Travel Aps-

With all of the international travel required with this program, we need to be ready to figure out where we are going and be ready for the next trip.  Here are a few travel aps that I’ve found handy while preparing for and traveling on CCMBA trips.

Ap Icon	Ap Name	Description	Price
	General	In general I advise that you check for metro maps and taxi aps if they are available for the city you’re traveling to.  Shanghai, London, Tokyo, etc all have free aps for their transit systems and are worth having handy on any culture dash.	FREE
	General	Airline carriers that have online aps for boarding passes and check in can help out for quickly going through the airport, foreign and domestic.  Updates and flight changes are also pushed to your phone.  Delta, American, Skyblue, are just a few of the airlines now offering this.	FREE
	Airline Seat Guide	After ending up in some pretty dumpy seats, I’m thinking this one might be worth the money.	$1.99
	Smart Traveler	Register your trip with the US State Department directly from your smart phone.  It also has other useful information such as embassy location/contact, travel alerts, and local laws.	FREE

Messaging-

We all know Skype and Gchat and other tools, so here are a few extra to keep you connected.

Ap Icon	Ap Name	Description	Price
	Voxer	This one was introduced to me by a number of people in our class in Dubai.  It’s walkie-talkie like messaging where voice messages, photos, and videos can be sent between people with the ap.	FREE
	Kik	Free text messaging that can be used no matter where you or your friends are in the world that uses your telephone number as the account.	FREE
	Skype Wifi	This ap allows you to connect to nearby Wifi hotspots and only pay for Skype credit to connect.  After you’re connected you can load up as much data as you like without using your international data rates.	FREE

News-

The news?  What is that?  Oh you mean the latest events that happened while we were buried in Accounting and Decision Models!  These aps should help you stay posted on all the latest.

Ap Icon	Ap Name	Description	Price
	BBC News	This free subscription keeps you posted on the BBC World News headlines directly from your phone.  Categories separate the stories by region and by topic.  Have the latest GMI and CCL updates at your fingertips.	FREE
	Wall Street Journal	Get the latest from Wall Street without having to pick up a paper.  You can even get podcasts and videos.	FREE
	Harvard Business Review	**Cough, cough** I know.  But friends close, enemies closer.  Keep them on your phone so they don’t get away from you.	$2.99

Studying-

Here’s just a few study tools that can help you while you’re studying this term or the next.

Ap Icon	Ap Name	Description	Price
	Gflash+ Flashcards & Tests	You can create flash cards directly in the ap or using Google docs.  Has multiple choice or definition style tests.	FREE
	Easy Formulas and Functions for Microsoft Excel	For all the spreadsheets we have done and will do, this quick reference tool is handy to check for the right formula and basic excel formulas.  Other paid aps can get more fancy, but this one is a simple and easy guide.	FREE
	Statistics 1	I haven’t tried this one yet, but from the reviews and the overview it provides some great aids to explain the basic concepts we’ll be going over this term.  It seems to be worth the small investment for anyone struggling.	$3.99
	Dropbox	If you are using the online version of Dropbox for file sharing on team documents, this is a great way to keep up with documents on the go.	FREE

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There’s An Ap For That is an article from The Fuqua Experience, THE place to find out about the daily life of a Duke Cross Continent MBA student

This story is about the benefits of jet lag.  Until last night I thought there were none.  I hate lying in bed wide eyed during the middle of the night, and I hate even more trying to catch up on hundreds of work emails while falling asleep.  I think I’m able to survive residencies because the pace is so quick that I hit the ground running.  There is no time to think about jet lag when you’re being cold called or on a trip to a Mosque.

I arrived back in the States on Monday, along with about 20 other classmates flying Delta 7.  (Shout out to the party plane!)  Now, I need to tell you this part, which at first seems trivial, but in the grand scheme of my life becomes the central part of our story.  I had decided to take an originating flight out of Gainesville, Florida to catch the non-stop in Atlanta to Dubai.  That saved me about $800.  Since my Grandmother and aunts live in Gainesville I also had an excuse to visit.  I’ve been staying with my grandmother, heretofore called Nonnie, for the last few days.

Nonnie is about as cute as they come.  I tower a full 6 inches over her white hair which means when I hug her she nestles snuggly into my neck.  She asked me if I would sleep in her bed with her (because she was feeling lonely) and this is how I first learned of her bed time security ritual.

It begins with first making sure all of the doors are locked and dead bolted.  On the front door she then hangs a cow bell which if an intruder somehow managed to move the door even a hair will clank.  In front of the door she then places the dog carrier.  Then to her bedroom she goes.  The bedroom door is then locked.  She then sets the security alarm.  To additionally secure the door she places an old shower rod across it to bar the door.  If someone should then get into the room, she showed me a metal bar which she would use to subdue her attacker.  Nonnie’s dachshund, Hershey, is then called to the bed to sleep with her, so that her terrifying bark will provide further alarm.  This system actually does make you feel like you’re in a Fort Knox like situation, and you sleep soundly without any fear of invasion.

Since I’ve come back on Monday I somehow have managed to make it through a full work day each day, but I have been a goner by about 8pm EST.  I have been waking up at 3 or 4 am and trying to make myself drift back to sleep.  Last night I managed to make it to about 10pm before falling asleep in my Emirates Airlines T-shirt on the couch.  Nonnie woke me up and I stumbled my way into bed and I heard her go through her normal routine.

Three thirty AM.  I awaken to the house alarm going off!  Nonnie is in the bathroom and I jump out of bed!  I’m awake.  It’s 12:30pm in Dubai.  I AM AWAKE!!!  The security company calls.  Nonnie picks up the phone.
“Yes, this is Jane X. “
“Well that’s strange we’re in that room.”

“No I don’t see anything. I think we’re ok.  I think the alarm would have scared them.”

I am talking to her as she’s talking to the security company.  “Nonnie, tell them to send a police car to check the outside of the house and cruise the neighborhood.”

“Maybe just send a car to patrol the neighborhood once.”, she tells the operator non-chalantly.  All of the sudden the woman with a million locks is Arnold Schwartzenegger.  I am imagining my Nonnie breaking out with some Jackie Chan moves if there is still some perp lerking around.  Not likely.  More likely, the black beans I fed Nonnie for dinner combined with the stress of an intruder will cause her to produce noxious fumes.  (Yup, I’m an MBA candidate.  Note to self, build model for likely Nonnie vs Intruder outcomes.)

Nonnie gets off the phone, and again proves she is braver than initially thought.  She puts on her little cover up so she is not seen in her nighty.  She walks over to the bedroom door and opens it right up.  All the time, I’m wired and going “Nonnie, Nonnie, wait…we should wait for the police to come.  Wait, where’s the metal bar.”

Nonnie isn’t listening to me though.  She just sashays right on out to the living room turning on lights as I poke around under the bed looking for the metal bar.  I find the bar.  EUREKA we have protection….or maybe not.  Come to find out that the metal bar is the broken part of a wind chime.   It’s a hollow aluminum tube which is about four hand lengths long. 

That’s ok, I’m jet lagged!  This perp doesn’t know what’s gonna hit him.  He’s probably tired or at best wired on the latest narcotic.  But I have jet lag on my side and a somewhat short aluminum tube. 

Nonnie leads the way.  Mainly because I couldn’t stop her from going to more doors and windows to check them.  She’s like a little 5’2” leprechaun.  Every time I’d get over to protect her at one exit she’d be at the next.  “Jeez Louis woman, just hold still and wait for the police.”

Finally the police officer comes to the door.  Nonnie stands on her tippy toes to look through the peep hole and I crane my neck up to look through the top of the door.  “It’s okay Nonnie, I see his badge.”  I say standing behind her slowly lowering the bar.

The police officer checks around the house and reports back that everything is fine.  “It’s probably just the wind.” Him and my grandmother agree.  In the mean time I have figured out that if I were to hold the bar in a certain way it would like the barrel of a pistol.  I am debating about whether or not it is safer to claim it is a gun and “I’m not afraid to use it.”, or should I continue with it as a wind chime/thwacking device. 

We go through our little ritual of securing the doors and locking ourselves in the bedroom.  I put the phone and the wind chime on the bed in between us.  I think “I could put it underneath the covers and it would look like a gun if I pointed it out.  That way they couldn’t tell if it was a gun or not.  Although I might need to rethink my warning message.  I’m sure that would be a funny enough site for the perp to walk in on two women in bed with something poking up out of the sheets.”

And so, with my jet lag I laid back down, brainstorming ways to clobber an intruder.  Nonnie fell back to sleep and after about an hour I did too. 

So as you see, jet lag was quite useful.  I thought with a clear mind, and was clearly championing this whole situation.  No one is getting past this chica and her Nonnie.  So here’s to 9 hours of jet lag and all the security and mental toughness it brings.

Thus ends yet another typical day in my “normal” life.

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Jet Lag- The Latest Security Feature is an article from The Fuqua Experience, THE place to find out about the daily life of a Duke Cross Continent MBA student

First, let’s start with the NFL.  It wasn’t too long ago that we were all on pins and needles about the NFL lockout.  What would happen if we had no professional football?  My fantasy football league can’t play itself.  I don’t own an X-box….yet….and if I did, would seeing a virtual Dirty Bird suffice?  No, it would not.  But why oh why would these players walk?

The claim from NFL owners was that they needed to reduce the player’s salaries by 18% ($1 Billion) because there was a loss in revenue.  Was that valid?  Wellllllll, in reviewing the financial statements that were leaked revenues in 2010 are down by $21.4M from 2009.  Hmm..we’ll need to keep digging though.  Ahh…the answer to why the owners are complaining is of course in the notes.  “Note 5- Debt & G-3 Stadium Program” explains that the program that gave low interest loans to teams to build stadiums ran out of money in 2007.  So the league isn’t loaning money anymore to owners and owners have loans to repay to the league for stadiums in huge amounts.  Team revenues are down, and owners need to cut costs.  Players’ salaries account for the largest portion of operating expenses, therefore to increase Net Income, owners wanted to…cut salaries.  Wow, I think I just had an accounting breakthrough.

http://deadspin.com/5819427/exclusive-weve-obtained-audited-financials-for-the-nfl-league-office

Alright, alright, well, the NFL Lockout is a thing of the past, and I can turn on the Thanksgiving Day games and watching the nail biting Cowboys v Dolphins game.  The NBA Lockout is really what we are focusing on.  Once again, player’s salaries are on the firing line as the league claims that the teams are losing revenue.  The NBA claims that 22 out of 30 teams lost money in 2010.  So what do the financial statements reveal?  In this case, there may be some truth to the owner’s claims.  The leaked 2009 financial statement from the New Orleans Hornets the 2008 season resulted in a $17M loss.  The team recovered in 2009 with a $1.8M profit.  So you say, “Wait, they were positive again in 2009.  How’d they do that after such a bad year in 2008?”

Then you use some Schipper-like detective skills.  Salaries went down by $3M, but hmmm…what is this weird line in 2009 of “Gain on modification of relocation” in the amount of $4M increase on the Income Statement? Note 10 in the financial statements gives the answer.  When the Hornets moved from Charlotte to New Orleans they had to pay a relocation fee.  This was being paid out in installments.  However, in 2009 they were granted a deferral of $4M.  Ahhh…so without this deferral the Hornets would have been about $2.2 in the red again.  The owners also gave short term loans to the franchise, but then issued Long Term loans to repay those borrowings (see Note 15).  Hmmm…I dunno…on the fence on this one.

http://www.atthehive.com/2010/12/7/1862259/the-hornets-financial-statements-the-hornets-have-been-unprofitable

I’m not happy so far because accounting is explaining way too much of this story.  Salaries, salaries, salaries.  Let’s see if accounting can explain this.  Is the salary cap a bad thing for all of these professional sports programs?  Well, actually, it could be helping the players make bigger bucks.  Allan Sloan, from Fortune Magazine, says that salary caps are actually just creative accounting designed to lower the average salary reported out each year.  One year you have a big salary next year a low salary, so on average you report out a lower salary.  As I suspected, accounting is to blame.  That was the answer I was looking for.  Now I’m going to go see if I can remember what my pillow looks like.

http://www.marketplace.org/topics/business/creative-accounting-helps-sports-teams-stay-salary-game

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How Accounting Explains the NBA Lockout is an article from The Fuqua Experience, THE place to find out about the daily life of a Duke Cross Continent MBA student

I think a dose of humble is the biggest thing I’ve taken away from Term 2 so far, that I’m not quite as awesome as I thought in some areas. I think those in our program have a decent amount of self-confidence. I wouldn’t say it’s a prerequisite but it helps a lot in being successful and having the drive to take on not only work but a big load with school. It means we are confident in our abilities to get crap done when we need to.

For me, Term 1 was a little tough but nothing too much to sweat about. I had heard rumblings through this blog, from admins and professors in Term 1, and through the grapevine that Term 2 would be a different animal. Well here we are and boy is it! The funny thing is, it isn’t the class I was warned about that I’m humbled by, it isn’t intro to accounting that’s giving me fits. I’m a CPA, so that means I’m familiar with accounting. It doesn’t mean I’m an expert as CPA can mean you are in finance, taxes, management, consulting, government, or so many other areas. Still, I do have an advantage. So with that, I feel comfortable with most of the accounting. It takes a TON of time even so, but it isn’t anything compared to the exams I took to get my license.

No, it isn’t accounting that has me sweating, it’s Decision Models. It’s actually amusing, when I step away from it and look at how I’m doing, that I’m like the proverbial monkey with a typewriter as I work with Excel to develop my models. I feel like if I tweak this or that, maybe something coherent will come out of it. I’ve gone so far as to find a stupid book on Crystal Ball! Ugh, I have to find the time to work through that. The frustrating thing is I actually find it interesting but I am still having issues with it. I get the concepts after I look at the solution, but coming up with a plan of action ahead of time has been quite a challenge. The grades to date came out today and I’m barely, oh so barely, near the average though I’m on the bad side of that average. The thing is, when finals come around, I’m screwed unless I seriously get my act together.

So with that being said, I know where I’m at but I’m also capable of working on things. Here’s the part that I think many others in our program share: we see a problem and we tackle it head on. So yeah, I’m underwater with DM, but I know that and I’m confident that I’ll somehow learn to at least tread water, or even learn the rudiments of doggy paddling, by the time we hit the final. I won’t drown, I’m sure of that.

What’s the point of this post? Well I got my piece of humble pie, but I’m also confident enough to know that I can work through this. I bet a few others are in the same spot. Well we can get through this like we have with other big challenges we’ve faced in life. Just know that those facing this avalanche of work aren’t alone, that others are going through the same thing, and that you will get to the other side so we can celebrate in Dubai. See you on the other side of Term 2! Alright, back to the case studies…

P.S. To those having fits with accounting: To get through the accounting stuff, I’d seriously suggest looking over the class slides and watching the classes again (I’ve listened to the lecture twice in prep for the case). There is gold there for getting through the case work and in prep for the final. I think of the book as a place of last resort as I get lost in there more often than not. Just my two cents on that.

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Humble Pie is an article from The Fuqua Experience, THE place to find out about the daily life of a Duke Cross Continent MBA student

I know for me I go through several stages when I don’t perform at the level I have set for myself.  First is the feeling like I am going to puke because I am so disappointed in myself.  Then there is the stage where I bang my forehead on the desk in cries of agony, “Why?  Why Professor Anton?  Why me?  Why my paper?  Whhhhyyyyyyyyyy?????”  Okay, perhaps not that dramatic, but you get the point.  Then I move on to the justification.  “Well apparently he didn’t read my brilliant and excellent analysis of X.  If he truly understood X he would have seen I am the best Y since the dawning of time.  It’s not my fault my brilliance has eclipsed even the sun’s rays.  I will wait for the day the reptilian aliens are defeated and the good aliens take over and show that I am an enlightened one.”  Yes, for that brief egotistical moment I sore on my own flights of grandeur, until the reality that I just received the grade from one of Duke’s number one ranked faculty sets in.    SPLAT!  I am now back on solid ground, where I am left with my humility and a less than optimal grade.  Okay, okay, I suck, I f*ed up, I earned a bad grade.  Now how do I fix it?

Now if that cycle doesn’t fit you, I bow to you and/or ask you to excuse my mental disorder.  From what I’m learning though, it is one thing to get the grade on an individual paper and quite another to receive a grade that is different than expected on a group assignment.  I go through the whole process of ups and downs and highs and lows until I am left with the same reality check, that somehow we didn’t meet the expectations we set for ourselves.  When it’s my grade, I know I have to take ownership and I have to ask for feedback, and I need to improve on the areas given.  On a group grade…where do we begin?  Whether  or not you have experienced this on a graded assignment for Duke, chances are you will experience it sometime in your career.  You’ll be on or leading a team, you will submit your work, and it just won’t measure up to what the expectations were.

So with this dilemma in mind, I set out to do some internet research on how to approach team feedback.  Here’s what the experts suggest (please note, as many examples as possible are given in the form of reptilian alien warfare, a subject I am now well versed in):

Do’s-

1. Be Timely- Make sure you address the feedback within a timeframe where the information is still relevant and can be acted upon.  “You know, come to think of it, ever since the reptilians hollowed out the Earth’s core, I’ve been meaning to tell the human race about them.”   Hmm…probably won’t help humanity now that the shape shifters have taken over our political system.
2. Be Specific- Focus on the action and the results that were expected, and state how to correct it next time.  “I think we should solve world peace.  To do that we need everyone to love each other and not shoot at one another.”  Specific enough?  No.  How about, “We need to solve world peace by spreading the word that the reptilian aliens are in control so they cannot carry out their evil plan.  If we can distribute 10,000 pamphlets with pictures of UFOs next to President X’s face then we will over throw the evil underlings!”  Now that’s specific!  Talk to Starbucks Guy for more details.
3. Be  Open and Offer Suggestions- Be ready to offer suggestions to help improve or remedy the identified root cause.  “So I’m not really happy about reptilian aliens.  Whatcha gonna do about it?”  Hmm…I’m thinking you might receive cold icy stares from your teammates if that’s your approach.  How about something a little more suave, like,  “Hey, so you know we have a real problem with these reptilian aliens shape shifting into prominent political leaders.  I have a suggestion though.  If we blow up their secret military base in Virginia, we kill the bloodsuckers and people on the East Coast get to experience an earthquake for the first time in their lives!  Win Win right guys?!”  Now that’s putting your thinking cap on.
4. Create the Right Environment-  Candle light, glass of wine, a violinist playing…..NO, NO, NO, wrong environment!  Make sure it is a private setting, preferably in person so that members of the team can talk openly and indirect communication is easy to pick up on.  It’s also harder for the reptilians eave’s drop.
5. Check For Understanding and Buy-In- Follow-up to make sure the ideas you’ve discussed as a team have resonated and make sure people understand what the plan for action is.  “So Bubba, let’s just make sure, I’m pushing the big red button on the nukes and you’re going to count the bodies of the reptilians right?  Well now Bubba, we’ve discussed this.  I can’t check the bodies because I am allergic to nuclear radiation.  Clearly that makes you the man for the job.  Good talk.”  Probably better you clarified that beforehand right?

Don’ts

1. Make It Personal- “Look Bubba, if you had only checked The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Universe when I told you to nuke the reptilians, you would know that reptilians grow stronger from radiation.  I never would have pushed that big red button.  Shame on you for not checking.”  Poor Bubba.  His feelings are hurt and he has just tuned out the feedback.  Make sure it’s not about one person or one person’s actions, but rather focus on how the team can improve.
2. Only Give Feedback When There Is a Problem- “Gulp, team meeting time….I know what this is about…we’re going to have to talk about how the reptilians created a new military base in Colorado all amped up on radiation.  I hate team meetings.”  Make sure you’re giving feedback throughout, so when one bump in the road comes up feedback is just something you do, not something you’re punished with.
3. Address Multiple Issues in One Session- “So guys, while we’re discussing reptilians, I’ve been meaning to talk with you about Masons & Zionists.  I’ve kept notes and we might as well go through them because I can’t bottle it in anymore.”   Woah, there Starbucks Guy!  Deal with one set of feedback at a time so that you really spend the time focusing on the issue you’re trying to address.  By covering too many topics others will not be able to concentrate on the issue at hand and you may not come to a resolution on any one item.

So hopefully you have laughed a little bit and your mind is now at ease that you are more intelligent, and probably more sane, than at least one of your classmates.  And hopefully, somewhere in this rambling, you have a few extra tips to add to your toolbox the next time you don’t destroy the preverbal mother-ship.  If nothing else, just remember, you are human and (cross your fingers) so is the majority of your team.

For more reading:

http://www.teambuildingtips.com/team-building-articles/team-communication/the-dos-and-donts-of-giving-feedback.html

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A Hitchhiker’s Guide To Team Feedback is an article from The Fuqua Experience, THE place to find out about the daily life of a Duke Cross Continent MBA student

I want to post today about a surprising gem I’ve found in this program: group work. I’ll come right out and admit that I don’t have the best history with groups in that I often feel like I can do a better job solo than when I’m working with a group. I don’t always have the best patience with the different personalities and compromises necessary when working in groups, so I’d say that in this specific area, I’m a tad weak. I realize this about myself, but at the same time I haven’t had experiences that would lead me to believe that group work inherently leads to better results…until now.

I feel like there are many concepts and topics that we have a chance to learn in this program, but I also believe that many can be learned from our own research or picking up a few good books. In the case of working with others, this program illustrates its strength. In my personal experience thus far, I can say that I’ve learned more about myself and how to work with others more effectively. I’ve learned other concepts as well in Microeconomics and Managerial Effectiveness, but it’s the “working with others” part as well as my own self-discovery that I think will be the most useful in my career.

Each person and group can only really speak to their own experiences, but I thought I’d take a little time and write about my time with my group to this point in the program. To begin with, the program asks that we take personality tests during the pre-work before Term 1. The admins use this to place us in our teams. Based on our group’s personality scores as a whole, I feel like we are purposely put with people that we may work well with but also people that we will struggle to work with. I suppose it’s the idea that through adversity we grow as professionals in experience and character…and I have to agree that there’s going to be experience AND adversity when you first start out with the group work!

So my group started with diving right into group bonding stuff. Even before it was suggested by the professor, we sat down in a group and went over our pasts, our personal strengths and weaknesses, as well as what we hoped to get out of this program. I feel like this was a good start and that we all took the group dynamics thing (the possible issues and problems that may crop up in the future) quite seriously. Our first few assignments together were a bit rough as we worked things out. I have to admit candidly that I had my own problems and didn’t handle a couple situations in the best way. Still, we kept building on things. I feel like the first true bonding experience was our OPEC assignment in class. It really felt like we were doing our best, working ethically in the assignment, and we pulled together as we were continually screwed with by a few of the other teams. We walked away from that assignment with one of the lowest scores, but we were MUCH stronger as a group as we developed an “us against them” group mentality. I saw a lot of how we as individuals worked, as well as how we as a team worked. We also did activities outside the assignments while in Shanghai, visiting some sites and sharing a great meal at a Chinese restaurant. A couple of our group members speak the local language and helped us through the menu items. It was a great time!

The distance portion started a bit rough as we had to adapt all over again to new challenges. We tried various forms of communication, some working and some totally failing. We set ground rules with how we would work together and, through trial and error, found ways that worked best for us as a group. Our assignments over time have improved, at least from my point of view. Really, we get the work done on time and at a pretty high quality. Now, with our last assignment, we achieved a nearly perfect score! I think that was truly the epiphany for me. I look at our last project, at the quality, and I realize that there is NO way I could have done that level of work by myself. Truly, my group did a much better job than I could ever dream of doing on the same project.

Finally, I also want to note something our group personality results pointed out, that we as a group are great at tackling and efficiently completing our work, but we are poor at recognizing our accomplishments. This post is all about acknowledging my team and their accomplishments. Guys, you did an awesome job and I’m proud to be a part of our team.

I don’t want to name names, but here is my impression of the other five members of my team:

A student that speaks rarely, but we all stop and listen when the student has something to say as there is always something worthwhile in the message…and the hidden humor is great when the student lets their subtle humor out.

A student that can somehow party like a rockstar at night yet work like a beast on assignments, consistently producing an amazing quality of work.

A student that bridges the tensions in our group and helps us work more effectively while also including a quality in writing that is a sight to see.

A student that bears the hard role of ‘devil’s advocate’ but also gives perspectives that the rest of us wouldn’t see if the student didn’t present the ideas.

A student that often takes complicated concepts and ideas and simplifies them for those of us (like myself) that are confused by some of the work. Also, the student often gives a different perspective on the work and presents great ideas for our project work.

Thanks team!

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CCMBA: The Group Advantage is an article from The Fuqua Experience, THE place to find out about the daily life of a Duke Cross Continent MBA student

Many years later, in the 1990s, I spent my early teenage years in Bassi. It was then I came to know about Tom Purcell. I also came to know that my father who was a college student back then often played the role of his translator. He was in fact 1 of the 2 college students in the whole village who spoke some English and thus being given the responsibility was inevitable. Tom lived in the village for about 2 years and worked tirelessly during his stint. People, who knew him, remembered him fondly – he’d helped start scholarship program at the local school, helped set up first public lavatories in the village, and most importantly, he was master at consensus building for solving problems compared to the other “foreigners” before him who came to rule, always used force and often guns.

The story of American greatness or the rise of the superpower is often chronicled with events in history that encompass the Second World War, the Cold War, and Sputnik etc. However, the great economic leap and military super strength tells only half the story. The other half resides in the rise of the great American Human story, the story of human service that is often ignored – the many volunteers of Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, Red Cross and more recently, the commitment of many of its billionaires to give all their wealth away for humanitarian causes.

The Shanghai residency showcased the rise of China as world super power like I had not expected. There were signs etched all over that spoke loudly of the inevitable – the tall skyscrapers, optimism among people, massive infrastructure. As I felt in awe of what China had been able to accomplish in essentially 2 decades, multiple thoughts came to my mind about the world order in which China would be #1. Sure, like any superpower, China would throw its weight around the globe – for oil, minerals, markets etc or just for the sake of it.  But would there be a rise of compassionate and human side to that super power as well? Would there be Chinese Peacecorps that would spring up from its masses when people would be compelled to look beyond the horizons they had confined themselves to and find prosperity as insufficient measure of success in life? Does its continued business with Sudan amid genocide serve as a blue print for what China would be when it becomes world’s #1 power?  Or would China feel the moral need to go in and defend another Bosnia when the time comes?

Tom Purcell is a well-regarded public figure in St. Louis. Corps, he served in Vietnam, later became police commissioner of St Louis, Mo and helped lead many civic projects like he did in Bassi. It took me time to find him but I did and spoke to him in June this year (2011). Now I wait to meet a Chinese Tom Purcell.

Related Posts:

• CCMBA 2012 – China Residency Begins – Part 1
• CCL Case Study – Contrast in Governance – China v/s US
• Small town girl with BIG ambitions
• The Why Question: Part 2
• Preparation

The Shanghai Residency Pt-2 : Finding Tom Purcell is an article from The Fuqua Experience, THE place to find out about the daily life of a Duke Cross Continent MBA student

I left at noon during the lunch hour so no my coworkers would not miss me during the commute.  When I arrived at this popular Starbucks location I was not surprised that most of the tables and chairs were already occupied by patrons.  I found one chair left at a large communal table next to the outlets.  It wasn’t much space but I couldn’t complain.  The gentleman sitting across from me helped me plug in my power cord and thus began an interesting two hours.

I connected to WiFi, VPNed in, and pulled up my next assignment as the man across from me began to dance in his seat and wave at me.  I smiled back and continued to review the document I had just opened.  Only seconds later this gentleman approaches me with a small question, which seemed rather benign.  “Are you Eastern European?”

I looked up puzzled but still trying to be courteous and said, “No sir.”  Had I only known then I would have looked back down and continued my work without a second thought.  However, I did what nice Southern girls do and waited for him to respond back in some small talk.

It didn’t take long after he explained that because my hair was braided he thought I might be Eastern European.  He then shared that he had graduated from Julliard as the first black male ballet student.  Sure, why not.  I don’t know.

“Wow, Julliard, that’s very prestigious.  And the ballet, what an interesting life you must have lead.  Are you originally from Atlanta?” I asked feigning interest out of politeness.

People, at this point I ask you to buckle your seat belts because we are about to embark on a wild journey.  At this juncture he proceeds to tell me that he has been privileged enough to be mentored by the smartest men in the world….including scientists.  Again, sure, why not.

I nod in agreement occasionally glancing down at my computer and flipping through emails as he’s talking. As he begins to regale me with facts about how aliens are landing in Mexico because the US government invited the Galactic Federation Ambassadors for a visit and ambushed them, I sloooowwwwlllllyyy lifted my eyes and rose my eyebrows in utter shock.  Read that last sentence again and I’m sure you too will scratch your head.

Now, he has my attention.  Undivided, somewhat uncomfortable, deer in the headlights attention.  I learned that President Bush and President Obama are cousins.  The CIA is behind 9-11.  The Masons control the country.  The Knights Templar and the Catholic Church are evil murderers.  And so on, however, nothing is quite so fascinating as the below points:

• The earth is ruled by reptilian aliens that live beneath the Earth’s surface.  These aliens are the bad aliens but the US government has made an alliance with them.  These bad reptilian aliens are shape shifters who can eat humans and drink human blood to look human.  Obama is one.  Since he is related to Bush this makes the statement clearly non-political.
• Our planet is in a strategic position within the galaxy and the bad aliens want to use it as a military base to launch wars against the other universes outside of our galaxy.
• Christ is a higher being from another dimension.  He is married with a daughter and lives in that higher dimension.  The reptilians don’t like him because of his superiority so they made up the Bible to defame him.  Really all Hebrew texts are myths created by the reptilians.  In fact, the book of Exodus was stolen from the aliens in the galaxy of Sirius.  They do not like humans because of that.
• The reptilians live underneath of the earth’s surface.  They have actually hollowed out the earth and have huge underground cities complete with space ships, rail ways, etc.  The government knows all of this and wants to keep it from us because they want us to be poor.
  • The reason for the earthquake on August 22 on the East Coast, well, that was because the aliens nuked an underground military base.  It was the largest, but the CIA was insisting that they move it to Colorado, so the aliens blew it up.
• What people think are angels are actually code words for spaceship.  The archangels, like Gabriel, that is a mother ship.

I think I’ve made my point.  This went on for about two hours.  There were pamphlets he pulled out to further enlighten me.  With pictures.  People at the table packed their bags and left in protest of our disruption.  The one person beside me was casting me looks and laughing as I continued to listen to stories of the Zionist corruption in the government initiated by the reptilians.  These damned reptilians.

Now I must admit I was torn.  I needed to do work and this was clearly too bizarre.  I felt cornered since I was in his direct line of site and he clearly was not going to give up on an active listener.  The other side of me was getting such immense entertainment out of it, I insisted on reading more pamphlets to get the next juicy nugget.  It also gave me some time to tilt my head down for  a chuckle before I looked back up and asked the next “very serious” question.

After about two hours though, I’m on overload.  The person I was supposed to meet finally showed up and I excused myself to move everything from one car to the next.  I explained to my friend what was transpiring, and gave an SOS signal.  He laughed and I walked back in and explained that I had to go because I needed to return to work now that my friend had given me the box.

“I really enjoyed talking with you.  It was nice to meet you.” I said obligatorily.

“Good luck with your MBA.”, he said, “The universe wants you to have it.”

With probably the most kind and sane statement he could have ended on I stepped away and drove to Dunkin Donuts.  I think after today I am now a solid supporter of the Dunkin Donuts brand.

I had to share this story with everyone just to remind you all, that no matter what the reptilians say or do, the universe wants us to have our MBA.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reptilians

Related Posts:

• In Search of India – Part 3: Of Gods, Kings, Cricketers and Movie-stars
• Delhi, Day 7: The Culture Dash
• Dubai in Review, part 1: It’s a party in the…UAE?
• CCMBA 2012 – China Residency Begins – Part 1
• Gaining Perspective

Starbucks, Aliens, and Universal MBAs is an article from The Fuqua Experience, THE place to find out about the daily life of a Duke Cross Continent MBA student