The funny thing about Rankings...

...is that when you're not doing well, then you claim that they are meaningless, but the minute you're doing well, they are fantastic.

We are doing well.


So well in fact that it was anounced today that we have moved up 5 places to 20th in the world. Quite an achievement for a school that is barely 9 years old. Check out the FT 2005 Rankings that came out today (if you can - it's proving to be a very busy site at the moment).

The rankings are testament to the high quality of our MBA programme in terms of recruitment,content and teaching, course administration and the successful career outcomes for our students. As a School which was formed in 1996, it is a major achievement.

Anthony Hopwood, Dean of the Saïd Business School

What do I think? Well, naturally I am very happy as it increases my chances of getting a very interesting job with a wopping big salary which will help me to pay off my student debt when I leave here.

At the same time, it's necessary to keep remembering that it is only a ranking, only a business school, only an MBA. In and of itself, none of that makes me a great person. My reactions when something happens, the choices I make, the friendships I keep - those are the things that decide whether or not someone is great. The sermon at church last night was on pride and I confess that I am as guilty of thinking myself greater than I am as the next person. Especially when the FT provides "proof" of it.

So, I think that rankings are good, they have encourage schools to strive towards higher standards and give potential students a framework to decide where to apply. But they should not be used to decide whether or not a person from that school is or will become great. Let every person speak for themself.

Everyone Say Hi!

So after months of pretending not to care, I am now coming clean. I am very curious about who is currently reading my blog. After installing Google Analytics a few days ago, I now know that people from the following places have accessed my blog.

* Portland
* Mountain View
* Dayton
* New Brunswick
* Kinred
* Devils lake (is there really a place with this name?)
* Fargo

* Singapore

* Belfast
* Oxford
* London

Wow. I'm thrilled! I didn't know that I had such a wide readership. And since I don't actually know anyone in most of those places (I can figure out Oxford, London and Singapore), then chances are you are somehow attached to the someone at the business school.

So please. Drop me a line to let me know how you heard about my blog and what you think of it, send me a picture or just say hi. I'd love to hear from you.

Chinese New Year, SBS style

Last night, the ethnic Chinese students at SBS (and Mac) put on an incredible Chinese New Year event at the business school. I was in Singapore last year for Chinese New Year and had a great time so I was looking forward to seeing what would be in store for us this year.

We were in for a treat.

The evening started out with a fantastic lion dance put on by a local Kung Fu school. Things just kept getting better, I had no idea that there were so many talented students at the business school! There were several performances on Eastern musical instruments, a Kung Fu demonstration, a mock (?) Chinese wedding and a toe tapping, lighter waving rendition of a Chinese pop song by one of the MFE guys. Fantastic!

But in a way, totally expected.

Conversations
Recently my conversations with friends at the b-school have been centered around the diversity of the students here. With 1/3 of us from the Americas, 1/3 from Europe and Africa and 1/3 from Australiasia the experience you get here must be truely unique.

This term we've been doing a course called International Business and Global Governance (IBGG) and as you can guess, the opportunity to listen to someone who is Chinese speak about what it is like to do business in China is priceless. It's an eye opener for everyone involved, when you're talking about what you are familiar with, it's hard to imagine that the way that you are accustomed to doing things is quite alien to someone else. Especially when it's someone who you respect for their intelligence and ability to do a good job. Makes you think about interactions and frustrations that you've had with others in a past life in a new light.

"One's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions"

Oliver Wendell Holmes

Burns night

"Ye Pow'rs, wha mak mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill o' fare,
Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware
That jaups in luggies;
But, if ye wish her gratefu' prayer
Gie her a haggis!"

Robert Burns, Address to a Haggis

So, last night my college, the wonderful St. Hugh's hosted a Burns night formal hall which was attended by many of the MBA's.

For those who don't have a clue let me explain. January 25th is the birthday of the Scottish poet, Robert Burns. There is a fine tradition of a Burns night supper which follows certain pattern, and this meal was no different.

For the first time since I've been there, grace was not said in Latin but instead by one of the guys in the JCR in a Scottish accent. It went like this:

"Some hae meat and canna eat,
And some wad eat that want it;
But we hae meat, and we can eat,
And sae the Lord be thankit."

Robert Burns

The first course was scotch broth which was followed by the sound of bagpipes. We all stood as the haggis was brought into the room and sat while the "Address to a Haggis" poem by Burns was read to us by a Scottish lass. Didn't understand a word she said but laughed when everyone laughed and joined in the toast to the haggis.

The meal was, of course, haggis, neeps and tatties which translates to haggis, mashed potato and mashed squash. Yummy.

A good night.

The future of media?

Yesterday, Said Business School hosted the 2006 Oxford Media Convention so, being interested in all things media, I signed up and went along. (See webcast at the Oxford Internet Institute)

I can't say that I was entirely impressed with the pannels and speakers though, due to a TIS (Technology & Innovation Strategy) assignment due later that day, I can't confess to having heard them all.

What I did see and hear has made me sit and think about what I think is the future of the media. The internet is certainly a very disruptive technology and many lessons were learnt from the changes in the music industry which the media would be well advised to remember.

As I formulate my ideas, let me share with you the predictions of Richard Sambrook of the BBC:

* News is moving online: teens in this country tend get their news online. TV audiences have fallen and now people have unlimited information available their fingertips.

* Public wants authenticity: more and more news items are becoming a stylised creation in a virtual studio somewhere. People are not being fooled. They know a act when they see it and they want the raw gritty truth to be told.

* Transparancy: is being demanded. It is very easy to send an e-mail with your views on an issue that has been reported and more and more people are doing just that. Interviewees are publishing their version of an interview on their blogs for comparision with the finished version. It would be foolish for media firms to put up a wall and ignore their customers, the challenge now is to embrace these new terms of engagement and find a way to listen to their customers.

* Responsibility is shifting: gone are the days when people sat before their TV sets at 6pm every day and accepted as correct the news presented to them. Today the news media no longer owns the news. There is still a need for mediation but this role is a different one than in the past.

* The Digital Divide problem between those people who have access to/and consistently use the internet will continue to widen. The challenge is to identify the two audiences and make provisions for both marketplaces.

I've been doing a quick look around the internet to see what others think about the future of the industry. I don't necessarily agree with everything found on them but here are a few worth having a look at:

* Hypergene Media Blog - this group is looking into the topic of participatory journalism and citizen media.

* Slashdot - news for geeks

* An interesting article just published by McKinsey Quartely on the Dwindling readership faced by newspapers.

PS. See article by Richard Sambrook on How the net is transforming news

live every last minute

Have you ever been stuck in the office on a weekend and think to yourself, next weekend will be different.

Last night at the business school, we were treated to a talk from a man who is probably one of Britain's most successful modern entrepreneurs. Breat Hoberman, who co-founded the travel and retail website lastminute.com spoke briefly on the journey of the company from it's inception to where it is today.

As an entrepreneur, he spoke of the need to have "smart luck", "good timing" and a focus on "consumer need" in order to make a success in todays environment. "Investors are like sheep" he says as he recounts his discussions with VC's at the early stage of the life of the company.

Today he is still the CEO of his baby, and excited about the future of his company.
* he has even made it to Wikipedia
* he has done very well for himself through selling the company to Sabre Holdings

I was fortunate enough to be invited to the dinner afterwards which was hosted by the beautiful Exeter college. There I had the pleasure of speaking with Ian McCaig who is a lovely Scottish man and Managing Director of the lastminute.com group. He told me the other side of the tale of working with an entrepreneur, the thrills of being surrounded by innovation, the challenges of integrating so many acquired companies in such a short time and the fun of working for such a dynamic company.

The overall sentiment from this presentation is the same message that I've been hearing time and time again. It's know your customer, make an effort to understand your customers needs, then go meet them.

Techno-babble

(gratuitous picture of friends on my latest holiday in Scotland)

Can you imagine? Week 0 has just ended and already I have more things to do than is possible for any person. Fun stuff!

I could talk about the NBD project that I'm doing and the progress that we've been making (first team meeting, first meeting with sponser, first meeting with our supervisor), or the endless beauty parade of presentations from the lecturers trying to convince us that we want to take their courses in Trinity. Blah, blah, blah...

Of course I won't, instead I thought I'd devote a little time to some stuff that has been distracting me and which has been the subject of a number of conversations I've had recently. The subject is of course, Technology and the Web in particular. Here are some questions that I've been asked lately.

What is a Blog?
There is nothing particularly special about a blog. This is a blog. For me, it's a way of recording my experiences as I go about getting an MBA. It's for my parents, my friends and their parents to get a feel of what is going on.

How can I get one?
I use Blogger. Have a look, sign up (it's free) and have a play around. It's very easy to use.

How do I know when you post a new message?
Well the easy answer is to check every few days or so to see if I've been at it again or if you follow a number of blogs then then there is something called an RSS feed which will help you. Just sign up with a reader service like Google Reader or Newsgator (both free) and subscribe to my website by searching for a feed on my Blog. Of course then you'll have to log on to the reader every now and again...

Are you going to run a technology company when you finish?
Who knows? Maybe not right away, but I think it's highly likely that thats where I'll end up.