Tech Trek: Day 2

On Day 2 of our BYU MBA approved field trip, we scheduled visits to two more leading tech companies in Silicon Valley: hp and Apple.



We started our day off a hp. We listened to several presentations about the company and learned more about some of the hr strategies they are implementing as they increase their mergers and acquisitions. We also got to see a demonstration of their awesome new teleconferencing technology called Halo. It was incredible and will change the way companies do their business all over the world. Very very cool.





Then it was on to Apple. They really brought in the big guns for us. Our host, Scott gave us a great intro to the company product lines and the structure of the company. Then we heard from Frank Casanova, a very senior VP and one of the big guys behind Quicktime, the mega popular Apple application. In addition, they treated us to a yummy lunch in their cafeteria (which featured sushi, a real brick oven for pizza and calzones, and basically anything else you can think of), plus a couple more presentations/Q&A sessions. Then we finished off the day in their company store. Thanks to a 10% discount, several of us took the opportunity to buy some exclusive merchandise for the loved ones back home.


A couple of my takeaways: Apple says they look for people who are passionate about stuff (and that "stuff" doesn't necessarily mean Apple). They want to see that you have passion and you'll bring that passion to your work.

Next, they discussed the approach to their brand. They aspire to make every part of a customer's experience consistent and that includes everything from how they design the stuff, all the way down to the customer service (called AppleCare). Lastly, they expect perfection in everything they release and this philosophy is why they are so successful.

Later that evening, we attended a networking event at a chapel in Palo Alto. It was a great experience to informally talk to former BYU students and Utah residents about life in the Bay Area and their places of employment.

The evening concluded with a competitive round of Super Mario 3 on the class NES system. Good times.

Watch out Demon Deacons!

Every year, the Babcock School of Management at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC hosts a marketing summit. As part of the summit, they have a case study competition just for MBA's. Only 8 schools get to participate and one of those is WF. So basically there are only 7 spots. So seven of us Marriott School-ers put together a team and sent our application (our resumes and just 300 words on why they should choose us) off into the great beyond.

They chose us!

BYU has never been invited to this competition before so it's a pretty big deal. There is usually a high profile sponsor corporation that provides the real life problem to be solved. Previous sponsors have been Yahoo!, Motorola, Apple, Coca-Cola and more that you would recognize. Top MBA programs like Harvard, Dartmouth, Virginia, MIT, and UCLA are some of the past competitors. So we will be up against some tough competition.

We are definitely thrilled to be invited and are looking forward to showing what we can do in 36 hours with no sleep and no coffee! Hopefully we will come home with the $5000 first prize! WOOT! Go team!

Merry MBA Chrismas

So last weekend our dear friend Marci invited a bunch of us to her house in Midway, Utah for a little fun. Although the first large snowstorm of the year hit earlier in the day, we did not let a few flurries deter us from some sorely needed time away from Provo.

We had dinner, drank yummy hot chocolate, laughed, sang, and enjoyed the break from our studies. But the highlight of the evening was going to the 9th annual Interfaith Creche Exhibit. It was amazing to see more than 900 nativities from all over the world. So in the spirit of the activity, we took the opportunity to make our own nativity. See the final product below.

Battle of the '09ers

Our MBA class is divided up into three sections. We have all six of our classes with the same people, all day every day. So we get to know our fellow section-ers pretty well. And while I do everything I can to meet as many people in our program, there are still a lot of people in the other sections that I don't very well or really even at all.

After much trash talking, Section 2 challenged Section 3 (my section) to a football game on Saturday morning. And what's a little healthy competition to help us bond with the rest of our classmates. We had a lot fun, got a little exercise, and enjoyed the crisp fall morning air.

Below are some shots of us in action. We didn't really keep score but I think everyone was glad they dragged themselves out of bed to come.