1997

As my chronological journey through American popular music has taken me through 1997, the year I graduated from high school, I have stirred up many memories of my first semester at Rice University.

This was the year that Puff Daddy (Sean “Puffy” Combs, etc.) came up with the formula of old pop hit + increased base line + spoken/rapped lyrics == contemporary hit. Master P also entered the scene that year. On the Rice football team, we had a Master P of our own; that was the nickname of Michael Perry, halfback. Master P was one of our three thousand-yard rushers that season, along with Chad Nelson, quarterback, and Benji Wood, who started ahead of me at fullback.

It was a heck of a first semester. Football was awesome. I will never forget running out of the tunnel to the thunderous applause of 55,000 fans at our season opener against Air Force. Or our first away game against Tulane at the Superdome in New Orleans. Or barely losing to the University of Texas and Heisman winner Ricky Williams. John Heisman, for whom the trophy is named, actually used to coach at Rice.

The semester was about more than football, of course. It was also about romance, roadtrips (San Antonio, Dallas, and New Orleans), making lifelong friends, hard courses, and no sleep. Although it wasn’t really about partying for me, I could still hear the songs of 1997 through the walls while I was trying to study or sleep and the memories they incite are great ones.

Sigh

Just when it seemed that we were back in the CWS tournament, up 5-0 in the top of the 7th with our ace closer on the mound, it all came crashing down. 1 run in the bottom of the 7th, another in the 8th, and then four in the 9th to lose to LSU. Oh well, as the old saying goes, “I may not have been at the College World Series this year . . . but neither was the University of Texas!”

Now it’s time to look ahead to better times–and Rice football begins in just over two months!

Queen and Careers

Yesterday morning we had a Leadership class focused on careers and the characteristics that drive/motivate us. Based on a survey, we were divided into five groups, those who were looking for freedom, balance, security, interesting challenge, and advancement/accomplishment. Of course most of us were motivated by several of these, but we broke into groups based upon our highest scores. We then put together presentations about what we need from our supervisors, companies, and families, as well as which socio-economic factors might affect the value of our careers for each type.

It surprised me that my highest score was in freedom, not in accomplishment. Accomplishment was a very close second, followed by balance as a close third. Interesting challenge was a distant fourth and security was hardly represented at all. As our freedom group sat down to work, we felt “free” to turn on some music: Queen’s “I Want To Break Free.” At the same time the accomplishment group was listening to “Under Pressure” by Queen and David Bowie. During Q&A after the accomplishment group’s presentation, someone asked if they related to the Queen song “I Want It All (and I Want It Now).” The answer was yes, and lord knows I can relate.

While I am disappointed that the other groups didn’t independently come up with Queen anthems, I am glad to have had three Queen songs stuck in my head all day. Slightly less inspiring is “Looking For Freedom” by David Hasselhoff, which we played at the beginning of our presentation to get the class clapping. The music video featured scenes from Knight Rider–how can you beat that?

Rice Not Representin’

Ouch. Rice’s debut game in this year’s College World Series was abysmal: a 17-5 loss to Fresno State. We went through seven pitchers and gave up three home runs. Only late in the game did we mount any offense at all and, by then, it was too little too late. Oh well, as one announcer put it, perhaps Rice was trying to get all of its bad play out of the way in the opening game–this way we’ll play top-notch baseball all the way through the finals. I hope that’s the case!

It was a good weekend for Bulldogs as Georgia upset the #1 Miami Hurricanes. I’m sure my brother, who played baseball at Trinity University and is finishing his PhD in marine biology at the University of Miami, is hurting now as much as I am. For both of our sakes I wish both the ‘Canes and the Owls good luck in their losers bracket games this Monday and Tuesday respectively. Go Rice!

Mock Interviews

Yesterday we received our final grades for the “Building Blocks” (academic) portion of our year here at IMD. I did very well overall, but I am most proud of the improvment I deomonstrated in the areas where I came in with the least background. As I have written before, I certainly don’t know it all–if I did, what would be the point in sacrificing $200k+ for an MBA? The best that I can do is identify my areas for greatest improvement (and those of greatest interest) and work hard to develop them. Although grading is only one, imperfect way of measuring competency, it indicates that I have improved significantly in my weaker areas and exceled in those that I think are critical for my future career. This gives me confidence not only in my skills today but also in my ability to improve and grow constantly throughout the rest of my life, which will be crucial for my effectiveness over time.

Today we continued in the Career Services vein by practicing our interviewing and networking skills with IMD alumni. We were given the opportunity for one of three types of interviews: industry, consulting, or finance. I chose industry and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The feedback I received from my interviewer was very helpful (The areas for improvement, such as- making better use of silence–diplomatically put, are all areas I can improve with practice and preparation.) and the entire session was videotaped, so I will have the chance to review my performance next week.

The day finished with a party on the restaurant patio. There I met many other interesting, successful, diverse alumni and had a great time to boot. Several of our professors came too and it was fun to “party” with them now that grades were out of the way.

Luxury Disillusionment

Today was the official start of on-campus recruiting. Several companies made presentations throughout the day about who they were, what they did, what positions they offered, and why we should work for them.

Most of the companies participating in on-campus recruiting this year are outside of my target industries (technology, energy, space exploration, sports, and wine–very focused, I know!) so I will spend the majority of my job search pursuing opportunities off-campus. However, I was intrigued by two luxury brand conglomerates that presented today, one because it owned several wine brands and one because we studied one if its major acquisitions in Strategy.

I was curious to find out if these companies were really just about luxury and image or if they had more . . . “substance” to them. Did they offer anything of value to society or did they really just exist to fulfill the desires of the upper class? I asked the presenters questions about environmental and social responsibility but was disappointed in the responses. I’m sure their PR departments have good arguments but the fact that their recruiters didn’t know them indicated something about the cultures of these two companies. More pointedly it indicated that they weren’t places where I wanted to begin the next phase of my career and mission to change the world for the better.

I think this is the real benefit of on-campus company presentations: not helping you decide which companies DO interest you, rather learning enough about industries you don’t know well to decide firmly that they do NOT interest you. That is helpful to the students and to the recruiting companies.

Simulation

Today we finished a three-day business simulation. Each study group represented a company bringing new products into a new, international market. In a turn-based, simulated universe, we competed against each other to position our products, make marketing decisions, optimize our supply chains, and work within the constraints of international regulatory uncertainty.

My team did not finish in the top 3. We made a key supply chain planning error in Q3 and another blunder in Q5. The key learning comes not from the errors we made but from the group dynamics and processes that allowed them to occur. As many of you know, I am extremely achievement-oriented so not winning doesn’t sit well with me. However, this year has been a lesson in embracing failure for the associated opportunities to learn. It is better to learn these lessons in a simulated universe than in a real one, where profits, jobs, or even human lives might be on the line.

Africa

Another day with no homework, another day of watching movies about Africa. This time I watched Shooting Dogs and Hotel Rwanda, both about the genocide of Tutsi Rwandans in 1994. It’s amazing the hurt sub-Saharan Africa has endured, and not just by the evil white oppressors, but by their own countrymen. I suppose that’s part of the issue; the countries are arbitrary boundaries that cramp warring tribes together. Whenever one tribe is in power, it commits atrocities against the others. When the others are in power, they want revenge. The tit-for-tat cycle continues indefinitely and I have no idea how it could be broken. Our Discovery Expedition to Kenya in two weeks will be very interesting and I look forward to it.

In more upbeat news, Rice earned its spot in this year’s College World Series with a win over Texas A&M tonight. Go Rice!

Movie Night (and Day)

What a day, yesterday. I didn’t leave my apartment at all but not because I was studying. I spent most of the day watching movies, one of my favorite pastimes.

In preparation for our Discovery Expedition to Kenya I watched two assigned films: Darwin’s Nightmare and The Last King of Scotland. Darwin’s Nightmare is a documentary about the fishing industry in Tanzania, where foreigners smuggle arms in and export fish out while the locals starve. Not pleasant.

No less pleasant were some of the scenes in The Last King of Scotland, in which Forest Whitaker brilliantly plays brutal Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. The plot was very similar to that of Playing God, which I regard as one of the worst movies ever made. The two movies have another connection: Playing God stars David Duchovny while The Last King of Scotland stars his x-files costar Gillian Anderson. Gillian wins this round; hers was a good movie and I’m glad I finally saw it.

To lighten things up I also watched Dan in Real Life. There wasn’t much to this romantic comedy, but it was a refreshing way to wrap up the movie day. Then it was on to more important things, like watching Rice beat Texas A&M 9 – 6. Another victory today will secure the Owls’ third consecutive trip to the CWS. I wish I could be there for the games, but, since I can’t, thank goodness for the Internet!

Mid-90’s

Although I leaned on Mozart for my exams, I still had a chance to continue my chronological exploration of American popular music last week. I’ve made my way through 1996 now, almost through the end of high school for me. Ace of Base, Coolio, Sheryl Crow, Melissa Etheridge, The Cranberries, Snoop and Dre, TLC, Blues Traveler, Hootie and the Blowfish, Alanis Morisette, and the Notorious B.I.G. entered the scene in a big way. Some stuck around and some were gone almost as soon as they had arrived. Then there were some timeless artists who just kept on churning out hits: Madonna, Michael Jackson, Elton John, and Eric Clapton to name a few.

In high school I was still living in my classic-rock-oriented world and was only peripherally aware of most of this music. Actually that’s not entirely true. I was most definitely aware of the #1 song of 1996: Macarena! What a high point for American music and dance.