of those was for a:

1.       Wedding;

2.       Weekend getaway;

3.       My internship;

4.       Vacation;

5.       hA holiday (4^th of July or Memorial Day);

6.       Bachelor party.

I guarantee the answers will really confuse you.

 

In case you haven’t figured it out yet, it was awesome. I had an incredible summer that included an extremely challenging but rewarding internship, chances to catch up with friends and family, and a lot of travelling. I felt like I was a boxcar Hobo, never knowing where I was going to be heading next. But not one of those trampy Hobos with the stick and bundle; I was one of those very classy, dignified ones (ok really the only difference was I had a small backpack instead of a bundle).  

But there are tradeoffs. Now, I don’t want to speak for all B-school students, but I feel like this is just kind of the life of anyone getting a full-time MBA. In the year since I’ve moved to Charlottesville, between job treks, spring break trips, winter break, interviews, weekend ski trips, and everything in between, I’ve always felt like I was on the move. Which is good and bad. Good because it’s interesting, exciting, and life-changing; bad because you never really feel settled. That’s why I think it is important to get yourself anchored before you really get on the move.

Personally, I had no idea that I had anchored myself in Charlottesville. But while I was out and about this summer, I realized that as great as all of the places I was visiting were, not one of them was here. So while I was enjoying every minute of my travels, at the same time I couldn’t wait to get back here. I mean to me, what’s the point of travelling if you don’t have somewhere great to go back to at the end of it? I guess all I am trying to say is, it’s good to be home.

If you would like to contact the author, he can be reached at david.a.miller4@gmail.com.

Let's Get Ethical!!

Ok, so admittedly my last entry was terrible. Even my parents told me it was awful, and I’m pretty sure that by law they’re supposed love everything I do. I hadn’t written a post in a while, I couldn’t think of anything all that good to write about, and I was just happy that it wasn’t freezing outside anymore. Not much of an excuse, but from now I on promise to avoid extremely boring nonsense.

Anyway, this term I’ve been taking what is by far my favorite class so far at Darden. To my surprise, that class is Ethics, a subject I only thought was useful for philosophy majors and people who liked to pretend they always did the right thing. When I applied to Darden I heard all about the course, how the school was one of the only top MBA programs to require all students take a Business Ethics class, how it went hand and hand with UVA’s ethics code, and all that other good stuff. I pretended to care in my essays, writing about why it was a major reason I wanted to attend Darden and that I believed it would make me a truly principled leader. All the while, I didn’t really give two seconds of thought to the class and just assumed it wouldn’t be nearly as helpful as finance, marketing, strategy, etc. It wasn’t that I didn’t think the course was a good idea, I just didn’t think it would be very helpful. I envisioned a class where all the cases were about sacrificing profits in order to make the world a better place. Everyone would get on their soap boxes, talk about how they didn’t really care about shareholder value, and we would all feel better about what amazing people we were.

Well as you can probably figure out that hasn’t been the situation. Instead, our cases have been incredibly complex and usually the only possible outcomes involve somebody getting screwed over. The faculty is incredibly engaging and they challenge us to consider harsh realities. For the first time in business school, I’m taking a class that doesn’t try to make a decision easier, but rather much, much more difficult. In other classes, it’s generally simple: buy the company or don’t; release the product or shelve it; change the inventory system or keep the old one. But in ethics, I don’t have a freakin’ clue. I walk into class completely sure of what to do and leave convinced that there is no right thing to do.

Not that we aren’t given lots of tools to dissect and evaluate the decision. It’s just that the frameworks we use serve to ask questions that I normally wouldn’t think of. And that’s what I love about the class: the framework actually makes the case harder. Plus, I can use them in almost any other class to evaluate decisions more broadly than just what the numbers tell me to do (it was getting really boring to just think in terms of the numbers anyway). Decisions are no longer black and white; they involve a lot of gray area, just like they will be after business school.

This time last year, I would have guaranteed you I would be one and done when it came to Ethics classes. Now I’m planning to take as many as I can next year. Because anybody can run the analysis and know why the decision they are making is right. I want to know why the decision I’m making is wrong. 

If you would like to contact the author, he can be reached at david.a.miller4@gmail.com.

March

Today's a good day. I've never really liked January or February. They suck. It's cold out and I get SAD from not having enough sunlight (SAD = Seasonal Affective Disorder, but also having it does make me sad). Combine that with a relentless month and a half of recruiting and I got stuck in one really deep rut.

But that's finished now that it's March. Or at least I’m going to make sure I dig myself out. They say in Virginia that March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb but I've never really thought about it like. Everything gets better:

• Baseball is back (college and spring training)
• NCAA Basketball Tournaments start up
• I can wear sandals again
• The outdoor areas at bars open up
• Exercising outside instead of in the gym

Now add to that two weeks of Spring Break in Brazil (cha-ching!) and I’m feeling pretty damn good about this month. I’m a little disappointed in myself for being so worthless lately and I’m hoping to gain some momentum in March. It’s hard to believe I’m looking at a little more than two months left in my first year here so I’m hoping to enjoy it and not just survive it.

If you would like to contact the author, he can be reached at david.a.miller4@gmail.com.

Internship or Prom Date?

Do you remember that time in the spring of your senior year of high school when you were trying to figure out who you were going to Prom with? Whether you were a guy or girl, you were continually listening to the rumors floating through the halls, trying to figure out who was taken, who was available, or who might ask/say yes to you. If you were lucky enough, you were already in a relationship or you knew early on exactly who you wanted to take and they wanted to go with you. Boom, problem solved. If you were like some of my less-moralistic friends, you asked someone early so you had a guaranteed date, and then went looking for the girl you really wanted to take. And as word got out that somebody wanted to go with you, more and more people suddenly became interested. And if you were really screwed, all the people you thought you might go with got their own dates early on. At this point you settled for whatever you could get, asking everyone you could and saying yes the first invitation you got. Basically, you just hoped you could still get into the “cool” After Party and get drunk enough to salvage the night.

By now you’ve probably figured out (or at least you should have if you looked at the title), the entire process described above essentially applies to getting an MBA internship. Beginning this week and going on for the next month, Darden essentially turns into High School. First year students walk the Grounds all hours of the day and night begging (well, it hopefully hasn’t come to begging yet) for a job and companies try to figure out who they want to go with. And the rumors swirl about whose got jobs, final rounds, blah blah blah (by the way don’t get me wrong, I’m not above any of this, I’m totally involved). If you could hear the hallways, they would be silent. But if you listen more closely, there is plenty to hear. Just like High School Prom, it’s easy for some, exciting for others, challenging for many, and hopefully, just like a classic 80s John Hughes movies, everyone ends up happy. (Note: not everyone will end up happy).

Just to prove the awesomeness of the metaphor (is it a metaphor?), I will redo the first paragraph replacing types to high schoolers with the MBA students:

Do you remember that time in the winter of your first year of B-school when you were trying to figure out who you were going to intern with? Whether you were a guy or girl, you were continually listening to the rumors floating through the halls, trying to figure out what companies had already made offers, who hadn’t made decisions yet, or who might give you an offer. If you were lucky enough, you were already sure where you were going, either because you interviewed in the fall or you were going back to your previous job. Boom, problem solved. If you were like all of my classmates, you interviewed somewhere early so you had a guaranteed internship, and then went looking for the job you really wanted to take. And as word got out that somebody made you an offer, more and more companies suddenly became interested. And if you were really screwed, all the companies you thought you might get offers from took others instead. At this point you settled for whatever you could get, asking every company you could and saying yes the first offer you got. Basically, you just hoped you could still get into the “cool” jobs next year and get drunk enough to salvage that week’s TNDC.

Hmm, that worked pretty well. I should add as a caveat, however, that the above does not apply to those going after “nontraditional” internships or others that are recruiting off-grounds. These people are instead the high school kids that either dated a guy/girl that went to a different school or those hippy, hacky-sack-playing types that were too cool to actually go to Prom.

And I should add that amidst all this madness, we start classes and three cases a day again next week. Wowzer. In the words of Kristen Dunst, Bring It On.

If you would like to contact the author, he can be reached at david.a.miller4@gmail.com.

The Best of 2010

So I swore I would never become one of "those guys" and now look at me: I'm a deadbeat blogger. I swear that over the past month I have thought about writing many a posting. The only problem is that I like to write things that are fun. Or interesting. Or inspiring. I promise you that nothing I have done in the last 30+ days have been anywhere close to any of those things (well, except for the Santa Stumble, but that’s a topic for another forum).

Instead, the past month has been a barrage of networking, cover letters, job applications, exams, late nights, early mornings, and one awesomely bombed mock interview. I mean, it was bad. I’m not a complainer, so that’s not the point of writing this. No no, you see, I’m an excuse-maker. And I’m really good at it.

Therefore, here are my nine best things from 2010, in order and including Darden & non-Darden stuff.

9. Getting to have another “first day” of school
You might think it sounds dumb, but there is nothing quite like the first day of school for me. Then again, I am a nerdy loser. But nonetheless, nothing beats figuring out who is in your classes, meeting your professors, diving into the material, the whole atmosphere. Nothing was different about Darden, even if it is a much different environment and learning experience. At the end of the day it is still school. The only thing that could make it better would be if my mom could have packed me a brown bag lunch with a little note in it. Also, I haven’t really figured out who the cool kids are yet, but I know that I’m not one of them.

8. Vegas Trip
I would like to tell you more about this, but you know what they say about what happens in Vegas . . .

7. Back in the Valley for the Fall
I wrote about this earlier, but to reiterate, there is no more beautiful place to spend fall then in the Shenandoah Valley. From September to November the weather is perfect, the leaves are beautiful, and for the first time ever, I had D1 college football in my backyard. Even though the Cavs were just plain turrrrible, it was still an awesome experience.

6. Winning the Darden Brand Challenge


Given the brains of my fellow classmates, I really didn’t think I’d win anything academic at Darden except maybe Most Likely to be Voted Off an Island. But low and behold, my team won Darden’s annual brand challenge, a pretty big school event that pits first year students representing different brands in a competition to see who can create the most engaging, interesting, and insightful data survey and product exhibition. My team deserves more credit than I do, but I will still treasure my picture with Mr. Doughboy and will have the pink shirt for years to come.

5. Section E Darden Cup Domination
Another thing I wrote about earlier. Since the softball competition, however, Section E has rolled through several others and holds a comfortable lead going into the spring semester. Also, my play in flag football earned me the curious nicknames “Little Ball of Hate” and “Bret Michaels”. Not really if those are good, but considering my college nickname was Cupcake I’m going to take them as a complement.

4. Snowmageddon in D.C.
Well it was awesome for some reasons and horrible for others. But the back to back blizzards led to the following things: Three days of living in Glover Park (even though my apartment wasn’t there), Two awesome Georgetown basketball games at Verizon Center, One amazing 90s themed birthday party for myself, a 4:00a.m walk home from Logan Circle to Tenleytown (4+ miles), and exactly zero days off work (for me). Loved the snow, except that it didn’t go away until like April and D.C. gave up trying to plow it. Other than that, it was great.
   
3. Having myself as a roommate
If you’ve never lived alone, try it. It’s the best thing about moving to Charlottesville to me. I have people over when I feel like it, clean when I feel like it, watch whatever T.V. channel I feel like, pretty much do whatever I feel like. For those that know me, you know how incredible this is to me. I really hope I don’t have another roommate until I get married.

2. Doubling my # of Facebook Friends

You meet tons of people in business school. I mean the whole point of going to network. I never actually imagined that I would like so many of them though. It’s been the single most surprising thing about school and I’m really lucky to have met and connected with so many people.

1. Cruising Europe for 6 weeks


If you’re considering going back to school or even if you’re not, do some extended travelling at least once. I mean, 6 weeks wasn’t even that long, I wish I had done longer. But get out on the road, push your comfort zone and get a different experience. You will never regret it. The time I spent travelling this summer was definitely my best experience of 2010, maybe my life.


If you would like to contact the author, he can be reached at david.a.miller4@gmail.com.

Two Steps Up, One Step Back

I was talking with a recruiter last night about career development and he told me something interesting: Every time he has an amazing breakthrough, crushes a presentation, or excels in any other way which otherwise makes him love his job, he writes it down on a scrap of paper and places it in a jar in his office. At the same time, whenever he is grinding through a spreadsheet at 2am, making the 1,000th revision to the same slide deck, or otherwise doing something that makes him want to run into oncoming traffic, he also writes it down on a piece of paper and places it in a different jar. He tells me that whenever he goes back and looks in the jars, that the number of pieces of paper in the happy jar far outweighs the other one. And, he concluded, if that ever changes, then he’ll quit.

The point is this: in all phases of life, you need to have perspective. There are going to be huge highs where you think everything is set and life can’t get better. And there are moments where you are pretty sure no one has it worse in life than you. Well, if you thought either one of the above two sentences applies to you, you are wrong. Life is never going to be perfect but it should never totally suck either. You need to step back, take everything in, and figure out if you’re happy. And if you’re not, then don’t complain. Complainers are terrible. If you don’t like your life, then figure out why and change it. It’s as simple as that. But why should I care that you’re unhappy if you don’t intend to do something about it?

Right now, I’m happy. I can truly say that I’m happier now then at almost any point in my life. Yet, in business school, on any given day, I will have a trillion setbacks. And it will suck. But why should I complain or be in a crummy mood? At the end of the day I can look at my life, know how lucky I am and feel truly blessed.

For me it’s like two steps up, one step back. Make a good comment in class, get a nice thank you note from a recruiter, bomb a networking call. Do good on one test, do good on another, look like an idiot on the last one. Get invited to two company events, get left out of another. Sometimes I think I am literally the master of MBAs one day, a real “hitter” (for you wall streeters), and the next day I wonder if I can get a job tending bar or if I’m not the right “fit” for that either.

But at the end of the day, I can always look in my two jars and know that I am happy. What do your two jars look like?

If you would like to contact the author, he can be reached at david.a.miller4@gmail.com.

The Little Bears

When I first arrived at Darden three months ago, there was one thing I was more anxious about than any other aspect of B-school. It wasn’t my career prospects (although I probably should have been more nervous about this). It wasn’t the demanding class schedule and curriculum. And it definitely wasn’t the fact that I was going to be sans paycheck for the next two years. Nope, it was whether or not I would have a good Learning Team.

For those not familiar with Darden, Learning Team is kind of like a study group that you are assigned to at the beginning of your first year. I say “like” because in reality it is so much more. Essentially it’s an otherwise random group of six first-year students from different backgrounds, genders, and nationalities that spend two or three hours a night sitting around a table in a tiny room talking through the case for each and every class. Needless to say I had two questions about the people I would be hanging out with every night for the next year: 1) Will I like them? ; and 2) Will they like me? It really never crossed my mind that this could be a positive experience; I was just hoping it wouldn’t turn out to be miserable.

 

We like to spend most of time messing around, as you can see

Well, that is a long-forgotten memory. I’m going to make a bold statement: my Learning Team is the best in Darden’s first year class (I say “bold” because a lot of people would say the same thing about the LT, but they would be wrong). I don’t even think of my LT, which we named, by the way, The Little Bears, as a study group anymore. I could be a CPA with a background in marketing and investment banking and I would still show up to meet with them every night at 7pm sharp. Yes we crush cases all night and yes it is a lot of work but it never really feels like it. We always mix up the night with a healthy dose of jokes, gossip, and videos (like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmJcUlrkMNg ).  No one hesitates to stay late and help someone whose struggling with a particular case and everyone brings a unique perspective on each case.

In three months I’ve learned almost everything there is to know about them, including their families, relationships, future plans, and, most importantly, drink preferences. I’ve especially learned a lot of about the last point. You see, we are a social bunch of Little Bears (I know you’re making fun of me right now for referring to us as The Little Bears, but trust me, it’s awesome).  If there is a Darden social event, you can pretty much count on all six of us being there. Much like the rest of Darden, we work hard and play hard. We just happen to get after it a little harder, whether it is coordinating a sweet Breakfast Club costume ensemble for the 100 Case party (still waiting on the pics), taking on the dance floor at TNDC, or meeting on a Friday afternoon for LT “Happy Hour” where we can kill two birds with one stone (cases and drinks). This past Sunday is a great example: after a long weekend, “J”, who is originally from New Orleans, invited us over for homemade jambalaya and drinks so we didn’t have to meet at Darden to go through our cases.

I guess the thing that as surprised me most is how much (I think) my LT likes me. You see, I am a weird person. Like, sarcastic, corny, self-conscious, all-over-the-place, off-topic . . . just, weird. I was pretty worried that everyone would catch on and quickly write me off. Instead, my group knows I’m weird and still wants to hang out with me every night. And that, more than anything, is what helps get me through the long days.

Stay tuned for next week’s blog “Never Mind, They Didn’t Like Me and I Got Voted Off the Island”.

If you would like to contact the author, he can be reached at david.a.miller4@gmail.com.